Five Things We Would NEVER Do Again at Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom is one of the most visited theme parks in the world. It is important to come here with a plan to help you make the most of your trip to Walt Disney World. Our researcher, Chrissy, shared on Instagram Five Things We’ll Never Do Again in Magic Kingdom:
1. Never Arrive Late!
Magic Kingdom opens between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. most days and stays open through about 11 p.m. While this may seem like plenty of time in the park, it still might not be enough to do everything – especially if you arrive late! Plus, with younger children and toddlers, staying until 11 p.m. can be difficult. So, we recommend getting to the park on time.
If you are staying at a Disney World resort (or a select off-property resort), take advantage of the 30-minute early entrance (called Early Theme Park Entry) to be there before the park opens to all other guests. These 30 minutes can help you make a good plan for the rest of the day. Use this time to hop on rides that normally have the longest wait times such as the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan’s Flight, or Space Mountain. Now you have the rest of the day to ride things that typically have a shorter wait time. Since the early entrance only covers the first part of the day, we recommend using the TouringPlans Lines App to help you make the most of the rest of your day at Magic Kingdom.
If you are staying off property, take into account your transportation arrangements. Will you be driving your car or a rental car? Leave plenty of time to park and get to the park entrance. You will be parking at the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC). Upon parking your vehicle, you will walk or take a tram to the main gates of the TTC. From here, you then have the option to take a monorail or ferryboat to the Magic Kingdom entrance. This could take longer than expected so be sure to leave with plenty of time to park and be transported to the park. Depending on the crowd, you can expect it to take roughly 30 minutes to get parked and arrive at the Magic Kingdom entrance.
Will you be taking an Uber or other rideshare? If so, leave enough time to order an Uber and be dropped off at the designated rideshare area at the TTC. Again, from the TTC hub, you will need to take a monorail or ferryboat to the park entrance. You will come back to the TTC when you leave to get an Uber back to your lodging.
As previously mentioned, we highly recommend using the TouringPlans Lines App. It will be especially helpful if you cannot partake in the early entrance because it will strategically plan out the entire day for you and will help you get to the most popular attractions at the best times so that you do not miss them.
2. Never Stop on Main Street for Starbucks or PhotoPass First Thing in the Morning
When you enter Magic Kingdom, you are greeted by the hub of the park, Main Street, U.S.A. Here is where you can shop, eat, and rent strollers, wheelchairs, and lockers. Because this is the first stop when you enter the park, it will be very busy! We recommend not spending much time here right when you arrive. Take advantage of other parts of the park not being as crowded yet and get on popular attractions. This means skipping Starbucks at the Main Street Bakery Street and opting out of the Cinderella Castle PhotoPass stops. You can get coffee at most quick-service locations and at other spots around the parks. If you start at the Transportation and Ticket Center, you will find a Joffrey’s Coffee kiosk there (and yes, you can bring it into the park). There is also another Joffrey’s kiosk inside the park in Tomorrowland near Space Mountain. As for PhotoPass, head back there later in the afternoon after most guests have arrived for the day, around 2 p.m. according to the traffic patterns which we have observed.
3. Never Forget to use FuelRod
One of the last things you want in the parks is for your phone to die. Especially if you have kids, you will most likely be taking photos all day long! You may also be checking your phone for wait times or keeping up-to-date with your personal itinerary in the TouringPlans Lines App. All parks at Disney World have FuelRod stations that offer portable chargers for $30. The best part is that when it is dead, you can either charge it in an outlet or swap it out for a fully charged one all day long- for free! Not only is it great for you, but it’s great for your traveling companions, who can charge their devices, too!
FuelRod is a third-party system that takes any major credit card. Once you follow the payment directions on the screen, the machine will dispense a fully-charged rod, a USB to micro-USB cable for most Android devices, an Apple Lighting to USB for most Apple devices, and a USB C Adapter needed for some devices. You are also able to use your own phone charging cord to connect the FuelRod to your device, so don’t forget to pack it.
There are 6 FuelRod kiosks in Magic Kingdom:
- Tomorrowland Restrooms
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café
- Big Top Souvenirs
- Curtain Call Collectibles
- Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café
- Adventureland/Frontierland Breezeway
4. Never Buy Water
Staying hydrated is so important when you are walking around Disney World. Especially if you are not used to the weather, it can be draining. You are permitted to bring water into the parks, but you will find that it is not difficult to run out quickly. Save your money by not buying water bottles, which are typically between $3-$4. Instead, go to any quick service location and get a free cup of water. You can even pour these into your empty water bottles so that you can have water for later.
5. Never Eat at Pinocchio Village Haus
Pinocchio Village Haus is a quick-service dining location in Fantasyland that serves “Italian” fare such as pizza, sandwiches, and salads. Even though this restaurant offers a great view of the “it’s a small world” attraction, the food is not worth it. There are better quick-service options in Magic Kingdom. The best-rated options are:
- Main Street Bakery
- Sleepy Hollow Refreshments
- Columbia Harbor House
- Gaston’s Tavern
- Golden Oak Outpost
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café
- Casey’s Corner
If you are going to dine at a quick-service location in Magic Kingdom, try from the researched list above.
6. BONUS: Never Go Without Using TouringPlans Lines App
Lines has helped thousands of families save time and money during their Disney World trip. Our data are tested and trusted, making Lines the best app to use for wait times, planning your day, and more. One of the best things about our app is that it will tell you the expected wait time for each ride – how long you will really wait compared to the posted wait time. This is something that only the TouringPlans Lines App does; not even Disney’s official app can provide this information. Our app helps you to plan your day like no other app can! We will never go a day in the parks without it.
Contact a Destination Specialist today about your next Walt Disney World vacation.
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This article is nuts. Why would anyone on earth pay $30 for a “FuelRod” when they could just bring their own charger and plug the phone into an outlet? Most phones are rapid charging nowadays anyway, so it’s not like it would take much time to juice your phone up and get on your way. Besides, most portable USB charging units don’t have the capacity to fully charge your phone anyway, nor do they support rapid charging. Total waste of money, I have a feeling somebody got paid to put that in the article.
The water at restaurants is filtered. I bring a filter bottle to fill of ours each morning but the soda machines have free filtered water too.
Hey, by all means if people want to literally p** money away go right ahead. It’s America. Most people just don’t know it’s an option. Countless times I’ve let people know at water fountains when they are filling up with warm water. Almost every response is that they didn’t know that counter service restaurants will give them ice water no questions asked.
#1. NEVER GO AGAIN!
LOL
water people are so weird. There are water filling stations and drink fountains everywhere. The obsession with filtering your water 17 times is kinda nuts. Its america. The water is clean right out of the tap.
It is the taste that is the problem for some.
I grew up around Disney and have been many times. There is one thing I will never do at a Disney park now. Going there. I took my kids a couple of years ago. We stayed at a local resort. They wanted to stay there instead of standing in line all day. We actually had a better and more memorable experience. That is sad to me. Disney was a huge part of a lot of people’s lives but it has turned into a chore. An expensive one.
For everyone that hates Pinocchio Village Haus, there is somebody who it’s their favourite. That would be me.
It’s one of our favs for sure! Flatbread pizza! They even have a gluten free option!
I disagree with this whole thing!!! WHY ON EARTH DO PEOPLE GO TO DISNEY…..AT ALL!!!????LATE….ON TIME…OR ANY TIME!!?? HAHAHAHAHA!
I disagree with ‘never arrive late’. There’s so much other to do at WDW than line up to hurry up and wait for Peter Pan. Most of the omni-mover rides clear out in the early evening and some like Space Mt, and Haunted Mansion are practically a walk on during the fireworks. PoCV and Big Thunder get much quicker in the early evening tho Peter Pan is a bit of a special case, it’s much less waiting around near closing time.
I recomend Fantasia Golf, and Renting watercraft while the hord is waiting in line.
Agree with flexible arrival times 100%. Sometimes it’s better to zag when others zig. We arrive later at the parks plenty and most of times find way shorter lines. Most of the time we opt to do different things earlier in the day and it works out awesome for us (mom, dad, boys 7 and 11). Most importantly be flexible and park hop if you can ($) and if the wait times or environment (weather, dining options, moods, crowds, etc) call for it. Trust me, if it rains later in the day most of the early birds leave the park and you will find much shorter lines. Just make sure you are prepared with rain gear.
And by all means save your $ on water especially if it’s hot. Paying $100’s (at least 2 bottles/day per person adds up for a week long trip) for water is a waste. Get ice water at quick service restaurants. It’s fine. You’ll survive.
Since when is TouringPlans just another clickbait site? We expect better than this. Hoping you all haven’t sold out like some of the other blogs.
I’m a little disappointed by the “click bait” title of this article. It really should be called “5 Things We Always Do”.
And the “Never eat at Pinocchio Village Haus” seems like just the author’s opinion. Whereas 81% of TP readers surveyed gave it a thumbs up! https://touringplans.com/magic-kingdom/dining/pinocchio-village-haus
As others have mentioned above about the Fuel Rods, it is less expensive in the long run to buy and bring your own, but Fuel Rod is certainly convenient and great in a pinch if you forget your own.
Coming from Toronto we have the best water in North America. Drinking Florida water is disgusting. We HAVE to buy bottled water ar the parks.
You can get cold, filtered water free at most quick serve locations. If you want extra filtration, use one of those Brita bottles with the personal filter. No need to waste money and plastic on bottled water.
Fuel rod: if you need backup power have a better backup. If you find yourself with nothing it’s nice to be able to buy a fuel rod. It’s far from must have.
Pinocchio’s counter service? All food in MK suxxxxx. Get something if you’re hungry. Eat where lines are short. Try to save some time while eating garbage.
Getting there for rope drop is by far the best way to maximize attraction experiences.
Buy water? Disney is cutting down on giving out cups of water… They make you wait and ignore you. Sometimes it’s ok to just buy the bottled water. It’s not mutually exclusive.
Better tip is to bring MiO or other little squeeze flavorer brand to turn your water into a flavored drink. Fits easily in a pocket.
And yes OBVIOUSLY don’t wait in huge Starbucks line. Or picture line. Or ride lines that go down later in the day like spaceship earth… But this is a magic kingdom article.
My top don’t do:
1) don’t use gross long line bathrooms – there’s a better alternative close enough
2) don’t try to just squeeze in at the last minute to watch fireworks in front of the castle.
3) don’t wait for parade. If you want to watch, there are locations which will have a free space
4) don’t get caught on the wrong side of a parade
5) don’t get heat stroke –. Just go in January!!
Wait. Be Our Guest does counter service lunch again?
No still table service.
I am disappointed that this kind of content is starting to appear in this blog. I generally trust and recommend TouringPlans as a place that avoids the fluff and gives me real data that I can understand and believe and share with others. Now there are articles like this that are getting posted more and more frequently.
Should everyone (or even anyone) use a FuelRod?? No. Are all of the best pools on property at _deluxe_ resorts? Absolutely not. If I wanted to read that sort of nonsense, I’d go to DFB or any other dime-a-dozen Disney blog. TouringPlans has always been different, and now it’s not.
I am dubious about the Fuel Rod recommendation. In this day and age, I think most people would be better off purchasing their own portable power bank ahead of time and bringing it into the parks. Certainly the Fuel Rod will get the job done as a last resort. However, that is pretty much the only circumstance in which I’d get one.
This is exactly what I was going to say. While the concept (have a portable charger with you) is sound, I would NEVER recommend the in-park Fuel Rods. A Fuel Rod is $30. You can find a quality, major-brand portable charger that should suit a family for the day off Amazon for that price or less (especially if you keep an eye out for deals). AND you get to take it home with you.
I like the Pinocchio Village Haus. The food isn’t so bad. Their flatbreads are pretty good. I love the inside decor and the view of Its A Small World. They also have the Blue Fairy Wish Book for kids to write their wishes
We enjoyed eating at Pinocchio Village Haus. The pizzas were a good size ( much larger than some other restaurants) and so were the salads.
And we found it tasty too.
I strongly disagree with skipping Photopass. If having a picture with the castle is important to you, a souvenir to treasure, do it first thing. Yes, the lines will be shorter in the afternoon- but little Billy will probably have spilled some of lunch on that cute shirt and Mom and Dad will have nice shiny foreheads from all the sweating. And depending on time of year lighting won’t be as good. Do it first thing in the morning.