Today, we ventured to Magic Kingdom and had the most beautiful day from rope drop all the way to the fireworks. Follow along for tips, tricks, and an itinerary for our “Best Day Ever” in Magic Kingdom!

Rope Drop

We had to get up bright and early – we had a very early reservation at the Crystal Palace. I was determined to get the earliest reservation possible and we did just that. We had an 8 am reservation, one of the first reservations you can get for this restaurant. In order to do that we needed to rope drop. We got to the Ticket and Transportation Center as the sun was rising which made for great pictures.

We got to Magic Kingdom and took this opportunity to take some empty Main Street pictures. We then strolled down Main Street towards Crystal Palace. We were seated immediately and had a server from our home state! It was so fun talking to him and he really made our time at Crystal Palace so enjoyable.

Morning Activities

After we enjoyed a bountiful breakfast at the Crystal Palace, it was time to ride some rides! Full disclosure – we did buy multi pass and single pass for this day. We hit up the Haunted Mansion and rode Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. We also managed to get on Space Mountain! We stopped for my favorite treat – a frozen coke. After a morning of riding rides and enjoying the ambience of Magic Kingdom I wanted to try something I hadn’t before – a cheeseburger spring roll. I had heard of these for years and every time I went to get one the cart would either be closed or sold out so I knew to get there early. I want to just point out, the line gets very long for these so just put on those patient pants if you want a spring roll.

Afternoon Fun

In the afternoon we rode more rides, really utilizing Multi Pass in this park. I do have to say, I think Multi Pass is not a necessity as I believe you can -with proper planning- have an awesome day without it, but it is a nice to have in a park of this size with this many rides. We took lots of pictures in front of the castle and eventually made our way to my favorite restaurant in all of Magic Kingdom – Liberty Tree Tavern. This has been a long time favorite of mine and my family’s and for good reason. If you love Thanksgiving food, then this restaurant is right up your alley. The food is consistently really good, it is all you can eat but it’s not a buffet which I appreciate. It’s not that I don’t like buffets, but I always prefer having all you can eat food being brought to me straight from the kitchen, rather than sitting out on a buffet table for however long.

Evening Activities

The evening was filled with a few more rides, and more pictures in interesting places. If you have memory maker, or even if you don’t, I encourage you to stop at the photographers you see around the parks. We found a photographer by the rocks in Tomorrowland and they were such a cool pictures! After a small photoshoot, we checked in to our event for the evening – The Fireworks Dessert Party.

We checked in for the Fireworks Dessert party where you get priority viewing for the fireworks and then after the show you go to a fun dessert party! Our priority viewing was on one of the lawns in front of the castle. We enjoyed sitting on the lawn waiting for the show to begin. It was adorable watching all the little kids run around as well. The view for the fireworks was awesome, we saw everything and the dessert party afterwards was fine. There will be a future post all about the dessert parties and whether or not they are right for you. Just know that the view was awesome and the dessert party afterwards was a nice array of different desserts with drinks included!

This was a wonderful end to our very busy and very long Magic Kingdom day. Keep reading if you want to see our “Best Day Ever” itinerary for Magic Kingdom!

Best Day Ever Itinerary

So for a perfect Magic Kingdom day, I always say rope drop! If Early Morning Entry is available and you’re a resort guest then definitely make sure you are getting to the park for that. If you are not a resort guest, then get to the park 30 minutes before park opening.

If you’re doing the early morning entry, you want to start in Fantasyland, knock out Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. You will probably be waiting a little bit but getting this done as early as possible saves you time and money on a single pass! If you’re not doing early morning entry, rope drop Adventureland and head straight to Jungle Cruise. You’ll come back to Seven Dwarfs.

Now, I always say, go into each park with a list of 5 must do attractions. Each person can have their own list of 5. Those are your priorities. If you try to ride everything in the park, you’re going to go insane and that’s not magical!

Use the morning to look at the wait times and see what’s low and ride it. Also look at your priority rides, if something like Tron or Tiana’s Bayou Adventure have manageable wait times, then go get on line and ride those rides! You may realize you might need single or multi pass to get on some rides – make the decision you think is right for you and your family.

Here’s where things get crazy – for lunch time I want you to leave Magic Kingdom. Go to one of the neighboring hotels on the monorail and go to their quick service location for lunch. If your budget allows eat at Steakhouse 71 at the Contemporary Resort for lunch and get the burger. You’ll be in air conditioning, away from the crowds at the park and it’s a great break. Spend an hour to two hours just away from Magic Kingdom and enjoy lunch time.

Head back to Magic Kingdom after lunch and use the My Disney Experience App to look at what’s low and what’s a manageable wait time. For dinner, depending on your budget you can eat at a quick service or eat at a sit down meal like Liberty Tree Tavern. I will always opt for Liberty Tree Tavern but this is known by now.

After dinner, depending on the time, ride whatever you haven’t gotten to except for Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train if you didn’t ride it in the morning. The wait times should be a bit lower now that people are starting to set up camp for the fireworks. The best spot for the fireworks is not always directly in front of the castle but it’s where Main Street and the Castle Hub meet. You see the projections better and the fireworks. It’s my preferred spot to watch the fireworks.

After the fireworks, walk briskly towards Fantasyland if you haven’t gotten on Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. Get on the line before the park officially closes and you’ll be able to ride it at night. And that’s a wrap on the perfect day in Magic Kingdom, until next time – stay magical!