Disney Trip: Magic Kingdom

Here’s a recap of our Disney trip, post 1 of 4! We spent our first day at the Magic Kingdom from sun up to sun down. 

Disney Trip: Magic Kingdom

We are home from Disney!

Hey hey hey!!! We’re back from a fast and furious trip to Disney last week. We had a GREAT time! I’m always so relieved when we are home and looking back that nothing major went wrong (sickness, travel delays, blizzards, etc.). 

This was Thomas’, Birch’s, and Mazen’s first visit to Disney World! And I hadn’t been in 20-something years. So we were all so excited. 

I’ll be sharing a recap of each of our three days at the Disney parks and then a final post with all of my tips on where we stayed, Genie+, dining reservations, and what we brought. 

If you have zero interest in Disney World, you might want to just skip this week on KERF! 

Here’s a high-level overview:

• Day One: Magic Kingdom
• Day Two: Epcot
• Day Three: Hollywood Studios

We had a one-bedroom suite at the Swan Reserve, which is a Marriott property that has Disney resort perks like early entry and bus service to the Magic Kingdom. We were SO HAPPY with our hotel choice. (I’ll be sharing more on our hotel in the tips post!)

We flew in on a Tuesday and started bright and early at the Magic Kingdom! Here we go. 

Day One: Magic Kingdom

We decided to start with Magic Kingdom on day one since we had the most energy, and I’m so glad we did because it was our longest and most intense day! Thomas and I set our alarms for 6:30 a.m. and got coffee and breakfast from the hotel that we brought up to our room. (We also brought a few things from home, like cereal, so we just had to buy milk.) 

Mazen had the Mickey waffles!

I had an egg and cheese sandwich on a whole wheat English muffin. It served as good fuel for the morning.

Getting To Magic Kingdom 

We left our room at 8 a.m. and caught the Magic Kingdom bus at the back of our hotel. This was the only day we had to catch a bus since we were able to walk to Epcot and take a quick boat to Hollywood Studios. We got lucky with timing because we only waited one minute! Buses run from the Swan/Dolphin/Reserve complex every 20 minutes or so. 

After we arrived at the bus station, we got on the Monorail that takes you to the Magic Kingdom entrance. 

“Get early entry so you’ll have the park to yourself,” they said. LOL – there were SO many people already there at 8:25 a.m.!! 

Genie+ 

I was in charge of getting our Genie+ and making our first reservation each day around 6:45 a.m. We booked Space Mountain for our first Genie that day. I’ve noted which rides we used Genie+ for with a G+, and if we booked just for two of us, G+ for 2. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! (More details in the tips post.)

The Seven Dwarfs (Skipped)

Our plan was to head straight to the Seven Dwarfs, and we laughed when the line was already 80 minutes long. Guess everyone else had the same plan! Luckily no one was too sad to miss it, and we went to Little Mermaid right behind it.

Little Mermaid (No Wait)

Birch LOVED Mermaid!! It was a great first ride. 

Barnstormer (No Wait)

After Mermaid, we went to the Barnstormer. Right when we entered the line we were greeted by Stephanie who is a KERF blog reader!!! She recognized us right away. It’s a SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL! 

The Barnstormer is a great kids’ first coaster, and my sister’s kids loved it, so we hopped right on with Birch. He did NOT like it at all! He said he’s never going on another coaster again in his life. 

Dumbo (5-Minute Wait)

We went to Dumbo next and only waited about 5 minutes to ride. Everyone loved it! 

Space Mountain (G+)

After Dumbo we went to Space Mountain for our Genie+ reservation. Mazen has been to Disneyland before, so he has been on the California version of many of the rides. He was not in the mood for Space at the moment, so we ended up just going one at a time. With our lightning lane, Thomas and I were both through in 10 minutes!

It was great – just as I remembered! But compared to Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Hollywood, this was now feels like a baby coaster to me!

Buzz Lightyear (G+)

While I was in line at Space, I booked our next Genie+ to Buzz Lightyear. The standby lines were all 25–40 minutes at this point, and we were walking right on with our Genie. 

Birch loved buzz! (He was a little scared of the big robot.) 

It’s A Small World (G+ for 2)

After Buzz, we headed up to It’s A Small World – one of my all-time favorite rides!

Everyone else hates the song on repeat, but I love it! Mazen and Thomas opted out of this one, so I booked their next Genie for the Haunted Mansion.

Birch loved Small World too! 

Lunch at Columbia Harbour House 

Our guide book told us that Columbia Harbour House was a good lunch spot and we were right in the area, so we took a break for an early lunch. Unfortunately, we didn’t think the food was really that good at all. French fries and shrimp skewers in a dark room. It wasn’t too crowded though, so that was a plus.

I got the healthiest thing I could find, haha! It was so bland. 

Jungle Cruise Booking (G+ for 2)

Mazen really wanted to go on Jungle Cruise, and I noticed that the Genie+ reservations were already around 7 p.m., so I snagged 2 spots for 7:15. This held up 2 of our spots for a few hours, but it ended up being good in the long run. 

Haunted Mansion (G+ for 2) + Parade

Mazen and Thomas then went on the Haunted Mansion while Birch and I watched the noon parade!

He loved seeing the princesses. 

Aladdin (G+ for 2)

Birch and I went on Aladdin’s magic flying carpets. He loved it! Mazen and Thomas watched. We also got to see Aladdin and Jasmine from the side (the line was too long to wait, and Birch was a bit too scared of the characters to want to meet them up close). 

Dole Whip Snack!

It was HOT this day, and we cooled off with Dole Whip. 

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (No Wait)

While we waited for our next G+ reservation, we went through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. I wish this had been a bit more interactive instead of just a walking path. The boys liked it! Birch especially loved the cannons outside. 

Tiki Room (10 min wait)

We had about 20 more minutes to kill before Pirates, so we went in the Tiki room bird show. It was just as odd as I remember from 25 years ago! 

Pirates of the Caribbean (G+ for 2)

Our little pirate had ZERO interest in going on the Pirates ride!! We were a bit surprised, but it was kind of scary so I think he made the right choice. Mazen and I went and took videos for Birch to watch. 

While we were inside, Birch got to see Captain Jack Sparrow! He was too scared to do the meet and greet, but he liked seeing him in person. 

Cinderella’s Castle

The boys enjoyed seeing the castle up close and getting an ice cream. 

Tomorrowland Speedway

The standby line for the Speedway ride was only 10 minutes when we got back to Tomorrowland, so we hopped on that. This was my least favorite ride of the whole trip! It was hot and dirty. 

Tomorrowland

I booked 2 seats on Thunder Road Railroad for 5 p.m, and so we all went to Tomorrowland to chill for a bit. While there, we went on the Carousel of Progress (the boys really liked it!), the People Mover (also loved by Birch!) and lastly the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (which had me laughing so hard – it uses audience members for content!). 

We didn’t use Genie+ for any of these and were basically able to walk on. They were great afternoon activities because we were tired and all three of these attractions are seated and relaxing! 

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (G+)

We had hoped to do this as a rider switch, but they wouldn’t let Birch go in the line. We would have had to go through in two line cycles and we didn’t have enough time to do that twice, so I opted out. Mazen and Thomas loved it and it made both of their top 5 lists!

Dinner at Skipper Canteen

We had a 5:30 dinner reservation at Skipper Canteen per my sister’s recommendation. We thought the food was pretty good, but we didn’t love the dark décor. Actually, the sun set while we were in dinner, and I was shocked when we left and it was dark outside! 

Showing Birch the Pirates of the Caribbean videos

Drinks

I had a margarita that was delicious, and Thomas had an IPA.

Salad to start

Noodles! 

Dessert

Jungle Cruise (G+ for 2)

We arrived to Jungle Cruise a few minutes early and since it was dark, they let us on early. AND they let all 4 of us on even though we only had 2 Genie reservations. (I’m not sure there was even a standby line though because it was dark.)

The ride was cool in the dark, but I would recommend going in the light. It was kind of scary! 

Bus Home

We called it a night around 7:45 and headed to the Monorail and then the bus station. We had some trouble figuring out where our Swan/Dolphin bus would be, so make sure you ask before you leave! Oops. 

Night night

We were back to the hotel just after 8 and had to do 4 showers before going to bed. Everyone was overtired!! 

Magic Kingdom Overview

One day was fine for us

Everyone said to do two days there, but one was perfect for our family. And we didn’t do a lot of the shows, meet and greets, or shopping though. We tended to be pretty go go go!

We hit the rides, took in the different lands, and got on almost everything we wanted to go on. The only rides we had to miss that would would have done otherwise were Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan. 

It was so crowded!

We were surprised at how crowded it was. And February is supposed to be a low time! I can’t imagine this park on a peak day. 

It was smaller than expected 

The park wasn’t as big as I thought it would be looking at the map. I think we circled almost everything twice! 

Genie+ 2 and 2

Splitting up our Genie+ into 2 and 2 really helped us hit more rides and reserve some of the more popular ones. If you have two different ages, I would consider doing the same. 

Our Magic Kingdom Itinerary

• The Little Mermaid
• Barnstormer
• Dumbo
• Space Mountain (G+)
• Buzz Lightyear (G+)
• It’s A Small World (G+ for 2)
• Lunch at Columbia Harbour House
• Booked Jungle Cruise (G+ for 2)
• Haunted Mansion (G+ for 2)
• Parade
• Aladdin (G+ 2)
• Eat Dole Whip
• Swiss Family Robinson
• Tiki Room 
• Pirates (G+ 2)
• Cinderella’s Castle 
• Speedway
• Carousel of Progress
• People Mover
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Room
• Big Thunder (G+)
• Dinner at Skipper Canteen
• Jungle Cruise (G+)

See you tomorrow for our Epcot review!