My Magic Kingdom Itinerary in 1 Day

On my recent trip to Walt Disney World, I decided to spend only one day at the Magic Kingdom. I wouldn’t recommend a 1 day Magic Kingdom itinerary for most guests (especially first time visitors). There’s a lot to do, see and ride in the most popular park in Walt Disney World. If you’re planning a comprehensive Magic Kingdom itinerary, you’ll probably want to dedicate two days to this park. Having been there in the past however, I felt one day at this park would be enough for me. I was able to do all the major attractions that I wanted to, so I think it was a success. In this post I want to give you an idea of how I spent my day at the Magic Kingdom park. If you’re planning on doing the same, I hope you’ll find following along with this recap useful.

• Looking to learn about all the attractions that make up the Magic Kingdom? You can check out my comprehensive guide to the park HERE.

A Few Notes for my Magic Kingdom Itinerary

My one day at Magic Kingdom was the first time I had visited a Disney park following the launch of the Genie+ Lightning Lane system. Having been quite experienced at the old Fastpass+, I was interested to see how I would go using the new reservation system. Having heard mixed, (but honestly, mostly negative) things, I was pleasantly surprised by Genie+. Sure, it costs extra, whereas Fastpass+ was free, but I felt it gave much more flexibility throughout the day, rather than having to stick to a rigid itinerary, with the first part of the day basically decided months before visiting the park. In the Magic Kingdom in particular, with so many attractions, you’ve got a lot of options to fill in the day.

• You can read more about Genie+ and other Walt Disney World basics in my post HERE.

My one day Magic Kingdom itinerary was carried out during July, the peak Disney tourism month. Naturally, there were heavy crowds, so that only added to my satisfaction with how much I managed to do. I actually felt like I had a decent amount of spare time throughout the day, which I haven’t felt in the past when spending a day at the Magic Kingdom.

Early park admission was running at the Magic Kingdom on the day I visited. That meant a rope drop at 8.30am. I was at the main entrance to the park by around 7.40am, with Main Street opening at around 8am.

A Snag at Rope Drop

Heading to the entrance of Fantasyland for Rope Drop, my Magic Kingdom itinerary hit a snag right at the start. I had planned to join the masses and start my day with the very popular Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. I had made my first Genie+ reservation (at 7.00am that morning) to ride Space Mountain around 9.30, so was all set to knock over the big ticket Fantasyland rides in the first hour. Then the announcement came – Mine Train was facing a delayed opening with no estimated time to get back online. Panicking, I did what I said I wouldn’t do, and got an Individual Lightning Lane reservation for the ride later in the afternoon. Had I known how well the rest of my day would go, I would have had plenty of time without it.

Welcome to Fantasyland

Adapting on the fly, I made my way to Peter Pan’s Flight as rope drop took place. It was my second choice anyway, as its a very popular classic dark ride. I was off the ride just as early entry time officially began, and many people were hanging around the Mine Train, hoping it would open. Instead, I decided to knock over as many attractions in the area as possible. Up next was Its A Small World for some quaint Disney charm, followed by one of my favourite dark rides, Under the Sea: the Journey of the Little Mermaid. I followed all that up with the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and it was only 9.15am!

Ride Every Mountain

With crowds steadily but surely starting to build as day guests had entered the park, I had a bit of time before my Lightning Lane for Space Mountain was due. Knowing lines would pick up as the day went on, I decided to knock out some of the park’s headline attractions. I headed over to Frontierland and took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, with only a brief 10 minutes in line. From there, it was time to cross the park into Tomorrowland, where I used my Lightning Lane reservation to ride Space Mountain, one of the best rides in the Magic Kingdom.

As I got off Space Mountain, it had just struck 10.00am. Being 2 hours after official park opening, this meant I could make my second Lightning Lane reservation for the day. Seeing Pirates had the earliest return time, I booked that in for about an hour and a half away. Meanwhile I made my way back to Frontierland to round out the mountain trio on Splash Mountain. It was my first real wait of the day (I’d say I was in line for about 30 minutes), but as my favourite attraction (that was about to undergo re-theming), it was well worth it.

Pirates, Pecos and Parades

I had a little time to kill before my next Lightning Lane for Pirates would kick in, but I made my way to Adventureland and stopped by Aloha Isle Refreshments for a some sweet pineapple Dole whip. From there, it was time to ride with Captain Jack and the crew, so I headed on board Pirates of the Caribbean, courtesy of my reservation.

It was going on midday by the time I got off Pirates, so I decided it was a good time for lunch. Heading back towards Frontierland, I decided on Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe for some Tex-Mex. I hadn’t dined there before this visit, but it was quite nice for what it was. I recommend it if you’re after a quick snack on this side of the park. What made for an added bonus was the outdoor seating right next to the route of the midday parade. I got to watch all the Disney characters go by while I ate, complete with the Maleficent dragon!

Filling in Time Before the Mine

After lunch, I was able to make my next Lightning Lane reservation, so I booked Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin for around 3pm in the afternoon. Now, the early afternoon is notoriously one of the busiest times at any Disney theme park. With a bit of time to kill before my 2pm Individual reservation on the Mine Train, I set about using the next two hours knocking over some of the less popular attractions. With Adventureland nearby, I started with the Enchanted Tiki Room, and followed it up with a tour of the Swiss Family Treehouse, from there, I made my way back to Fantasyland and caught a screening of Mickey’s PhiharMagic. Then it was all the way to Tomorrowland for Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress.

I followed up all those attractions by spending a bit of time in the main plaza. I caught a show in front of Cinderella Castle and took plenty of castle photos. After all that, the time had arrived to use my Individual Lightning Lane reservation and ride the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. It was good to be able to bypass the 90 minute standby line!

Spirits and Space Rangers

After a ride on the Mine Train, it was time to do another popular attraction as there was a fair bit of time before I had my reservation with Buzz. Heading into Liberty Square, I got in line for the Haunted Mansion. It was a decent line at this time of day, though there were much longer ones in the park (I think I waited around 30 minutes), so I was happy with the decision. That amount of time also worked perfectly, as it filled in the hour or so I had before heading back to Tomorrowland. While in line for the Mansion, I also made my next Lightning Lane reservation, this time selecting the Jungle Cruise around 5.45pm.

Over in Tomorrowland, it was time for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Rangers. I followed that up with Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor before taking another trip through Fantasyland. While I didn’t ride any of the attractions in this part of the park, I took some time to check out the ambience in Storybook Circus, before continuing back into the western half of the park – as you can tell by this point, I did a lot of crossing the park throughout my Magic Kingdom itinerary!

A Slice of Americana

Back in Liberty Square, I took a cruse along the Rivers of America, aboard the Liberty Belle Riverboat. Its not the most exciting attraction in the world (to say the least), but its a good choice when you need a moment to relax away for the crowds, spending about 15 minutes on the water. Speaking of escaping the crowds, I didn’t get across to Tom Sawyer Island on this visit to the Magic Kingdom, but its another place where you can get away from the bustle of the rest of the Magic Kingdom. As my trip on the river came to an end, I was able to book another Lightning Lane on Genie+, so I put for another spin on Big Thunder later in the evening (around 8.00pm).

Back in Liberty Square, I took in a screening of the Hall of Presidents. I hadn’t managed to see this show in quite some time, as it had been closed for refurbishment on my previous trip to the Magic Kingdom, so it was good to be able to see this one. I followed it up with an early dinner at the Colombia Harbour House. Its my favourite place to eat at the Magic Kingdom, so I always aim to be in this part of the park around dinner!

The Backside of Water…and More

After dinner, it was time to do the last major attraction that I hadn’t yet got to on my Magic Kingdom itinerary. That meant another trip back to Adventureland to ride the world famous Jungle Cruise. Its always been a popular ride, but on my most recent trip to the park, it seemed like this one had drawn consistently long lines throughout the day (I suppose we can credit the recent film for that!), so I was very glad to skip the line and get on board for some punny goodness! My skipper Isabella was awesome!

After finishing up the Jungle Cruise, I made my way back to Main Street, where I ducked into some shops and also watched a performance from an excellent Disney pianist outside Casey’s Corner. From there, I took another venture into Tomorrowland and watched the world go by on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.

One Last Mountain Journey Before the Fireworks

With around 2 hours until park closing, I had done pretty much all the rides I wanted to do at the Magic Kingdom. I decided to use the remaining time in the day to have another on the best of the bunch. Already in Tomorrowland, I got in the standby line for Space Mountain. It was about a 60 minute wait. From there, it was time to use my last Lightning Lane time slot, so I had my second ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railway. Already right next to it, the next step was a no-brainer for me. With a relatively short (about 15 minute) standby wait, I took my final ride on Splash Mountain. I disembarked just in time for the evening fireworks and rushed back to Main Street to cap off the night in the best way possible, in front of Cinderella Castle.

Hopefully this guide has shown you how much you can accomplish during a one day Magic Kingdom itinerary (with a bit of help from Genie+). The Magic Kingdom is often a tricky park to know how to tackle at the best of times, but I was very impressed with how much I was able to get done with time to spare. This itinerary won’t be for everyone – the number of times I crossed the park was insane – but it never bothered me. I really enjoyed my day at Magic Kingdom and I hope you’ve enjoyed following along with it. If you’ve got any touring tips for the park, let me know!