The Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is the centerpiece of the entire resort. As such, I feel that it deserves to be broken up according to the areas of the park to give it a more in-depth look. There is however, a bit of general information about the park, which I will detail here. (TIP: Visiting the Magic Kingdom before doing anything else is a wonderful way to start your trip right. Whatever your tradition may be, walking up Mainstreet USA towards the castle for the first time is a very special experience.)

Transportation

Being the main park in Walt Disney World, no method of transportation is spared when it comes to the Magic Kingdom. You can visit this park via boat, monorail, bus and car! All methods of Disney transportation come in quite a timely manner, I have rarely experienced any late buses and the cast members have been wonderful about looking into when the bus was coming if the wait was significantly longer than usual. The monorail can be ridden from The Polynesian Resort, The Contemporary Resort, The Grand Floridian Resort and the Transportation and Ticket Center. Note that from the transportation and ticket center, you can also take a different monorail to Epcot. The boats embark from Fort Wilderness, The Wilderness Lodge and Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary Resort- also note that they often service multiple resorts before reaching the Magic Kingdom. If you are traveling to the Magic Kingdom after nightfall by boat, give yourself ample time to arrive. We have been held up for quite some time due to the Water Parade! Bus service runs to all of the Walt Disney World Resorts. If you are staying at a Downtown Disney area hotel, be sure to take the monorail to one of the nearby hotels and take the bus to Downtown Disney from there for the quickest route home.

Hours

The Magic Kindom is generally open the latest out of all of the parks, a perfect pick if you use the park hopper + water parks, fun and more option on your tickets. In the warmer months, it generally closes at 10PM at the earliest and with Extra Magic Hours can stay open until up to 3AM! (TIP: I consider Extra Magic Hours on their own to be worth staying on property, particularly in the summer months when the crowds are high during the day. If you're a night owl like me, this may be the best option for you) The Magic Kingdom opens early in the morning - approximately 9AM - as all of the parks do, for all of you early birds. The rope dropping is but a legend in my household!

Look forward to my next post, where I will highlight Mainstreet USA, the entry point of the Magic Kingdom