Magic Kingdom is really the best park for littles. Not only is the theming pretty consistently amazing for small children, but it’s also the park with the largest number of rides with zero height requirements. It’s a win-win! That being said though, Magic Kingdom is pretty big. When navigating the world with a small, often unpredictable human being, getting the opportunity to see and do everything is challenging! If your next Disney vacation includes just one day in Magic Kingdom with a toddler, here’s our suggested itinerary.
Morning: Fantasyland
If you’re staying on property, be sure to take advantage of the early-entry perk. If you’re staying on property, you’re able to enter the parks 30 minutes before their official opening. This is key if you want to avoid longer lines later in the day – a real struggle with a toddler! Even if you’re staying off-property, we strongly recommend arriving for rope drop (AKA: official parking opening). Let’s face it, you’re probably awake anyway.
Peter Pan’s Flight
Enter park, walk down Main Street USA and take in the Disney magic. Hang a right and head toward Fantasyland. The first stop is going to be Peter Pan’s Flight. It’s a super cute ride that gets notoriously long lines later in the day. Get it done and out of the way first. Your littles will get some first-thing-in-the-morning magic by flying through the skies, and you’ll save yourself a long wait later in the day.
it’s a small world
After your flight, cross the pathway to it’s a small world. This one’s a Disney World staple, and littles tend to like floating along in the boat and singing along to the world’s ultimate ear worm. This one doesn’t usually get crazy long lines, but it’s literally a stone’s throw away from Peter Pan’s Flight. So why not?
The Little Mermaid
Then, take a stroll to visit Ariel! Under the Sea – Journey of The Little Mermaid is the cutest dark ride where you board a little clam shell and basically watch the whole Disney movie in ~6 minutes. Skippy absolutely LOVED this one. After watching the happy ending, it might be time for a much needed snack or meal while you wander over to your next stop. Remember that you can get free cups of ice water from every quick service location, so hydrate if you need (or even if you don’t think you need).
Dumbo
Next up is Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Not only is this a cute, outdoor ride where you get to ride in your own Dumbo, but this ride has a really cool indoor playground in its queue. This is an absolute game changer on hot summer days. Plus, at this point your toddler has likely been pretty stationary, either in the stroller, in line, or on a ride. The playground gives little the chance to run out all the crazy energy before diving back into Disney World fun.
Lunch & Reset
With the exception of breakfast at The Crystal Palace, we’ve never done a table service meal at Magic Kingdom. This is mostly because we feel like time spent in Magic Kingdom is precious and there’s SO much to do. We, and this is just our opinion, feel like we’d waste some of that precious time sitting down to a meal. To each their own though! If your family would be benefit from a real sit-down meal, we’ve read wonderful things about the Skipper’s Canteen and Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. There are also many quick service spots with seating. It’s also worth noting, you can go in and sit-down at any quick service location even if you’re not ordering food there. Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe and Pinocchio Village Haus both have lots of indoor seating. Getting a quick meal doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing relaxation time.
Nap Strategy
Now would likely be the time when considering how to nap your little. If you’re lucky enough to have a toddler who will nap on the go, we recommend letting them do that. Grab a Mickey pretzel or some spring rolls to fuel yourself up while they rest and restore. The area around Big Top Circus tend to be a little calmer and less loud if you want to be strategic about your location. If you alternatively lucky enough to be staying at one of the Monorail resorts that are super quick to get back to, head back to the hotel for a mid-day break. You’ll be back to your room in less than 30 minutes where you can put your toddler down for a real nap while you also enjoy some AC. Skippy is a notoriously bad nap taker when we’re on the go – they need everything to be just perfect to fall asleep. So we tackled that as we could. If it looked like they were nodding off, we let it happen wherever we were. Otherwise, zero sleep would have happened.
Afternoon: Slower-Paced Adventures
This portion of the day would take a slower pace. Remember that Disney World is over-stimulation city, and that’s extra true for toddlers. Even with a nap, it’s a lot to handle. Use the afternoon time to catch the parade (usually at 3PM), or watch one of the shows or storytelling experiences. Enchanted Tales with Belle is a cute interactive experience worth checking out. If you some princess lovers, you can also take them to Princess Fairy Tale Hall to meet their favorites. At present, littles can meet Cinderella and one other visiting princess. When we visited, Tiana seemed to be there quite a bit! If you don’t have princess loves, head over to Tomorrowland to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. This is a cute interactive show filled with lots of laughs. While you’re on that side of the park, you can also check out Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. This is a ride and video game all in one, and it was just recently renovated with brand new ride vehicles.
Dinner & Evening Plans
At this point of the day, there are a lot of variables to consider. Most notably, where is your toddler at? Are they spent or are they still running strong? Are your ready to keep going? If you’re traveling group is started to lose energy, we’d suggest grabbing dinner and heading out. After all, it’s been A DAY. If you want to prioritize a big fancy dinner, and were lucky enough to snag dining reservations, Be Our Guest and Cinderella’s Royal Table are both supported to be amazing.
If you’re sticking around for a little after dinner, check out the wait times on the My Disney Experience app. Skippy loved the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. If you’re lucky, the wait for the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh might be manageable though. As a general rule a 30-45 minute wait for that one isn’t too bad because the queue is very interactive, and specifically for toddlers and small children.
If you’re ready to keep going, definitely check out the Starlight Parade. This is a new night-time parade that’s beyond pretty. It doesn’t start until pretty late (8:45PM for the first parade), so be mindful of that you’re committing to sticking things out. For our family, we wouldn’t consider checking out this parade unless we were able to get Skippy back to the resort for a “real” nap. The parade time is still past their bedtime, but super manageable.
Conclusion
And that’s a wrap! Whether your decide to call it after dinner or stick it out a little longer, this is our suggestion for a 1-day itinerary for Magic Kingdom with a toddler. Definitely note though that these are just suggestions and you know your toddler and your traveling group the best!
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