Day 2: Magic Kingdom
For our day at Magic Kingdom, we decided to purchase Genie+ to cut down on wait times. If you’re unsure about what Genie+ is or how it works, check out my previous post where I talked all things Genie+. This post answers lots of questions and includes many things that I learned through our planning process that helped our days go pretty smoothly.
Rope Drop
Our family is all about the rope drop! There are lots of things we love about rope dropping, but first, what is it?
Rope drop is when you get to the parks before it actually opens so that you’re there when they drop the rope to let everyone in. Early entry for resort guests at Magic Kingdom was at 8:30 (the park actually opens at 9:00). They allow you to go through security and onto Main Street starting around 7:30!
A few reasons we love rope drop:
- A mostly empty park for morning pictures
- You get to ride several rides with no wait before the crowds start coming in
- It’s the most effective use of your time because you knock out lots of things within the first 1-2 hours that you would be standing in longer lines for later.
- Sometimes you’re able to ride the big ticket rides that have the longest lines first thing in the morning. This worked at Epcot, but not at MK. More on that in a minute.
Before I get into what our day looked like, I need to plug this in. If you run on coffee like I do, this tip is for you! This year, I brought my skinny Keurig machine to make my own coffee in the room. They provide some coffee in the room, but it usually isn’t all that good. So I brought my Keurig, my own K-cups and creamer, and some disposable Solo coffee cups. This way, I didn’t have to take time to get coffee at the food court at the resort, or stand in line for coffee when we got to the parks.
Our morning started like this:
5:45 – Alarm goes off. Purchase Genie+ for the day (it was $17/person that day)
6:00 -7:00 – Get everyone ready
7:00 – Book first Lightning Lane – Peter Pan for an arrival window of 9:25-10:25
7:01 – Walk to the bus stop
7:05 – Get in line at the bus stop (there was already a bit of a line. They were loading a bus at this time)
7:25 – Board bus (we go on the third bus – in hind sight we probably should have left the room 5-10 minutes earlier)
7:41 – Arrive at Magic Kingdom
7:46 – Through security
7:49 – Enter park. Take pictures at the castle
8:10 – Get in rope drop line to enter Fantasyland (see map below)
8:30 – Drop the rope and head for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Our plan was to hop right on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train with little wait, however, even with getting there that early, the wait time was already at 75 minutes! Since Hannah can’t ride 7DMT, Raley and I got in the stand-by line (this was before we realized how long it was) and David went to the front of the line to see a cast member about getting a rider swap pass (I explain rider swap in my Animal Kingdom post if you’re unsure how it works). He scanned his and Audrey’s magic bands for rider swap, which meant they had a Lightning Lane to use later.
We decided that standing in a 75 minute line was not the best use of our time, so we hopped out of line and rode some other things in Fantasyland, while most everyone else was waiting for 7DMT. We did Under the Sea first since it was the closest and it’s one of the girls’ favorites.
We all rode Dumbo, Audrey and I rode Barnstormer, and by then it was time for us to use our Lightning Lane for Peter Pan.
Genie+: As soon as we scanned our bands for Peter Pan, we were able to book our next LL. We booked Jungle Cruise, because I knew from past research that besides Peter Pan, it books up the fastest. The first available was 3:20, which worked out great. We hadn’t planned to make our way to Adventureland until the afternoon anyway.
After we rode Peter Pan (walked right on with LL) we got some breakfast at Gaston’s Tavern. We got two giant cinnamon rolls and a LeFou’s Brew. (Make sure and ask for extra icing for your cinnamon rolls!) Both were good! The cinnamon rolls weren’t gooey like a Cinnabon, but they were still good, especially with the extra icing. LeFou’s Brew tasted like party punch to me. Very tasty!
I had to snap some pictures of Audrey in her Belle dress in front of the Beast’s castle
Next, we hopped in line to meet Pooh and Tigger. All Hannah talked about leading up to the trip was meeting Pooh, so this was something we had to make a priority. While we waited in line for Pooh, David and the big girls rode the tea cups. They made it back right as we were getting to the front of the line to meet the characters. Hannah ended up being a little shy once she got up close, but she still talks about meeting Pooh. I think that was the highlight of her trip.
The line for the Winnie the Pooh ride was 50 minutes at that time, so we decided to skip it and do something else. I forgot to mention, we cheated the system a little bit with rider swap. Before we got breakfast, were able to also get Raley and my magic bands scanned for rider swap for 7DMT, which meant we could come back through the Lightning Lane at a later time. After meeting Pooh, we switched off riding 7DMT using the LL.
After we had all ridden Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (and Hannah had taken a little cat nap) the line to meet Tiana and Rapunzel was only about 20 minutes, so we decided to hop in there before getting some lunch. Rapunzel is Raley’s favorite and both girls love Tiana, so this was a must do.
Genie+: At 11:30, we were able to book our next LL. We booked Big Thunder mountain. I want to say the time for that was around 3:00 or so. A little later in the day, I modified the time so that our window would start around 4:20. This gave us more time in Adventureland, rather than having to bounce back and forth between the two areas.
We grabbed lunch at Casey’s Corner and found a spot to sit outside. We love the food at Casey’s, but it’s always difficult finding a seat! We all got corndog nuggets and fries (pro tip: get a side of cheese to go on your fries! They taste like Steak n Shake’s cheese fries.)
After lunch the wait for Space Mountain was pretty low so we made our way to Tomorrowland.
David rode Space Mountain with Audrey, (which she did not like), and I scanned my and Raley’s band for rider swap. (Raley did not want to ride, but since you’re allowed to scan two bands for rider switch, we went ahead and scanned hers too, just in case Audrey liked it and wanted to ride again.) I went through the LL after they were done riding and then David rode a second time using Raley’s band, since Audrey didn’t want to ride a second time.
My parents got each of the girls a gift card to buy something that they wanted. Audrey decided to use hers on an Ariel bubble wand. So while David was riding Space Mountain the second time, we found a shady spot to play with bubbles. This area at the far end of Tomorrowland, right next to the bathrooms, is a nice little spot to sit and relax if you need a minute.
We decided to skip the other Tomorrowland rides for the moment, knowing that we had a second Magic Kingdom day. The wait times for Buzz and the PeopleMover were longer than we were wanting to wait at that time.
Genie+: At 1:30 we were able to book another LL. We booked Haunted Mansion for around 6:30.
We made our way toward Adventureland, stopping in front of the castle for some pictures. The parade was close to starting, but we decided to skip it and save that to do next time we were there since it appeared it would be hard to find a good spot.
We went straight to Adventureland and walked right on Magic Carpets (wait times are usually down during parades and fireworks). We grabbed our favorite – Dole Whip floats(!) – and found a shady spot to sit and enjoy.
About the time we were done with our Dole Whip, it was time to use our LL for Jungle Cruise. After Jungle Cruise, we used the standby line to ride Pirates. To pass the time, the girls played a game called “I’m thinking of…” where they think of a Disney character and give one hint to see if you can guess it. This helped them not get so bored in line (and not drive us nuts with their boredom).
Genie+: At 3:30, we were able to book our next LL. There wasn’t much left to choose from that we hadn’t already done, so we chose a LL for Buzz with a window of 7:40-8:40. This meant we would be able to hop on that after fireworks were over.
After we got done with Pirates, it was about time to head to Big Thunder Mountain. Audrey and I rode first, then Raley and David rode. I was proud of Raley for giving this one a try! She’s always been a little scared of coasters, but enjoys 7DMT. She actually loved Big Thunder Mountain and asked to ride again.
We grabbed a refill on our popcorn bucket (the best investment! – refills are only $2.25) and stopped at the Tangled bathrooms.
Disney Magic Moment! Raley was looking at Rapunzel’s tower and Rapunzel came walking up behind her to talk to her. Raley was dressed like Rapunzel, so she asked her “have you been in my closet?” Raley was starstruck and giddy. Such a special moment that I hope she always remembers!
We had dinner at Pecos Bill. Raley and I both enjoyed their beef nachos!
After dinner, we made our way to Haunted Mansion ,then to find a spot for fireworks. The LL for Haunted Mansion took longer than expected. It should have only taken a few minutes, but it actually took around 30-40 minutes total from the time we got in line to the time we got off. This meant we didn’t get a very good spot for Enchantment. We were way back on Main Street and the girls didn’t have a great view of the castle.
We decided not to use our Lightning Lane for Buzz. We were all beat by that time and decided to just go back to the resort. Hannah had actually fallen asleep before the fireworks show started and missed most of it.
That’s a wrap on Magic Kingdom Day 1! Lots of fun moments and memories! We’re never able to do everything we want to at Magic Kingdom, which is why we scheduled two days there. We made a list of things we didn’t get to do and made those our priority for next time!
Let’s Chat!
Do you prefer to rope drop or sleep in? Would you rather have low crowds in the morning or low crowds at night?
In case you missed it:
All Things Genie+
Day 1: Animal Kingdom
Day 3: Epcot
Day 4: Disney Springs and Art of Animation
Day 5: Hollywood Studios
Day 6: Magic Kingdom
Family Disney Vacation 2018
What we wore:
Raley’s Rapunzel dress: Presley Couture
Audrey’s Belle dress: Presley Couture
Hannah’s Minnie dress: Taylor Joelle
My castle shirt: Shop Mini Bisous on Etsy
My pink Minnie ears: Chloe and Belle on Etsy
David’s Snuggly Duckling shirt: Amazon
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