What do you do when you only have one day at Magic Kingdom? We were lucky enough to sneak in a mini trip on our vacation to Anna Maria Island. Disney comped us two tickets so we knew we had to make it work. We went for one day two years ago and said I would never do it again. It was so hard for me to leave and I felt so rushed that it wasn’t magical. This time was different because I was prepared. Here’s what I did differently.
Ride Every Ride
I stumbled upon an amazing course called Line Hacks that changed how I do Disney parks. We arrived at the park around 10a and were able to do the following before fireworks:
- Haunted Mansion
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Dumbo
- Enchanted Tales with Belle
- It’s a Small World
- Mad Tea Party (3 times)
- Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel
- Meet Mickey, Minnie, Tink, Cinderella and Elena
- The Barnstormer
- Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid
- The 3 o’clock parade
The best part was that we weren’t rushing to do all of these things. We had a super laid back day and were able to choose which rides we wanted while we were around them. My step count was less than half than it usually is because I wasn’t criss crossing the park to get to my fast passes. I highly recommend paying one time for the course and using this every time you go back. If you have older kids or are there with adults only, this would be a really fun way to hit every ride. They have a challenge that is 20 rides in 8 hours (including the big ones) which sounds really fun!
This Won’t Be Your Last Trip
It’s likely that this won’t be your last trip to Walt Disney World Resort. Keep this in mind when you’re planning your trip and also while you’re there. If you get a massive migraine and need to sit out of a few rides, allow yourself some grace. If your toddler has a tantrum while meeting Mickey, he’ll meet him again. It’s hard to keep this in mind when there’s so little time and so much money spent but everyone will have a better experience. Choose two must-do attractions and one snack or meal. Beyond that, go with the flow.
Don’t Make Meals a Priority
Sit down meals take so much time. We did not want to have a lot of snacks because they’re more expensive. While we were there for one day at Magic Kingdom we had Pecos Bill’s. We got a kids meal for our 5 year old because she was really hungry but my husband and I split beef nachos for $13. We asked for an extra container and headed to the toppings bar where we made them full meals by adding lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, cheese and salsa. Both of us were unintentionally stuffed. For $6.50 a person at Disney, that’s the best deal I’ve found. We shared a treat in Big Top Souvenirs (giant Mickey Cookie and Mickey rice krispie treat). For dinner my husband and I split a Bacon Macaroni & Cheese All-Beef Hot Dog from Casey’s Corner which came with fries. It was $12 and stuffed us both. Our daughter got a Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich with Nutella from Sleepy Hallow and it’s now on our ‘must-get’ list. It was the perfect mix of dessert + fresh fruit.
How do you spend your time if you only have one day in the parks? And which park do you choose?
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