How to tour Magic Kingdom (without waiting in lines)

Worried about long waits for Magic Kingdom attractions?

Having well-organized touring plans that make good use of FastPasses is key to avoiding long line waits during your Disney World trip, including (and especially!) at Magic Kingdom.

Below, find Magic Kingdom touring plans, along with FastPass+ suggestions to make sure you’re maximizing your time.

Let’s take a look…

Important Update:
Disney Genie has replaced FastPass+

FastPass+ (at Walt Disney World) and FastPass (at Disneyland) have been discontinued. A new system, called Disney Genie (free) and Disney Genie+ (pay-to-use) are now available at all 4 parks.

Disney Genie –> Complimentary in-app service that helps you plan your day.
Disney Genie+ –> Basically, it is a paid FastPass that costs $15 per ticket, per day (Walt Disney World) & $20 per ticket, per day (Disneyland). This service replaces the old FastPass service and allows you to choose the next available time to arrive at a variety of attractions. It works very similar to MaxPass at Disneyland.
Lightning Lane –> New name for FastPass line. You use this with Genie+.
Lightning Lane Select Experiences –> The most high-demand attractions are not available in Genie+; however, you can select up to 2 of these high-demand attractions per day to ride via an individual Lightning Lane selection. These selections will cost you extra (they aren’t included with the price of Genie+), and the prices are dynamic, meaning they will vary based upon the time of the year and attraction.

FastPass+ basics

New to making FastPass+ reservations? Check out how to use FastPass+ at Disney World to get you started.

Magic Kingdom FastPass+ options and priorities

These are the attractions that offer FastPass+ at Magic Kingdom.

FYI – these are priorities, not tiers. FastPass+ isn’t tiered at Magic Kingdom.

Top priority (visit early in the day or with a FP+)	Second priority (great bonus FP+ options)	Low priority (using FP+ not recommended)
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Peter Pan’s Flight Space Mountain Enchanted Tales with Belle Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Splash Mountain Meet Cinderella and Elena at Princess Fairytale Hall Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater	Meet Rapunzel and Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Haunted Mansion Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid Barnstormer “it’s a small world” Meet Ariel at her Grotto Pirates of the Caribbean Jungle Cruise Tomorrowland Speedway	Dumbo Mad Tea Party Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Magic Carpets of Aladdin Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater PhilharMagic

For more information on FastPass+ options and strategies at Magic Kingdom, check out our Guide for FastPass+ at Magic Kingdom .

FastPass+ suggestions to save to your phone

Want to take these FastPass+ suggestions with you? Press the image below from your phone to save to your camera roll.

What times should you make reservations?

After the park opens, plan to ride several things in the first couple of hours without FastPass+, make use of FastPass+ for late morning/early afternoon, and then get additional FastPass+ reservations for later in the day, if needed.

We’ve included suggested times for FP+ reservations in the Magic Kingdom touring plans below.

Arrive before park opening

To make the best use of your time, arrive about 45 minutes before park opening.

Magic Kingdom theme park usually allows people in up to an hour before the official opening time. Guests are stopped in front of the castle until the park opens.

Between the time you enter and the time the park opens, you can get PhotoPass pics taken, shop and eat on Main Street, and watch the show just before the park opens on the stage in front of Cinderella Castle.

Get more info on the Magic Kingdom opening procedure.

Magic Kingdom touring plans

Plan to spend more than 1 day at Magic Kingdom.

If time allows, you will probably want to spend 2 days at Magic Kingdom theme park (maybe even 2.5 days).

If you arrive at rope drop (we’d suggest arriving about 45 minutes before park opening), make use of the first couple of hours to ride without FastPass+ reservations and then use FP+ to ride later in the day, you’ll be able to accomplish all of the attractions you’d like at Magic Kingdom park.

We like to organize touring plans by hour because minute-by-minute touring plans can make you feel like you’re running from place to place without any flexibility, but grouping them by hour can at least give you some sense of timing as you plan.

Here are some example Magic Kingdom touring plans.

General 2-day Magic Kingdom touring plan

Day 1: FastPass+ reservations made ahead of time for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (can’t get that one? Get Peter Pan’s Flight instead), Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Big Thunder Mountain

Arrive to the park 30-45 minutes before park opening.

First hour:

1. Peter Pan’s Flight OR Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (whichever one you did not get a FP+ for, SDMT has a 38″ height req.)
2. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
3. Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid

Second hour:

4. “it’s a small world”
5. Haunted Mansion
6. Splash Mountain (40″ height req.)

Third hour:

7. Use FP+ for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (40″ height req., suggested FP+ time: 10:00-11:00)
8. Pirates of the Caribbean
9. Jungle Cruise

Rest of the day:

Lunch
10. Use FP+ for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (38″ height req.) OR Peter Pan’s Flight (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)
11. Use FP+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)
12. Mickey’s PhilharMagic
13. Mad Tea Party
14. Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
15. Tomorrowland Transit Authority
16. Parade/fireworks show

Click image to open full-sized PDF.

Day 2: FastPass+ reservations made ahead of time for Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and Tomorrowland Speedway

Arrive to the park 45 minutes before park opening.

First hour:

1. Repeat favorite things from day 1

Second hour:

2. Astro Orbiter (optional – doesn’t have a FastPass option so you’ll want to ride it before a long standby line builds)
3. Use FP+ for Tomorrowland Speedway (32″ height req. to ride, suggested FP+ time: 9:15-10:15)
4. Use FP+ for Space Mountain (44″ height req., suggested FP+ time: 10:30-11:30)

Third hour:

Lunch

Rest of the day:

5. Use FP+ for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)
6. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
7. Meet characters (check My Disney Experience App for current availability)
8. Tomorrowland Transity Authority
9. Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
10. Parade/fireworks show

Click image to open full-sized PDF.

General 1-day Magic Kingdom touring plan

The general idea on a 1-day plan is to do a couple of lands within the first 2 hours, and then use FastPass+ for high priority items in other lands.

FastPass+ reservations: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (can’t get that one? Get Peter Pan’s Flight instead), Big Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain

Arrive to the park 30-45 minutes before park opening.

First hour:

1. Peter Pan’s Flight OR Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (whichever one you did not get a FP+ for, SDMT has a 38″ height req.)
2. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
3. Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid

Second hour:

4. “it’s a small world”
5. Haunted Mansion
6. Use FP+ at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (40″ height req., suggested FP+ time: 10:30-11:30)

Third hour:

7. Splash Mountain (40″ height req.)
8. Pirates of the Caribbean
9. Jungle Cruise

Fourth hour:

Lunch

Rest of the day:

10. Use FP+ for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (38″ height req.) OR Peter Pan’s Flight (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)
11. Mad Tea Party
12. Use FP+ for Space Mountain (44″ height req., suggested FP+ time: afternoon) – as soon as you check in, open the My Disney Experience app and look for FastPass+ for other attractions like Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
13. Tomorrowland Transit Authority
14. Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
15. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (hopefully with a FP+. If not, look for the shortest waits during parades and at the end of the evening)
16. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
17. Parade/fireworks show

Click image to open full-sized PDF.

1-day touring plan for families with little ones under 40″ tall

Get FP+ reservations for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (can’t get that one? Get Peter Pan’s Flight instead), Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

Arrive to the park 30-45 minutes before park opening.

First hour:

1. Peter Pan’s Flight or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (whichever one you did not get a FP+ for, SDMT has a 38″ height req.)
2. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
3. Barnstormer (35″ height req.)
4. Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Second hour:

5. Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
6. “it’s a small world”
7. Haunted Mansion

Third hour:

8. Pirates of the Caribbean
9. Jungle Cruise
Lunch

Rest of the day:

10. Use FP+ for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (38″ height req.) or Peter Pan’s Flight (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)
11. Use FP+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)
12. Meet characters (check My Disney Experience App for current availability)
13. Use FP+ for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (suggested FP+ time: afternoon)
14. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
15. Mickey’s PhilharMagic
16. Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
17. Mad Tea Party
18. Tomorrowland Transit Authority
19. Parade/fireworks show

Click image to open full-sized PDF.

Magic Kingdom touring plans for little ones

What about Rider Switch (sometimes called Child Swap)?

The Rider Switch system allows parents to take turns riding things that little ones can’t/won’t ride.

Please read my Rider Switch article so you can see how to use it and maximize your FastPass+ reservations.

Want to arrive late or park hop?

This is not a great park to arrive late to, and the increased number of attractions makes me want to suggest 2.5 days here for people on a 1 week trip.

One idea would be to spend the evening at Magic Kingdom on your arrival day doing a few things that you’ve reserved ahead of time. That should allow you to visit all of the popular attractions without long lines.

How to tour Magic Kingdom (without waiting in lines)

Important Update:
Disney Genie has replaced FastPass+

FastPass+ basics

Magic Kingdom FastPass+ options and priorities

FastPass+ suggestions to save to your phone

What times should you make reservations?

Arrive before park opening