A Tour of Magic Kingdom-Part 1

Hi Disney friends,

In my last post I shared with you what a “normal” day may look like for my family. I also shared we make our decisions based upon which park has extra magic hours in the morning. Some of you may not care and you just want to go to the park you want to go to. So with that in mind, I am going to start a series on the different parks at Walt Disney World—and this may take a while. Along with breakdowns of what is in each park and most parks will have multiple days, I will try to share interesting tidbits about each park.

Since it is the oldest and most iconic, I will obviously begin with the Magic Kingdom which is actually broken down into 6 areas: Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland (the last 5 are listed in order of moving counterclockwise around Cinderella’s Castle.) Cinderella’s Castle which is the iconic center if the park stands at 189 feet tall. By using forced perspective where items at the top are built smaller than normal, it give the sense that the castle is taller. The reason for the height is that Disney imagineers had to build the building less than 200 feet tall or else it would have had to have a blinking light at the top to warn aircraft of the height and that was not something that Walt Disney wanted. (Also, the urban legend that the castle can be dismantled in case of a hurricane is incorrect.)

Cinderella's Castle at Night--Waiting on Happily Ever After Fireworks Show

Main Street USA, which is based upon Walt Disney’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri, does not have any rides, but houses many stores and food locations. Casey’s Corner is known for its hot dogs and throughout the day various “shows” take place on the “road.” You can also use the entrance to the park to get on the Walt Disney World Railway for stops around the park. You can even get a haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop.  Just as you leave this part of the park heading towards Adventureland, you can stop into the Crystal Palace (Advanced Dining Reservations are highly suggested) for a meal with Winnie the Pooh and some of his friends. A couple of other notes: the second floor windows have names of some real individuals for Disney’s past as a way to honor their importance to the development of Disney. Also, it is a great place to watch the nighttime fireworks displays on Cinderella’s castle.

Main Street USA Train Station

I will admit that these posts will not come close to doing the parks there justice. There is just so much to take in that it is hard to describe what the park is like, but I will try to give you a taste of some of the things you can expect to see if you visit the park. If you need help planning a vacation to Walt Disney World, please let me know by emailing me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com and I will be honored to help you plan a magical vacation.