Magic Kingdom is one of those places that just feels magical all the time. No matter what’s happening in your life or in the world, when you walk through those gates, you’re just surrounded by pure joy and wonder.

For our first Disney day during this trip, we knew Magic Kingdom had to be our first stop. With 3 kids under the age of 10, I have to say this is definitely my favourite park. It’s iconic, has something for everyone, and it’s easy to navigate with families.

Although I wanted to enjoy the opening show as I feel like it’s super exciting for kids, I lost the decision when the rest of the family voted to head to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster. And although it was epic and a fun way to start the day, we got there when there was a huge line anyways, and later on that line significantly decreased. So technically, we should have watched the show and then gone to the ride, but it’s fine. I’m not bitter about it or anything.

As for the rides, here were the favourites:

Dad: The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Mom: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
9-year-old: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
7-year-old: The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
4-year-old: It’s a Small World (we judged him a bit for this)

Afterwards, we used the best Disney invention since Mickey Mouse, and that was the Disney App. Through that app, we could see wait times for all the rides in the park and base our plan on that. It was honestly a phenomenal way to see and do as much as possible while reducing the amount of waiting we did.

Then, not only did we use the app for wait times, but we also used it to order our food ahead of time so it was basically ready when we got there, which again reduced the wait times. I felt like Disney royalty every time I strolled past the lines to pick up our meals. But don’t worry, I was humbled real quick every time I was waiting in line and the Lightning Lane members moonwalked past me.

One of the things we also did was print out a list of all the rides in the park, plus a physical map of the park (which came in handy even though it was a little old school). As we did rides, we were able to check them off, which also became a bit of a game for the kids, which was fun. Especially when we did have to wait, and it gave us something to talk about. You can find complete ride lists on Etsy.

Something to note for Magic Kingdom is that we actually go to Magic Kingdom for 2 days, which I know isn’t feasible for all families, but here’s why I’d recommend it. If you only go for 1 day, you’re SO stressed that you’re going to miss something or not be able to get on a ride. By going for 2 days, it sort of takes that stress away because you know you’ll have a second chance to try again.

For example, the wait lines were pretty light when we went, so we did as many rides as we could, knowing that Memorial Day weekend was coming up and it might be crazy. However, I was sad that we weren’t able to check out Peter Pan’s Flight, so we’re going to make it a priority the 2nd time.

Also, because we did a lot of the rides, we don’t have to run everywhere or try and cram everything in. We can try and do our favourite ones a second time, see the parade, do some shopping, have a nice dinner, and watch the fireworks. Laid-back and relaxing vs. packing EVERYTHING into one day. Food for thought.

Speaking of food, we grabbed Mexican food from a place near Aladdin, and it was delicious. I was definitely on the fence about pulled pork using Cherry Coke, but BABY, I WAS WRONG. It was delicious. We also tried the pineapple cake with Dole Whip (amazing), Mickey Mouse sandwiches (a classic for a reason), and any other snacks that caught our eye.

Although we ate everything that we could, we also made sure to bring a lot of snacks to appease the tiny humans when hunger struck. Remember, fish are friends, not food. Except for Goldfish crackers, those things are absolutely food and a staple for Disney.

The one mistake we did make was that we didn’t bring enough water for the day, so we had to sell a kidney to pay for all the water bottles we bought. Next time, we’re going to bring an ocean’s worth of water and then sweat it all out.

At around 5 o’clock, the crew was ready to call it a night, so we took off and headed back to the hotel for a swim.

Now parents, I know you’re exhausted from lugging the children around Disney, and the last thing you want to do is head to the pool, but I encourage you to push past the exhaustion and head to the pool. There is no more refreshing swim than the one after a long day at Disney.

It not only feels amazing on your old bones, but it gives the kids a chance to burn off that last bit of energy. We literally went for less than an hour, and it was one of the highlights of their day (it’s fine that we spent hundreds to go to Disney, but the highlight was the pool. It’s fine. Everything is fine).

Later on, after the kids were in bed and the Tylenol was taken to help with the aching toesies, I want you to look back on the pictures and not focus on the little tantrums your kids had. I don’t want you to focus on the fact that a bubble wand was over $40.

I want you to sit there and embrace the magic of the day and let it fill your soul because these are the memories that you’re going to cherish.

And for the love of God, I hope that you managed to get into the pictures with the kiddos. Don’t just be the one who captures the memories, get in there so that when they look back on this trip, they’ll remember the fact that it wasn’t just Mickey who brought the magic, it was you.