As far as I am concerned, this is Disney! Each time I have been to Florida the first thing we have always done is go to Magic Kingdom. This always gets us into the perfect mood and gets you ready for what must be your best holiday! Where else can you arrive at a park and on arrival to get to the gate you can either go by mono-rail or paddle steamer! We have yet to go on the monorail as ‘It Has To Be The Steamer’. On arriving at getting through the gates you arrive in the square at the bottom of Main Street. If you have ever seen the photos of a friend that has been to Florida, there is a picture of main street and the mighty castle at the far end, I still look at the photo from the first time I ever went there and remember the buzz and enjoyment of finally being there! You can even sit on a bench with Walt and Mickey mouse for a photo, albeit a bronze version (Mickey is busy after all).
This square is the start of the Magic Kingdom and the location for hiring pushchairs and the like for your day, you can of course take you own or hire them. At the far end of Main street in the mighty castle. This plays as centre point of the park with the 4 lands of Magic Kingdom as paths from this point. The 4 lands are .. Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland. Each land has its own themes and ideas of things to do and I have tried to summarise them below for you
FantasylandThis is where you are to forget about reality and the restrictions there are and let the mind wonder and enjoy the surroundings. In Fantasy land you have things like ‘it’s a small world’, this ride is a very sedate calm ride, works well after lunch or when you want to escape the sun. It is a cruise around the world and seeing different cultures., this ride seems to always have quite a long queue but it moves quickly. There is also Peter Pan’s Flight, this is an indoors ride (or experience), this is generally code for simulator but gives you a birds eye view as if you were with Peter Pan.
Here you also have one of our favourites for the kids ‘Dumbo The Flying Elephant’, the most recent time I went to Florida it wwas with my wife, our 3 year old son and 2 grand parents. As soon as the grandparents confirmed they were coming, Nanny made it quite clear she was taking her grandson on Dumbo – And She Did! This is the roundabout with a difference as you sit on Dumbo’s back and can control going high in the sky and back.
There are many more rides but these are the 2 that jump to mind
FrontierlandHere is one of the classic roller coasters ‘Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’, a firm family favourite as fast enough to thrill the children but not too manic that the adults will not go on and so a solid family favourite. There is of course the obligatory photo that you probably need to buy afterwards of you screaming along the ride but a real one for the scrap book.
Once you have recovered you the have to go on Splash Mountain, I would find it hard to believe that anybody that has heard of Disney in Florida has not heard of Splash mountain. A 5 storey downhill slide (in a log) before splashing down at the bottom with the threat of getting wet, it’s brilliant!
AdventurelandOne of the slightly quieter lands, this is the location of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse that you can explore, but also the location of the ‘Magic Carpets Of Aladin’, this is a simulator where you can fly through the skies of Agrabah on a magic carpet. You can also take the ‘Jungle Cruise’ as well as go on the ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ ride to sail through the Spanish Main with Captain Jack Sparrow.
TomorrowlandTomorrowland offers the probably most famous ride ‘Space Mountain’! This inside rollercoaster is not a big bare knuckle ride and so could be ok for a sturdy smaller shild although it is in the dark inside the Mountain that you see from outside.
For all those star ranger out there, there is ‘Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin’. This was a massive favourite with my 3 year old and a few rides were required on this. It is a slow speed ride where you can try and shoot as many aliens to try and get a high enough score to become a Space Ranger.
Here you will also find Stitch’s Great Escape and also Monster Inc Laugh Floor.
On top of the main rides there are many smaller rides and of course the parades and most important characters meetings. My sons first meeting was with Pooh bear, and I have never seen him smile so wide and be amazed all at once. THIS is what Disney is all about to me! I wish I could go every day and ideally that everyday was the first day!
We also do always stay in a villa (in my opinion the only way you would do this type of holiday) and by booking the villa direct you know exactly where you will be staying. What other holidays involve glorious weather, a villa with a pool and the most excellent entertainment in the world!
Florida is not a destination for planning ‘Shall We Go’ it is a ‘When Shall We Go’ – Awesome
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