Disney World, Day 2 | Magic Kingdom
When you think of Disney World, which theme park comes to mind?
For me, the iconic Disney World park is Magic Kingdom!
When I was a little girl I remember watching princess movies and playing dress up, and Cinderella was definitely my favorite princess! To me, this park combines the Disney magic with all of my childhood memories more than any of the other parks, which is why I was most excited to start our first Disney World trip at Magic Kingdom!
Before I tell you about our first-timer experience in Magic Kingdom, make sure to check out my Disney World Travel Day content:
Check out my Magic Kingdom vlog HERE!
In Part 1 of my Main Street Dreamin’ series, I talked a little bit about the itinerary for our trip, but I didn’t go into detail because I knew that our lightning lanes would change that plan slightly. After securing our lightning lanes 7 days prior to our arrival date, this was the itinerary that I came up with for our first day in the parks:
Minnie Van Transportation:
Disney transportation intimidated me a little bit while I was planning this trip. I knew we would figure it out at the week went on, but I didn’t want to “figure it out” in the moment when our Cinderella’s Royal Table breakfast reservations and early park entry were hanging in the balance so I decided ahead of time that Minnie Van would be the easiest form of transportation.
Minnie Van is a Disney transportation service that is available through Lyft. It is quite pricey (somewhere around $40 per ride) but you definitely feel like you are riding in style! For Magic Kingdom in particular, Minnie Van is able to drop you off right outside of the MK gates, whereas traditional Ubers and Lyfts can only drop you off at the TTC (which means you still have to wait in line for a boat or monorail over to MK).
We left our resort at 6:30 am and met our Minnie Van driver, Ron, at the pick up spot outside of the Aruba section. I thought I was doing great with leaving the resort early so that we would be first in line to scan into the park, unfortunately Ron had to break the news to us that he couldn’t drop us off at the gate until security opened. But, he dropped us off as close as possible and I was still ok with that. Ron was such a great driver and told us some Disney facts about the property and transportation system as we drove to the park.
He dropped us off across the street next to the Contemporary, we walked across the street and were first inline at the security tent on the sideway under the Monorail.
I’m not typically a sunrise girl, but when you get to watch the sun kiss the Monorail and the Contemporary, it’s not a bad view at all!
The Monorail and Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Sunrise on Main Street U.S.A!
Early Entry:
We were the first people in line for security at the tent on the sidewalk, however the main security line and the tent we were at both opened at the same time. This means that everyone at the main security gate went straight from security to the line to scan into the park, whereas we went through security and then had to walk down the sidewalk before we could get in line to scan in. While we weren’t the first in line, there was maybe 20ish people in front of us in the line we were in.
We entered the park around 7:56 am, and we were able to stop on Main Street and take some photo pass photos before we went to Cinderella’s.
Photo Pass:
There are tons of Photo Pass opportunities on Main Street. I believe there were three photographers spaced out down the middle of Main Street and then several more photographers around the middle in front of the castle. We stopped at the Photo Pass spot in the middle of Main Street.
If you don’t know how Photo Pass works, here’s the process: Look for the cast members in bright lime green shirts (they will also have cameras for obvious reasons). If there is a line don’t let that deter you, they typically move pretty fast even for the most popular spots. The cast member will direct you where to stand when it is your turn. If there is something specific you want to do, politely let them know and they will do their best to accommodate you. If you are in a group and you want a couple different groupings, that usually isn’t a problem —just remember to be mindful of others that are waiting in line and move efficiently. If you don’t know how to pose, don’t worry! The Photo Pass photographers will guide you through a couple different poses and even ask you to do certain things so they can add some magical effects in editing. And remember to be nice to the cast members, say hello and thank you, and have fun with your photos!
Arriving at Cinderella’s Royal Table:
After photos, we hurried down Main Street and we were directed to the left of the castle since we had a reservation at Cinderella’s Royal Table. We crossed the bridge next to Ye Old Christmas Shoppe, took a right, and followed the path to the back of the castle where the host stand for CRT is located.
When you arrive at Cinderella’s Royal Table, you will check in at the host stand outside and then be instructed to wait in line by the doors. The space inside is limited due to the Cinderella meet and greet, but once again it moves pretty fast and you will be invited in as soon as space is available.
Once you are inside, you will hear some chimes and then one of Cinderella’s royal workers will call your parties name to invite you to Cinderella’s Royal Table. They will bring you a ticket with your name and party size, then they will tell you that you are welcome to take your time meeting Cinderella and head to the staircase when you are ready to go up to the dining room. There is also an elevator available for those that cannot use the stairs.
Meeting Cinderella:
You don’t realize how nerve wrecking meeting characters will be as an adult until you are face to face with your favorite childhood princess. Everything happened so fast that it was kind of a blur, but I know that I wasn’t nervous at all once I started talking to Cinderella. I think we talked about our outfits and she pointed out my ears and then we took some pictures.
If you want to hear my best character meeting tip keep reading…
Walking into the dining room will take your breath away. From the views, to the decor, and the overall experience, you will definitely feel like you are dining like royalty!
Once we were sat, we were quickly greeted by our server, Siham. She gave us our menus, explained a little bit about the experience, and took our drink order. When she returned with our drinks, she also brought a tray of assorted pastries and fruit. The pastries included blueberry mickey muffins, mini cinnamon rolls, and chocolate croissants. I love breakfast pastries, and these did not disappoint, but I do wish they had been served warm.
Dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table:
The food was served fairly quickly. I ordered the Traditional Breakfast (Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, and Potatoes), Brian ordered the Grilled Steak and Eggs (Potatoes with Cheese Frittata, Seasonal Vegetable, and Boursin Cheese Sauce), and my mother-in-law ordered the Banana-stuffed French Toast (with Sweet Cream Cheese served with Caramel Sauce and Bacon). Everything was delicious!
Dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table is a reservation experience, which means that it must be booked and paid for in advanced. For breakfast, the cost was $74 per adult. This cost includes the assorted pastries, one entree, and your typical drink choice. Cocktails and specialty drinks can be purchased for an additional fee. The website states that the cost is “$74 per adult, plus tax and gratuity” but we were told that the gratuity was included. I’m not sure how this typically works, but make sure to check with your server, especially if they are as wonderful as Siham!
Near the end of the meal, the wish ceremony occurs! You are given a plastic wishing star and instructed to hold the star near your heart and make a wish! After this ceremony you are given a magic wand, and a Cinderella mosaic post card with the signatures of all the princesses.
Do I think that this food was better than anything else you could get in the Disney bubble? No… but it was definitely good food! Do I think it was worth the price? For the food alone, no… but combined with the castle dining and princess meeting experience it was worth the splurge. I wouldn’t make this a “must do” for every trip, but I am glad to say we have done it.
Princess Aurora, Princess Ariel, Princess Jasmine, & Princess Merida at Cinderella’s Royal Table Restaurant
Meeting the Princesses at Cinderella’s Royal Table:
Our table was right next to the hallway where the princesses entered from, so we were close to the action! Each princess entered the room to a round of applause after being announced over the speakers. The made their rounds around the entire dining room, making sure to stop and chat with each table. They embodied their characters so well and made the conversation so easy. We got to speak with Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, and Merida.
Character meeting tip… If you’re nervous about meeting characters, have a fact about that character in your back pocket as a talk-point. For instance, when I met Merida I asked her about her archery lessons and that sparked a great conversation! Mention a topic or the name of their sidekick and they will take the conversation from there! They are all so great at their job and making the character experience immersive and comforting.
Photo tip… While the dining room is beautiful, I wish I wouldn’t have put it behind me in the photos because of the light glare from the windows. This was a rooky mistake on my part, considering I’m a professional photographer, haha! But it slipped my mind in the excitement of the moment. Also, make sure you clean your camera lens each time to reduce hazy photos.
The View From Cinderella’s Royal Table:
We weren’t sat near the windows, but I was so curious to see the view from dining room. When we got up to leave, the tables next to the window were empty in preparation for the next round of guests, so I quickly went over to peak and snap a photo. The dining room looks out on the courtyard next to Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel. I’m sure you could people watch and take in this view all day and never get tired of it.
Pixie Dusting:
After breakfast, we stopped into Sir Mickey’s to get Pixie Dusted. If you want to see a clip of that experience, check out the vlog!
Castle Photos:
After being dusted with glitter, we started to stroll back towards Main Street to do some shopping. Of course, we stopped to take some more photos with the castle along the way. If you haven’t heard it from TikTok already, let me tell you… The archways on either side of the castle give you a perfectly framed castle photo without a crowd of people in the way.
Coffee Tastes Better on Main Street:
I am a certified Starbucks girly. There is never a moment where I don’t want Starbucks, and I think every occasion is better with a cold brew in hand. So of course, my stroll down Main Street started with a stop at Main Street Bakery.
Yes, the line was long… However, it moves pretty fast! I would say that the entire time it took us to wait in line, order our drinks, and pick them up was maybe 10 minutes tops. No longer than it would have taken at a stand alone Starbucks.
Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade:
As soon as my coffee was in hand, I heard music coming through the doors and sprinted outside to catch a glimpse of the Adventure Friends Cavalcade. This is not the main parade, but it is a mini parade of sorts. According to the Disney website, this takes place at 10:30 am and 11:45 am. The music is electrifying and you get to wave to some of your favorite characters such as Stitch, Marie from Aristocats, Merida, Officer Hops from Zootopia, Mary Poppins, and more.
Buy the Balloon:
As a grown woman, I wasn’t going to buy a Mickey balloon for a photo. Did I want one? Secretly. Did my husband know that and surprise me with one? Yes, he did. He’s the best! 🥰
Time to Ride! Our First Experience with Lightning Lanes:
Seven days prior to our arrival date I booked our lightning lanes. For Magic Kingdom, I hoped to get Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It’s a Small World as our first three rides. Thankfully, I was able to book those rides!
Pirates of the Caribbean, 11:10-12:10 pm
Jungle Cruise, 12:15-1:15 pm
It’s a Small World, 4:00-5:00pm
If you aren’t sure how Lightning Lane Multipass works, you get to book three rides ahead of time. Once you use one of your rides you are able to book another, so you can have up to 3 rides booked at all times.
Once we got done with Pirates, I was able to book another lightning lane for a different ride. I was also able to modify our existing plans throughout the day if a better time became available. The order of our rides is kind of a blur, but I can tell you that with Lighting Lane Multipass we were able to experience: Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, It’s a Small World, Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid, Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, and Tomorrowland Speedway. We got our “must do” rides, and quite a few others, so I would call it a success!
Overall, Lightning Lane Multipass can seem overwhelming and it can be intimidating to think about having to book and monitor ride times on your phone while in a crowded theme park, but it really wasn’t hard at all.
I’m thinking about doing another video or blog post about my experience with Lightning Lane Multipass. If this is this something you would like to see, leave me a comment!
Dole Whip and The Enchanted Tiki Room:
After Pirates and Jungle Cruise, we grabbed a Dole Whip and went to catch the next show time for the Enchanted Tiki Room. These two things just feel like they go together for some reason. First of all, I was so confused when we arrived because I though the pre-show was the show and I did not get the hype at all, haha! But once we were inside, I really enjoyed it. My husband didn’t understand the hype, but I think there is something nostalgic about it. Yes it is just animatronic birds singing a song that will get stuck in your head, but they were animatronic birds thought up by Walt Disney and that makes it feel special to me.
A Break for Shade and Water:
This is your friendly reminder that it is important to take a break for shade and water when you need to! Anytime one of us needed a break, we tried our best to stop and relax for a minute. Yes, these are long busy days with lots of excitement, but if you don’t rest when you should your body will force you to rest at some point.
On the topic of water… You can get free water at the quick service locations. However, I won’t be doing that ever again. While Florida water isn’t known for tasting the best, I had a worse experience…it made me sick. Some people have disagreed with me on this, and everyone is different, but I personally attribute getting sick on this trip to the water. Once I switched to bottled water, I felt totally fine, but every time I felt “off” I had drank the free water beforehand. I hated spending $6 per bottle multiple times a day, but it was worth it to not be miserable for the entire trip. In the future, we will definitely pack water bottles to carry with us.
It’s a Small World:
Unpopular opinion, but this was one of my favorite rides! Yes, the song get’s stuck in your head, and yes the dolls are borderline creepy, but I think the colors and creativity were my favorite part. They made me feel inspired and made me want to go dust off my paint brushes.
The Festival of Fantasy Parade:
I’m really sad that I didn’t get any great pictures from the parade, but you can definitely check out a few clips on the vlog! The parade was one of the major highlights of my day. I even catch myself singing the song at home all the time, hahah! You can’t help but smile when you hear it.
My favorite floats were Rapunzel, Ariel, and of course Minnie & Mickey!
Lunch at Casey’s Corner:
Eating lunch at this iconic park spot was a must! After having such a big breakfast, our snack/food plans kind of got derailed so this “lunch” was at 3:30 in the afternoon, haha! But time is a myth when you’re in a Disney park.
I got the corn dog nuggets, chili cheese fries, and a coke. It’s your typical hot dog/corn dog/french fry experience, but it’s more magical and nostalgic because it’s at Disney!
Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor:
I’m not saying my expectations for this show were low, but I didn’t really go into it with much of an expectation at all. This show was on the “if we have time” list of things for us to do, and boy am I glad we had time!
We loved this show! We loved it so much that we went back a second time later in the week. Monster’s Inc is a classic Disney movie to me anyway, but this show was genuinely funny and had us laughing every time.
Having seen it twice, I can also say that it is different every time and worth seeing multiple times because you will get a different experience.
A Mini Photoshoot:
We hit a point in the day where we were moving a little slow, and pretty much “done” (physically, mentally, emotionally, lol). We sat down next to the arches behind the castle near Pinocchio Village Haus, and I thought they would be a cute spot to take photos. I was just going to have Brian take them for me, but he spotted a Photo Pass photographer near by and asked her to take them for me.
This is not always possible, but she was really nice about it and said that her shift in that area was wrapping up so she could do some photos for me since there was no one waiting for her at her assigned spot. She really outdid herself and I got these cute photos with the arch!
Prince Charming Regal Carousel:
I’m a carousel girlie! I have been ever since I was a little girl. When I was a kid we went to Dollywood with some friends and while everyone else rode everything else in the park, I made my mom take me on the carousel a dozen times.
This time was no different, but my husband doesn’t do well with spinny rides so I had to ride it solo. Other than picking a horse meant for a child, my solo ride was great. It was golden hour and the sun was kissing the park, which made for stunning views with the wind in my hair.
Waiting for Fireworks:
We got to Main Street about an hour before fireworks and decided we should probably go ahead and claim a spot, since crowds were already forming.
They are very picky about where you can and cannot stand while waiting for the fireworks, but we did our best to get close and in the center as much as possible. We claimed a spot next to a Disney trashcan, haha! This sounds odd, but it was actually perfect. We each stood on one side of the trashcan, we had something to lean on while we waited, and I had somewhere to set my vlog camera during the fireworks.
Fireworks Tip…I definitely think you should get a spot an hour (or more) before the fireworks for a good viewing area. It may seem like its cutting into your park day, but I promise you will be glad you did —especially if this is your first time in Magic Kingdom! Later in the week we didn’t arrive early, and our viewing spot was not so good, but I’ll save that for a future blog post. {coming August 9th}
Sunset Castle Photos:
Anytime you see a Photo Pass photographer, you might as well get some photos! Especially if you’re trying to pass the time before fireworks, you have family members to save your spot, and the sun is setting behind the castle.
The Most Beautiful Firework Show on Earth:
And at last, it was time for fireworks! I intentionally did not let myself watch the entire firework show on YouTube before the trip because I wanted to take in all of the emotions of seeing and hearing he show for the first time. I can’t accurately describe how good this firework show is… from the music to the projections and the syncing of the fireworks, it was all perfect! The songs touch on so many key moments from classic Disney movies too. It definitely tugged on my heart strings and made me emotional. Also, to hear “reach out and find your happily ever after” while standing there with my husband made me extra emotional. He is my happily ever after, and I’m just so glad that we get to experience things like this together.
Transportation Leaving the Park:
Initially, we planned to use bus transportation to get back to our resort. When we got to the end of the day, we were all so tired and starting not to feel well that my mother in law said she wanted to do the Minnie Van again to make getting back to the resort easier.
We waited a couple minutes for the post-firework crowd to clear enough that we could move, and then I ordered the Minnie Van. The app said “move to the pick up point, and you will be assigned a driver within 10 minutes.” So we walked out of Magic Kingdom and got to the Minnie Van pick up spot. When the 10 minute timer ended we had not been assigned a driver and the driver request canceled out. I restarted the process, waited another 10 minutes and it canceled again. I went through this 5 times, and there were others around us experiencing the same thing.
Experiencing this at the end of a long park day makes emotions and feelings of frustration high, so this put a little damper on the end of the day, especially because we had not eaten dinner and were trying to make it back to our resort before Centertown Market closed at 11:00pm.
After 50 minutes of waiting I started looking at the buses and saw a Riviera bus pulling up. Since the Riviera is right next to our resort, I told Brian to ask if he was going to drop off at the Riviera. Thankfully he was, so we hopped on. I mobile ordered dinner from Centertown while we were on the bus. When we got dropped off at the Riviera I walked to the lobby to pick up our food while Brian went back to our room to get our resort mugs.
Overall, everything ended fine. But just because you’re willing to pay for a Minnie Van doesn’t always mean it will be the easiest or fastest mode of transportation at peak times. Be prepared to pivot and have a backup transportation plan.
Conclussion:
This was the best day ever! After so much planning and anticipation I was so excited to experience Magic Kingdom. My expectations were definitely met and exceeded! And even though we were able to do so much on our first day in Magic Kingdom, there is still so much left to do on future trips.
That’s it for Day 2 of our Walt Disney World trip. Be sure to check out the vlog HERE and check back next week to hear about our experience in Hollywood Studios!
Thanks for reading!
With Love,
Sami 🩷
