6 Major Reasons Why You Can Skip a Magic Kingdom Park Day on Your Next Disney World Trip

Magic Kingdom Park is the ultimate iconic Disney World Park.

It was the first to open in 1971 and consistently sees the highest attendance numbers. This isn’t surprising. It has the most attractions – and is home to a couple of new attractions.

But should you visit this park?

Beyond the colossal hype this park receives, is it really worth your time and money?

After all, Magic Kingdom tickets are the most expensive. You could save a decent amount by opting to visit the other Disney Parks instead,

So, is it notably better than the others?

Today, we’re going to chat about why you may want to avoid Magic Kingdom Park on your next trip. (I know it sounds crazy, but there are reasons why this may be a good idea!).

This post is all about the 6 main reasons why you may want to skip a Magic Kingdom park day on your next Disney World trip.

Magic Kingdom Park

1) Long Wait Times & Huge Crowds

Although Magic Kingdom has the most attractions – and handles its capacity better than the other parks – the wait times are still long.

Magic Kingdom is home to a number of super popular attractions with long wait times, such as:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Peter Pan’s Flight

TRON
Space Mountain

You can deal with this by utilizing Disney’s Early Theme Park Entry – if you are staying at a qualifying hotel.

You can also buy Lightning Lanes (Multipass, Lightning Lane Premier Pass or Individual Lightning Lane for select attractions) – but this can get expensive (see #2 for more on this).

Wait times can get especially high during peak seasons.

For example, many guests who visit at Christmas want to spend a lot of time at Magic Kingdom – making it super crowded and chaotic.

For a less crowded option, it might be worth researching or considering other Disney World Parks.

(Or even visiting a park at Universal Studios Orlando instead).

2) High Costs That Can’t Be Justified By The Experience – The Most Expensive Disney World Park

Buying a ticket to the Magic Kingdom Park? This might make you think twice.

As I discussed in a previous post – The Crazy Prices Of 1-Day Magic Kingdom Tickets at Disney World – Magic Kingdom tickets are the most expensive.

Don’t get me wrong, Magic Kingdom has some iconic attractions. From “it’s a small world” to Pirates of the Caribbean to The Carousel of Progress, there are some great attractions.

But Magic Kingdom’s newer attractions have seen lukewarm reviews (see this post on why Disney Parks are decreasing in quality for more information on this).

From TRON Lightcycle / Run being a decent but not revolutionary roller coaster, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure lacking a great storyline and more, it can be hard to justify the super expensive ticket prices to visit this park.

Additionally, Lightning Lane here tends to be the most expensive. This is especially true when it comes to the ridiculously expensive Lightning Lane Premier Pass (for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts). A Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Premier Pass will cost up to $449 + tax per person per day!

3) [Arguably] Better Offerings at Other Disney World Parks

I’m not saying that Magic Kingdom is worse than every other park. But there are certain things that are done better (or are more interesting) at other parks, such as:

Epcot

World Showcase
Festivals throughout the year

magic kingdom fireworks. — A topiary at Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

Hollywood Studios

More thrill rides
Better quick service dining locations (especially for vegetarian or plant-based options)

magic kingdom tickets — Plant-Based Totchos (potato barrels, “Chili”, Green Onions, “Cheese” and Corn Chips) from Woody’s Lunch Box

More stage shows

Animal Kingdom

A safari with *real* animals (instead of Jungle Cruise with animatronics)

4) Age and Interest Considerations

If you’re visiting with younger kids, Magic Kingdom is probably the best park to visit. There are plenty of slower rides.

However, if you’re visiting with teenagers, is Magic Kingdom the best park?

If you or your kids are thrillseekers, maybe not.

Despite the presence of a few roller coasters in Magic Kingdom (namely, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run), they aren’t the scariest roller coasters at Disney World.

They are less thrilling than Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror found at Hollywood Studios, for example.

If you prefer mainly slower rides (with just a few, mainly moderately thrilling coasters), Magic Kingdom is great for you.

But if you don’t care for the slower-moving rides, Magic Kingdom may be a skippable park.

Similarly, if you prefer to learn about different cultures, Epcot can provide this.

More interested in animals and nature, Animal Kingdom will definitely be your best bet instead.

5) Special Events and Seasonal Offerings

Magic Kingdom has two main special events each year: Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

Magic Kingdom Orlando — Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

These events take place on select nights between August and December.

magic kingdom park tickets — Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

Unfortunately, you can’t attend these events with regular Magic Kingdom tickets.

Tickets for these events can cost $200+ per person.

Whilst the events are fantastic (with exclusive shows, parades, food and drinks, merchandise, and some slight ride changes), they are not cheap.

Epcot, on the other hand, has 4 festivals a year (Festival of the Arts, Flower & Garden Festival, Food & Wine Festival and Festival of the Holidays).

Unlike the events at Magic Kingdom, you can visit these festivals with regular Epcot tickets.

Also, it’s worth mentioning that if you have a regular Magic Kingdom ticket and attend on the day of a party, you will have to leave the park early (usually around 6 PM – though you should check this based on your stay).

This means that you’d get to experience fewer attractions – and you wouldn’t be able to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks.

The only way to get around this is if you buy a ticket to the special event for the same day – which is not exactly budget-friendly!

6) Upcoming Lots of Construction & Loss of Classic Attractions

At the 2024 D23, Disney announced a plethora of new attractions – many coming to Magic Kingdom.

This means we’ll see lots of construction at Magic Kingdom (from 2025 for the foreseeable future – most likely at least a few years).

Although this may not ruin your park experience – it will likely be disruptive, and take you away from the immersion of Magic Kingdom.

To make room for some new expansions, Disney is getting rid of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.

Whilst these were hardly bringing in large crowds, they were classic, popular and calm attractions that took guests away from the chaos of other areas of the park.

As Disney doesn’t seem to appreciate how these calmer areas help them deal with capacity, this will now be replaced by a Cars-themed area.

If you liked the more original Magic Kingdom attractions, sadly, this park will be featuring less and less of them. So, even after construction, the park may not be much better for you.

Frequently Asked Questions about Why You Should Skip a Magic Kingdom Park Day

What are the 23 rides in Magic Kingdom?

Want to know more about the attractions at Magic Kingdom? We discuss them in this post.

Is Magic Kingdom a full day park?

Yes. Magic Kingdom has the most attractions of all the Disney World Parks.

Although you can spend just half a day here if you wanted to, you can’t expect to get everything done in a few hours.

You probably won’t even get to experience all the attractions in a full day here.

What is so special about Magic Kingdom?

It is the original Disney World park – similar to Disneyland Park – the only park that Walt Disney was able to create and visit himself.

It has iconic Disney theming (with areas from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland) and is home to the most iconic Disney attractions (from Jungle Cruise to The Haunted Mansion).

Is it free to park at Magic Kingdom?

If you are staying at a Disney World resort, you can get free Standard Parking at Magic Kingdom (and the other theme parks).

However, if not, parking will start at $30 per day.

For more information on Magic Kingdom parking, check out this post.

What are the six lands at Magic Kingdom?

Main Street, U.S.A.
Fantasyland
Frontierland
Adventureland
Tomorrowland
Liberty Square

Which Walt Disney World Park is best?

There is no objective answer to this question. However, here is some helpful information to help you decide which Disney World park is best for you:

Magic Kingdom: for more iconic attractions and OG Disney theming (though this is becoming less prominent in the 2020s).

Epcot: to experience different festivals, food and drinks and cultures from around the world.

Hollywood Studios: for more thrilling attractions.

Animal Kingdom: for a theme park that feels like a safari!

Is it worth visiting Magic Kingdom for early entry?

If you want to experience a super popular attraction without super high wait times, it usually is.

For more information on Disney World Early Theme Park Entry, check out my recent post on this (from tips and tricks to whether you’re eligible to attend Early Entry).

Ta Ta For Now

Have you ever skipped a Magic Kingdom park day on a Disney World vacation? Or would you give this park a miss on a future visit? Let us know in the comments!

This post was all about the 6 main reasons why you may want to skip a Magic Kingdom park day on your next Disney World trip.