For our daughter’s sixth birthday we surprised her with a trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. She had been asking to go since her fourth birthday, but six seemed like the best age to take her since she would be able to enjoy the park and rides more and remember actually visiting the Magic Kingdom. Having not visited a Disney park since I was around her age, my awareness of what to do to prepare for our visit – both she and my husband’s firsts – was outdated. However, after recently visiting the park, I present to you with a fresh experience my top Tips for Visiting Disney’s Magic Kingdom with a Six-Year-Old.
When visiting a Disney Park with a Six-year-old planning ahead is key to making sure the visit runs smoothly. You have to know when your child gets tired, when they are in need of a break for food, and when they’ve had enough. These tips cover those things so that you can maximize your visit and enjoy your time with family at the Magic Kingdom.
1. Register for a My Disney Experience Account
After receiving confirmation of your reservations (if you’re staying at a Disney Park Hotel) and park tickets, you can create a My Disney Experience account. The account will allow you to:
- Plan and view daily itineraries
- Make Fastpass+ reservations
- Make dining reservations including the Character Breakfasts
- View Entertainment Times
- See Disney PhotoPass pictures that are taken during your visit to the Disney Parks
2. Download the My Disney Experience App
During our trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom, the My Disney Experience app was so helpful. It is an interactive, GPS-enabled map of all of the Disney Parks. It allows you to:
- Get live wait times for rides, attraction, and showtimes for parades and fireworks.
- Know times for character greetings
- Browse restaurant menus and schedule reservations
*The app is available for download in the Apple App Store or on Google Play for Android.
3. Get a Park Hopper Pass
Kids get bored, and I must admit that I do too. The Park Hopper pass is the perfect option for those of us who want some diversity and get more out of your visit to Disney.
4. Use FastPass+
FastPasses allow you to reserve a time slot to get on a ride or see a specific attraction at Disney. Each person gets three FastPasses per day (at the same park). Once you have used your three (3) passes for the day, you can add additional ones, one at a time, until park closing (if they are available). Also, if a ride you’ve reserved closes for whatever reason, you get to use your FastPass+ on another ride and get to skip the line. This happened to us at least twice when two rides stopped working right before our scheduled time.
FastPass selections can be made at My Disney Experience online or on the app. There are also kiosks all over the Magic Kingdom to select or modify FastPasses. However, using my phone was the best option.
5. Get to the Park Early
Arrive as close to or before the park’s opening time as possible. The train ride into the park can get crowded.
6. Bring Drinks and Snacks
Food and drinks at any theme park are expensive, and Disney Parks are no different. However, Disney does allow you to bring food and drinks into the park. Sorry, guys no alcohol allowed. If water works just fine for you, you can get it free at any cafe with fountain soda service
*You are allowed to bring in coolers and backpacks without wheels as long as they do not exceed 24″ (61 cm) long x 15″ (38 cm) wide x 18″ (46 cm) high.
7. Make Dining Reservations in Advance
I made the mistake of waiting three weeks before our trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom to schedule the Character Breakfast, and there were no dates available for the times we were going to be there. It would have been nice to be able to have our daughter celebrate her birthday with a character breakfast. But, there is next time. Take my advice and schedule your reservation as soon as you know you’re going, and your flight is booked. I believe people schedule them as far out as 6-months in advance.
8. Ride When No One is Watching
When we were at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, we quickly took notice that the lines for rides were short or empty during the fireworks shows and parades. These are the best times to get on the popular rides like Peter Pan’s Flight, Mad Tea Party, The Flying Elephant and more.
9. Bring Your Own Autograph Book and Sharpie
My daughter loved meeting her favorite Disney Princesses in real life. To memorialize her experience with meeting them, I purchased a Disney Princess Autograph book from Amazon* for her to bring during our visit so that she can collect autographs from her favorite Disney Princesses and other characters. I was even able to give it to my coworker so that she could collect autographs from the Princesses we missed when she visited.
10. Use the Walt Disney World Railroad
Even though we realized this at the last minute, the Walt Disney World Railroad is the best way to get around in the park, especially when you or the kid(s) are tired and hot. It makes stops at Main Street, Frontierland, Storybook Circus in Fantasyland and then back to Main Street USA.
My biggest tip of all is to be flexible, live in the moment and have fun! After all, you’re in a magical place!
Share your best tips for visiting Disney’s Magic Kingdom in the comments section below.
Complimentary tickets were provided to facilitate review. All opinions are my own and are honest.