WDW Magic Kingdom Highlights

I've saved this park for last because I think it's the most iconic park; if you have only one day at WDW, this is where you should go. I think we also spent more time here than any other place; it's where we chose to begin and end our trip.

For the first time, we saw the show at "rope drop" (aka park opening). It was really cute--music, dancing, and characters arriving on the railroad to welcome us there.

Inside the park, there are several major areas:

Main Street--this is the transition area from the entrance to the park to the central hub where Cinderella Castle is, and where all the other areas branch off.  All along main street, the second story windows pay tribute to Walt Disney and others who have been influential in the development of the park. There are also a lot of shops and a few restaurants along this street.

glassblower in one of the shops

the mosaic in the walkway through Cinderella Castle

Adventureland is home to the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Frontierland has two of our favorite rides, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

after the big drop in Splash Mountain

Big Thunder Mountain

Liberty Square has the great Hall of Presidents, which is a show featuring audioanimatronic versions of all the US Presidents, as well as the Haunted Mansion, which is a fun ride full of puns.

horseless carriage at the Haunted Mansion

pet cemetery at the Haunted Mansion

Liberty Tree

A Liberty Bell cast from the same mold as the original!

Fantasyland has recently been expanded. The new section has a totally different feel, more like walking into the movies that are featured there. Unfortunately, the new Snow White themed roller coaster opened about a week after we left, so we missed that. But we did get to experience the Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid themed areas. There's a really cute attraction called Enchanted Tales with Belle, where the kids in the audience help a real-live Belle retell the story of how she fell in love with Beast. There's also a new table service restaurant, Be Our Guest, inside the Beast's castle. We really liked the new Under the Sea--Journey of the Little Mermaid, which is an audioanimatronic retelling of that story. Fantasyland also has Peter Pan's Flight, "it's a small world," Mickey's Philharmagic (our favorite 3D movie at WDW), and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (among other things!).

part of the track for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster

Gaston's Tavern

the hostess and bureau giving out roles for
Enchanted Tales with Belle

Belle!

the front door to the Beast's castle

the West Wing dining area--there's thunder and lightning, too!

This painting periodically changes
into a picture of the Beast

The ballroom--there is a wall of "windows"
with animated falling snow from the movie

the last dining area

leaving the restaurant

Prince Eric's castle

Scuttle, the narrator for Under the Sea

My favorite pavement in the whole park! :-)

a few scenes from inside the ride

the line for Winnie the Pooh has some really
cute interactive elements.

at the beginning of "it's a small world"--for Pop-Pop

in the gift shop for Mickey's Philharmagic

a tea party for Alice in Wonderland

Tomorrowland is sort of like a view of the future from sometime in the past, if that makes sense. Our favorite attractions here are the Carousel of Progress and Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, but we also rode Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

on the PeopleMover

a scene from inside the Carousel of Progress
(there was a little glitch with the ride, so we got stuck
here for a minute--I decided to take a pic!)

Buzz Lightyear

As you can tell, the Magic Kingdom has the biggest number of attractions, and the theming in each "land" is really amazing. Everything from the concrete, to the storefronts, to the rides, to the restaurants, to the bathrooms, is themed. There are so many wonderful details to enjoy!