There’s no doubt about it; The Magic Kingdom truly is magical. It is six distinct lands of shows, rides, character meet-and-greets, Disney shaped food, and retail shops. There are roller coasters and virtual reality rides, family-friendly shows and rides perfect for preschoolers. With a little planning, you can fit many of Magic Kingdom’s iconic rides into your day. We’ve put together a list of some of Magic Kingdom’s best rides and a few planning tips on how to squeeze them all into your day.

Before you start making a list of all of the rides you want to try, it is important to understand the layout and set up of Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom is split into six distinct lands:

Tomorrowland
Frontier Land
Fantasyland
Main Street USA
Liberty Square
Adventureland

Planning and Fast Passes

Locals and Magic Kingdom experts will suggest starting your day at the back of the park and moving forward. This means planning the first ride of the day in Adventureland or Frontier Land and ending your day with rides and attractions on Main Street. If you are trying to experience as many rides as possible in a single day, the Fast Pass is the way to go. Taking the time to schedule your rides in advance and obtain fast passes for the most popular rides will allow you to wait in a significantly shorter line and maximize your time at the park.

Magic Hours

If you are staying in one of Disney’s resort hotels, you can participate in Magic hours. This allows you to enter the park and start riding rides two hours before it opens to the public. This is a great way to get a head start on your day at the Magic Kingdom and get a few popular rides in before the lines get long.

Magic Kingdom Pixie Vacations

Best Rides For Little Ones

There are quite a few rides in the Magic Kingdom that do not have a height requirement. These rides are perfect for first-time Disney goers and their parents. While many of these rides are designed with younger Disney guests in mind, everyone can enjoy these kid-friendly rides:

Dumbo

Hop aboard everybody’s favorite flying elephant for a musical journey into the sky. This interactive ride allows you to use levers to lift your elephant into the air or slowly bring it back down to ground level. This is a slow-moving, spinning ride, and there are no height requirements.

It’s A Small World

You really can’t visit the Magic Kingdom without taking a leisurely boat ride through one of the parks most iconic attractions; It’s a Small World. This 10-minute journey brings you through all seven continents to experience the colors, sounds, and cultures from across the world. We can almost guarantee you will have the classic anthem stuck in your head all day.

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin

Similar to the Dumbo ride, this slowly spinning ride takes guests up on a magic carpet ride. Be careful of the camels that may squirt water out you! This bright and colorful ride features your favorite characters from the classic Disney movie, Aladdin.

The Jungle Cruise

Did you know that there is a jungle right in the middle of the Magic Kingdom? Board the jungle cruise for a slow-paced, detour through the jungle. Your hilarious host will guide you through the world’s most famous rivers and point out creatures along the way! Love “dad jokes?” You’ll love The Jungle Cruise

Winnie The Pooh

Waiting in line at the Magic Kingdom can be one of the least exciting parts of the day. However, the line for Winnie the Pooh gives the littlest Disney guests something to do. This interactive line features hands-on activities to keep them busy while they wait. On the ride, you’ll join Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and all of their friends in a psychedelic adventure through the Hundred Acre Wood.

Under The Sea

Jump on a clamshell and take a leisurely ride under the sea. Join Ariel and her friends as you wind through some of the best parts of the classic Disney movie, The Little Mermaid. Jam out with Sebastian and his friends and creep past Ursula in her dark and gloomy lair. This is a fun family-friendly ride and there is no height requirement.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

To infinity and beyond! Step aboard a spinning space vehicle and see how many aliens you can get with your lazer! Look for the glowing icons all throughout your space ranger mission and rack up points by blasting them with your space lazer! Look for your favorite Toy Story characters throughout the ride, and use the joystick inside of your space Ranger vehicle to spin 360 degrees and earn even more points!

Best Rides For Thrill Seekers

If you are looking for a thrilling adventure, there are a handful of high-speed roller coasters throughout the Magic Kingdom that you have to try. All of these require riders to be between 38-44 inches tall to ride.

Space Mountain

What do you get when you combine complete darkness, futuristic soundtrack, and a roller coaster that zips, dips, and turns at speeds up to 28 miles an hour? The Magic Kingdom’s iconic roller coaster, Space Mountain! Board your rocket and prepare for blast-off through tunnels of darkness, past orbits of light, and into a mesmerizing wormhole! Height requirement is 44 in.

Big Thunder Mountain

Thunder Mountain is another high-speed roller coaster and is located in Frontierland. This ride takes you back to the 1800s when Pioneers were searching for gold during the Gold Rush! The line takes you down into a coal mine where you board the train. Watch out for falling Boulders and tight turns as you zip through tunnels and drop into canyons. This ride can be bumpy, and there are times when you’re in complete darkness. Height requirement is 40 in.

Splash Mountain

Want an exhilarating way to cool down during your day at the Magic Kingdom? Get a FastPass for Splash Mountain and see why it is still one of the park’s most iconic rides. As you get started on the ride, you’ll pass singing rabbits and whimsical forest creatures singing favorite tunes like Zip-a-dee-do-da. Then, just as you think your journey through the Briar Patch is ending, you’ll plunge five stories down a steep track that ends with a big splash! Height requirement is 40 in

7 Dwarf’s Mine Train

One of Disney’s newest additions, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a smooth but exhilarating roller coaster ride. This ride has significantly smaller drops than the other roller coasters in the area but still takes you on a fast and thrilling journey through a mountain and into the workspace of the Seven Dwarfs. At the very top, you get a quick glance over Fantasyland before diving back down again. Height requirement is 38 in.

Best Slow-Paced Rides

If fast, scary, loud, and bumpy are not your style, you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of rides throughout the Magic Kingdom that take a calmer and simpler approach.

Tomorrowland Speedway

You don’t need a driver’s license to experience one of Disney’s most iconic rides, the Tomorrowland Speedway. Jump into a vintage-inspired race car and wait for the checkered flags to wave. Hit the gas and follow the track through the speedway, and don’t forget to look for some of the Magic Kingdom’s favorite attractions during your drive. The cars are on a track so it is perfectly safe for kids to drive as long as they can see over the steering wheel.

Peter Pan’s Flight

While this ride is mostly through the dark, it is well-lit with glowing representations of your favorite Disney characters. Follow Peter and Wendy as a navigate crocodile-infested waters and cranky pirates to get to their final destination. This ride does have a few small drops, but it’s a slow-paced ride. You may want to skip this one if your kids are scared of the dark.

Carousel of Progress

Travel back in time and discover what life was like at the turn of the century. Follow a family through four generations as they evolve with the times and watch how electricity and technology shaped the way Americans lived. Presented inside a slowly revolving theater, guests sit comfortably and enjoy this 20-minute journey through the 20th century.

People Mover

The People Mover is a continually running ride that is perfect for when your feet need a break or you want to escape the heat or the rain. This slowly moving train takes you on a tour of Tomorrowland, and behind the scenes in some of Tomorrowland favorite rides such as Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin and Space Mountain.

Best Shows/Experiences

Some of the coolest rides in the Magic Kingdom aren’t really rides at all. They are shows and experiences that truly immerse guests in the magic of Disney.

Mickey’s Philharmonic

Put on your special 3D glasses and be immersed in light, sound, and music. This 3D adventure combines some of your favorite scenes from of your favorite movies, such as Lion King, Aladdin, Peter Pan, and Beauty and the Beast. Your 3D glasses make it seem like objects are flying directly into the crowd, and the special effects such as perfectly timed aromas and subtle spritzes of water add to the experience.

Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor

Mike and Sully need your help filling the Laugh-O-Meter! Grab a seat in the air-conditioned theater and interact with some of your favorite monsters on the big screen. The more you laugh, the more you fail the laugh-o-meter! While you’re waiting in line, you can text some of your favorite family-friendly jokes into the Monsters Inc Lab and they may use your joke in their show!

Swiss Family Tree House

If you need to get your steps in, head over to the Swiss Family treehouse for a unique journey into the Swiss Family’s breathtaking treehouse. From the top, you can enjoy 360 views of the park and explore the intricate living spaces of this famous shipwrecked family. The narrow stairs will take you about six stories up into the trees for incredible views of the Magic Kingdom below.

Tom Sawyer Island

Board a raft from Frontierland and cross the river over to Tom Sawyer’s island. Get lost in trails and hidden pathways that take you through tunnels, over bridges, and into an abandoned frontier fort. Look for hidden doorways with narrow staircases that will take you down into an underground pathway of tunnels and caves. Families can spend hours here running, playing hide-and-seek, and using their imagination.

There are 48 rides in total at the Magic Kingdom. At any given time, a few will be under construction or going through a refurbishment phase. With very careful planning, fast passes, some brisk walking, a lot of patience, and the help of Disney’s Magic hours, some people have been able to experience all of the rides in a single day. This can be a tough feat if you have children or want to experience the other things that the Magic Kingdom has to offer such as parades and character meet-and-greets.

No matter how many rides you get to during your Disney adventure, you can be sure that they will all be worth the wait. Every Magic Kingdom ride is designed to bring out the beauty of childhood, imagination, and magic that Disney is famous for.