When people are asking to plan their Disney World Itineraries they will often ask us “How Many days for Magic Kingdom do you need?”. And the truth is that really depends on a lot of factors. In this guide we will tell you the things to consider when planning how many days to spend at Magic Kingdom at Disney World as well as our preferred schedule.
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Factors Affecting How Many days you need at Magic Kingdom
So before we look at how many days at Magic Kingdom you need and what you can get done in allotted days, we first thought it would be beneficial to look at the factors that may affect how many days you need.
Time of Year
The time of year is obviously one of the most important factors if not the most important factor that will affect how many days you need at Magic Kingdom.
There are certain times of year that are way busier than others. For instance some of the busiest days and times to visit Magic Kingdom are:
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas Week
- Spring Break
- School Vacations
- Labor Day and Other Public Holidays.
If you can avoid these peak times you will need less time in the park. If you are traveling to one of the above I would add an extra day for Magic Kingdom to ensure that you get all of the must see Magic Kingdom attractions done.
Season
Magic Kingdom Halloween
We have mentioned times that attract crowds above, but another factor that will affect the crowds is whether there are any special seasons at Disney.
The big seasons at Magic Kingdom have to be Halloween and Christmas. Magic Kingdom goes all out on decorations, ride overlays and special character meet and greets. Therefore it should come as no surprise that these special seasons attract larger crowds.
If you travel during this time you may want to add an extra day to your Magic Kingdom itinerary to ensure you get everything done.
Day of Week
Best Day for Magic Kingdom to avoid crowds
It may come as a surprise but the day of the week you visit Magic Kingdom can have a great affect on crowds.
Now as you may expect weekends are always busiest whatever Disney world park you are visiting. However did you know that Mondays usually see the park crowds swell?
I think the reason for this is because people who are going Monday – Friday want to see the beautiful Disney world castle on their first day.
If you only have one day for Magic Kingdom I would recommend selecting a midweek day over the others to reduce crowds.
Note: the obvious exception to this rule is Public holidays. Crowds at magic kingdom always swell on Public Holidays.
Weather
although when you think about Orlando you think about good weather. However the truth is Orlando has some rainy seasons. If you are visiting Orlando on a rainy day you will find this affects queue times and may cause ride closures in storms.
We were in Magic Kingdom on a rainy day and found that many attractions were closed and we waited the storm out in a character meet and greet queue indoors.
If you are traveling during the rainy season in Orlando it is worth having a spare day in your Disney World itinerary in case you are hit with bad rain that causes closures.
Genie Plus
For those that don’t know, Genie+ or Genie Plus as some say, is the new system that has replaced the old Disney World Fastpass System.
This is not a free service and with surge pricing it can top 30USD a day per person on exceptionally busy days in the park. This can obviously greatly affect your Magic Kingdom budget.
Whether you have it or not however will affect how much you can get done in a day, especially the must do attractions and big thrill rides.
If you have genie plus will likely reduce how many days you need in the parks or will at least guarantee that you get to do the main attractions that you want to ride.
Note you can add your genie + to your magic band. To find out if magic bands are worth it check out this post.
Lightening Lane
While Genie + works for most of the attractions at Magic Kingdom. However there is one popular ride at Walt Disney world that does not have Genie+ Access. That is Seven Dwarves Mine Cart.
This will often have queues of over 1.5 hours and the only way to reduce the queue is with a lightening lane pass. This is charged on an individual lane basis but can save you up to two hours in your Disney world itinerary.
Group Size Vs Single Rider
The size of the group you are traveling with will greatly affect how many days you need at Magic Kingdom.
Larger groups who want to ride together will often have to wait a bit longer for their party size to be accommodated.
But if you are happy to use single rider queues you will find that you are able to do some of the bigger attractions in a more timely fashion. For a complete guide on Magic kingdom single rider lines check out this post
Also the make up of your group will affect the length of queues you are joining. For instance toddler rides at Magic Kingdom (with some exceptions) have shorter queues than thrill rides that teenagers and adults prefer.
Party Days
Party days at Magic Kingdom happen throughout the year but most commonly occur during special seasons such as Halloween and Christmas.
Party Days at Disney World always happen at Magic Kingdom. On Party Days, unless you have a ticket, which is an extra charge, to the party you will be required to leave the park by 6pm.
I always presumed that Party Days will have lots of crowds given early closing and extra people turning up for the evening event.
However when we were there on party days in October we actually found that party days seemed to deter day crowds and had lesser queues.
We will keep monitoring this but if you aren’t bothered about staying late party days can be a good choice.
Character Meet and Greets and Character Dining
Meeting princesses at Magic Kingdom
Most Magic Kingdom itineraries just take into rides however there is so much more to Magic Kingdom than rides.
There are:
- parades
- character meet and greets
- character dining
- table service restaurants and
- shows.
If you want to do more than just rides you need to ensure that you allow enough time to see characters and dine etc.
How Many Days for Magic Kingdom do you need?
How Many Days for Magic Kingdom do you need?
So knowing all of the factors that can affect how many days you need at Magic Kingdom we will look at what you can achieve in certain days at Magic Kingdom.
For a 2 week Orlando itinerary featuring Magic Kingdom check out this post.
Is one day at Magic Kingdom Enough?
We are often asked “Is one day at Magic kingdom enough?”. And I have to say that I really don’t think it is.
While if all you have time for is one day, then don’t put off going becayse you have limited time.
However I would recommend:
- getting Genie+ to get on as many rides as possible
- limit the number of meet and greet you do – these can have massive queues so only picking the essential ones will save time
- pick a none party day – for maximum operational hours
- go off peak.
So what are some must sees if you only have one day at Magic Kingdom.
I would always include the below on my itinerary:
- Seven Dwarves Mine Train
- Space Mountain
- Princess Meet and Greet
- Splash Mountain when it reopens
- The Parade
- Fireworks
For one day in Magic Kingdom itineraries be sure to check out this post.
Does Magic Kingdom need 2 days?
In my opinion you need at least 2 days at Magic Kingdom. In two days you can get more rides done, add in some meet and greets and even consider putting some character dining onto your itinerary.
For a full 2 days at Magic Kingdom itinerary check out this post.
3 Days at Magic Kingdom
Do you need 3 days at Magic Kingdom? Last time we were at Disney world we spent 3 days in Magic Kingdom and found this to be the perfect amount of time for our family.
By having three days at Magic Kingdom we were able to do
- most of the rides
- meet princesses and Mickey Mouse which have the longest meet and greet queues and
- do character dining.
- For our 3 days at Magic Kingdom itinerary check out this post.
And while you are here why not check out some of our other Magic Kingdom and Disney World posts:
Have you been to Magic Kingdom? We would love to hear how long you spent in this park and what you think is the ideal number of days in the park in the comments below!