Theme Park Insider's "Four-Hour Tours" are designed to get you and your family to the top attractions in the world's top theme parks... before anyone can get tired and cranky. The attractions and restaurants selected for this tour are those most highly rated by Theme Park Insider readers.
When to go: The Magic Kingdom was the first theme park at Walt Disney World, opening in 1971. All Disney World theme parks are open 365 days a year, although opening and closing times for each park varies from day-to-day. If you are traveling without kids, try to visit on a school day to avoid the largest crowds. If you need to visit during a school vacation, try at least to avoid the week between Christmas and New Year's and the Fourth of July.
If you are not staying at a Disney World hotel, avoid visiting the Magic Kingdom on its Extra Magic Hours days, as Disney's hotel guests get into the park early on those days, inflating wait times for visitors who arrive at the Magic Kingdom's normal opening time.
Before you go: Buy your Walt Disney World tickets online at Disney World's website. For advice on picking the right ticket, see our guide to Disney World tickets, keeping in mind that for the Four-Hour Tour, you will *not* need the park-hopper option.
You will also need to call in advance to make lunch and/or dinner reservations. Disney accepts reservations, via 1-407-WDW-DINE, up to 180 90 days in advance. Times do go quickly, so you should call six months to the day before your trip to secure a lunch reservation in the castle. We recommend a 1pm seating at Cinderella's Royal Table for this tour. If you can't get a time near that at Cindy's, ask for the Liberty Tree Tavern instead.
When you get there: Plan to arrive at the Magic Kingdom's front gate before the park opens in the morning. You can check the Magic Kingdom's opening time via Disney World's website.
Keep in mind that to reach the Magic Kingdom, you must park at Disney World's Transportation and Ticket Center parking lot, ride at tram to the TTC, then take a monorail or ferry boat across the Seven Seas Lagoon to the Magic Kingdom. It makes for a dramatic approach, but takes extra time. Give yourself an extra hour in the summer and half-hour during the school year.
1. Proceed to the end of the Main Street, nearest the castle, for the rope drop at park opening. Head left and cross the Adventureland bridge on your way to Splash Mountain, where you will pick up Fastpasses, Disney's ride reservation tickets, for everyone in your group. (Save a couple minutes by cutting through the Adventureland breezeway, opposite the Swiss Family Treehouse, into Frontierland, where you then can make a quick left toward Splash.)
2. Fastpasses in hand, head up the hill and ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, your first ride of the day.
3. After riding Thunder, use your Fastpasses to ride Splash Mountain. (If your Fastpass return time has not arrived yet, swap steps 2 and 3 and do Pirates now, followed by Splash.)
4. Head back into Adventureland for a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean.
5. Walk back through Frontierland to Liberty Square, where you next will ride the Haunted Mansion.
6. From there, head through the breezeway into Fantasyland, for the next showing of Mickey's PhilharMagic.
7. Continue around the park and into Tomorrowland. At this point, you have a decision to make.
If you are interested in riding Space Mountain, and a Fastpass return time is available for more than 20 minutes before your lunch reservation time, go ahead and pick up Fastpasses for Space Mountain. Otherwise pick up Fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin instead.
8. Either way, next head to Monsters, Inc. Comedy Club show.
9. After the show, it's on to Buzz Lightyear, followed by your Fastpass return to Space Mountain, if you chose that option.
10. Head back to the castle for lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table, or to Liberty Square for lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern.
Furthermore, after the planned 14-month SM refurb beginning next year, it will be the flagship indoor coaster once again. And once word of the refurb gets out to the general public....people are definitely going to want to visit this attraction one last time before it changes forever.
Besides, you gotta add it, or you'll keep getting these whiny comments from me all day long!! =)
Space is clearly the next in line among MK attractions, when one looks at the ratings. But the only way I could see fitting it in would be to get an FP for it after Philharmagic, then to go on Monsters and Buzz (sans FP, since you used it for Space) before returning to Space Mtn.
That would work on a low-to-average-attendance day, but I think we run out of time on a typical summer day with that plan. And I can't see what we'd cut from the current plan to add Space.
For perspective here, this was the single toughest plan to create. (Followed by Animal Kingdom and USF.) Many commendable attractions, spread evenly throughout the park.
You have to start your tour at Space Mountain, then the "get a fastpass for Splash MT and wait in line for Thunder MT" strategy works like a charm. And honestly, if you speed directly to Tomorrowland when the park opens you should be able to do both Space MT and Buzz Lightyear with minimal wait anytime of year.
With these changes you will only have to backtrack for Philharmagic and Laugh Out Loud, which is no biggie because you will be rewarded with a short wait in an air conditioned attraction.
Trust me. Disney is watching and you are currently a marked man. Tread softly from here on out....
=)
Like I wrote, I could go either way at this point. Orlando folks, chime in!
Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear
Peter Pan
Haunted Mansion
Obtain a fastpass for Splash Mt
Thunder Mt
Splash Mt (using fastpass)
Pirates of the Care-uh-bee-ann
(Stop at Aloha Isle in Adventureland and get a Dole Float)
Mickey's Philharmagic
Monster's Inc Comedy Club
done.
Maybe a little over four hours, but not much.
And Robert, the animatronic they make out of you will be set up at the entrance to Disaster Transport at Cedar Point instead of at a Disney Park. You'll say something like "Welcome to an even worse version of Space Mountain. Watch out for the leaky roof!"
I have never seen Space Mountain NOT busy during the midday hours, except for right after it breaks down and gets fixed.
And getting reservations at the Castle to eat with Cinderella the day of the meal...you are a miracle worker!! It CAN happen, but definitely not during the May - August stretch of the year.
That would put eight attractions in this tour, which I think is the maximum that one can do in four hours before you embark into crazyland. It's possible to do more, of course, but the point of these four hour tours is to hit the best of the best, in a low-stress environment before anyone gets too tired. Trying to do 10-12 attractions in four hours, while possible, defeats that purpose, IMHO.
Besides when Space Mt closes for a 14 month refurb at the beginning of 2009, the point will be moot! =)
In short, a Disney vacation without Space Mountian is not the big deal so many are making it out to be.
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I think if you start in Tomorrowland with Space MT and proceed counter clockwise through the park you can get all the mountains (and the other good stuff) done in four hours. Just remember, before you ride on Thunder Mountain you should get a fastpass for Splash Mountain, so it is like waiting for both at the same time.
I would backtrack and hit Mickey's Philharmagic and the Monster's Inc Comedy Club last, as they are great people movers and accessible any time of day without much waiting.
So, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Thunder MT/Splash MT, POTC, Philharmagic, Monster's Inc Comedy Club, done. Maybe a little over four hours, but not much.
For lunch (if you don't want to eat counter service at Cosmic Ray's or Pecos Bill's) you can take the monorail to Contemporary and enjoy something off their excellent lunch menu.
And while in the park, make sure to stop at the Aloha Isle counter and get a Dole Whip Float.....phenomenal.