Arriving at the Magic Kingdom 30–60 minutes before official opening ensures the shortest possible waits for rides. Off-site guests, who aren't eligible for Early Theme Park Entry, should arrive 30 minutes before official opening on all days.
For those staying at an official Disney World Hotel, 45 minutes to an hour should be plenty of time. As an example, if the park opens at 8:00 in the morning, you'd want to leave the hotel no later than 7:00 or 7:15 in the morning to give yourself plenty of time for early arrival.
The first two to three hours of every day are the time of the lowest crowds of the day. It's almost Magical. The wait time for Space Mountain at 10:00 am is usually around 20-30 minutes. At noon, it's 60-90 minutes.
Rope Drop for Offsite Guests
Even if you can't participate in Early Theme Park Entry, we still recommend you get to the park around 60 minutes before Early Theme Park Entry (or around 90 minutes before the park opens to all guests).
As you can guess if Monday is the busiest, Tuesday tends to be the best day of the week to go to Magic Kingdom. We also find Thursday to be one of the least busy days of the week at Magic Kingdom, with Sunday being a great weekend option.
Historically, the worst days of the week at Magic Kingdom are Saturday , Monday and Tuesday. (See above 'Wonky Weekends' section for an explainer of the Saturday strikethrough.)
Wait Times Grow Shorter at Night
That's right — just like in the mornings, lines at Disney World grow shorter the later into the evenings you stick around. Those early birds are ready to get to bed after the fireworks, but at Magic Kingdom, you usually have an hour or two — sometimes more! — of park time left to go.
Non-alcoholic drinks and waters are totally something you can bring into Disney, it's even encouraged! It is so nice to have a drink on hand whenever you need to quench your thirst. You can bring refillable water bottles and refill them at water stations throughout the parks.
The most prolific crowds at Disney are during summer break and the winter holidays. Throughout the rest of the year, you'll find the least-crowded times on weekdays when school is in session. In my experience, January, February, and November (other than Thanksgiving week) have the lowest crowds overall.
Go Early
If you want to avoid long lines there's no simpler way than to wake up early and get to the park before it opens. Whether you have access to early entry or not, being at the park entrance before it opens will save you lots of time. Usually, you can get in 2-3 rides during the first hour of park operation.
Yes! Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios theme parks have evening firework displays every night.
Magic Kingdom Fireworks are at 9pm on most nights. If there is a special event like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party the fireworks may be earlier, or may not be scheduled for regular guests visiting that day.
Can you ride all the rides at Magic Kingdom in one day? It would be very difficult to ride all the rides at Magic Kingdom in one day because there are more than 20 rides. Using Genie+ and Lightning Lane can allow you to minimize your wait times and enjoy as many rides as possible.
Let the Magic Begin is available to Guests with valid admission and a theme park reservation for Magic Kingdom park on that date. Guests who wish to experience the show may enter the park one hour prior to park opening.
Rope drop is 100% worth it for families with toddlers!
At Disneyland, the Fantasyland rides are the most popular with families with young children, and the wait times are minimum during rope drop time in the first hour of the morning.
Suitcases, bags, coolers or backpacks, with or without wheels, larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high (61 cm x 38 cm x 46 cm) are not allowed in any theme park or water park. Loose or dry ice is not permitted in these containers. Re-usable ice packs are recommended.
You'll be happy to hear that Guests may bring in a backpack or bag when visiting the theme parks, and are welcome to bring snacks or water as well. I recommend taking a look at the Walt Disney World Resort Property Rules for a list of prohibited items, as well as the maximum allowable bag size.
A: Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverage items into the park for self-consumption, provided they are not in glass containers and do not require heating, reheating, processing, refrigeration or temperature control and do not have pungent odors.
Most folks eat at prime hours: 8AM for breakfast, Noon for lunch, 6PM for dinner, or thereabouts. If you're eating breakfast at 10:30AM, lunch at 3:00PM, and dinner at 8:00PM, you're more likely to get a reservation, and you're more likely to be able to eat without feeling rushed or crowded.
Highest Crowd Level When Visiting Walt Disney World
The week before Christmas through the first two weekends of January, with the weeks including Christmas Day and New Year's Eve bringing in the historically highest crowd level each year. Thanksgiving (U.S.A.) week brings in crowds comparable to Christmas week.
The shortest ride at Disney World is the Barnstormer in Magic Kingdom with a ride duration of 1 minute 3 seconds.