I recently visited Disney World with my family. We just wanted to go to one Disney park during our vacation, because we had other plans throughout the week and tickets are expensive. Although all Disney parks have something to offer, Magic Kingdom is the park that most people think of when they hear Disney World. We went on a Thursday in December and paid about $170 per ticket. The prices change each day though. Check their website for price information.

Like I said, we went to Magic Kingdom for only one day, so did we feel like we had enough time to explore the whole park?

The short answer is yes!

The park hours change day-by-day. The season and private events can alter the hours that the park is open to the public each day. For example, some days were open from 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM, while other days were 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM. So again, check their website to know the hours for the date you plan to visit.

Our Day

We opted to visit on a Thursday in order to avoid the bigger crowds that show up on the weekends. The day we went to Magic Kingdom, the park was open from 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM.

Since the tickets are so expensive, I wanted to be at the park right when it opened and stay close to closing time. We ended up being there from 8:00 AM until 5:30 PM. There were no fireworks taking place after the park closed that day, so we left a bit before closing time.

Our day was busy, but we had plenty of time to do everything we wanted to do! We were able to ride all of the rides we wanted to. Some of the rides we enjoyed during our visit included classics such as Space Mountain, It’s a Small World, Jungle Cruise, The Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. They had a newer ride called TRON while we were there as well. TRON is a unique, high-speed, thrilling ride where each rider sits on a motorcycle. The amount of money that goes into each ride and attraction at Disney is insane!

Besides the rides, we went to a couple shows at Magic Kingdom, walked around some attractions, did some shopping, and watched a parade on Main Street. We opted to bring our own water and snacks to the park since everything is so expensive at Disney, so our day did not include waiting for a meal at a restaurant. I am surprised but very grateful that the parks allow you to bring your own food and drinks in!

We got into the park right when it opened and didn’t even have to wait in a line to enter. We started our day off with Space Mountain and TRON because we knew those rides would have long wait times later on. The wait times were minimal throughout the day, but we did end up waiting in line for Jungle Cruise at the end of the day for about 50 minutes.

Conclusion – One Day at Magic Kingdom

To conclude, yes, I think that one day is enough time to fully visit Magic Kingdom. Some people buy park hopper passes where you can go to more than one park in a day. If we had chosen to pay more for that pass and visit two parks in a day, we definitely would not have been able to do everything we wanted to at Magic Kingdom. If you only want to ride the rollercoaster rides or only see shows, I believe that you could try to squeeze two parks into one busy day, but I think a ticket for one park is the best option for truly seeing all that the park has to offer.

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers to magical days at Disney and making connections around the world! To read my other blog posts, check out the destinations tab on my website.