Top 10 Don’t Miss and Top 10 to Skip: Magic Kingdom

Space Mtn is a Must Do in the MK.
Note: This Post has 4 Parts
These Top 10 lists are aimed at adults or teens/big kids visiting WDW.  Except for when I was visiting as a young’un myself and went with my younger brothers and family, I have never been to WDW with children, so I cannot advise for those with young families.
Here are my Top 10 List of Must-Do’s and Top 10 for things you could Skip (if you have limited time in WDW), plus my Quick Serve food faves for those without a minute to spare.
MAGIC KINGDOM
Top 10 Must-Do:
  1. Space Mountain – the Mountains are all a Must-Do. Period. No ride in the Top 5 require any explanation. Just do them!
  2. Splash Mountain
  3. Big Thunder Mountain
  4. Haunted Mansion
  5. Pirates of the Caribbean
  6. Wishes Fireworks – Walt wanted his guests to go home with a “goodnight kiss” every night, so he made fireworks a regular event at Disneyland.  If you’re only in WDW for 2 days however, Wishes and Illuminations are the only night shows worth making time for. 
  7. Philharmagic – 3D flying carpet chase into the clouds. Enough said.
  8. Jungle Cruise – Disneyland Classic. Did you know Walt originally wanted REAL hippos for this ride! LOL. Love that you can get a different Skipper nearly every go-round, which makes for a very different ride each time!
  9. Buzz Lightyear – Friendly competition is fun.
  10. Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover – I love this ride. I just do.
I can pass on the Main St. Electrical Parade.
Top 10 to Skip:
  1. Main St. Electrical Parade – Compared to SpectroMagic, which recently left WDW, this parade is lame. I guess if you’ve never seen SpectroMagic to know the difference, then check it out. (You will see that I am not a fan of parades in general.)
  2. Small World – If you can walk right on to the ride, then go ahead and do it so you can make fun of it…I mean, say you did it. Otherwise, it’s OK to skip.
  3. Dumbo / Aladdin – 2 rides, same thing. They go around in circles and up and down for a minute and a half.  Yes Dumbo is on all the TV commercials but anybody that’s been to a local town carnival has probably been on a similar type thing.
  4. Astro Orbiters – Line’s not worth it, unless you really get off on heights.
  5. Mad Tea Party –Again, since, like Dumbo, it’s in all the TV commercials it has the fame, but it’s just a spinny ride, just like any other at any carnival.
  6. Stitch’s Great Escape – I keep wanting this attraction to be better than it is. But it’s not.
  7. Tomorrowland Speedway – For anybody with a real driver’s license, this is understandably not so exciting.
  8. Swiss Family Treehouse – Lots of little kids climbing around.  Not fun. Time-waster.
  9. Hall of Presidents – Good only if you need a 20 minute nap in AC.
  10. Prince Charming Regal Carrousel – Horsies go around and around, up and down. Just like a carrousel should. It’s very pretty though – great photo opportunities.
Look for this sign for Dole Whip goodness.

Food Favorites (Quick-Serve, since you won’t have time to sit for too long!):

  1. Main St. Bakery (Main St.) – Their cinnamon rolls in the morning are just perfect.
  2. Aloha Isle (Adventureland) – Dole Whip. Just do it.
  3. Casey’s Corner (Main St.) – The best hot dogs in WDW
  4. Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café (Tomorrowland) – Huge toppings bar for everything you could want to pile onto your burger. Tip: The terrace is a pretty good spot to watch Wishes while you chow down.
  5. Turkey Leg cart (Adventureland) – the Turkey Legs are hilarious, great photo opportunities.  Please read my post about how unhealthy they are though! 

    DW Turkey Legs

    The Turkey Legs at Disney World make hilarious props and photo opportunities, I get one every single trip. You simply can’t eat one without looking like a caveman, it really amuses me. For less than $10 they’re worth it for those fun few minutes, but please don’t take more than a couple real bites!  Just because it’s turkey doesn’t mean it’s healthy!

    Each leg weighs in at 1.5 pounds, and each contain over 4000 mg of sodium, 1100 calories and 50 grams of fat. FYI, that is twice your days worth of sodium, over half your daily recommended caloric intake, and a full day’s worth of your recommended fat intake.

    The legs are smoked, which is a slow process that results in a ham-like flavor (because ham is smoked meat we associate the flavor), which does not burn the fat off like the turkeys we roast in the oven for Thanksgiving. Also they’re nearly all dark meat (with the skin on), which of course is much more oily and fatty than white meat.

    Turkey Leg Nomnomnom

    By the time you’re finished eating (or playing with) your turkey leg, your hands will be covered in grease, so baby wipes or a stop to a restroom is necessary.  

    People justify their Turkey Leg meal by claiming ‘everyone gains weight while on vacation’… personally, I have never left Disney World anything but at least 5 pounds slimmer! All that running, walking, adrenaline and laughing really burns the calories like nothing else. 


    …Of course for those that indulge in those Turkey Legs a little too often, there are always the motorized scooters you can rent. 😉