After spending a full day at Epcot, my friend and I were ready and excited for round 2: spending a full day at Magic Kingdom at Disney World.  This theme park is the most visited worldwide and I was really excited to see what the hype was and to check it out during it’s 50th anniversary celebrations and during the Christmas countdowns which was even better.

Getting There

Staying at Pop Century Resort right on Disney property made it very easy to get to Magic Kingdom.  We checked the bus times and schedules on our room TV before leaving our hotel room.  We went to the main bus stop area which was by Classic Hall, the main building.  There we looked for the bus stop that was for Magic Kingdom and waited in the wheelchair accessible line.

The first bus that came was not wheelchair accessible so we had to wait for the next bus.  An accessible bus with a fold out ramp came only a few minutes after and it was not busy at all.  The bus driver strapped my wheelchair securely in and then drove the 20 minutes to Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom opened in October 1971 and was the first of 4 theme parks to open at Disney World in Orlando.  The layout and attractions are based on Disneyland in Anaheim and is inspired by fairy tales and Disney characters.  The iconic Cinderella castle is the main attraction that everyone wants to see when visiting Magic Kingdom.

The whole park is divided into 6 different themed areas or lands: Mainstreet USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.  I will be detailing our main events of our day and to which area or land that it could be found on.

The Hub

(Mainstreet, USA)

Mainstreet, USA is where we started because that is where the entrance is.  This whole area replicates a small early 20th century town in the USA.  We got a wheelchair accessible guide map for the park before we started exploring.  This street is lined with many shops and restaurants.  This is where the Partners statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse can be found.

The hub is centrally located in the park and branches out into all 6 lands or areas.  This is also where the famous Cinderella castle all decorated for the 50th anniversary of Disney World is located.  We definitely had a few great photo ops here.

Mickey’s Celebration Cavalcade

(Mainstreet, USA)

Mickey’s Celebration Cavalcade is a short two min length mini parade that debut in October 2021 as part of the park’s 50th anniversary celebrations.  It is shown multiple times a day and features Mickey and the gang in their 50th anniversary outfits dancing to music on a fun parade float.  It was really enjoyable to watch but wished it was longer like the parade shows from the past.

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor

(Tomorrowland)

Next we headed towards Tomorrowland and saw Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.  This interactive 12 minute comedy show features original monsters Mike Wazowski and Roz.  Monstropolis is in need of more laugh power, so Mike suggests opening up a comedy club.

Guests are then introduced to some of the club’s top monster comedians.  They interact with the audience and try to make us laugh to convert our laughs to electricity.  The accessible seating was near the front in the middle and the show was enjoyable even though most of the jokes were geared towards kids.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

(Tomorrowland)

We then went to ride Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin which is a carbon copy of Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters which I rode on in 2015.  This popular interactive shooting game is based on Toy Story characters which was only 1 of 2 rides that could be found in all 6 of Disney theme parks world wide until the Hong Kong ride closed in 2017.

I still enjoyed this ride as it is wheelchair accessible and I can just roll into the ride vehicle.  Even though I can’t hold the laser gun to shoot during the ride, I still enjoyed this attraction a lot.

Under The Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

(Fantasyland)

Heading to Fantasyland, we went by Storybook Circus which is a big area inspired by the movie Dumbo.  There is a big circus tent, posters, and circus themed attractions and games.  This section was geared towards young children so we continued on to the ride: Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid.

The queue area leads us into a cave where we board an accessible giant clam shell ride vehicle.  This was a nice slow casual dark ride as we travel through underwater scenes with Ariel and friends greeting us with songs from the movie.  We also get to ride through the witch’s lair and through Ariel’s wedding ending with fireworks.

Prince Charming Regal Carrousel

(Fantasyland)

Prince Charming Regal Carrousel is a slow moving short carrousel ride based on the movie Cinderella.  Instead of riding on a horse, the accessible seating for wheelchairs is just a bench that flips up to allow a wheelchair to be strapped in.  This was more a kids ride but was good to try the one time.

“it’s a small world”

(Fantasyland)

The next attraction we did was: “it’s a small world”, which is a water based boat ride.  The regular boats can hold up to 16 passengers but my friend and I got the accessible boat to ourselves even though it could hold a few more people.  It is a slow moving 12 minute casual boat ride.

During the ride, we see over 300 audio-animatronic dolls in traditional costumes from different cultures around the world.  We see them singing and dancing to the main song “it’s a small world” many times over and over.  It was a fun ride overall.

The Crystal Palace

(Mainstreet, USA)

It is almost time for our early dinner reservation, so we headed back to Mainstreet USA to go to The Crystal Palace.  We had to eat earlier because it was the only time available as reservations are filled weeks in advance.  The Crystal Palace looked very fancy and had a Victorian look with lots of windows and high ceilings.

Before the pandemic, this buffet restaurant featured character dining which had Disney characters walking around greeting and posing for pictures with diners.  Because it is not happening for now, prices have been lowered.  The buffet featured American favorites like prime rib, fried chicken, pastas, salads, desserts and more.  Dinner is $60 per adult and alcoholic drinks are extra which makes it an expensive buffet.  Was still a great experience with great tasting food.

Disney Enchantment

(Mainstreet, USA)

After our delicious buffet, my friend went on The Haunted Mansion ride before we went to the night time show.  Disney Enchantment is a 15 minute fireworks show that debut in October 2021 in part of Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebrations.  Besides fireworks, there is projection mapping, lasers, lights and music at Cinderella Castle and Mainstreet, USA.

We went to the accessible viewing area for the show a bit late, so that whole area was already full.  So we just found a spot where there weren’t too many tall people in front of me, so I could still see.  It was great seeing scenes from classic movies like Aladdin, Peter Pan, Cinderella and new movies like Onward, Moana and Raya.  There were classic songs used throughout plus 1 new song created just for the show.  Was another amazing night time show put on by Disney.

Final Thoughts

My friend and I ended up staying 8 hours at Magic Kingdom and it didn’t feel like it at all.  The day went by so fast and we didn’t even do everything that we wanted to.  I can see why Magic Kingdom is the most visited theme park in the world for many years.

Not only was it truly a magical experience, there were so many accessible things to do and things to see and foods to eat.  I was glad to be there to celebrate their 50th anniversary and to watch the closing fireworks show.  I will definitely revisit sometime in my lifetime.