All my daughter wanted for her 7th birthday was to go to the Magic Kingdom. I booked a 2 night stay at the newly renovated Royal Plaza, a Downtown Disney Resort area hotel in Lake Buena Vista. The hotel is within walking distance of Downtown Disney and is right off of Interstate 4, which is very convenient.

The hotel was $130.00 a night and the hotel was worth every penny. The Royal Plaza is a beautiful hotel with spacious rooms and a nice restaurant. There was a Disney owned gift shop on the first floor where we were able to get information and purchase tickets.

The Royal Plaza Hotel has bus services to all the Disney theme parks and they pick you up and drop you off in front of the hotel. The first bus picks you up at 8:30am, which was nice because we got to the Magic Kingdom at 9am when it opened.

We had two 7 year olds with us so we wanted to make sure we got there by 9am so we could beat the crowds and enjoy all the kiddie rides at Fantasyland and Splash Mountain. My daughter is only 7 years old, but she is surprisingly addicted to the splash mountain. Once we got to the Magic Kingdom I was surprised by how many people were already waiting to get on the monorails. We hopped on the monorail to the front door and quickly got 2 double width strollers for the kids.

We made a run to Splash Mountain where there was no waiting. It had been some time since I had been on that trip and I was surprised at how long the journey was. It’s not like most channel wrinkles that immediately bring you to a high point and drop you down the channel. Splash Mountain takes you on a slow and relaxing ride through the mountain with plenty of well-done scenes to marvel at. Splash Mountain is based on the story of the purebred rabbit and the kids love it. I’m not a big fan of thrill rides, but the canal drop at the end of the ride was pretty wild.

Here is a list of the other rides and attractions in Frontierland

Splash Mountain®

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Tom Sawyer’s Island

Country Bear Jamboree

Frontierland® Shooting Arcade

Pecos Bill Cafe

Then we head to the place that should be familiar to children all over the world, Fantasyland. I am 38 years old and I have many memories of the time I spent in Fantasyland as a child with my brothers during summer vacation. It’s nice to be a parent and to see your children enjoy something that you also enjoyed as a child. We got to the Peter Pan ride first, which is our favorite ride in Fantasyland. The ride really gives you the feeling that you are flying at night.

He then headed to It’s A Small World, where there was no waiting. This attraction is probably the most famous and well-known attraction in the Magic Kingdom. Children enjoy this ride because it shows children doing lots of fun activities with music and singing. The fact that it is also a slow boat ride is a plus for the kids. It’s been a week since I came home from Disney and the theme song from Small World is still on my mind.

We then rode Cinderella’s golden carousel, which is where we find Mary Poppins’ character signing autographs and posing for photos. The kids were excited to get their first autograph of the day at this time. We then ride the carousel, which is fun for both adults and children.

Our next stop was a ride I’ve only ridden once in my life and that was a long time ago when I was a kid. The Mad Tea Party ride is where you sit on a cup of tea and you and your friends or family can spin the cup as fast as you want by turning a wheel in the center of the tea cup. I get seasick and when I rode this ride as a kid I got sick and never had the courage to try it again.

Surprisingly, this was our last stop at Fantasyland because the kids wanted to go to Mickey’s Toontown Fair to get autographs from the princesses and see Mickey’s house. A good part of the day could very easily be spent in Fantasyland. There is a lot to do and see there and the only bad thing is that the area tends to get very crowded and congested. Here is a list of some of the other rides and attractions at Fantasyland.

cinderella castle

“It is a small world”

Peter Pan’s flight

Mickey’s Philhar Magic

Story time with Bella

The terrifying adventures of Snow White

Cinderella’s Golden Carousel

dumbo the flying elephant

Ariel’s Grotto

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Pooh’s play place

crazy tea party

Cinderella Royal Table – Dream Dining

Cinderella’s Royal Table – Dreams come true

Pinocchio town house

We then walked the short distance to Mickey’s Toontown Fair, which is home to these attractions.

Minnie’s Cottage

toronto hall of fame

judge’s tent

Mickey’s Country House

donald’s boat

The Farmer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm

This area is ideal for the little ones and all the wrinkles are aimed at them. This is a decent sized area with plenty to see and do. The most popular attractions here are Mickey’s Country House and the princess autograph and photo opportunity. Lines for the princess’s autographs are located inside the huge gift shop next to Mickey’s Country House, and be prepared for a long wait if you don’t arrive early in the day. Mickey Mouse’s autograph can also be found here, but the big draw is the princesses!

The Walt Disney World Railroad has a stop in this area, which is nice because you can take a break and relax on the train after lining up to ask the princesses for autographs. Mickey’s Toontown Fair is a special place that will leave you and your children with wonderful memories.

Right around the corner is the ever-so-popular Tomorrowland with all its high-tech attractions and
futuristic architecture. This seemed larger than life to me as a child and it left me in awe. My favorite ride growing up was Indy Speedway where you can race a small Indy car on a good size track. I have a daughter and she has never really been interested in this trip so we skipped it on this trip.

We headed straight for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, which is a slow drive that takes you through Tomorrowland and inside Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear. Next, we ate an early lunch at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café. This cafe is huge with fast food like burgers and chicken dishes. An alien musician plays the organ and speaks on the stage near the front door. This is a good place to take a break and have a bite to eat before hitting the crowds again.

We rode Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, which I have to say was pretty cool! This was my first time on the trip and my daughter and I had a blast trying to shoot the targets with our laser guns. This is a fantastic ride for the kids with all its lights, sounds and lasers. We got out of this ride and found Stitch signing autographs, so we waited in line and took some pictures with Stitch.

Here is a list of the other rides and attractions at Tomorrowland.

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor

Tomorrowland Indy Race Track

space mountain

astronomical orbiter

Tomorrowland Transit Authority

Walt Disney’s carousel of progress

Galaxy Palace Theater

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Twist

Stitch’s great escape!

Starlight Coffee by Cosmic Ray

Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station

Space Mountain is the big draw at Tomorrowland. It is a roller coaster that resembles a spaceship and the entire ride is in the dark which makes it quite exciting. I remember as a teenager waiting in line for several hours to ride Space Mountain. Tomorrowland is a great area for teens and young adults and you could spend hours there.