Hiya Pals!
A Disney vacation often means crowded spaces, and long lines. You can opt to pay extra for Genie+, but we seldom do, in fact, I’ve only ever used it once. Our last trip was over Thanksgiving. We knew that being in Magic Kingdom the day of Thanksgiving would be crowded and we wouldn’t get a ton done. It was my mission to see what we could do without Genie+ and boy was I surprised at the results! Find out how we still managed to ride most rides and dine at some amazing restaurants all in one of the busiest days at the park. Come along on a crowded day at Magic Kingdom.
Morning
We entered Magic Kingdom around 8:30am on Thanksgiving Day. The park opened at 9am so we had 30 minutes of Early Entry to make the best of. Starting off the day we headed out to Adventureland, where we rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and Pirates of the Caribbean before we needed to head to Beach Club’s Cape May Cafe for breakfast.
Once there we dined with Mickey, Minnie, Donnald, Daisy and Goofy in their beach attire. We stuffed ourselves full of delicious food in true Thanksgiving fashion and headed back into the park arriving back around 11:30. We caught a portion of The Dapper Dans performing on Main Street before heading to see The Philharmagic show. Next, we hopped in line for Haunted Mansion which was listed as a 60-minute wait.
Afternoon
We hadn’t felt too accomplished by this time, but decided to keep on trucking along to see how many things we could fit in. We went into the day knowing that just being in the park on a major holiday was going to be a memory in itself. However, we headed to It’s a Small World to mark it off our list. By 2:30 we were grabbing a place in line for Journey of the Little Mermaid, one of my favorite rides. We were met by people leaving the line queue, and a posted 60-minute wait. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the line here so long. It wasn’t looking very promising!
Next up was The Barnstormer. The line here moved along pretty quickly, and we definitely didn’t wait the 30 minutes listed. By this time, it was around 4pm and our legs and feet were tired from all the standing. We decided to take in a show at Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.
Evening
After a quick refresh and a laugh or two we decided to climb aboard the Peoplemover for a quick spin around Tommorowland. Around 5:30pm we grabbed a seat on the Carousel of Progress. By 6 we were lined up to cruise on the Tomorrowland Speedway. The wait was posted at 40 minutes; however, we were already in line for our next attraction by 6:35! The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was our next attraction. Finally, it was time for dinner! We had reservations for Be Our Guest Restaurant, and I’m so glad we did! It wasn’t your traditional Thanksgiving faire, but the food was divine, and something I’ll never forget!
If you’d like to read Becky’s review of Be Our Guest dinner you can find it here.
Night
By the time we were done with dinner (around 9:10) it was getting late, but the park was open until midnight. We fully intended to squeeze in every last drop of Magic Kingdom goodness for the day! So, we headed off to Frontierland. Here we saw our last showing of The Country Bear Jamboree before it closed for it’s refurb. At 11pm it was time for our son’s first-time seeing Hall of Presidents, before skipping over to Jungle Cruise. We finished our rides with Peter Pan’s Flight in Fantasyland. We had just enough time to make a wish in Cinderella’s Wishing Well and take some castle pics. Before leaving for the night we waved goodbye to Mickey and Minnie at the Train Station. Finally, we were heading back to our hotel room.
All-in-all
Overall, it was very busy a crowded day in Magic Kingdom, but I feel we made the best of it without buying into Genie+. In case you lost count we were able to experience 16 different attractions in that one day and eat two full meals to boot! I call that a successful day! We definitely would have been able to fit a few more rides in too, but our son was wanting to skip a few things like Dumbo, the Teacups, and Prince Charming’s Carrousel.
I get asked all the time how we are able to “do Disney” on a crowded day without Genie+ and this is my go-to tip: Go Early and/or Stay Late! We got so much done at night during and after the fireworks show. We also are ok skipping fireworks; my son doesn’t love them, and we are able to watch them here and there as we move about the park.
If you’re looking for a great Travel Agent who specializes in Disney, look no further than our own TA Erica Kocher! She can help you with all your vacation planning needs.
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