Top 10 Things I love About Disney's Magic Kingdom

10) Main Street Electrical Parade
There's something special to me about night-time parades, and I wish that Disney had more of them. Sadly, the Main Street Electrical Parade isn’t on every night, so we don’t always get to see it, but whenever we do, we really enjoy it. There’s just a charm to it to see the floats and your favourite characters sparkling away after dark.

9) Cinderella Castle
You couldn’t have a top ten without the castle, now could you? There’s something that still to this day makes my spine tingle when I see it. It’s just a beautiful fairy tale icon, although I must confess that I wish there was more to it, like at Disneyland Paris, where you have a dragon slumbering in the cave beneath, and a charming representation of the story of Sleeping Beauty above.

8) Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
I’ve loved this ride ever since it was first introduced in the Magic Kingdom, no doubt partially because of my love of a little grey donkey. I just find this so much fun, and to me, these are the rides that I love Disney for, when they take you through scenes from famous movies. And let’s face it, given the popularity of Pooh and his friends, a ride featuring them was long overdue.

7) Wishes

We're both huge fireworks fans, so Wishes had to be on the list somewhere. What I love about this is how many different places you can watch it from, and how different the show looks, depending on your viewing location. Most people crowd around the castle, but we’ve seen it from Liberty Square before, in front of the Crystal Palace, and even from outside the park, which provides a very different perspective.

6) Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

This is one of the reasons we love to visit in the fall, along with the Food and Wine Festival over at Epcot. The parade is always stunning, from the pounding of the headless horseman to those gravediggers, who really make the sparks fly. I love the fact that this is a Halloween celebration that’s suitable for the family, and it’s also one of the rare opportunities to see characters like all seven dwarves out and about for meet and greets.

5) Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Magic Kingdom - Pirates of the Caribbean

There be pirates and gold in this here attraction! The entrance to the attraction that led to the trilogy of successful movies.

Following on from the Halloween Party, I had to include the Christmas Party. I know this seems to have a much more mixed reception from people than the Halloween Party, but we love it. To us, being able to see the Disney Christmas parade is pretty much worth the cost of admission alone, as the only other option to view it is if you’re at Disney World over Christmas and New Year, and that’s one of the busiest times of the year. We just find it’s a magical and fun party, and really helps to get us into the holiday spirit.

4) Be Our Guest
A couple of years ago, I'd never have thought that the newest addition to table service dining would make it into my top ten, but after one superb meal there, I couldn’t miss it out. My grandmother was French, so I know what good French cuisine tastes like, and my food was exactly like my grandmother’s, a real compliment to the chefs. Outside of the food, the setting is superb, and you really do feel like Belle entering the Beast’s castle for the first time. I’m not surprised this is still such a hot ticket, a couple of years after opening, and I can’t wait to return to hopefully enjoy just as good an experience second time around.

3) Haunted Mansion
We’re back to what I call the traditional Disney rides that the whole family can enjoy, although maybe in this case, perhaps not the very youngest members… What never ceases to amaze me about the Haunted Mansion is how wonderfully creative it is, given how old the attraction now is. I always wonder how the first people to ride this all those years ago reacted? I bet in complete and utter wonder, and I still have that wonder to that day, as we ride through our 999 ghostly companions.

2) Pirates of the Caribbean
And on to another typical Disney ride, and this one again really immerses you in the story of a pirate’s life, although I do like the way that you get to see both the good old days when pirates were at their height, and what happens as their way of life comes crashing down. The recent addition of characters from the new movies only enhances this ride even more.

1) Crystal Palace
When I think of the Magic Kingdom, there’s one place that holds so many magical memories from over the years, and that’s the Crystal Palace, home to my donkey friend Eeyore and his pals. This is somewhere we visit on every trip, and it’s not just for the characters, as we love the bright and airy setting, and are never disappointed by the food.

So that wraps up my top ten of things at the Magic Kingdom, which leaves only Epcot to explore in the final article in this series.

About the Author: Cheryl is the author of the e-book, PassPorter's Walt Disney World for British Holidaymakers, and is the co-author of PassPorter's Disney Vacation Club Guide: For Members and Members-To-Be. Cheryl and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to Disney, and they have travelled around the world, taking in a number of Disney cruises, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani in Hawai'i, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland on the way. Click here to view more of Cheryl's articles!