I’m going to do something different and share a (very) detailed report of my recent visit to Walt Disney World on the first weekend of December, 2022. I may do these from time to time to change things up, and to give you insight into how my mind works when it comes to planning my days. My friend and I were in the Orlando area for a work trip, and tacked on a few days at Walt Disney World to have some fun. I’ll start with a Trip Report of our day at Magic Kingdom.

I’ll just take you through the day, and stop to share some planning thoughts as I go. Hopefully, it will be helpful for you as you think about your next trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Getting to Magic Kingdom

Dateline – Friday, 12/2/2022. Touringplans.com rated this day a 4 out of 10 on their Crowd Calendar. It was a 3 in actuality.

Low Crowds Ahead

During Christmas Party season, where Disney schedules Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 4 nights a week, those days (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday in 2022) are MUCH less crowded than the other days of the week. Why is that? Because on Party Days, Magic Kingdom closes at 6:00 p.m. to the general public. Only those with tickets to the Party (a separate ticket from park tickets) can stay beyond that time. Which means, if you choose to go to the Magic Kingdom WITHOUT access to the (expensive) Christmas Party, you have three to four less hours to experience attractions, and you don’t get to watch fireworks. That’s a deal breaker for many guests, and so they choose to visit on a non-party day. Makes sense.

Well, my friend and I did visit on a Party Day, and purchased tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party as well. With a park opening time of 8:00 a.m., and with us staying on-site at All-Star Music and thus having access to Early Entry at 7:30 a.m., and with the Christmas Party going until midnight, we have potentially 16 1/2 hours to work with! SPOILER ALERT: We would not be there 16 1/2 hours.

The Commute to Magic Kingdom

So, with Early Entry beginning at 7:30 a.m., we planned on getting to Magic Kingdom around 7 a.m., which is about 10-15 minutes too late to make rope-dropping Seven Dwarves Mine Train a worthwhile endeavor. Getting to the parks early is the most important tip I can give you. We were running a few minutes earlier than we had planned (just like your typical vacations, amiright?), and arrived at the All-Star Music Bus Stop at 6:17 a.m. We were very fortunate, as the Magic Kingdom bus was pulling up at the same time we were. Instead of waiting up to 15 minutes for a bus, we waited 0 minutes.

The bus ride in the early morning took only 13 minutes. That’s on the short end of what my WDWArchiGEEK Commute Time Matrix predicts. Click below to sign up and receive that.

Arrival at Magic Kingdom

We arrived at the Security Checkpoint at 6:31 a.m., a good 20 minutes or more earlier than we had assumed. It’s at this point that we considered scrapping our Space Mountain rope-drop plan, and join the rush to Seven Dwarves Mine Train. They let us through security at 6:48 a.m., and were held at the Entry Tapstiles at 6:49 a.m.

We were held here until 7:03 a.m. and we were first at the tapstiles in one of the lines. Here, at 7 a.m., most of the folks in line were feverishly trying to make their first Lighting Lane reservation (we did purchase Genie+ for this day). We booked Jingle Cruise as our first LL with a 9:10 a.m. return. It may surprise you that Jingle Cruise is the attraction with the most demand for Lightning Lane, but it is the hottest ticket at Magic Kingdom (Seven Dwarves Mine Train is not part of Genie+.)

At 7:03 a.m., we were let in, and we were the first guests to make it into Town Square!

The Morning at Magic Kingdom

It never gets old to see Magic Kingdom in the early morning. (Excuse me, you two, down in front!)

We had made our mind up to rope drop Seven Dwarves Mine Train at this point. Even with the speed-walkers, we were still at the front of the crowd when we were held at the rope in front of Mad Tea Party at 7:08 a.m. By the way, cast members direct all guests to the right side of the hub in order to be checked-in for Early Entry, but it’s a very quick process.

Starting in Fantasyland

Promptly at 7:30 a.m., the rope was dropped and we made the one minute walk to 7DMT (what the internet calls it). Some aggressive rope-droppers performed enough acrobatics to pass us, and so we were about 50 people behind the leaders when we finally got to the ride entrance.

By the time we slowly wandered the queue, and waited for a train, it was a 7 minute wait. We were back in front of the ride at 7:42 a.m. – an 11 minute total attraction time.

Since our plan of starting in Tomorrowland was out the window, we called a strategic audible. Since it was still early, and to avoid using a Lighting Lane for it, we decided to do Peter Pan’s Flight next. Well, we knew the 5 minute posted wait wasn’t right – it looked like 15 to me.

And it was 16 minutes. 7:43 a.m. arrival – 16 minute wait – 8:03 a.m. back in front = 20 minute total attraction time.

Even though all of Magic Kingdom was now open for business with Early Entry being over, we decided to make our way over to Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear while the crowds were still low. On the way to Tomorrowland, we decided to knock out The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Nothing like two middle-aged men riding alone in a Hunny Pot… “Excuse me, sirs, did you forget your kids?”

Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: 8:05 a.m. arrival – 5 minute wait (5 min. posted) – 8:14 a.m. back in front = 9 minute total attraction time.

Moving on to Tomorrowland

After a leisurely walk to Tomorrowland, we found Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin with a 5 minute posted wait time. So we hurried over there to stop Zurg, figuring that Space Mountain’s longer total attraction time was more likely to result in Buzz’s wait rising than the other way around.

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin: 8:20 a.m. arrival – 3 minute wait (5 min. posted) – 8:27 a.m. back in front = 7 minute total attraction time.

Space Mountain still had a very manageable 20 minute posted wait. The actual wait was on pace to be much longer, but partway through, they allowed us to move into the other queue, which had been Lightning Lane returns only. After a slightly longer than posted wait, we were finally flying through the dark, single-file, at moderate speeds. Ultimately, we had an 8:29 a.m. arrival – 25 minute wait – 9:01 a.m. back in front = 32 minute total attraction time.

So far, in 90 minutes, we had done:

• 7DMT (7 min. wait)
• Peter Pan (16 min. wait)
• Winnie the Pooh (5 min. wait)
• Buzz (3 min. wait)
• Space Mountain (25 min. wait)

It’s hard to get much better than that.

The Other Side of the Park

It was finally time for us to move to the other lands. Our Lightning Lane (LL) return for Jingle Cruise was about to start, which is 5 minutes BEFORE the listed time of your reservation window. So, we would be able to tap in at 9:05 a.m. Now, we certainly had the option of hitting up Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, or Pirates of the Caribbean, or Haunted Mansion with short waits, and circling back to Jingle Cruise towards the end of the LL window. However, it behooves us to tap in as soon as possible so that we can move on to our next Lightning Lane reservation. When you’re paying $17 plus tax for Genie+, you want to maximize the number of Lightning Lanes you acquire.

So, Jingle Cruise. 9:08 a.m. arrival – 5 minute wait (LL) – 9:25 a.m. back in front = 17 minute total attraction time. As soon as we tapped in, we reserved our next Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion with an immediate return (9:10 a.m.). So, we headed there next.

Haunted Mansion: 9:30 a.m. arrival – 9 minute wait (including the stretch room) – 9:50 a.m. back in front = 20 minute total attraction time. Playful spooks interrupted our tour several times, so I was able to take a few pictures while stopped.

Crowds were still very light, and Lightning Lane return times were still almost immediate across the park. We were hoping to save some of our LLs for later in the day when crowds would be heavier, but we ended up feeling the need to pick something after Haunted Mansion. At 9:55 a.m., we got a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad LL with a 10:30 a.m. return. This gave us enough of a window of time to ride Splash Mountain first.

I’ve ridden Splash Mountain three straight visits thinking it’s the last time I’d be able to ride this classic. Alas, Disney has announced that it finally is closing down for reals. “Welcome Home Farewell Brer Rabbit”.

Splash Mountain: 9:58 a.m. arrival – 9 minute wait (5 min. posted) – 10:22 a.m. back in front = 24 minute total attraction time.

We then popped next door for our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Lighting Lane reservation. After a short wait, we were off on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: 10:25 a.m. arrival – 6 minute wait (LL) – 10:36 a.m. back in front = 11 minute total attraction time.

Finishing the Morning

After finishing the 3rd Magic Kingdom Mountain, it was time for our 4th Lightning Lane reservation. Given that we were planning to leave the park for lunch for a couple hours, we needed a ride that would have a relatively quick return time. it’s a small world fit the bill, and so we booked a 10:40 a.m. reservation at 10:38 a.m.

Pirates of the Caribbean still had a relatively low posted wait, so that seemed like a logical next ride, since we were nearby in Frontierland.

Despite the 35 minute posted wait, it was pretty clear that the actual wait would be closer to 20. In fact, we were seeing somewhat-more-politically-correct pirate scenes in just 16 minutes.

Pirates of the Caribbean: 10:40 a.m. arrival – 16 minute wait (35 min. posted) – 11:04 a.m. back in front = 24 minute total attraction time.

At that point, we headed over to it’s a small world and used our Lightning Lane there. 11:11 a.m. arrival – 6 minute wait (LL) – 11:36 a.m. back in front = 25 minute total attraction time.

We left for lunch after that – taking a 2 1/2 hour break at Wilderness Lodge. Looking back, this was about as successful of a morning as you’re going to have at Magic Kingdom. Early Entry on a Party Day is a great opportunity. Here’s the rundown of the morning:

• 7DMT (7 min. wait)
• Peter Pan (16 min. wait)
• Winnie the Pooh (5 min. wait)
• Buzz (3 min. wait)
• Space Mountain (25 min. wait)
• Jingle Cruise – LL (5 min. wait)
• Haunted Mansion – LL (9 min. wait)
• Splash Mountain (9 min wait)
• BTMRR – LL (6 min. wait)
• Pirates of the Caribbean (16 min. wait)
• it’s a small world – LL (6 min. wait)

That’s 11 rides in 4 hours! With this much accomplished, we were very content taking a long break. I’ll give you the rest in Part 2…