It May Seem Backwards, But Here's Why You SHOULDN'T Go to Magic Kingdom First

Curating the perfect plan for your Disney World trip can be immensely challenging!

Cinderella Castle

It’s hard to decide which rides to prioritize, where to eat, and in what order to do the theme parks. Especially if you’re Park Hopping, planning your schedule can be difficult. But we’re here to give you some possibly controversial advice!

While many people believe that you should kick off your day at Magic Kingdom to take advantage of the rope drop hours (the first few hours of the day when the wait times are low), we’re going to tell you to IGNORE that tip.

Why? If you’re Park Hopping during your vacation, you’ll want to make the most of your day by doing as many park hours as you can. And often, Magic Kingdom isn’t the park that opens the earliest.

Most days, Magic Kingdom opens at 9AM, while Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park often opens an hour earlier at 8AM. That means that you’ll get an extra hour by starting your day with the animals!

(Keep in mind that these hours can vary depending on when you visit, especially if you’re coming to the parks on a weekend or during a holiday season.)

We’ve also seen many instances of Hollywood Studios opening at 8:30AM, which is half an hour before EPCOT and Magic Kingdom most days. That extra time can make a huge difference in the morning when wait times are shortest.

So basically, what we’re trying to say is that you need to consult the park hours calendar before you plan your park day! If you’re Park Hopping, it’s a good idea to start at the park that opens the earliest and end at the park that closes the latest (that one is usually Magic Kingdom, unless you’re participating in Extended Evening Hours or After Hours). If you do that, you could end up with 15 or 16 hours of park time in one day!

It’s also important to use as many park hours as possible because Park Hopping is a HUGE time suck. It can take an hour or longer to get across Disney World property in the middle of the day by the time you walk out of the park, ride Disney transportation, go through security, and get into another park. You’ll be grateful you had the extra hour!

Pandora is STUNNING!

If you’re planning on Park Hopping during your trip, our best advice is to plan in advance, add cushion time in your day, prioritize your most-wanted attractions, and have lots of patience. It can be an efficient way to tackle the parks, but it can also be stressful!