Falling out of love with Magic Kingdom

J

jsbowl16

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 30, 2014
We have a few days left on our trip this year which will be our fourth summer trip in four years with our 5 year old DD. We will most likely return next year but my wife and I find ourselves spending less time at MK each year. We love Disney World and so does our DD but we had a conversation last night about what makes so many people love MK and why we are falling out of love with it. We discussed that there are better food options, better rides, better anamatronics and to some extent better theming in the other Disney parks yet MK remains the most popular park at Disney World. We are getting to the point where we are dreading the crowds each time we visit MK especially at night. We find ourselves spending mornings at one park or another and then most evenings at Epcot enjoying World Showcase but make sure we schedule everything so we see Star Wars Fireworks, Fantasmic, Rivers of Light and HEA once per trip. MK is the iconic Disney park and maybe that is why everyone is drawn to it or maybe it is the number of classic family friendly rides. We want to love it again but as we list different aspects of the parks other parks beat out MK for us hands down. We used to look forward to spending as much time at MK as we could but now we look forward to a nice walk around World Showcase with a good snack, a good drink and room to actually walk. Anyone else feel this way or will you always be in love with MK?
 
I still love Disney ( MK and all) the same way I did when I rest started going. Maybe it is time to take a year off and do something different go on a cruse go to Disneyland and then come back to Disney world the following year.
 
I feel the same way. We go fairly often and there have been some trips when we only go to MK for about half a day, do some of the bigger rides and leave. I could spend every day of my trip simply walking through EP.
 
We used to double up on MK and we don't anymore. We still love it, but the amount of time we spend in each park has definitely evolved as DS has grown. I think it's fine to shift your priorities.
 


We go very infrequently, 5-6 years between trips, and Magic Kingdom is the magic spot. The castle, the rides, the railway, the smells, the music it all stirs the imagination of our kids and us. Nighttime, especially so. Walking past Haunted Mansion and into Frontierland as the wolf howls give way to banjo music and the Florida night scents mingle with popcorn and screams from Splash, it's a heady mix.
 


Matty_Disfan said:
We go very infrequently, 5-6 years between trips, and Magic Kingdom is the magic spot. The castle, the rides, the railway, the smells, the music it all stirs the imagination of our kids and us. Nighttime, especially so. Walking past Haunted Mansion and into Frontierland as the wolf howls give way to banjo music and the Florida night scents mingle with popcorn and screams from Splash, it's a heady mix.
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Same. And we go more frequently, every year and a half or so. For me it is more the atmosphere, this stuff. I'd be happy sitting on a bench at MK with a chocolate covered marshmallow from the confectionery and watching the world go by.
 
The way I keep things fresh, as a frequent visitor, is to make a point of doing different things each trip. I may skip MK one trip, and visit it the next. Or I'll pick a "theme day" such as focusing on the MK attractions that are still around from opening day. Sometimes it's easy, especially with FP+, to go on the same favorite attractions each trip (for me, Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion are my two that I almost always book at MK), so I try to make a point to do the exact opposite every so often. It had been a long time since I'd been to AK because I was waiting for Pandora, so that park feels very fresh to me right now. I'm kind of skipping DHS now until at least the Toy Story area is completed, so that park will get a fresh start in a year or so as well.

Epcot is my favorite park though, with MK a close second.
 
MK is also the most iconic park with the most kids friendly rides. In the summer, many tourists come from differebt places around the world. Majority of them don't visit on a regular basis. Some may visit once in a life time. MK is a must do for them. We don't come yearly. HS and EP are our favourites. But MK still gives me the special Disney feel. Walking down Main Street towards the castle always excite me more than walking into the other parks.
 
gap2368 said:
I still love Disney ( MK and all) the same way I did when I rest started going. Maybe it is time to take a year off and do something different go on a cruse go to Disneyland and then come back to Disney world the following year.
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I 2nd this suggestion. We were going to WDW every year (sometimes 2x per year) over the last ten years. I love it still, love the memories, the new things that happen each trip as our kids get older, the favorite foods, the atmosphere, rides, the sense of familiarity, etc. But a few years ago we weren't as enchanted with all the changes at WDW. We went to Disneyland/DCA instead 2 summers ago (and spent time in San Diego, Hollywood, Malibu...). It was an incredible trip, one of our best ever. I fell in love with DL/DCA. It's everything that WDW IS but also what it ISN'T if that makes any sense. We just got back, in fact, from our 2nd trip to DL/DCA (and we did the D23 expo as well). I miss it already. We've also gone a few other places (did a cruise, did one of those all-inclusive island trips, lake trips, skiing trips).

That said, going to DL definitely made me appreciate aspects of WDW that I may have forgotten, or just got 'used' to. I think you may just need a new perspective. It doesn't have to be a trip to DL but anywhere different & new.
 
Right now, MK is the most popular because HS is half shut down and EPCOT needs some TLC. Plus MK has the most to do and feels the most "Disney".
 
Still love MK, but I'm so out of love with the other three parks that I don't even care if I ever go there to them anymore. So I get it.

Spend the time in the parks you love.
 
I agree, we are also spending less time at MK. Tomorrowland in particular is very uninviting to me
 
Everyone has their own things that matter in each park. For me it's all about ambiance. Except for ToT, rides just aren't that important. I love walking into each park and enjoying the entrance. Each park has its own magic. For me it's Main Street and Cinderella's castle, Spaceship Earth, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the Tree of Life. The crowds at MK make it much less enjoyable for me. Everyone is in such a hurry that it's almost impossible to just wander around and enjoy the ambiance. I try to stay to the right, but I still get people who complain and make me feel like a jerk for walking so slow. I never get that feeling at the other parks. If rides are important, there are more at MK than the other parks so I do get why it's a favorite park for most people.
 
Truth be told, I've never been in love with MK. It's never been my favorite. I don't hate it either. I've never understood or held to the theory that I must start or end my trip there. It's just 1 of 4 parks and to me, it's all Disney, all 4 parks, not just MK. It's not better, or worse than the other 3. If someone held me down and made me pick a favorite park (which is almost like picking a favorite child) I would have to say AK. This has been since the start, and it's only been improved with Pandora. But really, we love all 4 equally.
 
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