A First Timer’s Review of the Magic Kingdom
The first time I went to The Magic Kingdom, I could not believe how different the Magic Kingdom was from its Californian sister, which I am familiar with the most. The park had many great attractions I had never experienced before, environments that were different from Disneyland’s yet they were the same, and the only Walt Disney era attraction that changed my perception of what theme park attractions could be. After my first visit, I’ve decided that The Magic Kingdom is one of the best theme parks in the world with its immersive environments, grand animatronic shows, and assortment of classic attractions.
Main Street, USA
Unlike the Main Street at Disneyland re-creates Walt Disney‘s hometown of Marceline, Missouri, Disney World’s Main Street draws on multiple American architectural styles, such as New England and Missouri from the Victorian era. This land serves as the entrance, opening credits, and closing credits of the Magic Kingdom, since many windows on Main Street’s buildings bear the names of many people who have contributed to the Magic Kingdom, like Walt Disney, Roger Broggie, and Mary Blair. Main Street extends to the hub, which leads to five other themed lands (more on that later). Main Street is a very nice opening to the park, and while it is not based off of a real place like Disneyland’s Main Street, it is much grander and represents a sanitized version of America during the turn of the century. I love these sanitized historical environments because of how bad history is, and just for a little while, Main Street can temporarily at the very least make the issues of the turn of the century (the large wealth gap, unrestrained corporations, discrimination) disappear.
Adventureland
This version of Adventureland is a combination of Polynesian, Persian, Caribbean, and various other exotic influences from Asia and Africa. This land is home to the world famous Jungle Cruise and the Pirates of the Caribbean. While this version of Pirates is still a great version of this legendary attraction because of how it gets to the action quickly and is not exactly the same as other Pirate attractions, it is downsized compared to other versions at Disney parks due to the fact that the Imagineers had not intended the Magic Kingdom to have a Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which led to opening day guests storming City Hall. Conversely, this version of the Jungle Cruise is an upscale version of the one at Disneyland as it has more scenes and longer duration. Some elements I enjoy about this version of Adventureland is that it has a variety of environments combined into one and is home to my favorite treat in the park, the Citrus swirl.
Frontierland
This land is a beautiful rendition of this country’s Frontier history, bringing the era of the cowboy and the steam train to life. This Frontierland is divided up into two areas, one facing the Rivers of America, and the desert area surrounding Big Thunder Railroad. Some of the best attractions in the park I found to be in this area, such as Country Bear Jamboree. I liked this attraction as it made the entire audience engaged, as they started clapping in rhythm, despite not having any advanced interactive technology. The songs and the lyrics were hilarious and edgy at times, leading to a memorable and comical animatronic show. I also enjoyed the lengthened version of Splash Mountain with its extra scenes, unique animatronics, and high capacity which helped keep us from waiting forever to get on this ride. Frontierland as a whole does not feel like it’s from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly or Zorro. It feels like it is from True Grit or Davy Crockett, with its greenery, large bodies of water, and its more Appalachian and Colorado Frontier style.
Liberty Square
This is the elephant in the room. Home to The Hall of Presidents, the largest display of patriotism in the United States, in my opinion as I have seen the Smithsonian’s History museum and it does not have a display on such a scale as the Hall of Presidents. All 46 presidents are represented in animatronic form, with a film retelling the history of the US on a wide screen in surround sound and it brings history to life right before your eyes with convincing animatronics. The Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square I find to be the thesis attraction for Disney World as it represents what The Magic Kingdom is about: upscaling and improving attractions from before. What I really love about this area is that it’s not just an exclusive land or just themed to the era that our country was born in. It is a tribute to our grand heritage, the original 13 colonies that had the guts to break off from the most powerful country on earth (the land draws architectural inspiration from all 13 founding colonies), and shows how humble the origins of modern democracy were (the buildings there are not exactly as grand as the Forbidden City).
Fantasyland
This land is undoubtedly the star of the show at Disney World as it has the most attractions, is home to The Magic Kingdom’s largest addition ever, and is home to the icon of this park, Cinderella's castle. I really liked New Fantasyland because it created these mini environments themed to a specific Disney film like Snow White or the Little Mermaid. The older area behind Cinderella Castle did feel like a castle courtyard and had a very distinctive medieval era feel. While Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was an interesting thrill attraction, I believe it to be overrated and mainly for children. Mickey’s Philharmagic was enjoyable, even if it does have poor animation from the early 2000s, but it featured many classic Disney scores in decent audio quality and had a relatively short line for a long show. Out of all the Fantasylands I have visited this one has to be the most child centric with its abundance of kiddie rides and tame E tickets. Overall I liked the land though I wish there was something for adults and teens besides a kiddie coaster.
Tommorowland
Out of all the themed lands here at the Magic Kingdom, I liked this area the most because this version of Tomorrowland actually felt timeless and is home to the one attraction that actually blew me away. This Tomorrowland feels like it was pulled from the pages of a Buck Rogers comic book or a science fiction film, rather than the predictions of Futurists and scientists, as it has lots of exaggerated metallic features, a space themed music loop, and a futuristic color scheme of blue and silver. While I was not able to ride the people mover when I was there I was pleased to know at least one Tomorrowland has one left as the one at Disneyland (the Park that I live closest to) was killed by poor management. The best thing about the environment of this area is that it’s cohesive and does not feel like a hodgepodge of many different visions of the future. The Carousel of Progress was my favorite attraction at the Magic Kingdom because it pointed out that over the past century, life has been made easier by new technologies and home appliances. And just when we think it can’t be any better, technology improves peoples’ lives again with a new type of technology. The Carousel’s message is that as long as people keep improving technology, progress will continue and that people are short term minded since they focus on how great the present is, seeing that Father Tomorrow in the show keeps talking about how great he has it because of all the house appliances in each different decade. Space Mountain was also very fun and felt more attached to the space age than other versions of it, but I wish it was just a little longer. This has to be my favorite land in the park just because of the fact that it is Tommorowland and is Cohesive.
Overall, The Magic Kingdom is a great theme park with its classic attractions, immersive environments, and its timeless feel. It’s no wonder this park is a cultural icon, and although it does not have the most attractions compared to Disneyland, it’s environments are about as close as one can get to perfect. I give The Magic Kingdom a 98%.