Magic Kingdom Daily Park Opening Show?

[PSM]

Two questions:

1) Throughout the 50th celebration, will there be a Magic Kingdom park opening show in front of the castle with characters, or was the one I saw in videos from October 1st a one-time thing?

2) If it happens every day, do you have to be there early as a hotel guest to catch it or does it happen at normal opening time? For clarification, the park opens 30 minutes early for those staying on property, which we are, but I'm trying to understand how it relates to gates open vs "rope drop" vs rides open and all that.

My son (3 almost 4) and I will be there in early November, and I'd love to start off our trip with him seeing the characters in front of the castle, which is what he's most excited about. Our first day is at Magic Kingdom, and it seems normal opening time that day is 9:00am, while the park "opens" 30 minutes early for hotel guests. I suppose I just need a better understanding of how all that works with gates/rope drop/rides/show timing in the morning.

Thanks!

 

[nickys]

Two questions:

1) Throughout the 50th celebration, will there be a Magic Kingdom park opening show in front of the castle with characters, or was the one I saw in videos from October 1st a one-time thing?

2) If it happens every day, do you have to be there early as a hotel guest to catch it or does it happen at normal opening time? For clarification, the park opens 30 minutes early for those staying on property, which we are, but I'm trying to understand how it relates to gates open vs "rope drop" vs rides open and all that.

My son (3 almost 4) and I will be there in early November, and I'd love to start off our trip with him seeing the characters in front of the castle, which is what he's most excited about. Our first day is at Magic Kingdom, and it seems normal opening time that day is 9:00am, while the park "opens" 30 minutes early for hotel guests. I suppose I just need a better understanding of how all that works with gates/rope drop/rides/show timing in the morning.

Thanks!

In the past when there was EMH or a paid early event, the opening show always happened at the official park opening time.

Even if staying offsite you will be allowed down as far as the Hub to see the show. Plan to arrive by 8:30 for a 9am opening. If you are staying onsite you can either forgo the early entry or return to the Hub for it. I would choose the first option.

 

[wdwfan22]

You will be allowed on Main Street prior to park opening even if you are not a resort Guest. The welcome moment ( I refuse to call it a show as it's less than 5 min in length) takes place every day 5 minutes prior to the official park opening. If you plan to utilize the 30 minute head start most likely you will want to skip this welcome moment and head straight into the lands.

 

[PSM]

You will be allowed on Main Street prior to park opening even if you are not a resort Guest. The welcome moment ( I refuse to call it a show as it's less than 5 min in length) takes place every day 5 minutes prior to the official park opening. If you plan to utilize the 30 minute head start most likely you will want to skip this welcome moment and head straight into the lands.

Thanks for the info! So I just need to decide what's more valuable: my son starting off his day seeing the characters at the castle or us maybe getting on an extra ride or two with a shorter wait.

You'd think the rides would be a no-brainer, but remember:

1) this trip is all about him;
2) he's 3 going on 4 and he's excited because Mickey and his friends live at Disney World;
3) to him, the castle IS Disney World lol

Since we'll have a second day at Magic Kingdom, I think starting it off with him seeing characters in front of the castle is about as "Disney Magic" as it could possibly get for him.

 

[wdwfan22]

Thanks for the info! So I just need to decide what's more valuable: my son starting off his day seeing the characters at the castle or us maybe getting on an extra ride or two with a shorter wait.

You'd think the rides would be a no-brainer, but remember:

1) this trip is all about him;
2) he's 3 going on 4 and he's excited because Mickey and his friends live at Disney World;
3) to him, the castle IS Disney World lol

Since we'll have a second day at Magic Kingdom, I think starting it off with him seeing characters in front of the castle is about as "Disney Magic" as it could possible get for him.

Keep in mind the characters appear at the train station throughout the day. So it’s still possible to see them during your visit. Character meet and greets are also expected to resume in November.

 

[PSM]

Keep in mind the characters appear at the train station throughout the day. So it’s still possible to see them during your visit. Character meet and greets are also expected to resume in November.

More big questions I hope to answer soon: we'll be there early November, so 1) will the meet and greets have started by then, and 2) how will Lightning Lanes and all that new Genie+ stuff affect it (or will lines just be crazy long to begin with since meet and greets haven't happened in so long)?

Time will tell. At least we're getting more details these days about Genie+, so that will help somewhat with planning until the trip.