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Wanna be the first Guests in the gate at Magic Kingdom? Here’s how to do it!

family with disney characters at magic kingdom train station first family
Credit: SunandorSnow

If you love visiting Disney World, you know what it feels like. You know that feeling–those days at Disney World when the sun is shining (but it’s not sweltering hot), the kids are behaving, you don’t spend too much time in the lines; it’s that feeling of “nothing could make this more perfect!”

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Credit: Twitter/@DisneyPhotoPass

But what if it could be more perfect?

What if instead of only having a great day in the parks, your day at a Disney park could begin in such a magical way, that you would never forget it? You might just get such an opportunity at the Walt Disney World Resort, but you’ll have to know how to score it, specifically at Disney World‘s first park, Magic Kingdom.

At Magic Kingdom, each ride and attraction has a little magic of its own. Tomorrowland is home to Space Mountain, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, and soon, TRON: Lightcycle Run. Fantasyland welcomes Guests to enjoy a special enchanted tale told by Belle, it’s a small world, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, while Liberty Square beckons Guests with the Haunted Mansion attraction and Tom Sawyer Island.

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At Frontierland, Guests can set out for a thrilling adventure at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Adventureland features a magic carpet ride with Genie, Aladdin, and Jasmine, the Jungle Cruise attraction, where Guests can witness the “backside of water,” and of course, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

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Credit: Disney Parks

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Main Street, U. S. A. is where it all began and where it all begins. And that’s just the beginning of the Magic Kingdom rides and attractions.

You may already know that mornings at Magic Kingdom begin with a wonderful, magical ceremony. It’s a special way of ushering in the day for Guests at Magic Kingdom. The most exciting thing about the whole experience is that Cast Members actually select one family each day to help bring the magic to other Guests in the park.

Main Street U.S.A. at Disney World – Resorts Gal

Credit: ResortsGal

If you and your crew have ever been chosen, you know how exciting and magical the experience truly is. Each day, only one family is chosen, and the perks that come with being that family take the magic to a whole new level.

First, the family gets to enter Magic Kingdom before any other Guests do. In addition to early V.I.P. entry, the family are treated like royalty, scoring a private driver who escorts the family into Magic Kingdom. A magical meet-and-greet experience with Disney characters is waiting for the family when they arrive. And then, the family has the chance to star in the opening ceremony!

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After the ceremony, the V.I.P. treatment continues as the family is taken to the train station at the entrance to Magic Kingdom, where they can wave to the crowds of excited Guests waiting below.

Sounds great, right? It’s amazing, but again, you have to know what to do to increase your chances of being the family that is chosen by Cast Members.

First Family at Magic Kingdom: A Day in the Life of a Dream Come True - Sand and Snow

Credit: SandandorSnow

Arrive at the park early

According to The U. S. Sun Magazine, whose writers spoke with many sources considered “Disney World experts,” the first thing to do is arrive early. It should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway. Since the family of the day is chosen early and gains access into the park early, you and yours most likely won’t be chosen if you’re sliding into the park crowd five minutes before Magic Kingdom opens.

“I recommend getting to the park at least an hour early,” said one expert. “You’ll find the entrance to Magic Kingdom to be pretty empty at this point except for other families hoping to get picked.”

Skip the breakfast dining reservations that day

If you and your family have dining reservations for breakfast, you likely won’t be picked, simply because you’ll be in a separate line specifically for Guests awaiting entry to have breakfast, and Cast Members don’t choose families from this line because they know you’re about to leave for your dining reservation. Instead, if it’s important to you to try to be the chosen family at Magic Kingdom, skip the dining reservation, or schedule two days at Magic Kingdom so you can do both.

Dress the part

The old saying “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is applicable here. Experts say showing up at the park dressed to impress can help you get noticed by Cast Members.

“It helps to look the part,” says one expert. “If you’re enthusiastic, ready to go, and are so excited to be there that you are all wearing your favorite Mickey ears or Disney t-shirts, then it can only work in your favor.”

Stay informed (as things can change)

As the parks at Walt Disney World continue to work through changes, modifications, and processes of fully reopening to Guests, it’s possible that you may visit Magic Kingdom when a family is not being chosen for the day. Because you have to have a Park Pass Reservation for every day you’ll be in the parks, check to see which day or days you’re heading to Magic Kingdom. You can speak with a Cast Member at your Disney World Resort Hotel to see if the exciting park opening ceremony is taking place when you’re there.

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa – Resorts Gal

Credit: ResortsGal

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Now you’re ready! Here’s hoping your day at Magic Kingdom is filled with excitement, short lines, magic, and pixie dust–and that maybe, just maybe, if the park is hosting the ceremony the day you’re there, that you and your crew are chosen!

About Becky Burkett

Becky's from the Lone Star State and has been writing since she was 10 and encountered her first Disney Park when she was 11. It was love at first Main Street Electrical Parade. Joy is blank lined journals, 0.7 mm pens, and all things Walt, Woody and Buzz, PIXAR, Imagineering, Sleeping Beauty (make it blue!), Disney Parks history and EPCOT. At Disney World, you'll find her croonin' with the birdies at the Enchanted Tiki Room or hangin' with Woody and the gang at Toy Story Land. If you can dream, you really can do it!