Disney Tips Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
No visit to Walt Disney World is complete for many guests without spending time in the Magic Kingdom. The original park opened on October 1, 1971, and welcomes guests to forget reality and enjoy different themed lands filled with memorable attractions, dining, shopping, and more. With so many wonderful and popular experiences to enjoy, many guests rush from one place to another and overlook some great attractions, details, and more that truly help to make the Magic Kingdom as immersed and wonderful as it is.
These missed experiences are truly wonderful, and guests should take the time to seek them out on any trip. Here are ten things that guests might have missed while enjoying the Magic Kingdom.
1. Progress City Model
Before Walt Disney World began construction, Walt Disney’s dream for the new location was for a working utopia dubbed Progress City. Disney viewed it as an immersive community with workplaces, homes, places of worship, entertainment, and more. Eventually, the concept shifted and went on to be developed as the root of EPCOT, but not before extensive conceptual drawings and models were created.
Guests who ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover can quickly glimpse a small fraction of the original model of Progress City on the left-hand side of the vehicle.
2. Liberty Belle
An often overlooked attraction in the Magic Kingdom offers up a serene journey with views that can’t be enjoyed from anywhere else in the park. The Liberty Belle is a massive riverboat that travels on a loop around the Rivers of America. Guests can choose from several decks offering covered seating or sunny spots as they enjoy a scenic trip that offers up unique Frontierland, Liberty Square, and more vantage.
In addition to the views, the Liberty Belle itself is filled with beautiful details and décor that guests should take the time to check out and enjoy.
Credit: Disney Tips
3. Tom Sawyer Island
The Liberty Belle’s loop on the Rivers of America circles Tom Sawyer Island, another often overlooked location in the park. Guests have to board a rustic log raft and cross the river to reach Tom Sawyer Island, but once there, the location is wonderful to explore. Every corner features places to explore, including Fort Langhorne, mysterious caves, bobbing barrel bridges, and more.
Guests can also enjoy beautiful views of the surrounding area from quaint porches and rocking chairs, making Tom Sawyer Island a great spot to relax and take in the park’s beauty.
4. Cinderella Wishing Well
To the right of Cinderella Castle is a small winding path with a beautiful and quiet spot many guests miss. The Cinderella Wishing Well is an intricately detailed spot with beautiful views and relaxing benches. Guests can take in the sights, make a wish, and enjoy wonderful details like a crest with the letter “C” on top, fluttering carved birds, and more. Those who take the time to check out the details of the Cinderella Wishing Well can also spot Gus, Jacque, and even Lucifer all carved with beautiful detail.
This quiet spot is a great example of the level of detail that goes into the Magic Kingdom that often is missed!
5. Castle Mosaics
Found inside Cinderella Castle is another wonderful experience many guests don’t notice as they pass through quickly to Fantasyland. While walking through the breezeway, beautiful tile mosaics tell the story of Cinderella in bright and gorgeous colors. Featuring thousands of small tiles, each mosaic brings to life a scene from the film, including the trying on of the glass slipper and Cinderella and Prince Charming’s happily ever after.
Each mosaic features intricate details that guests can enjoy, right down to the stepsisters being red with anger and green with envy!
6. Swiss Family Treehouse
Over in Adventureland, there is an attraction that is often missed by guests as they move further into the land towards other experiences such as the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. The Swiss Family Treehouse invites guests to climb several stories up and take in amazingly themed rooms and areas that showcase how the Robinson family utilized their shipwrecked items and things from the island to create a home for themselves.
Each room features unique inventions and comforts that the family enjoys, and guests can notice something new on each visit. The Swiss Family Treehouse also offers some of the best views of the Magic Kingdom that can’t be missed.
Credit: Disney / Canva
7. Big Top Treats
Guests who explore Storybook Circus can check out attractions, including Dumbo the Flying Elephant as well as Big Top Souvenirs, a great spot to find unique merchandise, all located inside of a massive circus tent. While guests might be aware of the location of Big Top Souvenirs, they might have missed Big Top Treats, a special location in the center of the tent that serves up wonderful snacks.
Guests who stop at the counter location can choose from a variety of goodies, including candy apples, cookies, chocolates, and more. Big Top Treats is definitely worth a visit as guests can find something totally delicious to enjoy while exploring Storybook Circus.
8. Sonny Eclipse
Many guests are familiar with Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café in Tomorrowland as it is a popular quick-service eatery that offers up several different ordering bays, each with unique offerings. What guests might not know about the restaurant is that one room offers up unique entertainment in the form of Sonny Eclipse. This alien lounge singer performs doo-wop hits paired with comedic anecdotes and stories to keep guests tapping and laughing throughout their meals.
Guests who enjoy lunch or dinner at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café should try to score a table in Sonny Eclipse’s room and enjoy the show.
9. Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress Video
Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress is a favorite attraction for many guests as it features the story of one family which has enjoyed progress throughout the years. Guests often love to visit the attraction, but many miss out on a video in the outdoor loading area that shares a bit of the history behind the experience. Small overhead televisions share clips of the attraction’s origin at the 1964 New York World’s Fair as well as a clip of Walt Disney himself with the Sherman Brothers as they sing a portion of the attraction’s song “There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.”
Guests should take the time to enjoy the brief video before boarding Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress!
Carousel of Progress, Magic Kingdom Park / Credit: Disney
10. Building Dates
A small detail spanning Liberty Square and Frontierland tells a story of history and time that guests walk by daily and don’t notice! Beginning in Frontierland down by Splash Mountain, each building features a number somewhere on its edifice. The numbers continue with the buildings through Frontierland and Liberty Square, leading up to the Haunted Mansion.
Each of these numbers coincides with a date that represents the year that that particular architectural style was popular, moving through time up to the Hudson Valley Dutch Gothic style of the Haunted Mansion.
This small detail is a great example of the incredible thought that went into every aspect of the Magic Kingdom!
