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Credit: DisneyThe Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort is the crown jewel of the Florida parks, and it still towers above the competition in terms of history and iconography. However, the face of Disney World is beginning to lose a bit of its luster.
Amidst an unfortunate era of shutdowns, refurbishments, and closures, many visitors are finding that the Magic Kingdom is losing the biggest element of its namesake. So much so that the Park has even taken a critical hit with reviews and recommendations.
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Per Tripadvisor, the Park has a rank of 3.0 out of five on the site’s grading scale where other parks like Hollywood Studios and EPCOT reach a 4.5. That’s unnaturally low for the poster child of “the place where dreams come true. So what’s going on behind the gates?
Has the Magic Kingdom Lost Its Magic?
At the time of writing, the Magic Kingdom is the lowest-ranked Walt Disney World park in terms of visitor satisfaction on Tripadvisor. That’s not exactly what most Disney fans would call “normal,” and visitors have left scathing reviews on the site.
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John M. writes the most recent review which reads,
“When you are paying 5k a day to do this, including travel, hotel ,food, and parks, getting 4 rides in is outrageous. The lightning lane passes are not worth it , as you can really only get 1 per day. It seems like the concept off booking availability is also an uncontrolled fiasco. You would think this would mean a better experience but they think there capacity is much higher than realistic. The park is beautiful, but a waste of time…”
And deniset7777 adds further down that their trip was “disappointing and too expensive.” The user writes,
“The last time we were there was in 2017. They got rid of the fast passes and now use lightening passes. It’s ridiculous!!! The lines are so crazy, everything was so expensive. We went on the usual, Peter Pans Flight(my favorite), Haunted Mansion, Small World BUT Pirates of the Caribbean was closed because it was broken. This is the second time it was broken and we couldn’t use our lightening pass for something else, Why Not??? Every restaurant and snack bar has the same disgusting food!!! I just don’t get it, why with all the money people are paying can’t they have better food options??? This was our last trip to Disney for sure!!!”
“I’ve noticed that people seem to consistently rank Magic Kingdom pretty low when compared to the other parks. I don’t get it. It has a great collection of rides, the best fantasyland (IMO), and the best Tomorrowland (IMO).”
While the original author has deleted their account, other Disney fans quickly jump to add a more reasonable and practical answer to the internet’s griping.
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u/Pillowmore-Manor writes,
“I think it has the worst collection of quick service food options, is consistently the busiest park, and doesn’t have some things that people desperately desire that would help to mitigate crowds (nighttime parade, replace Tomorrowland Speedway, etc.) It also closes early for separately ticketed events more than the other parks.”
The same user also adds,
I also think that Magic Kingdom has a very difficult needle to thread, having to be the quintessential Disney experience, when that means something different to everyone. It has to have beloved IPs, but not too much. It has to be original, but not so much that it fails to resonate with younger guests. It’s the one park that people say you have to visit if you get one shot…so it has to be a memorable experience. And with that burden of expectation, it cannot possibly live up to the hype a lot of the time.
u/exjackly writes that the Magic Kingdom also has an accessibility problem that other parks do not.
“Don’t forget it is the hardest park to get in to. All the other parks you go straight from the parking lot to security and the park entrance (whether you are on or off property)… It takes around an hour or more to get into MK after you reach the toll booths; and feels like twice that long when you leave; especially if you are exiting with the majority of the crowds after the fireworks. That is a huge negative part of the experience.”
Further down, even more users share similar, more noticeable problems, such as being Disney World’s most dated park, several rides needing consistent upkeep, and other things that aren’t so easy to fix with the wave of a wand. After all, this kind of change costs the Walt Disney Company billions.
The fact of the matter is that comparison is the thief of joy, and that Disney World has just grown around it while the original Park has tried to maintain that classic Disney experience. There’s nothing wrong with that, but audiences’ taste is fickle and subject to change. Gotta give the people what they want.
Do you think the kingdom has lost its magic? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!