By Jacob Ward

Imagine with me, if you will, a place where magic exists.

A place where dreams of all sizes can come true. A place where the tightening binds of adulthood are shattered by the sleeping beauty of childhood innocence. A place where people of all walks of life can feel welcomed and accepted.

It is a place where you can board a boat and witness the actions of a gang of wily pirates. A place where you can brave a tour of a haunted mansion occupied by happy haunts. A place where you can go on a wild mine cart ride through the mountainous wilderness. A place where you can travel to Neverland in an enchanted ship. A place where you can learn just how small the world really is. A place where you can dash through space on your own rocket ship or speed into a virtual world on a light cycle bike. A place where elephants fly, tropical birds sing, and where there's always a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

It is a land ruled by imagination, yet also existing in reality. This is a land known as the Magic Kingdom, and it is truly the best park of Walt Disney World.

Cinderella’s Castle, Photo by Jacob Ward

More so than the other parks at Walt Disney World, the Magic Kingdom allows the inner child in you to be released. The park invokes a sense of warm nostalgia, memories of a simpler and more carefree time and place. Memories of childhood play and adventure come to the forefront and thoughts of the oftentimes difficult and sometimes cold world of adulthood are pushed to the back, if only for a few hours. We remember the joy we felt when we were younger, playing with our toys and creating exciting scenarios in our minds. In many ways, the Magic Kingdom allows us to experience this feeling once again. Only, we find ourselves being placed into these scenarios, once only found in our imaginations.

The park is able to do this thanks to the multiple highly detailed lands within. Adventureland embodies the spirit of brave exploration, jumping into the unknown and charting a new course. Frontierland is a celebration of the old American West, proudly showcasing the rustic charm of this exciting era. Moving into Liberty Square welcomes you to a tribute to our nation's origins and those who have led it, along with a spooky manor that's dying to have guests. Fantasyland is the pulse of Walt Disney World, the place where the pure Disney magic of our childhood comes to life and invites us to go on whimsical adventures. Finally, Tomorrowland offers a science fiction-based look at the possibility the future offers where progress is always moving forward.

These diverse and immersive lands offer the guest a chance to choose their own adventure and to live out scenes found in fantastical imagination. Not only that, but guests can decide the order of the events in their story. It was this very philosophy that guided Walt Disney with the creation of the original Disneyland park in 1955. He wanted the guests to feel as though they were the star in their own movie, and he wanted them to be in control the entire time. Although Walt never lived to see the full realization of Walt Disney World, his imagineers carried on his legacy and created a park that honored his memory and would make him proud.

The Magic Kingdom thrives on nostalgia and nowhere is this more prevalent than the introduction to the park, the “opening scene” of the movie the guest enters, Main Street USA. Inspired by the warm memories of Walt's childhood days in Marceline, Missouri, this land acts as the gateway to the magic surrounding the entire park. Main Street USA provides a comfortable familiarity as one walks down it, invoking the feelings of days gone by. With the sweet smells coming from the Main Street Confectionery, the Dapper Dans crooning their catchy tunes, the old-timey Main Street vehicles running to and fro, and Disney music playing in the background, Main Street USA is the warm hug welcoming you to the Walt Disney World Resort. For us passionate Disney fans, it's our welcome home.

There is one aspect of Main Street USA that on its own is one of the most iconic sights in the entire Disney company. It is not only the heartbeat of Walt Disney World, but perhaps even the heartbeat of the Walt Disney Company. It is the ultimate symbol of the magic coming to life and the ultimate placesetter for this world you enter. At the end of Main Street inside the hub leading to all the lands mentioned earlier stands the iconic Cinderella Castle. This physical representation of the hopes, dreams, and pixie dust that has built the Disney company over the years calls out to those who see it and draws them in. One cannot help but stare endlessly at it from all angles. If everyone's story begins on Main Street, then Cinderella Castle acts as the transition point to where you go on your own journey. But like the north star, it always calls you back and is the beacon that shows you are home.

The Magic Kingdom is pure storytelling come to life. It encourages the use of imagination and allows the inner kid in all of us to come out and have fun. Compared to the other parks at Walt Disney World, it may be lacking in some areas. It does not have the thrills of Hollywood Studios. It may lack the culture and knowledge of Epcot. It certainly is not the wild force of nature that is Animal Kingdom. But there is no other park at Walt Disney World that creates that Disney feeling as effectively and effortlessly as the Magic Kingdom. No other park gives the guest that feeling of stepping into their own Disney movie where they choose the adventure they want to go on. No other park offers that warm welcome home quite like Magic Kingdom. It is Disney magic personified and it is truly the best park at Walt Disney World.

About the Author: Jacob loves all things Disney and visits the Most Magical Place on Earth multiple times a year! If he's not at Disney, you can find him lounging on a beach with his wife and son.

Plan Your Trip With Jacob