With All The Construction At The Magic Kingdom, Is Now The Time To Visit?

With ticket prices increased, Toontown closed, and other portion of Magic Kingdom under construction, is now the time to visit Walt Disney World?  Answers vary. 

Magic Kingdom with the Fantasyland Expansion, slated to open late fall of 2012, is experiencing growing pains. Guests develop photos only to see construction walls and scrims in many.  The Walt Disney World Railroad only has 2 stops—Main Street and Frontierland.  The Enchanted Tiki Room-Under New Management has been closed since late winter with the re-opening continually pushed back.  Character meet and greets relocated to various portions of the parks—I say parks here, as the Fairies are still in EPCOT and have not yet returned to the Magic Kingdom.  So, with fewer attraction, ticket prices would be less, right?  Wrong!  The Disney Company announced earlier than ever ticket price increases that went into affect immediately. 

So, is now the time to plan a visit to Walt Disney World given Magic Kingdom’s transformative state?

Yes.  If this may not be your first or ever visit to the World.  If you plan on returning, got a great discount on your trip or have passes, then yes, head to the most magical place on Earth.  Most likely, there will always be some rehab or refurbishment of attractions; it is just that this is a big one right now.  Plan to spend time in the other parks.  Yes, there are OTHER parks—3 others.  I know some folks think that Walt Disney World and Magic Kingdom are one in the same, but Magic Kingdom is a slice of the Walt Disney World Resort. 

No.  If you and your family plan to take a once in a lifetime trip to the Walt Disney World Resort, then wait until the Fantasyland Expansion and Storytime Circus construction are complete and the areas open.  This may mean pushing back a trip until late 2012 or even 2013.  Take your children’s ages into account, as once they hit 10, it will cost you more for tickets and food.

You’re going, aren’t you?  Well, then be ready to grab some great discounts on rooms only rates and free dining plans.  We are headed to the most magical place on Earth for the 8^th time and scored free dining for our trip.  That makes 5 out of 8 trips with free dining!

With Magic Kingdom having the highest attendance of any theme park in the world—over 16 million visits annually, based on theme park data for 2010, it is unlikely that all the construction will deter guests.  It might, but it isn’t deterring us, at least for our next trip!