Best Treats & Eats at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom!

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As you learned from my last post: Make the most of your One Day at Disney World, having the My Disney Experience Mobile App will be your new best friend for your day at the park! The app has a section for Mobile Food Ordering where you can select the eatery you want to order from, pick from their menu options and place your order, and then select from the available future pick-up times of when you’ll arrive. I researched ahead just like you’re doing now, using Pinterest articles and delicious Instagram photos from other park goers on what treats, eats, and sweets I wanted to partake of while I was there, and planned ahead what part of the park they were in so we weren’t walking the extra miles back and forth.

Take Full Advantage of the Disney Experience Mobile App!

This mobile app works first thing in the morning you wake up to attend the park, which is great! Since I’d woken Jeff up so early to beat the crowds and arrive to the park before they opened, Jeff was already hungry for breakfast before we arrived to the parking lot. While we were driving to make our way there, on my phone I was able to open the app and pull up the Sleepy Hollow eatery and order us a couple of croissant egg & bacon breakfast sandwiches to have ready for pickup by 9am, which was the earliest available timeframe. This worked out perfectly because it meant our breakfast would be ready after we got into the park about 8-8:30am and had taken all the desired photos we wanted in the spots I had mapped out ahead of time (Check out my post: Most Instagrammable Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Locations). I say “we” but Jeff was a great sport in allowing me to drag him around to take some memorable pics!

Breakfast Croissant Sandwich at Sleepy Hollow!

After we took several great photos in Main Street and at the Castle, we made our way over to Sleepy Hollow. Now if you aren’t familiar with the layout of the park, this is where the app comes in super handy! You can pull up where you want to go and then click the directions and it will guide you there and even offer you an estimated time it’ll take to get there. This becomes important if you ordered ahead for food, or when they offer the speed pass/line jumping option again, how long it’ll take you to get to your ride reservation.

We were both so excited and hungry for breakfast, I failed to take photos of it! But as you would expect, it was a really large croissant filled with a scrambled egg omelet and bacon. They served hash brown “tater tots†with it.

Gaston’s Tavern: Huge Fresh Baked Cinnamon Roll!

After we ate we headed over to Gaston’s Tavern. I hadn’t really planned for the breakfast croissant, for me it was about the huge cinnamon roll! This thing was delicious! And to be honest, you shouldn’t be intimidated by it’s size. It was not dense like many cinnamon roll, but very light and fluffy! I ate the entire thing without any hesitation, think I may have even licked the frosting off the plate.

Take a Ride on the Haunted Mansion!

While riding my “sugar highâ€, we made our way over to the Haunted Mansion ride. This one is nice because it’s more of an attraction than a ride. The line will always seem long, but looks can be deceiving, so fret not. They take a large group of riders into a large room and have a bit of a theatrics show opening before shuttling you thru to the line. The ride itself is almost always a continuous converter belt, on the move. Keep that in consideration if you have small children or elderly, or anyone who may need some additional assistance. The ride is all indoors, in the dark, and air conditioned. Depending on the time of year you visit Florida, this can feel like a blessing from the heat and humidity. Because of Covid restrictions, we didn’t have to wear a mask walking around the park, but once you enter the ride you are required to wear one.

Check out the Iconic “It’s a Small World” Ride!

One of the rides I hadn’t anticipated going on was “It’s a Small Worldâ€. I remembered visiting Disney World many years ago, and the song being stuck in my head for hours. Almost as stuck as the Baby Shark song gets (sorry, see…you are already singing it in your head reluctantly). Jeff noted that there wasn’t anyone waiting in line, and that’s why we are at the park is to embrace the experience, so we hopped on. It is a very tame water ride, all indoors in a brightly decorated setting, in air conditioning.

One of the oldest attractions, it features elaborately decorated dolls of various skin colors, in costumes representing all walks of life that inhabit our planet. All moving, dancing, and singing in harmony to “It’s a Small Worldâ€. Much to my surprise, when we finished the ride, the experience had unlocked that “Disney Spirit” in Jeff!

Where he had once been reluctant to go on account of long lines, crowds, head and humidity, and lots of walking, he had experienced a change of perspective. He took a few minutes after the ride to pull up his own research on his phone of other rides we needed to go on. I had really only planned for a couple I recalled from a previous visit really liking. And not knowing his openness to rides, I didn’t want to press my luck! Turns out, it is the larger rides like the big ol jerky wooden coasters or make your stomach flop drops he wasn’t interested in. Fortunately, only a couple rides are like this at Disney, most are theatrical attractions and experiences really…not like a Texas Six Flags style park.

Scream around the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Roller Coaster!

So a couple other rides he looked up that we should try were the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Roller Coaster and the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride.

Burgers & Brisket Nachos at Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Cafe!

For lunch, we headed over to Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Cafe for some shredded brisket nachos and a cheeseburger. For desert, we headed over to the Aloha Isle for my most favorite sweet, the famous Dole Whip Pineapple Soft Serve Ice Cream! Now, if you haven’t had this and you enjoy pineapple, you are in for a rare treat. You can’t just go out to your local grocery store and get this. There are only a few spots around the world where this authentic treat exists. I was fortunate enough to have lived in Hawaii many years ago, and would often look for any excuse to visit Oahu’s Dole Plantation, where you could get this soft serve. Plan to eat it there, and eat it quick! It melts fast in the Florida heat. They have a couple variations of the treat when you order it, but I stuck to the original. My smile says it all!

You absolutely must try the Dole Whip Pineapple Soft Serve Ice Cream!

I had honestly not intended for us to stay at the park the entire day, and had given us a window until about 2pm when we probably would have completed all the goals we’d set out for. I could tell we had both “hit a wallâ€. It was the heat of the day, and the “sugar rushes†from the cinnamon roll and ice cream had since subsided.

“This is my absolute favorite sweet at the park!”

Big Question: Should you pull an “all dayer” at the Park?!

Now we had a big decision to make….to we push thru and stay for the fireworks, or call it a day and head back to the hotel to relax? With it being October 6th, they had just begun their 50th Anniversary of Disney Fireworks Show. It was rumored to be one not to miss!! Rarely would anyone want to rally with me and stay till the fireworks, so I understood if Jeff didn’t feel up to it. He had already made this day so special and memorable for me! We hadn’t had much planned for the following day. A drive out to Daytona to see the beach and get some seafood and a beachy cocktail and relax. Couldn’t not go to Florida and put your toes in the ocean! So Jeff agreed we could push thru and stay for the fireworks!

Cool off at the Hall of Presidents Attraction!

We sat thru the Hall of Presidents Presentation which is always a nice reminder of our nation’s political history. It was cool and air conditioned as well. I won’t confirm or deny if Jeff may have dosed off for a few minutes worth of a power nap during the show to recharge. The ferry boats were so pretty and peaceful floating along the river. The town side offered a very different feel from the other sides of the park. It was pleasant and relaxing.

Race thru the dark on the Space Mountain Roller Coaster Ride!

Then we made our way over to Tomorrowland and hopped on the Space Mountain Roller Coaster. By this time (about 4ish in the afternoon) the line was fairly small as most guests had either called it quits for the day, returned to the resorts for an afternoon recharge siesta, or were over at the Main Street shops and sweets for some souvenirs. So we barely waited 15mins to ride. It is an indoor roller coaster, in the dark, with laser lights and displays that give you the feeling of flying thru space. It was a lot of fun! I will make one suggestion, don’t keep your hands up for this ride. I soon learned after the ride was over and we looked at the photo, that my nicely shaped bicep completely covered my face!

Laugh Out Loud at Monster’s Inc.’s Comedy Show!

Before deciding to head for the shops ourselves, we made one last stop at the Monsters Inc Comedy Attraction. This one was honestly geared more towards the younger audience in my opinion or families, but it was an interactive theatrical setting, and we embraced our childlike spirits and made the most of it!

Shop & Snack at Magic Kingdom’s Main Street!

Main Street was so neat, the shops are mostly interconnected, so you can walk thru one to the next. I was a little underwhelmed by the lack of Halloween related souvenirs they offered. Opting more to encourage park goers to purchase their 50th Anniversary themed items. I had seen several Halloween themed park swag on blogs and pins, and had my heart set on hopefully finding a couple of them, but sadly had no luck. Settled for a 50th Disney Castle Anniversary Pin, and Jeff got himself a little Mickie & Minnie 50th Anniversary snow globe to place in his office, to commemorate our magical and memorable day together!

Another blogger had shared of the sweets and treats the Main Street Confectionary offered. Everything was so decadent, our biggest trouble was deciding what to share. Jeff is not as into sweets as I am, and craves more salty and savory snacks…and considering all we had already enjoyed earlier in the day, he wasn’t really that hungry! The caramel and chocolate covered apples looked so delicious, but we finally settled on a huge chocolate chip Mickey Mouse Cookie that had been also dipped in a milk chocolate fudge. It was perfect!! I love soft cookies, and this one was just right. It also wasn’t so rich with chocolate that it would make you feel sick to your stomach later (esp. being out in the heat of a humid afternoon in Florida).

We snacked on it as a parade passed by, and waited again in line with another photographer for a few more pics. In my personal opinion, given it was a flat fee for unlimited photos…the more you took the better, so you could pick out those view “gems†of great moments captured, like this one:

If you want to watch the evening fireworks show, camp out at your spot early!

We had sort of ran the gambit of everything we’d planned on doing, and seen all corners of the park. It was approaching 6:30pm. Jeff asked if another parade was scheduled soon, which I checked the app and there wasn’t. It’s when we realized these were the “gun-hoe†park goers staking their claims around Main Street for the evening’s firework display behind the Castle.

We were standing by Casey’s Corner eatery, and decided that would be as good a place as any for us to camp out as well. By this time, there was more shade. In hindsight, if I could offer you the best piece of advice if you wanted to watch the fireworks display too, would be to not only camp out near an eatery like this one, but try and get you a table closest to the castle. Bear in mind, those tables with the umbrellas could obstruct your view of all the fireworks, but we learned while we were waiting that the park staff begins taping off the sidewalks in the hours leading up to the fireworks show, to designate “walking only†paths for guests who are headed out of the park or to other rides (which the rides and most attractions do remain open during the fireworks show, if that’s not your thing). It’s also for fire/emergency safety that they designate these paths where you can’t congregate and stand. If you’re in the street, you will be elbow to elbow with people all around you.

Have some patience if you brought the kids!

If you have a family and small children or strollers, I could see where waiting there could really test your patience…which by that late in the evening is already stretched I’m sure. We saw several partners and husbands and wife’s bickering with each other by that late in the day, and tired kids crying and tantrums wearing parent’s patience thin. So keep that in mind as you plan your stay. You don’t have to try and cram an entire park visit into one full day. I could see advantages to breaking it up into two days and visiting the park once during the am hours, then perhaps revisiting the next in the late afternoon for the fireworks show.

Mobile Food Ordering Wait Times get longer as the day goes on!

Funny story, while camped out at the Casey’s Corner Restaurant waiting for the fireworks, I’d offered to place a mobile pickup food order for us for something small for supper. Like share a hot dog and a drink. Jeff lamented how full he was and that he wasn’t that hungry, but as the time lingered on, and tray after tray of savory smelling foot long hot dogs and piled high chili dogs passed by our noses… he changed his mind. Well by that point, the earliest available time slot we could pick up food was an hour and a half after ordering! So, I would say when in doubt… if you even remotely think you or your family members will grow hungry in the later hours of being in the park, order well ahead! Nothing is worse than being “hangryâ€, especially by the end of the day!

Fortunately, our food arrived within minutes of the start of the awesome fireworks show, and we had plenty of time to eat and enjoy it since we had already hijacked a table, and tossed our trash in time for when the show started.

Wait for the Fireworks Show! It will totally be worth it!

When I tell you that was one of the best park fireworks shows I’ve ever seen, I mean it. I went back and forth in my head about whether or not to try and record the whole experience, or just hold Jeff close and enjoy it. I elected to try and hold my phone up for the entire show, and hold onto Jeff’s hand with my free hand. I wanted to be able to play the show back years from now and remember and relive how happy I truly felt in that moment, over again! I also wanted to be able to share the fireworks with my family and Jeff’s, who couldn’t travel be there to enjoy it with us.

I literally held my phone over my head for 15 minutes without fail. How I was able to pull that off, despite my entire arm falling asleep, I will never know. Perhaps it was all the sugar from the day, or the adrenaline of watching the fireworks go off to some of my favorite Disney songs, or the happiness of the moment shared with Jeff and the feeling of accomplishment that I’d hoped I’d made his first trip to Disney World as special and as memorable as it felt to me! Check out my personal recorded video of the fireworks show here!

After the Fireworks, the mass migration to the parking lots begin!

After the show was over, it became a mass exodus back to the modes of transportation to get back to the parking lots or resorts. If we’d had a little last dose of energy, you could have continued to ride a couple more rides, or even wait for the signature closing of the castle and lights show. But at that point, it was time for us to follow the masses. Everyone was cordial and orderly for the most part…only a few people pushing their way to get ahead (mostly younger inconsiderate people). It didn’t take us long to ride the monorail back to the parking lots and find our car. They had a pretty streamline process for getting everyone out of the park. We were back at our hotel in no time, and even had a few minutes to spare to change into our swimsuits and relax our tired feet in the hotel’s hot tub for a little while!

Overall, it was a truly magical day, and a once in a lifetime memorable experience shared with the man I love! Can’t wait to hear how your experience went as well! Also, be sure to subscribe to be my Bestie to be the first to know when I share a new blog, recipe, or seasoning launch!