So you’re planning on visiting the most magical place on earth, and although you fully intend on spending the majority of the day riding the rides, indulging on sweet Mickey shaped treats, and just taking in the joy all around you. But, if you’re anything like me you also definitely want to capture some amazing Disney photos while you are there. We had an incredible time at Disney’s Magic Kingdom and we managed to get some incredible photos that are some of my favourites to date. If you’re planning a visit to Disney’s Magic Kingdom anytime soon, here are my tips on shooting there. It’s chock full of tips and some of the best photo spots in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom!
Table of Contents
1. Plan your visit
Although Disney’s Magic Kingdom in itself is really an Instagrammer’s dream, there are definitely a photo spots that were on the top of my list for shooting and I quickly learned you really have to be strategic in order to get the shots. We planned our visit in advance and figured out where it was that we wanted to shoot, packed a few outfit Magic Kingdom definitely helps to speed up the process and I do recommend getting the brunt of your shooting out of the way first so you can enjoy the rest of the day. Of course you will find your list will change as you shoot but it’s definitely good to have a plan of action. Here were the Disney World photo spots that were at the top of my list:
- Cinderella’s Castle
- Cinderella’s Wishing Well (unfortunately it was closed when we went!)
- Main Street USA
- Liberty Square
2. Stay with one of the on-site Disney resorts to take advantage of the extra Magic Hours
If there’s one tip you listen to from this post this should 100% be it. When you stay with an official Disney resort (or one of the participating resorts on Disney’s property) you get to take advantage of extra magic hours. This means you get to enter Disney’s Magic Kingdom before the general public! This gives you so much extra time to shoot before the park gets busy. We stayed at the beautiful Four Seasons Walt Disney World (more on that in a future post!) and were able to access the park at 7am – a whopping 1 hour before the general public. Most people taking advantage of the extra magic hours are there to ride the rides so it’s a great time to shoot. I definitely owe my best Disney photos to the extra magic hours!
3. Bring a couple of outfit options that don’t take up much space
I’m so glad I decided to bring a couple of outfit options to the Magic Kingdom. This allowed me to take tons of photos that would all be different and give some variety for my blog and Instagram feed. Of course if you aren’t there to shoot then disregard this tip. If however one of your main goals at Disney is shooting, bringing extra outfits is a great way to maximize your content.
Here are some easy to pack outfit tips!
Bring a dress that you can layer different skirts over for multiple mix and match outfits. Bring a couple of light dress options that you can roll up into your bag/knapsack. Keep in mind you’ll be carrying these around Disney’s Magic Kingdom all day so you want to make sure nothing is too heavy. I also made sure to wear a pair of shoes that went with all outfits so that I wouldn’t have to lug around shoes. Shoes are definitely not light to carry for a full day! Here’s what I packed:
- A blue short sleeved dress that I wore to the park
- This turquoise maxi skirt that I layered over the above dress for my
Cinderella look - This tiara style rhinestone headband for my Cinderella look
- Red mini dress
- This Red Chicwish skirt to layer over mini dress (under $30!)
- This adorable multi-colored/rainbow dress (on sale now!)
- 2 pairs of Minnie ears
With the above items I brought I actually had more outfit possibilities than what I ended up shooting in. Both the blue dress and mini dress could have been worn on their own for completely new looks. If we shot for longer I definitely would have taken advantage of this, but we decided to spend more time enjoying Disney’s Magic Kingdom and riding the rides than shooting 🙂
4. Bring your DSLR/mirrorless camera but don’t shy away from using your phone too
Although it may not seem as “professional”, phones now take pretty amazing photos. Sometimes I actually like how a phone photo turns out better than how the same photo turned out on my camera. While we did use my Olympus Pen for most photos, we also shot quite a few with my Iphone XR Max. We shot phone photos using both regular and portrait mode. It turns out some of my favourite photos were the ones we took on my Iphone! Sometimes phones just capture the detail in the sky better, and I love the Iphone XR’s portrait mode. I’ll let you know which photos throughout this post I shot with my Iphone.
5. The Top Disney World Photo Spot: Head to Cinderella’s Castle first
It’s probably no surprise to you that Cinderella’s castle is the most popular photo spot in Disney’s Magic Kingdom. We made a beeline for Cinderella’s Castle as soon as the park opened and there were only a couple of other people there taking photos. As long as you are mindful of how long you are shooting (and take breaks to let others have their turn) it’s VERY easy to get the coveted shot in front of the castle. We didn’t even have to worry about other people in the photo during Magic Hours. I didn’t even have to edit any people out!
**As soon as the park opens to the general public shooting here is a lot trickier. You will likely have to wait in a line or deal with having people in your shots. This is just another reason I definitely recommend staying with a resort on the Disney park grounds so you can get that extra Magic Hour!
6. Be creative and try a new perspective
While we were waiting for the sun to rise (it was still dark when we first entered the park) we were hanging around Cinderella’s castle and getting ready to shoot. I noticed that there were a few people waiting to shoot in front of the castle too so I suggested we walk around and figure out other angles. That’s when I figured out the photo spot above which I actually like so much better than the straight on shot!
During magic hours only some of the park is open and there was a rope across the pathway leading up to Cinderella’s castle. This was super easy to edit out and I did so using the retouch app which I’ve linked here. Although it’s great getting the typical shot that every one else has, it’s definitely awesome to explore around and find your own angle too. This way not only will your photo be different than most people’s but you won’t have to deal with others waiting to shoot in that same spot. We were able to stand here and shoot for a good 20 minutes while others were focused on getting the classic straight on shot. I definitely recommend being creative and finding your own angle… or try this one that ended up being my favourite Disney photo spot!
The two photos below were shot with my Olympus Pen while the one above was with my Iphone. I’ve left the rope in the two below so you can see what it looked like.
7. Shoot on the small side streets of Main Street USA for a great Disney Photo Spot
Our second photo spot to shoot at Disney’s Magic Kingdom was to get some cute Mickey themed photos on Main Street USA. A lot of people aim to get photos in the middle of the street with Cinderella’s castle in the distance. We wanted to do something a little different! All of the little shops, bakeries and ice cream parlours along Main Street USA are so adorable. We really wanted to capture that vibe! We started by taking a couple photos on the main strip in front of the cute shops. We took photos in between people walking by which wasn’t too difficult. But it was when we decided to explore the side streets that the magic really started to happen!
By the time we got to Main Street USA the park had opened to the general public and was quickly filling up so shooting on the side streets was definitely ideal. So many of the little side streets in Main Street USA are just as cute as the main area but without the foot traffic. We discovered this little side street and were able to shoot for half an hour with only one couple walking by! I definitely recommend exploring the side streets for ease of shooting. The side streets of Main Street USA ended up being one of my favourite Disney World photo spots!
8. Head to Liberty Square for more cute Instagrammable Architecture
The next on my list of Disney World photo spots is Liberty Square. Liberty Square is one of six “themed lands” and is exclusive to Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando. Themed after colonial America, it has replicas of both the Liberty Bell and Liberty Tree and makes for another great Disney photo spot. Although the park was open, since it was still early it was super easy to get great photos here. We found an empty area in front of the Liberty Square ticket office and we shot with a view of the Hall of Presidents. This spot was much busier later on in the day but if you get there when the park opens you’ll have no problems getting some great shots here!
9. Add a prop to spice up your image!
When we arrived in Liberty Square we passed by a stand where a lady was selling hand painted parasols. I knew right away these would make a perfect prop that would give my photos a “Mary Poppins” feel. The lady at the stand was kind enough to let me borrow a parasol for photos which was so sweet of her! A prop is the perfect way to elevate any of your photos at Disney’s top photo spots don’t you think?
10. Enjoy the day and just shoot when you’re inspired
After we shot at most of our pre-planned photo spots in Disney’s magic Kingdom, it was time to enjoy the rest of the day! We walked around and stopped randomly whenever we were inspired to take some extra photos, but mostly we just enjoyed! Since the brunt of our work was done we felt pretty good about taking the rest of the day easy. The rest of the photos in the post were all taken mid-day in between rides while the park was busy. Disney has so many great photo spots so just walk around and enjoy!
11. Disney Photo Spot: Sit on the railing to get a shot with Cinderella’s castle even when it’s busy
Later on in the day (after I had changed into this adorable multi-coloured dress) I wanted to get another shot with Cinderella’s castle. Can you really blame me for wanting multiple photos at one of Disney’s top photo spots?!. At this point we had ridden a bunch of rides and it was midday so it was pretty busy. Getting the standard front-castle shot is out of question at this time, unless you don’t mind a lot of people in your photos.
To try a new perspective decided to jump onto the railing next the the path leading up to the castle. It ended up being super easy to get a photo not only with no one in the background but not obstructing the path. We shot this at the same spot I shared above only now that the park was open it was way busier. However, if you shoot on the railing you will be out of the way and it’s super easy to get a great shot. This makes for the perfect Disney photo spot to take advantage of mid-day when the park is busy.
12. Grab yourself a Mickey shaped (or just yummy!) treat
Although I opted for the Dole pineapple soft serve instead of a Mickey shaped treat it was still necessary to get a photo of it! There’s all sorts of yummy and cute treats around Disney and they all make for perfect photo opp. Grab yourself a treat mid-day and don’t forget to snap a pic of it. Once again my favourite Disney photo spot was getting a picture of my treat with Cinderella’s castle. Realistically though any part of Disney makes for a great photo spot with your treat!
13. Disney Photo Spot: Get a shot of Cinderella’s Castle from the Hub Grass
In case you haven’t already noticed my main goal a Disney was getting 853 photos with Cinderella’s castle… I just couldn’t help myself! The patches of grass with all the fountains in front the castle is called the Hub Grass. There are tons of angles you can get a great shot of the castle from the Hub Grass. We opted to do this in the afternoon because we didn’t mind having people in the background of the photos. This makes for another great Disney World photo spot to take advantage of mid-day!
14. Get your iconic Mouse Ears photos
Did you even go to Disney if you didn’t get a photo of your Minnie ears? I don’t think so! This shot is super easy to get and can be done any time of the day. We shot it using my Iphone XR on portrait mode and I love how they turned out!
I hope you enjoyed my guide on Disney World’s top photo spots and how to get the perfect photo while at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed going into the day but as it turns out it’s really not hard to get great photos there as long as you plan! And of course – we had a pretty great day riding the rides too. If you enjoyed this post feel free to pin one of the above to refer back to later! If you have any more questions on shooting at Disney or need some recommendations feel free to reach out! What are some of your favourite Disney photo spots?
Looking for more Florida inspiration? You might enjoy these posts:
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- Florida Packing List: What to Pack for your Florida Vacation
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And for more photo guides and Instagrammable lists check out these posts:
Hope you have the most magical time at Disney’s Magic Kingdom!
With Love, Kirsten
Sarah
Wednesday 26th of October 2022
Where was the photo spot from the 1st castle photo as the sun came up and you edited out the rope? is it in the front or back of the castle?
Kirsten Wendlandt
Wednesday 14th of December 2022
Hi Sarah, it is located at the front of the castle to the right hand side!
Lisa
Saturday 10th of October 2020
Disney is my home away from home (I go almost every other week) and I agree with most of these ideas! :) Great post!!
Olya
Monday 21st of October 2019
Great tips!