9. The park is a food desert (unless you love corn dogs and turkey legs)

Image: Jett Farrell-Vega (@mykingdomforamouse Instagram)

There’s a common assumption that all you can get to eat at Disney parks is theme park food—hot dogs, chicken tenders, and Mickey Ice Cream bars for days. While we were pretty harsh on Disney’s Hollywood Studios in our exploration of dining options in that park, Disney’s other parks actually have some decent food, and Magic Kingdom is no exception.

The park’s most famous top-notch option is Fantasyland’s Be Our Guest restaurant. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the toughest reservations to get on property. As an alternative, we absolutely love Adventureland’s Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen. Not only is the food creative, tasty, and even potentially healthy (if you choose wisely), the servers are often hilarious. A good portion of the staff are off-duty Jungle Cruise skippers, and when given the opportunity to test their charms away from the cheesetacular Jungle Cruise script, the skippers are adorably hysterical. On one visit, our server asked if we wanted “premium” water or river water. When I left the decision up to him, he came back with a bubbling bilge-like concoction the color of the Magic Kingdom moat, grinning in pride that he had found me the premium water. Ironically, it was delicious (since it was a mix of every soda on tap-- don't expect all servers to do this, but this is the sort of clever shenanigans we've seen them try). Most of our visits include a hearty deal of chuckling, and the food is pretty good.

Other good places to eat at Magic Kingdom include Sleepy Hollow or the Crystal Palace for breakfast, Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café or Columbia Harbour House for lunch, and Aloha Isle for their delicious Dole Whip floats. Cinderella’s Royal Table is the park’s most iconic character dining experience, but we personally prefer the princess character breakfast over at Akershus Royal Dining Hall in Epcot since the reservations are easier to get, prices are cheaper, and kids get much more time with the princesses.

10. Someone was once decapitated on Space Mountain

Image: Jett Farrell-Vega (@mykingdomforamouse Instagram)

I know— we’re making a jump into the macabre. There have, unfortunately, been some deaths at Walt Disney World over the years, usually from pre-existing conditions or from accidents when people tried to exit rides in motion. The creepiest of these stories involves the tale of a young man in the late 70’s who tried to stand up on Space Mountain and was decapitated by one of the coaster's low hanging scaffolds. It’s a common cautionary tale spread by parents and teachers to warn visiting youngsters to stay in their seats.

It's almost certainly not true.

Supposedly, a head did roll once on Space Mountain—belonging to a crash dummy. During a test run for the ride, a dummy lurched up out of its seat and had its noggin’ knocked off by a scaffold. While this is likely the source of the urban legend, no one has ever confirmed the story. There was a Space Mountain related death at Walt Disney World, but it occurred after a rider with a pre-existing condition got off the ride.

What other misconceptions have you heard about the Magic Kingdom? Be sure and also check out the rest of our series exploring misconceptions about Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios!