Our first park was The Magic Kingdom. Everything that I've read says "Don't go to the Magic Kingdom on Monday!" It's the busiest day statistically, because everyone does exactly what we did; get down and checked in on Saturday and Sunday, go to the Magic Kingdom on Monday. But you know what? I was too excited. And it really wasn't that bad.I really wanted this trip to be about doing things that I had never done before in my 5 previous trips to WDW (or had done when we went when I was 5 and I don't remember doing). It was all about new experiences, as well as getting some great inside tips to share with the followers of my Disney Trivia tumblr.
Once we got into the park we obviously walked up Main Street. We caught the Dapper Dans singing on a trolley as it passed.
We went on the Haunted Mansion first. I was taking pictures of the tombs and headstones in the graveyard at the front of the queue, when my sister went "Is that an engagement ring?" and pointed to the ground. I shouted "WHERE?!" and almost dove over the fence to get a good picture of it. I had heard that they had removed the fencepost anchor that originated the "wedding ring myth", because the people taking pictures of it were causing traffic jams at the ride's exit, but I didn't know that they had added an actual ring.
So, to find the ring, when you get in the queue, pick the longer route that takes you through the graveyard. Once you've gone through all of the mausoleums and have come back around to where you can see the front of the organ crypt, look for the green trash can in front of it, in the corner just on the other side of the fence. To the right of it, embedded in the ground, is the engagement ring.
Also, don't forget to watch Madam Leota's tombstone right next to the mansion entrance. She opens her eyes and looks around.
In Tomorrowland, we rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority for the first time. It's a great place to rest your feet, as well as get some good pictures of the park from above. Although, there were some times where it went through very dark areas through the inside of Space Mountain, where you literally couldn't see your hand in front of your face. I really didn't like that. (I really didn't like Space Mountain either. Didn't like it the last time I went on it, really didn't like it this time). We also did the Tomorrowland Speedway (the go karts on tracks). I guess if you're a little kid or you aren't old enough to drive a car yet, it's fun. For an adult who's been driving for seven years, it was boring. The cars don't go that fast, the fumes smell awful, and if it's a hot sunny day, it's intensified ten times. For an adult, it's totally skippable in my opinion.
Next we ate lunch at Casey's Corner. Since the restaurant's theme is based of of Casey at the Bat, it features classic American baseball game food; hot dogs, corn dogs, chicken fingers, french fries, etc. I had the mini corn dogs, which were kind of like pigs in a blanket, but corn dogs, and AJ had some beast of a hot dog covered in BBQ pulled pork, coleslaw, and other stuff. We sat in the back of the restaurant, where they have "bleachers" set up in front of a large screen that plays old Disney sports-themed cartoons. It was really fun and I highly recommend it.
In Adventureland, I of course had to get a Dole Whip. I decided to be adventurous (it is Adventureland, after all) and got a float with orange soft serve instead of just plain vanilla. It was AMAZING, especially when the soft serve melted and the two mixed together!
We went on Pirates of the Caribbean and I said hi to George, and then told him that I totally believed in him and would love to see him. Well, the ride stopped (probably because the boats got jammed at the end or they were un/loading a handicapped person) and AJ started getting nervous, telling me that I made George stop the ride, and that he'd shown himself. I said "He didn't show himself. I wanted to actually see him." Well, the ride stopped about six more times between then and the time we got off. I guess questioning George's decision to reveal himself or not also makes him annoyed.
In total, we got stuck on 5 or 6 rides that day. Every time we did, AJ said "See? You pissed George off and then he called his other friends".
Our next "first" was riding the WDW Rail Road. I have pictures of me on the train from my first trip to WDW, but I only have a few clear memories of that trip, so it was almost like riding it for the first time. It's fun. You get to see areas of the park from above, some areas are set up with figures that go along with the area and the train's narration, and it's a quick way to jump between the front of the park, Fantasyland, and Frontierland (hint hint, it lets you off right near Splash Mountain. Go get a fast pass before they're all gone). 
In Fantasyland, we could see the Fantasyland expansion going on, which, I have to admit, seeing big walls and cranes right in the middle the park sort of killed the whole "magical atmosphere" that Disney strives to create in the parks. However, they did their best to fix it. They put large renditions of the concept art for the new areas and attractions, as well as little shields with quotes by Walt Disney about imagineering and building the parks.
One of the things that I was most excited for was meeting my favorite princesses. Since I'd last been there, Rapunzel and Tiana were doing meet and greets, and I had been stalking Disney blogs and sites for the all of May trying to find out when Merida would start meet and greets. Luckily, she started the day before we left for Disney. I was so excited!
We got around to looking for Merida at around 3 o'clock; just as we heard the parade coming down Main Street. This is the PERFECT time to do things like character meet and greets or rides, because all of the little children are watching the parade. I only had to wait about 20 minutes to meet Merida, and the queue setup made it seem even shorter. She was the best face character I've ever met. She was just perfect. And the bears were adorable!
Rapunzel's queue was longer (I waited about 45 minutes), and I didn't get to see Tiana because we just ran out of time and energy. I got Rapunzel and Merida to sign my Disney Princess hat, though, and I wear it with pride. By about seven o'clock, we were ready to go home. It was hot, and we had done a lot of walking and backtracking (that's another story). Since the rest of my family wanted to go home too, we decided to leave with them rather than staying and then having to take a taxi home (the only negative thing that I have to say about staying off property, no shuttle service). So we didn't get to do about four or five rides and I didn't get to meet Tiana. If I had to do it again, I would definitely take two days to do everything in the Magic Kingdom. I think we would have enjoyed it so much more had we not kept saying "Ok, we have to go here now, and then we have to make it back here in an hour for our fast passes, and then we need to go do this..."
My advice is, if you've only got one day, plan it out. Figure out which rides are the most important to you and the people you're going with, start at one, and work your way around. When most people enter the park, they either start in Fantasyland, because those are the rides that little kids want to go on first, or they go to the right and start out in Tomorrowland. If you head to Liberty Square or Frontierland, start there, and work your way counterclockwise around the park, you'll beat a lot of the crowds. Also, get to rides that don't offer fast passes and have ridiculously long wait times later in the day, like Pirates of the Caribbean, and ride them when the park opens and they're not crowded (That was my plan.)
And if you discuss the plan with your group and they like it, make sure that they follow it. Don't start at the Haunted Mansion and then walk all the way over to Space Mountain (like we did) because someone doesn't feel like waiting until later to ride it. Not only does it waste time and make for extra walking, it also means you're walking through the two most crowded sections of the park when they're most crowded.
Also, get a times guide. This way you'll know when the parades are (because you could be stuck on one side of the park until it's over if you don't). The guide will also tell you what time shows are and (usually) what time character meet and greets are, but always ask the cast members about that. We rushed around like crazy and ran from the back of Fantasyland all the way to the park entrance because the times guide said that Rapunzel would only be doing meet and greets until 5 o'clock, when she was really doing them until 8 o'clock.
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