Walt Disney World is among the most popular vacation destinations in the United States, drawing visitors from around the world. With this popularity comes large crowds and long lines for many attractions, especially during the busy summer and holiday seasons. Nothing puts a damper on a long anticipated vacation like lengthy waits in the Florida heat, but it is possible to minimize the time spent in lines with a little advance preparation and planning. Factors such as the day of the week and the time of day can have a profound impact on the amount of time spent in line, and a touring plan that takes these factors into account can make for a far more enjoyable Disney vacation.
Arriving at the Walt Disney World theme parks early in the morning, approximately 30 to 45 minutes before the official park opening, is an excellent way to experience some of the top attractions before the crowds peak later in the day. Because most people enjoy sleeping in when on holiday, there are fewer people in the parks first thing in the morning than later in the day. This translates into slower lines and an ideal time to ride Disney World’s newest and most popular attractions.
Choosing the right day to visit each park is another way to minimize wait times for rides and attractions. Disney offers guests at on-site resorts a perk called Extra Magic Hours, which adds either one hour in the morning or three hours in the evening to normal park hours. Admittance for these extended hours is limited to guests of onsite resorts. If staying at a Disney owned resort, the extra park time offers another opportunity to experience popular rides with shorter waits, but visitors staying off site should avoid the park offering extended hours because of the program’s popularity with Disney resort guests.
Scheduling within the day can also effect wait times. Experiencing the most popular attractions early in the morning or late in the day yields shorter wait times than trying to experience the same attractions around midday when crowds are at their peak. Air conditioned attractions tend to draw larger crowds during the hottest part of the day. Scheduled shows are typically least crowded at the first and last showings of the day, and when there are two show times for evening shows, the second is likely to play to much lighter crowds than the first.
In addition to these strategies, Disney offers a service to all theme park visitors that cuts down on the wait for top drawing attractions. Called FastPass, the system issues a ticket with a scheduled return time for later in the day, at which point the FastPass holder can utilize a secondary line to bypass the longer main line. However, the availability of FastPasses is limited and during peak times, all the available passes for the day are often issued by early afternoon, and because the system requires visiting the attraction twice – once to obtain the FastPass and again to ride – it is a good idea to visit nearby attractions while waiting for the scheduled return time.
One final planning step that can make a Disney vacation more enjoyable and minimize wait times between attractions is looking over park maps and deciding in advance which rides and shows to visit. Disney offers free, customizable park maps of each of the four major theme parks that provide the opportunity to plan a path through the park, thus avoiding delays to check out the map and decide where to go next.
By spending a little time preparing for Disney travel and approaching the theme parks with a well thought out touring plan, it is possible to minimize wait times and make the most of a Disney World vacation. A small investment of time during the planning process can yield large returns in time saved at Walt Disney World.
More Disney travel information on Suite 101:
Getting Around Walt Disney World ~ Character Dining at the Magic Kingdom ~ Character Dining at Epcot
Character Dining at Disney Resorts ~ Character Dining at Animal Kingdom and MGM Studios
