If you are planning to visit the Walt Disney World Resort is during one of the busy times there are still ways to have a great vacation without spending all of your time waiting in lines.
Disney World Parks: Crowd Beating Tips
- Even if you are not a morning person, arrive at the theme parks approximately 30 minutes prior to opening. You will get to see the park opening show and you will be treated to approximately 2 hours of the lightest crowds of the day.
- If you have a must see attraction that you have been looking forward to, do it first. That way you do not get disappointed if it becomes too busy later in the day.
- The Magic Kingdom attracts the largest crowds. This is especially true during the busy seasons. Consider planning on visiting for the first 3-4 hours after opening and then again for the last 3 hours of the day.
- The best day to visit the Magic Kingdom is at park opening the morning after they were open late the previous night for Extra Magic Hours.
- During peak season consider investing in the Park Hopper option for your tickets. This will allow you to change parks if the one you are in becomes too crowded. Nothing is more frustrating than feeling trapped in a crowded park.
- Make use of the Disney FastPass system. This free system allows you to avoid long waits in line for the most popular Disney attractions, by giving you a time range later in the day that you can return to a short (usually 10 minutes) line. This can free up a lot of your day and still enable you to ride your favorite attractions.
- Hit the most popular attractions when the park opens and plan to see the attractions that can handle large numbers of people (example: shows with large theaters) later in the day. This will significantly reduce your time spent in lines.
- Epcot handles large numbers of people without feeling crowded compared to the other parks. It is a good place to head to when the park you are visiting is getting overwhelmed.
- Don't forget about the Disney Parades, shows, and live entertainment that happens throughout the parks. This will entertain your family and you don't have to wait in lines to see ( Visit Epcot For The Live Entertainment ).
- If you don't wish to see the parades, that is often a good time to catch some rides, as large numbers of people do watch the parades.
- BE FLEXIBLE. If what you have planned is not working out, change your plans. Don't get frustrated, you are on vacation at Dsney World.
- Each Disney World Resort is a destination by itself. Take the afternoon to check out some of them. The Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Wilderness Lodge, the Polynesian Resort, Contemporary Resort, and the Grand Floridian are all great places to visit. Each has unique features to check out, and good places to eat lunch.
- Take advantage of the wonderfully themed Resort Pools. The Moderate, Deluxe, and Deluxe Villa resorts all have great themed pool areas that make a great break away from the crowded parks.
- Explore Disney's Boardwalk Area. There are shops, restaurants to check out, as well as, the Boardwalk, Yacht Club, & Beach Club Resorts to explore.
- Rent a watercraft. Many of the Disney World Resorts have marinas where you can rent a variety of watercraft.
- Visit Downtown Disney. There are tons of shops with unique items, including the incredible World of Disney Store. There are also a large variety of Restaurants featuring all kinds of cuisine to please any palette.
By doing some research like you are doing right now, you can have a great Disney World Vacation no matter what the season. Remember that there are tons of activities to do at Disney World that are outside of the main theme parks ( 28 Things To Do At Disney World That Don't Require Park Tickets ).
The single most important tip to remember is to arrive at the parks for opening. You will be able to accomplish more during this time, than any other time of the day.
Lastly, if you are planning to eat is Disney's Table Service Restaurants make reservations as early as possible ( Disney takes reservations starting 180 days prior to your visit). It is not uncommon for the on-site restaurants to be completely full and not take any walk-up customers.
There are some nice tips on dealing with Disney World crowds. If you have the park hopper option on your ticket, visit the parks during Extra Magic Hours.
Extra Magic Hours allows Disney Resort (you have to be staying in a Disney hotel) guests in a selected park an hour before or up to 3 hours after it opens/closes to other guests. This is a great time to tour the park. Crowds will be substantially lighter than other times of the day.
It can be fun riding Space Mountain all alone at 2 in the morning.
Thanks for the tips... I can't believe I'm planning my next trip for Christmas Week... something I swore I would never do!
Never say never!
I don't think you should be recommending people who are not paying to stay at the delux hotels to use the pool facilities of those hotels because they are for hotel guest only! It's really unfair for people who paid high prices to enjoy delux hotel facilities to have to share those facilities with free-loaders.
It was not the intention to have people spend the day at pools of resorts at which they are not staying. The point was supposed to convey the fact that Disney Moderate and Deluxe Resorts have great themed pools and if you stay there, it provides a great alternative to crowded theme parks in the afternoons.