My family loves Disney World. We started going annually about 8 years ago when my kids were 5 and 2. It really seemed to be the one place that we could all go together and have a great time. My kids are now 13 and 10 and we still love our Disney vacation. My son claims that "Walt Disney World feels like home." When the kids were little, we could avoid crowds by pulling them out of school and going during off peak times. Now that my son has entered middle school, we don't have that option. We now are forced to look at the more popular vacation times to get our Disney fix. So this year I booked our vacation the week before Easter during the very popular Spring Break season. I am a travel agent that specializes in Disney travel, so I know the parks fairly well. Even so, I was dreading traveling during one of the busiest weeks of the year.
You know what? We had a fantastic time! I also learned a few lessons along the way.
So here are a few tips to getting through the more popular times a Disney World.
- Plan. This is the one that sets people into a downward spiral. "Can't I just go and have fun?" , they ask. My answer is "Yes, you can go and have fun but you'll have way MORE fun setting a plan in place." Disney gives you three fast passes to schedule ahead of time. Use them and use them effectively (this is where a travel specialist can help). We were in Animal Kingdom. We had a fast pass for the Safari ride from 10:30-11:30. We took the morning to enjoy the Pangani Forest Walk and then head over to Rafiki's Planet Watch. When we got to the Safari, the standby line was 130 minutes and, unbelievably, people were still getting in line. Our wait? Ten minutes with our FastPass.
- Stay on property. Yes, I realize you can get a house off property for $200 a night BUT bear with me here. See number 1? You get way more advantages in the planning department when you stay on property. You can book dining 180 days +10 as an onsite guest. (Translation: you can start booking dining 180 days from your check in date PLUS the first 10 days into your vacation). That +10 days can give you an edge in getting go dining times for those hard to book character dining experiences. Plus you can book your whole trip in one day. If you stay off property, you can book 180 days out. So you will have to book each day separately. The big advantage is with FastPass, onsite guests can book 60 days in advance while off site guests have to wait until 30 days in advance. If you want a "hot ticket" like a new ride or the Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet, it is almost certain that the FastPasses for that day will be gone by the time the 30 day window opens. You also have free transportation, extra magic hours and purchase delivery to your resort.
- Don't bring bags. Ok, I know this one is hard core and if you have small children or a condition that requires you to bring medicine or supplies, this one won't apply. Every Disney park requires that everyone carrying a bag will need to go through a bag check screening. The lines can be very long and depending on how many/how big the bags, it can take 10-15 minutes to get through this line. If you don't carry bags you can breeze through the no bag line. I am a Disney park minimalist. I bring only what's necessary (which for me is phone, camera, backup battery,poncho). There are websites that give you a twenty item list of things you "NEED" to bring (change of shoes if you get wet..water bottles...snacks) I swear some people pack for a day at Disney like they are going on the Appalachian trail for a week. Disney has food, water (free ice water at the counter service restaurants), toilets and first aid. You don't need that much to get by for the 12-15 hours you may spend in the park. This is where having kids and a husband who wear cargo shorts help. My husband puts the disposable ponchos in his cargo shorts. Phone in back pocket. My son puts my back up battery in his one pocket...his phone in the other. My daughter carries my camera. I have my phone and a small credit card carrier. Will bulging pockets get you pulled aside for additional screening? Probably. However, standing off to the side and having a metal detector wand waved over you takes another 20 seconds. Still WAY faster than the bag line.
- Stay ahead of the crowd. When eating at counter service restaurants, the lines at lunch time can be ridiculous. Eat lunch early (11:00-11:15) or wait until after 2:00pm. We grabbed lunch at Hollywood Studios at 11:15, there were 1-2 people in line on average at the cashier stands. By the time we left at 11:45 the lines were six people deep.
- If you have a lunch/breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest..order ahead of time. With this restaurant, you have the option to preorder your meal through your My Disney Experience account. Big time saver. If you have preordered, you check into for your reservation, you are then given a plastic "rose" (which allows the server to find you in the dining hall) and then you are allowed to find your seat. Your food will arrive in 10-15 minutes. If you do not preorder, you are handed a menu and then put in line to place your order. When we arrived for lunch, the ordering line went outside the restaurant and halfway across the bridge! My guess was that if we had not preordered our food, we would have waited at least 30 minutes to place our order.
- Extra magic hours (another benefit of being an onsite guest). Extra magic hours are when a park opens early or stays open late for the exclusive use of Disney resort guests. Our last day, a bonus extra magic hour was added to the Magic Kingdom. (this can happen during peak travel, so remember to check your park hours regularly). Park opening was 7:00am. Ouch. While it was no fun getting up before 6:00am to get to the park, it was totally worth it. Our first hour we rode the Seven Dwarves Mine Train, had breakfast(cinnamon rolls at Gaston's Tavern) and watched the Philharmagic movie before heading over to Frontierland (which was not open during the extra magic hour) We then rode Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain before heading over to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride to use our first fastpass at 9:15 am. Woot.
The ultimate lesson from our trip? Having a solid plan and effectively using Disney's FastPass system can negate the effects of larger than normal crowds. After our Spring Break experience, I wouldn't hesitate to go to again during Disney during peak season. While planning so much ahead of time can seem overwhelming, you are simply laying ground work to have a less stressful vacation. Isn't that the whole point of vacation?
