How to Maximize Your Time at Disney World

Avoiding crowds and making the most of your time at Disney World is hit or miss. Sometimes you follow a crowd calendar expecting low crowds, only to find 3-hour waits for most rides. Often with crowds like these, you may find the day passes you by without doing everything you wanted to do. Too many times we find ourselves complaining about how there isn’t enough time to do everything in Disney. But there is. There are several methods and tips that, put together, can ensure a fulfilling trip. Now after implementing these tips, every one of my trips are filled with all day fun. Here is how to Maximize your time at Disney World. 

Download My Disney Experience App

First, you want to download the My Disney Experience App. I know everyone’s phone storage is nearly full and you don’t want another app, but this one is important. Over the years, Disney has simplified the Disney experience. They have put the tools we need directly in the palm of our hands. Instead of calling travel agents, cast members, and representatives to help you book experiences from your trip, the app does it all for you. Gone are the days of carrying around printed fast past tickets, wallets, and pocketbooks full of reservation times. With the My Disney Experience app you can have your ticket, park reservation, restaurant reservations, credit cards, hotel room, itinerary, and so much more, all on your phone. This is a need for anyone visiting Disney World. Whether young or old, it is important to keep everything organized to maximize your time at Disney World. 

Pay for Lightning Lanes for big new rides

Next on how to Maximize your time at Disney World is to pay for lighting lanes for big rides. It doesn’t matter what time of year you visit, the big-name rides will always be packed. I have visited during special after-hours events and the low season, only to find the famous rides still with a wait time of 90 minutes and up. Once I even waited two and a half hours for Slinky Dog Dash. If you have a limited amount of time in the park or if you want to get more done, I always recommend the lighting lane. 

There is no reason to wait more than an hour and a half for a two-minute ride. In the end, the wait is never worth it. For the price of $15 to $35, you can skip the long wait when your time slot is called. With Lightning Lane, you can save time waiting in lines to use to ride other rides and watch shows. I find lightning lanes are always worth it. 

Book Dining Reservations 

Then you want to book dining reservations. This one is obvious. Just like with lighting lanes, if you don’t book, you will have to wait in a long line. And yes, there are some necessary lines to wait in at Disney World, such as character meetups and smaller rides, but why wait in line when you don’t have to? Booking your dining reservation saves you so much time. Rather than waiting 30 to 40 minutes for the possibility of a table opening up at a restaurant, with a reservation you can walk right in. You can enjoy your food and head straight out to finish enjoying the park. 

Along with this, it saves time because you know exactly where you need to be at certain times of the evening. Being lost takes time. Without a dining reservation, you’ll likely spend a long time walking past restaurants, viewing menus, asking for availability, deciding not to, and going on to the next one. Having a dining reservation maximizes your time in the way that it allows you to get to your location, complete your goal, and get out to continue your day. 

Get to the Parks Early 

This one is a given if you want to maximize your time at Disney World. Do not choose your park day to sleep in. Go to bed on time so you can get to the parks early. This is a tip hardly anyone follows but everyone should. If you get to the park right at the opening, you can ride 3 or 4 rides with minimal wait. That means the big rides too. 

This is because hardly anyone is there yet. The sleeper-inners are sleeping in. Meanwhile, you will be riding half of the rides on your list. The park opens around 9 each day. Though those with early park admission are already in, the bulk of the crowd doesn’t arrive until an hour later. Take advantage of the morning time. It is a wonderful opportunity to get ahead of your day and do most of what you want.

Save the boring rides for free time 

Then you want to save the boring rides for your free time. If you are trying to maximize your time at Disney World, most likely you will be hustling and bustling throughout the entire day. I never recommend being in a rush at Disney World, it never ends well. You will be cranky, buzzing with energy, and likely stressed. This article is not intended to make you feel like you are rushing, take time to relax. Relaxing during a Disney trip is a must-do. But how do you relax during a Disney trip? Don’t waste time by napping on a bench or lying on a curb. If you need a break, take the opportunity to go on a long boring ride you might have skipped. 

When I am exhausted and overwhelmed at the Magic Kingdom, I make my way to the carousel of progress. Most people would skip this ride, but it is a good soothing attraction with low wait and low stress. This ride lets you sit down in comfy theater-like seating for 20 minutes in AC while the stage turns and animatronics act. It is perfect for an exhausted Disney-goer. Then any time I am hot and stressed at Animal Kingdom, I take Rafiki’s train over to the conservation station. There I can relax in a cooled area and draw Disney characters with a group. It also takes the same amount of time. There are locations like this all over Disney World and the perfect way to maximize your time.

Ride until the last minute

Next on my tips to maximize your time at Disney is to ride until the last minute. This one is relatively new to me because my family always left before the park closed. If that weren’t the case when we saw closing time was upon us, we would start heading out, thinking they would start kicking everyone out soon. However, you can ride rides until the very last minute. As long as you are in line before the clock strikes, you can stay in line and ride. 

This means if the park closes at 10 pm and it is 9:59 pm, you are allowed to run in a line, as long as you are in the queue before that minute is over. You will feel exactly how Cinderella felt a minute before midnight. Use this knowledge to jump into the line of one of your favorite rides, one of the big rides, or one of the rides you didn’t get to do during the day. You’ll also find wait times quite low because of the time of night and the fact that most people don’t know it is allowed.

Stay to shop after parks close 

My last tip to maximize your time at Disney is to shop after the park closes. Yes, that is right. The stores stay open for about an hour after the park officially closes. If you want to keep soaking in the last of that Disney Magic, go ahead and take your time perusing the shops before you leave.

Leaving your shopping for the end of the day also ensures that you won’t carry any heavy or breakable items throughout the park. It also ensures that you aren’t using precious park and ride hours to shop. Leave the rides for riding time and the shops for when it is all closed. Even more, it is so relaxing to shop leisurely and not feel rushed to go out and race to the next ride or reservation. Even more than that, it is magical to be able to experience the bright lights of the park with such low crowds as everyone leaves. Just don’t abuse this tip by sitting around until they kick you out, genuinely shop and explore, enjoy the bit of magic, and get what you need. 

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