When you ask your little one what they want to see the most on their upcoming trip, they will most likely say one of the newest and most popular things currently in the park!
This is one thing that you must plan ahead for, unless of course you don’t mind spending 3 hours in line to see Merida! Kids like what is popular, so you should expect that hundreds of other parents are going to be trying to get their little ones that coveted picture too!
Here are some tips to help you avoid hours in line for one character/ride/show!
- Ask your child what is the most important thing they would like to see.
- Look at your schedule and figure out which day you want to accomplish this goal.
- Check the Parks Schedule to see opening times and to make sure what you are looking for is open the day you are going. Some rides have different opening times on different days, like the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
- Check maps for the easiest routes to the attraction, especially if you are pushing a stroller!
- Get to the park for rope drop. Try to arrive 30 minutes before the park opening so that you can race (or walk fast, so you don’t get fussed at by a Cast Member) to the attraction.
If you are trying to get to a character Meet and Greet, (Merida, for example) it is fine to have one person in your party go ahead and get a spot in line.
You can even have a “runner”, a person that heads straight to the fast pass kiosk, if the ride has one, and grabs fast passes for the entire party. While the runner gets the fast passes, the rest of the party will head straight to the line for the same ride. The runner will then meet the party already standing in line. This way you can ride the most popular rides, for example, Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios, twice before the line get so long you can’t see straight! Other rides that you can do this for are Soarin, Test Track and any other high profile fast pass rides.
The brand new attraction, Story Time with Belle, is the one exception. We learned just a few weeks ago on our trip that everyone must be at the entrance to the attraction to be able to get in line. My husband had gone ahead to try to get in line and the Cast Member had him wait until I caught up to him with the kids before we could enter! The Cast Member explained that this is done to ensure that everyone that is at the front of the line is ready to go once the doors open. So, if this is at the top of your list, make sure you have everyone ready to go at rope drop and head straight to the line together! Within 10 minutes of the park opening, the wait time for this attraction exceeds an hour and stays that way until closing. So this would be the one ride that you need to try and get too quickly to avoid hours of waiting.
This may seem crazy! However, it will save you hours in the parks and you will be able to experience more in your day. Then, when you get home you won’t hear your kids complain about not seeing their favorite ride/character/show! Instead, they will be telling everyone who they saw or what they did on their trip!
Tabitha’s obsession with a little mouse named Mickey began at age 4 when she received her first set of “Mouse Ears”. With over 40 trips to Walt Disney World, she loves to share her knowledge and passion by planning vacations for other guests. Catch the Disney Fever with Tabitha! Email her to book your next Disney World Vacation. Be sure to follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
Related articles
- Meeting Merida at Disney World (chipandco.com)
- Use an authorized Disney vacation planner! (chipandco.com)
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