Having a Walt Disney World Plan of Attack

Most guests visiting the Walt Disney World resort go into their vacations without a game plan.  I think this is a big mistake.  Disney World, as we all know and love, is huge and crowded!  A little bit of planning can make all the difference in the amount of time you spend waiting in lines on your vacation.  (And, let’s be honest, for me, this “little bit of planning” is months and months of obsessive planning.)  Here are my suggestions for your early morning attack of each park.

Magic Kingdom

We start by arriving at the Magic Kingdom well before the park opens.  If you’re driving, you’ll need to allow at least 20 minutes to park at the Transportation and Ticket Center and take a monorail or ferry to the Magic Kingdom.  30 minutes may be better.  Then you’ll need time for bag checks and getting through the turnstiles.  Plan on being done with all of this at least 15 minutes before the park opens and snag a spot to see the morning opening show.

Once inside the park, you should head to the most popular location first.  These days, that is going to be New Fantasyland.  Check out the attractions over there before the masses of people start arriving in the next few hours.  If you’re more of a thrill seeker, head to Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad first.  You can get a lot done in the first hour the parks are open, so use that time to hit the most popular attractions.

Animal Kingdom

As with the Magic Kingdom, the plan for Animal Kingdom is to hit the most popular attractions first.  Arrive early and head directly to Expedition Everest.  It’s your best bet to get on the attraction without crazy lines.  If you’re NOT a thrill seeker, you can head directly to Kilimanjaro Safaris.  You’ll see me there since there is no chance of me going on Expedition Everest.

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios will almost always open BEFORE the posted opening time, so it’s important you arrive at least 20 minutes before park opening.  Once inside most people will head directly to Toy Story Mania or to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.  If you’re going to Toy Story Mania (which will have insane lines within moments of the park opening), I would recommend sending someone a bit ahead to get FastPasses for Toy Story Mania.  When the rest of the group arrives, hop in line for Toy Story Mania.  You shouldn’t have to wait too long to ride.  You will then be able to ride again with the FastPass.  (The same plan of attach works with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.)

On a side note, if any of the kids in your group are interested in participating in the Jedi Training Academy, signing up there should be your first stop of the day.

Epcot

Time for Soarin’ and Test Track!   These are, by far, the most popular attractions at Epcot.  Pretty much everyone who comes into the park as it opens (before the posted times!) will head directly to one of these two attractions.  Join the masses and get there as fast as possible.  Again, grab FastPasses before getting in line to ride and you should be able to ride two times without much trouble.

There are plenty of people who know to arrive at the parks early, but there are plenty of people who have no idea and arrive hours after park opening.  By arriving early, you will most likely be able to get on and off many of your favorite attractions before lines get out of control.

How do you attack the parks when you arrive?

Happy planning,
Amy

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