No matter what time of year you go to Disney World, you are always going to come across lines for rides, the parks and even the transport in the morning or at the end of the day. Over the years we have come across all of these and worked out some handy ways of getting around them. Below you will find our Disney World line hacks and strategies we use to avoid lines as best you can at Walt Disney World.
1. Get Up Early for Rope Drop
Most of the time all of the parks at Disney World will get busy an hour or two after opening. This gives you a window of time first thing in the morning where the parks will be at their quietest. Our advice is to get to a park for rope drop as you will be able to get on quite a few rides in a short space of time.
2. Bonus Magic Kingdom Rope Drop Tip
This is one of my favorite Disney World line hacks. We quite often wait by the bridge next to the Adventureland entrance that leads on to Liberty Square via the Christmas Shop and hit Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean in a very short space of time. In fact, we have been on Big Thunder Mountain twice in the past before hitting Splash Mountain and Pirates. Of course, you can head to Space Mountain or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but more people do tend to head in those directions.
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For more Magic Kingdom Tips take a look at our article – 20 Magic Kingdom Tips
3. At Security Line Up Both Sides
When going through security to have your bags checked before entering a park make sure you have your bags open ready to be checked as this will make the process a lot quicker. Also if you are in a party don’t stand in a line instead stand side by side as the security staff will check guests to the right and then to the left, this will also make your entrance into the park faster for your party.
4. Scanning Your Magic Bands When Entering a Park
Make sure you also use all the Mickey scanners on entry as you will get in a lot quicker. You will quite often see families being ushered by the cast members to use all the available Mickey scanners to scan their Magic Bands to get into the park as quickly as possible. If you are ready and make any kids in your party aware of what they need to do before it is your turn then you will get in a lot quicker.
5. Use All of the Park Entry Points
You will also quite often see at each park entrance people following the crowds and joining long lines rather than moving a bit further up to join a shorter line. Make sure when you get to a park entrance that you look all the way along and join a shorter line rather than following the crowd. This happens all the time at Disney World and is a great line hack.
6. Use Mobile Order Service for Quick Service and Snacks
On the My Disney Experience App you can now use mobile ordering for quick service meals and snacks when in the parks and at some resorts (Caribbean Beach Resort being one) and some locations at Disney Springs. This is very beneficial when you are in the parks when it is busy as you don’t have to wait in line at a quick service restaurant and you can pre order on the app and then collect from the mobile order collection point in your chosen quick service restaurant.
7. Some Rides don’t Have Long Wait Times
There are some attractions that don’t have long wait times. A lot of the show’s such as It’s Tough to be a Bug in Animal Kingdom and Muppet 3D Vision at Hollywood Studios are quite easy to see with short wait times. The same can be said for the show attractions in Magic Kingdom and Epcot so if it is busy see some shows like the American Adventure at World Showcase of the Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom for a few examples.
8. Check Wait Times at Home the Week Before You Go
Using the My Disney Experience App check wait times at each park the week before you go. If you keep checking during different parts of the day you can get a good feel for what to expect when it comes to wait times when you are there the following week.
9. Focus Disney Genie Plus Reservations on Top Tier Attractions
Try your best to focus any Disney Genie Plus usage on the top tier attractions such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom and Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom. These rides are extremely popular as will be the Galaxy’s Edge attractions so if you can secure Fast Passes you will save yourself a lot of time as waiting in line will take some time (or you will have to try to get to these attractions from rope drop).
Find out about the new Disney Genie App and Disney Genie+ here.
10. Consider Booking an Early Breakfast at a Restaurant Inside a Park
Booking a really early breakfast at a restaurant inside one of the parks can get you inside a park very early and if you book it at the earliest time possible you will find yourself leaving just as the park is opening. This is something we do at the Garden Grill inside the Land at Epcot. We eat Breakfast early and then as we come out we are right next to Soarin’ Around the World and usually walk straight on. Definitely something worth thinking about especially if you are on the Dining Plan.
You can find our full article on the Dining Plan here.
11. Which Rides to Skip if They Have a Long Line
There are some rides that are worth skipping if they have a long line as it isn’t always the case. Spaceship Earth at Epcot will usually get a long line from rope drop as it the first ride that the crowds come to as they enter the park from the main entrance. It is always best to ride Spaceship Earth during the afternoon or even the evening when the crowds are spread out across Future World and World Showcase. Also at Epcot Journey into Imagination with Figment and The Seas with Nemo and Friends will can often have short wait times so if they are busy try again later in the day.
Other rides worth skipping if they have long lines are the People Mover at Magic Kingdom as well as Journey of the Little Mermaid and it’s a Small World. These are all ride that load continuously so the wait times can change quite significantly throughout the day.
At Hollywood Studios the wait times on Star Tours can go up and down so always keep an eye on it using the App.
At Animal Kingdom Dinosaur can be the same as Star Tours so if the line is too long wait until later in the day and keep checking the wait times on the App.
Things to Skip at Disney World
12. When You Have to Wait in Line
When you do have to wait in line be aware that some lines are mostly outside such as Big Thunder Mountain & Haunted Mansion so plan to wait in line early in the morning or late evening when it’s not too hot. Try to avoid between 10 o’clock in the morning and 2 o’clock in the afternoon when the temperatures hit their peak during the day.
There are also a lot of fun Lines in the Disney World parks with interactive features to keep you entertained such as Haunted Mansion, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan’s Flight. Dumbo is a great example as it has an inside play area for the kids and you are given a buzzer which will alert you when it your time to ride.
The Play Disney Parks App can be a good distraction when standing in line with its selection of games. Just be aware that Wi-Fi in the parks maybe poor though when it is busy though.
Of course you can hunt for hidden Mickeys too whilst standing in line. If you want some tips for finding hidden Mickeys then these books can help.
13. Avoid Guest Relation Lines
Guest relations can get busy in the parks so do try to use your resort concierge before going to the park as they can provide a lot of assistance with regards to park times and other issues.
Mobile Guest Experience Booths are also now in the parks too so do keep a lookout for these little kiosks with cast members in blue if you do need some assistance and you are already in the park.
At Epcot use the guest relations outside of the park and at International Gateway rather than inside the park. Guest Relations can also be found outside of Hollywood Studios too.
14. Skip the Fireworks
If you skip watching the fireworks at any of the parks then this is a great opportunity to get on some rides with low wait times whilst the crowds gather elsewhere to watch the evening display. This is something we will do at Magic Kingdom all the time. Don’t get me wrong the fireworks are great and we’ll watch them at some point but it is also a great opportunity to literally walk on some rides and it is also fun to be on a ride like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train whilst the fireworks are going off at night.
15. Don’t Stress About the Lines
Finally don’t stress too much about the lines. No matter how smart you are using the tips and Disney World Line Hacks above and being clever with your Fast Pass allocations you will still at some point have to stand in a line at some point during your Disney World Vacation. Do remember that you are on vacation and you are there to relax and have some fun.
I hope these tips for Disney World Line Hacks are of some help to you. If you would like to read our last article you can find it here.
Darren
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