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ORLANDO HOTELS
ORLANDO VACATION
WALT DISNEY WORLD
WALT DISNEY WORLD HOTELS
ORLANDO VACATION
WALT DISNEY WORLD
WALT DISNEY WORLD HOTELS
BEATING THE CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
By Paula Hughes Court
Last month, my 13-year-old daughter and I visited Walt Disney
World the week after Easter on our first Mother/Daughter
vacation. Our original plan featured leisurely meals, long
afternoons by the pool and park hopping to at least two, if not
three, Disney parks a day. This quickly changed when my
daughter’s classmates returned from Spring Break in Orlando
telling of two hour wait times for rides and parks closing at noon
to new visitors.
We started to worry. Several online sites predicted crowd levels
at nine (out of a possible ten) the two days we were planning to
be there. We thought about rescheduling but with non-refundable
plane tickets this wasn’t a viable option.
Standing in long lines is not my idea of a fun vacation. I figured
there must be a way to do everything at the Disney parks without
going through that. Luckily, there is. I’m very happy to say we
were able to ride every ride we wanted to, some of them several
times, at Magic Kingdom and Epcot on level 9 crowd days without
waiting more than 10 minutes in line. This included the extremely
popular Soarin’ at Epcot and Thunder Mountain Railroad at
Magic Kingdom.
How did we do it? Simple. We read message boards and asked
many questions. We worked out a plan together beforehand and
stuck to it. We used a variety of tools available, including free
Fast Passes and the software Ridemax which can be ordered
online. The good new is - you don’t have to do all that because
we’ve done it for you.
Here are the best things we learned. If you use these tips you’ll
sail through Walt Disney World as smoothly as we did.
Tip #1
Arrive at the park early and be ready to go at rope drop. If you’re
not willing to do this, you’re already at a disadvantage. The hours
between 9 am and 11 am are the best times to ride the most
popular rides. By 11 am, certain areas such as Fantasyland at
Magic Kingdom are usually very crowded so be ready to move
out of this section by then. To beat the heat and get away from
the crowds, we usually leave the parks by 1 pm. We're able to
chill out by the hotel pool for a few hours then return to the park
in the cool evening hours. Our only exception is the day we visit
Disney’s Animal Kingdom park. Since the main attractions are
centered around the animals the park usually closes between 6-7
p.m. If this is the only park you’re visiting on that day, it doesn’t
make sense to leave the park and return later.
Tip Number #2
Keep a Fast Pass or even a couple of Fast Passes in your hands
at all times. I’ve never understood why everybody doesn’t use
Fast Passes. I’m not sure if people aren’t aware of them or simply
don’t understand how to use them for maximum benefit. In any
case, Fast Passes are your best friend at Walt Disney World. If
you learn how and when to use them you can bypass the long
lines at the most popular rides and walk right on. And the best
part-Fast Passes are 100% free to use.
Keep in mind you must use the Fast Passes wisely so think about
what you’re doing. If you print out a Fast Pass you must wait until
the return time on the Fast Pass or two hours later until you can
get a second one. What most people don’t realize (note: this is
not an official rule) is that you can use the Fast Pass anytime
after the return time printed on the ticket. Example: at 10 am you
print off a Fast Pass for Buzz Light Year which says you have a
return time of 11:10-12:10. At 11:10 you’re in Frontierland and
don’t want to run all the way back over to Tomorrowland to ride
Buzz Light Year. Instead you can go to Thunder Mountain
Railroad and print out another Fast Pass which gives you a
return time of 2 pm. At this point you may be ready to leave the
park for a few hours. When you return in the evening you can
use both Fast Passes to bypass the lines because it’s after the
printed return time.
Tip #3-USE RIDEMAX SOFTWARE
Order the Ridemax software and run several scenarios until you
find the right mix for your family. I decided to try Ridemax after
reading several positive reviews online. The cost was only $15 for
a three month subscription so I felt anything gained from it would
be worthwhile. The software works for all Walt Disney World parks
and Disney Land in California.
The software works like this: plug in the rides, shows, parades
and special events such as fireworks for the park you want to
visit. Add the time you plan to arrive at the park, snack breaks,
lunch, afternoon breaks back at the hotel and the planned
departure time. The software will then tell you exactly to the
minute where you should go and what to do for the entire day.
Now obviously, the software can’t perform miracles but if you’re
flexible and willing to hustle you can do everything without
standing in long lines.
We put the software to use first at Magic Kingdom which we’ve
visited several times before. By the third ride, we were so
impressed by the program that my daughter refused to consider
deviating from it for any reason. We sailed through every ride
without any lines over ten minutes and were finished by noon. We
left the park at 1 p.m. with Fast Passes for two rides which we
wanted to ride again at night. When we returned later at 7 p.m.
we walked right onto Jungle Cruise (posted wait time over 1 hour)
and Peter Pan’s Flight (wait time 1 hour 40 minutes). As soon as
we entered the park we also grabbed another Fast Pass for Buzz
Light Year which we were able to use before the Spectro Magic
Parade began.
The software also worked great at Epcot. The plan seemed not to
make sense until we arrived at Epcot and saw what appeared to
be the entire crowd following the cast members at rope drop
straight onto the Soarin’ ride queue. I’m sure Test Track and
Mission Space received their share of the opening crowd though
it certainly didn’t seem like it.
Keep in mind all family members must agree to use the plan for
the software to work. Luckily with only two of us we weren’t slowed
down by character greetings, unscheduled snack breaks, fairy
sightings, etc. To be realistic you probably will want to add in at
least 15 minutes of breaks per hour if you’re traveling with small
children.
There are many other ways to save time at Walt Disney World
and we'll be adding those soon so please check back.
By Paula Hughes Court
Last month, my 13-year-old daughter and I visited Walt Disney
World the week after Easter on our first Mother/Daughter
vacation. Our original plan featured leisurely meals, long
afternoons by the pool and park hopping to at least two, if not
three, Disney parks a day. This quickly changed when my
daughter’s classmates returned from Spring Break in Orlando
telling of two hour wait times for rides and parks closing at noon
to new visitors.
We started to worry. Several online sites predicted crowd levels
at nine (out of a possible ten) the two days we were planning to
be there. We thought about rescheduling but with non-refundable
plane tickets this wasn’t a viable option.
Standing in long lines is not my idea of a fun vacation. I figured
there must be a way to do everything at the Disney parks without
going through that. Luckily, there is. I’m very happy to say we
were able to ride every ride we wanted to, some of them several
times, at Magic Kingdom and Epcot on level 9 crowd days without
waiting more than 10 minutes in line. This included the extremely
popular Soarin’ at Epcot and Thunder Mountain Railroad at
Magic Kingdom.
How did we do it? Simple. We read message boards and asked
many questions. We worked out a plan together beforehand and
stuck to it. We used a variety of tools available, including free
Fast Passes and the software Ridemax which can be ordered
online. The good new is - you don’t have to do all that because
we’ve done it for you.
Here are the best things we learned. If you use these tips you’ll
sail through Walt Disney World as smoothly as we did.
Tip #1
Arrive at the park early and be ready to go at rope drop. If you’re
not willing to do this, you’re already at a disadvantage. The hours
between 9 am and 11 am are the best times to ride the most
popular rides. By 11 am, certain areas such as Fantasyland at
Magic Kingdom are usually very crowded so be ready to move
out of this section by then. To beat the heat and get away from
the crowds, we usually leave the parks by 1 pm. We're able to
chill out by the hotel pool for a few hours then return to the park
in the cool evening hours. Our only exception is the day we visit
Disney’s Animal Kingdom park. Since the main attractions are
centered around the animals the park usually closes between 6-7
p.m. If this is the only park you’re visiting on that day, it doesn’t
make sense to leave the park and return later.
Tip Number #2
Keep a Fast Pass or even a couple of Fast Passes in your hands
at all times. I’ve never understood why everybody doesn’t use
Fast Passes. I’m not sure if people aren’t aware of them or simply
don’t understand how to use them for maximum benefit. In any
case, Fast Passes are your best friend at Walt Disney World. If
you learn how and when to use them you can bypass the long
lines at the most popular rides and walk right on. And the best
part-Fast Passes are 100% free to use.
Keep in mind you must use the Fast Passes wisely so think about
what you’re doing. If you print out a Fast Pass you must wait until
the return time on the Fast Pass or two hours later until you can
get a second one. What most people don’t realize (note: this is
not an official rule) is that you can use the Fast Pass anytime
after the return time printed on the ticket. Example: at 10 am you
print off a Fast Pass for Buzz Light Year which says you have a
return time of 11:10-12:10. At 11:10 you’re in Frontierland and
don’t want to run all the way back over to Tomorrowland to ride
Buzz Light Year. Instead you can go to Thunder Mountain
Railroad and print out another Fast Pass which gives you a
return time of 2 pm. At this point you may be ready to leave the
park for a few hours. When you return in the evening you can
use both Fast Passes to bypass the lines because it’s after the
printed return time.
Tip #3-USE RIDEMAX SOFTWARE
Order the Ridemax software and run several scenarios until you
find the right mix for your family. I decided to try Ridemax after
reading several positive reviews online. The cost was only $15 for
a three month subscription so I felt anything gained from it would
be worthwhile. The software works for all Walt Disney World parks
and Disney Land in California.
The software works like this: plug in the rides, shows, parades
and special events such as fireworks for the park you want to
visit. Add the time you plan to arrive at the park, snack breaks,
lunch, afternoon breaks back at the hotel and the planned
departure time. The software will then tell you exactly to the
minute where you should go and what to do for the entire day.
Now obviously, the software can’t perform miracles but if you’re
flexible and willing to hustle you can do everything without
standing in long lines.
We put the software to use first at Magic Kingdom which we’ve
visited several times before. By the third ride, we were so
impressed by the program that my daughter refused to consider
deviating from it for any reason. We sailed through every ride
without any lines over ten minutes and were finished by noon. We
left the park at 1 p.m. with Fast Passes for two rides which we
wanted to ride again at night. When we returned later at 7 p.m.
we walked right onto Jungle Cruise (posted wait time over 1 hour)
and Peter Pan’s Flight (wait time 1 hour 40 minutes). As soon as
we entered the park we also grabbed another Fast Pass for Buzz
Light Year which we were able to use before the Spectro Magic
Parade began.
The software also worked great at Epcot. The plan seemed not to
make sense until we arrived at Epcot and saw what appeared to
be the entire crowd following the cast members at rope drop
straight onto the Soarin’ ride queue. I’m sure Test Track and
Mission Space received their share of the opening crowd though
it certainly didn’t seem like it.
Keep in mind all family members must agree to use the plan for
the software to work. Luckily with only two of us we weren’t slowed
down by character greetings, unscheduled snack breaks, fairy
sightings, etc. To be realistic you probably will want to add in at
least 15 minutes of breaks per hour if you’re traveling with small
children.
There are many other ways to save time at Walt Disney World
and we'll be adding those soon so please check back.
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Magic Kingdom's
Fantasyland at Rope
Drop.
Fantasyland at Rope
Drop.
Magic Kingdom's
Frontierland at 11 a.m.
taken 2 hours later than
above photo.
Frontierland at 11 a.m.
taken 2 hours later than
above photo.
