Part two of the three part series - Part one can be found here. I have heard so many people say how overwhelmed they have gotten by Disneyland or Disney World. Before you even get to a park you have to make a whole ton of decisions; what dates are you going to go, Disney hotel or non Disney hotel, how many days do you want to be in the parks, which parks do you want to go to, do you want a dining plan, which rides do you want to go on, do you want a park hopper ticket, when can I make my dining reservations, when can I make my fast pass reservations, what is the dining plan, what is fast pass, why do we need to make all these reservations so far in advance? And just when you think you understand it all, Disney decides to add something or change something on you. Then you wonder, is this all worth it? I think it is! And I think it can be easily navigated and understood with a few tips and tricks!
Saving Time at a Disney Park
Time is a very important commodity on a vacation; you only have so much of it and you don't want to waste it standing in line, dodging crowds, or waiting for a table. You want to spend your time riding the rides, relaxing by the pool, and enjoying some delicious food. Follow these tips and you are sure to save time on your next Disney vacation.
- Stay at a Disney Hotel - Staying at a Disney hotel gets you many perks that helps you to save time. At both Disneyland and Disney World you have the perk of Extra Magic Hours every day that you are staying at the hotel. Extra Magic Hours are hours that the parks are open in the AM and PM only for guests staying at Disney hotels. Less people in the parks mean shorter ride lines and more time riding rides. At Disney World people staying at Disney hotels get early access to FastPass+ reservations. They can reserve their Fastpasses 60 days in advance, people staying off-site can make their Fastpass+ reservations at 30 days. By being able to reserve 3 Fastpasses 60 days in advance that takes you to the front of the line at some of the most popular rides in the park.
- Make your dining reservations early - At the popular character meals and table service restaurants it saves a lot of time to make your dining reservations in advance. Disney World allows 180 days in advance, Disneyland 60 days in advance. Most table service restaurants at Disney World do not have day of walk up reservations and if they do you will have a long wait. Disneyland isn't as bad.
- Have a touring plan before you go - As you can already tell, you can't really show up at a Disney park and just "wing" it. In terms of saving time, it really helps if you plan out what days you will go to what parks, which order you ride the rides, when you will eat, where you will eat, etc. You don't want to be criss crossing the park several times wasting time, you don't want to be starting your day where everyone else is starting. Start at the other end, and work your way around. You don't want to be eating lunch/dinner at the same time as everyone else. A travel agent can help you with a touring plan or there are several websites that will do the same.
- Consider a character meal - I will be honest they are not cheap and the food is not gourmet, but it is a huge time saver! During a character meal you sit and eat, usually a buffet, while different Disney characters come around to all the tables and interact with the guests. They will take pictures with you, sign autographs, and play around a little bit. It really can be fun. How does it save time? Two ways. One, if your kids really want to meet characters and get autographs you can do it while you eat. Killing two birds with one stone. You don't have to wait in a long line outside in the heat; you just relax at your table eating until they come to you. Then, you don't have to worry about it while in the parks and it gives you more time for rides and other things. Two, if you choose to do a breakfast you can pick a time before park opening. If you time it right you can be done with your meal right before the park opens, or right as the park is opening which means you don't have to wait in line at the entrance and you can be one of the first at the rides!
- Go at the right time of the year - It is getting harder and harder to find less crowded times of year at Disney parks, but there is such a thing. The most crowded times are when the kids are out of school and holidays. Disneyland is what they call a "locals" park, which means a lot of the people that go there are people that live in southern California. So, when going to Disneyland it is very helpful to find out the local school schedule and I always avoid weekends. Weekdays are always going to be less busy than weekends. Disneyland also likes to host group events like Grad Nights in May, Dapper Days in November, and Marathons all through out the year. Disney World is more of a tourist park, less locals, more tourists. The slower times at Disney World are in the spring and fall when most everyone is in school, and in August and September when the weather is very hot and humid. There are websites that can give you better ideas of crowd levels at Disney parks during different times of the year.
- Get your Fastpasses - We talked about the Fastpass+ system at Disney World. Disneyland does not have the Fastpass+ system. They have a regular Fastpass system where you go to the ride you want to ride on, go to the Fastpass kiosk and it prints out a time for you to come back. You then come back at that time and get into the Fastpass line. Once in the line, you should be on the ride in 5-10 minutes. You can only hold one Fastpass at a time. This system is free to everyone in the park. Disneyland just introduced a new system called MaxPass which allows people to use their phones to "reserve" their Fastpasses once they are inside the park. They can still only hold one Fastpass at a time. The MaxPass system does have a fee. Fastpasses are a huge time saver because while you are waiting for your time you can be riding another ride, eating, shopping, etc.
- Use the Single Rider Line - Some of the more popular rides have single rider lines. They are a lot shorter waits than the regular line. I know it is fun to ride the ride with your family and friends, but do you want to spend all day standing in line or ride lots of rides?
- Get the app - Disneyland and Disney World have their own apps. They have park maps, wait times listed for the rides, menus for all the restaurants, and tells you where/when the characters are meeting. This is where you can book your Fastpasses, dining reservations, change your Fastpasses and dining reservations, and see all of your trip information. You can even link yourself with other people in your travel party. Everything you need to know is in the app and easily accessible!
Part three coming next week - Saving energy on a Disney Vacation!
