Scheduling Your Day At Disney World Parks For Maximum Effect

Special Events

Guests should be aware of special events that is going on at the Walt Disney World Resort as they can cause huge crowd levels — obviously holidays and school vacations see an increase in visitors, but four times throughout the year, runners descend on Disney World for a slate of runDisney activities that also cause park attendance to peak.  Additionally, the Magic Kingdom plays hosts to Halloween and Christmas parties from August through December.  We note these special events because guests who are only attending the party can enter the park prior to the event starting causing a surge of guests in the late afternoon. 

We would also recommend guests looking for maximum effect to consider spending some extra money to attend one of the After Hours events at the parks.  These events allow a small amount of guests access to the park after closing — rarely will you have to wait longer than 5-10 minutes for an attraction, PLUS guests get free soda, water, popcorn, and ice cream during the event.  These events are currently being held at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom at various times throughout the year!

Rope Drop

If a park isn’t hosting Extra Magic Hours, guests may want to arrive at rope drop when the individual park opens.  We have used this strategy effectively when we want to experience a new attraction — when Flight of Passage opened, we managed to get on first thing in the morning with about a 30 minute wait — not bad considering wait times still hover between 3 and 4 hours daily!  By getting to the park early you are able to experience some attractions and entertainment options before the park begins filling up in the late morning.  As the crowds begin to descend, you’ll be thinking what haven’t you done!

Afternoon Break

With both morning and evening Extra Magic Hours, as well as a wonderful slate of nighttime entertainment across the parks, we always advocate taking an afternoon break for a few reasons.  First, it is Florida.  It gets HOT and it gets the hottest in the afternoon.  Second, crowd numbers tend to peak in the afternoon as guests who chose to sleep in and have leisurely morning begin filtering in the parks.  And, lastly, during the summer months, you can almost set your watch by the afternoon thunderstorm that will roll in.  Getting out of the parks and back to your resort lets you escape all of these maladies and recharge your batteries with a nap, lounging by the pool, or discovering the resorts!

Vacations at Disney World do require some advance planning, as well as some flexibility (you can’t predict when Space Mountain may shut down), but if you consider using some of these tips, you are able to schedule your days for maximum effect for fun in the parks, as well as back at your resort?  What tips do you use when you plan your Disney vacation days?