5 Tips to Avoid Disney World crowds

Avoiding Walt Disney World crowds is hard work. If you do a little homework, it gets easier. Here are 5 tips that will help.



Number One -



Get to the parks early - A Disney World vacation is not a time to catch up on sleep. Mickey rewards early birds with short lines and uncrowded streets. The least busy time of the day at all the parks is almost always the first hour of the day.



In the morning, guests continue to arrive and crowds continue to build. This continues until late in the afternoon or early evening. Crowds will then start to thin out a little. For example, the line at Space Mountain first thing in the morning will be 10 minutes or less. By noon, on most days, that line will reach more than one hour and stay that way until just before the park closes.



The old saying goes ... "the Early Bird gets the Worm". I don't know about worms, but the early bird at Walt Disney World can make some hay.



Number Two -



Extra Magic Hours - If you are staying at one of the Disney hotels, you'll want to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours. This is the program that allows Disney Hotel guests access to the parks one hour before the selected park opens or up to three hours after the park officially closes. This can really help avoid long lines at popular attractions.



Every day one of the parks and sometime two has Extra Magic Hours. (The Water Parks do participate.) Go early or stay late. It's a great perk that will help avoid Disney World crowds.



Number Three -



Know when to use Disney's FastPass. A few years ago Disney started a program to shorten the amount of time guest wait in line. The program is called FastPass. Selected rides have FastPass machines where all guests can get a ticket that will allow them to go to the front of the line at the time on the ticket.



FastPass is available for all park guests and, here's the best part...



It's free.



Number Four -



Pick a slower time of the year to visit Walt Disney World. There are several months of the year when Disney crowds are smaller then other times. Typically these months are when there aren't any school vacations. For example, from mid-January to the end of February, and again from late August until Thanksgiving crowds are almost nonexistent. During these times the pace in the parks is slower and the restaurants are more available and it's just a great time to be in Orlando.



Number Five -



Make sure to have a plan for each day. Your party can save a lot of time and miss Disney World crowds if you know where you are going and have a plan to get around the park. In other words, do your homework. (If you're reading this that's probably what your doing.)



Decide early where you are going to eat. Make your daily plan around your meals. You can make Advanced Dining Reservations 180 days prior to arrival for most Disney World restaurants.



Your family can have a lot of fun planning a Perfect Walt Disney World vacation together.



Dad has more information about the crowds at the Walt Disney World Resort, check out Dad's crowd page. There are monthly crowd calendars and more ideas about how make your Disney World vacation a magical time.



At Dad's Guide to WDW, we believe that going on a Disney World vacation is an adventure that should last longer than just a few days. Come see how we lengthen your vacation and help you make memories that will last a lifetime.



Get started today.



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