New and old ways to shorten your wait time at Walt Disney World
By Anna Trosper
April 19, 2022
When I help clients plan a trip to Walt Disney World, one of the big things I do is help them get the most out of their park time. Getting to ride that ride you have been waiting for for months without the long wait time is magic in itself. I am here to share a few tips with you, to help you not spend your whole Walt Disney World vacation waiting in long lines instead of experiencing all the rides, show and attractions Disney has to offer. So, let’s get started!
Arrive Early!
This is one tip that all guests can use – arriving early at the park you are gong to for the day. Let’s say you are headed to Magic Kingdom for the day and the park has a 9 am park opening time, make sure you arrive before this time. I recommend arriving 1 hour before opening time. This helps you get a head of the large crowds. At Magic Kingdom, guests are typically allowed into the park and onto Main Street USA early. This allows you to get that first Starbucks of the morning, shop and get a good spot for the new welcome show. Start your vacation off right and get a head start in the morning.
Use Early Entry!
Currently if you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, you can use the early entry, which is park opening 30 minutes prior to the posted opening. This is one of the best ways to get a head start on the crowds and hit up that must-do ride with little or no wait time. Again, this is available to all guest staying at a Disney Resort, so make sure you still arrive 1 hour early before the opening time. That means if Magic Kingdom opens at 8:30 for early entry, you want to be at the park by 7:30 am. Yes, this can make for a long day – but as my client I will help you with that also.
Use Extended Evening Hours!
These hours are offered only at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT on specific evenings throughout the week and are only available to guests staying at one of Disney’s Deluxe Resorts or Disney Deluxe Villa Resort. During this time, guests of these Resorts are given two to three extra hours in the theme Park. Wait times have been extremely low, and it is a wonderful time to check out the parks. Keep in mind that not all rides participate, so double check the list from Disney to stay up to date. This also allows for a mid-day break to relax back at your resort and then come back later in the day when the crowds are lower.
Purchase Genie+
The all-new Genie was released on October 19th. Genie+ is a paid option that guests can choose to add to their Disney Park ticket. This feature is $15/pp per day. This option gives you access to bypass the stand-by line by using the Lightning Lane. For those of you that are familiar with Disney these are the old fast pass lines. This is a great way during busy times to avoid those long waits. This is new and we are learning more and more as it is being used. I will keep my clients updated as I get more information on it.
Buy Individual Lighting Lane
So, with the Genie+ not all rides are included. In each or the four theme parks there are two rides that are part of the individual Lightning Lane. Guest can choose to purchase two of the rides a day to access the Lightning Lane for these specific rides. For now, these rides can range for $5 to $15 per ride per person. For the highly popular rides, this option is a great way to ensure you get to ride without the extremely long wait times these ride often have. This all is new and can be a bit confusing - which is why I am here to help you navigate around all this.
Single Rider Lines
Not all rides have this option but if it is this option can be extremely helpful. If you do not mind riding without the rest of your group this option is a great way to bypass the long wait time also. In Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you can do a single rider to Expedition Everest, and over in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you will find it for Rock n’ Roller Coaster as well as Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Over in EPCOT, Test Track offers a single rider option as well. Although there aren’t a lot of rides that offer this option, if you can take advantage of it where it is offered, it can cut down on your wait times.
Wait Until Park Closes
This is my last tip! If you wait till park is getting ready to close lines are shorter. Guest are allowed to get in line up until the park officially closes. This means that if park closes at 9pm you can jump into line for a ride at 9 pm and be allowed to ride. The last hour a park is open can be less crowed and reduced wait times. In Magic Kingdom Park after the fireworks show a lot of the crowed leaves, this can make for some very short wait times on rides. So, if your party can hang with staying late or taking a break during the day and coming back to the park later, really consider staying until park closes. Here is one last bonus tip! Some of the rides are fantastic at night under the lights. Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Slinky Dog Dash, and Test Track, to name a few, are so fun at night.
I know that the last thing any Guest wants to do on their Walt Disney World vacation is to wait in line. Sometimes it just can’t be helped but I am here to help you minimize your wait times as much as possible. I would love to talk with you about your next or even 1st magical trip to Walt Disney World and help you book and plan a very magical trip. You can follow along with me on my FACEBOOK page or contact me at annat@wishesfamilytravel.com. Till then stay safe and have a magical day!