Budgeting your time at Walt Disney World - Part 1: Basic Timesavers

If you’re like me, you love the idea of casually sauntering around Walt Disney World, taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the parks, but in reality you don’t have that kind of time. One of these days I’ll take a trip to Disney for a full week (in the off-season) to allow myself time to take the parks at a leisurely pace without missing anything, but for the time being (assuming I can muster the energy) Disney trips will remain action packed weekends. This means effective time management.

As a Florida resident, I have the luxury of being able to visit the parks several times a year, meaning that I’ve gathered together quite a few time savers for my own personal use, and now I feel like I should share them with the world at large (or at least those of you who have found this blog).

This is going to be a three part post. The second and third parts will come over the next week or so. I’m going to break these down into three categories. The “Basic” category is for first timers. It covers things that you’d learn on your first visit, but will be helpful to know prior to your first visit. The “Intermediate” category is for everyone, but these are tips that may not be obvious until after several visits. And finally we’ll have the “Advanced” category. This is for three park a day folks like me.

Basic Timesavers:

Get there early. I can’t stress this one enough. In fact plan to get there a half hour before opening so you have time to park and get into the gates before the rides open (yes, you can, they’ll just keep you in the front park of the park until 9:00). You’d think that there isn’t much difference in arriving at the park at 10:00 vs. 9:00, but you’d be wrong. The difference that one hour makes is easily three rides (at less crowded times, you can squeeze in five rides in that first hour). By 10:00 the major influx is rolling in, and you can have the marquee rides already knocked out.

Maximize your FastPass. Disney’s FastPass system is a virtual line. You go to the ride, pick up a ticket, return to the ride at the time printed on your ticket, and go to what is basically the front of the line. To make the most of this system, you should go directly to the most popular ride/attraction that you want to do and get your first FastPass. At this point you need to make a decision regarding your next ride. There will be a time printed on the FastPass ticket that you can get another one, if you’ve arrived early enough, and expect to still be in the same park for some time after that, you should plan to get a FastPass for the second most popular ride that you want to do. If you are trying to hit multiple parks, you should go to the second most popular ride on your list.

Work from most to least popular. When selecting your ride order, you should try to work backward from most to least popular. The lines for all rides start out short, then get longer. The lines for the more popular rides (e.g. anything with the word “Mountain” in it) will get longer faster, and stay that way until about an hour before the park closes (and by then you’ll be worn out, or in a different park). You’ll spend less time in line if you hit the big rides (that you don’t have a FastPass for) immediately when the park opens.

Don’t go to the Magic Kingdom on Saturday. I make this mistake myself, because it’s so tempting. If you’re there for the weekend (as so many are), you want to go to the Magic Kingdom first, because it’s your favorite, but it’s also everybody else’s favorite. I do recommend going to the Magic Kingdom in the morning, but on any day other than Saturday.

Don’t bring a bag unless you have no choice. There is a bag check, and it’s a huge log-jam every single morning. There’s a spot for those without bags to breeze right on through, and you can save a lot of hassle by just making efficient use of pockets, and risking looking like dork by carrying your camera on your belt (trust me, there will be a thousand people that look dorkier). Obviously, if you’ve got a little one (child, not camera), this may not be doable.

Sunblock and light colors. Obvious to anyone who’s spent time in Central Florida, it gets hot down here, even in winter. I can’t remember the last time I wore long sleeves to Disney. Expect the park to be five degrees warmer than the local forecast, and be sure to put on some sunblock before you leave your hotel.

Bring or buy a bottled water (and keep it filled with the numerous water fountains). I generally am not a fan of bottled water, seems like a waste most of the time, but there are occasions when it’s good to have a disposable bottle of water, like at Disney. The reason I say bottled water, and not a water bottle, is that you may find yourself in a situation where you need to dispose of it. Most of the rides have a place for you to put it (or you can hold it during the ride), but I’ve had to throw mine away once or twice (yes, they do have recycling bins scattered throughout the parks), so having a nice Sigg or Nalgene bottle could be a problem.

That’s it for now. Look for my next post on this topic in a couple of days!