How to Save Time During Your Next Disney World Trip
Many guests try to maximize their time at Disney World by staying in the parks from rope drop to park close. However, there are other ways to help you save time on your next Disney World vacation, so you have more time to enjoy more rides, character meet and greets, and food!
Stay at a Resort with a Prime Location
The closer you stay to the theme parks, the less time that you need for transportation. Some resorts are so close to the parks that you can walk to or from the theme parks. You can walk to Magic Kingdom from Bay Lake Tower or the Grand Floridian, and you can walk to both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios from the Beach Club and BoardWalk. Walking means you do not waste any time waiting for transportation–you can simply travel whenever you are ready!
Leverage Lightning Lane Passes
As many guests know, Lightning Lanes are essentially the line-skipping replacement for the old FastPass+ system. However, it helps to make sure you really know how to use the system and how to maximize its benefits and ride as much as possible. For example, learn how to stack your Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections, and keep refreshing whenever you aren’t initially able to find what you are looking for. Don’t forget that as a Disney resort guest, you can book your Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections up to 7 days in advance instead of just 3 for offsite guests.
Take Advantage of Early Entry and Evening Hours
All guests of Disney owned-and-operated resorts get to enter the theme parks 30 minutes prior to official park opening. In addition, all guests of Deluxe Disney Resorts, including the DVC resorts, get Extended Evening Theme Park Hours, which allow guests to spend an extra couple of hours in the parks on certain evenings. Both of these perks give you an opportunity to enjoy more time in the theme parks with slightly lower crowds, so you can have shorter wait times for attractions.
Go for Character Dining
This one may not be intuitive. After all, table service meals like character dining tend to take longer than quick service meals. However, you can kind of think of character dining as multitasking: eating a meal while doing character meet and greets. If you love to meet with characters, character dining can be an efficient way to meet multiple characters at once instead of waiting in several separate lines for character meet and greets throughout the theme parks. It’s also convenient to have the characters come to you rather than the other way around.
Mobile Order
Most quick service locations allow guests to place orders through the My Disney Experience app. While you do need to be close enough to the restaurant in order for cast members to begin preparing your food, you can often save a little time by placing your order while walking over. For resort quick service locations, you can even place your breakfast order from the comfort of your resort room while you are getting ready in the morning to help minimize your wait time.
Make your next Disney World vacation even more magical by renting a stay at a DVC resort! Whether you book a confirmed reservation or book by checking availability and price, you’ll save up to 65% compared to booking directly through Disney.
