Our Expert Advice For Our Favorite Clients
ARRIVE EARLY: Our first and most important tips is to arrive at the gate for each park at least 30 minutes prior to park opening. That means that if Animal Kingdom opens at 8:00AM, you really have to be at the gate by 7:30. I know that's SUPER early, especially when you have to factor in resort transportation to get you there by that time. None of the "upon entry" tips below work though if you are not walking in just as they are letting everyone in. The strategies indicated below will still work if you are walking in between 30 and 15 minutes prior, but the closer you arrive to opening, the less likely any of the tips below will work. Please shoot us a message and we'll try to walk you through shifting your strategy.
Please note: Once Disney Genie+ and Ride Attraction pay to play is available, some of these recommendations may become obsolete if you decide to make that purchase. Generally, you can use these recommendations "around" what you are able to schedule in Genie+ or Ride Selection, but we will help to guide you through that process. If you do not pay for Genie+ or the 2 pre-selected rides, these tips are still relevant.
Magic Kingdom
Note: this ride strategy can only be employed if you are arriving at the park gate 30 minutes early.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - Head immediately for this line. The ride is behind the castle in Fantasy land to the right, but the ride queue will likely wrap around along the right side of the ride queue in the direction of the tea cups (see red line on image below). The line wait time will say something very long like 60- 75 minutes OR they may be testing the ride so they will tell you that it's not opening yet, trust us, just wait.
After 7DMT, do these rides in this order...
Peter Pan (if less than 30 minutes, otherwise, just wait in this line later), Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean
There are several rides that will still have long lines, but we just cut out most of them, which will now enable you to sprinkle the remaining long lines among the short waits. For example, Space Mountain will be a long wait, so we recommend, Buzz Lightyear (moderate wait), the People Mover (lower wait), then Space Mountain (long wait), then Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (usually a low wait). Jungle River cruise will also be a long wait, so we recommend doing that one either with the Enchanted Tiki Room (low wait) and the Magic Carpets of Alladin (low/moderate wait) or to jump on 5 minutes before the fireworks start. You will miss the fireworks, but the ride line will really clear out quickly. You could also probably walk right onto Big Thunder if you hop on right before fireworks, and it's pretty cool to be ON Big Thunder when the fireworks are going on (see pic below).
One last strategy is to jump on a long line that you missed 5 minutes prior to park closing. Generally, as soon as the parks actually close, the lines move faster because there will be no more DAS access through fastpass and employees seem to be motivated to hurry through the rest of the line.
Note: If you are doing a second Magic Kingdom day, you can skip Space Mountain and Jungle River Cruise on Day one and make those two your first stops on Day 2 (Space Mountain THEN Jungle River). Or you can always do 7DMT as your first ride again!
Note: this ride strategy can only be employed if you are arriving at the park gate 30 minutes early.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - Head immediately for this line. The ride is behind the castle in Fantasy land to the right, but the ride queue will likely wrap around along the right side of the ride queue in the direction of the tea cups (see red line on image below). The line wait time will say something very long like 60- 75 minutes OR they may be testing the ride so they will tell you that it's not opening yet, trust us, just wait.
After 7DMT, do these rides in this order...
Peter Pan (if less than 30 minutes, otherwise, just wait in this line later), Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean
There are several rides that will still have long lines, but we just cut out most of them, which will now enable you to sprinkle the remaining long lines among the short waits. For example, Space Mountain will be a long wait, so we recommend, Buzz Lightyear (moderate wait), the People Mover (lower wait), then Space Mountain (long wait), then Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (usually a low wait). Jungle River cruise will also be a long wait, so we recommend doing that one either with the Enchanted Tiki Room (low wait) and the Magic Carpets of Alladin (low/moderate wait) or to jump on 5 minutes before the fireworks start. You will miss the fireworks, but the ride line will really clear out quickly. You could also probably walk right onto Big Thunder if you hop on right before fireworks, and it's pretty cool to be ON Big Thunder when the fireworks are going on (see pic below).
One last strategy is to jump on a long line that you missed 5 minutes prior to park closing. Generally, as soon as the parks actually close, the lines move faster because there will be no more DAS access through fastpass and employees seem to be motivated to hurry through the rest of the line.
Note: If you are doing a second Magic Kingdom day, you can skip Space Mountain and Jungle River Cruise on Day one and make those two your first stops on Day 2 (Space Mountain THEN Jungle River). Or you can always do 7DMT as your first ride again!
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The view of the Fireworks from the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride!
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Epcot
Note: this ride strategy can only be employed if you are arriving at the park gate 30 minutes early.
For Epcot, you have a decision you have to make here. The strategy is to jump on the line for either Test Track or Frozen Ever After first. Our general recommendation is Test Track first because that line is almost always longer or as long as Frozen throughout the day.
Strategy 1 - Test Track First
Hit Test Track (skip Mission Space, if you are one of the strange people who likes Gravitrons, you can come back to that later), Soarin', Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Journey to Imagination and the Pixar Film Festival.
Once you are done with that list, you can start to head over to the left side of the World Showcase and hit Mission Space on the way (if you want) and then Three Cabelleros (Mexico), Meet Anna & Elsa (Norway), and Frozen Ever After (Norway).
Don't forget to hit the stops in other countries, including Kidcot fun stops (link has information).
The line queue for test track is sometimes hard to find, we recommend walking to the front of the ride and following the crowd to the right until you see the cast member holding the 'end of line' sign.
Strategy 2 - Frozen First
Head right back to Frozen Ever After, then do the Meet Anna & Elsa, and head back up to the front of the park. Employing this strategy may mean standing in a long line for Test Track (your next ride), but you could get lucky that the initial pop has worn off by the time you get there. Then, do Mission Space (if you are into that) and head over to Soarin', Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Journey to Imagination, and the Pixar Film Festival (in that order). Once you are done, enjoy the world showcase in either direction at your leisure, just don't forget Kidcot as you are working your way around.
For either strategy, we recommend doing Spaceship Earth (the golf ball, lol) on your way out of the park.
Note: this ride strategy can only be employed if you are arriving at the park gate 30 minutes early.
For Epcot, you have a decision you have to make here. The strategy is to jump on the line for either Test Track or Frozen Ever After first. Our general recommendation is Test Track first because that line is almost always longer or as long as Frozen throughout the day.
Strategy 1 - Test Track First
Hit Test Track (skip Mission Space, if you are one of the strange people who likes Gravitrons, you can come back to that later), Soarin', Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Journey to Imagination and the Pixar Film Festival.
Once you are done with that list, you can start to head over to the left side of the World Showcase and hit Mission Space on the way (if you want) and then Three Cabelleros (Mexico), Meet Anna & Elsa (Norway), and Frozen Ever After (Norway).
Don't forget to hit the stops in other countries, including Kidcot fun stops (link has information).
The line queue for test track is sometimes hard to find, we recommend walking to the front of the ride and following the crowd to the right until you see the cast member holding the 'end of line' sign.
Strategy 2 - Frozen First
Head right back to Frozen Ever After, then do the Meet Anna & Elsa, and head back up to the front of the park. Employing this strategy may mean standing in a long line for Test Track (your next ride), but you could get lucky that the initial pop has worn off by the time you get there. Then, do Mission Space (if you are into that) and head over to Soarin', Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Journey to Imagination, and the Pixar Film Festival (in that order). Once you are done, enjoy the world showcase in either direction at your leisure, just don't forget Kidcot as you are working your way around.
For either strategy, we recommend doing Spaceship Earth (the golf ball, lol) on your way out of the park.
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Flower & Garden Figment
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The Epcot Princess Processional
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Animal Kingdom
Note: This ride strategy can only be employed if you are arriving at the park gate 30 minutes early. For Animal Kingdom it is especially important to arrive early because Flights of Passage is consistently one of the longest lines in all of the parks.
It will be a lot of back and forth, but we recommend doing the rides in this order:
Flights of Passage, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids (if you are into water rides), Expedition Everest, and DinoSAUR. It can be tempting to stop and do other things along the way, but please trust us, following this path, will put you just in front of the crowd and these are all the longest lines in Animal Kingdom. Other than Na'avi River Journey (which is not our favorite ride anyway) most of the remaining lines should be non-existent or no more than 10-20 minutes. Once you do that first Loop, you can go back around and do It's Tough to Be A Bug, Na'avi River Journey (might be 30-45 minutes at this point), the Lion King show, Gorilla Forest Trails Expedition, the train to Conservation Station, the Feathered Friends in Flight (don't miss this bird show, it's so much fun), Maharajah Jungle Trek, and any of the Dino land USA rides. Also, don't forget to do the Discovery Island Trails around the Tree of Life.
Note: This ride strategy can only be employed if you are arriving at the park gate 30 minutes early. For Animal Kingdom it is especially important to arrive early because Flights of Passage is consistently one of the longest lines in all of the parks.
It will be a lot of back and forth, but we recommend doing the rides in this order:
Flights of Passage, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids (if you are into water rides), Expedition Everest, and DinoSAUR. It can be tempting to stop and do other things along the way, but please trust us, following this path, will put you just in front of the crowd and these are all the longest lines in Animal Kingdom. Other than Na'avi River Journey (which is not our favorite ride anyway) most of the remaining lines should be non-existent or no more than 10-20 minutes. Once you do that first Loop, you can go back around and do It's Tough to Be A Bug, Na'avi River Journey (might be 30-45 minutes at this point), the Lion King show, Gorilla Forest Trails Expedition, the train to Conservation Station, the Feathered Friends in Flight (don't miss this bird show, it's so much fun), Maharajah Jungle Trek, and any of the Dino land USA rides. Also, don't forget to do the Discovery Island Trails around the Tree of Life.
Our Video from Na'avi River Journey
Hollywood Studios
Note: this ride strategy can only be employed if you are arriving at the park gate 30 minutes early.
Slinky Dog is consistently the longest line in Hollywood Studios, the others vary. As a result, we recommend entering the park and heading directly back to the Toy Story area and getting on line for Slinky Dog. When you get on line, the line may be outside the queue and the ride attendants may tell you not to wait. It is worth the risk to just wait.
After Slinky Dog we recommend Millennium Falcon, Toy Story Midway Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, Star Tours, the Muppets, and then any number of wonderful shows going into midday. This has you bouncing around a bit, but it will allow you to mix up short and moderate wait times. We recommend waiting until the evening lines die down (a couple of hours prior to park closing) to hit Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, Rockin' Roller Coaster, and possibly Tower of Terror as the last line you enter shortly before park closing.
Note: this ride strategy can only be employed if you are arriving at the park gate 30 minutes early.
Slinky Dog is consistently the longest line in Hollywood Studios, the others vary. As a result, we recommend entering the park and heading directly back to the Toy Story area and getting on line for Slinky Dog. When you get on line, the line may be outside the queue and the ride attendants may tell you not to wait. It is worth the risk to just wait.
After Slinky Dog we recommend Millennium Falcon, Toy Story Midway Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, Star Tours, the Muppets, and then any number of wonderful shows going into midday. This has you bouncing around a bit, but it will allow you to mix up short and moderate wait times. We recommend waiting until the evening lines die down (a couple of hours prior to park closing) to hit Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, Rockin' Roller Coaster, and possibly Tower of Terror as the last line you enter shortly before park closing.
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