I did a good amount of research to lessen wait times and increase our enjoyment of the Walt Disney World parks. These parks can be packed with people, and if you show up on the wrong day at the wrong time and don’t have a plan, you’re behind the proverbial 8 ball the rest of the day. I’m going to share some of the websites I used for planning.
Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom
To purchase tickets
In order save time at the parks, we purchased tickets online via Undercover Tourist. You get a small discount over the at-the-park-price, but the main goal is to expedite entrance on the big day. We purchased a 4 Day Magic Your Way Ticket, which means 1 park per day and no hopping between parks — as the parks are so huge there is no reason to hop.
Big Thunder Mountain is a classic roller coaster
To chose a time of year
Assuming you have some flexibility in your dates of visit, use this crowd calendar to choose the least busy day for each park. We visited in December when the crowd number was around 4/10. I can’t imagine what a 10/10 is like.
Storm Troopers march through the streets several times a day at Disney Hollywood Studios
To optimally allocate your FastPass+ reservations
Disney has a great concept, called FastPass+, where you reserve a ride for a specific time and, upon arrival, “cut” right to the front of the line. It works amazingly well. We saw posted wait times of 60+ minutes yet sauntered right by the crowds and onto the ride. But you only get 3 reservations per day, so choosing which rides to FastPass+ and at what time is not trivial. I used this web site to optimize: Touring Plans.
Visitors staying in a Disney Resort such as Fort Wilderness RV Resort can book their FastPass+ online 60 days before their visit. We visited from the Orlando/Kissimmee KOA as we could not secure a spot at Fort Wilderness which often fills over a year in advance. As we were not staying in a Disney resort, we were only able to book FastPass+ 30 days in advance, and some of the major rides were already booked. The next time we visit Disney World we’ll book Fort Wilderness a year in advance so we can book FastPass+ 60 days in advance.
Final tip
If you’re going on a high crowd day (say a 6/10 or higher), get to the park early. I mean really early. Magic Kingdom opens their outer gates a full 60 minutes before the park opens (the park opening time is when the rides start, but most everything else is open well before). You can then head immediately to a popular ride without using one of your three FastPass+ reservations.
