It’s that time of year—the two weeks when crowds overtake the Walt Disney World Resort. If you’ve never experienced peak crowds at Disney World, it can be overwhelming, frustrating, and sometimes scary.
But fear not, Disney traveler. There are ways to enjoy the magic of Disney World even when the massive crowds take over the parks. Here are the best ways to make the most of Walt Disney World, even with huge crowds.
Plan
This can be said for any Disney World trip, but it is especially true during the holidays. If you go in without a plan, you will be in trouble.
Determine how long you plan on being at each park, and then determine one “must do” for every member of your party. This will make planning the day in advance and getting your Lightning Lane passes easier.
With your Lightning Lane passes, you won’t get everything you want in one day—Disney has made that impossible—but you can still get two or three of your favorite attractions for that day.
Know when each park opens and how long it will take to get there. You should plan on arriving 30 minutes before the park actually opens.
This will give you enough time to get through security and be prepared for rope drop. It will also ensure that you will get onto at least one ride you want without getting a Lightning Lane.
Remember, if you’re staying at a Disney World Resort hotel, you can enter 30 minutes before the general public, but you also have to time the Disney World transportation system correctly. Depending on which hotel you’re staying at, plan to leave 60-90 minutes before you want to arrive at the park.
Use the Disney Parks app to mobile order food. You don’t want to waste time in the parks waiting for food when you could be enjoying your favorite ride or attraction.
It’s simple, and you can get a table while your food is being prepared. Never underestimate how difficult it is to get a table at a Disney World restaurant, especially during the holidays.
Don’t
With crowds this large, you won’t be able to bounce around the park. What exactly does that mean?
If you’re in the Magic Kingdom, try to get your Lightning Lane passes for one section of the park and then move on to another section once you’ve finished. Don’t bounce from Tomorrowland to Adventureland and back again.
The crowds make movement slower and, in some cases, impossible. Pick a section of the park, work that section, and then come back for other sections later in the day or another time on your trip.
Also, don’t go to EPCOT at night with kids. There will be hundreds of people drinking around the world, and you don’t want to have to explain to your kids why someone is throwing up in the bushes at the United Kingdom pavilion.
You can still eat around the counties; you’ll just have to do it before the drunkards come out at night.
For everyone’s sanity, please don’t stop in the middle of a walkway. If you need to stop, move to the side and figure out your next move.
There is nothing worse than someone stopping in the middle and trying to figure out what they’re doing. It just gums up the works, and you don’t want to be that person this week.
Don’t try to do everything. These aren’t normal Disney World crowds that you’re dealing with. Understand that you won’t fit everything in, and that’s okay.
Besides, if you don’t do everything, it will just give you an excuse to return next year for another holiday trip.
Do
Leave the parks during the middle of the day. Early morning and late at night, you’ll catch smaller crowds, but the middle of the day is jam-packed.
Head back to your resort hotel and enjoy what it has to offer. Some of the best holiday decorations in Disney World are at the hotels: see Beach Club and Boardwalk.
This will be stressful, and returning to the hotel will allow you to decompress and relax before returning to the parks for a few hours at night.
Stop and see the decorations. Part of the beauty of going to Disney World during the holidays is seeing something that isn’t there for the rest of the year.
The rides will be there (well, some of them) next year, but the Christmas decorations will not be there much longer.
And finally, do have a good time. It’s Christmas and the Holiday Season. Enjoy yourself and be good to the cast members who are working on their holiday season.
Happy Holidays.
The post The Crowds Have Descended on Disney World, Here’s How To Survive the Madness appeared first on Inside the Magic.
