5 Ways To Avoid Wasting Time at Walt Disney World

5 Steps to Avoid Wasting Time at Walt Disney World

Whether you have been going to Disney for years, or this is your first time going to any Disney theme park, we all fall into some of the time sucks that happen when going to the parks.

You run a little late and end up missing your bus, you get lost in the park, or end up missing out on your FastPass. These things happen all the time, even to experienced Disney goers. However, you can take a few steps to ensure that you avoid wasting time while you are at Disney!

Here are 5 steps to avoid wasting time at Walt Disney World. While these may not help everyone, this will keep most of you from wasting your time while you’re at Disney World.

Ride popular rides at night or in the early morning

You are only allowed to carry a select amount of FastPasses at one time before you can book more. However, sometimes you don’t get to grab a FastPass for a popular ride that you want to ride.

While the first option should be to grab a FastPass for the popular rides, this is not always an option. In these cases, you want to make sure to ride the popular rides at night or in the early morning. Going to the park at rope drop will give you time to beat the crowds and the lines and snag those popular rides early, and going at night (especially during firework shows) will allow you to do the same.

Here are popular rides that you want to make sure that you ride at night or early in the morning if you don’t have a FastPass:

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Avatar Flight of Passage
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• DINOSAUR
• Expedition Everest

• Frozen Ever After
• Haunted Mansion
• Kilimanjaro Safaris

• Na’vi River Journey
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Rock ‘N’ Rollercoaster
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Soarin’
• Space Mountain
• Splash Mountain

• Test Track
• Toy Story Mania

Use mobile ordering to save you time at quick service and counter service locations

If you have a table service reservation or if you choose to dine at a table service location, you won’t be able to speed up your meal at all. However, if you want to avoid waiting in line at the quick service and counter service locations, make sure to take advantage of mobile ordering!

If you have the My Disney Experience app you can order your food and pick it up at the window when you get there! This will save you a ton of time and you get your food faster.

Be strategic about where you are walking in the parks

When you are walking around the parks, make sure you are walking with traffic and not against it. This is especially important if you are walking down Main Street! This will cut down your travel time between rides significantly and get you there faster.

Before you go to any ride or attraction, make sure to look at a map beforehand. Sometimes there are multiple routes to get to the same place, but one will avoid a parade or show that’s going on.

Make sure you are booking your FastPasses and Dining Reservations as soon as possible

If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort, you can book your FastPasses up to 60 days in advance and dining reservations up to 180 days in advance. Make sure that you are using both of these to your advantage!

Reservations and FastPasses will save you a ton of time in the park and help you reduce the time you spend waiting in line or finding something to eat! Make sure you use and book as many as you can!

With dining reservations, as long as you cancel before the 24-hour mark of your reservation, you won’t get charged! If you think you want to dine somewhere, it’s better to book and then cancel.

Use the My Disney Experience App

The My Disney Experience app will show you wait times, how to get around the park, games to keep your kids busy, and so much more! You can even find out which characters are walking around the park!

This app will not only save you time getting around the park but help you plan out your day! You can see your reservations and FastPasses right on the app, and book more while you’re waiting in line! Out of all the tips on this list, this one will end up saving you the most time while at the parks!

Planning for the unexpected is always ideal when you are planning any trip. However, sometimes it’s the small things we forget about! I hope that this list has helped you identify areas where you can save time and help you avoid wasting time while at Disney World.