Tips for Disney World

I have some friends who will be visiting Disney World next year and I wanted to give some tips that we learned from our visit a couple of weeks ago. Hope you find this useful.

General Tips:

1.     If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet and you are an AAA member, call the AAA in Orlando and check to see how much the discounted tickets are. We could only get them in FL and not anywhere else.

2.     If you buy an annual pass, you have to order your magic bands online and have them sent to your home or you can go to the Magic Kingdom Passholder office to get one. They did say that you won’t get a special attachment though unless you order it online so we waited until we got home. We used our cards in the park which you will still need to get your parking for free.

3.     We avoided the Magic Kingdom from Friday to Monday which seemed to be the busiest times.

4.     We didn’t carry a bag in so we could skip the bag security line. We put snacks in our pockets. I carried a nylon bag that was able to be folded in my pocket. Once we got through security, I opened the bag and we emptied our pockets.

5.     Bring along an empty water bottle (old soda bottle) that can be filled up at water fountains.

6.     Wear comfortable shoes.

7.     Be flexible. If lines were long at one ride, we went to a shorter one. Lines were shorter around lunch time, dinner time, and after dark.

Magic Kingdom (suggest at least 2 days):

1.     We got a FastPass for Space Mountain and headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad first. We usually rode this twice before the lines got long.

2.     Peter Pan ride – not worth a wait longer than 30 minutes which means we skipped this ride. We have ridden it before and if you miss it, you aren’t really missing anything.

3.     You need a FastPass for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which is a lot like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

4.     The Carousel of Progress is always wonderful and there usually isn’t any wait time.

5.     The People Mover is a great ride when you are needing a rest.

6.     We liked the rotisserie chicken at the Starlight Café in Tomorrow Land.

7.     Pirates of the Caribbean – the first seat has a high chance of getting wet/soaked. If you don’t want to get wet, ask for a different seat.

Epcot:

1.     Get a FastPass for Soarin’ and head to TestTrack first. We rode this a couple of times before the lines got long.

2.     Single Rider lines in Testtrack goes quickly.

3.     The Living on the Land ride is wonderful and informative.

4.     Mission: Earth is a pretty cool ride. The more intense has a lot of pressure but fun.

5.     In the World Showcase: Mexico and Norway have fun rides.

6.     China – seeing it in 360 degrees is wonderful.

7.     We like to eat either in the Land or in China.

8.     Club Cool – hosted by the World of Coca-Cola has free drink samples. Great if you are hot and thirsty.

Animal Kingdom:

1.     We got a FastPass for the Mt. Everest roller coaster and headed to the back for the Safari ride first. We usually rode this twice before the lines got long.

2.     Riding the train to Rafiki is fun but there is a walk back to the facility from the train.

3.     Nemo the Musical is wonderful. Hubby doesn’t like musicals but loves this one.

4.     It’s Tough to Be a Bug in the Tree of Life is wonderful too.

5.     See the Tree of Life come alive after dark. It is fabulous!
Primeval Whirl reminds us of an old-timey roller coaster they used to have at Myrtle Beach.

6.     We have eaten at the Yak and Yeti counter service and also the Barbecue counter service and both were great.

Hollywood Studios:

1.     We got a FastPass for Rockin’ Roller Coaster and went to the Tower of Terror first. We rode this several times before the lines got long.

2.     We rode the Star Tours ride which was good.

3.     This park took us only half a day because most of the park is under renovation. We were a little disappointed in it because there weren’t a lot of attractions and the lines were long because of this.

4.     If I had a limited number of days at Disney World, I would skip this park.

Have you visited Disney World? Do you have any tips to add to this? Please share.