Hey Howdy Hey Barbara and welcome back to planDisney!
Oh boy, in just a few days, you will be on your way to the Most Magical Place on Earth for your epic vacation! While there is so much to be excited about during your upcoming vacation, managing your plans amongst the crowds can be a tricky situation. Not to worry Barbara, you've got a friend in me for a few pointers so you can have an efficient time in the parks!
You can find the park hours of each park for the days of your vacation online by looking at the
parks and events calendar or in your
My Disney Experience app. On the home screen of your app, you should see park hours for all parks as well as view showtimes for parades and fireworks. When planning your day, using a crowd calendar may come in handy.
If you were to do an internet search for "Disney World Crowd Calendars" you should see many resources to check out. I've used the Undercover Tourists calendar before and it has helped me plan several trips in the past. These calendars will give you an idea of typical crowd levels using historical data and other things scheduled around the resorts to estimate the crowd levels in each park during your visit. If you are visiting a park on a day crowd levels are expected to be fairly high, you may want to take advantage of
Early Theme Park Entry. This will allow you to get into the parks 30 minutes before the general public if staying at a Disney Resort hotel or other qualifying resorts.
The parks in general will be at their busiest at mid to late morning and early afternoon. Especially during the week, many Florida residents may be leaving the parks mid to late afternoon for school and work the next day and you may see a slight reduction in crowd levels during the evening.
When we need to maximize our efficiency in the parks, this typically involves a quick breakfast at the resort from the food we have delivered or brought in to keep in our rooms. We can then hit the parks for the early entry times to get the average 2-3 attractions in before the parks open. When the parks do open, things tend to fill up front to back, so try out the attractions closer to the front first and then the lines will be chasing you for the early part of the day. When the parks are at their busiest, you are ready for a longer break for a late breakfast or early lunch. Then, at peak lunch rush times, you can enjoy shorter wait times in lines!
I hope this information was helpful to better plan your park days for your upcoming vacation. Please let us know if you have any other questions, we love any excuse talking Disney Park strategy!
To Infinity and Beyond,
Nick