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  • On Jan 15, 2010
    Krista Asked Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.

    Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.

    We are planning a holiday to WDW over Easter break 2010. What are some tips to avoid the crowds? How long is the average wait time for rides? Thanks.

    Hi Krista!

    When the theme parks are crowded, and they will be during the Easter time period, it helps to have a good touring plan.  A good plan suggests seeing attractions in a particular order.  There are a lot of criteria for what makes a good plan, including minimizing wait time, minimizing distance walked, somewhere in between, etc.  No single plan is perfect.  If you look at a map for any park, you will see that the headliner attractions are not all clustered together.  They are placed at various locations throughout the park to fit a particular theme (think fantasy type attractions in Fantasyland) and to help distribute guests throughout the park.

    In terms of minimizing wait, the best plans I know of are produced by the team that writes the "Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World".  They also have a website, www.touringplans.com.  Their plans are based on a lot of math and on a lot of research data collected over many years.  As an engineer, I am a big fan of their work.  However, if you use one of their plans, just know that there is a lot of "back tracking" during the day; some guests are fine with that and others absolutely hate it.  What I mean by back tracking is, for example, in the Magic Kingdom you might have to go from Tomorrowland to Frontierland to Tomorrowland to Fantasyland, back to Tomorrowland, etc.  Remember what i said about headliners distributed throughout the park?  However, if you don't mind walking a lot, and you really want to minimize the amount of time you wait in line, then I think their plans are perfect! 

    On their website, you can also see an estimate for the crowd level on a particular day and they convert that level to an expected waiting time for headliner attractions.  Check it out!

    Have a magical vacation!
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Meet the Panelist: Bernie, Maryland

I am an engineer with NASA with prior Air Force service. My wife and I have two boys, ages 13 and 8. At home, I'm known as the "Disney Guy" and I've enjoyed helping guests plan their Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, and Disneyland vacations. Learn More About Bernie

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