Hello there, Kathleen!
Welcome to planDisney! After years of Walt Disney World Resort vacation planning experience, this group of planDisney panelists is ready to help answer your questions to ensure you get all the pixie dust out of your vacation.
Kathleen, I personally like to take advantage of as much time in the theme parks as possible, and oftentimes, you’ll find me at the theme parks from opening until closing (approximately 12 hours). I understand that not everyone is as intense as me, but I think the average Guest spends about six hours or more in each of the theme parks. It really depends on what is important to you.
For example, if you love attractions, I recommend going to the theme park about 30 minutes before the park opens to rope drop the theme parks for lower wait times in the morning. Pro tip: If you are a Disney Resort hotel Guest, you can take advantage of a 30-minute early entry into the theme parks every day (In this case, I show up another 30 minutes early to make sure I’m one of the first people taking advantage of early entry).
If nighttime spectaculars and fireworks are important to you, I recommend entering the theme park in the afternoon to ensure you have enough energy to watch the fireworks. In a few days, you’ll be able to see the
Hours & Events Calendar for your vacation dates. All of the theme parks are approximately a 10 to 15-minute drive from one another, but I really only recommend visiting two theme parks in a day.
There are lots of different rooms to choose from that can accommodate three Guests. I recommend viewing the
accommodations website to see what is available when you plan on visiting. Depending on which theme park you want to visit the most, you may want to pick your Resort hotel based on the Resort location. For example,
Disney’s Beach Club Resort is close to EPCOT, whereas
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is closest to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
Let us know if there is anything else we can do to help sprinkle a bit of pixie dust your way.
May the magic be with you!Melanie