The 5 Ways You’re Wasting Time in Disney World

Time is money when you’re visiting Disney World and it’s certainly something that you don’t want to be wasting!

Between rides, shows, dining reservations, and more there’s a lot to do, but with the right amount of planning ahead, you can ensure that you reduce the amount of time you spend waiting around so that you can tackle even MORE on your trip!

Here’s How You’re Wasting Time in Disney World (and How to Avoid It)

Getting to the Park Right After Opening

When you’re headed into the parks, you’re bound to find at least a few long lines for popular rides, but one way to skip the long line is to get to the park before it opens and hop in line. And, yes, getting to the parks early can save you time in line. But, if you end up arriving at the park right at opening or even a little after, those lines will usually be up to over an hour or so.

Instead of arriving at the park right on time, either try to arrive about 30 minutes before the park opens (or utilize Early Theme Park Entry) to get in a ride before the clock even strikes the hour. Or, if the lines are already too long, head to some of the less popular rides right away. Those will usually have much shorter lines because everyone else is standing in line for the popular ones!

Plus, there’s still a chance to ride popular attractions later in the day with a shorter wait! We’ve been seeing lines dip between 1PM to 2PM so plan to ride the popular rides later if you’re getting to the park right on time. And, keep an eye on the My Disney Experience app so that you can head over when the wait time is the shortest.

The Disney World Rides with the SHORTEST Wait Times!

Mobile Ordering at the Restaurant

Over the past year, Disney has been utilizing Mobile Ordering at all of their Quick Service restaurants and this feature can end up saving you a lot of time — gone are the days that you’re waiting in long lines just to place your order.

But, if you’re ordering at a popular time of day (aka the big breakfast, lunch, and dinner windows), you might find that the next pick up time isn’t for another 20 minutes or so, meaning you’ve now got to wait before they’ll even start preparing your order. And, even if there is a window available right away, you’re not saving yourself any time if you order after you’ve already walked all the way to the restaurant.

So, to save time, place your order a few hours before you know you want to eat (and on busy days, place it even earlier in the morning) and when you start walking over to the restaurant click “prepare my order” — this will reduce the wait time that you experience once you get to the location.

How to Avoid Mobile Order Wait Times in Disney World

Booking Too Many Table Service Reservations

Disney World Table Service restaurants can be a great option for families who are looking to sit down for a little and enjoy some great theming and food. But, they can suck a lot of time from your trip.

From waiting for your table, ordering your meal, and eating, it can easily take an hour or longer to dine at a sit-down restaurant. And, if you’re dining at a resort, you’ll also have to factor in transportation time to get to and from the parks. So, the more Table Service restaurants you book, the less time you’ll be spending riding attractions and enjoying other parts of Disney World.

Try to prioritize which restaurants you really want to dine at and plan ahead for which parks you’ll be in and how you want to get there. And, if you really want to hit one (or more) Table Service restaurants, we recommend not booking more than one per day — trust us, between the cost of the meal, time, and space in your stomach you won’t need much more than that.

If You Only Eat at ONE Table Service Restaurant in Each Walt Disney World Park, Go Here.

Visiting at Peak Times

The time of year that you plan your Disney World vacation can also make a BIG difference when it comes to the amount of time you waste mostly because of the crowds you’ll face.

“Peak times” of the year are when you’re going to find the most people in the parks which means that you’ll have longer lines for rides, longer waits for food, and generally more people to navigate around when you’re in the parks.

It also might mean that you need to camp out at spots on the parade route (though the cavalcades have made it a bit easier to catch the shorter “parades” without much of a crowd) or arrive at popular shows earlier so you get a seat.

Of course, the easiest way to avoid this time waster is to plan your trip during the off-season (January, early February, late August, September, and early December). But, if you don’t have the flexibility to take time off during the non-peak times or want to visit Disney for the holidays, there are a few ways to help lower the amount of time you waste.

We’ve got lots of tips on how to handle Disney’s most crowded days, plus you can also consider taking advantage of things like After Hours Events. Disney slowly brought these offerings back, with BOO Bash taking place in 2021, and now the return of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Paying the extra cost will get you more hours in the parks with fewer crowds so you can maximize your fun.

The 7 BEST Tips to Navigate One of Disney World’s Most Popular Parks!

Disney Transportation

Disney World is the size of San Francisco so it’s no secret that it can take a good amount of time to get from place to place. And, even with the best planning, sometimes things can go awry and you find that it takes you much longer to get to where you’re going on Disney transportation.

Yes, you can avoid Disney buses by taking the monorail, skyliner, or boat if you’re staying at select resorts, but still, you just never know what obstacle you might face — be it long lines, a technical issue, an unexpected closure, etc.

Disney suggests you leave up to an hour to travel from place to place on property and it really can take that long (and there’s really no way to avoid it). So, instead of heading to the bus exactly 20 minutes before you need to be somewhere, build in some extra time for any long lines that may have formed.

And, keep in mind that Disney World resort hotel guests receive free parking at the theme parks so you can always drive your own vehicle (though you’ll still have to account for the time it takes to park and walk to the entrance).

Little-Known Disney World Transportation Tips That Will Save You Time!

Try these tips the next time you’re visiting Disney World and see how much time you can save! And, check out more tips that can help you have the best vacation yet in our video below!

And, stay tuned for more Disney planning tips, tricks, and updates!

Check Out How You Can Pack the MOST Into Your Day

How do you avoid wasting time in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!

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