Avoid Lines at Disney World
11 Ways to Reduce Wait Times at Disney’s Theme Parks Attractions
Avoiding the long lines for rides is the best way to maximize your Disney experience. In this article, we’ll take you through our top tips for spending more time having fun and less time waiting in line.
With an annual attendance of over 58 million people, Walt Disney World tops the list of most visited vacation resorts in the world. It’s clear that Disney is doing something right to attract so many guests. And with a tagline of “The Most Magical Place On Earth,” why wouldn’t anyone want to visit the park?!
But these statistics also imply something negative – crowds and long lines. Unfortunately, this assumption is often the reality. Besides the cost of a Disney World vacation, the lines are really the only other major complaint.
So how do you avoid lines at Disney World?
While it’s not possible to avoid the lines entirely, there are several strategies to lessen your queue wait times. Here are our 11 best ways to avoid the lines at Disney World.
1. Go To Disney World when its Less Crowded
The most obvious way to avoid lines is to go to the park when it’s least crowded. There is no magical time of the year when you will have the park to yourself but there are certain stretches when Disney World is less crowded than at other times.
If possible, try to avoid popular times of the year like school vacations, spring breaks, around the holidays, during the height of the summer, and when Disney hosts special events like runDisney marathon weekends and the Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival. Weekends also tend to draw the crowds, so it may be a good idea to visit the theme parks on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then spend a long weekend enjoying the resorts, pools, and other aspects of Disney World outside of the theme parks.
See our Best Time to Go to Disney World article and our Walt Disney World crowd calendar page for a detailed look at when you can expect the shortest lines: MagicGuides.com/wdw-crowd-calendar
2. Make a Breakfast Reservation
An easy way to get a jump on the crowds is to make a breakfast reservation at one of the restaurants located within a theme park. The advantage of this is that you will be able to exit the restaurant – right into the theme park – before the park opens to other guests. In doing so, you will bypass the normal entrance gate entirely and beat the 9 am rush. We recommend that you head straight to the most popular rides so you are one of the first in line!
Each of Disney’s 4 theme parks has at least one in-park breakfast location. Our favorites strategies include making an early reservation at Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom) and heading straight to the popular Meet Cinderella and Elena at Princess Fairytale Hall; eating at the Safari Donald Duck character breakfast (Tusker House – Animal Kingdom) and hightailing it over to Flight of Passage, and making an 8 a.m. reservation for the Princess Storybook Dining character breakfast (Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Epcot’s Norway Pavilion) and then hustling over to the Royal Summerhus to meet the Frozen sisters before the 9 am crowds descend.
Magic Kingdom’s Be Our Guest restaurant is another popular choice for breakfast. Read our article about the best strategies to make Be Our Guest reservations.
Disney Character breakfasts will also save time from waiting in those long lines inside the theme parks to meet the Disney characters. See our Best Disney Character Dining Experiences page for more details.
3. Head for the Rear and the Most Popular Rides
Word to the wise: if you want to avoid the lines, don’t arrive late. The lines are often at their longest around 10-11 am.
If you skip our “breakfast in the theme parks” idea, then you should still plan on arriving at the park before it opens and then promptly line up near the front entrance. This will allow you to get a jump start on your day and – theoretically – a jump start on the lines. However, there will be plenty of competition as the gates open. Most people rush to the best attractions right off the bat.
One strategy we would advise is to study the theme park map, pick a popular attraction that is located towards the back of the park, start there and then work your way towards the front of the park as the day progresses. See our Disney World Map page to plot your strategy.
Another trick is to turn left as you enter the park. Our natural human instincts tell us to make a right turn (for some reason) so try turning left instead. Reverse psychology can be an asset as you try to combat the lines at Disney World!
4. Get the most out of Lightning Lane
Lightning Lane is a paid service that allows you to skip the standby line and use a quicker Lightning Lane entrance at select attractions.
Guests can book their first Lightning Lane selections in advance of their visit, and then try for even more rides once they’re inside the park. The advantage goes to guests staying at Disney World resorts because they have the earliest opportunity to secure the most popular reservations in advance of their check-in. Those staying off-site have a shorter pre-booking window.
Most Lightning Lane rides are bundled into a package deal called Multi Pass, while the top one or two rides in each park is sold separately as a Single Pass. A third option, Premier Pass, includes every Lightning Lane ride in the park.
Our tip: don’t waste your precious Lightning Lane slots by booking less popular attractions. Instead, focus on the most popular Disney attractions that appeal to you (the ones that will inevitably have the longest lines).
Also of note: if you have a medical condition which affects your ability to wait in line, you might want to investigate Disney’s Disability Access Service in addition to Lightning Lanes. DAS offers scheduled return times, allowing you to wait in a more comfortable area.
5. Check Line Wait Times on Disney’s App
Every Disney guest should download the official My Disney Experience app on their phone. This will allow you to check the wait times for the attractions at any theme park throughout the day.
Keep your eyes glued to the screen for updates and – as the line diminishes at one of the attractions you are interested in – head over there immediately.
This strategy may not be a time-saver if you are constantly crisscrossing the park, but if you spot a nearby attraction with shorter lines, the My Disney Experience app can be a valuable tool to avoid the lines.
6. Use Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours
Here’s a fantastic perk for guests staying at on-property Disney resorts: extra time in the theme parks beyond the normal operating hours!
Early Morning Entry
Early Entry is the most easily-accessible version of the extra hours perk.
Each day, all four of Disney’s theme parks open 30 minutes early exclusively for guests staying at any of the Disney Resort hotels. 30 minutes isn’t very long, but it’s enough time to snag a quick ride or two (a select few are open during this perk), grab an early breakfast, or even browse less-crowded shops before the floodgates open to the general public.
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours
Extended Evening Hours are a bit harder to qualify for and fit into your schedule.
First, it’s open only to those staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort or a Disney Deluxe Villa Resort. Those staying in a Value Resort or Moderate Resort are not eligible.
Second, it’s not every park or every day. Instead, Disney schedules this at different parks on certain days of the week. You’ll need to check with the front desk or in the My Disney Experience app to see the schedule for your visit. Still, if everything aligns, it’s a great way to get some extra time in the park after closing time.
7. Go to After Hours Events for Short Lines
If you don’t mind paying a bit extra, Disney has some premium options, as well.
Disney After Hours
Disney After Hours is a special ticket nighttime event at select theme parks and water parks. It’s offered on select dates throughout the year and gives the ticket holder up to three hours of extra time in the park after normal operating hours. Disney After Hours allows you to enjoy virtually crowd-free fun and very short lines to some of Disney’s most popular rides. Tickets are not cheap, but only a limited number are sold each night to ensure that there will be practically no lines to wait in.
Holiday Parties
The extended Halloween and Christmas seasons bring with them special ticketed evening events at several parks, including Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (Magic Kingdom), Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (Magic Kingdom), and Jollywood Nights (Hollywood Studios). These focus of these events is mainly the entertainment (special fireworks, highly-themed parades, seasonal stage shows, and rare character greetings), but many attractions are also open with much shorter lines. Best of all, some attractions even get special themed overlays during the event. Again, it’s not a cheap event — prices may even eclipse those of a full day in the park. But it’s hard to argue with the value.
8. Take an Afternoon Break
Lines tend to be shortest in the early morning and late afternoon/early evening. That that in mind, it may be a good idea to take an afternoon break. You could go back to your resort to relax, cool off with a dip in the pool, or take an extended lunch break before returning to the park. By the time you get back to the lines, hopefully, you will find them a little bit more bearable.
9. Use the Single Rider Line
Most attractions at Disney World have two lines: a regular standby line and a line for guests with Lightning Lane reservations. But there are a few attractions that have a 3rd “single rider line” as well.
As you may have guessed, a solo rider will be seated with another party to fill an empty seat on an attraction. This does mean your party will be separated on the ride, but you can typically save some time in line with this method.
Check the My Disney Experience app to see if your favorite ride offers this option.
10. Use the Rider Switch Service
Disney’s Rider Switch Service is an option for those who visit with a small child.
This service lets someone wait outside the ride with children who aren’t riding (perhaps because the ride is too scary for them or they don’t meet the height requirement). Then, once everyone else in the group has ridden, the person who originally stayed outside can quickly access the ride with no major wait.
The Rider Switch Service is available at select attractions at every Disney World theme park. Find out more about the program here:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/
11. Shorter Lines during Parades, Fireworks, & Meals
The best time to jump in a line is when everyone else is busy doing something else.
Some examples include during the Magic Kingdom parade, when Hollywood Studios’ Fantasmic show is in progress, or while the evening fireworks shows are happening.
You can also avoid lines at Disney World by eating lunch during off-peak hours. Ride lines tend to lessen around lunchtime (just as restaurant lines get longer), so it might be a good idea to plan your lunch break earlier or later than the normal 11:30 am – 1:30 pm-ish lunch hours.
We hope our Avoid Lines at Disney World page has given you a few strategies to test out for yourself.
For more useful Disney World information, please review some additional pages on MagicGuides like our How to Plan at Disney Vacation, Disney World Weather, Disney Transportation Map, Disney World Photos, and Stroller Rentals at Disney World articles.
Thank you for reading our page, and we hope you have a magical Walt Disney World vacation!