Am I Wrong about This Disney Advice?
I like to think that I offer good Disney advice for those vacationers in need of help.
However, what I don’t acknowledge enough is that every argument comes with a counterpoint.
So, that’s what I’m doing today. I’m taking the con position on several of the pro tips I offer so that you can decide for yourself how you feel on these topics.
Always Rope Drop
Okay, I’m an evangelist for Rope Drop, as I believe a park day should start early and end late.
You don’t have to stay at the parks the whole day. In fact, I don’t usually recommend that. Still, there’s a bell curve of crowds and wait times.
So, when you visit before noon or stay until within two hours of the park’s closing, you’ll enjoy shorter lines.
BUT…
There are downsides to Rope Drop and staying late. I mean, if you follow any Disney influencers, you likely already know the negatives here.
When you show up before the parks open, cast members will herd you into pre-entry lines. You could feasibly stand in line here for 45 minutes or longer.
As such, shouldn’t you add that to the time you spend waiting in line? Sure, you might board Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in 30 minutes or less.
However, your wait time has totaled 75 minutes plus the time you’ll spend speed-walking to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
So, you haven’t saved time inasmuch as you’ve subdivided your wait into three phases: pre-opening, opening sprint, and the line queue. Is that better?
As for staying late, there’s a downside here as well. Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World are both magical at night.
You’ll find umpteen entertainment options to explore when you’re not at the parks.
Personally, I’m a big fan of watching the fireworks from the beach at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort or the Top of the World Lounge – A Villains Lair.
Also, the street performers at Disney Springs, Downtown Disney, and Disney’s BoardWalk provide tremendous entertainment at night.
By staying at the parks, you may never discover what else is out there on the Disney campus!
Don’t Ride Splash Mountain Early in the Day
I will never forget the time I read a MickeyBlog article written by someone else, and one of the suggestions for Rope Drop was Splash Mountain.
That was a mic drop moment for me, as I had never considered the possibility of someone doing that before then.
In fact, I have religiously stated that the strangest thing you can do at Disney is spend an hour getting dressed and getting to the park.
Then, you ride Splash Mountain and wash away all your hard work.
Your family photos the rest of the day will feature your wet hair dried in the hot Florida sun. It’s…not a great look.
However, I might be wrong here. Let’s think about the situation from the opposite perspective.
What if you don’t have much time to get dressed in the morning? In that scenario, a wet ride works as the perfect excuse.
You can experience one of the best theme park attractions ever. Afterward, you’ll have an excuse for your weird hairstyle and bedraggled clothing.
Also, you will have ridden Splash Mountain or Kali River Rapids or whatever before the crowds have lined up at the park.
Most people save these attractions until late in the morning or in the afternoon, times when they cool off guests on a hot day.
As for your pictures, there’s a new thing called a hairbrush that might help.
So, this might be a clever strategy in the face of conventional wisdom.
Always Book Advanced Dining Reservations
Sometimes, I wonder whether I’ve become a dinosaur on this topic.
Historically, whenever we visited Walt Disney World, if we didn’t schedule Advanced Dining Reservations, we’d feel lost at dinner.
I say this because my family prefers Table Service meals. Before the pandemic, if you didn’t book them early, you were out of luck.
For this reason, I keep offering this advice, but it’s entirely possible the suggestion has grown outdated.
With My Disney Experience, you can choose Check Dining Availability now. In real time, the app will show you whether your favorite spot has availability.
If not, some restaurants offer waitlists and will notify you when a spot comes available.
Note that you may need to move closer to the restaurant to add your name to the list.
Also, please be aware that some of the most popular places are unlikely to list availability in mid-January, much less mid-July.
So, when you skip Advanced Dining Reservations, you’ll discover pros and cons.
Your daily schedule opens up, allowing you to be more impulsive and less obsessed with the current time.
However, you may sacrifice some of your favorite dining experiences in exchange for flexibility.
I remember a recent day when we wanted to eat at Sci-Fi Theater Dine-In Restaurant. We didn’t have reservations.
When the booking window opened, we were ready immediately…but it either never accepted new bookings or sold out in the blink of an eye, leaving us defeated.
For this reason, I still recommend Advanced Dining Reservations…but Disney is evolving. So, I might be wrong.
Plan Your Days Fully
Here’s advice I give that causes me to lose plenty of people…including my wife.
In life, I’m not much of a planner, as I believe that adds unnecessary stress and artificial goals.
At Disney, I spend the six months before my trip calculating every last detail.
Even before Park Passes were a thing, I knew which park(s) I’d visit daily, where I’d eat my meals, whether I’d have breakfast, and when I’d take a swim.
I set a Disney itinerary, and I aim to follow it as closely as possible. Alas, tens of thousands of other people have something to say about that.
Crowds, transportation, and attraction maintenance play a factor in what happens during a standard park day.
As such, no matter how much you plan, you should expect several disruptions.
For this reason, many people like my wife ignore my planning entirely. They prefer a more relaxed, impulsive trip to Disney theme parks.
Such tourists have no idea where they’ll eat or which rides they’ll enjoy during the visit. They’re there to take it easy and have fun.
While Park Passes force at least some planning, I’ve already mentioned ways that Disney has enhanced park visits for carefree guests.
Also, you no longer book FastPasses in advance since, you know, FastPasses don’t exist now. So, that’s another way you don’t plan your day as much.
Yes, Disney Genie+ works similarly, but you’re under no obligation to buy/use it.
Friends, Disney is changing, and so even age-old park wisdom may no longer apply. Use your best judgment on this stuff! I might be an idiot!
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Feature Photo: Disney
Huh I never thought about the whole splash mountain/Kali Rapids thing, but that makes sense. I might push that to later in the day to maximize our memory maker library of good pictures. =D
I think it’s still sound advice if you haven’t been to WDW before, especially adv reservations and having a full plan going into the parks. To be a realist, you have to choose the top 6-8 MUST DO rides for your group, and fill the rest in between. I think that’s where Genie+ helps out ( mind you I prefer the old free FP like everyone else!)
If you’ve been to the parks and experienced all the rides at least twice, then I think you can have a more nonchalant day, same goes for the adv dining. If you’ve experienced the big ticket dining options and are flexible to what you eat, then you could totally wing it. But if you’re new to WDW, you definitely want to plan months ahead.
We’re going back to WDW for the first time since 2019 next month, and my wife already has every booth and menu item we want to try mapped out for Food and Wine Festival. =P