The Eight Disney Pro Tips I Give My Friends
Here at MickeyBlog, we cover so many aspects of a Disney trip.
You can always find something that applies to your upcoming visit, whether you need food or attraction advice.
Today, I thought it’d be helpful to do something a bit more general.
Here are eight pro tips I give friends and family members so that they’ll enjoy a better vacation.
Always Rope Drop and Stay to the End
These are my top two tips for all park visits. Frankly, all park strategies should start with these tactics.
You should plan to arrive at a Disney theme park 30-45 minutes before it officially opens to the public.
If you’re staying at an official Disney resort, you can enter 30 minutes early. Otherwise, you can Rope Drop the instant the park officially opens.
During this crucial first hour, you’ll enjoy Disney at a time when the parks host the fewest guests.
You may not feel that way as you stand in line at the entrance, but the crowds clear quickly as everyone spreads out inside Disney.
Depending on which ride you choose, you could experience multiple attractions within a park’s first hour of operation.
Similarly, few guests stay until closing. Once the fireworks end for the night, many visitors head toward the exits.
You can use this time to experience everything you’ve missed or want to ride again.
Also, Disney always allows guests to ride something as long as they’re in line before the park officially closes.
So, at the last possible moment, always enter the line for an E-ticket attraction!
By the way, I’m not suggesting that you should stay from opening to closing.
Instead, I advise my ‘ohana to leave after lunch and return on or around dinner time. You’ll get as much done, but the visit will be less stressful.
Explore the Parks and Ask for Help
When you’re at Disney, the temptation of staring at your phone is real.
While you’re inside the Disney Bubble, you lose sight of the outside world. That phone connects you to the things that are important when you’re home.
You’re on vacation, though. Specifically, you’re at the most immersive storytelling theme park on the planet. Savor every second!
Many Disney attraction line queues tell entire stories, and the line-of-sight views from certain areas will blow your mind.
For example, you can take photographs at the Japan pavilion’s arch that align perfectly with Spaceship Earth!
Similarly, several Magic Kingdom attractions provide distinctive views of Cinderella Castle. Always stare at your surroundings when you’re at Disney!
Also, understand that cast members represent the greatest resource at the parks. They spend their professional careers at the parks.
People like me could never match the depth of knowledge of Disney workers.
For this reason, when you find attractions you like, ask a cast member for more information.
Their encyclopedic knowledge of the attraction will deepen your appreciation.
In fact, I’ll give you one for free that a cast member can explain even better.
At Magic Kingdom, Disney created the walking path from Haunted Mansion to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to tell an architectural story.
While you walk east to west on this path, the buildings themselves represent the appropriate architectural styles from the East to West Coast!
How would anyone even know that without cast member help???
For the Love of All That Is Holy, DO NOT Visit on Holidays
This article will publish not long after President’s Day Weekend. That’s a perfectly innocent holiday that doesn’t scream Disney crowds, right?
Well, for the first time, Walt Disney World sold out its allotment of Disney Genie+ passes…on two straight days!
Yes, the day before President’s Day and President’s Day included such large crowds that Disney Genie+ sold quickly. It was gone by lunch each day.
So, let’s skip to the end of the page here. If that’s President’s Day, what do you think July 4th, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day are like?
Yup, we’re talking about the biggest crowds of the year. Virtually all Disney holidays are like this now.
I completely understand that you save vacation days by visiting on holidays. Still, if you can possibly make plans for other dates, I strongly recommend it.
If you do go on a holiday, plan some non-park experiences or at least keep them in mind as a backup strategy.
Have a Battery/Internet Strategy
Honestly, this is just good advice in life these days. At Disney, it’s all-important, though.
Since the advent of Mobile Ordering and Disney Genie, My Disney Experience has become an inescapable part of a Disney visit.
You can handle virtually all your park needs via the My Disney Experience app…presuming you have two things: a signal and a battery charge.
Disney’s WiFi networks have improved mightily over the past few years. Even so, tens of thousands of people simultaneously connect to the network.
You’ll discover an ebb and flow to connection strength. At times, you will rely on your cellphone carrier.
For what it’s worth, AT&T is the official service provider at Walt Disney World. I’ve had good luck with T-Mobile as well.
As for keeping your phone juiced, here’s a recent MickeyBlog guide.
Mobile Order Is Essential
I remember when I first wrote about Mobile Ordering’s arrival more than five years ago. A few readers loudly wondered what the point was.
Fast forward one pandemic, and many of us schedule our lives around which restaurants have the best mobile apps.
In case you’re wondering, Chick-Fil-A has the best, while McDonald’s inexplicably has the worst.
I firmly believe that Disney’s Mobile Ordering app is superior to Chick-Fil-A’s, which is the highest possible praise I can give.
You can choose a time, personalize your items, and update the app if you run early/late.
In short, you fully control all aspects of your dining experience. So, you eat so much more efficiently than you would have only a few years ago.
Skip the Fireworks
Okay, not every piece of advice I provide is universally accepted. Still, I feel strongly about this one, although it mainly applies to Walt Disney World, not Disneyland.
Most guests spend at least five nights at Walt Disney World. Disney hosts four parks, three of which currently offer nighttime presentations.
So, on at least two of those nights, you’d be watching the same fireworks again. Don’t get me wrong. They’re magical, and you’ll have a great time.
However, I believe that you’ll get more enjoyment from your visit if you use this time to experience more attractions instead.
Roughly 45 minutes before the nighttime presentations begin, guests choose their viewing spots.
By the time the show begins, a staggering percentage of park guests are watching.
You’ll find way fewer people in line at Disney’s best attractions. It’s quietly one of the best times to ride your favorites at Walt Disney World!
Take Breaks
I’ve been in the travel industry nearly 30 years now, and I developed a calculation a long time ago.
I call it the Misery Index, which I recognize is a strange thing to mention with the Most Magical Place on Earth.
The central premise involves even the most utopian vacation destinations. If you’re staying at a bungalow in Bali, eating some bad fish can ruin your trip.
Similarly, gambling recklessly in Las Vegas can fundamentally change the tension level during your visit.
At Disney theme parks, the biggest stressor is often physical discomfort or mental fatigue. So, my final two pro tips will protect your body, mind, and spirit.
For starters, you should build breaks into your visit. Then, you should improvise and take breaks whenever you’re feeling tired.
Disney encourages this behavior with ample places to sit. I mean, there’s a lovely garden right in front of Cinderella Castle where you can catch your breath and admire the scenery.
One of the reasons why we prefer Table Service restaurants is because they provide downtime during a hectic park day.
If you visit less often, Mobile Ordering is the way to go, but it reinforces the fact that we believe strongly in relaxing between attractions.
Wear Comfortable Shoes
Finally, THE worst rookie mistake you make at Disney involves footwear.
Anyone who tries to break in a new pair of shoes at Disney winds up with blisters for days.
That goes double if you get something called Golfer’s Vasculitis, a technical term for something Web MD literally lists as the Disney Rash.
A bit of ointment can clear up this rash – and I speak from LOTS of experience here – but nobody wants to get the Disney Rash.
Wearing the wrong shoes increases your likelihood, just as new shoes assure blisters.
So, for the love of all that is holy, pick a pair of shoes two months before you go to Disney.
Wear them often and ensure that they’re comfortable before you pack. This one step beforehand can save you so much aggravation when you’re at Disney!
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Feature Photo: Disney