Best Time-Saving Strategies for Disney World
With higher crowds & wait times, you need superior strategy for saving time waiting at Walt Disney World. That’s the purpose of this post, breaking down the best & worst options–Genie+, Lightning Lanes, extra hours & rope drop–to beat long lines at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. (Updated April 29, 2023.)
Our goal is to find the ideal approach to using standby lines and/or Lightning Lanes, as well as the best times of day at each park. Spoiler: there’s no one-size fits all answer for all people or all parks. That’s the big thing we’ve learned while extensively visiting the parks extensively for the sake of research to test various strategies, which we’ve again updated for Summer 2023.
Even many longtime Walt Disney World fans are overwhelmed by the options, so we’re here to provide insight into reducing friction from your days in the parks. As the ole tantalizing teaser goes, “…and the results will surprise you!” But seriously, they will. What we accomplished (or didn’t) with some of these approaches actually caught us off-guard.
Before getting going, we want to stress the importance of this strategy for time frames when the 2023 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar is 8/10 or higher. When wait times are below that threshold, you can “get away” with sloppier strategy–crowd levels of 4/10 to 7/10 can be beaten with moderate planning and effort, following the general advice here but without being overzealous about it. Less than 4/10 and, frankly, you don’t need much strategy at all.
Once you get to 8/10 or higher crowd levels, savvy strategy becomes downright essential. You don’t necessarily need to purchase Genie+ or Lightning Lanes every single day for the reasons explained here (or, better yet, in When Should You Skip Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World?), but you need to be prepared with a plan and follow it pretty closely.
During these busier dates, the tips & tricks here will enable you to accomplish a lot more than the average Walt Disney World visitor. If you’re visiting during the peak season, holidays, or during school breaks, this advice is arguably more valuable right now than anything else on this website. Not to set unrealistic expectations, but this strategy should save you several hours per day at Walt Disney World (and it should save you money, too!).
Next, let’s do a quick run-through of the various mainstream ways to save time at Walt Disney World. This isn’t comprehensive, leaving out the priciest options–like doing VIP tours for the duration of your trip or renting out the parks–for what should be obvious reasons. Even though it’s safe to assume George Clooney, Oprah, and Carrot Top are loyal readers of this blog, most of you probably aren’t that big of high rollers.
The first option is the controversial Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes (e.g. Paid FastPass), which offer one way to skip standby lines. Unfortunately, these come with a cost–not just a monetary one, but also with frustrations, back-tracking, getting up early, and the steep learning curve of mastering the new system. (Look no further than our ~4,500 word Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for how confusing it can be.)
The bad news is that with its recent move to date-based pricing, Genie+ now costs considerably more on busier days. Current per-person prices range from $16 to $37 after tax each day, with holiday weeks (e.g. Spring Break) and all weekends expected to be at the upper end of that range.
If you’re on a budget or more price-sensitive, this adds up–amounting to $400-$800 in added costs for an average family during a week-long trip. The silver lining is that Genie+ is not necessary at every park or every day. In fact, at 3 of the 4 parks, there’s superior strategy–precisely what we’ll be covering here! So you’ll only “need” to buy Genie+ one day of your trip. A couple other days are optional, but often recommended.
Sticking with the pay to play options (of sorts), there’s Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours, which replace Extra Magic Hours in the morning and at night.
These have their own pros & cons, from being only available to on-site guests (or a subset thereof) to requiring people to get up early or stay late. If you’re unfamiliar with the ins and outs of each, learn more in our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World and Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World. Additionally, we have about a dozen or so “Extra Hours” Photo Reports, with more coming throughout Summer 2023 and another wave once “party season” starts in August.
Next, there’s tried and true rope drop or regular park opening.
For those unfamiliar with this inside baseball-esque term, rope drop is simply when the lands and attractions officially open, which is synonymous with the published park opening time. (It’s literal–there’s a rope that is dropped, opening the lands to guests.) Since the front gates usually admit guests before park opening, Disney fans have demarcated the two times with this rad term. In practice, rope drop is pretty much anytime during the first hour of regular operations.
Finally, there’s the end of the evening, which is usually the last couple hours of regular operations. We don’t have a rad term for this one, but I feel like that’s a huge missed opportunity for a cryptic moniker. Just imagine how many of the uninitiated we could confuse by referring to this as “rope rise.” (Get it? Because they drop the rope at the beginning of the day, so it stands to reason that they pick it–you know, nevermind.)
If we did call the end of the night “rope rise,” no one would know what the heck we’re talking about, so fewer people would take advantage. In any case, wait times tend to be shorter towards later at night. When and by how much they fall varies by park, and is often not fully reflected in posted wait times.
Of course, there’s also the middle of the day, or anytime between around 10 am and 6 pm.
With few exceptions, this is the busiest time of day at Walt Disney World–when crowds peak as most guests have arrived, but few have left. The majority of guests visit the parks during these hours, making them the worst time to do anything popular. Conversely, it’s the best time to focus on unpopular, low-wait attractions like stage shows and other entertainment.
Got all of that? Good. Now let’s go park by park and discuss which approach is best right now, as of Summer 2023. We’ve tested and retested every single strategy for all of the parks, and updated our conclusions as things have changed. Here’s the park by park rundown of which time-saving approaches are best…
Magic Kingdom
When it comes to beating the crowds at Magic Kingdom, let’s start with Early Entry. Unfortunately, we’ve found that on-site perk to be less successful here than at any other park. This is due to a mix of higher demand and only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland being open. We’ve done Early Entry at Magic Kingdom over a dozen times, and have always had less success there than at the other parks–with one big exception (see below).
Nevertheless, consult our Best Early Entry Morning at Magic Kingdom Plan and Genie+ Lightning Lane Comparison for the optimal approaches to both Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. That takes a step-by-step look at the first 2 hours of the day at Magic Kingdom, with Sarah starting in Fantasyland while I started in Tomorrowland. It shows precisely what we accomplished, alternative approaches, and a comparison to an average day using Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Note that this does NOT include Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and for very good reason (discussed in that post). If you don’t want to heed our words of warning on doing the SDMT Shuffle, refer instead to our Magic Kingdom Early Entry Strategy Starting at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
As noted above, there’s one big exception to this, and that’s on the rare mornings when Magic Kingdom officially opens at 8 am. This is because far fewer people can be up and out the door in time for Early Entry on those days, making the crowd smaller and it easy to accomplish more. See our Photo Report & Strategy: Magic Kingdom Early Entry at 7:30 am for a run-through of what you can expect to accomplish. If at all possible, we highly recommend doing Early Entry at Magic Kingdom on these 8 am official opening days.
If you’re not eligible for Early Entry, regular rope drop is actually still somewhat good because Frontierland and Adventureland are not open during Early Entry. This makes rope drop alone, or Early Entry plus rope drop a great approach. If you’re only eligible for rope drop, doing Frontierland and Adventureland first and saving Fantasyland until later in the day can be a workable approach.
There are also enough worthwhile secondary attractions in Magic Kingdom that you can round out the rest of your day with relaxing, low wait shows and more. Many of our smartest and sexiest readers enjoy filling out the middle of their days by watching Country Bear Jamboree on repeat.
With all of that said, it’s Genie+ that works best at Magic Kingdom and it’s really no contest. In My Day Using Genie+ Lightning Lanes at Magic Kingdom I detailed just how much I was able to get done–pretty much everything.
Thanks to a high worthwhile attraction count available via Lightning Lanes, Magic Kingdom is the one park where we highly recommend buying Genie+. More importantly, I was able to accomplish all of that without getting up at 7 am, setting alarms, or diligently refreshing. It was a laid back and relaxed day using Lightning Lanes at Magic Kingdom.
This would not have been possible at the other parks, especially Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Unlike those, Magic Kingdom is the park where Genie+ is easiest to use and presents the fewest headaches. At Magic Kingdom, you can book Lightning Lane ride reservations with a more leisurely approach and less criss-crossing the park. There’s also less competition with Genie+ at Magic Kingdom, and the lower-stakes nature leads to fewer frustrations than at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Next, there’s the end of the night. Like every other park, wait times at Magic Kingdom do fall off in the evening as guests grab spots for the Happily Ever After fireworks. You can enjoy shorter waits if you’re willing to skip those, or watch them from a last-minute location in Fantasyland.
The drop-off isn’t quite as pronounced as the other parks, but it’s still significant. That plus queueing up for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train one minute before park closing is a great approach if you don’t buy Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lanes.
For select guests one night per week, there’s Extended Evening Hours. We’ve done this a handful of times, so our sample size is still relatively limited, but our success rate is 100%. Low waits everywhere and blissfully uncrowded parks.
Even if you take advantage of one of the aforementioned approaches and “conquer” Magic Kingdom before this late night perk, do it anyway. It’s a delightful way to enjoy Magic Kingdom, offering a serene experience that’s a great way to decompress from the earlier chaos during peak season. (See Magic Kingdom Extended Evening Hours Photo Report.)
Finally, there’s TRON Lightcycle Run, the newest roller coaster at Magic Kingdom. This is presented as a footnote because it doesn’t really change the equation on strategy due to using a virtual queue and selling Individual Lightning Lane line-skipping access. We don’t really recommend the paid option for this short roller coaster, but it’s obviously an option if money is no issue for you.
For free access to TRON Lightcycle Run, our TRON Lightcycle Run Virtual Queue Strategy Guide & FAQ has you covered, with ‘speed strategy’ to improve your odds of scoring a spot in the virtual queue (it can fill up in seconds, and not every guest visiting Magic Kingdom gets to ride TRON Lightcycle Run as a result). So long as you put the effort into that, buying Individual Lightning Lane access is not necessary.
Epcot
Early Entry is the best way to beat the crowds at Epcot. That’s doubly true if you’re arriving via International Gateway, as you’ll be able to do Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure with a 10 minute wait or less. (See Early Entry at Epcot via World Showcase.)
From the Rat Ride, it’s entirely possible to do Frozen Ever After as a near walk-on, Test Track with minimal wait, Soarin’ Around the World with minimal wait…and everything else in the new neighborhoods with no waits. It’s a lot of walking, but that’s par for the course at Epcot, and you could modify this approach to minimize steps if you’re staying the full day.
Those arriving for regular rope drop will still enjoy success and time savings pretty much everywhere except Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and that’s easy enough to save for the end of the night. Off-site guests who aren’t eligible for Early Entry aren’t at too considerable of a disadvantage at Epcot.
Speaking of which, the front of the park empties out at Epcot in the evening hours, because guests eat and drink around the World Showcase, and secure spots for the fireworks. Hitting these rides the last two hours of the day can be a smooth move, especially since it’s not imperative that you get a front row view for the fireworks. (That might change once the new show debuts in Late 2023, but it’s absolutely not necessary for EPCOT Forever.)
For those arriving after rope drop, Genie+ and Lightning Lanes are your default–but even requires waking up early if you expect to score Lightning Lanes for 3+ headliners. Epcot is our second least favorite park for the line-skipping service, and we don’t recommend it here unless you’re Park Hopping or cannot take advantage of the aforementioned strategies.
With both Frozen Ever After and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure now being included with the Genie+ service, that does move the needle. However, if you’re visiting on a busier day when Genie+ costs ~$30, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll score Lightning Lanes for all 3–while paying more for the service. On those days, I still strongly favor arriving early or staying late, especially since Genie+ at Epcot can force you to do a lot of backtracking.
Extended Evening Hours at Epcot are as delightful at Epcot as Magic Kingdom, but the lower ride count and more obvious top priorities means wait times for the trio of headliners don’t fall as dramatically. On top of that, if even one ride is down, it can throw a real monkey wrench into things.
With good strategy, you can still accomplish Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, and Test Track during this post-closing perk, but it does require determination (and luck). You can also do Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind so long as you score a spot in the virtual queue. Speaking of which…
Finally, there’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. If you read the Magic Kingdom section above, it’s the same story with Cosmic Rewind as with TRON Lightcycle Run. You can consult our How to Ride Guardians of Galaxy Cosmic Rewind & Virtual Queue Strategy for tips & tricks to improve your odds of scoring a spot in the virtual queue, but it’s overkill if you already consulted the TRON guide.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind has actually become easier to access since opening one year ago, and the 1 pm virtual queue is often open for hours. That’s not the case on peak season days, but if you’re visiting on an 8/10 or lower crowd level day, you should be able to join its virtual queue at or after 2 pm.
Hollywood Studios
We’ve been saying for the last two-plus years that Hollywood Studios is the most frustrating park at Walt Disney World. Among other things, this is due to the top-heavy nature of its attraction lineup, and lack of secondary rides. There was a point during the phased reopening when this was particularly problematic, but it has gotten much better with the return of most stage shows and entertainment.
For much of the last two years, wait times at Disney’s Hollywood Studios have peaked earlier than any other park at Walt Disney World. In the last month, this has started to shift with the return of Fantasmic, and we’d expect that trend to continue. Even Animal Kingdom, which opens earlier and is commonly derided as a half-day park, doesn’t see its longest wait times of the day until afternoon.
Against this backdrop, the best option for beating the crowds at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is Early Entry. In large part, this is because Early Entry encompasses all important, high-wait attractions at DHS and also because it usually ends up being much more than a 30 minute head-start.
That’s especially true if you prioritize Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, with the added upside of doing this first being that you’re less likely to encounter a breakdown while you’re in line for it. Check out our report on Early Entry at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that covers our experience knocking out the “triple digit trio” at DHS before the park opened to regular guests.
The worst strategy for Disney’s Hollywood Studios is relying on traditional rope drop. This should be pretty intuitive for the two reasons identified above: wait times peak early and all headliners are open for Early Entry.
If you can’t enter DHS until regular park opening time, you’re going to get maybe 1-2 attractions done with below average waits. Your likelihood for frustrations–and thus leaving before the end of the night–will also be higher.
Instead, consider an afternoon arrival and staying until park closing. The good news is that there’s still a pronounced drop-off during dinner and Fantasmic. If there are two showings of that nighttime spectacular, you’re golden–take advantage of lower crowds during the first Fantasmic, and watch the second one at or after park closing.
The bad news is that, like everyone else, you’ll probably want to eat and see Fantasmic…and if it only has one showtime, this is tricky. This is definitely a big blow for our favorite way to do DHS, but it’s definitely not a net-negative. Fantasmic is great, so we’re very happy to have it back; also, DHS is now drawing crowds away from EPCOT and Animal Kingdom in the evening hours, making those comparatively less crowded.
Posted wait times are lower in the last two hours of the day at DHS, but that only tells part of the story. Actual wait times are often dramatically lower, particularly for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and other headliners.
The only caveat we’ll add here is that this approach with the unreliable Rise of the Resistance is risky–if you only have one shot at it and the ride goes down in the last two hours of the day, you might be out of luck. Read our Ride Guide for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, which offers an overview of the best & worst ways to do that, and plan accordingly.
Finally, there’s Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. We’ve covered experiences with this extensively, most recently in My Day Using Genie+ Lightning Lanes in Peak Crowds at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In a nutshell, Genie+ and Lightning Lanes can save you a ton of time at DHS, but the system is aggravating for some of the same reasons identified above.
DHS has a top heavy lineup, and essentially, you need to be Genie+ power user to score the most-coveted ride reservations. Even then, bad luck or technical difficulties might sour the experience. We’ve heard from many readers who have only been able to book 1-2 Lightning Lane ride reservations with Genie+ at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Think of Genie+ at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as an option of last resort. If you can’t do Early Entry or don’t want to stay late for whatever reason, you should purchase Genie+ and probably an Individual Lightning Lane for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It can be headache-inducing, but not any more so than standby lines, which are just brutal at DHS. You really need to utilize savvy strategy to prevent Disney’s Hollywood Studios from being downright unpleasant.
Animal Kingdom
We go from the most frustrating park to the easiest one. Strategy for Animal Kingdom essentially amounts to “don’t go during the middle of the day and stand in long lines,” which seems to be what the vast majority of guests do for some odd reason.
Going early, staying late, or using Genie+ are all solid strategies. Almost equally so. We’d give the edge to Early Entry, which starts at 7:30 am on most dates. That is absurdly early, and a huge barrier for most guests. If you’re able to arrive to Animal Kingdom by 7 am, this gives you a huge advantage.
Traditional rope drop also works, so long as you prioritize something other than Avatar Flight of Passage. Again, most people aren’t up and out the door this early in the morning on vacation, and that applies even to regular park opening time at Animal Kingdom. (With the peak season 8 am official opening, you might be able to hit Flight of Passage with minimal wait even at traditional rope drop.)
Personally, I’m a fan of doing Animal Kingdom later in the day (see Animal Kingdom Afternoon Arrival Strategy). Subjectively, this is nice because Animal Kingdom is the hottest park at Walt Disney World, and hitting it when the sun is lower knocks a good 10-20 degrees off the feels like temperatures. The atmosphere at sunset and night is also fantastic, and something few fans see.
Unfortunately, wait times aren’t plummeting towards the end of the day like they were about a year ago, which is likely due to more entertainment having returned. While most other rides will be walk-ons or close to it, you can still expect lengthy lines for the two Pandora – World of Avatar attractions.
At this point, Genie+ is the objectively better option at Animal Kingdom than staying late. Even though the lineup is limited, most eligible attractions have availability well into the afternoon. I’m disinclined to buy Genie+ at Animal Kingdom because arriving early or staying late works well and the eligible attraction roster is so limited, but it still offers time savings.
Personally, I only buy Genie+ at Animal Kingdom when Park Hopping. It’s our recommendation then because you can knock out the 2-3 attractions where Lightning Lanes are useful at Animal Kingdom and also use Genie+ to skip a few lines in one of the other parks, too. Outside of Genie+, Avatar Flight of Passage can be worth the cost of the Individual Lightning Lane, but we usually hit it early, late, or during the lunch lull instead.
Ultimately, there are a lot of ways to beat the crowds at Walt Disney World, and that applies even during the peak weeks of summer and beyond. Strategizing has definitely gotten more complicated in the last year, and we’ve heard from countless long time visitors who feel left behind or overwhelmed. The bad news is that there are more pay-to-play options and they’ll either cost extra or have less eligibility.
The good news is that there’s actually greater accessibility to saving time at Walt Disney World. If you read this ~4,000 word post the night before visiting Walt Disney World, you could take advantage of many of these tips. That simply was not possible at this time a few years ago, when pre-booking FastPass+ up to 60 days in advance closed the door for a lot of first-timers who, quite understandably, had no clue ride reservations were booked months in advance.
Now, tactics are uneven and inconsistent among the parks, but there’s pretty much something for everyone. Whether you want to pay extra, not pay extra, rise early, or stay late. As always, we highly recommend our Walt Disney World Park Itineraries for more granular, step-by-step advice for planning out your entire day.
About the only thing you can’t do is sleep in, visit the parks from 11 am until 4 pm, and leave early. This has always been the worst way to do Walt Disney World, and that remains true to this day. Yet, for reasons beyond me, that continues to be the “preferred” approach for so many guests. If you simply don’t do that, you’re automatically ahead of the pack!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on our suggested strategies for each of the Walt Disney World theme parks? Do you prefer rope drop, “rope rise,” Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, or Genie+ and Lightning Lanes? Or, do you favor a miss of approaches when touring the parks? How do you do things differently in each park? Any other feedback on arriving early or staying late at the Walt Disney World theme parks? Agree or disagree with our advice or approach? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Hi Tom,
I found a great blog that you did on rope dropping on party days (MNSSHP in my case) and the route to take, which rides to do first, i can not, for the life of me find it again! could you point me in the right direction please!
Love your blog, although i think i am trying to plan a little too far in advance of our trip this October ??
Thanks
Tom, I just wanted to say thank you for putting together this amazing resource (Disney Tourist Blog). Our first Disney trip I did no research beforehand. I genuinely did not realize it was necessary for a vacation. Consequently, we did not have a very good time. We decided to try again anyway and for our second trip I read your blog beforehand. We had a fantastic trip! Like a night and day experience from our first visit. So thank you so much for doing this! It was truly a magical vacation, especially for our four year old.
We used your planning guide for Animal Kingdom and didn’t get the Genie+ as you suggested to avoid. We tried following your plan. Headed to Mickey first thing and it took 10 minutes to open and we had a 10 minute wait. Then we headed to the safaris which, 20 minutes after park opening, had a posted 40 minute wait. That jumped to 55 as we stepped into line. Actual wait was 61 minutes. By the time we got off the ride, everything in the park was 40 minutes or longer wait and we didn’t have Genie+ thanks to the advice here and all over the Internet that said it wasn’t needed. We tried going to shows, but met with more long lines and full theatres. In 4 hours we only got to do those 2 things and at that point, purchasing Genie+ is not worth the cost for our family of 4. Super defeated and let down.
I had to read it several times because I thought you were saying to go to MK the day before party days! Which is great, that’s 10 more people like me who won’t be in the park on those days!
Hi Tom, I had the same reaction to that recommendation. Instead of “In short, we strongly recommend doing Magic Kingdom during the day before MNSSHP”, saying to do it during the day of MNSSHP might be more clear.
We just got back from Walt Disney World and crowds increased during our trip, but we were still able to beat the lines thanks to this strategy!
One recommendation for families: buy Genie+ at Epcot if you can’t do Early Entry. We Park Hopped to Epcot on a Halloween party day and stacked LLs for the evening at Epcot. It was perfect and saved us a lot of time.
Just got back from a 7-day trip, our first time going in summer. I was so worried about heat, crowds and lines. And I thought Genie+ would be overwhelming. Turns out Genie+ made our EOCOT and Magic Kingdom days so relaxed. I used to make militaristic touring plans, with rides planned out in a certain order. I had to let go of that urge and I’m so glad I did. We made sure to be on Genie+ at 7:00 AM to get our top priority ride, but after that we just went with the flow. It’s so convenient to see all the wait times on the app and to head to whatever is shortest and close by. We loved getting a new Genie+ Lightning Lane as soon as we used one up. We got way more Lightning Lanes than the paltry 3 FastPass+ we used to get. My only drill-sergeant request was getting to the parks for early entry rope drop, but the family went along with that and it allowed us to take midday breaks at the resort to help with the heat. We were back at the parks around 7:00 PM enjoying more Lightning Lanes or short stand-bys. My expectations for the trip were definitely exceeded after all the worrying about Genie+.
The big difference of course is now you paid for genie plus. Also no re-rides. I used to regularly get more than 3 fast plus plus in a day as well.
Hello,
I have a quick clarification question in regard to using Early Entry and rope drop. We have used the rope drop method befor with great success. I am wondering how they work in conjunction. Let’s use AK for example. If the regular opening time was 9am, we successfully rope dropped at 8am and were finished with FOP by 9!
Now the opening time is 8am, and we will have early entry at 7:30. Does this mean that rope drop is now at 7 (regular opening hours) or at 6:30 (early entry hours)? If it is at 7, how do those with Early Entry move through the crowd to begin riding at 7:30? Before, EVERYONE was waiting for rope drop because NO ONE had the early entry privilege. Now the rope drop crowds will be a mixture of those waiting for regular rope drop, and those with Early Entry at 7:30.
Trying to have my strategies all lined up before we leave on our 12-day trip to the most magical place on earth! Thank you for all of the help…you are my go-to source for all things Disney!
Amanda- did you figure this out? What you described has always been our strategy as well (getting in almost always an hour early for rope drop). On our upcoming trip (Nov) we have early access- I’m wondering how this is different and how do I ‘prove’ I’m early access (we are not staying on property, but we ARE staying at a partnering hotel). Any insight is appreciated!!! Thank you!
Hi, How did this work when you went? Did you find that they sorted people with early entry from rope drop guests?
Thanks
Since I didn’t see any responses. They have someone at the front gates at early entry separating the park hotel guests from the regular rope droppers into separate lines . They don’t let non Disney hotel guests into the park until official park opening , you just add on your hotel reservation to the my Disney experience app.
These write ups are very valuable as I plan my family’s first trip to Disney this October. Question – if we’re planning two days at Magic Kingdom, would you still recommend Genie+ for one or both of them, or would another approach make more sense in that case? Thanks!
Was wondering the same Chris.
If I may try, I’d think for a first trip to Disney I’d recommend using Genie+ on the busier day; while you don’t probably need it for two days, better to have it and not miss anything on your first trip to the MK. You never know what there will make memories for you. (Definitely take advantage of Extra Evening Hours if they’re available to you; besides minimal crowds, there’s a lot of outside rides that are different at night.)
Tom has a 2-Day Magic Kingdom plan that doesn’t require Genie+, but depending on when you go in October you’re likely to hit crowds at least sometimes. (A good pick for a slow day is one when the MK closes early for the extra-ticket Holloween event.)
I’d been having a perfectly lovely summer Sunday, without any realization of how much better my enjoyment of the day could be, until I read: “Many of our smartest and sexiest readers enjoy filling out the middle of their days by watching Country Bear Jamboree on repeat.”
I’m just now coming across this page as I plan for a trip to WDW July 1-6. We live in CA and go to DL at least once a month so are very adept at using Genie+ but we can only book 1 attraction at a time and not get another “pass” until we’ve checked in for the prior ride. Is WDW the same or can you have multiple passes as the same time? Reading comments made me think maybe at WDW you can? I can’t wait to read all of your other articles for tips and tricks!
Hi Tracy K,
I’m afraid you may be very disappointed in genie in disneyworld after experiencing it at Disneyland. The only reason you may be holding 2 or even 3 passes at the same time is because oftentimes (especially at Hollywood studios) you may get your first pass at 7 am for 4 pm, then using the 120 rule you get your second pass at 10:30 (two hours after park opening) for use at 6pm and your third pass at 12:30 for 7:30 pm..
After struggling with genie in Florida, I was amazed and delighted at how quickly you could get genie passes in california. Hopefully you can use tom’s suggestion for enjoying the parks at rope drop and end of evening and won’t be too disheartened by the Florida genie experience.
Wow. Thanks for the info. We are actually staying on property so we will get to go in 30 minutes early to each park every day assuming I can get my teenagers out of bed and going. Good to know about how they do the genie. With genie+ at Disneyland we can knock out almost every major ride before lunch if we get there close to when the park opens.
You’re welcome. Sure hope it helps Tom’s blog on genie refills at disneyworld is invaluable, and having that extra half hour will help. Good luck with the humidity and supply/demand imbalance for the big rides lol
Hi
You have really helped us on multiple trips. I never thought the days when I would have to run across the park holding everyone’s admission ticket to get the paper fast pass and having specific spots in my wallet for each stack would be considered simple!
I’m going to Disneyland in mid July. Have you found any or could recommend any RECENT blogs or posts or articles that give advice on how to use genie/lightning lane etc at Disneyland and California Adventure?
Thanks!!!
Hi Kevin,
I was there in May. In California parks I recommend especially in early morning looking for any temporarily closed ride with close time. If the ride remains down during your reserved time you get a pass good for most rides at both parks whether they are standby only or genie + rides. This is incredibly helpful to use later. Indiana was down early and I kept reserving and ended up with three “golden passes” that I was able to use as front of line In standby lines at jungle cruise, mr. toad, and Alice that were 40 minutes + standby lines only
As the designated runner, I LOLed. And my wife laughed at me (then and now). 🙂
Well balanced, nuanced article full of practical advice. Great job Tom.
We rope dropped all four parks once while there for a 6 park day trip. We also stayed until closing at magic kingdom and Hollywood studios one day each while there. Most afternoons, we returned to the hotel. The first and final two hours seemed to be the best both for lower temperatures and fewer crowds.
We also bought genie+ for one day magic kingdom and one at Hollywood studios. There were four of us, two middle aged parents and two teens, so I also used a strategy where I booked 2 people on one thrill ride and 2 on another and gave the teens our magic bands so they could ride both (rock and roller coaster and tower of terror and then I did it for space mountain and splash mountain though I wound up riding splash bc that one scared off the teen that didn’t want to get wet and isn’t all of that jarring). And my son didn’t actually lose my husband’s magic band (there was a lot of concern) so it went off problem free. Just another trick to consider if you have a mixed group like this!
We went to DHS on Tuesday during peak spring break crowds and accomplished much more than I expected. Following Tom’s advice, we arrived early (around 6:40) for the scheduled 7:30 early entry. Cast members waited for people in line to make their first Genie+ selections and then opened the ticket kiosks at 7:02, allowing everyone to queue for their first ride.We got a LL for Slinky Dog and an ILL for RoR. Since we only had 1 day at DHS, we prioritized our kids’ top choice: MMRR. They began running the ride at 7:28. During the early entry, we rode MMRR, Toy Story Mania, and Smuggler’s Run. By 8:20, almost everything had a 1-2 hour posted wait. We decided to do some shows while we waited for our 11:30 Slinky Dog LL, then went back to our hotel to swim and continue accumulating LLs for the evening. We had a relaxing afternoon and returned around 5:00-park close. During that time, we used LLs for Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, MMRR again, Toy Story Mania again, Star Tours, Alien Swirling Saucers, and our Rise ILL. Out of curiosity, we noted the posted wait time for each LL we used and Genie+ and the Rise ILL saved us 295 minutes compared to the posted wait times. The only thing we skipped was Tower of Terror because the line was outrageous and my kids weren’t all that interested, so I didn’t try to refresh the app to try for a LL. I was so grateful for the tips from this blog, because we had a relaxing and productive day, which is not something I ever expected to say about a day at DHS.
Thanks for the tips! We used your suggestions in December for Hollywood Studios and were through both Star Wars attractions before the park opened. The only time we used Genie was to buy LL for Flight of Passage and it worked out perfectly for us. I know a lot of people gripe about having to plan, plan, plan but we thoroughly enjoyed our trip in December and didn’t feel bogged down by our phones.
We just booked a last-minute trip and will be there in late April. Is there any chance International Gateway opens early like Hollywood Studios? We’re early risers so Early Entry works well for us but I’m trying to figure out if arriving even earlier is worth it for Epcot. We’d like to do Remy’s again but would prefer not to pay for it so we’ll give it a try during Early Entry.
Always so many great tips!!
How do you get to the Epcot International Gateway entrance if you are staying at Wilderness Lodge? Is it even possible?
Becky you could take a bus to HS then the walking path, friendship boat, or Skyliner to the International Gateway entrance at Epcot. Otherwise the direct bus from WL to Epcot or even boating to MK for monorail to Epcot will take you only to the main front entrance.
The only way to get to International Gateway entrance before EPCOT opens is by Ubering to one of the neighbouring resorts and walking over. You won’t be able to park at Yacht or Beach but you should be able to be dropped off and walk through the property. It’s about a 5-10 minute walk, so not too bad 🙂
“With good strategy, you can still accomplish Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, and Test Track during this post-closing perk, but it does require determination (and luck).”
You wrote this referring to Epcot Extended Evening Hours, but I did not see the description of the strategy.
What is the strategy, please?
I think Tom wrote a post about Extended Evening Hours at Epcot, but I would recommend starting at the front of the park and working your way back. Do Test Track during Harmonious, then Frozen and finish with Remy as close to the end of EEH as possible. Between Test Track and Frozen you might have time to walk over and do Soarin’ but check the time. Those two hours fly by, especially if you are trying to hit up those three rides.
Great tips. I thought I would write something similar for Universal.
Here it is:
Stay at the Portofino, Hard Rock, or Royal Pacific.
Get out of bed whenever you feel like it.
Go to whichever park you want without reservations. Arrive at the parks at whatever time is convenient for you. Put your phone in your backpack.
Enjoy the attractions in whatever order you want, at whatever time you want. Use the Universal Express lines. Enjoy the short wait times.
At the end of the day, look back and see how nice and relaxing your day was. Free of frustration and disappointment. Remember that you never had to look at your phone and you were not enslaved by an app all day.
All for about 1/2 the price of a Disney vacation.
I LOVE this advice!
Thanks Barbara! I look at the huge cost of a Disney vacation and all of the hoops you have to jump through to get anything out of it, and I wonder why anyone bothers.
I went to Disney World two or three times a year from 1980 to 2017, then I gave up. I don’t like to preplan my vacation and I don’t like having to schedule everything in advance and be a slave to that schedule. After they introduced the My Disney Experience app, people who don’t preplan and preschedule everything had no way to get Fastpasses or dining reservations.
My trip in 2017 was 4 days at Universal and 4 days at Disney. Universal was wonderful, the hotel was beautiful, the guest experience in the parks was fantastic. Universal was relaxing and enjoyable. The Disney World part of my trip was just 4 days of frustration and disappointment. I never went back to Disney. The changes that Disney has made since 2017 seems to have made things worse.
Even though I live in Northern New England, I am a Universal Annual Passholder. I go to Universal at least 2 times a year, usually 3 times. Everything I wrote above is true, you can just go to Universal, relax and enjoy yourself. It’s that simple.
I know a couple of Disney superfans who have walked away from Disney, even giving up their DVC membership. I also know a couple of other Disney fans who switched to Universal. I am not the only one to give up on Disney.
I think articles like this one are pretty funny! The fact that you need to write articles like this in a perfect example of everything that is wrong with Disney! You would never see something like this about Universal, it’s just not necessary.
Thanks so much for all your info! Leaving Tuesday morning for my first time back in over 6 years and overwhelmed with how much has changed. I know crowds will be bad but thanks to all your advice we have a plan for each day:)
I haven’t found any blogs or even comments sharing what a day with G+ in a large group looks like. Any chance you can gather a handful of friends and put it to the test with a group of 6 or more where some people do thrill rides and others don’t?
For example, I’m going with a group of 11, grandparents and smallest kids won’t do 7Dwarves or space mountain, but we all want to do Jungle cruise and pirates together. The variable times have me dreading trying to manage G+ for everyone.
I have planned five of our family Disney trips (group of 11-13) with kids ages 1 year old to teenagers, their parents and one grandparent. Grandpa and one other adult aren’t huge rollercoaster fans all the time, so they often hung out with the smaller ones while the rest of us hit up the big rides. If everyone wanted to go on the ride and the tiniest grandchild couldn’t go, we did rider swap. I would always have a morning plan that appealed as much as possible to everyone, have a plan for lunch and then we would kind of play the afternoon and evening by ear a little, knowing we would eat certain meals together. The family with the youngest grandkids would end up breaking away for the littles to rest/sleep and the teens to go on the more exciting/scary rides or the littles to check out the more childish attractions. If you have really small kids, I would try to get to the parks as early as possible and then take a break mid-day. I planned the first trip for my dad (Grandpa treats us) 11 years ago and I’m currently planning our last “whole family” trip for this June. It will be here before we know it.