Try to include a lot of shady areas and activities. Don't forget to wear comfortable sneakers and bring a poncho and umbrella in a neat backpack with snacks. Also bring a fan and water sprayer if you can during summer. Or plan your vacation in early December but never forget those sneakers I mentioned. Also pay careful attention to the crowds. If everyone seems to be going in one direction in the park, go the opposite way first. You will find the lines are shorter all day if you can avoid the crowds like this. Also, NEVER rely on Fast Pass. They give you a certain time to come back, which can ruin your chance to ride something else. Going the opposite way of the crowds will allow you to hit the other attractions at the opposite side with shorter lines and allow enough time to make it through the entire park. This is the same deal at Universal. At Uni though, if you or someone with you is a fan of E.T. or Beetlejuice, consider staying in that half of the main park for the next year or so because all crowds will be flooding into Harry Potter first without stopping for other things. This was my experience last year. I stayed at those two areas all day and found the crowds were super thin but when I went into the world of my favorite books, it was CROWDED.

At Magic Kingdom, I recommend Frontierland and Adventure Land as the first destinations to skip crowds. The Bears are usually empty all day and they are one of the most lovable shows in the park next to the Tiki Room over in Adventure. Or for your riders, Frontier has Splash Mountain and Adventure has Pirates. Avoid Tomorrow and New Fantasy until later in the day, but do try to be there in NF around 3 or 4 pm if you want to meet a certain Internet Disney celebrity before he's off of work. (Hint: He works as Gaston. He's the guy in all those great youtube videos you might stumble upon.)

If you are at EPCOT, skip the food areas unless everyone heads the other way first. Tip for dinosaur lovers: double check to make sure that your trip won't be during a time when Ellen's Energy Pavilion is down. You won't want to miss the infamous nod to Walt Disney's original Disneyland train track because it has... DINOSAURS!! ;D

If you're at Animal Kingdom... Head for the animals first. Well... When they finish building. Because it's gonna be the same deal as Harry Potter. There will be a new Avatar area. Do not do that first thing. Crowds.

If you are at MGM... Go in the direction of the Great Movie Ride- a lot of other guests tend to go this direction later in the day instead, so there won't exactly be long lines for you.

Also if you can, purchase a Disney gift card or two before hand so you can save back up later. My grandma used to get me about 100$ on one before every trip and we saved a lot that way in the long run. Her money went back up past it's amount at purchase by the time we were at the parks and having that 100$ really did a lot for getting souvenirs without adding to other costs. (But this won't help if you are also a collector like I sometimes am. Collectors items cost anywhere from 75$ to 400$.)

My advice would be to leave the kids at home. Disneynis extremely enjoyable as an adult and you'll have a better time without them. And all the money you save can be spent on eating and drinking at some amazing places!

In reply to by Karinlynn36 (not verified)

Unbelievable! I can understand coming as a couple before kids or as empty-nesters, but leaving them at home is a sure fire way to make them hate you forever.

In reply to by Karinlynn36 (not verified)

Yes just leave your children at home the best food ive ever had has been at a disney park

In reply to by Karinlynn36 (not verified)

That's right kids. .. we are going to Disney but because you are a little pain in the +_= we are going to leave you at your grandmother's house. Well we go to the happiest place on earth.

In reply to by Karinlynn36 (not verified)

I absolutely agree with you! Especially during the food and wine festival!

In reply to by Karinlynn36 (not verified)

You've obviously never experienced Disney through the eyes of your four-year-old daughter dressed up as Cinderella, meeting Cinderella

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