3. Learn less-than-obvious routes through the parks
Image: Disney
At Disney parks, the shortest distance is not always a straight line.
Particularly during parades and peak hours, there are times when the direct path from one attraction to another will take far longer than the scenic route. The park where this is most pronounced is in Magic Kingdom, where daily parades and fireworks draw massive crowds to Main Street and the plaza in front of Cinderella Castle. If you are trying to get from Fantasyland to Splash Mountain when fireworks are nearing, you’ll be far better off taking the long route from the Tangled tower past Haunted Mansion to the Rivers of America than you will cutting across Main Street which may be closed or impassible.
The same goes for Epcot, particularly on Extra Magic Hours nights. Perhaps it is because so many people use Spaceship Earth as a landmark, but the Fountains of Nations plaza and the path that stretches straight to World Showcase (pointing towards the American Adventure) is often the most crowded route you can choose. You’ll often be better off taking the winding path that passes the old Odyssey restaurant or the garden path near Journey into Imagination.
Image: Disney
For the time being, Hollywood Studios is the most constricted of the parks, but even it has several alternate routes guests can use like Commissary Lane. This is the park with the fewest options and the most dead-ends, so be aware what direction you’re headed. Much of this will change in 2019 with the arrival of Star Wars Land.
Animal Kingdom is the most sprawling of the parks, offering dozens of routes to travel from one place to another thanks to its starburst shape. Because of its size, the streets don’t clog with crowds quite as badly, though some guests have experienced confusion navigating the new Pandora section. The best solution for finding alternate routes in this park and others is to never underestimate the value of paper maps.
Cast Members no longer hand maps to each guest, but you can grab one on the way into any of the parks. The My Disney Experience app is convenient, but its maps can prove confusing and slow to load due to constant jumping between Wi-Fi hubs. Having a good paper map on standby can make discovering alternate paths through the park a snap and save you vast amounts of time. They will also give you the times for all parades and entertainment. Knowing these times will allow you to avoid those areas if you’re looking to move fast.
4. Don’t “follow the yellow brick road” (aka don’t walk with your party abreast)
Don't do this...
We’ve mentioned this particular issue before on Theme Park Tourist as a cringeworthy habit of Disney parkgoers.
Picture if you will that you’re trying to make it to a dining reservation at the Rose and Crown Pub. Wisely, you choose to take the path towards Canada via Journey Into Imagination. Despite quick progress, your way is suddenly blocked by a family of six walking side by side. They slowly meander down the trail, eyes glazed and adrift, perhaps occasionally muttering about an appetite for brains. Other parkgoers begin to pool beside you, trapped behind the oblivious party. You finally manage to extricate yourself and get around them only to find another group doing the same thing ten steps ahead, lined up abreast like Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and The Cowardly Lion. If following the snail-slow parade isn’t difficult enough, they stop suddenly to take pictures of a topiary. You plow face first into them and the people behind you do the same, leading to an overall embarrassing kerfuffle.
Here's the point—the larger your party is, the more you may need to vary your walking formation.
There are few things that annoy seasoned parkgoers more than this scenario. It’s understandable that some human-bumper-car situations will occur in a place as busy as Walt Disney World. Even in the off season, you’re going to trip over some toes and get stuck behind slow groups. However, by avoiding this naughty habit, you not only make the Disney experience more pleasant for those around you—you’ll have a newfound and powerful ability to zip through otherwise impenetrable crowds.
Do this instead!
Image: Disney
Instead of walking hand-in-hand with a family of 3-6, pair off adults with children and travel in a flexible line—think a centipede formation instead of the March of the First Order. If necessary, hang onto the shirt or shoulder of the person in front of you and weave through the crowd in a fluid group. If you want to take a picture, signal each other and step off to the side if possible. If you have a large family with only two adults and a whole flock of kids, place one adult in the front, one in the back, and have the kids travel in a school-style line, keeping an eye on the person in front of them.
Instead of relying on walking in a row to keep your party safe, always have a rendezvous point set in the event anyone gets separated. Avoid setting your meeting point at obvious park centerpieces—no one can ever find their party in front of Cinderella Castle. Pick something easy to find but not as obvious as Spaceship Earth or the Tree of Life. We used to use walkie talkies or an app like Zello to help keep track party members, but for anyone with a phone, Life360 is a great option for getting a general idea where people are.
Direct kids that they should speak to a Cast Member if they ever get lost. Each Disney park has a “Lost Children” spot where they will be taken and watched after until you come pick them up. Cast Members can also radio each other to locate a missing child.
5. Cut through shops instead of fighting the crowds
Disney designed the shops in their parks masterfully so guests who enter one shop are swept through row after row of merchandise experiences. This means almost all Disney stores have multiple exits and many are interconnected. Particularly on Main Street, in World Showcase, and on Hollywood Boulevard, this can offer smart guests an easy way to skirt around crowds.
You’ll have to be quick on your feet and careful that you don’t bowl into anyone shopping. Cutting through shops can be a gamble if you inadvertently get stuck at a large family or an impassible line. Still, it is a convenient enough strategy that we use it regularly to get from one attraction or park section to another. If you happen to strike out, just exit back onto the main thoroughfare and follow the crowd. Eventually it will disperse, and you’ll be able to break off.
Comments
Eat in-park meals at off times. While other families are crowding into restaurants during the noon hour and dinner hours, enjoys the less crowded streets and queues. When those families finish eating and head to the attractions, you can then grab a bit at the lesser crowded restaurants.