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4. Use FastPass+ correctly

Fastpass+ Check in Light

Image: Disney

PROS:

FastPass+ is definitely an amazing system that helps families at Walt Disney World manage their time more easily. If you can score FastPass+ reservations for Disney’s busiest attractions, you will dramatically reduce your line-waiting time compared to hopping in the stand-by line. FastPass+ also allows guests to plan their days with a little more foresight.

CONS:

Fastpass+ is not without problems. Having a FastPass+ reservation is not a skip-the-line pass. Particularly when a FastPass+ time window first opens, it’s common for a large number of guests scheduled for that time slot to all arrive at the same time. Bottlenecks are a common problem, both from people waiting in line to get in (for no reason—seriously) and from people who may be newer to the system and don’t know how to check in. Also, while FastPass+ is helpful on popular attractions, there are many mid-popularity attractions where it doesn’t help at all. On some occasions, the stand-by line can prove shorter than the FastPass+ line.

The other downside of FastPass+ is that the most helpful reservations are the hardest ones to get. Even 60 days ahead of time, reservations for Frozen Ever After, Avatar: Flight of Passage, and Slinky Dog Dash can disappear in what feels like an instant. Going in the off-season helps this, but many a local passholder has ended up frustrated that scoring these important Fastpasses without a resort reservation can prove near impossible.

5. Ride super-popular rides during parades and fireworks

Happily Ever After Fireworks

Image: Disney

PROS:

This strategy does work! While there are exceptions to every rule, daily parades and fireworks shows are excellent “crowd-sponges”. Particularly in the evenings, the hordes of people who flock to watch fireworks shows can leave popular e-ticket rides with delightfully low queues. During off-season days, some attractions even have such short lines you can marathon-ride favorites like Expedition: Everest and Splash Mountain.

CONS:

Parades and fireworks may not eliminate lines on super-popular attractions, particularly if those attractions have had multi-hour waits that built up long before people started settling in to watch an evening show. If you happen to miscalculate trying to get to certain attractions during a parade, particularly in Magic Kingdom, you may find yourself stuck in a massive crowd on the wrong side of the park. Certain parts of Magic Kingdom become completely inaccessible during parades, so make sure you get where you want to go early!

 
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