3. Know your “must do” experiences.

Image: Disney

Running hand in hand with a theme, it’s important to know what your “must do” experiences are. It would be a shame to get an unplanned Walt Disney World day and miss your favorite experience because you ran out of time. To help guide your day, choose your top three can’t-miss experiences. While your day may still remain largely unplanned, this will at least help you prioritize your time.

If your “must do” list includes E-Tickets like Avatar: Flight of Passage, it may mean part of your improvised Disney day will be spent in line. That’s okay! If that’s the #1 thing you want to do at Walt Disney World, it’s worth it. If possible, try to hit attractions with traditionally long lines immediately after opening gate (if you managed to wake up with Mr. Bluebird) or during fireworks experiences. Even better, if you can hit your can’t-miss experiences early, you’ll have even more free time later in the day.

If something on your list isn’t available—perhaps a ride is under refurbishment or a dining reservation isn’t available—don’t sweat it. Move on to the next item on your list or try something new but similar. It may prove an opportunity to discover new magic at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

4. Know how to get last-minute FastPass+ reservations

Image: Disney

Not sure if I really want to reveal this. It is a best-kept secret for many Disney regulars, but for you, fair reader, I will spill the beans.

It is actually not impossible to get decent Fastpasses at the last minute—and I’m not talking about the typical Fastpass dregs like Primeval Whirl and Journey into Imagination.

The trick is completely legit (you won’t be breaking any My Disney Experience terms and conditions), but it isn’t always a surefire thing. It also involves a little patience and a good phone battery. The trick to getting top tier Fastpasses at the last minute is to catch the ones other guests cancel when they realize they aren’t going to make their Fastpass+ reservation on time.

The way you do this is that the day of your trip, go into My Disney Experience and pull up the Fastpass menu for the park of your choice. Unless you can travel fast, it is likely going to need to be the park you are in already. You can either look for a new Fastpass reservation or try to modify an existing one. If you don’t see a good quality Fastpass available, click over to a different time of day to refresh the screen. Likely, this won’t change much. Click back to the original time you selected to refresh again. Keep doing this, clicking back and forth and refreshing. If someone cancels a Fastpass reservation, it will appear on the list (right at the top if it’s a tier one attraction). You may end up being the lucky guest who spots it first. If a hard-to-capture Fastpass comes up, click it and make your reservation quickly. Presto!

We have had good luck doing this during peak eating times as well as catching Fastpasses that require use immediately. Indeed, we have stood outside of the Tower of Terror before doing this and often have ended up with a Fastpass coming up within the next hour. It’s a harder trick to pull with E-Tickets like Avatar: Flight of Passage or Test Track but miracles do still happen. Indeed, our one and only Avatar Fastpass we ever claimed came from fortunate chance using this method. It can feel a little mind numbing, but it’s a decent way to pass the time in a queue, and if you are lucky, it can really prove a game changer on an improvised Disney day!