3. Rides can be optional!

This one often comes as a surprise—even an offense—to some non-locals: you can have an incredible day at Walt Disney World and never hit any rides. Indeed, creative souls can have a great day without ever entering the parks.

I found that after becoming a Florida local, I became less-fixated on rides during our Disney excursions. While we still love doing rides, they stopped feeling like the do-or-die center of our time at Disney. On many visits, we found ourselves taking more time to wander about, explore areas like World Showcase, play games like Star Wars Datapad, watch birds in the Animal Kingdom aviaries, and sample foods at Epcot festivals. Once again, this has led to a much more low-pressure approach to visiting Walt Disney World since we have other ways to have a good time if lines are unusually long.

What Can a Non-Local Learn?

Leave room in your Disney day for enjoying some experiences that don’t involve standing in lines for rides. So many of Disney’s best attractions and experiences are based on free-exploration and wandering—places like the walking paths of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom’s Tom Sawyer Island, Epcot’s World Showcase, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Leaving room for this sort of choose-your-pace exploration relieves some of the pressure of running from line to line. As a bonus, this shift in mentality can be a huge boon to expecting mothers who may not be able to ride all the thrill rides they normally would! There are still lots of experiences for moms-to-be to enjoy with the family that don’t involve jostling rides.

4. Your priorities for resorts change

While some Florida locals do have a lengthy drive to Walt Disney World that would necessitate a resort stay, Central Floridians take a very laid back approach when it comes to resorts—mostly because we usually don’t need one! Orlando locals can return easily to their homes, but even those commuting from a couple hours away can often enjoy a Disney day without needing to stay overnight in most cases.

I’ve found that as a Florida local, when we do choose to stay at a Disney resort, our priorities are much different than when we used to visit from abroad. While we still value things like convenience to the parks (particularly at the Epcot resorts), the relaxation-factor is often key for us. Whenever we have access to a resort room, we usually take a mid-day break when visiting the parks, meaning we want a resort we’ll really enjoy kicking back at for a few hours. Things like good quality beds, places to lounge, and a nice bathroom become much more noticeable.

Along with relaxation factor, we also really value the ability for our resort room to feel like a home-away-from-home—in most cases for us, this means trying to get a Disney Vacation Club villa room for visits of more than one day since they include kitchens, a game changer when you have access to a vehicle to go get groceries.

We also tend to take price into account when choosing resorts since we know we may visit more than once a year—in our case, our other favorite resorts are the Swan and Dolphin since they are excellent quality, moderately priced, include most of the benefits of a Disney resort, and we can build up Marriott Bonvoy points for future stays. They also have one of the best coffee shops at Walt Disney World!

What Can a Non-Local Learn?

A Disney vacation may feel more fast-paced than a trip to the beach, but you are still going to want some time to relax. When you think of your resort as a haven to recharge, you pay less attention to things like cartoon characters on the walls and novelty pools, and more attention to things like convenience to the parks, quality of the rooms and bathrooms, and extra benefits like kitchens.

Instead of thinking of your resort as a hub for nothing but sleep and the occasional swim, choose a place you will enjoy recharging at if you need a break—and remember, it is okay to take breaks during your Disney days.

5. Access to a vehicle can be pretty convenient

Before becoming a Florida local, we almost never needed a vehicle when visiting Walt Disney World. We could use the (now extinct) Disney Magical Express to get to our resort, and we used Disney transportation for everything else.

I will admit, having access to my personal vehicle whenever we visit Walt Disney World has seriously changed my tune—particularly in light of some of Disney’s belt-tightening with transportation options throughout the resort. While we still use Disney transportation frequently, I’ll admit it’s nice being able to just jump in the car to park-hop or even run off-site. The only park we try to avoid parking at remains Magic Kingdom due to the oh-so-unmagical Transportation and Ticket Center, but having a personal vehicle remains an excellent way to get between the other parks and resorts.

What Can a Non-Local Learn?

While you don’t want it to become a budget-buster, if you have the means, a rental car remains a worthwhile consideration for families visiting Walt Disney World. It does bring some extra expenses with it, like parking costs, but if you plan on doing a lot of hopping throughout Walt Disney World or traveling off-site, it’s worth considering.

For those who want the flexibility of a vehicle without the commitment of a rental car, rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are extremely active at Walt Disney World and provide an alternate means to travel.

How about babies, should you bring a baby to Walt Disney World?...