With multiple trips under our belts and now being a Florida resident, we have learned a lot of valuable lessons. Here are 8 mistakes not to make when entering the Disney parks:
1. Don’t follow the crowds – The crowds do not always know where they are going especially when it comes to entering the parks. Look around for the shortest lines instead of following those in front of you.
2. Don’t go to one side – The security guard checks bags on both the left and right side of the table. If one side is shorter or even has no line (yay you!), go ahead and jump in it. So many people don’t realize this and will line up on one side. Don’t feel bad if you know the procedure and they don’t.
3. Don’t piddle around – Before you get up to the security guard, open up all zippers on your bags. This will save you almost 30 seconds of having to open it when you get up to them.
4. Don’t go through newbies lines – If someone is “earning their ears” they will have a long red ribbon on their name tag. Avoid going through the line of people who are training. I’ve found that it can take up to twice as long to go through their lines.
5. Don’t ignore those in front of you – When judging what security line to go through, look at the people in front of you. If they all have large bags, pick another line. If they are a family with one bag, then jump in. The line looks longer than it will be.
6. Don’t go to the first turnstile you see – After you get through the security guard check, don’t go to the first turnstile you see. Head to the one the furthest from your location and work your way back to the middle looking for the shortest line.
7. Don’t pick an unorganized line – Pick the line where people are lined up in a straight and organized manner. If not, you’ll find that half of the line will go to the 2nd RFID reader and half to the first making your wait twice as long.
8. Don’t waste your time – If you get to the parks early, standing in line is a great time to put on sunscreen, eat breakfast or go over the plans with your family. This is also a great time to talk about what you have done so far and the top things you want to do that day.
Learn more tips and tricks for your next Walt Disney World vacation. Destinations in Florida can also help you add tips and tricks to your next vacation.
VERY good comment Kristen. These are definite things you need to consider as entering the park. I have compiled some must do’s at magic kingdom I’d love to share. https://youtu.be/dhPUUz_pVFw
Some really good tips on how to enter the Disney Park and save time. When I went with my son 20 years ago I rented a wheelchair the second day because have MS & Arthritis. Hopefully they now have shoprider scooters with a place to put a coffee cup. There was not any place to put a hot coffee, reached over to get a meal & spilled the hot coffee all over my lap. I was glad that I moved fast enough and did not get burned but did spend a few hours in First Aid with my 11 year old son.
I would also add that when driving up to the park before parking (where you pay for parking) look for the booths with green lights above them and not the just the booths with lines. Just last week my family was able to go right up to a booth with no waiting in a long line of cars because everyone else though it was closed.
Awesome advice. Our family trip is coming up in June. We can’t wait.
Our trip is also in June cant wait …
I’ll add at Disneyland avoid lines with lots of people holding paper tickets in their hands. They will all have to get their picture taken and sign their cards to get in adding to the wait. Look for people holding their tickets or AP passes.
Thanks for sharing these great tips. The more guests know what to do, the faster the lines will be for everyone!
I strongly disagree with #4 on the basis that it’s not very respectful of the newer employees–I work at a grocery store and it’s very frustrating when you’re trying to train new employees and everyone is avoiding their line! Yes, it may take longer, but they won’t get any faster otherwise!
The parks are always busy, theyll get plenty of practice dont worry about that lol. Having been for over 20 years and going just just 9/11 when the parks were almost empty, they still got to practice
Awesome tips! We divide and conquer. Hubby takes the bags and stroller through the bag check. The kids and I WITHOUT ANY BAGS go through the “No Bag” lane and get our spot in line at the turnstyle. He joins us after having the bags checked and we are ahead of the game for rope drop.
That’s a great idea, I’m total stealing that!
I would add to go left. Most people are right handed and will automatically go right toward right lines or to the middle then bear right. Just by going left to the security and turnstiles on the left my family has found we save lots of time and end up in the shorter line. We do this with food, split ride lines, check out lines. It is amazing how many people go right without thinking.
Those are great tips! I appreciate you posting them.
Those are some great tips, Kristin! I never would have thought to spend the time in line putting on sunscreen but that would save lots of time. Never knew about the red ribbon for trainees, either, I will look out for that.