Navigate Disney World During It’s Busiest Time Of Year

We just returned from a trip to Disney at a time of year that we said we would never travel again. Yep. As much as I’ve encouraged all of you to enjoy Walt Disney World during the holidays, my husband and I have said we’ll never do the Christmas to New Years stretch ever again. We’ve done it once and we don’t need to twice. And we don’t advise newbies to go then, either. (See item #12 here for proof. Oops!)

Uh-huh. You got it. We swore we’d never go to Disney during Christmas vacation again. Until we did.

(Never say never!)

With Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights leaving, we just had to see it one last time. And because we threw the trip together last minute, the best time for us to go was between Christmas and New Years. Against our better judgment, we did it. And had a fabulous time.

The time between Christmas and New Years is crowded and beautiful and crowded. Wait. I said that twice, right? It’s crowded? Well, it is. Very, very, very, VERY crowded. After my 40+ times of visiting, I thought I knew every trick in the book on how to navigate Disney in heavy crowds. But just when you thought you couldn’t teach this old dog a few more tricks, she was schooled again. Tuck these little gems into a handy, dandy Pinterest file so you can learn a few things for your next “Busiest Time of Year” trip.

1.  Check the park hours before you go, and again before you go and then again before you go and one more time before you go and then once when you check in. I checked when we first made our plans about two months beforehand. I made our park selections, FastPasses and dining schedules based on my first check. And then, obsessive planner that I am, I kept checking the park hours. Sure enough, they changed. Earlier and later times for each day we were there. No problem. We’ll just get up a wee bit earlier. I’ll switch around a few FastPasses and we’ll be set. And then, a few days before we were supposed to leave, they changed again. Opening even earlier, at 7am. This meant a 5:20am wake-up call for the night owls of our party. Eek!

2. Yes. You heard that right. A 5:20am wake-up because we HAD to be at the bus stop by 6am. At the latest. I’ve advocated time and time again for an early arrival to the parks. I stand by that advice, even at 5:30am on vacation. The printed material you receive at check-in says transportation begins 45 minutes before park open. Our friendly Cast Member checking us in said one hour before. I’ve witnessed the busses a little earlier than that on occasion. Stick with one hour before and you should be safe. Should be…..

3. I say, “should be safe…” because if transportation arrives just when you want it to, you should make it to the park in plenty of time. That is, unless Disney springs a soft-opening on you. On one day, Disney’s Hollywood Studios had a park opening of 8am. We were in line by 7:20. Everyone had finished munching on their portable breakfasts, finished their coffee and we were chatting in excitement about who would get the high score on Toy Story Mania. And then I said, “Does anyone need to use the restroom? ‘Cause we’re not stopping once they let us in.” My boys thought they’d better try and we agreed. They walked off, hand in hand, (okay, not exactly hand in hand but together anyway. They are 11 and 12, after all.) and I mentally ticked off that hurdle. And then…..the line started to move. What?!? It’s 7:37. We still had 23 minutes. We coasted with the line hoping the boys would return quickly. Nope. We had to step out of line, wait for them to return, and step back in (at the end, of course.) So much for getting there “early.” Plan for the unexpected. The sad thing is, I know this, and I still forgot to plan.

4. The short cuts you thought you knew don’t exist during crowded times. I can’t tell you how many times I said, “Follow me!’ with great authority and I’d duck and weave, only to arrive at my shortcut greeted by a friendly Cast Member who had blocked the way, directing us in another direction. Typically, back where we came from. It was frustrating, yes. But we learned to go with the flow. And by flow, I do mean FLOW. Especially during parade/show/fireworks times, Disney directs the traffic in a very specific way. Look down and you’ll see white tape. Some with arrows. Some just straight line borders. Follow the arrows. Stay behind the borders. They know what they’re doing. And you won’t be able to get from point A to point B any faster. Trust me.

5. And speaking of short cuts, you’ll see parts of Walt Disney World you never thought you’d see. During especially crowded times, Cast Members will direct you though passages typically used by Cast Members only. They’ll open up the “gates” (disguised as decorative walls) and you’ll take a walk on the hidden side. In Magic Kingdom, I didn’t really mind this departure from the magic. So much of the Cast Member only areas are underground that the above ground shortcuts look a lot like the parks themselves. In EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, however, you’re walking through parking lots. It looks utilitarian, and it is. Kind of sucked the magic right out of me, but better than pushing through thousands of people. And then, there’s always that pesky safety issue, I suppose.

6. Crowded times are a great time to stop and look at the ducks. Or parade, as the case may be. We haven’t been big parade people. But my sister, who was traveling with us, is. Big. She’ll watch every last one. So, we stopped to enjoy the parade. We were able to snag second row seats on the sidewalk, take a few pictures, enjoy the parade and then felt surprisingly refreshed, ready to tackle the second half of our day. My boys, who usually balk at having to slow down, were pleasantly surprised at how painless it was. And the girls and adults in our trip were able to enjoy the entertainment with no whining. It was awesome and will be scheduled into each upcoming trip.

7. There will be no going back to the resort for a swim or a nap. Sorry. No exceptions. I kind of knew this going into the trip, but didn’t realize how serious it was until I heard about the parks reaching capacity (mostly Magic Kingdom). My sister, who loves parades, also loves Fireworks. She wanted to come back for the evening display. Before we left for a swim at the resort, I decided to check with a Cast Member. “Do not leave if you want to get back in,” this “nervous Nelly”  of a Cast Member warned. Not liking the answer, I decided to ask someone else, someone more official looking. Same thing. In fact, they were already implementing closings right now. He suggested that we might be able to get back in by about 11pm if we left now. Scratch that idea. We stayed and found plenty to do that was almost as refreshing.

8. Crowded days, or days you’re trapped in the park, are great days to take advantage of the entertainment that Disney has that manages large crowds well. EPCOT’s Ellen’s Energy Adventure. Animal Kingdom’s Festival of the Lion King. Hollywood Studio’s Lights, Motor, Action or Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular or Beauty and The Beast – Live On Stage. In Magic Kingdom there’s Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress or Mickey’s Philharmagic. Our mid-afternoons were filled with sit-down, usually air-conditioned entertainment that lasted a good while. Afterwards, we were refreshed and ready to hit the rides again.

This was a trip where I learned to “Never, ever say never.” I, sheepishly, admit, I will take every opportunity to go to Walt Disney World and I will almost certainly learn something new each time I go.  That’s the joy of the ever-changing and growing Disney enterprise. Something new, something magical for every one at every stage of their lives.

You can stay tuned here to learn and savor and enjoy every new magical twist and turn Disney introduces. Because I can guarantee you this, I may not know WHEN I’m going back but I WILL be going back.

(And dear husband, sooner is oh-so-much better than later!)