I’m often asked by friends, or random people that my wife finds out are going to Disney World, “Can you give me any tips for our Disney trip?”

Well, that question is so broad and all-encompassing that I often need a lot more information from them to even be helpful… “Are you staying on-site?” “Which parks are you going to?” “Can your kids stay up late?” “Are you wanting to meet characters?” And then I’m deep into their business, and we’re both wondering what we have gotten ourselves into… At least they’re not just winging it – the errors of which I detail in this post.

But there is one universal (not that Universal) tip that will make the difference between a good day at one of the Disney Parks, and a frustrating day at the Parks. The most important tip for an enjoyable Disney World trip is: Get to the Park Early!

I get it. You’re not a morning person. Getting your kids ready quickly is impossible. You like a nice lazy breakfast. “This is a vacation darn it – I want to sleep in!” you say.

Look – I hear you. And stop yelling at me.

I do hear you… But, I’m also going to challenge you on this one. Now, depending on how long you’re at Disney World, and what you want to accomplish, you very well might want to sleep in and take it easy some days. In fact, my family did this one morning on our recent trip. But, if you are trying to ride most of the rides and maximize your day, while minimizing your time in lines, please listen to this advice. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP FOR A DISNEY WORLD VACATION!

Why Do I Need to Get There Early?

Why do you need to get there early? I mean, to say something is the most important Disney World tip, I better have a good reason, right?

Well, it all comes down to staying ahead of the crowds. Each day, according to Themed Entertainment Association, an average of 57,000 people descend on Magic Kingdom! And between 30,000 and 40,000 people attend each of the other three parks EACH DAY on average! Of course, some people arrive late, and some people leave early. But in the middle of the day, a crowd the size of a Nationals baseball game is looking for something to do at Magic Kingdom.

So, the goal for your visit is to maximize what you can accomplish BEFORE the inevitable throng of 50,000+ people arrive. And that means focusing on as many attractions as you can in the first 2-3 hours that the park is open.

Get to the point… WHY?

OK – so, what does arriving early accomplish? Well, if you’re among the first couple hundred people waiting for the tapstiles to open, then two things are probable:

1. You will likely have a very short wait for one of the headline attractions that have long waits throughout the day: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Test Track, Frozen Ever After, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, and Avatar Flight of Passage. This will save you at least an hour of waiting compared to trying to ride if you don’t arrive early. You’ll be shocked at how long the headliner lines already are if you show up to the park entry right at opening time.
2. You will continue to see shorter lines at rides for a couple of hours. Whether they arrive early or not, most of the crowds initially stream to the headliners. The vast majority of them will not arrive early, and will endure a long line at the above rides to start their day. Guess what? That means that when you get off said ride, you then can move on to other attractions that have shorter lines. Why? Because the crowds are standing in the headliner rides. Get it? You can “stay ahead of the crowds” like this until 11:00 a.m. or so most days. At which point you can “stay ahead of the crowds” again by eating an early, off-peak lunch.

A Disney World Early Arrival Example

As an example, on a recent trip in December, 2021, we were one of the first 40 people or so to arrive at Magic Kingdom.

We were waiting at the tapstiles at 6:56 a.m., 19 minutes before they allowed on-site hotel guests in (Early Entry). By the way, I like to be VERY specific on times because truthfully a few minutes can make a difference. On this Friday, Early Entry was at 7:30 a.m., and official Park Entry was at 8:00 a.m. We purchased Genie+ as well. At 7:00 a.m., while at the hotel, we got a Lightning Lane for Jingle Cruise at 8:20 a.m. As another data point, Touringplans.com rated this as a 5 out of 10, based on the wait times that day.

Since we were staying for the Very Merriest After Hours event that night, we decided to wait until then to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (7DMT as the Disney message boards term it). As it turns out, given where we were in line, if we had hustled, we still could have been on that roller coaster with a minimal wait.

Instead, we decided to rope-drop Space Mountain, which allowed us to take a more leisurely pace. Because 90% of people are heading to 7DMT, there’s just not a need to rush to Tomorrowland. (For Early Entry, only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open). You can see in the photo above that just 5 minutes before Early Entry, there are only 20 or so people rope-dropping Tomorrowland.

The Castle looks like it has a fake tan in the early morning sun…

We arrived at Space Mountain at 7:32 a.m., and were only behind one other party thanks to our sharp elbows. Unfortunately, Space Mountain was still testing when we got to the station. So by the time we got off at 7:52 a.m., Early Entry was almost over. Pretty frustrating – not gonna lie.

We quickly jumped on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin to try and get one more ride in during the extra time: 7:57 a.m. in line – 1 minute wait – 8:04 a.m. back in front.

With the park open to everyone after 8 a.m., moving over to Frontierland made sense because the late-arriving crowds are headed to 7DMT, Peter Pan, and Space Mountain. Frontierland is… not busy.

We arrived at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at 8:12 a.m. After a 4 minute wait, we were back in front at 8:21 a.m.

On our way to Pirates of the Caribbean, Frontierland is… still not busy.

Adventureland is also… not busy. Hi, you three!

Then we accomplished the following:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: arrival at 8:24 a.m. | 4 minute wait | back in front at 8:36 a.m.
• Jingle Cruise with Lightning Lane: 8:39 a.m. | 6 minute wait | back in front at 8:57 a.m.
• (Acquired Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion at 9:05 a.m.)
• it’s a small world: 9:04 a.m. | 3 minute wait | back in front at 9:25 a.m.
• Haunted Mansion with Lightning Lane: 9:27 a.m. | 7 minute wait | back in front at 9:45 a.m.
• (Acquired Lightning Lane for Splash Mountain – which broke down – at 10:15 a.m.)
• Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid: 10:04 a.m. | 5 minute wait | back in front at 10:18 a.m.
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic: 10:25 a.m. | 10 minute wait | back in front at 10:50 a.m.

That’s 9 rides (using Genie+) in 3 hours and 20 minutes… with no single wait over 10 minutes. And now we have a lot of options as to what we do next. We could ride a ride with a moderate wait, have lunch, shop, take a break… but we’ve knocked out 9 rides before lunch. Our day would have looked almost exactly the same, by the way, if we had started at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train instead. That’s a great morning at the most popular theme park in the world!

The Alternative

If we had arrived at the entrance to Magic Kingdom at 8:00 a.m. – an hour later, ignoring or ineligible for Early Entry, this is how our morning might have played out (using touringplans wait times):

• Showing up right at 8:00 a.m., it takes 5 minutes to get through the gates.
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: arrival at 8:15 a.m. | 35 minute wait | 8:54 a.m. back in front
• Buzz Lightyear Ranger Spin: arrival at 8:58 a.m. | 3 minute wait | 9:07 a.m. back in front
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: arrival at 9:15 a.m. | 15 minute wait | 9:35 a.m. back in front
• Pirates of the Caribbean: arrival at 9:38 a.m. | 14 minute wait | back in front at 10:00 a.m.
• Jingle Cruise with Lightning Lane: 10:03 a.m. | 6 minute wait | back in front at 10:21 a.m.
• (Acquire Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion at 10:30 a.m.)
• it’s a small world: 10:28 a.m. | 35 minute wait | back in front at 11:21 a.m.
• Haunted Mansion with Lightning Lane: 11:23 a.m. | 7 minute wait | back in front at 11:41 a.m.
• (Acquire Lightning Lane for Splash Mountain at 12:15 p.m.)
• Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid: Noon | 20 minute wait | back in front at 12:29 p.m.
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic: 12:36 p.m. | 10 minute wait | back in front at 1:01 p.m.

That would be 9 rides in 5 hours and 1 minute… 1 hour and 41 minutes more for the same 9 rides. (Well – Seven Dwarfs Mine Train substituted for Space Mountain. But as mentioned, it wouldn’t have made a difference because we would have been among the first in line.)

That is a significant difference, and on busier days, and on days with later opening times, the difference would be much greater. This is why getting there early is the most important tip when you’re at Disney World.

So… How Early are We Talking? (I mean I am on vacation at Disney World after all)

Early Entry Impact

In order to answer the question of “How early do I need to get there?”, we need to talk about Early Entry. Disney World overhauled their pre-COVID-19 Extra Magic Hour Mornings, which gave on-site guests (those staying at a Disney World hotel) early access to one specific park each day. In Fall 2021, Disney World began to give on-site guests access to all 4 Parks, each and every day, 30 minutes before the official Park Opening.

In a time where Disney seems to be taking perks away (looking at you, Magic Express), and charging for previously free perks (Genie+ nee Fastpass+), it has been surprising to see what a huge perk Early Entry really is. It’s a bigger advantage than the old Extra Magic Mornings because instead of allowing on-site guests access to ONE park, Early Entry spreads those guests out among four potential parks. So, while it’s only 30 minutes of time in the parks as opposed to 60 before, there are less people in each park, and you can get a lot accomplished. Above is a picture of Early Entry at Hollywood Studios. We were one of the first 30 people at the park entrance, and we had an empty park greeting us.

What Early Entry does is it ensures that if you are not staying on property – if you are a “day guest” – you do not have the opportunity to start your day with a short wait at a headliner attraction. Because, no matter how early you get to the park entrance, if you are not staying at a Disney hotel, there will be thousands of people in the Park before you. And almost all of them will be standing in the lines for the rides to which you plan on hurrying.

So, getting to the park early, without access to Early Entry, is not going to yield much of an advantage. But, if you are a “day guest”, it still behooves you to arrive as early as you are able in order to stay ahead of the other thousands of people entering with you. However, you aren’t going to enjoy low waits at most rides.

So… Answer the Question… How Early?

OK, OK. Like everything, it kind of depends on how crowded the park will be that day, and how early the park opens. After all, just like you, most people don’t love getting up super early. So, if Early Entry starts at 7:30am, there will be less people willing to get there early than if it’s a 9:30 Early Entry open. There are so many variables, that its hard to give firm guidelines.

But, in general, I would recommend the following (assuming an average crowd level):

Magic Kingdom

• Using Early Entry (7:30 a.m.) – arrive 30-40 minutes before Early Entry (especially if you’re headed to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first).
• Using Early Entry (8:30 a.m.) – arrive 60 minutes before Early Entry, if possible. This is a challenge unless you’re staying at a resort on the monorail.
• Not using Early Entry – arrive 60 minutes before official park opening.

Epcot

• Using Early Entry – arrive 45 minutes before Early Entry.
• Not using Early Entry – arrive 45 minutes before official park opening.

Hollywood Studios

• Using Early Entry – arrive 60-90 minutes before Early Entry (especially if you are rope-dropping Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance).
• Not using Early Entry – rough going. I suggest at least 75 minutes, but there will be LONG lines at the headliners regardless. Probably should use Individual Lightning Lanes.

Animal Kingdom

• Using Early Entry – arrive 45-60 minutes before Early Entry.
• Not using Early Entry – arrive 30 minutes before official park opening and use Individual Lightning Lane for Flight of Passage.

I’ll do posts about how you can go about getting to each park early… it too, takes some planning.

Wait… Aren’t I Standing in Line Anyway?

Some sleepy-headed, not-morning-person types have asked, “Wait… if you get to the park before it opens, aren’t you just standing in line THEN, instead of in line at a ride??? What’s the difference?”

Well, there is a very large difference, actually. When you arrive 34 minutes before the park opens (like we did in the above example), you are, indeed, WAITING. It’s not necessarily fun to stand in line – a line that doesn’t move by the way – doing nothing. I get that it’s boring.

But, that waiting is happening OUTSIDE of park hours. And that’s a HUGE distinction. Waiting in an entry line before the park opens, while boring, is not wasting your time DURING park hours – the hours you’ve paid expensive tickets prices for. Wasting time during park hours is time that you’re not doing something ELSE that you’d rather do.

If you’re waiting an hour before the park opens, all that you’re missing out on is sleep (and there are days when that matters, by the way). But if you’re standing in an hour line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, when you could be riding 4 to 5 other things in that same timeframe. That is wasting time. There is only so much time to experience attractions during park hours. The goal is to maximize that time to do what YOU WANT TO DO. Standing in line is likely not part of that equation.

A Caveat

Before we wrap up, let me just mention a few exceptions to this all-important rule.

Obviously, if you’re park hopping, this advice doesn’t apply to the park you’re going to.

Also, if you really don’t care about rides, and you go to Disney World to people watch, watch the shows, meet the characters, and eat the snacks, then again… this advice doesn’t really apply.

Lastly, if you’re on an lengthy week-long or more vacation at Walt Disney World, then you may (and should) consider scheduling in a “sleep-in day” or two. On these days, you very well might decide to go to a Park later in the day – especially if you’re planning two days at said park.

The Calm When You’re at the Parks Early

I’ll end with a few pictures of the parks from early morning arrivals. The other reason to get there early is that it’s calm and beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed the post – even if you vehemently disagree with this being the #1 tip for a Disney World vacation. Go ahead and let me know in the comments what you think… and if you disagree, please make sure to tell me why you’re also wrong (sarcasm).