How to Survive Disney World on a Holiday Vacation
Visiting Disney World during the holidays can be magical, and completely overwhelming. Disney is expecting the highest predicted crowd levels within the past 4 years this holiday season. Is safe to say that traveling around this time will be challenging, but there's still fun to be had! Here's our top three tips you can do to help you and your family have a magical holiday trip.
Have a Plan
By now, you should have already made your park reservations. For some travel dates, there are no more availabilities for any of the parks at this time. Those that do not have a park reservation will not be able to get into the parks, even if they have purchased tickets. Click here to view park availability.
For those with park hopper tickets, check park availability before hopping to a park and being denied entrance. The Walt Disney World Park Hopping capacity hotline phone number 407-560-5000.
Speaking of reservations, if you have not made any dining reservations you should do so ASAP. If there are none available keep checking, reservations do pop up, most commonly 24 hours prior to the reservation time(people cancel to avoid cancellation fees). For quick service locations mobile order ASAP and eat at off peak times.
Manage your Expectations
Due to the increase in crowd levels the wait times will be longer than normal. Do not expect to ride every ride and see all the attractions within the park you have made reservations for. We recommend that you have 3-5 must dos per park and everything else will be a bonus. If you go into the parks thinking that you will be able to do it all you will leave disappointed.
If your travel party is wanting to take advantage of Genie+ or Individual Attraction Selections(IAS), please know that availability is limited. Have a plan for which attractions you want. Disney hotel guest can book their first Genie+ and IAS at 7am. Popular attractions do go very quickly, the hardest to get will be Rise of the Resistance.
Rope Drop
The phrase “rope drop”, refers to being at the park first thing in the morning, prior to park opening. A good way to work around the crowds is to arrive early. You can typically get more done in the first two hours than in the rest of the day combined. The reason is simple, people don’t want to get up early on vacation. To rope drop you will need to leave earlier than you’d think. If you’re using Disney transportation you will have long lines. We recommend that you be at the transportation location an hour or more park opening.
If you do rope drop make sure your travel party isn’t getting to tired. Being tired and overwhelmed is a nasty combo. After rope drop, it maybe best to take a break from the parks and return to the hotel for a little while and recharge.
We hope that this tips help you if you’re traveling to Disney soon for the holidays. To stay informed on the latest news, follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter.
