Disney in a Weekend

While I am someone who goes to Walt Disney World a few times a year, my vacation might not look the same as someone who is taking their once in a lifetime trip. However, I wanted to share how we maximized our time in the parks and hit all the important things on my daughters must do lists! 

The main purpose of our trip was to participate in the Springtime Surprise Adventure is Out There 10k, but we also managed to fit an entire Disney vacation with a visit to each of the 4 parks in our 4 night trip with only 3 days worth of tickets. How? Here are my best tips.

Have a priority list

Take a look at what is available at each park in advance and have each person pick out what is most important to them. Once you have a list, you can decide how you want to tackle it. Maybe that means purchasing Genie+ for the day or an Individual Lightning Lane to help minimize your wait time for a select few attractions and allow you to experience more. Maybe that means getting up early to rope drop a specific ride (this means being at the park as soon as it opens and hurrying to your first attraction to hopefully minimize your overall wait time). 

In our case, we got up early and took advantage of the early entry for on property guests. We knew it was going to be hot in the afternoon during our visit, so we really wanted to do as much as possible earlier in the day so we could take an air conditioning break in the afternoon.

Manage your expectations

With any Disney vacation, it is rare that you will get to see and experience absolutely everything in the parks. There is simply too much to do and see and if you are visiting during a higher crowd time, you are going to spend a lot of time waiting in the attraction queues. This is why I recommend the priority list. I always make sure my daughters know they will not get to see everything. My daughters love rides, so that is what we did. We didn’t watch any shows, see any nighttime spectaculars, and only met one character. We were all in agreement about this plan.

Go early

I mentioned this before, but I always recommend going at park open because it is less crowded and the wait times are usually shorter. In the warmer months, it is also cooler. I know you are tired, but trust me, the overall experience has always been worth it for me.

Be prepared to walk. A lot.

Disney is a ton of walking even when you aren’t trying. We easily hit over 10 miles on our last day when we went to 2 parks. If you want to see and do a lot, you have to move pretty quick. This is why taking breaks, even if you are limited with time, is important.

Take breaks

If you don’t want to leave the parks to go back to your resort, schedule a sit down meal. These usually take about an hour and are a nice indoor break. You can also take advantage of watching some shows in each park or finding a nice bench to sit and have a snack in the shade.

Stay hydrated

Bring your refillable water bottle or be prepared to purchase bottled water or ask for the free cups of water at counter service restaurants. Please trust me on this one. You are moving a lot and need it.

Do you have any tips to maximize your Disney vacation? Share them with us in the comments!