You have saved your pennies, and your family is booked for a Walt Disney World vacation. We have just the blog post for you on 10 Ways to Reduce WDW Stress. These tips will help you relax and enjoy your magical vacation. Don’t have a Walt Disney World Vacation booked yet? Fill out a quote request and we can provide a complimentary quote. Contact – (themeparkvacationsplanner.com
Enjoy Your Vacation
We know how it feels… you book your dream vacation and when you arrive (sometimes before) it happens. STRESS creeps into your vacation. We will focus on 10 Ways to Reduce Your WDW Stress in this post. We are going to sidestep the stress of getting there although we will revisit that in a future post. Knowing what to do or not do while on property is our specialty.
Kick back and relax while we give you the tips to reducing stress and allow you to enjoy your time on vacation at Walt Disney World Resort.
Involve Your Entire Travel Party in Planning
Trying to accomplish everything everyone in your travel party wants to do at Walt Disney World will bring a stressful vacation. There are simply too many things to do on a weeklong vacation between rides, shows, parades, fireworks, meals, and transportation. We recommend you keep a pace that you can appreciate the activities you do and avoid the temptation to run and run all week.
How do we slow things down, you ask? Our suggestion is to allow everyone in your travel party to pick one major activity they want to do and make these your priorities. This includes any kids travelling with you. They will feel important and by selecting their activities, they will build strong memories about the trip. At the end of the trip no one in your group will be able to say, “I didn’t get to do anything I wanted to do this vacation.” Everyone accomplishes something leading to a happier, less stressful trip.
Plan Your Days
We do not recommend nor expect that you will plan every second of every day on your Walt Disney World trip. Giving yourself some space in your itinerary automatically reduces stress. If you have a full schedule and something runs over on time, you are racing to your next planned activity.
We do recommend having a game plan for your trip. Start with a global “Here is what my vacation will look like.” This is where your suggestions from number 1 come into play. Once you have a global plan you can break it into daily plans. For example, Day 1 is EPCOT we will do Soarin’ Around the World for dad and dinner at Le Cellier for mom. You can then break it down hourly such as “we will rope drop Soarin’ and have an advanced dining reservation at 6pm for Le Cellier.
Breaking your vacation down into plans will give you an overall agenda. This keeps you from wandering around wondering what is next. By breaking the day down and giving yourself some free time, you can meander around and absorb all the Disney-ness such as cavalcades and characters roaming the parks.
Know the Busiest Times of Day
Most days, the busiest time of day will be late morning into early afternoon. You will have a chaotic time right at rope drop for most parks but after that crowds will die down a bit. As you get closer to lunchtime crowds will peak.
You will see another smaller peak around 2pm when Park Hopper starts. ***NOTE*** The 2 pm Park Hopper will be reverting to an all-day Park Hopper as of January 9th, 2024. This will remove the defined secondary spike around 2pm. There will typically be another spike as guests finish up at one park and hop to another park typically at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom since all day Park Hopper has returned.
We suggest, if you are riding the big rides, to rope drop and head immediately to one of the rides. Wait in the queue and ride the ride. Then we usually plan on a less in demand ride or a show. Another option is an early lunch depending on your dining plans.
Use Parades and Fireworks to Your Advantage
We all want to see a parade and fireworks at Walt Disney World. They are great and they contribute to your magical vacation. One tactic for getting on the in-demand rides is to ride them during parades or fireworks. This works especially well during after-hours parties.
Opting to ride instead of watching a parade does not guarantee you a walk-on, but queues can be lower. We had a walk-on at The Haunted Mansion during a Halloween Party by skipping the second parade. During many after-hours parties there are two parades which will allow you to watch one and skip another for rides.
Create a Ride Strategy
Decide which rides are a priority for your travel group. You can then form a ride strategy. Start by determining if any require a virtual queue. We discuss how you use the virtual queue Walt Disney World’s Virtual Queue – (themeparkvacationsplanner.com).
You can then determine if you can rope drop some, buy Genie+, or if you are best buying an Individual Lightning Lane. Some rides like Test Track or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Roller Coaster can be rope dropped especially if using Early Entry at the theme park.
Some rides such Flight of Passage can be done right before park closing time if you are staying later at the park. Disney typically allows you to wait in the queue so long as you are in the queue before park closing time. We caution people to not do this for rides that break down often such as Rise of the Resistance. If a ride breaks down while you are in line at the end of the night, they may turn you away. We also do not recommend this for character meeting events as those lines will close prior to closing time depending on how long the lines are.
Choose Your Dining Time
Food service can be slow at Walt Disney World especially if you are trying to eat at peak time. We suggest you try to eat at off-peak times. We love to hit Satu’li Canteen right as they start taking lunch orders. Our junior traveler loves cheeseburger pods. We show up and grab a seat (they are plentiful before the restaurant opens), mobile order as soon as the order window allows, and pick up food with just a short wait.
If you want to eat at peak times at in demand restaurants, be sure to use your advanced dining reservations (ADR) and understand service times may be longer. There are some restaurants that have many walk-up openings such as Liberty Tree Tavern but, even these restaurants may have a wait at peak times.
Take a Day Away from the Parks
We understand that rushing from park to park and attraction to attraction is not everyone’s vacation dream. We have come to learn to enjoy a resort day or a Disney Springs day during our trips. We can continue with the parks the next day, being a bit more relaxed and refreshed.
You can visit any resort without being a guest. See the Christmas Tree at Grand Floridian or Riviera’s impressive styling and environment instead of visiting a park. Some of Disney’s best food is at their resorts such as California Grill at Contemporary Resort or Jiko at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Please be aware that you cannot park at the resorts without staying there or having an advance dining reservation.
Know Your Transportation Options
Every Walt Disney World Resort and Theme Park has its own transportation options. This could be a bus, monorail, sky liner, boat, or walking. Disney transportation options are complimentary except for Minnie Vans by Lyft or other ride sharing options.
You should research what options are for each resort for example, Bay Lake Tower is a monorail resort, so the monorail is your main option for Magic Kingdom and your only option for EPCOT. Buses run to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney Springs, and the water parks. You can also walk to Magic Kingdom.
By knowing what your options are and when they run, you will be able to seamlessly plan your path to the park. Some moderate resorts have water ferry access to Disney Springs while one deluxe resort (Animal Kingdom Lodge) relies on buses exclusively.
Be Patient and Go with the Flow
Everyone wants their vacation to be perfect. Please understand that problems arise. Your favorite ride may break down or the park could be more crowded than forecasted. A contingency plan is a great idea for each day at Disney. On our last trip, the monorail from EPCOT broke down at park close so we were herded onto buses to go back to the resort. We met a mother and her young daughter, and they were so nice and amicable. Our daughters traded some stickers and stories, it was a grand time. Watching the girls interact was one of my highlights from that trip.
Plan for the Weather
Being in Florida, especially during summer, plan on an afternoon thunderstorm most days. Some outdoor rides will shut down in the rain, while others will continue running. Pack a dry pair of shoes or sandals in your bag to switch into during or after the rain. Most people prefer ponchos over umbrellas. You can purchase ponchos in advance and carry them in your park bag to save some money.
Walt Disney World does not close for weather often but has closed in recent years for major hurricanes. If travelling in the fall, winter, or early spring pack a jacket or sweatshirt for early mornings or late evenings to keep from having to buy an emergency souvenir to stay warm.
Closing
We hope you enjoyed reading 10 Ways to Reduce Disney Stress. This is not meant to be all encompassing nor a complete list. Drop us a comment here or on Facebook Theme Park Vacations Facebook and let us know if we missed anything.
We are here to help iron out the wrinkles in your Disney Vacation Planning. Please reach out for your free Disney Vacation Quote. Contact – (themeparkvacationsplanner.com) We are here to help you plan your Walt Disney World vacation. We can provide a free no obligation quote, advice, or suggestions for your trip. We love talking about Disney vacations.