If you are reading this blog post, I am guessing that you are thinking about taking a magical trip to Disney World or Disneyland. Congratulations. I am also betting that you might be worrying about how you can ensure that you get the biggest bang for your buck. After all, Disney park tickets have gotten expensive. The best advice I can give you is to do some advance planning. The larger the group you will be traveling with, the more advanced planning you should do. In this post, I will share two amazing apps I used recently that made my Disney day more magical.
Right now, you might be saying you hate planning because it takes away the joy of spontaneity. I understand, but going to Disney World is not the same now as it was when I first went to the Magic Kingdom with my family in the 1970s. When we went in the 70s, you just ran around, jumped on lines for the rides and stopped to eat at the nearest restaurant when you were hungry. Well, as much as you might still want to do that, I need to warn you that you will spend hours unnecessarily waiting in lines if you don't plan ahead.
The parks have gotten much more crowded and I know this from experience. When I first got my annual pass, I would run over to the park on a whim, no planning ahead. The lines for the most popular rides were often 2, 3 or even 4 hours long, so I would skip those rides and do other things. After a few of these spontaneous visits, I realized I really wanted to ride the most popular rides in the park without having to wait 2 hours in line. That's when I decided to find a way to plan that didn't take away the joy that comes with going to the park on a whim.
I discovered two websites and planning apps that improved my experiences in the parks and brought back more of the magic. The first planning tool I want to share with you is the My Disney Experience app and website. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/mobile-apps/
Disney uses this app to help you manage your visit. After you create an account and buy your tickets, you can use the app to track ride wait times, make FastPass+ reservations for rides, character meet and greets, see your ride photos and even make dinner reservations. I will share more about how I used this app while I was in the park to get the most out of my recent visit.
The second planning tool is the Touring Plans website and their Lines app. https://touringplans.com/ The Touring Plan website and app were developed by a group of data analysts to track crowds and line wait times in the Disney theme parks. Based on statistics, they estimate what the daily experience will be at any Disney park and help you to plan the most efficient and enjoyable day.
Now, let me show you how I used these two websites and apps to do 19 rides and attractions at the Magic Kingdom in just 9 hours on a Saturday.
- On the Wednesday before my visit, I checked the different parks' opening and closing hours using My Disney Experience. I usually avoid visiting a Disney park if it has extra magic hours scheduled. Folks staying at Disney resorts will often pick that park for the day since they are the ones who can come for extra hours. I picked the Magic Kingdom for my visit and planned to arrive around 9:30 after my morning online teaching was finished.
- Using the My Disney Experience, I checked to see if there were any FastPass+ available for Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan's Flight or Jungle Cruise. These rides typically have the longest lines. Unfortunately, none of these rides had FastPass+ available.
- Next, I went into the Lines app by Touring Plans and selected "create a new plan". I set the date, my start time at 9:30 and my end time at 6:30. I set my walking speed at a relaxed pace and balanced walking distance with wait times.
- Then I selected my wish list of favorite rides, attractions, and preferred lunch and dinner break locations. Here are the rides and attractions I selected:
- Seven Dwarves Mine Train
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Buzz Lightyear
- Carousel of Progress
- Cinderella Castle (photos)
- Country Bears
- Dapper Dans
- Festival Parade
- Hall of Presidents
- Haunted Mansion
- Jungle Cruise
- Monsters Inc Laugh Floor
- Liberty Square Riverboat
- Mickey's Faire Castle Show
- Move It! Street Party Parade
- People Mover
- Mickey's Philharmonic
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Space Mountain
- It's a Small World
- On the day of my visit, while sitting in a parking lot tram, I checked My Disney Experience app for FastPass+. Sometimes people will cancel their passes. I was lucky and found one for the Haunted Mansion. I added this to my Lines app, optimized and refreshed the plan. Then happily headed off to Tomorrowland.
- Throughout the day, I checked the My Disney Experience app for FastPass+ availability. I was delighted to get passes for Seven Dwarves Mine Train and Big Thunder Mountain.
- Unfortunately, Pirates of the Carribean broke down and did not operate at all that day. I removed it from my Lines app plan, optimized and refreshed the plan. Then I continued to implement the revised Touring plan.
- I took a 20-minute break for lunch and 25 minutes for dinner. I used My Disney Experience app to mobile order my food, so I didn't have to wait in long lines at the restaurant. Never during the day did I feel rushed or too tired.
At the end of the day, I was so happy that I was able to ride the most popular rides at times when their lines were the shortest. By checking FastPass+ availability throughout the day, I was able to get passes that shortened my wait time even more. And, while not part of my original plan, I was able to meet up with friends who were running in the Disney marathon. We spent a little time hanging out in front of the castle until it was time for my Seven Dwarves FastPass+.
Now, I can't promise that you will have the exact same experience as me, but I bet that with a little planning you will be able to ride the rides you want and still have time to become immersed in the magic that Walt Disney and his Imagineers created for all of us.
Please share your favorite Disney planning apps, YouTube channels, and/or blogs in the comments below. Hopefully, by sharing what we know with each other we are all able to have a little more magic in our lives. Thanks, friends.
I hope this blog post was helpful and that you give these two apps a try when planning your next Disney vacation.
