Best tips/secrets for rides/parks?

[shaluminati]

I'm not talking about where you can find hidden mickeys, or the ring at Haunted Mansion, or other little Easter eggs like that.

I mean things like staying to the right on Guardians of the Galaxy to skip some of the line, entering Animal Kingdom through Rainforest Cafe, etc. My friend used to have a list, but that email is from 10 years ago, so a lot has changed.

 

[holden]

A lot HAS changed...

Not sure how "secret" these are, but here's mine:

1. In MK, cut to Tomorrowland from Main St via the walkway past The Plaza/Tomorrowland Terrace.
2. If you are willing to spend the $, get a Minnie Van to MK and AK. Drop off points are close to the entrance of the parks.
3. If you Minnie Van to EP, go to Beach Club and walk to EP from there.
4. Get in line 30min. before opening (around 10:30am) if you want to eat/drink at Nomad Lounge. You'll be seated right away when they open (at 11 I think?).
5. Single rider lines are worth it.
6. You can share Magic Bands/hard tickets. So, if not everyone wants to ride Guardians, for example, everyone can still get a VQ/$ILL. Those who don't want to ride can give their ride to another member of the party by letting them use their MB/ticket so they can ride twice.
7. You can take a break from the heat in many places that have seating, whether you are eating there or not. Regal Eagle usually has plenty of empty seats, for example.
8. Make dining reservations at lunch to get out of the heat.
9. Get in line for a popular attraction just before closing. The line will be shorter.
10. Take advantage of Extra Evening Hours if you are eligible.
11. Rain drives guests away from the parks/into the shops. Use rain as an opportunity to ride attractions.

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

I think tips might also depend on when you are going to the parks/time of year. I love the list above! We do a lot of those items

1. The shops on Main Street are all connected, you can walk through the Emporium up to Casey's Corner.
2. If it is pouring down rain, grab a locker early! This was us in January. We had our backpack with us, but didn't want to deal with it getting soaking wet (think downpour), by the time I went back to the locker mid-morning to drop off our rain coats, almost all the lockers were gone.
3. When leaving Tomorrowland and going towards the hub, there is a walkway before the castle that will cut to Fantasyland - 8 trips and just found this one.
4. Stay to left when entering MK. Most people crowd to the right.
5. Rope drop
6. When we rope dropped HS this year, we were able to loop Rockin' Roller Coaster 3 times without any wait. Everyone is in line for Tower of Terror, Slinky, RofR.
7. Don't skip making a lunch reservation. We've actually extended this to dinner as well. Getting to sit down and having someone bring you food after dealing with crowds all day is super relaxing.
8. We don't drink around the world at EPCOT, but we do take an afternoon break, sit in the shade and have a drink and people watch. Super entertaining. Plus you get to relax and make a game plan for the evening.
9. Know what other buses you can take to get to your resort. Art of Animation, you can take Pop Century. Caribbean Beach Resort, you can take Riviera. I know there are others. This has saved us countless times over the years.

 

[shaluminati]

These are great. Another one that I've seen/heard about, but haven't tried myself, is that there's a hidden staircase in Smuggler's Run. Apparently, if you go up that staircase, you skip the other staircase that everyone goes up and avoid some of the line.

 

[SkyGuy]

These are great. Another one that I've seen/heard about, but haven't tried myself, is that there's a hidden staircase in Smuggler's Run. Apparently, if you go up that staircase, you skip the other staircase that everyone goes up and avoid some of the line.

That’s only in the single rider line, and you’ll miss all the SWs stuff in the regular line, which is fine if you’ve been on it before. If it’s your first time, you’ll get to see a bunch of concrete before you get to the loading area. I’ve also found that it’s not always accessible, but definitely worth the look because it cuts out walking up all those ramps.

 

[rwdavis2]

Do not use the single roder line at Rockin Roller Coaster, it ca be slower than the regular line.

 

[Hubalorian]

Great information!

 

[musicguy856]

Trick for onsite APs:

EPCOT last week before early entry. There were only a handful of regular entry lines open and lines were about 30 people deep. Passholder line to the left? Empty. After tapping in and then going through the ETPE checkpoint I was the first one to arrive at the early entry holding area by Creations.

 

[kylenne]

Trick for onsite APs:

EPCOT last week before early entry. There were only a handful of regular entry lines open and lines were about 30 people deep. Passholder line to the left? Empty. After tapping in and then going through the ETPE checkpoint I was the first one to arrive at the early entry holding area by Creations.

This isn’t just for APs, people always go to the right and more often than not the left side of anything will be empty. Even regular lines are like this, leftmost are usually shorter.

 

[Minnie1222]

Study the park maps prior to arrival. Memorize the locations of all park attractions, restaurants, restrooms, if possible.

 

[revdon64]

Make dining reservations for off hours: breakfast after 10am, lunch after 1:30pm, dinner after 6:30pm
Leave MK and go to a monorail resort for lunch or dinner, less crowded and often better food.
Above all... get the bread service at Sanaa!

 

[MaveDatthews]

Trick for onsite APs:

EPCOT last week before early entry. There were only a handful of regular entry lines open and lines were about 30 people deep. Passholder line to the left? Empty. After tapping in and then going through the ETPE checkpoint I was the first one to arrive at the early entry holding area by Creations.

Somewhat off topic - are all AP park entry lanes on the left at each park?

 

[accm]

7. You can take a break from the heat in many places that have seating, whether you are eating there or not. Regal Eagle usually has plenty of empty seats, for example.

Please do not do this when restaurants are busy. It's already hard enough to get a table at certain times without people doing this. All the parks have rides with little to no wait where you can take a break from the heat and have a seat.

 

[musicguy856]

Somewhat off topic - are all AP park entry lanes on the left at each park?

I can’t remember where the other ones are. I have never seen an AP line at HS and rarely go to AK.

 

[SkyGuy]

Somewhat off topic - are all AP park entry lanes on the left at each park?

No. AKs are on the right side, and HS are as well. At the IG in Epcot, they are also on the right. At least they have been on the last several occasions when I have bothered to use the AP entrances. I can’t recall where MKs were (or if we even used them).

 

[cynicalears]

For all of you rope droppers not staying on property, it’s not what it used to be. With the 30 min early access for resort guests, those lines can be very long by the time you are able to join the queue!

 

[Ghost Host 998]

Adult diapers! No need to waste valuable park time with pesky restroom breaks. This also encourages masks and 6 foot social distancing.

 

[CarolynFH]

Look up at some of the windows on MK Main Street, with the names of the proprietors of the various businesses. Look at the buildings at AK, especially the various pavilions near the lake, the seating area for Flame Tree - each one is decorated with a different hunter/prey animal pair.

 

[musicguy856]

If you are in the standby line and they are only letting in 1 party from standby and taking large numbers from LL in between, speak with those around you to combine into larger parties. I did this and we combined three parties together into a group of 12 and we all got through at once without being stopped between each group.

 

[palavra]

Ride favorite attractions at night for a completely different experience. For example, I love riding Big Thunder Mountain at night during the fireworks.