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BIG Time Wasters in Walt Disney World

A trip to Walt Disney World is a magical experience. Managing your time at all four Parks can be a lot of work. You don’t want to waste your time on experiences that aren’t productive or helpful to having fun on your vacation.

We want to share some of the big-time wasters in Walt Disney World with you. Use these to determine if these experiences will be time wasters for your family or if they are something you will enjoy together while on vacation.

SwissFamilyRobinsonTreehouse
SwissFamilyRobinsonTreehouse

Attractions That Are Time Wasters

Although we love Disney, not all attractions are equal in Walt Disney World. These attractions are still a part of the magic. They aren’t the ones we would prioritize during our trip.

Starting in the iconic Magic Kingdom, there are a couple of experiences here that we wouldn’t recommend stopping or waiting for during your trip. The two attractions in Magic Kingdom that we think are time wasters are Swiss Family Tree House and Tomorrowland Speedway.

These attractions take a lot of time to experience, and with so many other unique experiences throughout Magic Kingdom, we suggest skipping these two. Even though Swiss Family Treehouse is self-paced, getting through all the steps and levels takes a lot of time. When it is super hot, this isn’t an experience we think is worth it.

Surprisingly, Peter Pan’s Flight isn’t always worth waiting for. Sometimes this ride can see wait times that are close to two hours. Since the ride is under a minute, we don’t think it is worth the time in line.

We tend to pass those two rides on each trip to Walt Disney World. Take some time to learn about the attractions at Walt Disney World to determine if a specific attraction will be a time waster for your family.

Related: Sh Don’t Tell, but We Always Skip These Walt Disney World Rides

 

Happily Ever After
Happily Ever After

Waiting Hours for Fireworks 

While we highly recommend taking time for the nighttime shows at Walt Disney World, we don’t recommend finding a spot hours before they start.

Although we love Fantasmic, Happily Ever After, and EPCOT Forever, we don’t think spending hours waiting to see these shows is necessary. There are so many outstanding spots to watch these shows from that finding a perfect spot isn’t necessary. We understand that some spots are better than others, but overall you will have a magical experience no matter where you are during the show.

If you spend two hours sitting and waiting for the evening show to start, you are also not enjoying the other magical experiences in the Parks. The nighttime shows are indeed spectacular, and you don’t want to miss them but don’t miss out on other rides and shows because you are sitting and playing with your phone for two hours before it starts.

Finally, even if you find the perfect spot, someone will probably step before

you or maneuver their kids onto their shoulders during the show. Although this is super frustrating, it is something that happens. Again, we don’t think taking hours to find the perfect spot is critical.

For those that want to have a good spot, think about investing in a dessert party for the fireworks that will give you a designated area to watch from.

Food_Starbucks
Food_Starbucks

Starbucks

This might not be popular, but Starbucks is a big-time waster in Walt Disney World. Often the most extended lines at Walt Disney World are the Starbucks lines in the Parks. We know that coffee is essential to many people in the morning, but save those early morning hours waiting in line for your coffee.

Disney has coffee in all their hotel rooms if you need coffee to start your day. Alternatively, you could use mobile from the quick-service location at your Disney Resort or flex your coffee option and try Joffrey’s Coffee instead of Starbucks, as their lines are typically much shorter.

For those of you who are huge coffee fans, head into your vacation with a plan so you don’t waste time standing in line for coffee when you can ride rides with lower wait times.

WaltDisneyWorld Bus
credit: Disney Tips

Park Hopping

For Guests who choose to add Park Hopping to their tickets, this can’t be done until 2 pm. Because of this, many might not believe this option is the best option for them. We recommend thinking through Park Hopping to determine if it would work well for you and your travel party.

Park Hopping can make sense for those days you plan to take a break back at your Walt Disney World Resort anyway because you are already planning transportation time. If you have days where you are planning to stay in the Park all day, Park hopping can take thirty to sixty or more minutes out of your day. With limited time at Disney, you might not want to spend that traveling between Parks.

Time is money when it comes to your Walt Disney World vacation. You don’t want to waste time on experiences that won’t add to your trip. Be aware of these so you can determine if they will add to your trip or if it is something that you will want to skip during your Walt Disney World vacation. There is so much to enjoy from rides, shows, characters, and dining that you won’t get it all in. Don’t miss out on experiences because you waste time somewhere along the way.

 

Jennifer Retzlaff

Jennifer became a lifelong Disney fan during her first trip to Walt Disney World in 6th grade. From that moment, Disney became a big part of her life. She quickly started to introduce her love of Disney to her family with a Disney honeymoon and then family trips when her youngest was 18 months old. She loves the magic that Disney brings to people through theme parks, cruises, and adventures. As a teacher, she tries to bring Disney magic into her classroom to help kids believe that “If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It.” She is also part of the Magic Vacation Planner team as a personal travel advisor. With this team, she can now help others plan magical vacations. She loves bringing her love to Disney to readers with How to Disney.

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