How to Avoid Long Lines at Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World is a popular vacation destination, and with so many visitors flocking to Disney every year, the lines for attractions, shows and characters can get long. But if you plan ahead, you can spend more of your vacation having fun and less time waiting. Here are some tips for avoiding long lines at Walt Disney World:

Disney's FastPass System

Outside many popular rides at Walt Disney World you will see kiosks for Disney's FastPass System. When you insert your park ticket or resort key card into the kiosk, you will receive a printed ticket with a 10 minute window telling you when to return to the ride, cutting the long wait. When your time has come, you will go to the ride and enter the marked FastPass queue which is significantly shorter than the standard ride line. You may get to walk right on to the ride, or, if it is one of the most popular rides you may have a 10 to 15 minute wait. You can only have one active FastPass at a time, that pass will need to expire before you can get one at another ride, so choose wisely and start getting your FastPasses early in the day.

Extra Magic Hours

If you are staying in the Disney resorts on the property, you will have the added bonus of Extra Magic Hours, time for resort guests only when certain parks open one hour early or stay open 3 hours later. Because this time is exclusive to Disney resort guests, the lines are much shorter and many popular rides are no wait at all. Only certain attractions are open during Extra Magic Hours, and more attractions stay open late rather than open early. This is also a great time to meet the characters walking around the parks without waiting in long lines.

For early Extra Magic Hours, you will simply need to go to the park an hour before it opens and show your resort key/park ticket to get in, for evening Extra Magic Hours you will need to be in a designated location in the park before closing to receive a wristband. Extra Magic Hours do count as an admission on your park tickets, so if you do not have a Park Hopping ticket and can not go to multiple parks on a single day, make sure you plan your itinerary around Extra Magic Hours.

The Epcot Secret Entrance

If you are arriving at Epcot by bus or monorail from the parking lots, you will be dropped off at the main entrance by Future World. However, there is a little known park entrance across the lake in the World Pavilion, one which very few people use and almost never has a line. If you are staying at one of the Epcot resorts, there is a walkway by the Boardwalk Inn resort, and it is only a short walk to reach this back entrance.

From Disney Studios, you can catch the Friendship boat which runs every 20 minutes and will also drop you off right outside Epcot's back entrance. The boat stops at the resorts around Crescent Lake including the Yacht Club, Boardwalk Inn and the Swan and Dolphin, and is a great way to get a little quiet time and enjoy the lake during the day and avoid the lines at Epcot's main entrance.

Character Breakfasts

Lines to meet characters in Walt Disney World can be just as long as the lines for the rides. Character meals where the characters visit each table for autographs and pictures are an easy way to get around those lines and meet a bunch of characters at once. But if you're really wanting to cut your line wait down, there are character breakfasts inside the Walt Disney World parks that will get you in before the park opens.

Cinderella's Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom is the hardest reservation of all the character meals in Walt Disney World, and to get the most out of it, you will want to make the first available reservation at 8 a.m. by calling exactly 180 days in advance immediately at 7 a.m. eastern time. If you don't get the Cinderella breakfast, then you can always try for the 8 a.m. Crystal Palace Breakfast with Pooh and friends, also in the Magic Kingdom .

As long as the park is not running early Extra Magic hours that morning, you will be able to enter the park before it opens to any other guests. You can enjoy your breakfast, take pictures while the park is empty, and then, about 5 to 10 minutes before the park opens, get in line for one of the popular attractions. Dumbo the Flying Elephant, for example, has one of the most notoriously long lines at Walt Disney World and is a must-ride for most guests. After breakfast, just stroll over to the ride queue and avoid the line completely.

Fantasmic Dinner Package

The Fantasmic show at Disney-MGM Studios is one of the most exciting live shows at Walt Disney World, and it's very popular. Most guests wait on average one to one and a half hours just to get into the pavilion and find a seat. However, 3 restaurants in Disney-MGM Studios, the Brown Derby, Mama Melrose and Hollywood and Vine offer Fantasmic dinner packages that include a reserved seating pass at the Fantasmic amphitheater. You can make these reservations as early as 180 days in advance, and be sure to specify that you want the Fantasmic package when placing your reservation. About 30 minutes before the show, go to the designated pass entrance and find a seat in the reserved section. You still have about a 30 minute wait, but if Fantasmic is something you absolutely don't want to miss, the dining package is the way to do it.

No one wants to waste precious vacation time waiting in a ride queue. Less lines in Walt Disney World means more time enjoying your Disney vacation with your family and friends, so plan ahead and get the most out of your trip.