Some Great Tips for Avoiding the Orlando, Florida Crowds

Orlando Florida is the number one tourist destination in the United States. Unfortunately that popularity comes along with a price, crowds. Nothing is worse than spending a small fortune only to realize that once you have arrived, you are going to spend your whole vacation fighting crowds and standing in line. In this article I will outline some strategies that you can use to beat the crowds.

One of the most important things to consider is the time of the year that you chose to visit Orlando. The absolute worst time for crowds is the summer months. This is what is known as peak season. You are all but guaranteed to run into crowds at every attraction, no matter what you do. Try to visit in October, or January if you can.

When you arrive in the theme parks, try to resist getting on the first ride that you see as soon as you enter the park. Most people are excited and want to ride something immediately. A perfect example of this is the Spaceship Earth attraction at Disney's Epcot Center. Usually as soon as the gates open, everyone mobs the attraction since it is the first thing you encounter upon entering the park. The best thing to do is to walk as deep into the park as you can, before you select an attraction. Then work your way backwards towards the entrance. This is counter to how the majority of people tour the park, and will shorten your wait time.

Avoid visiting Disney's Magic Kingdom on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Saturday and Sunday are bad because everyone who lives nearby "locals", visit on the weekend, usually mobbing the park. Monday is bad because most out of town visitors travel on the weekends and start their vacation on Mondays. When they start their vacations they always want to start it with the most famous theme park of all, the Magic Kingdom - creating huge crowds.

Avoid any theme park, which has an early opening day. Early opening days are days where the theme park opens early for resort guests. Generally this attracts large crowds to the theme park beyond those, which would normally be there - packing the park.

Besides all of the above advice, what can you do, if you find yourself in a theme park, and it is just crowded? There are somethings that you can do, no matter what time or day you visit. First, keep in mind that crowds have a tendency to flow and to react to events going on in the theme parks. If you see an attraction has a long line, pass it by and try some other neighboring attractions. It could be that a parade just finished, or a show let out, and it created a large crowd in an area where there normally wouldn't be any. Sometimes timing is key. Another great idea is to get a Disney fast pass. This is basically a timed ticket, which will allow you to come back at a specified time, and bypass the crowd waiting to get on the attraction. Unfortunately you are usually limited to one fast pass ticket at a time. But it can be a great way to cut down on the crowds on a very popular headliner attraction.

No matter what - remember that you are on vacation. If you find the parks too crowded, you might just want to head back to your hotel room and take an afternoon break or a dip in your hotel pool. It is also a good idea to schedule a "down" day or two in your vacation plan. This way you can avoid the theme parks and enjoy some of the other recreation options at Disney or at your resort.