The most important tip that I pass on to all Disney travelers is the importance of being at the park prior to opening.
Any Disney veteran knows it is "rope drop" or bust! To illustrate this point, I used some standard wait times and used them to calculate an average wait for a 1 hour period during the day.
I selected "average" day from a crowd perspective and chose 10 attractions in Magic Kingdom and calculated the average wait time for those attractions.
The first hour the park was open, the combined wait for the 10 selected attractions was only 24 minutes.
The second hour, the wait jumped to 56 total minutes.
That extra hour in bed comes with the cost of almost twice the wait! For you extra relaxed park goers who sleep in, eat a late brunch and then head off to play around noon may want to rethink your plans.
The same 10 attractions have a combined average wait time of over 163 minutes! Almost seven times longer than the early birds had.
I know many of you have picked up on the fallacy of my illustration...
you cannot do 10 attractions in an hour and the wait time incrementally increases as you go! Of, course you are correct.
I am not suggesting that this is any sort of a feasible touring plan.
This is just a quick snapshot of the numbers to prove that wait times stack up during the day.
So get there early, people! To make sure you arrive on time (and by on time I mean 30 minutes prior to park opening):
I take a moment to review my touring plan (I'm coming, Dumbo!) and get ready for a great day.
And you know what?...
I don't miss my nice cozy bed one bit!
Any Disney veteran knows it is "rope drop" or bust! To illustrate this point, I used some standard wait times and used them to calculate an average wait for a 1 hour period during the day.
I selected "average" day from a crowd perspective and chose 10 attractions in Magic Kingdom and calculated the average wait time for those attractions.
The first hour the park was open, the combined wait for the 10 selected attractions was only 24 minutes.
The second hour, the wait jumped to 56 total minutes.
That extra hour in bed comes with the cost of almost twice the wait! For you extra relaxed park goers who sleep in, eat a late brunch and then head off to play around noon may want to rethink your plans.
The same 10 attractions have a combined average wait time of over 163 minutes! Almost seven times longer than the early birds had.
I know many of you have picked up on the fallacy of my illustration...
you cannot do 10 attractions in an hour and the wait time incrementally increases as you go! Of, course you are correct.
I am not suggesting that this is any sort of a feasible touring plan.
This is just a quick snapshot of the numbers to prove that wait times stack up during the day.
So get there early, people! To make sure you arrive on time (and by on time I mean 30 minutes prior to park opening):
- Be sure to set your alarm clock.
(duh!) - Schedule a wake up call..
it serves as a great back up.
Let you kids answer the phone to enjoy a great character moment. - Allow 45 minutes to an hour for transportation.
Mornings are a busy time for Disney transportation, and that first bus might be full! - Once you arrive, allow 15 minutes to get through security.
- If you are staying off property allow plenty of time for traffic, parking, taking a tram to the TTC, getting tickets if necessary, and then taking the monorail or ferry to the Magic Kingdom.
I take a moment to review my touring plan (I'm coming, Dumbo!) and get ready for a great day.
And you know what?...
I don't miss my nice cozy bed one bit!
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