Thursday's Tip

My best (and most broad) WDW vacation tip is to be prepared. The more planning you do in advance, the less time you'll spend hemming and hawing once you arrive at the Disney Parks--and the more time you'll have for fun! So this Thursday's Tip is a variation on a theme: prioritize your top attractions and structure your touring plan around them.

Here's an example: On our last trip, the new Little Mermaid and Belle attractions were not yet open in the Magic Kingdom, so those will be at the top of our list. But we'd really also love to try to eat at Be Our Guest. And, of course, we don't want to miss "Mountains" either. Fortunately, our Magic Bands will allow us to pre-select Fastpasses for 3 attractions. Because they were at the top of our list, we chose Journey of the Little Mermaid, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Thunder Mountain Railroad (an old favorite). We've also been able to secure a lunchtime "Fastpass+ Direct to Table" seating for Be Our Guest (it's a pretty cool pre-order setup, and we're excited to see how well it works). With those plans in place, we'll likely head straight for Splash Mountain to get Fastpasses  (or ride) as soon as we enter the park, then continue through the rest of the park and using our pre-selected Fastpasses.

If you aren't lucky enough to have the Magic Bands, head to one of your top destinations to ride first thing in the morning, while another member of your party heads to a different favorite to snag Fastpasses for the group. If you choose the fastest "runner" who knows his or her way around the park, they can likely catch up with you before you even board your first attraction (especially if you're lugging small children and/or strollers, etc.). That way, you're sure to at least conquer your two top attractions with little or no wait time.

The worst mistake you can make is deciding to wait until the line dies down at your must-see attraction. It likely won't happen, if it's a popular one, and Fastpasses might be gone for the entire day before 10 a.m. To avoid disappointment, structure your day around your favorites or the most popular attractions, and add in the rest once you have those secured.