If Disney World is within driving distance for you, you might find some of these tips helpful.
Disney World is a busy place and filled with many travelers. Of course we all want to do everything at Disney, but the reality is that it is expensive. A current Park Hopper pass for all all of the 4 main theme parks runs around $130 after tax. Meanwhile, a single park pass runs around $110 after tax. If you do not plan on spending your day at just one theme park, I highly recommend purchasing a Park Hopper pass.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Disney system, hopping around from park to park, is completely do-able. However, you need to have somewhat of a plan. You do not need to be one of those people that has every piece of your day planned out, but you should have a starting point and an ending point. Disney makes this incredible convenient by offering transportation to and from each park. If you know where you want to start your day and where you want to end it, you can plan out bus times to make your inter-park traveling much easier.
My biggest tip is always to start at Animal Kingdom. They have recently added a night show that is well-worth watching, however in the morning is when you will see most of the animals out and about on the Safari ride. Animal Kingdom is also the least crowded park out of the four parks at Disney. It offers many attractions, but the big 3 are Everest, Safari, and Dinosaur. These 3 rides offer shorter lines than any other attractions throughout the parks, and also some single rider options that will expedite your wait while getting on the ride.
Animal Kingdom is easy to walk through and see everything that you want to along the way. Navigating around this park is easy, but make sure that you look at the map before you go.
After Animal Kingdom, the next park that I recommend is Hollywood Studios. This park is very involved and offers more side attractions rather than rides. The streets are setup like Old Hollywood and performers are usually at every section of the park. There are more things to do in this park, so I suggest getting a fast-pass for one of the rides if you can.
Toy Story Mania will most likely have the longest wait time. Rockin' Roller Coaster offers a Single Rider line that you can use to your advantage and ride it back-to-back if you really want. Tower of Terror also usually has a long wait. It is popular, so if you want to ride it, it is just one of those rides that you have to wait for.
After those three rides, you have options such as Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and a few other various shows. Choose the ones that seem the most interesting to you, and if you have had your fill of Hollywood Studios at that time, it is time to move on to the next park.
By far my favorite of the Disney parks, is Epcot. For my age (mid 20s) It offers a great variety of things that I enjoy to do. The World Show Case is enough to make you want to stay in the park all day. But what a lot of other people do not know, is that there is a complete other side to the park that offers just as much thrill and excitement. Test Track and Soarin' are two of my favorite rides at Disney.
Experiencing them alone, is worth the price of admission. They also have long wait times. Disney does an excellent job at distracting you from how long you are actually waiting to ride a ride. They have recently updated Soarin' and the queue for the ride/ Not my favorite queue, but it will keep you occupied for some of your wait. Test Track, on the other hand, offers you an amazing experience in the queue. I will not spoil what the queue is, but it makes the wait time seem very little.
The World Show Case can keep you tied up for hours. At this point in the day, you have to decide what you want to do. Epcot offers an awesome fireworks and light show at night, but it does not trump Wishes at Magic Kingdom. Everyone loves seeing the fireworks over the castle, but if you prefer to end your day in Epcot, then definitely stay for illuminations (Epcot’s show at night.)
The other option to go to Magic Kingdom is a tough decision. Magic Kingdom is the pride and joy of Disney, and by far the busiest park. Unless you have younger children with you, Magic Kingdom isn’t as desirable. If you want to spend the day with Princes and Princesses, then by all means, go to Magic Kingdom earlier. If not, save it for the end.
When you leave Epcot, there is a tram that connects you write to Magic Kingdom. You have to factor in time to go to the transportation station where the tram has a connection, but it is completely do-able to leave Epcot around 7:00P.M. and make it to Magic Kingdom in time for the fireworks.
I hope this is helpful to anyone traveling to the most magical place on earth for the day. If it is your first time to Disney, take your time, this is if you want to get the most bang out of your buck.
