2025 Disney Trip: 8 Essential Time-Saving Tips

Hello, dear readers! Soon, families, friends, couples, etc., will begin planning their 2025 Disney trip, so today I am sharing my eight essential time-saving tips. If you’ve been following along on my blog journey so far, you know that I consider Disneyland my “home park.” It was my recent trip to Epcot (my NOT home park) that inspired me to finally sit my butt down and build this website because that place was a whole different ballgame!

As much as we tried to enjoy the day as if we were strolling through a carnival, it took some strategy and planning for us to get all of our must-ride rides and must-eat eats in, which is fine because I’ve always been a firm believer that there’s a particular skill involved when it comes to enjoying Disney parks.

Anyways, all that to say that I just published my “18 Time-Saving Tips for Visiting Disney Parks” e-book and wanted to share eight of those tips here, because with the crowd level these days, every little effort helps:

1. This first tip applies to the Disneyland Resort, not Disney World, but while most people automatically default to parking at the Mickey and Friends lot and taking the tram, the Toy Story lot is much faster. It may seem like Mickey and Friends is the way to go because the distance to the park is shorter, but the trams take a while, and overall, the Toy Story shuttles will get you in and out faster.

2. Use Disney crowd calendars to help determine when to go. I use Magic Guides all of the time, but there are a handful of online Disney crowd calendars you can choose from.

3. Rather than doing walk-up wait lists, you can book Disney dining reservations up to 60 days in advance, and you’ll want to take advantage of that because those dining reservations fill up quickly! If someone in your group has their heart set on eating at a specific sit-down place, do NOT wait until the week before your trip to make your reservation.

Book your reservation as early as possible (set a reminder on your phone), and if it’s not available, check every day for re-openings. Even when it comes to casual dining, getting a reservation in advance is better because the walk-up waitlists can add unnecessary waiting periods to your day.

4. Use third-party websites to get alerts about reservation openings. If you’re trying to get into a really popular place like Be Our Guest and seem to have no luck, you can try free services like Mouse Dining which will send you alerts the second a reservation opens up, but you have to jump on the opportunity quickly!

For the most in-demand places like Space 220, paying for the text notifications may be worth it because even just seeing the email five minutes late can make all the difference (spoken from personal experience, unfortunately).

If all else fails, you can meet with the host when the restaurant opens, and ask if there are any cancellations for the day and if so, they should be able to squeeze you in.

5. Utilize the wait times on the Disney Parks apps. You’ll be using the My Disney Experience app for everything else on your park day because it’s your park ticket, day planner, mobile ordering ticket, etc., but don’t overlook the wait times list! It will update you on how long every attraction line is and if anything’s temporarily closed.

6. Consider purchasing Multi Pass (a.k.a. the new-ish fast pass system). If your budget allows for it, and if you don’t go to Disney parks often, I recommend getting Multi Pass. It will enable you to skip the long lines and take your time throughout the day so that you won’t have to rush. Multi Pass also enables you to book your rides up to three days before your park reservation day.

7. If you decide to get the extra Lighting Lane passes for rides requiring a separate purchase (i.e., Rise of the Resistance, Cosmic Rewind, etc.), get ready to pay for the passes at 7 am EST sharp three days before your park reservation day. Set your alarm for 6:55 am EST and have that credit card ready!

8. Use those magic hours. If you’re staying at a Disney Resort Hotel or at a Disney Good Neighbor hotel, you may be eligible for extra magic hours (early park entrance), so ask about them and enjoy!

What are some of your essential Disney time-saving tips for the new year?

xoxo,

Lily