Disney World is a big place with a lot of moving parts. As a result, Disney World hacks are super helpful for any trip.
If you’ve done any kind of planning or research, you may find yourself impressed and/or overwhelmed at the sheer scale of information to consider.
To help you get the most of your trip, I put together my top ten Disney World hacks.
Let’s dive in!
Side note: This page does contain affiliate links, which means if you make a reservation or purchase something using the links on this page, I may get a small commission. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps keep this site running. Thank you!
You can apply new deals and discounts even if you already booked your trip
A lot of people think you should wait to book your trip until there’s a good deal or discount running, but this isn’t true.
You should absolutely keep an eye on the special offers page on Disney’s website, but the reality is, you can apply any new deal or offer to any trip you’ve already booked.
All you have to do is call Disney back up and they’ll help you make this happen.
In some cases, they’ll be able to apply the deal to your existing reservation. In others, they may have to cancel your reservation and rebook, but this comes at no additional cost to you.
This is a really good hack to keep in mind if you have specific dates you want to be in Disney for or if you know there’s a specific resort you want to stay at.
This way you can book as soon as you know your dates–whether or not there’s a deal–so you won’t miss out.
A Disney Photographer will take your picture for free
You don’t need to ask a stranger to take your picture in Disney World!
Disney has photographers stationed all over the parks, and they will take your picture, with your camera, for free. All you have to do is ask.
However, they do have their own cameras, and they’ll want to take some pictures of their own. But you are under no obligation to purchase any photo they take.
Book your FastPasses for early in the day and get more!
Everyone has the option to book three FastPasses prior to their trip.
If you’re staying at a Disney resort, you can book 60 days in advance. If you’re staying off property, you can book 30 days in advance.
What you may not know is that once you use those three FastPasses, you can book another one. And once you use that one, you can book another.
You can keep booking FastPasses like this until the park closes, or they run out.
As a result, one of the most helpful Disney World Hacks is to book your FastPasses for earlier in the day (say, anywhere from late morning to mid-afternoon).
This way you’ll have the chance to book as many additional FastPasses as possible.
Options are, of course, more limited the day-of, but you should always keep checking the My Disney Experience app.
People make changes on the fly all the time, so you might be able to scoop up a bonus FastPass on an in-demand ride.
For more on Disney’s FastPasses, check out this post.
Hang out in the park after the fireworks
Most people tend to head for the exits after the fireworks. This leads to long lines and waits at Disney Transportation stations and congested traffic getting out of the parking lots.
Instead, hanging around the parks for a little while. Stores tend to stay open for an hour or two after park closing, so you can do some shopping, or even just sit on a bench, snap some photos, or walk around and enjoy a quieter park.
Then, head home when the lines have died down.
You can visit the resorts!
A lot of people don’t know that you can visit Disney Resorts even if you aren’t staying there.
This is a great thing to do if you don’t have a park ticket for every day on your vacation, or if you’re looking for something to do on your arrival or departure days.
You can use Disney Transportation to get to any resort. And while you can’t make use of the pool or other similar amenities, there are a lot of activities you can participate in, even if you’re not a guest at that resort.
Bring a filtered water bottle
This is one of the Disney World hacks I get thanked for a lot!
There’s no real reason to buy overpriced bottled water in Disney World. There are plenty of water fountains and bottle refill stations around the parks.
Beyond that, any counter service location will give you a cup of free water if you ask.
However, cups aren’t always convenient to carry around and Flordia water can have a little bit of a weird taste to some people if you’re not used to it.
Instead, get yourself a Brita sport filtered water bottle. The sport bottles are lightweight, and can be tossed easily into a bag or backpack. And the filter means you can fill it up at any water fountain or bottle refill station and know it’s fresh.
Catch the start of the parade
One of the best times to ride rides is during the parade. This is because most people are at the parades, so wait times are reduced.
But at the same time, Disney parades are pretty awesome, and I for one, hat to miss them.
To get the best of both worlds, ask a Cast Member where the parade starts, and do you best to get to that spot. (For Magic Kingdom’s Festival of Fantasy Parade, it usually starts in Frontier Land/Liberty Square, but always ask to be sure).
This will give you the advantage of seeing the parade first and getting to the end of the parade before most visitors have even seen the start. Then you can book it to your favorite ride while the rest of the park enjoys the rest of the parade.
Use Merchandise Pick-up
Carrying around your purchases can be a pain. Especially if you bought something bigger, bulkier, or breakable.
Luckily, Disney has a solution for this! When you make a purchase in a Disney World Park, you can ask the cast member checking you out about Merchandise Pick-up.
If you’re staying in a Disney World resort, you can have your purchase sent back to your resort to be picked up the following day.
If you’re staying off property or leaving the following day, you can have your package sent to a location at the front of the park to be picked up on your way out.
For more on how to use Merchandise Pick up, check out this post.
For good last-minute dining, check out the resorts — especially for lunch
Some of the most overlooked restaurants in Disney World are the ones at the resorts.
Every moderate and deluxe resort has table service restaurants, and many are a great last-minute dining option. This is especially true for lunch.
Since most people head the parks for the day, the resorts are usually pretty empty. This includes a lot of their restaurants.
And since it gets pretty hot in the middle of the day majority of the year, taking a break and getting out of the parks for a few hours when the heat is typically the worst is rarely a bad idea.
Check-in at your Disney resort with My Disney Experience
If you’re staying at a Disney World Resort, you can skip the front desk entirely and use the My Disney Experience App to check in to your hotel.
When you open the app, you should be prompted pretty prominently on the screen to do so.
You’ll also have the option to make any room requests.
You’ll get a text and an alert in your app when your room is ready. This will include your room number and location.
Then you can go right to your room and use your magic band to get inside when you get to your resort!
For more Disney World tips and tricks, check out the other Disney World Posts!
Sound off: What are some of your favorite Disney World Hacks? Tell us about it in the comments!