Just like spending hours on a TSA check line, waiting on a line at Walt Disney World is a sad, inevitable truth. Before your trip is over, you’ll have waited on so many lines that you’ll wonder how you managed to fit so many activities into your trip in the first place. Even with your three FastPasses a day, you are still in for some waiting.
We understand the urge to grab the nearest cast member, shake them, and ask them why the heck the line hasn’t moved yet, but we suggest instead using the line to your advantage. You’re stuck for an average of at least 20 minutes, which means that you have almost half an hour of time to be productive.
Here are our favorite ways to waste time on long lines that could actually save you time later in the day.
Modify Your Itinerary
Thanks to the My Disney Experience app, you can now schedule and modify every aspect of your trip from your phone. Instead of checking work emails or playing another round of Crossy Road, use your line time to schedule more FastPasses, check show schedules, and even see what the other ride wait times are in your area. That way when you finally ride your ride, you know exactly what to head towards next without having to stop and regroup post-ride.
Play With the Interactive Queue
Disney knows that you are spending a lot of time waiting, so they have been adding interactive games and activities on some of their queue lines, including the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Soarin' Around the World, Space Mountain, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and the Haunted Mansion. Now your kids have something to distract themselves with instead of begging for your phone to play video games.
Soarin' features an in-queue game
Check For Last Minute Reservations
Remember that really popular restaurant that was all booked up when you were making dinner reservations a few months ago? (we’re looking at you, Be Our Guest Restaurant…) Well, now is a great time to check and see what tables have opened up for the day. Disney is usually pretty good about putting recently dropped tables up for grabs on their app, but you can also call and ask a cast member if you aren’t sure.
Do Your Souvenir Shopping
The Disney Parks shopping app allows you to buy all of your souvenirs without having to step foot in a store. Sure, the stores are fun to walk through, but there are some things that are too big to bring home or that you don’t want to carry around with you all day. By ordering on the app, you can have them sent to directly to your home, or you can pinpoint where an exact item is located in the park, like that Dory mug you loved in that one store but haven’t been able to find anywhere else.
Eat Snacks
Thankfully, you can bring light snacks in most lines, so you can eat a quick mid-afternoon snack while you wait. There are usually garbage cans on the lines or at the end of the line for you to throw away packaging, and it saves you time because after you exit the ride, you can head to another attraction instead of stopping, picking a restaurant, and then waiting on a line there to be seated or served.
However, we should warn you that you should not eat before getting on thrill rides, rides that spin a lot, or rides that have lots of drops for obvious reasons. If you’re unsure of what to expect on the ride, ask a cast member before buying your snack and getting on line.