Being a three-day weekend and the final blowout before fall officially begins, Labor Day Weekend always brings in huge crowds to Walt Disney World ®, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando, and other Orlando theme parks. If you’re planning a trip to the theme park mecca of the world this weekend, here are a few tips to ensure you get the most out of your Orlando theme park experience:

Get there early – Kind of a no-brainer, getting to the theme park early ensures you skip a few long lines. Plus if you hit up your favorite rides before the crowds take over, when the crowds do hit you’ll have already packed in a few popular rides so you can head to the less popular attractions or shows to keep dodging those lines. The back of the park is usually empty when the park opens.

Grab a parade spot – Parades are always a popular attraction at theme parks but with a three-day weekend comes loads of families looking to catch all of the family-friendly rides and attractions. Make sure you check out the parade schedules as soon as you arrive and grab a good viewing spot well before the parade begins. This is especially true at both Universal Studios and Walt Disney World ® as the new Superstar Parade and Main Street Electrical Parade, which returns to Magic Kingdom ® on Sept. 1 are sure to lure in Labor Day crowds.

Catch a Show - Parks hit their peak around 1PM, so it’s the best time to catch a show. SeaWorld has plenty of great shows from One Ocean and Clyde & Seamore Take Pirate Island to A’lure, The Call of the Ocean and Pets Ahoy! At Disney’s Hollywood Studios ®, there’s Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage and Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy. Also, you won’t want to miss Captain Jack Sparrow's Pirate Tutorial in Adventureland in Magic Kingdom ®.

Stay late – This may be difficult with families with kids but if you can try and stay as long as you can at the park. Guests tend to slowly leave as night falls, leaving rides and attractions available as well as some exciting nighttime shows like the new Cinematic Spectacular at Universal Studios and IllumiNations at Epcot ®.

Stay on Labor Day – Labor Day guests tend to get to Orlando theme parks on Friday and leave on Monday in order to get home in time for school and work on Tuesday. If you can, try and take advantage of this, and make Labor Day the day you spend at an Orlando theme parks. The crowds will be significantly less, leaving you plenty of time to explore the new Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom ®, Freshwater Oasis at Discovery Cove, Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem at Universal Studios and much more.

If you plan on visiting Downtown Disney ® this Labor Day Weekend, make sure you stop by Raglan Road for their Great Irish Hooley now through Sept. 3. The Irish restaurant famous for it’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities will be celebrating Labor Day with music, dances and plenty of family fun including face painting and dance workshops.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend! We’ll see you right back here on Tuesday.

Orlando, FL 08/31/12