The holiday season (Nov through early Dec.) is typically one of the best times to visit Orlando theme parks. The kids are still in school, families haven’t yet settled in Orlando for Christmas and special holiday themes at Walt Disney World ® lure guests. But, with all of that being said, the week of Christmas, Dec. 25 – 31 is one of the busiest times of the year. So if you’re planning a Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve celebration at one of Orlando’s many theme parks here are a few tips to keep you sane and having a blast:

PLAN AHEAD - Before you even step foot into Disney ®, SeaWorld Orlando, Universal Orlando, LEGOLAND Florida, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or any other theme park you have to have a plan. Make sure you establish what the top five attractions are that you want to visit and then create an effective way to knock it out. Most important part is to stick to your plan! Also, choose carefully when you decide which day you’ll go to a specific park, so maybe you should go to Animal Studios on Saturday instead of Magic Kingdom, which will hit capacity early on Saturday. Go to Magic Kingdom on a weekday if you can.

ARRIVE EARLY – This tip is useful all year long but especially during Dec. 25 – Dec. 31. Since it is the holidays, the good news is people are bound to sleep in and take their time getting to the parks, so take that opportunity to get ahead of the long lines while the park is still relatively slow. The second everybody is up and ready for an Orlando theme park adventure, the parks, especially Magic Kingdom ® at Walt Disney World ® fill up fast and often times hit capacity, which means you can’t get in, no matter what. We suggest not only getting there early, but staying in the same park all day. Also, if you are staying on Walt Disney World ® property take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours.

GET A FASTPASS, EXPRESS PASS, etc. –Once you arrive early don’t forget to grab a FastPass (Disney ®), Express Pass (Universal) Quick Queue Pass (Busch Gardens) or whatever it is than can be used for later in the day. By the time noon hits the parks will be jam-packed and you’ll be wishing you had easy access to your favorite ride. Here is a list of rides that you’ll want to get a Fastpass for in Disney World.

• Toy Story Mania – Hollywood Studios - Fastpasses are all distributed within a couple hours of opening. If there’s Extra Magic Hours, you’ll have even less time, so if you want to ride Toy Story Mania and don’t want to wait too long; getting this Fastpass first thing in the morning is a must.
• Test Track – Epcot - The New Test Track at Epcot is in demand, just recently reopened this month.
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – Magic Kingdom - At New Fantasyland, the only attraction with a Fastpass is the Journey of the Little Mermaid, so be sure to get your Fastpass. The New Fantasyland has been pretty full since its opening Dec 6th, but it does leave much of the other areas in the park empty. Take advantage of that! And if you can stay late and have Extra Magic Hours, New Fantasyland has better wait times when some kids go to sleep after 10pm.

DINE ON OFF HOURS – Unless you packed your own food, which is a great idea by the way it’s almost guaranteed you’ll have to stop for lunch or dinner at some point. In order to miss the jammed restaurants around lunch and dinner time eat on off-hours like before 11:00 a.m. or after 3:00 p.m. for lunch and between 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. or after 8:00 p.m. for dinner.

DISTRACT THE KIDS – Nobody wants to wait in a long line with a whiny child. Luckily a few attractions, like the new Dumbo the Flying Elephant in the Magic Kingdom ®, Manta at SeaWorld Orlando and The Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios have games in the queue lines to keep the kids occupied while you wait. Those might be the best to hit when the park is super packed.
Here’s a list of some of the more interesting queues:

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – Magic Kingdom – Dumbo has a huge play area and you are given a beeper for when it’s your turn to ride Dumbo.
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Magic Kingdom
• The Haunted Mansion – Magic Kingdom
• Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey – Island of Adventures
• Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – Island of Adventure
• The Revenge of the Mummy – Universal Studios
• Men in Black – Universal Studios
• Manta – SeaWorld
• Turtle Trek – SeaWorld

These are a few good tips for your Holiday travels and wish you have a spectacular Orlando vacation at the theme parks!

Orlando, FL – 12/20/12