#park tips

It's from the UK to the USA, so you can be specific! It can be park tips for disney or universal or just learning about my preflight rituals!

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Orlando Theme Park Tips & Tricks to Save Your Sanity

Orlando Theme Park Tips & Tricks

There's no arguing that the Orlando theme parks are fantastic, but there's nothing like a lack of preparation and planning to lessen your experience. Here are some of our top Orlando theme park tips to get you through the parks with maximum enjoyment and minimum stress.

#1 Purchase Tickets in Advance

Never, ever purchase tickets at the gate. There's no good reason to delay getting your tickets and plenty of great reasons to get them in advance.

Online prices will be cheaper than the gate price (unless it's a single day ticket)

You won't have to wait in line at the entrance

Orlando Theme Park Tips - Get tickets early

If you arrive at Universal Orlando without a ticket, you can still purchase in advance to get $20 reduced on the gate price. Just call or buy online, even if you are right there at the gate.

As for Disney tickets, by purchasing tickets in advance, you will be able to make use of the Fast Pass Plus system, which takes us to Orlando theme park tips #2:

#2 Make Use of Disney's Fast Pass+

As soon as you have purchased your tickets, register on StartYourDisneyExperience.com or download the My Disney Experience App. You can reserve time slots 30 days in advance. (60 if you're in a Disney hotel). Disney's "Fast Pass Plus" program is totally free, so do make use of it. It can be a huge time saver.

You can reserve time slots for up to 3 attractions per day. You will be given a 1 hour time slot to skip the stand-by line and head towards the front of the line. Once you have completed your 3rd reservation, you can add more using the Disney App or at the FastPass Kiosks in the parks. You can't add any more until you've completed that third one though, so do plan accordingly.

Orlando Theme Park Tips - make use of Disney's FastPass - it's FREE!

Try and plan while looking at a theme park map so you are not zig zagging all over the park to get to attractions on time.

See our Guide: 9 Easy Steps to Disney's FastPass+

#3 Consider a Universal ExpressPass

Unlike Disney, the Universal Express Pass is not free, so you need to do some research to see if it's the right option for you. It really depends on the time of year you are visiting and how much value you want to place on time. Take a look at our Guide to Universal Express Pass

Universal offer two options to help you skip to the front of the lines. ExpressPass allows you to bypass the lines on each ride once, ExpressPassUnlimited allows you to bypass the lines as often as you like.

Orlando Theme Park Tips - Universal's Express Pass might save time if you do your homework

Depending on how many days you are going, make sure you compare bundles that already include the ExpressPass, it can give you considerable savings.

Prices vary on different days, so check the Universal Website.

If you are staying in one of our vacation homes, ask us about our secret tip for Express Passes. There are some Orlando theme parks tips that we only share with our guests 🙂

#4 Photograph Your Tickets

As soon as you get your theme park tickets, take a digital image of the back clearly showing the bar code and details. This will be essential if you ever lose your ticket or need replacements for any reason.

Once you've photographed the tickets, email the images to yourself and someone else in your group. That way, if your phone gets lost or damaged, you will have a back up record of the ticket information.

Although not obliged to, the theme parks will generally replace lost or stolen tickets and issue new ones. The old ones will be voided, so if anyone does try to use them, they may show up as "possibly stolen".

There may be a replacement fee, but hopefully your tickets will be replaced for zero cost.

Purchase receipts generally don't show the actual pass numbers or the details needed to issue replacements. If the receipt shows the serial number from the back of the ticket, then you're good to go.

#5 NEVER, EVER Buy Cheap Tickets

The general rule is there's no such thing as a cheap Disney or Universal ticket. If they are cheap, they are cheap for a reason. They will either have a timeshare presentation tied to them or they may be even be illegal.

There is very little room for profit on the theme park tickets, so most authorized sellers tend to be similar in price, but do read the small print for delivery fees, admin and taxes, which can all bump the cost up. If a ticket is being offered for much lower than all the other sources, then check, double check and check again the reason why.

How to spot fake Theme Park Tickets or Scams:

An authorized ticket outlet will never use the word Disney in the URL - it's illegal to do so. Unless of course it is Disney themselves!

It is illegal to sell part used tickets - if you see them advertised run a mile. Tickets with unused days are not allowed to be resold. You will more than likely be refused entry if you try to use a ticket belonging to someone else.

Disney do not allow anyone to advertise discounted 1 Day tickets. If you see any single day tickets with a discount, it will be fake.

No expiration tickets were discontinued in 2015 and are no longer available. Be very wary if you see them advertised. (Guests who already purchased non-expiry tickets will be honored).

Be very wary of tickets on Ebay or Craigslist. If the Ebay seller has a low or zero rating, then steer clear.

Beware of Facebook Scams offering free Disney or Universal tickets if you share the post. Official Facebook pages have blue circle ticks next to the names to prove they are verified and genuine. If there's no tick, it's not a genuine Disney or Universal website. Of course other sites may be offering a genuine competition, but if they pretend to be Disney or Universal, or any other official website, you need check carefully before sharing or liking pages to win tickets.

Official theme park Facebook pages will have the blue verification tick next to their name

#6 Get to Disney Early and Split The Day

This is one of our favorite Orlando theme park tips. A day at Disney can be exhausting for adults and kids. If you are heading to any of the Disney parks, splitting the day will help keep your stamina and give your tired and aching feet a rest. We're so close to Disney, heading back to one of our Orlando vacation homes during the day is effortless.

Not only are there spectacular fireworks at Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios, there are also evening activities at Animal Kingdom too. You need to save some energy for some of the evening activities, so breaking the day is essential. And Disney Springs is a must!

Getting to the parks early means the crowds will be lower too. You can leave early afternoon when the crowds and lines start to get crazy.

Breaking the day gives you time to:

Give the kids an afternoon nap

Have a cooling swim

Enjoy precious downtime together

Eat without paying the inflated theme park prices

Head back for fireworks and evening events feeling fully refreshed

Give those tired feet a well-earned rest

Talking of aching feet...

#7 Wear Comfortable Footwear

This is one of our Orlando theme park tips that will save you pain! A trip to a theme park ain't no walk in the park. You'll be on your feet for hours and hours. Those tootsies will take a pounding, so take care of them and they'll last the distance.

There's no fashion police patrolling here. Clothes for comfort is the dress code. Leave those shiny new shoes at home and pack those old dependable worn in sneakers.

Orlando Theme Park Tips - Don't end up looking like this!

So how far will you walk? The "average" is around 8-10 miles a day from the parking lot, around the theme parks and back again. It could be several miles more if you do the whole park, it could be less if you stick to the main routes.

But whatever your plans include, you'll be walking miles and miles, so plan footwear accordingly.

If you visit in the wet summer season, you are guaranteed afternoon shower bursts most days, so stick to footwear that dries quickly. Many swear by flip-flops or crocs.

#8 Take Snacks

This is one of our favorite money-saving Orlando theme park tips. Food and snacks in the theme parks is not only expensive, it's often pretty unhealthy too. You can take food into the parks, so pack some snacks to keep you going. You can't take anything that needs heating, you can't take cool boxes and you can't take glassware (apart from jars of baby food).

Take some snacks with you

#9 Work Your Way Backwards

Studies have shown that most people turn left when they enter a park and work their way around clockwise. Do the opposite and head straight to the back of the park and work you way around in the opposite direction to the crowd. You could even head right to the back of the park and work your way around from there, avoiding even more crowds.

#10 Have a Phone and Camera Back-Up

No doubt you'll be snapping away all day to capture those precious images on your camera or phone. You'll also be using your phone for park apps to keep up with wait times, fastpasses, routes and a whole range of things. All these will be a drain on your battery.

Make sure you always carry a spare battery or portable charger so you'll never be out of battery. And set your phone to battery saving mode.

Device Charging Options at Disney: If you do get caught short on battery, there are several locations in the Disney parks and Disney Springs where you can purchase a Fuel Rod. These sticks will power a phone for up to 8 hours of talk time, or up to 4 hours of usage on your smart phone, iPhone or tablet. Adapters for both Android and Apple devices are included. Once the Fuel Rod is empty, you can either re-charge it or swap it out for a new one free of charge.The Fuel-Rod costs $30 and is available at these locations:

Magic Kingdom: Tomorrowland Light and Power | Peco Bill's | Curtain Call Collectibles | Big Top Souvenirs |

EPCOT: World Showcase entrance: Disney Traders | Future World: Camera Center | International Gateway: New Traveler

Animal Kingdom: Island Mercantile

Hollywood Studios: Celebrity 5 & 10 | Rock Around The Shop

Disney Springs: DisneyQuest | Marketplace Disney Photo Imaging | Sundries

Disney also have several free device charging stations:

There are plenty of outlets around the parks to plug in and charge up, including baby care centers, rest areas and many restaurants. Guest Services at all locations will allow you to leave your phone with them to charge as long as you have your cable. They'll give you a claim ticket to get your phone back.

Here are some charging locations in the parks

Magic Kingdom: Kingdom Crossing | Tomorrowland Power & Light | Tangled Toilets | Big Top Rest Area | Columbia Harbor House | City Hall | Main St Station

Epcot: Innoventions West | Exit of Soarin' | The Land Pavillion | Living Seas Restroom | Norway Pavillion | Morocco Pavillion

Animal Kingdom: Pizzafari | Disney Outfitters

Hollywood Studios: Restrooms at Toy Story Mania | ABC Commissary |

Device Charging Options at Universal Orlando: If you find yourself low on battery in Universal, you can rent a Go Puck portable charger which has a 1 amp and 2.1 amp output. The rental fee is $25 for the day, or $12.50 after 3pm. An $80 hold will be placed on your card, or you can purchase one for $80.

The Go Puck Chargers are available at these locations:

Universal Studios: Men in Black Gift Shop

Islands of Adventure: Island Traders Market located at Port of Entry

Device Charging at SeaWorld: Seaworld offer 2 Relax & Recharge stations where you can plug in and power up. It's a free service and you'll find one charging station at Nautilus Theater and a second located between the Manta and Journey to Atlantis rides.

#11 Protect Your Phone

Take a zip-lock bag to put your phone into if you go on any water rides. Some of them can be pretty wet! A Zip lock bag will keep your phone nice and dry during the ride.

#12 Remember Where You Park!

Take an image with your phone or camera of the row and section of where you park. The theme parks make it a little easier to remember by naming the parking sections after memorable characters.

Orlando Theme Park Tips - Don't forget where you park

It can be a daunting prospect trying to find your car hidden between thousands of others if you forgot where you parked 8 hours earlier! A snapshot from hours earlier will make it easy to find.

#13 Orlando Theme Park Tips to Cut Down Wait Times

Single Rider Line: If you don't mind splitting up, use the Single Rider Lines to cut down wait time in the lines. You might even get on the same ride or same row.

Child Swap/Rider Switch: Most rides offer the option for parents to leave younger children with another adult party member while they go have fun on the ride. Once over, they swap places and the second adult gets to ride without having to wait in line again. The older kids will get to ride twice, which they will love! Child Swap is at Universal and Rider Switch is at Disney.

Ride During Parades & Fireworks: Attractions in Disney will be much quieter during the parades and firework shows. If you've seen the parades already, then head for the popular attractions for shorter wait times.

#14 Pack a Poncho

Perfect for summer storms and wet rides. If you're staying in one of our Orlando Vacation Homes, you'll find plenty of poncho's to use at the parks. You can get them from the local stores much cheaper than from the parks. They are lightweight, small and easy to carry around, so keep them on you at all times for those surprise showers and get-soaked rides.

So now you have some vital Orlando theme park tips, we hope it helps make your vacation awesome. If you have any tips of your own, we'd love to hear comments below!

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