With so much to do at Walt Disney World it can be hard to plan the ultimate Disney Spring Break. With only a week for spring break and 4 major parks at Disney, cramming it all in can be difficult. You’ll need to prioritize you Disney dreams to get it all done. Do you want to ride all the rides? Take the most iconic photos? Drink around the world and try all the food? The list is endless. I’m here to break it down for you so you can cover as much ground as possible on your Disney spring break.
The Breakdown of a Disney Spring Break
Like I said before there is so much to cover at Walt Disney World. I can’t even begin to cover it all in one post, but I’ll try and condense it as much as possible. Also note I have so many other post on Walt Disney World that you can checkout for even more detail. Here I’ll break down the 3 most sought after things on a Disney spring break. Let’s dive in.
Disney World Rides
It is highly recommended that you buy your tickets before you get to Disney. Trust me, you aren’t going to find different prices when you get to Orlando than when you select them online. The advantage of buying your tickets early (and really purchase them as far in advance as you can) is that you’ll be able to access and create fastpasses for some of the most popular rides. The tier system can be a little frustrating but at least fastpasses are free (unlike Universal). The simplest breakdown of tiers is this: You can only book ONE Tier 1 in advance. Tier 2 you can book as many as you’d like (up to 3).
You are allowed to pick 3 fastpasses a day all within the same park. Once you’ve used those three you can then choose and additional fastpass. Once that one has been used you can create another (an so on and so on). Because of this I recommend going to one park a day if you’re focused on hitting all the rides. You’ll be able to use the fastpass system to the fullest then. Below I’ve made a recommendations of which rides you should try and get fastpasses for at each park. I’ve organized them by tier level and average wait times throughout the year.
Magic Kingdom Fastpasses
The major advantage to Magic Kingdom is, they don’t have tiers like the other parks. With over 25 attractions, fastpass selections can be a bit difficult to navigate your top 3. Here are my recommendations.
- Space Mountain: The ultimate classic of Disney. Space Mountain is also celebrating it’s 45th year in 2020, making it even more near and dear to many Disney lovers hearts!
- Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train OR Splash Mountain: This is a toss up for me. 7 Dwarfs is fun but it’s not a must ride in my opinion. It is also still very new which makes it harder to get fastpasses for. A good alternative (and my favorite ride at Disney World) is Splash Mountain.
- Big Thunder Mountain: Another classic roller coaster of Disney. The only reason I recommend this one third is because it generally has the shortest wait times of the roller coasters at Magic Kingdom.
Epcot Fastpasses
Here’s where the tier system starts. It’s honestly such a pain because it really can keep you from getting to ride all the best rides. Below I’ve broken it down by tiers, my personal preferences, and the wait times.
- Tier 1 – Test Track, Soarin’, Frozen:
- For me Test Track will always win by a landslide. It typically has the longest wait time of all the rides and it’s my second favorite ride at Disney World. However, Test Track is also the only of the 3 top tiers at Epcot to have a single rider line. If you don’t mind maybe riding in separate cars I’d do single rider and use your fast pass for Soarin’ or Frozen. *Note: Test Track Reopens from refurbishment at the end of February.
- Soarin’ is a must do but the line typically goes fairly quickly and has some games for you to play while you wait. There are peak times when this line can get longer though. Even with a fastpass you’ll typically wait 20 minutes to get on, which is why I’ve made it my second pick for fastpass selection.
- While I love Frozen, I really do not think it is worth the wait. They took an older ride located in Norway and just threw some Frozen into it. While the conversion was done well I enjoy Test Track and Soarin’ much more. But if you are a die hard Frozen fan, you’ll probably not want to miss it.
- Tier 2 – Every other ride at Epcot.
- Mission Space: The next best ride at Epcot (if you don’t get motion sickness). Mission Space is a simulator that takes you on an adventure across space! This ride offers two experiences, an intense and an easy. If you tend to get motion sickness try the less intense one and you’ll have a blast.
- Spaceship Earth: This is the first ride you will see when you enter Epcot. Because of this the line can get crowded. Every other ride in Epcot I can almost guarantee will have under an hour (probably even under a half hour) wait time. I also recommend going on Spaceship Earth because it rumored to be closing in June 2020 for refurbishment and not open again for 2 years.
Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studios probably has the most messed up tier system at Walt Disney World. However, they have recently made some changes that are a step in the right direction (but still needs some significant improvement). Because the system isn’t the best and with so many recent additions to Hollywood Studios I’d like to reiterate these are my top picks. Please feel free to use your fastpasses however you see fit.
- Tier 1 – Smugglers Run & Slinky Dog Dash.
- Smugglers Run is the clear winner of the two. Slinky Dog Dash has gone done significantly in it’s wait time and if you get there early enough (more on that later) it’ll be at it’s shortest. Smugglers Run on the other hand typically has a longer wait time because it opened with Galaxy’s Edge in August.
- Slinky Dog Dash is really a ride worth waiting for. If the wait time is an hour or less and you like roller coasters then I’d highly recommend waiting for it.
- Tier 2 – Toy Story Mania & Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster & everything else.
- I would personally choose Toy Story Mania as my second fastpass. This is where many have different opinions from me. I’m really not an upside down roller coaster girl so I tend to skip Rock ‘n’ Roller all together. However if you are a roller coaster fan, you will want to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
- Tower of Terror: Many people shy away from this ride because the best way to describe it to someone is by saying drop zone. Rest assured it is very different from any drop zone though. I’ve had multiple people who hate drop zones ride Tower of Terror and love it. I’d recommend you at least give it a shot.
Friendly Hollywood Studios Reminders
With the opening of Galaxy’s Edge and new attractions like Rise of the Resistance and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (Opening March 4th) you will want to get to the park as early as possible. To even have the opportunity to ride Rise of the Resistance you will need to get into a virtual waiting line (called a boarding group). You can only get in this line after you’ve entered the park. AND Disney only allows a certain number of guest to get into a boarding group everyday. With everything new at Hollywood Studios though I promise getting up early will be worth it all.
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom is seriously such an amazing park that I feel like still doesn’t get enough credit even with the opening of Pandora. The tier system is also fantastic at Animal Kingdom making it a top notch park to visit.
- Tier 1 – Avatar Flight of Passage & Na’Vi River Journey
- The clear winner of the two is Flight of Passage. It is seriously an incredible ride and yes, I’d even wait almost 2 hour for it. Na’Vi River Journey however is a boat ride with a lot of fluff. Not to mention it has a much shorter wait time than Flight of Passage.
- Tier 2 – Expedition Everest & Everything else.
- It’s a no brainier when it comes to picking your second fastpass. Expedition Everest is the only roller coaster at the park and even has you ride backwards to escape the Yeti!
- Kilimanjaro Safari OR Kali River Rapids: I love the safari because you can ride it a million times and it’s like a different ride each time. The wait time can get pretty long for both of these attractions so pick which is best for you. Kali River Rapids is a very quick water ride that you will get wet on. The Rapids is not worth waiting in a long line for but is overall not a bad ride if it’s hot outside.
How to Score Multiple Experiences Fastpasses at Animal Kingdom
If you want to be able to get a fastpass for anything in Animal Kingdom at anytime (except for Tier 1 rides) try booking yourself a fastpass for the Dinosaur ride. Dinosaur (sadly) goes down multiple times throughout the day. If you’re willing to take a chance that it will go down during your fastpass time you could score a multiple experiences fastpass. This allows you to get into the fastpass line on any ride in the park at anytime (even if you have another fastpass at that time). Even if Dinosaur stays open all day you won’t regret riding it because it is so fun and exhilarating.
Disney World Walls & Photo Ops
There are so many Instagramable walls and photo locations it’s crazy. I’m sharing just a few of the most iconic Disney World photos and their locations so you can take those photos too.
Cinderellas Castle, Main Street USA, Magic Kingdom
The Purple Wall, Between Tomorrowland Entrance & Tomorowland Terrace, Magic Kingdom.
Bubble Gum Wall, Spaceship Earth Exit, Epcot
Mickey “Fichwa!” Wall, Harambe Market, Animal Kingdom
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Entrance, Hollywood Studios
Must Try Food’s on Your Disney Spring Break
The list of food available at Disney World is endless. And that’s not an exaggeration. They have all your classics theme park foods like burgers, chicken strips, funnel cake, and popcorn. But they aren’t exactly what I’d recommend for food at Disney. Only get popcorn if you need one of the many awesome popcorn buckets they offer (there are a lot). But there are some Disney classics that you just can’t get anywhere else. Here’s my top 3 must have Disney foods.
Mickey Pretzel – Can you even say you went to Disney if you didn’t get one?
Blue/Green Milk – This is a new creation that can be found in Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s more like a smoothie than it is milk. For Star Wars fans blue milk has always been iconic. For Disney fans, it’s become a cult classic since Galaxy’s Edge opened.
Dole Whip Float – Ah, the classic Dole Whip. Dole Whip is pineapple soft serve. It is heavenly good on a hot Disney day. You can find it at various locations. At Magic Kingdom it is located just next to Aladdin’s flying carpets. You can get it with just the soft serve or get a float that has pineapple juice along with it. If you’re looking for the more adult version of Dole Whip check out Tamu Tamu Refreshments in Animal Kingdom (located near the safari in Africa). You can get Dole Whip here with dark or coconut rum. It really hits the spot.
