Disney World is named “The Most Magical Place on Earth” for a reason, but let’s be honest — those attraction lines? Yeah, those are often FAR from magical.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Disney is a crowded place most days, and that means attraction wait times get LONG. It’s not uncommon to see wait times over an hour, sometimes an hour and a half, and for some attractions, wait times above two hours are not surprising. When you’ve only got a limited amount of time in the park, though, how can you make sure you make the most of your time and AVOID spending hours in line when you can? Sure, you can buy Disney’s Lightning Lane service to skip the lines, but if you’re traveling on a budget or just want to avoid the stress of booking them, here are our top three tips for getting on some of the most popular rides with lower wait times that don’t cost an extra cent!

If a Ride Temporarily Closes, That Could Actually Be Your Golden Ticket

It sounds a little backwards, we know, but it’s true. Oftentimes (but not EVERY time) a ride unexpectedly closes only for a short period of time — sometimes that’s half an hour, sometimes it’s two hours. However, our suggestion is to watch that ride on your My Disney Experience App like a hawk (even better if you can be watching it in person, but don’t waste your day doing so!), and head to the attraction the moment you see it back up!

Slinky Dog Dash

Personally, this worked like a charm for me in Toy Story Land one time. Slinky Dog Dash was down when I got out of Toy Story Mania, so I got in the short line for Alien Swirling Saucers. In line, Slinky Dog Dash started testing again, and it was back up when I got off Alien Swirling Saucers — I only waited in a 25-minute line that doubled behind me within five minutes of getting in line. Those few minutes count, trust us! We know, it’s a little annoying to be staring at your phone every few minutes, which is why we suggest staying near the attraction if you can ride other things in the area or get something to eat while you wait, so you don’t feel like you’re wasting your time. TL;DR: don’t completely abandon the area when a ride closes. You never know when it might reopen!

Riding Popular Attractions at the End Of The Day is RISKY

Wait times often dip towards the end of the day for most attractions, but this is especially true with popular rides like Cosmic Rewind, Flight of Passage, Test Track, and Rise of the Resistance. What do all of these rides have in common? They often report 60+ minute wait times, and are all located mostly indoors, so you won’t be seeing the night sky the whole time you ride. These rides often experience a drop in wait time during the last two hours of the day, but this is a dangerous strategy!

Flight of Passage

Rides often have issues and need to close, which can happen just as easily at the end of the day. That means there’s always a possibility the ride could close two hours before the park closes and never reopen for the day. Therefore, we don’t recommend this strategy for people who feel their whole day will be ruined if they don’t get on this ride, or if it’s your first visit and you’re trying to do all you can. Instead, use this strategy when you’ve ridden the attraction at some point before, so you won’t be totally devastated if you can’t ride.

Rise of the Resistance

Additionally, this strategy is NOT recommended for outdoor popular attractions like TRON Lightcycle / Run, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or Slinky Dog Dash — riding these at night can be a whole different experience that lots of people seek out, so those wait times often get higher at night.

Parades and Fireworks Are Your Best Friends in Magic Kingdom

Over in Magic Kingdom, parades happen 1–2 times a day (depending on the time of year — check your My Disney Experience App on the day of your visit!), and fireworks will happen once at the end of the day. These are some of your BEST times to ride attractions with shorter wait times, because everyone will be staking out a spot for the entertainment!

TRON Lightcycle / Run

Now, this is especially true for attractions that are more family-centered that get high wait times, like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (except some people try to ride while the fireworks are going on, it’s a really epic view), Pirates of the Caribbean, or Peter Pan’s Flight. And don’t be fooled if the wait time hasn’t changed on the app or the sign — I once rode TRON during the Festival of Fantasy parade with a 70-minute wait, but really only waited 20!

Peter Pan’s Flight

Feeling overwhelmed still and don’t know where to start? Check out our friends over at Small World Vacations! They’re excellent travel agents with decades of experience booking Disney vacations and can help you plan your vacation entirely for free!

We’re always here to bring you the latest and greatest Disney World tips and tricks so you have the best trip, so stay tuned to DFB!

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What other tip would you add to this list? Tell us in the comments!