Are you planning a trip to Disney World in 2024?
Magic Kingdom
We want to help and make sure that your trip goes to plan and does not spiral out of control! We go to Disney World every day and have learned a thing or two. Learn from our mistakes: you do NOT want to regret these 15 things during your trip to Disney World!
A trip to Disney World can be super exciting and filled with magic! To keep that magic alive, you do not want to spend time regretting things that you should have thought about before your trip started. So, let’s get all these regrets out of the way so you can enjoy your Disney World trip and all the fun it has to offer!
Happily Ever After
1. Forgetting Your Phone Charger
A trip to Disney World does rely on your smartphone quite a bit. Not only will you use the My Disney Experience app as your room key, the map to the park, to Mobile Order, to book Lightning Lane selections through Genie+, and so much more, but your phone also doubles as your wallet, camera, and even park tickets!
Be ready to be on your phone (even if your phone looks a little different these days 😉
Nowadays, a visit to Disney World without your smartphone is pretty much unheard of. Since you will be using it so much, you will want to make sure that your phone has enough juice to last the day. The best way to do that is to bring a charger with you!
Bring a Phone Charger!
Disney has a few spots throughout the parks where you can rest for a bit and get your phone fueled up again! You will find these charging spots at World Celebration Gardens in EPCOT, The Storybook Circus Tent or the Tangled stumps in Magic Kingdom, as well as on Disney World buses, as several of them have USB outlets!
USB Charging Ports
Remember, to use these outlets, you need to bring your own charger. If you do not have time to wait around for your phone to charge, we recommend bringing a portable charger with you! This can be in the form of a separate portable charger or even a charging phone case.
Make sure to bring a portable charger!
If you forget to bring a portable charger, no sweat! Disney offers FuelRod stations throughout the park. For $30, you can purchase a FuelRod. Once it runs out of battery, simply swap out the rod for a new fully charged FuelRod!
FuelRod Station
If you want to get ahead of the game, you can order TWO FuelRod chargers on Amazon for $30, which is the price of one in the parks!
Guide to Charging Your Phone at Disney World
2. Tying Your Happiness to One Thing
While Disney World is the Most Magical Place on Earth, unfortunately, rides break down. Weather cancels shows. Restaurants change menus. Characters stop meeting-and-greeting. And yes, sometimes you might not get a boarding pass through Virtual Queue.
Evacuation at Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Things can change on a whim at Disney World and that is why it is so important to not tie your happiness to one thing! While it can be super exciting to ride that new ride or try that new dish, sometimes things do not work out, but that is okay because there are still plenty of other things that Disney World has to offer!
PeopleMover evacuation!
To ride Disney World’s newest rides like TRON Lightcycle / RUN, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and soon Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, you will need to obtain a boarding pass via Virtual Queue.
TRON Lightcycle / Run
Sometimes things do not work out and you miss the opportunity to join the queue, or the boarding groups go fast, or even worse you did not even know you needed to join a Virtual Queue. Don’t worry! One mishap like this will not ruin your trip! The good news is there are a few backup plans that you can keep in mind.
TRON Lightcycle / Run Virtual Queue
There are four ways you can get a second shot at riding these new rides if you miss the 7AM drop.
- You can try again at 1PM to join the Virtual Queue
- If you are staying at a Deluxe Resort, on certain nights Extended Evening Hours are offered and that means that if one of the new rides is operating during this event, you can try and join the Virtual Queue for the attraction at 6PM!
- You can purchase a ticket to an After Hours event. At After Hours Events, ride lines are much shorter and the new attractions run on a stand-by line, meaning you can ride the attraction over and over again!
- Finally, you can also purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for each person in your party. Although these do tend to sell fast, especially during the holiday season.
©Disney
While you may get that Virtual Queue on your first try, you also might not and that is totally okay! Just remember there are other avenues you can take and even if those do not work, there are so many other great rides and attractions at Disney World.
TRON Virtual Queue board
3. Attending the First Night of a Holiday Party
The holiday season is a lot closer than you think! Parties for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party are right around the corner and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party follows shortly after!
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
While you might not be able to avoid it, we recommend sitting out the first night of a party.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
When Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios debuted last year, we went on the first night and the party did not run as smoothly as we had hoped for. However, When we attended the party later in the season things were MUCH better.
Jollywood Nights
The first night of an event is not always run as intended and it takes some practice to make sure everything is perfect. When you are paying extra for an after-hours event, you want to make sure you can do as much as you can. That is why we recommend not going to the first party as some kinks might still be getting worked out.
Jollywood Nights entertainment
4. Not Checking Park Hours
If there is one thing that is always changing at Disney World, it is the park hours. Park hours vary by day and park so it is important you check the hours before planning your park days and vacation.
EPCOT
For example, the parks can close EARLIER than you expect them to because of a Cast Member training event or an after-hours party. Sometimes, they stay open later because you’re visiting during peak season times. Sometimes, they close immediately after their nighttime spectacular takes place. And sometimes, they stay open an hour or two longer so you can squeeze in some last-minute rides.
Tower of Terror
Do not be caught off guard by this! Park hours are usually available to view a few months in advance and can be viewed on the My Disney Experience app or online. We even have you covered here at DFB!
Here is our FULL page that tracks all of Disney World’s hours!
5. Not Checking Restaurant Hours
Just like park hours, restaurant hours also change. We cannot stress this enough, check restaurant hours BEFORE you get too attached to dining at a place.
50’s Prime Time Cafe
For example, some restaurants will stay open until the park closes up shop. Some restaurants will stay open a little bit AFTER a park closes up shop. Some restaurants will continue to be open for HOURS after the parks close. Some restaurants will close HOURS before the parks do. And finally, some restaurants will only be open for a limited amount of time during the day.
Casey’s Corner is normally open after park close
These change constantly so make sure you are checking the hours before you plan to dine somewhere!
6. Planning Too Many Table Service Meals
We love table service restaurants at Disney World, and they can be a great option for a meal. However, they do have some downsides.
Crystal Palace
The first is that table service meals can take up a lot of precious park time. This time could be used to see Broadway-style shows and ride state-of-the-art attractions.
Space 220 in EPCOT
These restaurants offer full meals which means they can fill you up and then you have less room to snack throughout the day. Plus a full meal can make you feel sluggish, especially in the Florida heat.
Sci-Fi Dine-In
We are not saying do not eat at table-service restaurants, but instead, plan out when you want to eat and what will take up the least amount of park time and will make sense in your schedule. We love dining at table-service restaurants, but some great quick-service options can save you time and money!
7. Don’t Skip Star Tours
We know that Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios has the two newest Star Wars attractions, but Star Tours: The Adventure Continues keeps things fresh. The ride is constantly changing and getting updated!
Star Tours in Hollywood Studios
Did you know that you could get completely different scenes each time you ride? There are over 250 combinations, meaning that no two Star Tours experiences will be the same. And remember what we said about this ride getting updates? Well, it recently received a new one on April 5th, and the ride now includes characters from the Star Wars Disney+ series like Ahsoka, Andor, and The Mandalorian.
Star Tours
8. Not Packing Snacks For Your Hotel
We know that you are going to want to spend your time trying all the iconic Disney snacks, but it is a good idea to bring some snacks to munch on in your hotel room. If you forget to bring snacks from home, you can also pick up pre-packaged Disney snacks to keep in your room.
©Target || Bring snacks from home!
Not only is it convenient if you want a quick snack before or after your park day, but it can also help if you get sick.
Disney Popcorn
Sometimes, we wake up in the middle of the night with a headache or feeling a little nauseous. Instead of having to go out and find a vending machine in the middle of the night, having snacks in your hotel room can help subside these symptoms.
9. Getting In Line For A Character TOO LATE
Just like parks and restaurants, even the characters have different hours. Characters have busy lives, for example, sometimes Mickey has to go walk Pluto! Always check the My Disney Experience app for character meet-and-greet times.
Hi, Mickey!
A word of caution: sometimes, the lines cut off before the listed time on the app. This is because the character stops meeting at a certain time, so the time listed on the app is when their meet-and-greet is over. This means you need to be in line well before this time to avoid being turned away.
Pluto
Meeting characters is not the same as getting in line for a ride a minute before the park closes. If you want to meet a certain character, make sure you plan to be in line well before it gets cut off.
Tiana
If you do miss a character, you might be able to meet them in another park! For example, Moana meets in both Animal Kingdom and EPCOT. So if you miss her during your EPCOT day, you can try again if you plan to visit Animal Kingdom later during your trip.
Moana in EPCOT
You have a pretty good chance of seeing the Fab Five in all four parks, so don’t stress if you miss one of them on one of your park days!
Five Things That Mickey Mouse Can’t Do
Hey Goofy!
So remember, if you want to meet a character, check those meet and greet times and be in line well before the ending time.
Every Character Meet and Greet at Disney World
10. Avoiding The My Disney Experience App
If you have not been able to tell, the My Disney Experience app is an important tool that you will use before, during, and even after your vacation has ended. Make sure you have this app downloaded BEFORE your trip and get familiar with it!
©Disney
The My Disney Experience App is Disney World’s FREE online planning tool that’ll help guide you through your Disney day in SEVERAL ways.
©Shutterstock
For example, the app can:
- Hold onto your advance dining reservations (and help you make new/last-minute ones, too)
- Give you the ability to purchase (and use) Lightning Lanes throughout your park day (so you can bypass the longest ride lines)
- Help you skip over the standby lines of quick services AND select merchandise locations, too — thanks to its mobile order/mobile checkout features.
- Unlock your hotel room (without you needing a physical card key to do so)
- Get you a boarding group number for a new attraction’s Virtual Queue
- You can even use it to find water bottle refill stations around the park!
Whew! That is a lot, and the My Disney Experience app can even do so much more!
© Disney || My Disney Experience
We totally understand not wanting to be on your phone all day, so to combat this you can give different roles to different people so not one person is on their phone and missing all the magic. You can assign one person to get a Virtual Queue, one person to make Lightning Lane selections, someone to take Mobile Orders, and someone to make Advance Dining Reservations. Splitting app duties up can also be a great way for everyone to get familiar with the app!
© Disney || Mobile Order
11. Ignoring The Virtual Queue Warnings
Once again, the My Disney Experience App is critical to obtaining a boarding group with Virtual Queue. Disney World uses Virtual Queues to help manage high demand for the new and super popular rides. A Virtual Queue replaces a physical standby line (although you will still have to wait in line once you obtain a virtual queue.)
Virtual Queue
As of right now, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT and Tron Lightcycle / RUN in Magic Kingdom only use Virtual Queue. Once Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens in Magic Kingdom, it will also use the Virtual Queue system.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will use Virtual Queue when it opens on June 28th
So how do you join a Virtual Queue? At 7 AM you can join the Virtual Queue from the comfort of your hotel room or anywhere else you may be. For the 1 PM drop you must be INSIDE the park where the ride is.
TRON Lightcycle / RUN Virtual Queue
You can only join the Virtual Queue for each ride once. While you could have a chance to get a boarding group for two rides in one day, you cannot have another queue open if you wish to get into the Virtual Queue for another ride. To ride both TRON Lightcycle / RUN and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind on the same day, you must also have a park hopper ticket.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Another key thing is that once your boarding is called, you only have one hour to return to the attraction to ride (unless otherwise stated), so make sure you get there on time! If you are running late, you can kindly talk to a Cast Member who may be able to accommodate you and your party. This is never guaranteed.
TRON Lightcycle / Run
We know Virtual Queues can be confusing so here is our full guide!
12. Believing The “Ignorance Is Bliss” Lie
Before you decide where you want to eat or add a snack to your “must-try” list you should check our guides first to make sure that the restaurant and food items are worth the money.
You can’t go wrong with the classic snacks!
This is why we have a WHOLE SERIES of DFB guidebooks that you can pick up over on the DFB store website. These digital books are… AJ’s passion project. And we know how hard it can be to find dining reviews that aren’t somehow laced with biased opinions, leaving you not sure quite what to believe. So that’s why all our food reviews featured across each of these DFB guidebooks are restaurants that the team has paid for out of pocket. We wanna make sure that the reviews we put out are 110% our honest thoughts and opinions, where we consider the pros and cons from every angle instead of through one singular viewpoint.
©DFB
So if you’re interested in learning about what to expect from each Disney World meal, what the price ranges tend to look like for all the restaurants, what discounts are available and always at your disposal, how much you should budget back depending on your dining preferences, how each Disney restaurant has changed over time (for better or worse), and SO MUCH MORE, make sure to check out our EVERYTHING BUNDLE — which includes not just our MAIN DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining, but also all our OTHER guides, too (like our snack guides, festival guides, holiday guides, and our brand new Disney dining plan guide, as well)!
Check out our DFB Guidebooks to plan your next trip!
13. Not Bringing Your Whole Family
Disney World is for everyone and Walt Disney’s original intent was for his parks to create a space for all ages to enjoy!
Partner’s Statue
Animal Kingdom
If you do bring the whole family, that means you might have to have adjusted schedules. Like making sure your baby can take a nap, or adding more pool days to relax. There is no “one size fits all” Disney World trip, meaning you and your family can customize it to each other’s needs. Regardless there is something for each person in the family to enjoy.
14. Bringing Your Whole Family
Now we know Regret 13 was NOT bringing the whole family and now we are contradicting ourselves. But it is okay if you want to schedule a Disney World trip that does not include the entire family!
Cinderella Castle
There are times you need a solo vacation or even just a mother/daughter trip. We know it can be scary and you do not want to hurt other people’s feelings, but not having to worry about what each person wants to do can make things a whole lot easier! So here we are, we are permitting you to take that solo OR couple’s trip to Disney World. We think you’re gonna love it.
15. Trying To Do Too Much
Disney World is a very big place with a lot to do! If your main goal is to “do it ALL,” you are setting yourself up for failure. You’ve got four theme parks, one shopping district, numerous resorts, two water parks, and even multiple golf courses.
Yes, Disney World has TWO Water Parks
So what do you do? Make a list of 3-5 must-dos each day and then go with a flow after that! If you need to rest or skip some stuff, then do just that! You can even go outside the Disney bubble and explore a beach! It is your vacation!
Take a day to rest at the pool!
You spent the money on this trip so you can choose what you wish to do during it! So set realistic expectations and it will make your trip so much better! And just like that you now can wipe any prior Disney regrets off your mind!
Planning a Trip to Disney World? We’ve Got Everything You Need to Know
Are you visiting Disney World in 2024? Let us know in the comments!