Top 5 Habits of a Disney Parks Pro You Should Start Practicing

Over the course of countless visits, we’ve developed some habits at the Disney Parks that we frequently rely on to save time and experience the most. It might not occur to a first-time visitor to do some of these things that will end up making their experience that much smoother!

These are the top five habits of a Disney Parks pro you’ll wish you started practicing sooner.

1) Wearing comfortable shoes every trip is something that Disney Parks pros always do. It can be tempting to trade comfort for fashion, but Disney is just not the place to do this, with so much walking involved (around 10 miles each day at the parks). Disney pros know the importance of wearing good shoes so they don’t have to worry about blisters or sore feet during their trip. We recommend bringing two pairs of comfortable walking shoes that you can alternate between during your trip. See the best Disneyland shoes and best Disney World shoes we would recommend!

2) Setting a personal wait time limit for rides is another good habit of a Disney Parks pro. Each family may have a different idea of where this line should be drawn, but it’s important to establish this so that you can decide how to most effectively approach your day. Disney pros know that wait times fluctuate during the day, and that they’re better off checking back in later if an attraction’s wait is looking too long.

On the flip side, Disney pros will also acknowledge the attractions that have inflated wait times, which is important to be aware of for the rides in the highest demand, like Rise of the Resistance. See the rides that Disney most commonly inflates wait times for and why they do this.

3) Taking a midday break is another habit that Disney Parks pros will adhere to. Skipping a midday break is a common Disney rookie mistake, and it’s easy to see why this happens with so much pressure for families to make the most of every second of their trip. However, Disney Parks pros know the importance of a midday break to recharge so that they can fully appreciate their time at the parks! It’s important to take some time to go back to your hotel or otherwise find a quiet spot to escape the crowds. See the best secret spots at Disneyland to take a break and our favorite quiet spots at the Disney World hotels to relax.

4) Disney pros will never find themselves without a portable charger in their park bag! So much of the Disney experience revolves around using your phone to make Lightning Lane reservations, check wait times, place mobile orders, etc., and your phone battery can drain extremely quickly. Instead of forgetting to bring this essential Disney item and buying a FuelRod in a pinch, Disney pros will always include a portable charger in their Disney World packing list or Disneyland packing list.

5) Lastly, Disney pros will book character dining rather than waiting in the long meet-and-greet lines in the parks. They acknowledge that character dining is a much better way to spend actual quality time with several characters instead of battling long wait times and rushed meetings in the parks.

By booking a character dining experience, you’re getting both a meal and quality interactions with characters at the same time, which is especially great for families with kids. There are a variety of great options, each bringing something unique to the table, that you can check out in our guides to character dining at Disney World and character dining at Disneyland.

You can see more smart habits you should start getting into in our full article on 11 habits that set you apart as a Disney Parks pro!

At Mickey Visit, we share the most important tips for planning your trips to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Universal, and beyond and share the latest Disney news. Each week, we’ll share some of our top tips here on Laughing Place.