Touring Walt Disney World "Lazy" Style

Arriving at EPCOT after spending the day at Downtown Disney

Hot? Tired? Feet hurt?  If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, chances are you have experienced a full day of park touring at the Walt Disney World Resort.  We, too, have had our fair share of 16 hour plus days touring parks; trying to get the most out of our vacation time and park tickets.  Some refer to this as commando park touring.

On our trip in July, we discovered a lazy person’s way to tour Disney parks.  Yes, we still had a few long days of park touring, which were fine, it is just that we enjoyed our lazy days, too. 

On our way to Fantasmic after dinner at Mama Melrose

The topper on a long day of park touring is the nighttime spectacular at three out of the four parks—Wishes at Magic Kingdom, Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios, and Illuminations at EPCOT.  After standing and walking all day, another amount of standing is required for two of those nighttime shows—Wishes and Illuminations—Fantasmic just requires standing in line to get into the amphitheater. 

Of course, Disney recommends leaving the parks in the afternoon and returning for the nighttime festivities.  We have just never figured out how to do that plan specifically.  Why walk all the way to the park entrance/exit, take a bus to your resort, walk to your room, walk to the pool/arcade, etc, when you could just as easily find a spot to rest in the park?  And, we do find spots to sit and rest, particularly taking in various shows in the afternoon.

But our lazy way to tour Disney does include coming to the parks later AND no standing for the nighttime spectaculars at any of the parks.  Here’s what we discovered. . .

Being "Lazy" at Typhoon Lagoon

We discovered that mornings at water parks are fantastic.  Floating in lazy rivers along with various slides and swimming opportunities make for an enjoyable morning and day.  Once we had our fill, we would head back to our resort, clean-up, and make our way to a park.  This type of morning can also be had at Downtown Disney or at your resort.

Our seats for Wishes!

At Magic Kingdom, we discovered AAA’s Reserved Wishes viewing—click here to read more.  A lovely spot that includes CHAIRS is reserved for guests with reservations for this experience.  This is a must do for our next trip.

Our lagoon side table at Rose & Crown

Dessert came just as it was getting dark

Illuminations from our table!

At EPCOT, we have found that a 7:30 pm-7:45pm Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) for Rose & Crown in the United Kingdom Pavilion works well for us.  We have now done this twice.  The first time, we had a table outside and then were graciously moved to the patio for dessert and Illuminations watching.  In July, we were placed at a patio table next to World Showcase Lagoon for our entire meal.  There’s nothing like dessert and Illuminations! 

As for Fantasmic, each time we have seen the show it was with the use of the Fantasmic Dining Package that includes a meal at various dining locations at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and reserved seating for Fantasmic.  When we did this in July, the reserved seating area for Fantasmic had been moved to the middle of the amphitheater.  Bonus!

We still met characters arriving at the park later in the day

The lazy days, while much more relaxing, do have their downside.  We only get a few hours of park time for a day of the ticket, so it isn’t the best in terms of economic value.  We ride fewer rides and attractions.  But since we combine our lazy days with some longer park touring days, we did see/do most of the rides and attractions.

Another bonus of late arrival. . .

great photos at night!

Even the boy couldn't resist!

We are going with the lazy way to tour the parks on our next trip; well, at least for some of the days.