Just like you, we love theme parks but hate the prospects of big queues and long wait times. It needn’t be like this, though. There are plenty of ways to beat the queues in Orlando’s theme parks.
When is the quietest time to visit Orlando?
The quietest months to visit Orlando are March, April (avoiding Easter), May, September, October, and the beginning of November, before Thanksgiving. Of course, it’s best to avoid summer and Christmas and travel outside of school holidays, but that’s unavoidable if you have school-age children.
Although we give lots of great advice on the best time to visit for shorter queues in our Expert Guide to Orlando, we also like to give some tips and tricks for getting on the rides quicker.
One of my children calls me “the most impatient man on earth” and whilst this is probably a slight exaggeration, it’s certainly true that I don’t like queueing, which can be an issue on a family holiday to Orlando!
I was in Florida over Easter, and we spent five days in Orlando during the US spring break, which is a really busy time. So, from my first-hand experience, here are some of my top tips for avoiding long queues.
How to beat the queues for free
If you’re travelling on a budget, here are my top tips to help you spend less time waiting and more time riding:
Summary: how to beat the Orlando queues for free
- Get there early
- Do the most popular rides first
- Head to the back of the park first
- Pre-purchase tickets, not vouchers
- Avoid US school holidays
- Join the Disney virtual queues
1. Get there early
No matter which theme park we’re talking about, this is always my number one tip - but it’s amazing how many people ignore it. We got to Blizzard Beach at 8.30am, the park opened at 9am, and we had gone down every water slide by 10.30am. By the time we left at lunchtime, the park was packed.
Similarly, at Universal Studios, the park seemed quiet before midday, but after lunch, queues for the major rides were all over 60 minutes. We tended to arrive early, go back to the hotel in the afternoon during the hottest part of the day, and go back to the parks in the early evening to do a few rides and watch the fireworks.
2. Do the most popular rides first
It makes sense that when the park is quieter, the wait times are shorter, so head straight for the most popular or newest rides and ride these first before the lines build up.
Here’s an idea of some of the most popular rides at the theme parks to help you plan your day. Of course, this list is by no means exhaustive, and you may want to prioritise other rides that are on your must-do list.
Location | Ride |
Magic Kingdom Park | Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Jungle Cruise Peter Pan’s Flight Space Mountain TRON Lightcycle / RUN |
Disney’s Hollywood Studios | Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™️ Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Slinky Dog Dash |
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park | Kilimanjaro Safaris Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain Avatar - Flight of Passage |
EPCOT | Soarin’ Around the World Mission: Space Spaceship Earth Test Track Presented by Chevrolet Frozen Ever After |
Universal Studios | Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts Revenge of the Mummy Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Men in Black Alien Attack E.T. Adventure |
Islands of Adventure | Jurassic World VelociCoaster Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Flight of the Hippogriff Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure |
SeaWorld | Manta Kraken Mako Pipeline: The Surf Coaster Ice Breaker |
Busch Gardens | Iron Gwazi Skeikra Cheetah Hunt Kumba Falcon’s Fury |
3. Go to the back of the theme park first
When the parks open, people tend to go to the nearest attractions first. By heading to the back of the park first, these rides should, in theory, be a lot quieter. You can then work your way towards the front of the park.
4. Pre-purchase real tickets, not vouchers
All of our tickets to the major theme parks are actual, gate-ready tickets which are delivered digitally to your inbox, so you’ll be able to go straight into the park. If you purchase a voucher, you’ll have to queue to exchange the voucher for a ticket. It’s always better value to pre-purchase, so try to buy your tickets in advance rather than on the day itself.
5. Avoid US school holidays
If at all possible, try to avoid the US school holidays when the kids are off. Spring break in the US tends to be at the beginning of our Easter school holidays, and US schools usually go back after the summer holidays during the third week of August, but there are some other holidays to watch out for, too.
Thanksgiving weekend is usually the third weekend of November, and the parks are packed from Thursday to Sunday. If you can visit in September, you won’t have to queue long for any of the rides. The weather is still great, although you may get some rain showers – but that’s usual for a tropical destination.
6. Join the Disney virtual queues
Some of the rides at Walt Disney World Resort have a virtual queue instead of a physical line. This means that you don’t need to stand in a line, you’ll just get a time for your ride and you’ll make your way there at that time.
The rides which have virtual queues vary but are currently Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom Park and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmin Rewind at EPCOT.
You can join the virtual queue on the My Disney Experience app – just head to the Virtual Queue section of the homepage - and the queue opens at 7am. If you don’t get a ride time at 7am, you’ll have another opportunity to try again at 1pm, but you must be in the relevant park to do this.
Top tip: Make sure you have downloaded the app, linked your tickets, and added all of your party the night before your visit so that you are ready to go at 7am. It’s also helpful to have a practice run so that you know where to go in the app when the time comes.
How to beat the queues by paying
If you’ve got a little extra to spend during your holiday, there are certain things you can pay for to help you skip the queue. Most of the theme parks have their own fast pass-style queue jump systems, and staying on-site can get you into the parks earlier.
Summary: how to beat the queues by paying:
- Buy Disney Lightning Lane Pass
- Buy a Universal Express ticket
- Buy a Quick Queue ticket for SeaWorld and Busch Gardens
- Stay at an on-site hotel
1. Buy a Disney Lightning Lane Pass
For days when you’re visiting one of the Disney Parks, you can buy a Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Single Pass. These passes allow you to skip the regular line and join a shorter line for select rides and attractions.
You can purchase Lightning Lane Passes for all four Disney theme parks in Orlando: Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
2. Buy a Universal Express Pass
The Express Pass is Universal’s fast pass offering. The pass is available for Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, allowing you to go past the regular line into the Express lane. You can choose from the Express Pass, where you can ride each attraction once, or the Express Unlimited Pass, where you can ride them as many times as you like.
Express queues at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are usually a maximum of 15 minutes long. You can buy an Express Pass from AttractionTickets.com and save time and money by pre-purchasing in advance.
Top tip: If you stay at the Hard Rock Hotel®, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, or Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, you’ll get free Universal Express Unlimited Passes for every day of your stay, including the days you check in and check out. This means you’ll get two days’ worth of passes with just a one-night stay!
3. Buy a Quick Queue Unlimited ticket for SeaWorld and Busch Gardens
SeaWorld’s queue jump pass is called Quick Queue Unlimited and gives you front-of-line access to some of the most popular rides in the park, including Mako, Manta, and Ice Breaker.
Busch Gardens also offers the Quick Queue Unlimited, so you can spend more time riding the thrilling attractions here. The ticket is valid on some of the best rides that get the adrenaline pumping, including Cheetah Hunt, Tigris, and Falcon’s Fury.
You can use these passes as many times as you like throughout your visit on the included rides.
For SeaWorld, another option is to buy the Ultimate VIP Tour. With this extra special ticket type, you’ll get an eight-hour private tour of the park with your own expert tour guide as well as joining the quick queue on the top attractions.
You’ll also get exclusive animal encounters and reserved seating at the park’s world-class shows, plus unlimited non-alcoholic drinks throughout your visit and two delicious meals.
4. Stay at an on-site hotel for more time in the parks
If you stay at one of the Walt Disney World Resort hotels, you get early theme park entry to all four parks. You’ll be able to get into the parks 30 minutes earlier than regular guests, and the queues will be considerably shorter during this time.
If you stay at one of the Disney Deluxe Resort Hotels or Disney Deluxe Villas, you’ll also get extended evening hours in select parks on select days. During this time, select attractions, shops, and dining will be open after the park closes.
All of the Universal Orlando hotels allow you to access the Universal parks before they open to the general public. You’ll be able to get in up to an hour before everyone else. As we mentioned above, staying in Hard Rock Hotel®, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, or Loews Portofino Bay Hotel means you’ll get free Universal Express Unlimited Passes.
Best wishes from sunny Florida!
Olly Brendon
Founder, AttractionTickets.com
To find the best-value deals on Orlando theme park tickets, including Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld parks, and LEGOLAND, head to our Orlando ticket pages to compare tickets.
