Common Disney World Travel Questions and Answers

There are a lot of decisions to make for a Disney World vacation. Therefore, I have reassembled my Disney Guide post into a list of questions that I also searched online leading up to my own Disney vacation. Some of these were easily answered and found online, and some of them I just needed to experience first hand to find my answers. There may be some repetition from my Disney World guide, but having a question and answer format will help your research.

How many days do I need in order to see everything at Disney World?
How many theme park days should I buy?
It is tough to see everything at Disney World in one vacation, especially if it is your first visit ever. Realistically, it is best to make a simple list of the most important rides and places at Disney World that you feel you definitely need to do or see during your current vacation. Then, try to work through accomplishing that list first before adding in too much. When trying to ride certain rides all in one day, you have to deal with unknown crowd levels at the theme parks. There are crowd calendars available online to search and have a general idea of how busy the parks will be, but in being realistic you need to expect long wait times for rides and make the most of being there at park opening and park closing if you want to find lower standby wait times for rides.
If you are standing in line when the Disney theme park closes, you will still be able to ride the ride.
If you would like to visit Disney, outside of visiting the theme parks, such as Disney Springs, the shopping center, or by exploring the various Disney Resorts, consider adding in some extra non theme park days into your vacation time.
Now, to actually answer this question with specifics, you could see each of the parks in four days, one park per day. If you wanted to visit multiple parks for some or all of those four days and be able to ride your favorite rides across the four theme parks more than in just one day, you could add park hopper. If you do not need to experience everything in each park and would be content exploring a few themed areas, some major rides, and maybe some extra rides that fit into the days, you could experience Disney World in fewer days with a park hopper. How many days will depend on how much you are willing to walk and just how much you are trying to see in a short time. To make it easier to navigate the crowds when visiting for a couple days, I would recommend purchasing lightning lane passes – multi and single. If you are staying in a Disney resort, they now offer lightning lane premier passes for purchase to ride each ride one time at any time during one day, in a specific park, using the lightning lane lines.
I have experienced Disney World with an annual pass, by purchasing one day individual theme park tickets, six day tickets with park hopper, and two day tickets with park hopper. I will say for me, the most fun is when I have visited the parks with tickets that include multiple days. You can really explore areas that are not as easy to see in a shorter time frame. If you find that you like going back to Disney World, it becomes easier to do more in less days because you become more familiar with how everything works and where your favorite places are. When deciding your time frame, take into account how much you want to do, how much you want to walk, and what you feel you can do in a day.

What is the difference between the different Disney World theme parks?
Which Disney theme parks have which rides and themed movie lands?
What is in Magic Kingdom?
Magic Kingdom has the most rides to ride within a Disney theme park. Cinderella castle is located in Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom’s most popular rides are TRON Lightcycle/Run, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (water ride), Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Peter Pan’s Flight. There are also what many would consider classic rides there to enjoy: Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, and Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
What is in EPCOT? Which Disney theme park has the different countries to explore?
EPCOT theme park has the World Showcase Pavilion of 11 countries – Canada, United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, American Adventure, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, and Mexico, allowing you to walk, eat, and shop between cultures and interact with the employees in each pavilion that are usually from that same country. EPCOT is known for its variety of good food. EPCOT’s most popular rides are Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Test Track, and Soarin’ Around the World.
What is in Hollywood Studios? Where is Star Wars land? Where is Toy Story land?
Hollywood Studios theme park has a retro Hollywood, California theme. It is most known for the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story themed areas. Hollywood Studio’s major rides are Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Rockin Roller Coaster, Twilight Tower of Terror, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad.
What is in Animal Kingdom? Where is Avatar land?
Animal Kingdom is the least visited park of the four theme parks, but you wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell that when you are in the park because of the popularity of the Avatar themed land. Avatar’s Flight of Passage and Avatar’s Na’vi River Journey, Kilimanjaro Safari, Kali River Rapids (water ride), and Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain are Animal Kingdom’s most popular rides. Animal Kingdom also has trails to view various live animals.

What is included with a regular theme park ticket without the any add-ons?
Your regular theme park ticket includes admission to one of the Disney World theme parks and the ability to wait to ride an attraction in the Standby lines. Your regular theme park ticket also includes the ability to book Virtual Queue times for the newest rides that are not available for Standby lines. Currently, no rides at Disney World are using Virtual Queue.

What is Virtual Queue? * No rides are currently on Virtual Queue right now at Disney World.
As of February 25, 2025, all Disney World attractions are available by Standby lines. When Virtual Queue is being used for accessing the lines to the newest attractions at a specific time, the regular ticket includes the ability to book Virtual Queues online through the My Disney Experience App each morning at 7am. If you are quick enough, and have everyone selected within your party, you will be given a time for arriving at the ride’s line. You will then wait Standby until you get on the ride. This could be 45 minutes depending on how many others are there and how new the ride is. If you have park hopper and would like to ride another virtual queue attraction or if you do not get into a Virtual Queue for a certain ride at 7am you will have another opportunity to book at 1pm, you just need to be in the theme park where the ride is to book at 1pm. You can only ride each ride on the Virtual Queue one time each per day.

Are the Lightning Lane Passes worth it? What is the difference between Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Lightning Lane Single Pass, and Lightning Lane Premier Pass?
Yes, they are worth it, but you can also have a nice Disney World visit without the Lightning Lane Passes. The fewer the days that you have on your ticket, the more helpful Lightning Lane is. I definitely recommend trying it for at least one of the days and seeing if you like it.
If you would like to try to shorten the wait time spent in the Standby lines, purchasing the Lightning Lane Multi Passes allow you to select an hour time frame for three different rides in order to enter a shorter ride line called the lightning lane line. A Lightning Lane Multi Pass price range is around $15-$39 per ticket. You can purchase and select lightning lanes, if staying in a Disney resort, 7 days in advance of your check in date at 7am. If you are not staying on Disney property and plan to purchase the lightning lanes, you can purchase and select lightning lanes 3 days in advance at 7am of your first theme park ticket date. You can purchase lightning lanes for any of the days in your theme park ticket visit 7 days or 3 days in advance. For example, if you have two theme park tickets purchased, and you are staying at a Disney resort for 5 days, you can purchase lightning lanes seven days in advance at, or after, 7am for one or both of the days that you plan to visit the theme parks.
Lightning Lane Single Passes are purchased individually for specific rides, that are considered the most popular rides in each park. The average price range for Lightning Lane Single Pass is $13-$25 per ride, per ticket. The pre-purchase time frame is the same as the Lightning Lane Multi Pass: seven days in advance at 7am for Disney resort guests and three days in advance at 7am for those staying off Disney property. You will purchase the lightning lane individually for each of these specific rides for each day that you would like and then select an hour time frame in order to ride the ride by entering the faster lightning lane line. 
Lightning Lane Premier Passes allow you to ride each attraction at any time during park hours one time each through entering the lightning lane lines in one specific park selected for the day. Premier Lightning lane does not transfer to a different park when park hopping. The price range for Premier Lightning Lane is around $119-$449 per ticket. Lightning Lane Premier Passes also give you free access to the Disney PhotoPass Service which includes the photos and videos of you on various rides to download. You can purchase Lightning Lane Premier Passes 7 days in advance starting at 7am if staying in a Disney resort. If you are not staying at a Disney resort, premier passes can be purchased 3 days in advance starting at 7am.

Do Lightning Lane Passes include any additional features other than shorter wait times?
Yes, Included with your Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Lightning Lane Premier Pass purchase, you also get access to Disney PhotoPass Service for each day that you purchase the Lightning Lane Multi Pass. 
Having the PhotoPass Service gives you access for 45 days to download, for free, photos and videos of you riding the rides.
If you would like to have additional photos taken by Disney cast members around the theme parks, with characters, or if you did not purchase Lightning Lane and would like to download photos and videos of you on certain rides, you will need to purchase Memory Maker.

Which Disney rides take your photo while on the ride?
Magic Kingdom: TRON Lightcycle/Run, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
EPCOT: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Test Track, Frozen Ever After
Hollywood Studios: Slinky Dog Dash, Twilight Tower of Terror, Rockin’ Roller Coaster
Animal Kingdom: Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, DINOSAUR

Is adding Park Hopper to my Disney theme park ticket worth it?
I would like to answer Yes, but, I realize everyone is different. The best answer to this question is specific to you. Are you ok with walking from the park entrance to the bus stops, or monorail, or skyway terminals to the next park entrance when you want to switch parks? Will you be upset if the Disney transportation isn’t necessarily on time? Is everyone in your group also wanting to move between parks? Where are your favorite rides located? If you only really like one certain Disney theme park, spending the time park hopping to another Disney park might not be of value to you. I think it is only fair to acknowledge that some people may not find park hopping fun, but, it is a fun experience to be able to try and ride all of your favorite rides in one day. I have a lot of favorites across the Disney theme parks, so having the park hopper with my ticket is totally worth it for me.

How long does the Skyway take to go between Hollywood Studios and EPCOT?
I would allow at least 30 minutes to travel by Skyway. You need to switch Skyway lines at the Caribbean Beach Resort. The line that runs between the Caribbean Beach Resort and Hollywood Studios usually runs very efficiently. However, the Riviera Resort stop along the EPCOT to Caribbean beach resort skyway line usually stops frequently, causing delays. Technically it should take 20 minutes to get between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios with no waiting in line in between, but that is rare I think.
How long is the bus ride between Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom? How long is the bus ride between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios? How long is the bus ride between Hollywood Studios and EPCOT?
I would recommend allowing 20-30 minutes for Disney bus travel, especially if you need to wait for the next bus to arrive. It could be less, but allowing this amount of time or longer is more realistic.
How long is the monorail ride between Magic Kingdom and EPCOT?
The ride takes around 10-20 minutes, but know that each day and the time of day could affect this time frame. The ramps to get to and from the monorail to the park entrances also take some time walking. Keep your estimates general, but be ready for possible delays to avoid frustration.

Does Lightning Lane Multi Pass work with Park Hopper across all four them parks?
Yes. If you purchase a park hopper for your theme park ticket and you also decide to purchase the regular Lightning Lane Multi Passes, you can reserve lightning lanes in other parks after riding one ride in the park, you previously selected, to use with lightning lane. You can purchase the lightning lane multi pass either seven days in advance at 7am if staying in a Disney Resort or three days in advance at 7am if staying somewhere else. When you are purchasing your lightning lane multi passes, for each park ticket in your vacation package that you plan to have lightning lane, you will select the Lightning Lane for one theme park that you will start at and select each person that also has a ticket in your group that will also use the lightning lane multi pass. You then select your three preferred attractions in that park and adjust the times to your preference based on availability. On the day of your visit, if you have Park Hopper added to your ticket, you just need to ride one of the lightning lane attractions that you selected for Lightning Lane before you can switch your other lightning lanes to another park. You can select up to three rides on Lightning Lane Multi Pass at a time and then continue selecting new rides as you scan to enter the Lightning Lane lines, or modify ride selections, until they are all booked up for the day. Lightning Lanes are a really nice option to help you ride all of the rides you are hoping to experience while at Disney on your theme park days without dealing with high wait times.

Are the Disney Special Event Tickets worth it?
Is Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom Park Event worth it? Is Disney After Hours at Hollywood Studios Event worth it? Is Disney After Hours at EPCOT Event worth it?
Yes, if you are hoping to ride certain rides within a specific park with lower wait times. For example: Magic Kingdom has TRON lightcycle/run, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan’s Flight which normally consistently have long wait times all day during regular theme park hours. If you would like to ride these rides and other Magic Kingdom rides with less of a wait, attending the After Hours Party would be worthwhile to you.
EPCOT has Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and Frozen Ever After rides available for lower wait times during EPCOT After Hours. Note that Cosmic Rewind is not limited to Virtual Queue only during the After Hours event.
Hollywood Studios includes the popular rides of Slinky Dog Dash and Rise of the Resistance with lower wait times during After Hours.
All of the After Hours events also include ice cream novelties, select bottled beverages, and popcorn specific kiosks to enjoy with your event ticket at no extra cost during the event. Having an After Hours Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, or Hollywood Studios event ticket, allows you to enter the park three hours before it officially closes to regular park attendees and then the party begins and you get to stay and ride the rides for three more hours, for a total of six hours in the park. Make sure everyone in your group likes to be up late, because the parties usually run until 12:30/1am.
Is Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party event worth it?
Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party event worth it?
Yes, if you enjoy Halloween or Christmas with a Disney theme and also want to have shorter lines to wait in for rides at the Magic Kingdom theme park. Both Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party are held at the Magic Kingdom theme park. They are both very popular. Tickets will usually sell out well before the actual event dates for both of these parties. Similar to the After Hours Events they both allow for riding the various Magic Kingdom rides with shorter wait times in line. Each party offers special treats, select entertainment, fireworks, and themed parades included with your event ticket to enjoy during the events.
They give away Halloween candy by trick or treating at certain locations in Magic Kingdom during the Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party. There are also Halloween specific shows, Halloween themed firework show, special character greeting opportunities, and a special Halloween Parade throughout the evening.
At the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, offered as of 2024 – future years could change what is offered, they gave various seasonal drinks with cookies throughout the park: frosted gingerbread cookie and egg nog, red velvet cookie and cold apple cider, frosted sugar cookie and hot cocoa, and caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookie and cold apple cider. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party also has holiday themed entertainment, the Christmas parade that is the same as what is aired on TV each year on Christmas Day, special character greeting opportunities, and a Christmas firework show. Mickey’s Christmas party also gives you an ornament just for coming and transforms these rides with holiday decor and lights specifically for the Christmas party: Space Mountain, Mad Tea Party, and the Tomorrowland Speedway. These entertainment, firework shows, and parades are not shown to regular park guests and are event exclusives.
Both Mickey’s Halloween and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas parties each allow you to enter Magic Kingdom two hours before the park closes to regular park guests and then stay for six hours after the park closes for the event, for a total of eight hours in Magic Kingdom. As with the other parties, you do need to be willing to stay up late for these parties, until 12:00AM.
Is Jollywood Nights event at Hollywood Studios worth it?
Yes, if you want to ride the Hollywood Studios rides with lower wait times during the November and December months and also enjoy some Holiday decorations. Jollywood Nights event is held during the Christmas season, is a fairly new party, and offers lower wait times for rides, unique entertainment shows, special character greeting opportunities, and the PhotoPass service (capturing photos with characters and throughout the event with free downloads) all included in the event ticket at Hollywood Studios. Jollywood Nights guests can enter Hollywood Studios one hour before park closing and then have five and a half hours to enjoy the Jollywood Party after the park closes, for a total of six and a half hours. The party ends at 12:30am, therefore you also need to be willing to stay up late.

Should I stay at a Disney World Resort or a hotel somewhere else?
The simplest way to answer this is based on your budget and what value you are hoping to get from your overnight stay. If you choose to stay at a Disney resort, you get certain bonuses such as, free daily parking at the theme park parking lots, you can enter the theme parks about 45 minutes early and start riding rides 30 minutes before the theme park officially opens to the public, and you have access to Disney transportation. Having access to the Disney Transportation, buses, boats, monorails, and skyways, means that you do not need to drive anywhere on property. The Disney Transportation can get you where you need to go. You do need to go to the specific transportation stops to get from place to place, but, that’s really the only thing you need to do. Just be at the right bus stop, boat launch, skyway terminal, or monorail station, and then just ride along.
If you choose to stay in a hotel anywhere that is not a Disney World resort, know that you will be expected to pay $30 each day to park in the Disney theme park parking lots.

Here are a few ideas to consider whether staying at a Disney resort is of value to you:
If you are hoping to save as much money as possible, check the total price of a stay at a Disney resort and then check the price of a hotel off Disney property where you would actually stay. Add in the price per day to park at the Disney World theme parks parking lots, $30 per day multiplied by the number of days you will go to the theme parks, and see which one feels like a better value. Having the 30 minute early entry to start riding rides in the Disney theme parks 30 minutes before regular park guests, is very helpful to avoid long lines to ride the popular rides, but, if you personally cannot justify paying the price to also stay at a Disney World resort, it is ok. Always do what feels right for you.
If money is not really an option, but you still do not want to overspend and are looking for quality and having the experience value match the cost, I would recommend still comparing the price of staying off Disney property with the daily $30 theme park parking cost with the price of staying at a Disney resort. Also remember to consider if the Disney resort bonuses (free theme park parking, 30 minute early entry, and use of Disney Transportation) are worth it for you. Resorts on Disney property are categorized in value, moderate, deluxe, and deluxe villas. Disney also has a campground. I do recommend that if you really want to get the full value of staying at a higher priced Disney resort, that you choose to stay at the fancier Disney resorts when you have included days off from visiting the theme parks so that you have time to actually enjoy the resort rather than only sleeping there after the full theme park days.

What time should I arrive at the Disney theme parks for Early Entry?
When should I arrive at the Magic Kingdom for Early Entry? When should I arrive at Hollywood Studios for Early Entry? When should I arrive at EPCOT for Early Entry? When should I arrive at Animal Kingdom for Early Entry?
In general, know that being inside the park when early entry starts gives you the most opportunity to ride some of the most popular attractions without a long wait.
I tend to take a more relaxed, yet still efficient, approach in my morning arrival plans. I usually hope to arrive shortly before the 30 minute early entry time begins. I choose the park with the ride that I would like to start with, based on when my first lightning lane attraction is, and then I try to arrive about 15 minutes before early entry begins. Depending on the park and the day, they usually let you into the park about 15 minutes before early entry. Once in the park you can head over to the cast members and they will scan your Disney resort room key (also the barcode on your My Disney Experience App account). They will definitely start scanning by the early entry start time, 30 minutes before park opening, but they usually will start scanning room keys or magic bands before that.

If I am not staying at a Disney Resort, when should I arrive at the Disney resorts?
If I am not staying in a Disney Resort, when should I arrive at Magic Kingdom? If I am not staying in a Disney Resort, when should I arrive at Hollywood Studios? If I am not staying in a Disney Resort, when should I arrive at EPCOT? If I am not staying in a Disney Resort, when should I arrive at Animal Kingdom?
For those not staying on Disney property, it is best to be at the park entrance a little before the official park opening.

How long does it take to get the Disney theme parks using Disney Transportation? How much time should I allow for Disney Transportation to get to the parks in time for early entry?
When taking Disney Transportation in the morning, I estimate the transportation to take roughly 20 minutes to get somewhere and then hope that we can time it right to board the boat or bus each morning. Some may argue that this is not enough time to allow and that it could take longer for Disney transportation to get there, but as I mentioned before, I know not to get upset and I just trust what naturally comes to us on when the right time to leave each day is. We are not upset if we are a few minutes later than expected and we know it will all come together regardless. If you are visiting during an especially busy time, there may be long lines to board the transportation. You do need to be ready for this to happen. But, you also do not need to exhaust yourself getting up earlier than you feel comfortable doing. If you don’t get to the park early enough, you can also plan to stay until park closing.

How much time should I allow for driving to the Disney theme parks?
If I am driving to a certain Disney theme park, I use GPS to estimate how long the drive will be. Getting to Magic Kingdom takes longer if you are driving yourself, because it involves a monorail or ferry boat ride from the parking lot to the official Magic Kingdom entrance point, so do expect this to take extra time to get there. It is not a long ride to the entrance, but when waiting for the trams in the parking lot that take you to the place where you wait for and board the ferry boat, or monorail, it does take time. For Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Animal Kingdom you will simply park your car and walk to the park entrance.

How can I use Disney Transportation – bus, boat, monorail, skyway to get to the Disney Resorts?
There is a separate Disney Resort monorail line that runs between the Magic Kingdom park entrance, Contemporary Resort, Ticket and Transportation Center, Polynesian Resort, and the Grand Floridian Resort. The entrance to this Resort monorail line is to the left of the other monorail line that goes directly to the Ticket and Transportation Center, also known as the Magic Kingdom parking lot.
Magic Kingdom Disney boats run directly from the Magic Kingdom park entrance area to Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness Campground, Contemporary Resort, Polynesian Resort, and the Grand Floridian Resort. 
The various skyway lines connect EPCOT and Hollywood Studios theme parks, Caribbean Beach Resort, Riviera Resort, Pop Century Resort, and Art of Animation Resort. There is a skyway line that runs between the Caribbean Beach Resort to the Pop Century and Art of Animation Resorts. A separate skyway line runs from Caribbean Beach Resort to the Riviera Resort and on to the EPCOT International Gateway theme park entrance near the France Pavillon of EPCOT World Showcase.
There is a Disney Transportation boat launch at Disney Springs near the Rainforest Cafe, that run four separate boat lines between: Disney Springs and Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter, Disney Springs and Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, Disney Springs and Old Key West Resort, and Disney Springs and Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. 
Additional Disney boats run between Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, Boardwalk Resort, Yacht Resort, Beach Resort, Swan Hotel, and Dolphin Hotel. 
Disney buses drive to each of the different resorts from the various theme parks and Disney Springs.