Disney Tips Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
Some weekends at Disney World feel a little busier than others. This one has the signs to back it up. On Saturday, October 10, our team drove to Disney Springs and found road signage telling guests that parking had hit capacity. And Lightning Lane Premier Pass, the priciest way to skip lines, is reported sold out at all four parks for the holiday weekend.
Neither detail is an official attendance number, so we’ll be careful with our wording. But together they point in the same direction. Here’s what we saw, what’s been reported, and how to plan a day at the parks when everyone else has the same idea.
Because wording matters, we’ll keep three things separate throughout: what we observed ourselves, what’s been reported elsewhere, and what’s simply our reading of the situation.
What We Saw on the Road to Disney Springs
This part comes from our own first-hand account. On Saturday, October 10, we drove to Disney Springs, and road signage noted that the Orange garage and the surface parking had both reached capacity. The signage was directed at all guests.
That’s what we observed, and we’re limiting our description to it. We can’t tell you how long the lots stayed full, how many cars were involved, or how the situation looked at other times of the day.
Premier Pass Is Reported Sold Out
For anyone unfamiliar, the reporting describes Premier Pass as the newest addition to the Lightning Lane system. It gives you access to all the participating rides in a park automatically, so there’s no need to book Lightning Lanes during the day. That can be helpful if you want to get a lot done without checking your phone all day to line up everything on your list, which is what Lightning Lane Multi Pass requires.
The Price Tags, as Listed
Premier Pass has a significant drawback, and it’s the price. Lightning Lane Multi Pass ranges from around $15 to $40 per person per day, depending on the park and the day. Premier Pass costs far more.
The listed Premier Pass prices for the weekend were the same on both days:
- Magic Kingdom: $429
- EPCOT: $249
- Hollywood Studios: $349
- Animal Kingdom: $199
Those prices applied to Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11. According to the reporting, the price keeps Multi Pass the more popular option, which is why a sellout of Premier Pass at all four parks stood out.
Reading the Signals Carefully
Let’s be precise about what these two details do and don’t tell us. A sold-out product tells us that demand for that product was strong. A full parking area tells us that a particular lot reached capacity at a particular time. Neither is a count of how many people are in the parks. Put simply, “sold out” and “at capacity” describe a product and a place, and neither one is a headcount.
Still, they fit with something we already expected. It’s Columbus Day Weekend, and the reporting notes that holiday weekends tend to bring big crowds. In our reading, the sold-out passes and the full parking are consistent with a busy weekend. That’s our interpretation, and it isn’t an official statement from Disney.
Planning a Day When It’s Busy
If you’re visiting this weekend, be ready for potentially high crowds and longer wait times. A few strategies can help.
Rope drop is one of them. That means arriving before the park opens so you can ride a few attractions before it fills up. Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass can also help save some time. And it’s smart to have a list of your family’s must-do priorities and get those done first.
A busy day doesn’t have to be a bad one, especially with a plan for how you’ll tackle it.
If You’re Heading to Disney Springs
Based on our first-hand account, it’s reasonable to build in extra time if you’re driving to Disney Springs on a busy day, and to have a backup plan in case parking is full. We can’t say how parking will look on any other day. We can only say what we saw on October 10.
If you’re planning dinner or shopping there, factoring parking into your timeline could save you some stress. Something else that is also good to note is that although signage may state that a lot is full, it can be worth checking out. I have gone into a “capacity” lot at Disney Springs on a good number of occasions, and I found a spot; it just takes time and patience, but guests are coming in and out all of the time.
Tell Us What You Experienced
Were you at Disney World or Disney Springs this weekend? Share what you saw in the comments, whether it’s parking, wait times, or something else, and tell us what strategies worked for you on a busy holiday weekend.
