7 Places You Do NOT Want to Be in Disney World — Take Notes

There are a lot of places you’ll WANT to be during your Disney World vacation.

Magic Kingdom

You’ll want to be on time for your dining reservations and Genie+ Lightning Lanes. You’ll probably want to be in front of Cinderella Castle at night for that perfect fireworks view. And of course, at some point, you’ll want to brave the gift shops to get that must-have souvenir. But there are also plenty of places you DON’T want to be in Disney World…and we’re sharing the details!

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Queue at 3:20PM

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a classic ride in Magic Kingdom, and in our opinion, it’s a must-do! But there’s probably one time that you should AVOID the line for Big Thunder — right after the parade.

Big Thunder Mountain

Big Thunder is a great ride to check out DURING the Festival of Fantasy Parade because it’s pretty difficult to get to the back of Frontierland since the parade route blocks it off. So usually, the wait time drops for the popular coaster during the 12PM and 3PM parades. But as soon as they’re over and everyone sees that short wait time in the My Disney Experience app, they’ll rush over there.

Big Thunder Mountain Queue

So avoid the line at that time unless you want to wait much longer than expected!

The Line for the Express Monorail at 9:30AM…or 9:45PM

Most guests in Disney World aren’t waking up early enough to truly “rope drop” the parks (you know, get there BEFORE they open). In fact, we often see the largest swell of people arrive shortly after the parks open, which means that’s when you might find the longest lines at the entrance and especially the longest lines for the Express Monorail from the Transportation & Ticket Center (Magic Kingdom’s parking lot) to Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom Express Monorail

When that monorail line gets SUPER long around 9:30AM, you might even find that it’s faster to take the ferryboat or the Resort Monorail to get to the park instead. Generally this rush of people will last until about mid-morning.

Express Monorail station at Magic Kingdom

The other time that the monorail line gets really excessive is right after the Happily Ever After fireworks end in the evening. Many people will stay to watch the fireworks and then go home, so the queue for transportation back to the parking lot gets incredibly full. If you can avoid riding the monorail at either of those times, you’ll be a LOT less stressed!

Starbucks or Joffrey’s at 10AM

First thing in the morning at the Disney World parks, you’ll get the rope drop crowds. Those are the people who are serious and dedicated to knocking out a few rides before the rest of the hoards arrive. Then a little later, you’ll get the guests who want to sleep in and not rush their morning. And unfortunately, those two groups of guests converge at all the Starbucks and Joffrey’s locations right around 10AM.

It gets REAL busy in here in the mornings.

The latecomers snag coffee when they first arrive, and the rope droppers wait to get it until they’ve accomplished a few must-dos and the ride lines start to get long. That leaves you with lengthy queues for coffee from about 10AM-early lunchtime. Don’t waste your time in line then!

Chocolate Java Mint Frappuccino

Instead, you can Mobile Order Joffrey’s coffee from a number of quick service spots in the parks. Check the menus in the morning to see which restaurants serve coffee with breakfast and you’ll thank us later!

Toy Story Land in the Middle of the Afternoon

There’s one spot that we pretty much always hate visiting in the middle of the afternoon, and that’s Toy Story Land! First of all, the land is at the back of the park, so it usually starts to get crowded around midday when Hollywood Studios visitors are halfway through their park lap.

Slinky Dog Dash

In addition to that, we’re also convinced that it’s the absolute HOTTEST land in all of Disney World. Shade here is scarce, and that pavement makes things incredibly sweltering. The ride queues are mostly outdoors, and even the quick service spot only has outdoor tables. It’s an absolute nightmare in the summertime, so do yourself a favor and stop here in the morning or evening instead!

The Hollywood Boulevard Restrooms at Rope Drop

Another spot in Hollywood Studios that you should avoid? The restrooms at the start of Hollywood Boulevard during rope drop! Those bathrooms are located just after the park entrance, which means that after people wait in line to enter the park, they’re heading there first thing.

Restrooms at the Hollywood Studios entrance

They’re not excessively large either, so they can get a pretty long line if it starts to get crowded. Instead of using those, we recommend stopping at the bathrooms OUTSIDE the Hollywood Studios entrance, which are massive and often kept pretty clean.

World of Disney on a Saturday Night

Heading to Disney Springs on Saturday night? Well, you and EVERYONE ELSE. Disney Springs gets really crowded on the weekends because visitors and locals head out to do some shopping and get a delicious dinner. So that means that on a Saturday night, World of Disney is probably the busiest you’ll see it.

Disney Merchandise

If you like shopping shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of strangers, be our guest. But personally, we prefer an emptier shopping experience so we’ll be heading to World of Disney first thing in the morning instead!

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe at Lunchtime

And finally, let’s talk about Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. As one of the busiest quick service restaurants in all of Disney World, this spot is bound to get crowded during any major mealtime. But there’s nothing quite like the lunch rush!

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe

During the hours of 11-1, it gets SO packed inside Cosmic Ray’s that it’s hard to walk past the registers and sometimes near impossible to find a table indoors. If you’d like to eat here, we suggest dining during an off meal time or later in the evening.

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe crowds

On your next trip to Disney World, make sure to AVOID all of these crowded and chaotic places! We’ll keep you in the loop with the crowd trends and all the tips you need to successfully navigate the parks.

Disney World Crowds Have Gotten Unpredictable. Here’s How to Make That Not Matter!


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Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.

Whether you’re a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!

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The post 7 Places You Do NOT Want to Be in Disney World — Take Notes first appeared on the disney food blog.