Disney Worldhas evolved tremendously since its opening over 50 years ago, so much so that heading to the parks without any sort of plan or strategy isn’t entirely a good idea. From having to book restaurant reservations 60 days in advance to scheduling lightning lanes for your favorite rides, there’s a lot of pressure when it comes to making sure you have a great time in the most magical place on earth.
Recently, there is a strategy that has become extremely popular amongst Disney World park goers. This is called the 3-2-1 Disney Hack. To follow this, you choose three must-do rides, two must-do entertainment options, and one dining experience. The idea behind following this is to create a tiny bit of structure for your day, ensuring that you hit some of your favorite things in the parks, but it also leaves room for spontaneity.
View this post on Instagram
While I do think that this idea is wonderful in theory—I realized that it wouldn’t be possible for my family’s Disney World trip. I have a large family of 10 that travels to Disney World every couple of years together. That is extremely different from the people who go a few times a year, sometimes with a much smaller group of people. For them, the 3-2-1 method works perfectly, but for us, it simply wouldn’t be an option.
Related: How I Pack For a 7-Day Disney World Trip With A Single Carry-On
We Couldn’t All Agree On What To Do
My family of 10 ranges in ages from 2 to 66. Some experiences are great for the 2-year-old, while others are great for the grandparents, and some are great for the in-between folks. Ultimately, however, we want to experience everything together. It wouldn’t be a family vacation if we all were simply running around to the attractions that we specifically wanted to enjoy, missing out on making memories as a family.
Melissa Cabey
If we had to choose just three top attractions to enjoy–that would be incredibly hard to do. Instead, we all discussed our “must-do” rides, and made a sheet in Excel. Then, we looked at which rides tend to have the longest lines throughout the day. For those rides, we booked lightning lanes one week ahead of time. We were able to book three rides per park day. After that, we had a list of the other rides we wanted to hit. After each lightning lane was redeemed on the day of our park visit, we were able to reserve another one in the app. Ultimately, we ended up doing about 5 to 6 rides, scheduled through lightning lanes, on each park day.
Melissa Cabey
As for entertainment, we simply fit in the shows or s that were possible to go to in between our scheduled lightning lane rides. My family tried to experience as many of the entertainment options as possible, especially to appease the younger children in our group. This was something that we more-so did “on the fly”. Some days we were able to see three different shows or s, and some days we didn’t see any.
Choosing one dining option is the one aspect of this method that I can get on board with. Since reservations are made 60 days in advance, and spots can fill up quickly, planning one special meal in each park is definitely a great idea. My family discussed what our most coveted options were for each park, and we tried to make sure that each person got to go to at least one of their favorite restaurants at some point throughout the week.
Related: Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain Just Reopened—But It’s Already Facing a Major Hiccup
We Want Our Money’s Worth
Ultimately, if you only visit Disney once every few years, you’re going to want to experience as much as you possibly can. These trips can cost thousands of dollars–and it wouldn’t necessarily feel worth it if you didn’t take advantage of every second of the day.
Every family is different. Some, like mine, prioritize rides. If that’s the case, only planning on three and “seeing where the rest fall” isn’t going to guarantee that you hit all of your favorites. Instead, strategic planning must be used. The use of lightning lanes, checking the Disney World app for standby line times, and skipping a or show might be necessary to make it happen.
Other families love to see as many shows and s as possible. When this is the case, that can make riding multiple rides in one day a bit tricky. But, if you’re only going to Disney World once every so often–would you really want to risk missing your favorite firework castle show or mid-day ? You need to make the trip worth the money that you’re spending on it.
Melissa Cabey
I truly do see how this method could be great for a family that goes to Disney World multiple times a year. They don’t feel the stress of “having to get it all in” when visiting the parks. If they miss their favorite attraction, they can simply make sure they hit it next time. For my family, however, the “next time” is years away–and we simply want to experience as much as we can while we’re there.
Related: Disney World Just Revealed 2027 Ticket Prices and One Park Is Hitting a New Peak