How To Visit Disney World In 2 Days

Although I am a Disney fan and have visited the parks many times over the past few years, I still find the experience a bit overwhelming. With four theme parks, two water parks, Disney Springs, and countless hotels, there's so much to see and do.

Even with a longer vacation, it can be challenging to plan a trip that includes all of your must-dos. If you only have two days to visit, it will be even more difficult. But, even if you only have two days to visit Walt Disney World, you'll need to be more thoughtful in your planning.

This post offers our best tips for visiting Walt Disney World in two days.

Disclosure: I've been on some complimentary and discounted trips to Walt Disney World, but have also paid my own way. This post contains affiliate links, and a purchase/click through one of these links may result in a commission paid to us at no cost to you.

When booking your Walt Disney World vacation, consider purchasing through our affiliate Get Away Today. They offer great prices on tickets and can book many hotels.

How To Visit Disney World In 2 Days

Set Your Expectations

If you want to visit Disney World over two days, it's important to set your expectations properly. There is no way that you can see and do everything. These are large, busy parks with many rides, shows, shops, and restaurants.

Understand that while you won't be able to see everything that the parks offer, you can still have a great time over these two days. You aren't meant to see everything at Disney in one visit, regardless of how long you have.

Get the Right Tickets

When you purchase Walt Disney World tickets, you'll see that there are a variety of options to choose from. In addition to the number of days, you'll also be able to choose to add on the park hopper option and the two water parks.

For your two-day visit, you'll need to decide whether you want to see all four theme parks or prioritize two. Before making this decision, you can look at the attractions offered at each park and decide which ones are best for your vacation. While my family loves EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios (if we have to choose two parks), you may prefer the Magic Kingdom if you are first-time guests or have young children.

If you do want to visit all four theme parks over the two days, you will need to be very thoughtful in your visit. You'll also need to get a park hopper ticket. That's the only way that you'll be able to visit more than one park per day. The park hopper is added to every day of your multi-day ticket.

Know that you won't be able to see everything in the parks, and set expectations with your family. Young kids may be confused about why they must leave a park (especially the Magic Kingdom) if they haven't seen everything.

Plan Two Full Days

For this short trip, planning for two long days is a good idea. While you will be tired, it's the best option for seeing and doing as much as possible.

We recommend starting at rope drop, which is Disney's term for right at the park opening. The rope the cast members hold blocking the entrance is past security, the turnstiles, and the park entrance, so you must arrive before the posted opening time in the early morning.

It's also a good idea to check the park calendar. Sometimes, special events, like Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, cause the park to close earlier. Guests need a separate ticket for these events.

Consider Lightning Lane, and Virtual Queues (when offered)

Lightning Lane Multi-Pass is an add-on that can be purchased separately. While it's completely optional, Lightning Lane Multi-Pass can be a great way to save time, because you'll be given a time window to return to an attraction and go through the Lightning Lane.

At Walt Disney World, Lightning Lane Multi-Pass can be purchased 7 days in advance for guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel and 3 days in advance for everyone else. The purchase window starts at 7 a.m. Eastern Time.

Lightning lanes are available at popular attractions at each park. However, the most popular attractions utilize the Lightning Lane single-pass system, which is separate from the multi-pass system. The Lightning Lane single pass is a separate cost and can be purchased individually.

Currently, the Lightning Lane single pass is available for several attractions. These include:

• TRON (the Magic Kingdom)
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (the Magic Kingdom)
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (EPCOT)
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
• Avatar: Flight of Passage (Disney's Animal Kingdom)

Virtual queue is another system sometimes used at Walt Disney World. There are currently no attractions that use it, but new attractions typically use it to manage crowds.

Utilize Mobile Ordering and Quick Service Dining

Walt Disney World offers many great restaurants, including fantastic character dining experiences. However, for a two-day trip, you may consider skipping these.

Of course, if your child has a favorite character or you want to experience one of these restaurants, you should absolutely do so. However, you can save time and money by choosing instead to eat at quick-service restaurants.

The Walt Disney World My Disney Experience app offers mobile ordering, which you should use. With mobile ordering, you skip the queue and instead order and pay on the app. You'll get a return time, and you can just go to the mobile order area and pick up your food.

Stay Nearby

For your two-day Walt Disney World experience, it can be beneficial to stay on-site. Not only will you be nearby, but you'll also be able to take advantage of early entry.

Guests of on-property hotels (as well as a few other, nearby hotels), can enter the parks 30 minutes before other guests. This can give you a big advantage by letting you ride a few attractions before the lines get longer.

Have you visited Walt Disney World over two days?