Disney

"Planning your Visit and your days at the parks
a.. Fastpasses. This is the way to get on the rides w/o waiting in the long lines. You put your tickets in a fastpass kiosk (let's say Dumbo) and they will print you out a time to go back and ride the ride (10-11 a.m. for ex). You can't get another fastpass until 5 minutes after your time begins (10:05) I suggest at that time, one of you go to another ride (Pooh for ex) and get another fastpass. Then you go back to Dumbo, ride w/o line and when you are finished, go over to Pooh and do the same. You can see what times are available at the top of the ride. Don't get one if it isn't available until 9 or so at night, b/c then you can't use your fastpass until 9:05 p.m. Also - Mike asked the attendant if we could get on Space Mountain and she printed us out fastpass tickets for anytime!
b.. Definitely do Fast Pass for any attractions you are interested in. Not all rides have Fast Pass, but the most popular do. They're basically timed tickets. You get a ticket, come back at the stated time for a shorter waiting time. It's very cool! I think though, if the estimated wait time is less than 15-30 minutes, it's not necessary to do FastPass.
c.. Get a schedule of events and character greetings when you first arrive in the park and then plan your day around things you don't want to miss. You want to hit the really popular rides asap or before the lines get too long. Use FASTPASS if lines are more than 30 minutes. Because normally if the wait time says 30 minutes - it's a lot less than that and worth waiting for.
d.. Since we were staying a week, we hit the less stimulating parks first - Epcot on Day 1, then Animal Kingdom on day 2, then MGM, the Magic Kingdom last so they wouldn't be disappointed later on by lame rides (such as the Land at Epcot.) On day 5 we went back and hit the best rides/shows at each park.
e.. Our initial plan was to get to the parks early in the morning, leave around lunch to eat and nap and then come back for the rest of the day. My son just wouldn't leave until they close!! he was there from 9am to 9pm with a big grin on his face while all of us we went with my parents) were exhausted.
f.. Good Hint: Take advantage of the hour early policy at the parks (if you stay in the park, you are allowed to go an hour earlier.) You can most of the rides knocked out from 9-12 as opposed to 12-8 pm. When you go in the morning, head straight to the back of the park. Everyone stops at the rides as they walk along. If you go to the back and work forward, you will have less lines (our first 3 or so lines, we didn't have much of a line).
g.. Start Early ......Take advantage of early openings for different parks daily ....
h.. try to get to the park early, leave by about lunchtime to have a quiet afternoon at the hotel (swimming, hanging out) and then go back in the late afternoon evening after a rest and the crowds have died down. Since you are staying onsite you can get evening passes for after everyone else leaves.
i.. a great schedule for us was to go early in the morning after breakfast, stay until lunchtime, go back to the hotel and nap and hang out by the pool, and then go back for the afternoon/evening. The crowds are thinnest in the morning and evening, and it's coolest--and they really need a rest during the day.
j.. take a break in the middle of the day ..its worth it
k.. Leave the parks mid-day and ***MAKE SURE THEY TAKE THEIR NAP***. We leave just before or after
luch and return around dinnertime.
l.. I like to concentrate on one park at a time. It is crazy to think you can do more than one park a day. We tried it. Our kids (8, 6, 5) were beat and so were we. I think it is just better to buy one day passes at each park for the day. The only difference is that Animal Kingdom closes at 7, so you could go back to Magic Kingdom for the fireworks.
m.. Also at MGM you need to stand in line for tickets to see the shows for each character so line up your day there and get all the tickets in advance so you're not running around trying to get into shows and missing them. the tickets are free."