You'll definitely be behind the crowd. Use LLs judiciously and you'll be fine.
7:14pm on 5/10/26 by
evamarie320
@eve- we are going in summer when crowds are lower, and will have LL and standby skipper. Might even get premier pass a couple days. Are non LL rides also backed up by park open? And, we can stay late- is staying until close useful?
7:16pm on 5/10/26 by
Chrissy-T
I wouldn't bother with Standby Skipper. You could do fine with booking LLs on your own. We always schedule our preselects to start in the 9 a.m. hour or later, and we don't rope drop.
7:43pm on 5/10/26 by
utang44
Also, there aren't very many rides that don't have LL. Carousel and PeopleMover are the only ones that come to mind.
7:44pm on 5/10/26 by
utang44
Staying til close is very useful.
9:09pm on 5/10/26 by
evamarie320
Yeah, just agreeing here that, unlike in DL, there are very few rides that don't have LLs that also incur any significant wait (Astro Orbiter is one of the very few that comes to mind). The advantage at WDW is that you don't need to RD to get started...
9:40pm on 5/10/26 by
JERancher
@utang- what time do you usually arrive?
These are great tips!
9:41pm on 5/10/26 by
Chrissy-T
....with booking your LLs. Also, keep in mind the 119-minute rule at WDW, where the LL window is unofficially good for 119 min after that initial hour. And (just like at DL, I think?) you can get another LL after the first expires. So I would have...
9:42pm on 5/10/26 by
JERancher
LLs booked early (say, from 9-10am). If you arrive at 9:30 or so, tap into one to be able to unlock the tiers and hopping if you're doing that). But then you can let some expire at 10am (because they'll still be good until 11:59am); at 10:01, you can...
9:44pm on 5/10/26 by
JERancher
...book more. If you're strategic with LL, you will be just fine. (My bias is that you really won't need Premiere Pass in the summer, but if you want to do it, I suspect that Hollywood Studios would be the best one for time savings, but EP would get ...
9:46pm on 5/10/26 by
JERancher
...you the most non-DLish things. Good luck!
9:46pm on 5/10/26 by
JERancher
You guys are the best- awesome tips! Our thought with premier pass is to avoid walking all over the park in the heat, me not being on my phone all day, and being able to sleep in. We wouldn't get it every day, just one or two of our 6 park days
11:20pm on 5/10/26 by
Chrissy-T
Any tips for what crowds are really like in the summer?
11:26pm on 5/10/26 by
Chrissy-T
@chrissy- you're not wrong about wanting to miss the heat. It can be unrelenting. I've been 3x in the summer in the past four years. Once it was moderate and twice it's been brutal. Be prepared for midday storms as well (they usually do pass)....
11:55pm on 5/10/26 by
JERancher
...The good news is that summer crowds are light, and have been trending that way for years. We tend to try to rope drop and/or stay late, and plan a bunch of indoor stuff midday. One year, I bought LLs to avoid the heat even though the crowds didn't...
11:58pm on 5/10/26 by
JERancher
....really justify the purchase (that's in the eye of the beholder of course- I just often try to save the $). If using PP to help you not backtrack, EP would be the best bet for that; the park is massive and headliners are strewn to all four corners.
12:00am by
JERancher
@jerancher- thank you for the advice! How is it without LL in the summer? Do you still feel like you get a lot done with rd and staying late?
12:20am by
Chrissy-T
I'd say it depends. I would definitely skip LLs for AK. You can get everything done in AK by early pm. Last summer, I did an AH ticket one year instead of a park ticket at HS... and since it was an adults only trip, we could hang late. That was $ well...
1:10am by
JERancher
...spent. If I'm staying in the Skyliner, I often skip LLs: I can RD Remy's, Frozen, Test Track, and suck up a modest wait for Soarin. (I don't usually ride GotG but in this scenario, that one is worth buying if you do.) The one I always buy it for if...
1:12am by
JERancher
...rides are a priority is MK. There are just so many rides that even 15-20 min here and there can add up. So long story short: I like LLs for MK and HS almost always. Never for AK. Only for EP if I'm coming from the front. But this is very, very...
1:13am by
JERancher
...subjective, and reasonable minds can definitely differ!!
1:14am by
JERancher
Oh one other thing: if you're coming in Aug after the Halloween parties have started, it's 1000% worth it to do MK on a party day. The shorter hrs turn off a lot of ppl, but crowds are crazy low, and most rides are near walk-ons until early/mid-pm.
1:16am by
JERancher
(Sorry- the Skyliner comment above pertains to EP! Need to go to bed!)
But anyway: I dare say most folks even on here will tell you to just buy them for every day, except maybe AK. If this is your first time trip, I might say the same, just for peace...
1:21am by
JERancher