Suggestions for things to do in MK when crowds are high and wait times are crazy

[UrsulaTime]

Lots of great ideas here, love reading them! The following suggestions are only things I've done myself.

If you're looking for refuge from the chaos (sitting in air conditioning with very little noise from other people):
Mickey's Philharmagic!
Carousel of Progress (less stimulating than Philharmagic - may induce a toddler nap)

If you're looking to sit down for an extended period in partial shade and keep a Magic Kingdom feel:
The railroad

If you have energy and don't feel like standing in line:
Tom Sawyer Island*
Dumbo - as PP said, there's an indoor play area

If you want to shop:
We really enjoyed looking around the princess-themed shop in Fantasyland. There are some nice details like a small throne in front of a stained glass window (I think?).


*I'm basing this on my experience at Disneyland but I'm sure it's super similar at MK!

 

[MorpethMiss]

We will do the Railroad and sometimes stay on it 2 loops around for a bit of a break... getting an ice cream at Plaza and sitting at tables with view of castle. .. if it's hot and you need shade, the tables beside Sleepy Hollow offer a nice break from the sun while enjoying a.Nutella fruit waffle! Philharmagic is a low key favorite, as is ppl mover. Hall of President's another good heat (and feet) break. It was still closed last time we visited but we usually do it.

Ps I love Small World (another long ride with ususally shorter lines) for sheer nostalgia, but my teenage daughter says it "creeps her out". sigh.

Small World creeps out my kids too, which makes it that much more enjoyable

 

[crostorfer]

Honestly, we leave. We can wander around other parks aimlessly for hours, but that's because we can drink there.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Take in the atmosphere at main street or ride the train....so much to do and see.

 

[michbaron]

On a hot day our kids love to run around the splash pad in storybook circus and there’s a great covered “tent” spot back there where we bring a snack and take a break

 

[Cissigys]

I think the only other thing we do that I haven't seen mentioned here is to hunt down the coin press machines. We did that over President's Day weekend when so many headliner rides were down and lines were really long. It was a lot of fun, and we ended up poking around in a lot of areas we wouldn't have otherwise explored.

We also used that time to get the cool portraits done at Memento Mori, but that isn't really an "activity" that you can do more than once.

 

[Dave Crissman]

This is part of the itinerary that I put together for our upcoming Disney World trip. I put this in a column on a Word document so we could quickly find ideas of activities that we might do in lieu of waiting in lines. Hopefully this helps.

Dave Crissman (The boldfaced/underlined suggestions are for our family because of interests and/or haven't done previously.)

Events/Activities that don’t have waits/minimal waits (Bold Faced and Underlined…definitely recommend doing)


Magic Kingdom- Philharmagic, Swiss Family Treehouse, Tom Sawyer Island, Tomorrowland PeopleMover, Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial, Festival of Fantasy Parade, Main Street Trolley Show, Move It Dance Party, Muppets Present…Great Moments in American History, Country Bear Jamboree, The Hall of Presidents, The Enchanted Tiki Room, WDW Railroad, Under the Sea…The Journey of the Little Mermaid, Carousel of Progress, The Royal Majesty Makers, Citizens of Main Street, The Dapper Dans, Main Street Trolley Show,


Hollywood Studios- MuppetVision 3D, Walt Disney Presents, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Animation Studio, Citizens of Hollywood, March of the First Order, Beauty and the Beast on Stage, Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular


Animal Kingdom- Affection Section-Rafiki’s Planet Watch, The Boneyard, Conservation Station- Rafiki’s Planet Watch, Gorilla Falls Expedition Trails, It’s Tough to be a Bug, Maharajah Jungle Trek, The Oasis Exhibits, Wildlife Express Train, Tree of Life Awakenings (night), Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe, Swotu Waya Na’vi Drum Ceremony, Divine, Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo-Musical, Buridika


EPCOT- Advanced Training Lab (next to Space), The American Adventure, Bruce’s Shark World, Phineas and Ferb: Agent P’s Adventure (World Showcase), Disney Pixar Short Film Festival, Club Cool (Free Coke products), Gran Fiesta Tour, Voices of Liberty (USA), House of the Whispering Willows (Japan), ImageWorks, Innoventions, Living with the Land, O, Canada!, Reflections of China, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Jammitors (Future World), Jeweled Dragon Acrobats (China), Mariachi Cobre (Mexico), Matboukha Groove (Morocco?), Matsuriza (Japan), Sergio (Italy), Spectaculab (Future World), Voices of Liberty (USA), British Revolution (UK), Serveur Amusant (France)

 

[a1tinkfans]

I almost think it’s easiest, with the smallest ones. Their expectations are nil .. it’s the adults that typically “ have to get their moneys worth” lol and I get that.
So many great ideas already provided OP.
I tell ya... when it was so mobbed years back for July 4th.. we left. Couldn’t even people watch lol.
So back to pool at resort and made most of it.... it’s all good, I mean we were still at Disney