When to go where

So you've spent a small fortune for your Disney tickets and you want to make the most of them. There are definately strategies for touring the parks that will allow you avoid the majority of the crowds. Part of the trick is to know which parks to avoid on certain days. Other tricks include knowing which rides to do at certain times of the day. It's sort of like playing the stock market, you have to buy when everybody else is selling if you want to win.

Sound complicated? It can be. That's why there are services that can help. Three services, in no particular order, that have loyal followings are:

• The Unofficial Guide
• Tour Guide Mike
• Passporter

They each have different qualities. One thing I like about The Unofficial Guide that the other two do not have is the crowd calendar. It's handy if you are free to choose when you are going to Disney World since it shows historical crowd levels.

I've never personally used Tour Guide Mike or Passporter but lots of people swear by them. I tend to try to go during times when the crowd levels are low enough that I don't have to worry about crowds. However, if you are going during a mid-to-high crowd season then I think I would spend the $20-$30 and give it a try.