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"LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Escaping to Walt Disney World for spring break is like a rite of passage! And while it's a memorable vacation, it's also one of the busiest times of the year at this magical destination.Don't let the crowds mooch up all the magic! Follow our tips to avoid the crowds and you'll be on your way to a more relaxing meal.Dine at Off-Peak Times This is, without a doubt, the most important tip for missing crowds when dining in Disney World. Just as you'd experience in your favorite restaurants at home, people are prone to dining at particular times of the day. In Disney World, this means 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. for breakfast, noon to 2 p.m. for lunch, and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for dinner.If you book your reservations earlier or later than these times, you'll have a much better chance of having a little elbow room while eating! And guess what -- this works for both counter-service and table-service meals.Here's a Tip! This is a great way to save money, too! Make your breakfast reservation for 10 or 11 a.m., then book lunch for 3 p.m. If you get hungry for dinner, just grab a snack wherever you are! Breakfast and lunch are uniformly less expensive than dinner at most restaurants, and by eating two meals instead of three, you'll be getting a double dose of savings. Save money and your sanity!Beat the Crowds to the Parks Believe it or not, this tip can get you into the parks before they actually open! Make a reservation for a character breakfast inside one of the parks (each park has at least one) before the scheduled opening time. We like to shoot for an 8 a.m. reservation when the park opens at 9 a.m. When you arrive, enter through the Character Breakfast turnstile (don't forget your reservation number; you may be asked for it).While you may not be able to ride the rides before the park officially opens, you will be able to take family photos in a relatively empty theme park before the crowds descend. Also, you avoid the crush of traffic at the turnstiles when the park first opens!Finish your breakfast early and be ready ahead of the game -- you're already IN the park when it opens and can high-tail it to your first e-ticket attraction before your competition is even through the bag check.Here's a Tip! An early morning ADR at the Animal Kingdom's Tusker House is a great option -- it's well worth the early morning wake-up as you'll be situated perfectly to start touring at the popular Kilimanjaro Safari!Take Advantage of Mid-Day Resort Dining  A mid-day break after a long morning of park touring is always recommended, but you'd be surprised how many folks don't take one. This is to your advantage, because that means many of the Disney hotel restaurants are deserted for lunch.There are many restaurants that are a quick boat ride or monorail trip away from the nearest theme park. Head out for an early lunch and get back to the park in time to ride your favorites while everyone else is waiting for their lunch reservation!Here's a Tip! From the Magic Kingdom, take a boat to Fort Wilderness for lunch at Trail's End Restaurant, or walk to the Contemporary Resort for a meal at The Wave. At the Animal Kingdom? Hop on a bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a quick-service lunch at The Mara. And walk from Disney's Hollywood Studios or Epcot for lunch at ESPN Club.DON'T Follow the Crowd  The Disney World crowds are predisposed to go to table-service and counter-service restaurants to dine, naturally. But there are several non-restaurant locations where you can get a full meal! Sometimes, when the parks are veeery crowded, you'll need to employ this important tip!Disney World's bakeries both in and out of the parks often offer sandwich meals, sushi, and even soups. One of our favorites? Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe in Epcot offers some delicious sandwiches...and the desserts aren't bad, either!And Disney World lounges both in and out of the parks offer full meals as well. For example, even without a reservation at 50s Prime Time Cafe, you'll be able to order full meals from the menu at the attached Tune-In Lounge.   Our favorites? Rose and Crown Pub serves a mean English Bulldog -- an English sausage topped with bacon, cheese, and spicy mustard; and Crew's Cup Lounge at the Yacht Club starts serving meals at around 2pm.Here's a Tip! At the Animal Kingdom, choose picnic items from the Beastly Bazaar's Grab 'n Go counter!These are the tips we always use to avoid the crowds at Disney World, and they've always worked well for us! If you get a chance to use them on your next Disney World visit, let me know how it goes!AJ Wolfe is the owner and executive editor of The Disney Food Blog, a website covering all things food and drink in Walt Disney theme parks and resorts. Her newest Disney Dining e-Book -- The DFB Mini-Guide to Epcot Snacks -- offers reviews of over 150 snacks in Epcot! The Disney Food Blog is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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