Each year over 17 million people flock to Disney World. Without question Disney World is the premier theme park attraction in the United States. These numbers are proof of the power of Disney in 2012. But with great numbers, comes great crowds, great lines, and great headaches, if you aren't prepared. Without a good disney park strategy, you may find your time in Orlando to be a chore. Today we are going to give you three tips to beat the crowds during your time at the WDW resorts.

Get to the parks early: This can be very difficult to do. After all, you are on vacation! But if this is a first time visit, you need to maximize your time. If relaxation is what you are after, go to the beach! While at Disney World, you will be busy! Crowds are almost always at their lightest early in the day. Get there an hour before the park opens, get in line first, and you can hit 3-4 of the major attractions before 10am, get a snack, and ride a few more before lunch! If you get to the parks late, you'll fit right in with everyone else. You'll be lucky to get 2 big rides in before lunch, and you'll be well on your way to an exhausting day.

Choose your days wisely: Disney has something called "extra magic-hours". These are extra periods of time that the park is open to Disney resort occupants only. Some of these time periods last until late at night. If you happen to catch the Magic Kingdom open until 1 or 2 am, this can be a great time to ride a bunch of rides. But there is another way to strategize around magic hours. If the Magic Kindom is open until 1am, you can guarantee that a large percentage of people staying in the resorts were there until at least 10-11. That means the following morning you will find EMPTY CROWDS! People will be exhausted, and if they do happen to get up early, they probably are going to go to another park. The morning after can be an incredible time to get up bright and early and knock out a ton of activities.

Utilize Fastpasses: Despite the fact that general admission allows everyone access to fastpasses, many don't use them. Don't make that mistake. If you walk up to a ride, the wait is 60 minutes, and there is a fastpass line, DON'T GET IN LINE!! Get a fastpass and go ride something with a smaller wait. Also, take note of the times at the bottom of all fastpasses. There is a time listed in which you can next get another fastpass. Try to get your next set of fastpasses as soon as you possibly can.

There is no question that using expert disney park strategy can allow you to ride more rides, and spend less time waiting in line. If you time things right, you can literally avoid lines longer than 15 minutes for the entire day. This is even possible in peak periods of the year with enough planning. Hopefully these disney tips can help you to enjoy your visit and keep the entire family happy, active and always enjoying new parts of the WDW resort!