Park Tips
Here are my top five park touring tips:
Show Up Early
If avoiding standing in Disney's infamous lines is important to you, there is no substitute for showing up 30-45 minutes before the parks open. Being present at "rope drop" (so named from when Cast Members would literally hold a rope in front of the crowd and drop it when the park opened) will allow you to experience the most high demand attractions before crowds arrive and waits develop. You can literally do in the two hours after a park opens more than later-arriving guests will do all day.
I know that it seems counter-productive to wake up at the crack of ass on vacation, but it has such a positive impact upon your experience, it's totally worth it. We typically arrive early, spend 4-5 hours knocking out attractions, and then we go back to the resort to rest or swim, and then head back in the evening when crowds have died back down and it's cooler. Standing in a massive line at 3 pm in the Orlando heat is miserable anyway, and is unlikely to enhance your trip.
2. Have a Plan and Pick Must-Dos
One of my favorite questions is when people ask what they should skip, as if doing everything is even a possibility. I've collectively spent months at Disney World, and there are still plenty of things I've never done. The better approach is to pick a short list of things that you absolutely must do, use those to anchor your day, and everything else is gravy.
While it's not necessary to plan out every moment of your day, you should absolutely have a plan of attack for each day before you get to the parks. Our general approach is to get there early, spend the first couple of hours doing as many major attractions as possible, and then transition to things that don't generate large waits as crowds start to arrive, all the while weaving in our Lightning Lane attractions as they come available. The lines and heat are at their apex in the afternoon, so we usually take a break at this time and hang at the pool or take a nap, and then head back to the parks in the evening to catch the nighttime shows and/or knock out a few more attractions.
For more on park touring strategy, I highly recommend TouringPlans.com, which is the companion site to The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Yes, I write for them, but I'm not being compensated for any referrals here, I'm just passing along the info because I trust the people there, and their strategies work. Well, well worth the small subscription cost, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of even a lean Disney trip.
3. Wear Comfortable Shoes
A trip to Disney World includes an awe-inspiring amount of walking. Without making special effort to do so, you'll easily walk 8 miles in a day, and you might do significantly more. Make sure you wear shoes that are broken in and give your feet enough support to handle the mileage.
4. Understand Lightning Lane
Lightning Lane can save you a significant amount of time waiting in line, and can in some cases be the difference between doing an attraction and not, but the latest iteration of it is not particularly intuitive. Make sure you understand what it is and how to use it. This includes both Genie+ Lightning Lane reservations and Individual Lightning Lane purchases. There's a detailed description of what it is and how to use it here.
5. Ignore Genie
Disney provides two services named Genie -- Genie, which is free, and Genie+, which costs $15/day. The free version of Genie purports to give you tips on what attractions to do, but it is utterly worthless. Ignore it.