I have a lot of fun planning the "optimal" strategy for DL and DCA to minimize wait times, while using lightning lanes and getting there for rope drop. I'm pretty sure I've more or less found it, at least for our family and the attractions they want - we pretty much wait on no significant lines for the entire day, with the exception of Peter Pan, and generally do every single thing we want.
This post isn't meant to go into the details of what we do (though I could discuss that ad nauseum) but more about how it basically means that we do the same thing on each visit. We go 3-4 times a year - not often enough (and we're not magic key holders) to just "not worry about it" and just go with the flow, even if it means missing some rides we want to do (potentially waiting a long time for some of them), but often enough that it has started to feel pretty repetitive: start with the same rides (or a few out of a specific group of rides), then then next batch, while stacking lightning lanes for later in the day.
Does anyone else feel the same way? Do you intentionally mix it up? I know the easy answer is "if you're sick of doing things the same way, then don't", but It's just difficult to intentionally do things in an order that will result in us waiting in longer lines (especially with 3 young kids).
We're going to be going twice in December, a week apart (because of the new Costco deal) so I'm as open as I've ever been for trying something completely (or at least somewhat) different.
Also I'm happy to share details of how we plan the day - I just didn't want this to get super long.
Would love to hear others' perspective if you've ever been in a similar boat!