So not sure if this is known or not but when you get to the gate near the start of Y Island, if you start the gate opening animation and pause the game the animation will continue during the pause menu. Unpause when the animation has finished to save a few seconds.

I've not fully tested this with times but I'm assuming game time is actually paused during the paused screen.

Tested a year ago, doesn't save time

Ah fair enough, how comes it doesn't save time? does the timer still run on pause?

Oooh I see now. comparing 2 runs side by side is pretty clear. The transition happens earlier if you don't pause.