To beat the survival you should obviously know every level: exit routes and each life potion location. I suggest to play Time Attach (no checkpoints!) to get familiar with every stage and learn how to finish them in one go.
Take notes about dangerous jumps, spikes and enemies. It’s pointless for me to put a list, everyone is different! I’m a good fighter and jumper, but I’m bad with slicers, while a friend of mine is a spikes lover. :-D
Mark down just the hardest places for you to pass, so you could spend a little more time being careful (you should have at least 15 minutes spare, so take it easy and don’t be careless).
Try to retrieve every life potion, but only if you’re comfortable with it. Remember: one error and you’re out, so if you want to leave the hardest behind, no problem. Just bear in mind that the last fights would be more risky.
For the fighting, the only hint I can give you is this: after each hit (X) do always a parry (A), and vice-versa, so if the enemy hits back, you’re already on your guard. But don’t wait for him to strike, just press A after the X! Otherwise you’ll be late for the parry! You should ALWAYS do X, A, X, A, X ‘til you hit the enemy, or he stops swinging, or you two end up in a lock (in this case you should hit X as fast as possible). Then start over again.
If you’re cornered (ie: with spikes, slicers or chasm on your back), try to swap position with your enemy: stay as near as possible to him, and when he strikes, hold A to parry. If done right you’ll switch.
For the guard captain (that orc kind of guy), you cannot switch position, but you can push him back just pressing on him... remember to parry/avoid the attacks and everything will be fine.
The second and final confrontation with Jafar is dangerous because of the gap behind you and the fast responses. As for the orc captain, you cannot switch position, just push him to the left. Try to stay as near as possible to him, avoid/deflect the attach (A) in the very moment you see him waving his staff, and hit him as soon as you can, dodging after it (X,A,X,A,X... as usual). Just remember that this guy has a fast hitback, expecially after that "slow effect", so it's risky trying to hit him after this or while he's still. There’s a high opportunity to strike him after he fires that purple ray, though, so be prepared and good luck!