We had the BEST first vacation at Disney World January 2018, thanks to a lot of pre-planning and our authorized Disney vacation planner! We invited Jenny to write our FIRST guest blog to discuss the 7 Steps in Planning your First Disney World Magical Vacation. Thank you Jenny!
Guest blogger: Jenny Gilbert, Travel Agent with Your Fairytale Vacation
It is an exciting time when you make the decision to take your family to Walt Disney World! However, first-timers can sometimes feel overwhelmed by what they hear from friends and read online about all of the planning involved in a Disney World vacation these days. Read on to learn the basics, and you will find that planning and anticipating can actually be a huge part of the fun!
Of course, if you don’t have the time or desire to do your own research and planning, simply contact a travel agent who specializes in Disney destinations to help walk you through the process. Most times there is no cost to use a travel agent to help you plan if you book your trip through them!
To get started, the first steps in planning your Disney World vacation are…
- Step #1: Choose your dates
- Step #2: Choose your resort
- Step #3: Choose your ticket package & any extras
Let’s start with Step #1, selecting your dates.
Many people try to plan their vacations during the “off season” to avoid crowded parks and long wait times. However, “light crowds” aren’t what they used to be and can actually be quite unpredictable these days. A general rule of thumb, though, is if the schools are out on break, this would be the most crowded time. Obviously, this includes holiday season, spring break and summer. You might be thinking Presidents Day or Easter would be a great time to go! Your kids already have off that Friday and/or Monday. You could extend the long weekend a couple more days and have a nice Disney World vacation. Well, LOTS of families have the same idea and those long weekends actually end up being some of the most crowded times.
Of course, you have to go when it works well for your family! Even with heavier crowds, your days can be manageable and magical if you arrive at the parks 30-45 minutes before park opening, commonly known as “Rope Drop”. Arriving early helps you take advantage of the least crowded time of day. Then you can take a break in the afternoons at your resort to rest up while avoiding the most crowded time of day. Come back to the parks later in the evenings to enjoy a few more attractions, nighttime entertainment and enchanted Disney ambience.
Many times, people ask me what I think is the perfect amount of days to spend at Disney World. No matter how many days you spend, there won’t be enough time to do everything. So that is not the goal. The goal is to make the most of the time you are there! You won’t even think about what you’re not doing; you will be enjoying the magical moments you are experiencing with your family! (You can always come back in a year or two to catch what you miss! 😉) My favorite trips to plan for first-timers include each of Disney’s 4 theme parks at least once and have a day in the middle to take a break.
Disney World’s 4 Theme Parks:
- Magic Kingdom
- Hollywood Studios
- Epcot
- Animal Kingdom
There are also 2 water parks (Most first-timers don’t go to the water parks. There’s just too much to do at the 4 main parks!):
- Blizzard Beach
- Typhoon Lagoon
And then there is Disney Springs, formerly known as Downtown Disney. Shopping, dining, activities, treats, music,… It’s a nice way to spend some downtime.
This is my ultimate 6-7 night itinerary…
Day 1: Arrival
Day 2: Park #1
Day 3: Park #2
Day 4: Break – Sleep in/pool/resort activities/Disney Springs/character meal
Day 5: Park #3
Day 6: Park #4
Day 7: Visit your favorite park once more and depart late this afternoon or tomorrow
If you can’t stay this long, your trip will still be amazing! Some families’ vacations are as short as 3 nights/2 full park days and they still have a wonderful time. It totally depends on your family, how many days you can take off and what you’re looking for in your Disney World vacation!
Onto Step #2: Choose your resort!
To summarize the Disney Resort Hotels – There are 3 main categories: deluxe, moderate and value. Then there are the deluxe villas which accommodate a larger group and have kitchens.
The value hotels are of course the least expensive. The rate depends on the “season”. The grounds at the value resorts are super cute, themed with big and bright decor. Kids love these resorts! However, the rooms at the values are small and have 2 double beds, except for Pop Century, which has a queen and a pulldown queen.
Disney’s Art of Animation is a value resort that has standard rooms, but it also has themed family suites that include a separate bedroom with a king bed and TWO bathrooms. It’s a great value if your family likes more space and an extra bathroom.
The moderate hotels have rooms that are a little bigger, a sink area that can be closed off to offer more privacy and have 2 queen beds. The moderate properties are themed like you are vacationing in a totally different destination. So it’s like each night you get a vacation to rest from your vacation.
The value and moderate hotels all have free buses to take you to the parks that run about every 20 minutes.
Deluxe resorts have bigger rooms, a more luxurious feel and are most conveniently located to one of the parks. For instance, the monorail resorts are located on a monorail loop with quick access to the Magic Kingdom. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is located one mile from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Then there are the Boardwalk resorts that are within walking distance of Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The deluxe resorts also have buses to all of the parks that they do not have immediate access to.
Here is a site you can browse to explore the hotels, parks and info about staying at a Disney hotel, etc. Disney World E-Brochure
Step #3: Choose your ticket package and any options
If you go with my recommended itinerary above, you would want to include a 5-day base ticket. Base tickets allow you access to one park per day. If you want the flexibility to go to more than one park per day, you would want to purchase the Park Hopper option on your tickets. If you want to also go to Disney World’s water parks, you can purchase those tickets separately or add the Park Hopper Plus option to your tickets.
There are other options you can add to your package, such as the Disney Dining Plan, Memory Maker photo package and Disney’s Magical Express complimentary airport transportation!
Once you choose your dates, resort, park tickets and options, it simply costs a $200 deposit to book your Disney vacation. This is called your Disney World Magic Your Way package. The rest of the cost can be spread out into payments however you like, as long as the remaining balance is paid by 30 days in advance of your arrival. Your $200 deposit is refundable until that same 30-day mark.
Once you have booked your Magic Your Way package, you will want to create a My Disney Experience account at www.startyourdisneyexperience.com. This is where all of your reservations and plans will be connected to your account and accessed on the website, Disney World app, and your Magic Bands, which will be sent to you about a month before your trip.
The next steps to planning your Disney Experience….
Step #4: Plan your day-to-day park itinerary
Step #5: Make dining reservations up to 180 days before arrival
Step #6: Select your FastPasses at 60 days before arrival
Step #7: Enjoy your Walt Disney World Vacation!
You definitely have the option of skipping these steps. You can just show up and go to a park each morning, eat at quick service restaurants and walk around figuring out what you want to do next. Many people do that! However, if you plan ahead, you can maximize your time in the parks, make sure not to miss any of your must-do attractions and restaurants, and minimize your wait times in lines. You basically get more out of your Disney World vacation when you take the time to do some research and planning in advance. Plus, it’s fun to look ahead at everything you want to try and do on your vacation.
Step #4: Plan which park to go to on which day
Whether you plan your park days by which park has Extra Magic Hours or wanting to go to the predicted least crowded park each day or any other preference, making a day-to-day plan will help you with the next steps: planning your dining reservations and FastPasses.
Step #5: Make your dining and “extra magic” reservations
There are fun and themed table service restaurants at each of Disney’s theme parks, moderate and deluxe resorts & Disney Springs. You can go to www.disneyworld.com, hover on “Things to Do”, and select “Make Reservations”. You will be able to filter the restaurants by dining experience, location/park, character experiences, etc. You can view menus here, as well as restaurant experience descriptions.
There are also great restaurants outside the parks at the resorts. Most deluxe resorts even have a character meal. If you have an early arrival time, going to a character meal at a deluxe resort on your arrival day is such a fun way to start your trip. Your break day is also a nice time to experience a character meal outside the parks. Then, some people like to have a character breakfast on their morning of departure to say goodbye!
You can also make reservations for “Extra Magic” activities and events, such as Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, A Pirates League makeover, pirate cruises, fireworks cruises, fishing, dessert fireworks parties, etc. So many things to do! However, I don’t recommend overscheduling your family. You want to be able to have flexibility to go with the flow!
Any time up to 180 days in advance of your arrival, you can make dining and many event/activities reservations online or by calling 407-939-DINE. The reservation window opens at 5am central time. In advance of this day, while perusing the choices on WDW’s website, you can jot down the restaurants you want to try to fit into your day-to-day itinerary. You might want to have some backup choices ready, as well.
If you are planning a trip less than 180 days in advance, you may initially find there is no availability for a restaurant you really want because the most popular restaurants can get booked up at that 180 day mark, especially during peak seasons. However, don’t get too upset if that princess or Disney Jr. character meal doesn’t have availability. Disney has a cancellation fee which charges $10 per person if you do not cancel 24-48 hours in advance of the reservation. This ensures people will cancel their reservations as they tweak their plans! Sometimes you can snag a reservation even at the most popular restaurants a day or two before your trip! Just keep checking! I’ve had clients book very last minute trips who were able to get some great reservations.
Step #6: Select your FastPasses at 60 days before arrival
You will be able to select 3 FastPasses for each of your park days in your My Disney Experience account. The FastPass reservation window opens at 60 days before your trip right at 6am central. The most popular attractions can get booked up soon after that. If you don’t get a FastPass for an attraction you want, you can still ride it! You would just wait in the regular standby line.
FastPasses allow you to bypass the regular standby line. You scan your Magic Band to enter the FastPass line. This may not eliminate 100% of the waiting time, but it reduces it greatly!
Each of your FastPasses will be for a one hour arrival window, so that gives you some flexibility. Once you use all 3 of your FastPasses that day, you can open the app and select another one based on availability. Once you use that one, you can select another… and then another…
After you have your dining and FastPass attractions booked, you are ready to go! Some people like to go beyond this part of the planning, however. They like to research for extra tips and to make specific park touring plans to minimize their wait times. Extra research and anticipating what you are going to do can be such a big part of the excitement leading up to your trip. However, be careful in your research. Many times you can find wonderful, helpful tips in Facebook groups and online! However, sometimes information given by well-meaning people is incorrect or outdated.
So there you go! Planning a Walt Disney World vacation in a nutshell! If you would like the assistance of a travel agent to walk you through the planning stages and give you specific suggestions and tips for your trip, contact them from the very beginning. That way they can book your package for you and their planning services will be complimentary!
Now it’s time for Step #7: Have a MAGICAL vacation!!! ºoº.•*¨¨*•.ºoº
