So, you want to plan a trip to Disney?! Great. You found a great place to start! Before your trip, there are so many things to do, so here are the lists of things I like to do & when I do them before my trip:
Where to begin?!
As soon as you know you want to go on a Walt Disney World vacation, you need to start saving! It can take at least a year or two for most of us to save up. You'll want to pick your budget and then pick out your dates!
Immediately you'll start dreaming about which hotel you may stay in, who you are bringing with you & how long your adventure will be. Getting a general budget is key. The average family probably spends about $5-10 thousand a week on hotels, park tickets, dining plans & flights. You could easily spend less or so incredibly much more, you just have to be intentional and aware of how things add up.
Don't panic - you may be wanting to go to WDW next month and you usually can find great deals and such, I just prefer to plan & save ahead. So, if you have less time, just make sure you look at all the things.
- Come up with a preliminary budget.
- Make sure you have the My Disney Experience (MDE) App & Account
- Price out resorts/make a short list of the hotels you'd like to stay in.
- Consider how long you'd like to stay/price out length.
- Decide what package you will want: just resort, just tickets to stay off property, or a package with a dining plan.
- Make sure you check out Special Offers, too. I LOVED getting free dining a few years back, but you have to be on top of things to get those perks.
- DVC Members: Book out your "Home Resort" at 11 months out - you want to be sure you have a back up plan if you don't get the resort you want!
9 months+
So, its been a few months or years of dreaming and your trip is getting closer! It's time to get down to business and get a general plan on lock down. You'll want to get a good picture of when you're going, where you are staying and all of that starts with that final budget. Then you can start to get booked!
- Finalize the budget.
- Decide how long you'll be staying at WDW. (I prefer 8-12 day trips)
- Decide where you'd like to stay - not only which WDW Resort, but what kind of room.
- Look at the many crowd calendars you'd like to use to decide which park you will be at on which days. I like to use the Undercover Tourist OR Touring Plans. We like to spend 2-3 days in Magic Kingdom, 1 in Hollywood Studios and 1-2 in EPCOT and 1-2 in Animal Kingdom. Having a day or two off in the middle of your trip is awesome too.
- BOOK IT! If you are sure of your plans and you have the down payment, book it! The cancellation policy is not the best, so make sure you are aware & read the fine print.
- DVC Members: Book out other DVC Resorts 7 months out, so mark your calendars & decide on your wait list requests.
As your trip gets closer, there are less big decisions to make and more fun planning to do! I like to have a plan so I don't end up walking aimlessly around the parks and waste time or energy. My preference is to have a plan that is detailed that I am comfortable throwing out the window if things change.
- Decide on your final plan of which park you will go each day (unless you spring for hoppers!).
- Decide on meal plans/where you'd like to eat
- Consider eating at the park you will be at. You have to pay for park tickets to eat at a restaurant inside a park.
- Make a reservation list of where you'd like to eat Table Service meals & the ideal time range you would want to eat there.
- I tend to only plan one meal a day because they can take 1 1/2-2 hours.
- I also rarely do sit down meals since you can bring your own food into the parks.
- Make dining reservations in MDE. Start with the most important at 7am EST 180 days out.
- Remember you can adjust your dining reservations at anytime and cancel them up to 24 hours before the reservation without penalty.
- You do NOT have to have a trip booked in order to book a dining reservation, so if you aren't sure if you will actually be going, go ahead and book meals. You can always cancel them. Just beware of the 24 or less penalty.
- Make a wishlist of top 5 attractions/entertainment options for Fast Passes for each park
- Make a general (or specific) plan for each day at the park.
- Reserve a stroller/scooters online. Don't wait to long. Trust me, I had to buy one to bring because I waited too long!
- Keep an eye out for flight deals online. Consider booking flights.
- Once you book your flights, make sure to call that info into your travel agent/Disney directly so they can reserve your spot on the Magical Express and send you luggage tags so your bags can magically appear in your room! It's an amazing feature.
30 days
- Final days to pick out your Magic Bands if staying onsite on MDE.
- Start gathering clothes and shoes for the whole family. Consider the weather!
- This is especially important for off-season travel.
- Be sure to consider doing laundry at the hotel to cut down on packing!
- Finalize your day plans. Make sure you have a transportation plan to get to your dining reservations. There are so many ways to get there - buses, monorail, boats, etc.
- Order anything you'll need online - groceries to be delivered, cute matching shirts, etc.
- I always make a trip a few weeks (or months) before our trip to a Disney Store Outlet near our home so we can save some and the kids can have a few cute shirts for the trip (without breaking the bank at the parks!)
- Make sure you've received your Magic Bands! (Tracking available on MDE)
- Make sure you've received your luggage tags if taking the Magical Express.
- Finish Packing!
- Consider sending yourself a package at the hotel with things as needed.
- Pack your Magic Bands in your carry on.
- Double check your packing list.
- Make a list of things to throw in your bag before you leave the house!
- Try to sleep!
There are great planning ideas!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen!
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