You’ve finally decided to take the most magical of family vacations and have started your Walt Disney World vacation planning. Suddenly, the enormity of the task becomes real as you begin encountering tips for everything from finding the best airfare, to purchasing park tickets and making dining reservations. There is even a new language to master, spouting terms such as Multi Pass or abbreviations like ADRs.
The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that complicated. Learning how to plan a Disney vacation can be accomplished in a few easy steps.
So, sit back, relax, and follow along. We’re about to simplify the world of Walt Disney World vacation planning and bring the magic back to your Disney World trip.
Step 1: Walt Disney World Vacation Planning: Finding the Best Time to Visit Disney World for You
The first step in learning how to plan a Disney vacation, is deciding when you will take your trip. If you mention to friends or family that you’re planning a trip to Disney World, odds are you’ve received an earful about the best times to go. Advice is abundant, but what really matters is that you select the best time for you. Here are some factors to help you decide.
First, the most popular times to visit are also the most expensive. You’ll see the cost increase reflected in everything from the price of your park tickets, to resort hotel rooms and even the cost of dining.
Second, higher crowds mean higher wait times for rides and attractions. This is usually offset by longer park hours, so you’ll experience everything you would while visiting at a less popular time, it just might take you longer to do it.
While some guests have turned the art of crowd avoidance into a science, we’re here to say that beating the crowds isn’t all there is to enjoying your Disney World vacation. We visited Disney World in December 2020, expecting low crowds and short waits thanks to capacity restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, we encountered rides with waits in excess of two hours. We learned a few things from this experience.
First, a well-planned Disney World itinerary can help you beat a lot of the long wait times, but more importantly, waiting in line wasn’t all that bad. Lines move quickly and when you’re accompanied by people you love, you’re having fun even when standing still.
Beyond crowds and cost, the other consideration is weather. Summers are very hot and humid, with almost daily afternoon showers. However, winter isn’t always delightfully pleasant as many people expect. It can get cold, with highs in the thirties or forties. At night, you’ll need a coat or jacket.
Selecting the best time to go to Disney World then becomes an exercise in deciding what is most important to you. You’ll want to weigh factors such as your budget, weather preferences and crowd tolerance to determine the best time to visit.
In general, these are the most crowded times to plan a trip to Disney World, with the most popular times listed first. Keep in mind, more crowded can also means more expensive.
Most Crowded Times to Visit Disney World
- Week before Christmas through the first week of January
- The first two weeks of December
- The month of October
- The month of November
- The month of March
- Easter week
- Week of July 4th
The least crowded times to plan a trip to Disney World are:
- Mid-June through early July
- Mid- to late August
- The month of September
- Last two weeks of January up to President’s Day weekend
Step 2: Decide on Your Budget: How Much Does a Trip to Disney World Really Cost?
Tackling the budgetary issues of your Walt Disney World vacation planning may be one of the most difficult aspects of the process. For one thing, determining how much a Disney World vacation really costs depends on a number of factors, such as where you stay, where you eat, when you go, and how long you stay.
As mentioned above in step one, costs are higher if you plan to visit during a more popular time of year. The simplest way to shave some dollars off your trip budget is to visit the Disney World ticket calendar, plug in your anticipated length of stay and see when the tickets are cheapest.
The next way to save money at Disney World is to be savvy about where you’ll stay. While booking an offsite resort looks cheaper up front, you’ll also be required to pay to for parking at each of the parks. Unless your hotel offers a shuttle, those parking fees can add up fast. However, many resorts now charge a fee for their shuttle serive to Disney parks, so you won’t always be saving there either. Some resorts even tack on a resort fee as well, which can add up to $30 a night or more.
Another factor to consider when you are planning a trip to Disney World on a budget is where you will dine. Disney World offers many top-tier dining experiences, but they do come at a cost. If your child is set on dining with the beast at Be Our Guest restaurant, for example, you could easily spend several hundred dollars.
Keeping your expectations real during this phase of your Walt Disney World vacation planning is important. It’s best to determine what you can afford to spend up front. Maybe you splurge on that one big meal and eat at lower cost counter-service restaurants the remainder of your stay. Or maybe you splurge for a bigger hotel room and make adjustments somewhere else.
So how much does a trip to Disney World cost? With discounts, a family of four with 2 children under 10 could easily slide into 4-day weekday trip for around $2500 for hotel and tickets at a value resort (see below for full explanation) in August.
When deciding on the best Disney trip for your budget, a travel agent experienced in Disney World can help you find the most magical combinations to fit your wallet, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. You should never have to pay more to use a travel agent, but what you’ll gain from their experience can be priceless.
Step 3: Set up Your My Disney Experience Account, the Key to Walt Disney World Vacation Planning
When learning how to plan a trip to Disney, My Disney Experience is your key to the world, opening doors to all of the exciting and magical adventures that await. It is also one of the biggest tools in your Walt Disney World vacation planning arsenal, so it’s a good idea to set it up before you make any definite plans.
You can access My Disney Experience in one of two ways: via the mobile app or through the website. We have found it easiest to set up your account initially using the website.
Once you have created your account, any plans that you make or tickets that you purchase through Disney World will appear there, making it easy to handle planning tasks, such as making dining plans, purchasing the Memory Maker and even checking into your hotel online.
Later, you will want to connect with or add all of your friends and family who will be traveling with you. This can be tricky, so be sure to follow along with our step-by-step guide on setting up your My Disney Experience account.
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4. How to Plan a Disney Vacation: Finding the Best Disney Resorts for You
When tackling your Walt Disney World vacation planning, where to stay is usually one of the biggest questions. Generally, you have two choices: to stay at an onsite Disney-owned hotel, or to stay offsite at a non-Disney property (you can learn more about the onsite vs. offsite experience by reading this article).
Since Disney World accommodations are designed to fit all budgets, we usually recommend staying at on-site resorts. Value resorts can be booked for as little as $133 a night before any discounts and top out at $305 (traveling the week between Christmas and New Years). Fortunately, Disney usually puts out several special offers throughout the year to help you save on the cost of your resort stay. You may even find that some of the best Disney resorts for your trip are affordable with one of these money-saving deals. To see the current Disney World offers, read our continuously updated post on Disney World discounts.
By staying onsite, you will also be able to take advantage of Disney World’s complimentary transportation system for travel between your resort and the parks. This will save you a lot of money on parking fees.
You may also be able to take advantage of a package deal that could cut the cost of your hotel and tickets. Historically, one of the most popular ticket packages includes a free Disney Dining Plan for each member of your party during the length of your stay.
Guests of Disney World resorts are also eligible for a perk called Early Theme Park Entry. With Early Entry, resort guests may visit one park per day beginning a half an hour prior to scheduled opening. It’s usually enough time to ride two or three headliner attractions before the park even opens.
Possibly best of all, by staying at an onsite resort, you’ll be immersed in the “Disney bubble” for the length of your stay. This means you won’t have to break the magic each night when you return to your hotel. The same magical wonder you experience each day in the park follows you right home to your resort at night, where incredible theming provides another immersive experience.
To find the best Disney resort for your stay, you’ll want to consider your budget first. As previously mentioned, you may book a value resort for as little as $133 a night, depending on when you travel, but a room at the top-tier deluxe resort, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, can easily cost you over $500 nightly with discounts.
Beyond budget, selecting the best Disney resort will depend on your preferences and the type of ambiance you prefer. Some resorts, such as Disney’s Caribbean Beach are festive, inspiring guests to party into the night. On the other hand, the old-bayou charm of Port Orleans Riverside offers a more laid-back vibe and quieter atmosphere.
To decide which Disney resort is right for you, you’ll want to do some research. You can take a look at our handy guide to Disney World resorts. It will explain the difference between the resort tiers and provide you with key decision-making criteria, such as room size, theming and other details. We’ve even provided a fun quiz for an easy way to find the best Disney resort for you.
5. Decide if You Want the Disney Dining Plan
The next step of your Walt Disney World vacation planning is deciding whether to book the Disney dining plan. You’ll need to reserve a vacation package to take advantage of this option, so let’s first explain what it is.
The Disney Dining Plan provides two meals and two snacks a day at a flat cost for the length of your stay. There are two options: the Quick Service Dining Plan and The Disney Dining Plan.
The primary difference between these options is where you will eat.
Both Disney Dining Plans provide:
- Two meals a day per guest
- One snack per day per guest
- One resort refillable mug per guest
Here is where the 2 plans differ. The plan with quick service option does not cover any meals at table service restaurants. You’ll be dining on the go for your meals, which isn’t bad considering that Disney has added a lot of restaurant choice in this category in recent years.
On the other hand, if you want to get off your feet and be waited on once a day, you’ll have to spring for the Disney Dining Plan. This option provides one table service and one quick service meal for each day of your stay for each person booked in your package.
If there is one question we get asked quite frequently, it’s how the Disney dining plan works and then, whether it’s worth it. Answering that question requires a post in and of itself, so we’ve created one. You can read all of the pros and cons of the Disney Dining plan to make your decision.
6. Make Your Disney World Resort Reservations and Purchase Your Theme Park Tickets
You’ve now decided where you will stay and if you want the Disney Dining Plan. Now it’s time to book your accommodations and purchase your theme park tickets.
Tickets are available as a base ticket or as a park hopper ticket. Base tickets allow you to visit one theme park per day for each day of your trip.
Park hopper tickets make it possible for you to visit 2 or more parks on a single day. To explore the advantages of a park hopper ticket, you can read our blog dedicated to park hopping. Park hopper passes are also available as Park Hopper Plus, which provides added amenities, such as admission to water parks or mini golf.
Theme park ticket purchases and onsite resort reservations can be made directly through the Disney World website or through a travel agent. Before making your reservations, however, you’ll want to decide whether you plan to book a room-only reservation or a package offer. A Disney World vacation package includes the cost of your resort as well as your theme park tickets. With a room only reservation, you will book your hotel and purchase your tickets in separate transactions.
Packages now include a lot of flexibility, including a low-cost $200 deposit, fully refundable cancellation up to 30 days before your arrival, and a simplified way to book. A room-only reservation requires the cost of one night’s stay as a deposit, and you will need to pay for the full cost of your ticket at the time of purchase.
If you’re wondering how far in advance you can book a Disney vacation, hotel reservations are generally available for the current year. Reservations for each new year have typically become available between July and October.
7. Link Your Disney World Reservations to Your My Disney Experience Account
For seamless travel planning and an easier vacation experience, be sure to link your tickets and resort booking or package reservation with your My Disney Experience account. Fortunately, this is easy to do.
Simply log into your My Disney Experience account. From the “My Plans” page, hover over either Resort Hotel or Park Tickets, depending on which you are attempting to link. You’ll see a box appear beneath that provides the option to link your reservation or ticket purchase.
Click on this option and follow the prompts. For resort reservations, ticket purchases or packages, you’ll be asked to enter your confirmation number. If you book with a travel agent, they will send this to you and will be available to help you with setup if you run into issues. If you book on your own, you will receive a confirmation number at the end of your booking. You will then be asked to link your tickets to each member of your traveling party, so make sure you’ve set this up. You can also go back and do this later.
As mentioned above in step 3, setting up your My Disney Experience account is crucial to using the Disney World app during your vacation, and accessing a host of benefits, such as making and modifying dining reservations, joining restaurant wait lists and using your MagicBands or MagicMobile pass at each park.
8. Decide if You Want Disney MagicBands
When considering how to plan a trip to Disney, another key consideration is whether you’ll purchase Disney MagicBands for members of your party. A Disney MagicBand is a simplified way to vacation at Disney World, offering a wrist worn device that holds all of your vacation information. This dat rich device allows you to accomplish a number of vacation tasks with just a tap of your wrist:
- Open the door to your Disney World resort
- Enter theme parks
- Enter Lightning Lane queues (more on this below)
- Check into dining reservations
- Pay for purchases and charge them to your room
MagicBands can be purchased at Disney Parks, Disney Springs and online at the Disney store. However, you’ll receive a discounted prepurchase price if you order through your My Disney Experience account through the Disney website. You’ll find this option on your Plans and Tickets page once you’ve linked your resort or package reservation.
9. Consider How You Will Get Where You’re Going
The next step of your Walt Disney World vacation planning is deciding how to get to Disney World. If you’re close enough to drive, you’ll have built-in transportation while there. However, if you plan on flying, you’ll also need to consider how you will get from the airport to your resort hotel.
Disney’s immensely popular Magical Express, providing free transportation from the airport to each of the resorts, has been disbanded. That means you will need to either rent a car or hire transportation to and from the airport while in Orlando.
While a Disney car rental might seem to make the most sense, there are some things to consider. First, is the cost. This can vary greatly depending on the rental company you use and whether you have any discount codes. You should also be advised that there are many toll roads around Disney World, adding to the cost of your rental experience. However, parking is free at Disney World resorts for all guests staying at the property.
Despite the costs, there are times when renting a car makes sense. If you’re still considering a Disney car rental, we’ve covered all of the details and considerations in this post.
If your party size is small, and you don’t plan on doing much driving after you reach your resort, you might want to consider another mode of transportation to and from the airport. Uber and Lyft both service the Orlando airport as do many private car hire companies. Costs for Uber or Lyft service from MCO to Disney World average between $30 and $40 one way, depending on the time of day you travel and the size of the vehicle you will need.
You can also explore other options for ground transporation in our blog discussing ground transportation options.
10. Make Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs)
As you get farther into your Walt Disney World Vacation Planning, you’ll probably notice some deadlines popping up in your My Disney Experience account. One of these is the date when you can start booking advanced dining reservations, often referred to as ADRs in the Disney community. If you’re planning on dining at any Disney World table-service restaurants, this is one step you won’t want to miss.
ADRs work in a similar fashion to a table reservation made at any restaurant, but there are a few differences. First, an ADR entitles you to a table for the reserved party size at or around the time you requested. However, a table is not held in waiting for you. Instead, you will be placed into a queue upon your arrival at the restaurant and be given the next available seats accommodating your party size.
If you plan to dine at any table-service restaurants on Walt Disney World property, including many establishments at Disney Springs, ADRs are essential. Like most steps in your Walt Disney World vacation planning, you’ll do this through the My Disney Experience app or through the Disney World website dining section.
If you’re making reservations through the website, be sure to login to your My Disney Experience account before making any advanced dining reservations. This will ensure that your reservations get added to your plan and is now required by Disney.
Advanced dining reservations have typically been made 60 days before your trip for Disney resort guests. This is another area where staying at a Disney World onsite hotel has its advantages. Guests of Disney World resorts are able to book ADRs at the 60 day mark for the length of their stay. Guests at other resorts will be required to book their reservations 60 days before each day of their stay.
For full step-by-step instructions to making your ADRs, you can check out our Disney World advanced dining reservation article.
11. Decide if You Will Use Lightning Lane Multi Pass+
NOTE: Both the FastPass+ and Genie+ systems have been officially eliminated. A new “Lightning Lane Service” called Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Singel Pass replaces both.
If you’ve heard of FastPass+ (FP) and were hoping to take advantage of one of the Mouse’s greatest time saving inventions, you’ll need to revise your expectations. While FastPass+ allowed you to pre-book a spot in a ride queue via the My Disney Experience app or website, it is no longer available to Disney World guests and has been replaced by a new Multi Pass service.
Multi Pass still allows you to book a spot in the expedited Lightning Lane queue. Since the number of Lightning Lane assignments given out each hour is limited, wait times for those using Multi Pass can be drastically reduced.
While Multi Pass sounds very similar to FastPass+, there is one critical difference. Multi Pass requires a separate fee to use it. This helps to control the number of people who utilize the Ligthning Lane. The cost starts around $20 per person per day, but can go up depending on when you visit. On top of the extra fee, not every ride is included in Multi Pass. A handful of top tier attractions, those that often sport the longest lines, will require yet an additional fee to access the Lightning Lane.
For more information on Multi Pass and Lightning Lane, please refer to our Multi Pass guide.
As far as the impact of Multi Pass on your Disney World vacation planning, you will need to weigh the cost against the expected benefits and determine whether the chance to skip the regular queue is worth the added expense. We have long been avid advocates for FastPass and were pros at optimizing its usage to avoid time in line. However, during our 2020 trip, FastPasses had been eliminated to accommodate social distancing. It was interesting, but we learned something we might not have realized otherwise. Standing in line with friends and family can be almost enjoyable as the ride itself.
The moral here is this: if your Disney World vacation budget doesn’t support the purchase of Multi Pass, don’t sweat it. Plan to do the most popular attractions early in the morning or late at night to avoid the longest lines and enjoy the time with your traveling companions.
If you can afford the added expense of Multi Pass, then by all means splurge for it. Just be certain to use it strategically to avoid the longest lines.
Whether you plan to use Multi Pass or not, making an itinerary will help you make the most of your day.
12. Pack for Your Trip and Check Into Your Resort
Beginning a week or two before your departure, it’s a good idea to start thinking about what you’ll need to pack for your vacation. View the weather forecast for your stay and pack accordingly.
We’ve assembled a Disney World packing list of items you’ll want to be sure you take along, including some things people commonly forget, so make sure to take a look before you leave.
This is also a good time to complete your online resort checkin if you haven’t done so yet. Online resort check in allows you to go right to your room when it is ready, instead of stopping at the front desk where you will likely have to wait in line.
If you provide a cell phone number during the process and give Disney permission to text you, they will notify you with your room number when it is ready. If you arrive before your room is available, simply stop by bell services and drop off your luggage. The very accommodating folks at each Disney resort will safely secure your bags while you visit the parks, stop by the pool or grab a bite to eat. When you’ve arrived at your room, simply give them a call and they will deliver your bags.
While online resort checkin is a great time saver, you may want to consider skipping it and making a stop at the front desk if this is your first visit to Disney World. Front-desk cast members will provide you with the lay of the land, so to speak, and help you find your room. They may even provide a little extra “magic” to your stay.
A Disney World Checklist for Planning Your Vacation
When it comes to planning a Walt Disney World vacation, it can be hard to keep track of the many moving pieces. While this article has been designed to walk you through the process step by step, we’ve also provided a Disney World checklist. It’s a shorter version of the article above and can be used to check off steps as you complete them.
Download it today and get started planning your magical Walt Disney World vacation.
Other Walt Disney World Planning Tips
