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With all of the nuances of constantly evolving park updates, pre-booking Lightning Lanes, advanced reservation windows, and fluctuating resort and ticket pricing, planning a Disney trip can, at times, feel a liiiiiittle too high stakes to qualify as relaxing vacation planning.
Although, if you’re like us, is any vacation planning truly relaxing?
We could write entire books (or more realistically, blogs) on each one of these sections. We’re going to try to resist that urge and instead give you the need-to-know breakdown to knock the stress out of your Disney vacation planning.
1) Decide When to Go
The first decision is hardly the last one you’ll make, but it is one of the most important. When are you going to Disney? There are a whole lotta things to take into consideration, and each of those is really dependent on personal preference and priority.
Here are the top three things to consider when picking the best time to go.
What will crowds look like?
The most consistently asked question about visiting Disney is about the crowds. When are they the highest? The lowest? The least aggravating?
We could go on and on about this, but the rule of thumb (mostly) is that if it’s a major holiday and/or school break in the US, it’s going to be crowded.
The “slow” times of year are typically right when school goes back (so right after the winter break, after Spring Break ends in late April/May, and at the end of August and after Labor Day).
The best way to help you decide is to reference a crowd calendar, like the ones from WDW Prep School.
How’s the weather?
While summer in Orlando gets a bad rap, each month has its share of pros and cons. For instance, the temps in March are finally warming up to comfortably enjoy the pool and water parks, but you have Spring Break crowds to contend with.
Our advice? If you have the flexibility, use our weather guide to help figure out what’s going to be the most comfortable for you. We have plenty of tips that can be applied year-round for strategizing to avoid long lines and beat the heat, anyway, so you might as well do it in the weather you can tolerate!
Are you interested in any seasonal/special events?
Hard ticket events like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are popular enough that people plan their trips around them. Similarly, planning your trip to see EPCOT’s Food & Wine or Flower & Garden festival (standard admission) is worth deliberating over.
2) Consider Using A Disney Travel Agent
If you’ve never used one before, we highly recommend using a travel agent to help book your Disney vacation.
Regardless of how many people you’re traveling with, Disney TAs can help you handle all of the technical sides of booking, manage the finer points of your reservations, and organize your trip as little or as much as you’d like them to. They’re also totally free to use!
3) Pick Your Lodging
We could write chapters on this section alone, so for the purpose of this checklist, we’ll try to stick to the basics. To start, here are a few questions to ask yourself.
- Are you staying on Disney property or off property?
- Are you looking to stay at a Value, Moderate, or Deluxe resort?
- Will you be renting DVC points?
Onsite vs Offsite Lodging
This age-old question was most frequently debated in terms of budget and convenience. It isn’t so cut and dry anymore, since many onsite perks have changed (or gone away completely) in the last couple of years. However, we still vote to always stay on-property when possible, as it truly makes the vacation an entire experience.
Pros to staying ON property
Location and proximity to parks, Disney’s transportation system (particularly the Skyliner and monorail), access to park perks like Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours (although the latter is Deluxe resorts only), offers an immersive, thematic continuation of the Disney experience which, for some, may be very important.
Pros to staying OFF property
Sometimes you get more bang for your buck which may give you the opportunity to “splurge” on other things (like Lightning Lanes or snacks and souvenirs), freedom to find accommodation more suitable to your group (ex: larger vacation home rental with a pool), provides a “break” from Disney to those needing less of that experience.
The only time we really recommend off-property is if you have a large family or group and want to save money and/or have more separate spaces and privacy.
Our advice: Do the math! What works best for you? Finding a balance between your budget and what you want is key, but there is no right or wrong answer.
Choosing the Best Disney Resort for You
Would You Rather…
Be able to walk to EPCOT or walk to Magic Kingdom?
Have access to a pool with a waterslide or skip the pool entirely and hit the parks instead?
Have a dedicated bus line or use the monorail?
Be close to signature dining or stick with a no-fuss food court?
Have the option to take the Skyliner or a ferry boat?
Each resort offers something for everyone. We’ve stayed at resorts in each tier, and we’re sorry to say that from a planning perspective, the decision isn’t as easy as more expensive = better.
Value Resorts
These resorts are usually more budget-friendly and heavier on the Disney theming. Primary dining option is the food court. Pools are on the more basic side.
Great for families with young kids and/or people who prioritize spending time at the park over the resort.
Note: Recent refurbs and access to the Skyliner from Pop Century and Art of Animation has totally changed the Value resort game as far as convenience and desirability goes.
Moderate Resorts
A step up in price and amenities from the Value resorts, the Moderate tier offers more in the way of individual room offerings, options of table-service restaurant along with a food court, and “quiet” pools.
Great for couples, families with older children, people planning on taking lots of park breaks or planning on a relaxing non-park day.
Deluxe Resorts
Offers some of the most expensive rooms on property, including swanky upgrades like club level and theme park views. A majority of the deluxe resorts are close in proximity to Magic Kingdom (with the exception of Animal Kingdom Lodge), have more dining and lounge/bar options, and upgraded pools (slides, water features, etc).
Great for those looking to splurge, celebration trips (anniversary, honeymoon, graduation, etc.), people who want to spend a decent amount of time enjoying the resort.
Can’t pick just one?
If all of those options sound good, we feel you. If your budget and flexibility allows, you could always consider a split-stay and spend part of your trip in one resort before heading to a different one.
Bonus tip: If you go this route, we recommend structuring your visit so you start at the “lower” tier resort and finish your trip at the “higher” level resort.
Renting DVC (aka getting Deluxe accommodations for MUCH cheaper than rack rates)
This one was a lesser-known option as far as Disney lodging goes, but the secret might be out. If you’re planning your trip far enough out and want to upgrade your experience in a budget-conscious way, there are great third-party brokers like David’s that can help you rent Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points from timeshare owners so you can enjoy deluxe resorts for not-so-deluxe pricing.
4) Book Tickets
Thankfully, this part isn’t as much of a science. Ya pick how many days you wanna go, and then you go for it. So, where do you purchase tickets from?
There IS something to be said about the convenience of booking your tickets as a package deal or directly from Disney. For discount tickets, you can almost always find a better price, however, using a reputable third-party site like Undercover Tourist.
Speaking of good prices, it’s generally good practice when researching your Disney trip to keep an eye out for the price fluctuations and discounts Disney rolls out every so often. This is something a Disney Travel Agent can automatically do on your behalf (another point for TAs!) or, if you’re more of the hands on type, you could subscribe to a free newsletter such as Mouse Savers to keep tabs on price changes.
5) Make Those Dining Reservations!
Possibly one of the more “intense” Disney planning experiences, most of you have probably already heard that some of the best restaurants’ advanced dining reservations (ADRs) go pretty quick, even when you’re on top of your game.
Here are a few of our favorite tips:
- Triage your top picks. You don’t necessarily want to book your reservations in the order you’d visit them on your trip. Book them in order of personal importance or overall popularity.
- An often forgotten tip is to check OpenTable, especially for restaurants at Disney Springs. Sometimes they show more availability than what’s on Disney’s page, it’s usually a lot less glitchy. And often, you don’t have to use a credit card to secure the reservation and can cancel last-minute if needed. WAY more flexible than Disney’s site!
- If you miss out on a reservation, many of our readers have reported success with dining alerts software such as MouseDining, StakeOut (app), or Mousekepros. Simply put: when a res becomes available, you get a text alert. It’s convenient and it could potentially give you an edge, although a LOT of people use these services and hundreds are often vying for one reservation at a time.
6) (Highly) Consider Adding Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and Make a Plan For It
Lightning Lane Multi Pass is an optional paid service guests can choose to add to their ticket in order to “skip” the standby line and go straight into the Lightning Lane queue of select attractions at Disney.
Is it absolutely necessary to spring for LLMP to ride certain rides at Disney? No…but yes. Read on.
You can get by without using LLMPif you are visiting at a slower time of year, aren’t going on the weekend, AND have a solid strategy in place. But you’d have to be comfortable with the possibility of not being able to ride everything you want, waiting in long lines in the middle of the day, and being at the parks early in the mornings and later at night.
Long story short: LLMP is pretty necessary for keeping wait times low, particularly at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. With a decent game plan, you can skip it at Animal Kingdom right now. EPCOT is…a tough one!
If you’re someone who has spent a lot of time at Disney and/or doesn’t mind missing out on certain things, then skipping out on LLMP might work fine for you at places like EPCOT and Animal Kingdom.
If this is your first visit or you want to get a lot done at the parks, then – in our opinion – LLMP combined with a good strategy makes getting the most out of your vacation a heck of a whole lot easier.
You also need some knowledge. If you’re going to buy LLMP, you need to know how to truly use it, otherwise, you’re basically lighting your money on fire.
Navigating the technical aspects, creating easy-to-follow itineraries, and showing you exactly how to snag & bag those popular and hard-to-get Lightning Lanes (and coveted Single Pass Lightning Lanes) is our sister site’s niche, and they teach it in the quick and easy Lightning Lane Masterclass.
7) Book Any Extras
You could make an entire vacation just out of the add-ons that Disney tries to get you to purchase offers.
And for the record: you don’t have to do any of these to have an amazing trip at Disney World. And a lot of them actually distract from just enjoying the parks and attractions, especially if you’re a first-timer.
But if you’re looking for something…well, extra, here’s an inexhaustive list of some of the most popular ones (in no particular order)!
- Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (seasonal hard ticket event). They’re pricey, but we do love them.
- Fireworks Viewing Parties. Kids can fill up on light snacks and treats while adults can sip on beer or wine and watch the fireworks show from an exclusive seating area. We think they’re overrated for the price.
- “Behind the Scenes” tours. Wide variety of options at an equally wide range of price points, ranging from shorter group tours to all-day private VIP tours. Book directly through Disney. Most tours are wonderful.
- Build a droid or lightsaber at Galaxy’s Edge. Pricey, but a unique opportunity for Star Wars fans and diehards. Reservation required, during slower times they may talk walk-ups.
- Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, an entertaining dinner show with delicious BBQ and quirky, upbeat singing and dancing. Widely considered a should (hoop-dee) do if you have time! 😉
8) Book Transportation
As your trip gets closer, it’s time to consider how you’ll get from the airport to your resort. Unfortunately, free airport transportation to Disney is now just a Figment of our imaginations (see what we did there?). Regardless, there are still a few options.
Mears Connect
This is the paid charter bus service from MCO (Orlando International Airport).
If you have less than two people traveling, it can usually save you a little money compared to other options. However, it can have multiple stops, and sometimes staffing issues, so it’s often not the quickest or most efficient mode of transport. We don’t recommend it as a top option unless you aren’t in a rush and you’re a solo traveler or couple.
Renting a car
This is another option, and it gives you a level of freedom in getting around Disney and/or the Orlando area. When deciding, factor in daily resort parking fees and consider the fact that it is not always the fastest or most convenient method to arrive at the parks each day. Plus, rental cars are expensive.
Private transportation
This one can be a nice alternative, especially if you’re traveling with a larger group and can split the fee. Extra points for the option to customize amenities such as car seats. Compare prices for a shuttle, bus, or a limo if you’re feelin’ fancy!
Rideshare (Uber/Lyft)
By far the most competitively priced, convenient, and efficient option in our experience. Check prices across both apps and remember to factor in surge pricing if arriving at a higher demand time. You’re typically looking at anywhere from $40-$100 for a standard car depending on the time of year and the time of day.
9) The Final Countdown
You’ve done the heavy lifting. Your dining reservations are booked. Lightning Lanes are pre-booked. You will soon have a Dole Whip in one hand, and a churro in the other. Now, what do we do with all this excited energy as we wait for Departure Day??
- If you have Disney +, watch The Imagineering Story, a documentary mini-series and an awesome way to gain a deeper appreciation for the parks and a lot of the rides and attractions. It’s trivia heaven for the park nerds, and both engaging and interesting for the newbies!
- Watch any (or all) of your favorite Disney/Pixar movies (like you needed a reason).
- Watch park walkthroughs on YouTube or live park feeds if you’re okay with spoilers (one of our writers is very anti- this, so it has to be said 😂). This CAN be helpful to prep young kids for rides that might be a step-up fearwise! And, there’s nothing quite like watching a live POV of Haunted Mansion while brushing your teeth from home.
Have we terrified you? Energized you? A little bit of both?? That’s normal.
You’ll feel that little bit of adrenaline when booking those dining reservations or Lightning Lanes at the crack of dawn soon enough. That always keeps us coming back for more. We promise it’ll all be worth it.
Now, if we had a penny for every time we wrote the word “reservation” in this post we’d have…a pretty impressive souvenir-pressed penny collection.
Ready for the next step? Check out our proven tineraries to start organizing your in-park game plan and minimizing those wait times!