Planning a Trip to Disney: Where to Start?

Planning a trip to Disney can be an exciting yet equally daunting and an overwhelming task. I personally have been to Disney well over 10 times, as a child, as a young adult, and now as an adult with my own children. I have seen Disney from all sides and it still leaves me coming back for more each time.

Planning a Trip to Disney

So, the question is where should you start? I am here to help you!

A Walt Disney World trip can certainly be a hassle to plan, but it comes with a lifetime of memories.  Disney does magic like no one else, helping their guests become immersed in a world of fantasy and wonder.

You truly cannot find anything like it anywhere else.  There is something for everyone at Disney, from character meetings, thrilling rides, and culinary treats everywhere you look.

With so many options and so many decisions to make, consider each of the following for helping you plan an amazing vacation:

1. When to Travel

Your first decision to make is when to travel.  When I think of Disney, I think of magic and princesses and complete happiness.  Of course, with the summer heat, long lines, and cranky children, that isn’t always the reality.

There are certainly many ways to minimize the crowds, but first I recommend looking at a Disney crowd calendar to get a sense of how crowded the parks might be when you wish to travel.  TouringPlans.com offers a great one to help you see when you can anticipate the busiest times of year.

As a family of four, our schedule, like many others, is often dictated around the kids’ school schedules.  Because of this, it is typically most crowded to travel to Disney during spring break, summer breaks, or over the holidays.  If you are not bound by school schedules, I strongly recommend going in the off seasons such as late September or January and February.

Also, consider special seasonal events that Disney has to offer. Seasonal events might include Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, or Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival.  While there may be more crowds, no one does Christmas magic quite like Disney and it is worth considering.

2. Establish Your Priority

I mentioned this in my Why Plan? blog post, but I always start a plan with establishing what my priorities are.  The last time I took my kids to Disney we sat down beforehand and discussed what everyone hoped to do most.  For my son, it was getting on all the best thrill-seeking rides while my teenage daughter was mostly interested in getting snacks and food.

So, in planning, I had my son help me prioritize what rides he felt were most important.  It got him really excited about the parts of Disney that were important to him and it got him in on the planning process.

This helped me figure out which parks we should go to first and which rides we should try to knock out first using Genie+.  My daughter did the same, but with helping me figure out what restaurants to visit and which snacks we should get.

In the broader scope, it’s important to figure out how much time you intend to really be at the parks.

If you are hoping for a more relaxing, sleeping in, and spending a lot of time at the pool type of vacation, then I would consider staying at one of the nicer hotels.  If you really only want to go to the parks and plan to be there from park open to park close, then you can look into some of the cheaper hotel accommodations.

3. Tickets and Park Reservations

Disney offers a variety of packages and ticket options suitable for all needs.  One of the biggest decisions to make when it comes to tickets is whether or not to get the Park Hopper option.  This allows you to hop from one theme park to another in the same day.

I grew up in the 1990s, and back then, I felt like the Park Hopper option was definitely a good one.  Nowadays, with the crowd sizes, I find that there is so much to do at each park that the extra cost of a Park Hopper ticket doesn’t offer me much.

I am someone who likes to rope drop the parks and be there for the fireworks finale, so I feel like I’m wasting my time when I switch parks, but that is a personal preference.

When booking tickets, you will need to decide how many days you plan to stay at the parks.  Do you also wish to take advantage of the water parks and sports options?

I recommend planning one down day to every two days in the park.  At Disney, you do A LOT of walking and it will wear you down sooner than you think.  By building in a down day, it gives everyone a chance to relax and reset for the next day in the parks.

Lastly, since COVID, Disney has implemented a new park reservation system to keep admission attendance capped.  For those who prefer spontaneity, this can seem like overkill having to decide what park you are going to visit on each day months in advance.

Note: Required reservations will no longer be required starting January 9, 2024.

Reservations just require a little planning ahead. For example, the first day our family might go to our favorite park (Hollywood Studios). Then, we follow it up with Animal Kingdom the next day, which is a little smaller and easier to manage for those who are tired from the first day.  I also love to end my vacation on the fireworks at Magic Kingdom so I plan my park reservations accordingly.

4. Where to Stay

I recommend staying in Walt Disney World resort hotels for the added benefits.  By staying on a resort property, you have access to Extra Magic Hours, getting you a few extra hours at the park with fewer crowds.

There is also transportation to and from the parks or an included parking pass for the parks.  You also get Magical Extras like discounts for bowling or minigolf, or coupons for retailers at Disney Springs.

If your main priorities are to spend as much time as possible in the parks, then the Value level hotels (All Star Resorts, Art of Animation, Pop Century, and Fort Wilderness) will work just fine.  They have great pools, a food court area, and your pretty standard hotel rooms.

Explore More: Need help deciding where to stay? Check out my post comparing all of the Disney resorts.

If you think you will be spending more time in the hotels, or perhaps you have young ones that need to return to the hotel room in the middle of the day, then you should probably consider the Moderate or Deluxe hotel offerings.  Resorts like the Contemporary or Grand Floridian are stops on the monorail, which make for easy transportation back to your room if needed.

If resort options aren’t in your budget, Disney offers a number of WDW Gateway Hotels or Good Neighbor Hotels, which meet the same great Disney standards and are located close to the parks.

You can also use places like VRBO or Expedia to find off-site locations, which might be better for larger families.

5. Transportation

There are many transportation options provided by Disney.  From the monorail, to shuttles, to ferries, to the Skyliner, there are many options for getting to the parks.

When booking your hotel, it is important to consider what type of transportation you might use to get to the parks.  It is very convenient to use Disney transportation, but it can get busy during park opening and closing times. So, it is important to factor in that time when planning your trip to the parks.

One more thing to mention is that Disney recently stopped providing complimentary transportation to and from the Orlando airport.  Disney still provides this service; it is just at an additional cost that needs to be added on at the time of booking.

Hot Tip: One of the cheapest options for airport transfers is to use Uber or Lyft for private transportation needs.

6. Dining Reservations

Once you have your Disney package booked another decision to make is what dining reservations you might want to make.

Disney offers a variety of food options from food carts, to quick-service, to character dining, to table service restaurants.  Character dining and table service restaurants are the only ones that require reservations that can be made online 60 days in advance of your check in date.

Quick-service locations are great for a quick eating option and can be a lot cheaper than the table service options.  These options also utilize mobile ordering, which makes ordering food easy to do from your phone.

Explore More: Head over to my post on how to make Disney dining reservations for dining recommendations and more.

In order to save on money, my family tends to do only one sit down meal per day, switching off between lunch and dinner.  If we do a table service lunch, then we are doing quick service for dinner.

This lets us be flexible with our timing while also knowing that we have one meal where we can sit down for an extended period of time and get some rest.

7. Added Perks

There are a few other things to consider when booking your trip.  Each Disney package offers a Travel Protection Plan at an extra cost to help cover those unforeseen moments that might affect your travel plans.

As mentioned before, ground transportation will also need to be paid for at the time of booking.

Disney’s Memory Maker is another great add-on for those looking for a great way to capture the moments.  At 100+ locations throughout the parks, photographers are there to take your picture and can easily be downloaded through the My Disney Experience app.

8. MagicBands, My Disney Experience, & Genie+

After booking, Disney will send you MagicBands, which are a must for getting around Disney. They will act as your room key, you can connect your credit card to it for easy payments, and it allows you to jump to the front of the lines if you are utilizing Genie+.

It is important to get acquainted with the My Disney Experience app that keeps track of all your reservations. Through the app you can utilize mobile food ordering, make dining and Genie+ reservations, and check on current ride wait times.

Explore More: Understanding Disney’s Genie+ can be a whole beast in itself, so check out my post on Genie+ Explained. You can also check out Disney’s website for more info.

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The absolute best resource you can get is the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Even though I have been to Disney numerous times, I always start my trip planning with this guidebook.

It is published each year so it has the most recent changes, information on what is currently closed, and a detailed description for every ride, restaurant, and entertainment show offered in the parks.

My favorite part is the included sample plans for what to do if you only have a day or two in the parks. I simply cannot recommend this book enough!

Still feel overwhelmed?  Let me help you!  As a travel agent who specializes in Disney, I can offer my services to help you plan and book your vacation at no extra cost to you!  Head over to the Contact page or click the link below and send me a message to get started.