- Planning A Trip To Walt Disney World -

After visiting the park thousands of times (yes, I do mean thousands) and staying at more that half the properties resorts, I have figure out the best ways for you to make your stay at the Walt Disney World Resort more magical than ever before by just following these easy steps and rememebring key dates to start planning your vacation in advance. The pre-planning process make for a stress free vacation once you arrive because everything is already set for you. Doing the work ahead of time is such a blessing and really does make for and easy vacation. I’ll take you through my process and show you all you need to know about the resort, transportation guide, step by step planning instructions, and dates you need to mark in your calendar.

IMPORTANT DATES TO FOLLOW

One Year Prior - Look into ticket prices and hotel room rates & If you haven't already, create your account (and/or one for each party member) on the Walt Disney World website. Make sure the My Disney Experience accounts work on the Disney World App too.

11 Months Prior - If you are a DVC Member and staying at a DVC resort, you can book up to 11 months in advance at your home resort or 7 months in advance at any another DVC property.

7 Months Prior - Book hotel accomidations no later than seven months prior & Book flights to Florida (specifically MCO or TPA).

180 Days Prior - Make Advanced Dining Reservations. (The most important date to remember in my opinion).

180 Days Prior - Make Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique/Pirate League reservations

60 Days Prior - Make FastPass+ selections on the under the My Disney Experience section online or on the app.

30 Days Prior - Last day to personalize your parties MagicBands.

21 Days prior - Last day to submit flight information for your Magical Express transportation or any other transportation needs.

7 Days Prior - Double check that all your tickets are linked to the Disney World App, airlines are set, hotel is set, airport transportation is set, and you've done your shopping for all your travel necessities.

How long should I stay at the resort?

This is the most reoccurring questions I get when clients are planning a trip for the first time. That is the most important question. I was told by a friend over 20 year ago the best way to make the most out of your vacation and I’m going to share with you the best secrets you must live by when planning your trips. Let me show you the best options in the form of math equations…

2 travel days + 4 park days + 1 waterpark day + 1 miscellaneous day = 8 days total

2 travel days + 4 park days + 1 waterpark/miscellaneous day = 7 days total

2 travel days + 4 park days = 6 days total

2 travel days - The 2 travel days account for the day you arrive and the day you leave. I always recommend taking a flight that arrives late afternoon because you’ll arrive at your resort around dinner time, have time for dinner, settle into your room, and get plenty of rest for the week ahead. I recommend leaving on the latest flight out because the Magical Express Bus has to pick you up 3-4 hours before your flight; meaning if your flight is at 6pm you will be picked up at 3pm, or if your flight is at 7am you will be picked up at 4am. Which sounds better to you? haha. Now, the best thing you can learn is to never ever ever take a red-eye flight in. I did this once and only once and will never do it ever again. I was exhausted after flying over night with a 2-hour layover in Atlanta, arriving at 10am at the hotel, then going to the park all day every day for a week. Needless to say, I was angry and exhausted the entire trip, which made the experience awful. Fun because it’s Disney, but awful.

4 park days - The 4 park days should be an obvious one. Whether you're doing a park hopper or one-park per day, this is always a good rule to stand by. It allows you one full day in each park and also allows you more flexibility in your itinerary. You can spend one entire day in the Magic Kingdom, the Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. You can start your day off in one park and finish it in another, or spend the whole day in one, but either way you will have ample time to get in everything you want in each park without feeling rushed.

1 waterpark day - This is an optional day in all honesty. Perhaps you are going mid-winter when it’s actually cold out and the waterparks are under refurbishment. Then clearly you won't need to prioritize this in your schedule. If you're going during Spring or Summer, or even parts of Fall, you will want to make this a full day event. There are 2 water parks: Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. They are seriously a great time. Might I even be bold enough to say, they are more fun than the parks. If you don't want to make this a water park day you could make this a resort day where you can do all the activities your resort has to offer like movie night, pool, and spa. You could even make it a lake day where your family rents a boat or kayaks and have a fun day on the water.

1 miscellaneous day - This is the most optional of days. This is a just in case type of day. You can go to Disney Springs all day doing some shopping and eating. You can relax at your resort and enjoy all the fun it has to offer. Go to the Animal Kingdom again because you did’nt get to ride Expedition Everest. Spend the afternoon in EPCOT because you wanted to eat all the food you didn't try. Spend all day at the spa and pool at your hotel. Ride Space Mountain as many times as possible since you wont get to for a few years. It's the day to do all the things you didn't get to do.

The first option of spending 8 total days there is the most ideal amount of days to spend on your vacation. If you have to lessen your time, 6 days total would work fine. Any days less than that you will feel very rushed and won't get to experience everything you would want. Anyone doing less than 6 total days would be DVC Members who go to the parks 3+ times per year, or YouTubers that have been so many times they’ve already done it all. Speaking of YouTube; many people do the 1 day 4 parks challenge. Yes, this does sound like fun, but I don't recommend you partake in this adventure for your family vacation. You really cant enjoy your time and will be running to every ride. Sad to say but it is for the experienced park goers and not for families on vacation.

The shortest time I’ve ever planned for myself has been 5 days total. That's 2 travel days and 3 park days. It feels like the shortest trip of your life. You feel like the Magical Express just dropped you off at your hotel and pulled a quick u-turn ready to take you back to MCO.

If you can go longer than 8 days that would be ideal. You would just double your park days and really have all the time in the world. However, if you can’t swing that in your budget but still want to best experience, make it 8 days total!

- Step By Step Planning Instructions -

STEP 1 - Picking the right hotel

Pre-planning your vacation should start usually a year in advance from whenever you are thinking of visiting the parks. I know a year sounds crazy, but if it is your first time to the resort or you havent visited in a least five years, it is best to plan out your visit as far in the future as possible. Things change so drastically every year at the parks it is always best to read up on what new systems are in place.

When picking the right hotel, I look at many different factors when choosing the right hotel. Look into whether you want to stay on property at a the Walt Disney World Resort or one of the great accommodation hotels. Look into the pricing of each resort, what dates best fit your schedule, the type of resort (Value, Deluxe, etc), the hotel theming, the room types (studio, two-bedroom, etc), the transportation offered at the resort, and the distance from your favorite parks. Wow! That was a lot, I know! So, let’s break down my breakdown.

What travel dates best fit your schedule?

Going during the spring, summer, or winter break could be the busiest and most expensive times of the year to go. Check the pricing calendar when getting the best price for your stay. The prices will reflect the crowds. The busier the more expensive, the cheaper the least crowded. Changing you travel dates by just one day can significantly change the total price of your hotel stay, as well as the price of your park tickets.

What type of resort are you looking at/how much are you willing to spend?

There are five options when it comes to the resort types. You have campgrounds, value resorts, moderate resorts, deluxe resorts, and deluxe villas also known as DVC rooms.

Campgrounds are open to all travelers who would like to tent camp, bring your personal RV, or rent an RV costing guests $60/night+. Staying in a stationary cabin at the camp grounds will cost guests

Value resorts have your traditional hotel/motel room set up costing around $119/night+. They have open air hallways similar to a motel style building, pools, bars, quick-service dining - no table service dining, no enclosed hallways, no views. Value resorts usually only offer buses as the mode of transportation. The only rooms choices guests have is 1 king bed or 2 queen beds (depending on properties the second queen could be a fold out) - and preffered room or standard room. The preferred vs. standard rooms don't really have anything to do with your view, even though the site says so. It has to do with how close you are to the lobby, transportation, and dining. If you don't mind an extra 3 minute walk to the bus then go with a standard room. If you need to have the restaurant within less than a minute walk you should get a preferred room. These are perfect for those traveling with a tight budget, or small group.

Moderate resorts are my personal favorite even over deluxe villas. I know, I’m crazy! haha. I love moderate resorts because they are a step up from value, but you don’t pay too muhc more for the resorts extra features. The transportation options are usually buses, but there are some that have other modes for your convenience. The resorts have some open air hallways and some enclosed hallways, pools, activity courts, quick-service dining, table service dining, upscale bars, unique/themed dining, lounges, and rooms with possible views. The room choices guests have are 1 king bed, 2 queen beds, suites - standard view, preferred view, or water view. Moderate rooms are usually priced around $198/night+. Moderate resorts are a great resort option if you want your budget conscience vacation to feel a bit more upscale.

Deluxe resorts are just that. They offer you everything! These would be best compared to 5 Diamond, full service resorts. They have large gorgeous lobbies, indoor hallways, fine/signature dining, unique/themed dining, upscale bar and lounges, table service/casual dining, quick-service dining, pools, activity courts, water sport rentals, shops, spa’s, and almost every mode of transportation. These resorts are going to have the most luxurious feel and will also be some of the most expensive rooms starting at $379/night+. The room options are extensive with regular rooms and suites, plus the choices of garden view, pool view, lagoon view, lake view, and theme park view. (View options vary per resort). You do pay a lot to stay at these resorts but you will not regret staying at one if you can afford it.

Deluxe Villas are the excat same as deluxe resorts listed above. The villas are where the DVC Members normally stay on property. There are buildings on the property's with regular hotel rooms, suites, and the exclusive villas. The villas are perfect for those who want to be as extra as possible. Your rooms have multiple living spaces, some of the best views, a living room, dining room, and even a fully functioning kitchen. If your family wants to cook dinner in your room, well you now can if you're staying in the villas. If you are planning on traveling with all of your family, the 3 bedroom villas can hold up to 12 guests. This is a fun way to vacation with your large family and not have everyone in different rooms aorund the property. The deluxe villas can cost $456/night+. Let’s emphasize the plus on that. Usually you're looking at paying $1,000+ per night. I’ve rarely if ever, seen a 2 bedroom villa under that price. Life is short, so live it up in your deluxe villas on your next trip!

Are you interested in a specific theme for your hotel?

Each resort has its own special theme whether your in your room, the lobby, or dining. If you hate camping/glamping or everything about the wilderness, then you might not want to stay at Fort Wilderness. Everything on the property will be themed as though your staying in a mountain lodge. Have you always dreamed of waking up in Africa? Then you will without a doubt want to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. They have wild African animals out on the savannah that you can watch from all public areas in the hotel as well as special guest rooms. Your dining options will be unlike anything you've had before, eating authentic African food in fine dining or buffet settings. If you are someone who is fine with any theme, well then by all means try out each resort. I know that's my goal! Haha. Anyway, make sure to look at room/resort photos so you have an idea of what decor you'll be looking at the entire trip and make sure it wont bother you.

What room type will you need?

The type of room will vary per resort type. Make sure you understand the resort types before choosing your room type because your room type may not be offered at all resorts. Each room type sleeps a different amount of people and some have not ideal sleeping arrangements so make sure to read each rooms sleeping descriptions so their are no surprises once you arrive. Here is a brief overview to see why this is very important and you will need to pay attention to this when planning.

Value Resort Standard Room — (sleeps up to 4) 2 Double Beds

Standard Room — Most rooms sleep up to 5. They have the options of 2 Queen Beds and 1 Day Bed (sleeps 5) or 2 Queen Beds (sleeps 4) or 1 King Bed and 1 Day Bed (sleeps 3) or 1 King Bed and 1 Double-Size Sleeper Sofa (sleeps 4).

Suites — (sleeps up to 6) 1 Queen Bed and 1 Double-Size Table Bed and 1 Double-Size Sleeper Sofa

Deluxe Suite — (sleeps up to 4) 1 King Bed and 1 Queen-Size Sleeper Sofa or 1 Queen Bed and 1 Double-Size Sleeper Sofa

Presidential Suite — (sleeps up to 6) 1 King Bed and 2 Queen Beds

1 Bedroom Suite — (sleeps up to 6) 2 Queen Beds and 1 Double-Size Sleeper Sofa

2 Bedroom Suite — (sleeps up to 8) 2 Queen Beds and 1 King Bed and 1 Double-Size Sleeper Sofa

Tower Studio — (sleeps up to 2) 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed

Deluxe Studio — (sleeps up to 5) 1 Queen Bed and 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed and 1 Single Pull Down Bed

1 Bedroom Villa — (sleeps up to 5) 1 King Bed and 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed and 1 Single Pull Down Bed

2 Bedroom Villa — (sleeps up to 8, sometimes 9) 1 King Bed and 2 Queen Beds and 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed and 1 Single Pull Down Bed

2 Bedroom Lock-Off Villa — (sleeps up to 8, sometimes 9) 1 king-size bed, 1 queen-size bed, 2 queen-size sleeper sofas, 1 single pull-down bed

3 Bedroom Villa — (sleeps up to 12) 1 King Bed and 4 Queen Beds and 1 Queen-Size Sleeper Sofa

The takeaways from this would be that there seem to be more sleeper sofas or pull down beds than actual beds. I know from person experience this can lead to family memebr fiting for sleeping arrangements, knowing they don’t want to spend a week sleeping on a hard folding bed. Disney has been updating many resorts over the past two years and have updated the fold outs to have thicker or memory foam mattresses instead of those old paper thin ones. I have stayed on the thin ones before and it wasn't pleasant, but I've heard good things about the new ones. Also, notice you loose an actual bed by doing a “lock off” villa versus a regular villa.

What transportation is offered at the hotel you're staying at?

A factor that can play into your decision making is having the right transportation options from your resort. Understand that not all resorts offer all types of transportation. If you're staying at the Contemporary you can use the bus, boat, monorail, or walk. If you're staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge you can only use the bus. The best case scenario will be a resort with 3-4 travel options and the worst case scenario would be only having 1 option. Having one option is not a bad choice by any means. Usually the higher priced resorts have more options and lower priced resorts have less options. The majority of resorts will only have one option, but it is just nice to have other options.

How far is your hotel from your favorite park?

Always choose a hotel that is near a park you want to visit the most. If the Magic Kingdom is your favorite park you probably shouldn't stay at the Art of Animation. If EPCOT is your main target because they have a festival going on, you should stay at the Boardwalk or the Yacht and Beach Club. Very simple idea to work with, but still something that can change your decisions.

STEP 2 - Let’s Fly Away

Once you've made your hotel accommodations and know where you're staying, you will want to look into booking your flight to one of the local airports. I would recommend flying into MCO because it is the easiest and most convenient airport to the resort. Many of your friends may recommend you “save” money by flying into Tampa (TPA), but in all honestly you're not saving money at all. It is what I call an “expensive save”. What I mean by an expensive save is that you don’t actually save money at all because you will secretly spend more time and money on useless things in the end. I list time on there because time is money. I don’t like wasting hours of my day for no reason to save a dollar. Flying into TPA vs MCO may initially save you $20-$50 on your airline ticket. Which is great! But unlike MCO you now don’t get your free Disney’s Magical Express transportation to and from the airport. You will need to rent a car which is a little bit more expensive than the rental cars at MCO. Then there is the time factor, where time truly is money. I don’t like wasting time because then I'm wasting money. The average time traveling from MCO to your Disney World Resort is 20 minutes (40 minutes during rush hour). The average time traveling from TPA to your Disney World Resort is 1 hr 30 mins (2 hrs + during rush hour or traffic which always seems to exist). Now, I would rather spend 20 minutes of a free giant shuttle bus where I watch Disney videos the whole drive than be sitting in 2 hours of traffic yelling at every driver I can find. haha, not that I do that in traffic or anything. In the end you could easily spend more than $100/person by traveling through Tampa, but also waste more than 4 hours vacation time that you don’t want to waste. You worked hard all year for this time off so you shouldnt waste your hard earned money in traffic. Fly into MCO! Don’t ask questions! haha.

STEP 3 - time for ITINERARY planning

Now that you have your hotel and airline ticket booked, you can start thinking about making reservations at the park. 180 days prior to your visit you can reserve special events such as the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where your little girls will be truned into princesses for a day, or the Pirate League where your child's inner pirate self will be brought to life with the help of magical cast memebers. These are a bit pricey (like more than $100/child pricey), but if your children like to play dressup then this may one for the books.

180 days prior to your visit you have the opportunity to make advanced dining reservations with what are reffered to as Advanced Dining Reservations. You don’t have to make these in advance, but I would highly recommend you do. You are more tha welcome to fly by the seat of your pants. That is up to you, but I personally can’t leave that much to chance. This is a nice way of Disney offering priorities to those that are staying on Disney property as opposed to those staying off property or at good neighbor hotels. The reason I say it’s a risk if you don’t make advanced dining reservations is because the other thousands of people staying on property will be doing so. If you want to guarantee you have a nice sit down meal and not wait two hours for it, you will make your life a whole lot easier by planning it in advance. You also run the risk of not dining at many places. Some places can run out of reservations months prior to your arrival or walk in reservations early in the morning day of. I always have specific restaurants I want to dine at so I don't want to run the risk of not getting to dine at them. If you truly don't care about where or when you want to eat then by all means, leave it to chance and have your day go with the flow. That is all a personal choice, but one I would highly advise to follow and not ignore.

60 days prior to your arrival you get to make Fastpass+ reservations for your entire party. WHAT! I know this sounds weird, but yes, you get to plan out in your itinerary when you want to cut the lines. At Disneyland you have to wait until the day of to get your Fastpasses, but at Disney World you get two months in advance to plan those out.

30 Days prior to your arrival will be the last day to personalize your parties MagicBands. Go under your My Disney Experience account to customize each one. If you dont care about the colors or names on them you can ignore it.

21 Days prior to your arrival will be the last day to submit flight information for your Disney’s Magical Express transportation or any other transportation needs. Don’t wait until the last minute to input this information otherwise you could loose your spot of the bus or they could be out of affordable rental cars after this date.

7 Days Prior - Double check that all your tickets are linked to the Disney World App, airlines are set, hotel is set, airport transportation is set, and you've done your shopping for all your travel necessities.

STEP 4

Once you have all your ducks aligned you are now ready for your worry free vacation. Make sure to save a special file where you can save digital and/or physical copies of all your vacation plans. You can never be too safe when it comes to vacation planning plans. If you need any additional help in you vacation planning or have any questions feel free to call my planning services number at +1 (949) 438-1177

- Transportation -

Airport Travel: The main airport you should fly into is the Orlando International Airport (MCO). This is the main hub for all your Disney travel needs wheather youre going to Disney World or taking a Disney Cruise. Even if you're not doing anything Disney but instead going to Sea World, Legoland, or Universal Studios; you want to fly into MCO.

Airport Transportation: If you are staying at any of the Disney resorts, including the Disney Springs hotels, you can receive free shuttle service to and from Orlando (MCO) Airport along the Disney’s Magical Express busses. Click this link to make your Magical Express reservations.

Hotel Transportation: If you are staying at a Disney resort you receive free transportation to and from all of the parks. Transportation is hotel specific where your hotel can offer one, two, or three modes: bus, boat, and monorail. Bus transportation is offered at all resorts and parks on property.

Park Transportation: This goes along with hotel transportation. Transportation is park specific, but will always have busses to and from all parks. (Minnie Vans can be used across Disney property and can be accessed through your Lyft app). Listed below is an example of what each of the parks offer to guests in terms of transportation to and from that particular park.

Walk=🚶‍♂️| Bus= 🚍 | Skyliner=🚡 | Monorail= 🚝 | Boat= 🛳

Magic Kingdom: 🚶‍♂️ 🚍 🛳 🚝
EPCOT: 🚶‍♂️ 🚍 🛳 🚝 🚡
Hollywood Studios: 🚶‍♂️ 🚍 🛳 🚡
Animal Kingdom: 🚍

NOTE - all resorts and parks don't have every mode of transportation. A good note to remember when your family/party is deciding which resort is the best for you or what mode of transportation to use when.

What does this mean? This means that you must follow the bullet points listed above. For example; there is no monorail or boat system to take you to and from the Animal Kingdom Park, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village, and Jambo House. They only have buses for these properties due to the noise and pollution that would bother the animals inside the park and hotels. Whereas if you are staying at the Contemporary Resort you have all four modes of transportation to and from the Magic Kingdom; walkway, boat and monorail, with buses going to every other park except the MK because it’s too close for the bus to be necessary.

Park to park transportation:

Magic Kingdom ⇄ EPCOT 🚍🚝

Magic Kingdom ⇄ Hollywood Studios 🚍

Magic Kingdom ⇄ Animal Kingdom 🚍

EPCOT ⇄ Magic Kingdom 🚍🚝

EPCOT ⇄ Hollywood Studios 🚶‍♂️🚍🚡🛳

EPCOT ⇄ Animal Kingdom 🚍

Hollywood Studios ⇄ Magic Kingdom 🚍

Hollywood Studios ⇄ EPCOT 🚶‍♂️🚍🚡🛳

Hollywood Studios ⇄ Animal Kingdom 🚍

Animal Kingdom ⇄ Magic Kingdom 🚍

Animal Kingdom ⇄ EPCOT 🚍