I planned my disney trip a year in advance. I was researching like crazy. They have a lot of events through out the year and it was so hard to choose. This was the very first time I would be traveling on my own. Well technically with my boyfriend but he didn't help me plan much besides choosing what we would eat but we'll get to that later. Always set a budget first. I didn't include it in the steps because I think its pretty obvious. You just can't go gung ho unless your rich.
First Step- Dates
When are you free to travel?
So I had to make sure that my boyfriend and I can have time off. it was pretty simple since it was just us two and we were just working. I had taken time off school so I didn't have to worry about working around it and having to catch up with homework. So if you have a family then it will be a little tricky because the ideal vacation would be less wait time since time is important. You don't want to take a vacation and be in line for the majority of time. Make sure to do your research on crowded times. Obviously when school is out it is the busiest and holidays as well, just make sure you plan accordingly. So find out when you can make it happen!!
https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/
Second Step- Disney Events
Disney World and Disneyland have a bunch of events during the year. Mickeys not so scary halloween party, mickeys very merry christmas party, food and wine, star wars weekends, and the flower and garden festival. I wanted to do the mickeys very merry christmas party and food and wine. Food and Wine festival is at Epcot for a good amount of time. Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party is going on while food and wine is still there. At hollywood studios they have the Osbourne lights which is absolutely breathtaking. So figure out what you want to attend.
Honestly step 1 and 2 are kind of meshed together.
Step 3 - Resort. Do you want to stay on property or off property? Of course Disney wants you to stay on their property so they give you perks. One is magic hours. Magic hours basically is extra time you can spend in the parks before it opens up to the public. It is either offered in the morning before park opens or after the park closes. I wondered how they could tell if you were staying on property once the park is technically closed but basically before you enter a ride line after hours they want to see proof of you staying in their resort. Now a days they can tell on your handy dandy Magic bands that I will be talking about later. Another perk is that if you are flying to Orlando then there is a magical express that will pick you up, take you to your resort, take your bags so they will be in your room in a couple of hours after you arrive, and when you are ready to go back home they will take you to the airport as well. Each resort has their own bus or shares a bus with another resort when it comes to dropping you off to the different theme parks. So you save money on renting a car. Of course there will be a line to go on the bus but it wasn't horrible. Again depends on the crowd levels. There are also different levels of resorts. There are value resorts which is basically the cheapest prices. It was our first time there and we knew were were only going to be in the room to sleep so we went for a value resort. Pop Century has it's own bus for theme parks so that was our best option. Moderate resorts are bit more expensive but much nicer and bigger rooms. Deluxe resorts are more on the expensive side. Of course this is all based on how much I make so for me, deluxe resorts is expensive. Then,deluxe villas which is basically top price. See what environement do you want to be in? What price do you find reasonable?
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com
Optional Step - Dining plan
Disney offers a dining plan that is too long to explain so check this site out. But if you do end up adding this to your package then you do not have to worry about paying for food when you are there unless you are buying anything that is not on the list of whatever package you use. All depends on your appetite and what fits your schedule. Table service always has to be reserved at least 80 days in advance for the really popular restaurants. So before your 80 day mark make sure you know what park you are going to be in for each day of your vacation unless your park hopping.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/vacation-packages/2014/dining/
Step 3- Food
There are so many options for food. We did not add the dining plan because we didn't need that much food plus we were attending the food and wine festival so we wouldn't need that many meal points. We would be stuffed snacking at each cart. We tried going to table service restaurant but they were all booked up. EVERY DAY! So make sure you reserve 80 days in advance. I'm attaching a link to my favorite source for advice and youtube videos. Absolutely love them!
http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon
step 4- rides
Yup, now you can reserve your ride times. They used to have paper fast passes but everything is going to be electronic now. So this is where the magic bands come in. If you stay on property you each get a magic band that you will be able to personalize. It will be your room key, have all your reservations, all your dining credits, and if you want.. you can add your credit card on it. I did so I wouldn't have to carry my wallet. I planned accruing to the magic hours that were being offered while we were there. We wanted to maximize our time since it was a rare thing for us. We chose our rides according to the park we would be in. You can have 3 fast passes per day that can be reserved in advance. They just added kiosks at the park so once your passes are used up you can add one at a time after that. By the way when you choose the 3 fast passes in advance it can only be at 1 park.
There are offers through out the year. Free dining options during select dates and room discounts. Since people usually plan way in advance you never know if you are eligible for the offer. If you are flexible then you can change your dates so you can get the offer.
This is a lot of planning isn't it? Everything is planned in advance. There are disney agents out there and their services are free. They make the dining reservations for you and give you suggestions. Best spot to watch fireworks, top restaurants, and how to avoid lines.
Happy planning! =D
p.s I am sure there must be somethings I am forgetting to write about but there is just so much to think about! I'll be updating with other posts when I think of something else
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