Are You Ready to Plan Your Walt Disney World Vacation? Start Here!

If I had to give you an elevator pitch, it would go something like this: Walt Disney World sits on over 25,000 acres (43 square miles) in the heart of central Florida. We’re talking four theme parks, two water parks, a shopping and entertainment venue, a sports center, and over 25 resort hotels! From iconic attractions and thrill rides to immersive-themed lands, there is something for everyone!

Are you overwhelmed yet? Yeah, me too. Let me debunk something for you. Unless you’re a trivia buff, you probably don’t need to remember any of that! But what you do need to know is this: You will likely want to visit all four of the theme parks, which are:

• Magic Kingdom
• Epcot
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom

You might also want to visit a water park during your vacation. However, at the time of this update, only one water park is open at a time. So you might not have much of a choice between them. They are:

• Typhoon Lagoon
• Blizzard Beach

If you’re a serious foodie or love to shop, you might want to visit Disney’s shopping and entertainment venue:

• Disney Springs

You probably won’t need to visit ESPN Wide World of Sports or have time to play putt-putt golf at Fantasia Gardens and Fairway Miniature Golf or Winter Summerland. (However, these options are available.)

That’s it! That is Disney in a nutshell. Now it’s time for some practical advice. We recommend you read this guide and return to each step below as you plan your vacation. If you stick to this plan, it will work for you. But it will take some effort upfront to get to that effortless vacation.

Step 3: Choose Your Dates

If your dates are limited, you can ignore this step. But with so many families traveling freely throughout the year these days, we wanted to include it. If you have room to play with your dates, you might find a better hotel offer or, even better, be able to upgrade to a higher category if it works with your budget. 

You might even visit during the off-season! I’m kidding. Since I moved here, I’ve made it a point to visit the theme parks every week and gauge the crowds. There is a busy season (all the time), a busy-busy season (summer, spring break, minor holidays), and an insanely busy season (the weeks of Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s). 

I recommend avoiding the “insanely busy season” at all costs. However, it’s important to note that it will probably be crowded no matter when you visit. So, if you have no experience gauging the crowds in the parks regularly, what feels “packed in like a can of sardines” could be the slowest day of the year. A 45-minute wait for Peter Pan’s Flight might sound ridiculous, but it averages 70 minutes on a typical day. At the end of the ride (that someone said you had to do via standby to see the queue), you might be left wondering: why? 

On a side note, I adore Peter Pan’s Flight. But I drank all the Disney Kool-Aid long ago and have yet to ever grow up.

My favorite times of the year to be here are:

• Anytime from mid-April (read at least a week after Easter) through Memorial Day is my favorite time of year at Walt Disney World and always has been. You might run into a few lingering Spring Break crowds, but the majority will be cleared out. Some groups will likely be visiting for cheer, dance, or band. But they rarely have much impact on crowds in the parks. If you’re staying at one of the All-Star Resorts or Coronado Springs, you could end up with many teenagers at your resort. Sometimes, this means extra giggling or a few random shrieks here and there, typical of teens. But we have found that most kids traveling with their school are well-behaved. The weather can be hot this time of year, but it’s not miserable.
• Anytime after Labor Day through the start of Fall Break (Columbus Day) is another reasonable time to visit, with one exception. It’s hot. September is often what we locals call “second August.” You’ve been warned.
• The week of Halloween through Veterans Day is an excellent time to visit. If you stay through Veterans Day, you’ll likely see the Christmas decorations go up. However, it will get busier as many locals and Florida residents come into town to celebrate the start of the season. It is indeed a special time of year.
• Lastly, the first two weeks of December can be hit or miss. It’s beautiful this time of year and the weather is often comfortable yet still warm enough to swim. The parks are in full Christmas mode as they prepare for everyone who’s dreamed of spending Christmas at Walt Disney World to get out of school or off work. You won’t be the only one who wants to take advantage of this time of year. But can you blame them?

Now, you might wonder about January and February. To me, these months of the year are unexpectedly busy. This is when many overseas guests visit (read large groups with tiny flags), some American schools are on winter break, the Walt Disney World Marathon takes place (early January), and many guests visit around President’s Day. I have this theory that people think they will come in “after” the holidays and luck out. But the after-Christmas crowds have been the biggest surprise in my past two years here.

Step 4: Decision Making (Do You Need a Travel Agent)

We say YES to this one. Too many things can go wrong, and a travel agent can manage your reservation and know your options should something go awry. Regardless of who you use, you should vet that person upfront. Ask them how much they charge for managing your vacation and what you can expect in return.

We use a travel agent that charges a small planning fee. In return, we get customized advice, and they do an excellent job arranging our dining reservations. I am leery of anyone who uses the word “free service” because you get what you pay for. I would rather pay someone $100.00 to plan a $7500.00 vacation than use someone who may or may not book my trip and run. 

This leads to another question: Do you need travel insurance? I never bought travel insurance until I went on a cruise where multiple people were evacuated for medical emergencies throughout a week’s vacation. It made me think twice. I now purchase a small policy for destination travel. So it’s something to consider, especially if you or someone in your party might be at high risk. It’s also a good idea if you have loved ones who might have an emergency that prevents you from being able to travel. Again, I’m not an advocate either way. But it is something worth considering. 

Lastly, on this subject, a travel agent will be aware when discounts on hotels or vacation packages become available. If you book ahead of time (and you should when possible), you probably won’t get a discount when booking. So when a new promotion falls within your travel dates, you’ll want to ensure it’s applied. Often, this needs to be done as soon as possible because discounted rooms are limited. A good travel agent is aware of this and will work to get any discounts applied as soon as they become available. Our friends at Firefly Travels would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Step 5: Decision Making (To Disney Dining Plan or Not?)

This one usually gets a no in our book. It’s no secret that you must work the Disney Dining Plan to break even. If you want to spend hours planning, watch reels on social media on repeat for tips, or calculate things a thousand times to make it work for you, you can.

Some people say they do the dining plan because it’s taken care of, and then they don’t have to worry about anything on vacation. These are often the people who likely lose out the most. We have one better for you. Our Disney World vacation budget calculator, which we mentioned earlier, will show you whether or not the dining plan works for you. 

You can use it to select your meals and the number of adults and children. The next thing you know, you’ve got a realistic number of how much table service restaurants, quick service dining, and even snacks cost! Compare your total to the cost of the dining plan, and then let me know how it adds up! Seriously, I want to know! I rarely hear anyone say they came out ahead, and if they did, they often complain about it being too much food!

Learn More >> Understanding the Disney World Dining Plan (A Complete Guide)

Step 6: Making Disney Dining Reservations

Now, you’ve decided where to stay, how much you’ll spend, when you’ll visit, and who will help you. If you hire a travel agent, you will likely want them to make your dining reservations when your reservation window opens. A good travel agent is up early, securing reservations for their clients.

Here is the scoop directly from Disney about when you can make dining reservations:

• Guests with a Valid Disney Resort Hotel Reservation: Make reservations for your entire length of stay (up to a 10-night stay) up to 60 days before your arrival!
• All Other Guests: Make reservations up to 60 days in advance. (If you’re staying off-site, you must do this day by day.)
• At approximately 6:00 a.m. daily, new reservation booking windows become available for select Walt Disney World restaurants.

Now that you know when to make your dining reservations, you’ll want to jot that date down on your calendar. You then have to decide where you want to eat. But be careful. This part of the planning can get out of hand.

I suggest that you first make a list of restaurants and food items you want to try. If you are unfamiliar with the restaurants, start with the basics, like how many table service restaurants you’ll want to dine at during your stay. Remember, this is your vacation. You do not want to overplan and feel strapped to a tight schedule.

For an eight-day trip, we usually recommend 3 to 4 table service dinners, one character dining breakfast or lunch, and one table service breakfast. That’s about six dining reservations. We’ll look at this in more detail as we begin to lay out your itinerary. For now, write down the places you have in mind.

If you don’t have any places in mind, you’ll want to do more research. Start with these guides:

• An Overview of Dining at Walt Disney World (This guide is the perfect place to start. It covers the basics of dining at Walt Disney World. You’ll learn everything you need to know!).
• Signature Dining at Walt Disney World (This guide discusses fine dining at Disney World. These restaurants will cost a premium price, but sometimes it’s nice to splurge on a fancy meal. We recommend only planning 1-2 signature reservations. You can quickly go overboard and over budget.)
• Character Dining at Walt Disney World (If you have anyone in your group who might enjoy dining with characters, this is the guide for you. If you’re not interested, it’s okay to skip. These meals are expensive, but children and adults enjoy them.)
• The Best Restaurants at Disney Springs (We go through spells where we visit Disney Springs often, and then we go through droughts. If you’re a serious foodie or love celebrity chefs, you’ll want to plan a meal at one of these restaurants.)
• The Disney Hotel Restaurants List (This guide lists every hotel restaurant at Walt Disney World. It will help you figure out options at the hotel and others nearby.)
• The Best Disney Resort Quick Service Restaurants (Another favorites list, this guide provides insider tips and what we’ve tried at some of the more budget-friendly resort restaurants.)

Intermission

I know you probably didn’t expect to see an intermission in the middle of a book, I mean, blog post. But we’ve covered a lot of ground already. At this point, you should have a general idea of the following:

• How to Create a Budget (You can be at any stage of the process.)
• Have an idea of where you want to stay (Narrow this down to three or fewer options.)
• You’ll have decided whether or not to use a travel agent or purchase a dining plan.
• Have a narrowed down a list of restaurants you would like to try.

Now, you’re ready to take a step forward. But I want to caution you that these next steps will take some time. During this process, you might find yourself overthinking things or packing stuff into your schedule that doesn’t fit. Remember how I mentioned that you don’t want to realize on day two or three that you’ve planned too much and ended up canceling things mid-trip? You also don’t want to promise your family that you’re doing this or that only to realize on vacation that it’s not feasible. Keep these things in mind as you plan each day.

Step 7: Tickets and Time

Theme park tickets are either included in your resort hotel package or purchased separately unless you’re an annual passholder. The main decisions here will be what kind of admission you want to purchase, how many park days you want, and whether or not you want upgrades. Here are the options:

• Park Hopper Option
• Water Park and Sports Option
• Park Hopper Plus Option

Deciding whether or not to park hop can be challenging. When we travel with friends and family, we rarely park hop unless they are here for a limited window of time. As someone who visits regularly, I enjoy park-hopping immensely. But I have no agenda other than to see what’s happening around the parks. So, if you do not consider yourself a seasoned pro, I would skip the park hopper ticket and make the most out of your days in each park.

There is one exception. If you plan to stay at a Magic Kingdom or Epcot Area Resort, I would 100% upgrade to the park hopper option. You’ll be within walking distance of a park, a luxury not afforded to everyone. You might want to spend a day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, have dinner at your resort, and then waltz into Magic Kingdom to see the nightly fireworks. Guests staying near Epcot might take advantage of early entry before heading elsewhere. (These are just a few examples.)

If you’re visiting in 2025 and will arrive early enough, be aware of this new benefit: Resort guests can enjoy complimentary access to a water park (based on availability) on their check-in day. Per Disney, this new benefit is only for registered guests on the resort reservation. Note this offer is only suitable for guests who arrive early enough to use it on their check-in day.

Lastly, it would be best to consider how many days you want to purchase. You can play around with the prices when creating your budget. If I were coming for eight days, I would want a 6-day ticket at the very least. Would I go to the parks for the entire time on those six days? No way! This might be a hard pill for you to swallow, but here goes:

You do not have to be at the park when it opens and stay until it closes to get the value out of your ticket. Yes, it’s expensive. But you determine value and how good a time you will have, not how many hours you logged in the park.

If you’re not a morning person, you do not have to suck it up every day on vacation and get to the parks an hour before they open because that’s what your cousin Jane does. She’s a real hero when touring the parks. I bet she even wears combat boots. Her kids have ridden everything by lunchtime.

Don’t get me wrong—there is a lot of excellent touring advice. But the mindset of “we only sleep and shower in our room when we’re at Disney” is not for everyone. So, do not feel guilty about planning breaks and rest days during your vacation. Disney is supposed to be fun. You are not in competition with anyone to see how much you can get done in a day.

Step 8: Itinerary Planning

This is a big step, but we’re still taking things one step at a time, like every other planning aspect. The good news? After this, we only have two more steps left and a few extra things you’ll want to do in preparation for your vacation. I hope you’re using our budgeting spreadsheets and downloads to keep track of everything now.

This is the part of the plan that you’ll want to fine-tune. It’s okay to lay everything out on paper or a spreadsheet and keep editing until it feels right. You’ll start with your days of the week and make a column for each. 

You’ll want to consider what days you’ll go to which park, or at the very least, where you’ll start. For your arrival day, you might plan to spend the day at your resort unpacking, organizing, enjoying the pool, and exploring the resort. It would be an excellent time to enjoy a meal at the pool or your resort. It will give you an idea of what’s available for the rest of your trip. We like to keep things simple on arrival days and set the tone for our vacation. Some people like to visit Disney Springs for dinner, but we don’t even like to exert that much energy. I’ll let you decide what works best for your family. But most will want to rest to prepare for their first full day in the parks. 

For those following days, you’ll want to list what park you plan to visit and its operating hours, including early entry if you decide to rope drop. Note that park hours are only posted a few months out and could be extended when it gets closer to time. So, if you’re planning well ahead of schedule, you will want to go back and add this later. 

When selecting your park days, you’ll want to be aware of a few things. Here are some examples:

• If you’re visiting between August and Christmas, Magic Kingdom closes early several nights a week for seasonal extra-ticketed parties. We think the party is an excellent option. But we don’t recommend you do anything but rest on the day of the party if you have plans to attend. You’ll also want to plan your regular park days at Magic Kingdom around these parties. 
• Are you eligible for extended evening hours for deluxe and deluxe villa resort guests? If so, you will probably want to take advantage of these extra hours in the park after it closes. They are held twice weekly, mainly at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. If you don’t purchase the park hopper upgrade, you will need to plan to spend the day at the park where the perk is offered. This is one of those times where we might spend a day at the pool and then go to Epcot at 5:00 p.m. and stay through extended hours if we were eligible. 
• You might consider if you’ll be touring over any holidays. Magic Kingdom is often the busiest park on a holiday, which can be fun if they have unique offerings or festivities. But managing the crowds can also be a logistic nightmare. For instance, we love to see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom on the 3rd of July because they have them two nights in a row. However, we typically avoid the crowds on the 4th of July and go to parks like Epcot or Animal Kingdom. (Epcot will be incredibly busy on the evening of Independence Day. They have their own one-night-only fireworks tag.)

After you’ve selected your desired park days, it’s time to start working those dining reservations where they fit. Ideally, this will be done as a rough draft before your dining reservation window opens. When it comes time to secure dining reservations, you or your travel agent will know exactly where to start. 

By now, your rough draft should include a list of your vacation days, which parks you will visit, notes on early entry or extended hours (if you want to take advantage of them), and desired table service dining reservations. Things are starting to come together. 

Now we need to talk about the details of those park days. What attractions are important for your group to experience? What are your must-dos? These things are different for everyone. We recommend creating a list of 8-10 things you hope to do during your park visits. A few examples are available in our theme park guide. These things might be something like mom wants a Dole Whip, dad wants to ride Tron, and little Suzy has to meet Disney Princesses. Now, we wouldn’t count meeting every character in the park as one thing; that would take all day! 

With 8-10 reasonable items tailored to your group’s desires, you can get everything done. Anything else is just icing on the cake. This is also the fun part of planning, where you can decide what to do. What do your children want? What does Grandma want? If you’re unsure, we have guides you can browse that list the attractions and characters for each park. You can also watch YouTube videos to familiarize yourself with rides. These will help give children an idea of what to expect well beforehand. 

Resort Days and Half Days: Depending on the length of your trip and how you value your time, we think it’s important to schedule resort days and some half days into your plans. For us, an ideal visit is somewhere between eight to ten days. You might lay your plans something like the following example:

• Arrival Day
• Magic Kingdom
• Hollywood Studios
• Rest Day/ Pool Day
• Animal Kingdom
• Half Day/ Magic Kingdom Late
• Sleep Late/Rest Day/Half Day
• Epcot
• Departure Day

Step 9: Finalize Plans

As your vacation approaches, a few things might change. You’ll want to review your plans, travel arrangements, and other reservations, making notes of important details and confirmation numbers.

During this time, you might check for dining reservations that you haven’t been able to secure. More openings tend to become available at the 30-day mark and 5-day mark. That’s because vacation packages must be paid in full by the 30-day mark, and hotel-only reservations must be paid by the 5-day mark. (Note that beginning January 1, 2025, hotel-only reservations must be paid in full by the 8-day mark.) We have also had good luck getting reservations on the night before or the day of our visit. However, there are no guarantees.

Remember to check park hours and fine-tune your daily schedule. Do you need to make theme park reservations? Theme park reservations are no longer required for date-based tickets. But if you’re traveling with a special ticket type (see Park Pass Reservations), you may be required to make them.

Ensure you’ve downloaded and familiarized yourself with the My Disney Experience app on your phone. When you get your hotel confirmation number, add it to the app, and your information will appear. Check out the (+) feature in the center and practice using the mobile order section of the app. Using mobile order at Walt Disney World is a game-changer and will save you time.

If you’re flying into the Orlando International Airport, will you need transportation to and from the Walt Disney World Resort? Many guests hire a private car service or use Mears Connect (a shuttle bus service) to travel to and from the airport.

We also recommend familiarizing yourself with transportation around Walt Disney World. We have written a transportation guide for every single resort hotel at Disney. It will teach you how to get to and from your hotel to every theme park, Disney Springs, water park, and other popular destinations. You can locate the transportation guide for your hotel here. Scroll through the list, and you’ll find it. We recommend saving it to your phone in case you need it for a quick reference during your vacation.

Step 10: Finalize Budget and Track Expenses

Lastly, it’s time to finalize your budget and begin tracking expenses. If you’ve purchased our budgeting spreadsheets, you know we encourage our readers to track expenses. We have a separate sheet that you can use from your mobile device in the parks to deduct expenses. This is an excellent tool for anyone on a strict budget!

Regardless of how you decide to budget, it’s important to be realistic and keep an eye on things. With so many different expenses coming from every other direction, things can get out of hand. In our spreadsheets, we’ve thought of everything down to buying a soda in the park!

Extras

We’ve covered so much, but you might want to be aware of a few extras:

Lightning Lanes: Depending on your touring goals, you will likely want to purchase some of these extras. If you’re in a group who wants to experience the newest thrill rides with minimal wait times, these options are a must. Make sure to study our Disney World Lightning Lane Guide to learn about Multi Pass and Single Pass Lightning Lanes.

Height Requirements: If you have a little one, you might want to read our list of height requirements for every park.

Rider Switch: This service is for those with someone who doesn’t meet a height requirement or a child who doesn’t care to experience an attraction. If this applies to your situation, our rider switch guide will fill you in on the details.

Disability Access Service (DAS): This service is for guests who might not be able to wait in a conventional queue. You can read more about the DAS service on Disney.

Extra Ticketed Parties: We enjoy extra-ticketed parties like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and Disney After Hours. If you are traveling during a time when these events are offered, you might want to consider one. However, they are not something we would consider necessary for infrequent visitors.

Newest Lands: Several new lands have been added to Walt Disney World in recent years. These are a priority for infrequent visitors. We have guides for them:

• The Ultimate Guide to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
• Toy Story Land Guide
• Pandora, World of Avatar Guide

Final Thoughts

We know this guide is a lot to take in, but these are must-know things for planning a Walt Disney World vacation. Planning ahead takes time and effort. You do not want to show up on vacation and spend half of your valuable time researching how to do things or, even worse, saying you should have planned this or that after the fact. That could be one expensive regret!

So go back through each step, and add resort days and half days where they fit. Don’t overplan, and have the best time making memories with your loved ones!

You might also enjoy our quick start planning course. You’ll receive five lessons (one per day) and a complimentary gift to help you plan.