I mentioned in my Disney Planning Steps (click HERE) that I want to take you along my planning for Disney World. I think it definitely helps to get an inside view of how people plan their Disney trips.
I'll be honest, I probably over-plan my trips, I've been that way as long as I can remember, but I promise that you don't have to be as overly dramatic as I am. The good thing about seeing it first hand from an over-planner, is that you can pick and choose the tips and ideas you want to implement for your vacation, or do like me and use them all.
As of now, we are about 240 days out. Last year, we traveled in May 2019, right before Orlando ISD got out for Summer Break which was made for an amazing trip - it wasn't overcrowded, the lines were very short, and we were able to navigate through the parks without trouble.
This time, we are planning our vacation for September since Disney released Free dining for select Summer dates and September just works best for us. While I have always wanted to experience Disney Christmas, and since our May 2019 trip was a celebration of our both of our boys birthdays (3 and 1) we thought December would be the perfect first birthday celebration for our little girl as well as be a fun Christmas present but unfortunately, I am frugal, and the Free dining deal is one I try not to pass up - especially now that we are having to pay for our 4 year old.
As of right now, we have booked our trip. I mentioned in the last post that you can pay your $200 deposit and this will allow you to book your vacation package - tickets, hotel, dining (if you want), and any other add-ons. This really is a great option because then you can see exactly what it's going to cost you and make payments as you go.
We went ahead and put down our deposit for our dates.If you want to take advantage of the free dining, go now -
CLICK ON MICKEY and book! If you are not totally concerned with free dining, then keep an eye out HERE for amazing deals. Disney releases different discounts throughout the year, so there's no telling what awesome deals you can score.
I have a pretty strict timeline for what needs to be done during certain times of the year. Some things are done weekly, monthly, and others are timed for specific dates. Below I have listed the timeline that I follow for planning our vacations.
Less than 1 Year Out
- Book vacation - pay $200 deposit.
- Check discounts each week for free dining or other offers.
side note: let's say you book a date and later decide you want to move your reservations to take part in a certain deal/discount, like free dining, etc, you can easily call WDW and have them move your reservation without having to pay extra and you don't lose what you've already paid. Of course, you'll have to ensure that there is availability, so pre-check online before calling.
- Start prepping itinerary for the dates selected; this is a rough draft and will be changed once FastPass selections are made. This just allows you to pre-plan must-do rides, must-see shows/attractions, and figure out a route outline for the parks. Try to print out maps of the parks and start getting familiar with where certain rides/restaurants are so that when you go, you will know exactly where to find these things.
8-7 Months Out
- Begin finalizing daily itineraries for each park/rest day; narrow down the top 5 must-have FastPass options - you can only book 3 per park to start, but having a few extra faves is important as a few may already be taken once you're ready to book.
- Daily itinerary planning includes every thing from wake-up time to lunch time and even dinner/bed time. Where will you be within the park at certain times, what rides will you plan to ride (non-FastPass), and what are some must-do things? If you have children, will they nap in the park in the strollers or will you go back to the hotel for rest time? These are some things you'll want to keep in mind as you start getting down to the final details.
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- Book dining reservations - if opting for Table Service. Be sure to set your alarm for 6/7am EST or 5/6am CT or 3/4am PT - dining reservations start online or via the Disney Experience app at 6am EST or you can call Disney Dining at (407) WDW-DINE starting at 7am EST. Sorry PT peeps, but if you want the good reservations like Be Our Guest or Crystal Palace, remember the old saying...the early bird gets the worm.
- Start deciding and preparing for transportation. Drive or fly - if driving, plan your route out and prep for any stops you'll need to make for rest, eating, bathroom breaks, or gas. if flying, start researching airline prices and comparing for best deals.
*Best airlines for discount tickets: Frontier Airlines, Spirit, and Southwest.
90 Days Out
- If you haven't already, book your airline tickets now!
- Start planning outfits. If you are going during the Spring - bring rain coats and prepare for possible rain. Summer - bring lots of shorts and also prepare for rain as this is the hurricane season as well. Fall - bring summer-like outfits because Florida doesn't get much Fall weather. Winter - this is hit or miss; you might have a freezing cold day and then wake up the next and it's 80 degrees; if you're going during Winter, try to pack two outfits for each day to ensure you are prepared for cold or warm weather. You can also keep an eye on the weather as you get closer but I would always have a few back up Winter clothes just in case.
- Order any items you feel you'll need - custom matching family shirts, fancy Magic Bands, Mouse Ears, etc. You will want to make sure these are shipped to you well before your trip, especially any and all handmade items as some of those can take weeks to finish.
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60 Days Out
- Set your alarm for 7am EST or 6am CT or 4am PT - Fast Pass booking opens at 7am exactly 180 days from day one of your trip therefore, to ensure you get first selection, be sure to get up early. Again, I'm sorry PT peeps, but if you want the good stuff, plan for 4am 180 days before your arrival.
- Go ahead and start your online resort check-in. You can do this on the app as well. This will allow you to check-in quicker and also apply any special requests you may have. You can even ask for priority check-in or early check-in, while it's not guaranteed, it does help to provide that just in case. You can also select location preferences, like if you want a view of the pool or if you'd prefer to be away from the pool due to noise levels.
side note: you only get to book 3 FastPasses per day however once you use all 3, you gain access to more in the park but only one a time and the last FastPass option ends about 1 hour before the park closes.
- Finalize your itinerary. I typically print out Disney maps and highlight the rides, then map them out in counter-clock wise order as best I can and of course, try to ensure my Fast Pass selections match that route.
- I also start planning dining options. We usually opt for quick service dining as we don't want to waste time sitting and eating at a restaurant, but I still want to make sure that I don't inconvenience us. So I will map out the restaurants along our route and then add those into our itinerary to ensure we don't waste too much time.
- Finalize all plans. Make sure that you are double checking all on-line check-ins are completed.
- Run over the daily itineraries to make sure that your dates and times are all correct and match the FastPass bookings and dining reservations.
- Start reviewing all orders to make sure that you have all of your items in or follow up with the businesses to find out when items will arrive.
- Plan caretakers for pets - at-home or boarding. This may also require vaccinations updates for pets - do this now to avoid delay or issues.
- Start washing and setting aside clothes that you will be packing. If you can try not to wear them, that's even better that way you can ensure you don't forget any items.
- Head to Dollar Tree/Store and begin purchasing park items.
- Begin packing all your non-clothing extra items.
- Begin packing all clothing.
- Prep for leaving.
I'll be writing these posts as we go, so you will literally see the timeline unfold as we get closer to our vacation.
I want to know, are you currently planning a Disney World trip for 2020 or are you thinking about planning a WDW trip in the future?