Besides photography, most people that know me know my other passion in life is enjoying all things Disney. I like to refer to myself as a “lost boy” that never grew up – I just love all things Disney and am a kid at heart! What really gets my heart strings tugging is visiting Walt Disney World. I’ve been there countless times since I was a little girl and a year ago my husband and I decided to make ourselves Disney Vacation Club members. Disney vacations for life! There are so many benefits to being a DVC member, the best part is knowing every year we have a guaranteed vacation! After 9 trips to Florida, I always have so many friends and family members asking me for advice on how to plan their Disney Trip! “How do I save money?” “When’s the best time of the year to go?” “Where do you stay?” And now I’ve decided to use my lovely blog as an outlet to answer all those Disney Vacation questions!

Today’s post is all about How to plan your Disney Vacation! 🙂

Planning a Disney Trip can be INSANELY overwhelming because once you look into it, you realize there is SO much more to do than just seeing Cinderella’s Castle. Planning a trip to Disney is also very expensive, there’s no way to get around it. There are so many ways you can save money – drive down to Florida instead of flying, stay at an “off-disney” hotel, buy tickets when you arrive at the parks. These all are great ways to save but if you really want to EXPERIENCE Disney World and all it has to offer and make your days go smoother, then THIS is the post for you! I am a Disney Nerd and can’t ever imagine doing things differently because if I am going to Disney, I want to live in the Disney Magic from the moment I arrive in Florida! This is the way we plan our trips to Disney and it works great for us 🙂 It gives us more time at the parks, less time waiting in lines and more ENJOYING ourselves and our vacations 🙂

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DISNEY WORLD

First and foremost, there are two Disney Parks in America. Disneyland and Disneyworld are NOT the same thing. Disneyland, the first disney park ever, is located in California and is known as “the happiest place on earth”. Disneyworld is located in Buena Vista, Florida and is known as “the most magical place on earth” and it’s true! Disney World is HUGE. It’s made up of 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, 1 downtown shopping district and numerous hotels and restaurants. Think about that… thats a LOT to do in just 4 days. My #1 Disney Tip – book your trip to Disney World for 6 days or more. There is a lot to see and do at Disney and trying to cram it all in 4 or 5 days is not the way to do it. I would suggest 5 days for Disney and than another day to do Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure or Sea World! If you’re spending all this money going to Disney, you really want to make the most of your days there and see and do as much as possible and this is the first way to get that done!

There are 4 theme parks at Disney. The first is Magic Kingdom, where Cinderella’s Castle is. It’s one of the largest parks and you can easily split your time into 2 days there because there is so much to do! If you’re going to Disney during any Holiday, all of the BEST celebrations are mostly held at the Magic Kingdom. The second is Epcot, “the one with the big golf ball”. EPCOT is a GREAT park and one of our favorites, divided into 2 parts. There is Future World, with some of the best rides at Disney present, and the World Showcase, where you can visit replicas of 14 countries and eat your way around the world. The third park is Hollywood Studios, themed after TV and movies! This is the smallest park with the biggest thrill rides! Tower of Terror? Yup, it’s here! And the fourth is Animal Kingdom! Animal Kingdom is the largest park themed around adults and is full of a variety of rides and entertainment.

There are also 2 water parks, Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon! I always suggest picking one of the two to visit and it’s best during the months March – October, usually any months in between it’s too cold or they are closed for refurbishments. Downtown Disney is one of our favorite places to visit numerous times while at Disney! It’s an outdoor shopping and entertainment district, with so many fun stores to shop in and great themed restaurants [and bars!] Downtown Disney also has their own Cirque Du Solei show there called La Nouba as well as an indoor amusement park, DisneyQuest. Keep in mind – nothing at Downtown Disney is free just because you are staying at Disney or visiting, although their restaurants do qualify in their Dining Plans. So you will need to buy tickets for Cirque Du Solei and DisneyQuest!

HOW TO BOOK YOUR DISNEY TRIP!

I have done my Disney Trips every way you can. I drove there, I flew there, I stayed on Disney property, I stayed at a Holiday Inn, I did the dining plan, I didn’t do the dining plan. So my #2 tip is from experiencing disney every way possible. #2 BOOK YOUR TRIP THROUGH DISNEYWORLD.COM Disney knows how overwhelming this could be and so they’ve made it as easy as possible through their own website. Your hotel, your tickets, your dining, your flight and your transportation can all be booked together and taken care of with the simple click of a mouse! [ha! get it, mouse?]  Booking on Disney’s website is simple and easy and can completely be customizable to what you and your budget is. Regardless of what you do, Disney IS expensive but there are ways you can save. Disney has constant sales running through the year for booking with them & adding on dining plans, as well, so keep your eye out for that!

HOTELS

There are 3 different types of Hotels you can book at and each of them are broken down into categories to fit your budget. There are Value Hotels (the cheapest), Moderate Hotels and Deluxe Hotels & Villas (the most expensive). All have swimming pools, dining options and daily activities for kids to do, if you feel like hanging out at the hotel for the day. They offer standard rooms, lake or pool views or special views of whatever that specific hotel has to offer (if you can, spring for those!)

If you are looking to stick to a tight budget, don’t really care about how fancy your hotel room and just want a place to sleep since you’ll be at the parks all day than Value is for you! Value is best for couples or families really watching their budget or people traveling with kids. The kids will be blown away at all the fun, large and over the top statues there are at the Value Resorts! They all also have food courts there so anytime you want breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack before or after the parks you can stop by there. We’ve stayed at the Value Movie Resort [in the Mighty Ducks section] and thought it was so cheesy and fun.

Moderate resorts are what I always recommend! It fits nicely in all budgets, are still disney themed but are definite step ups from the Value Resorts. They are on much larger properties and the scenery you walk past to get to your rooms are beautiful! They also have some of the nicest themes! We have stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort, which is themed after Mexico and is very South West inspired and the Port Orleans Riverside, which is themed after the Bayou in New Orleans! Moderate resorts also food courts, small snack centers and also have one themed sit-down restaurant in them if you’re looking for a nice night out in your resort. I always recommend moderate resorts because they are much quieter than Value Resorts and it feels more like a getaway than constantly seeing Disney in your face, which is really nice.

Deluxe Resorts are the nicest hotels on Disney Property. If you want to go all out and have a great vacation in every way, book a deluxe hotel! Of course keep in mind these are the most expensive hotels. The properties are huge with multiple swimming pools, fitness centers [some even have spas!], lots of dining options and plenty of activities to do. Being members of the Disney Vacation Club we are now able to access the Deluxe Hotels, which is so exciting because we NEVER thought we’d be able to afford a stay at them! We’ve stayed at the Saratoga Springs Resort, which is the cheapest of the Deluxe and still beautiful!

 

DINING PLANS

Eating at Disney World can get CRAZY expensive because it is expensive. They are NOT cheap! So my #3 tip is BOOK A DISNEY DINING PLAN! Disney has several different Dining Plans to choose from to fit your budget. We always book the Dining Plan which includes a sit down meal, a quick service and a snack. The difference between sit-down and quick service is simple… if you sit at a table and have your own waiter, that is a sit-down meal. If you are going to a counter, ordering your food and than finding a table to sit at – that is quick service. Snacks can be anything you want to snack on – ice cream, popcorn, even a water counts as a snack. The dining plan is great because you don’t overeat and overspend if you were paying for it all out of pocket. It’s almost like you have an all-inclusive Disney vacation.

Also a very important tip #4 BOOK YOUR SIT-DOWN DINING IN ADVANCE. You can browse the Disney website and look at their dining options and book 4 months in advance! Or once you arrive at the park, pick a place to eat and try to make reservations but no matter what book it in advance!

TICKETS & MAGIC BANDS

There are a number of reasons for this next tip and that is #5 BUY YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE. It doesn’t matter if you think you’ll be saving money if you buy the tickets once you arrive to the park because that’s not true. When you book everything online together, they discount it for you and it is cheaper. You can also add in your water park tickets to this as well. Disney also has something known as a park hopper but I always suggest NOT to buy a park hopper. Just take one full day [or 2] to enjoy each park at a time and take it in 🙂

Magic Bands are one of the NEWEST features at Disney. When you book your Disney Trip and register yourselves online, they mail you your Magic Bands! Magic Bands are what you use for EVERYTHING! The Magical Express, Check in, Entering the parks and confirming your dining plan wherever you go. Even your credit card is put on your MagicBand so you can do easy (and dangerous) shopping! Not only that but the best feature is you can book FAST PASSes to your favorite or popular rides before you go. If you forget this step before hand, they have kiosks all over the parks [and cast members there too] to help you book fast passes even the day of! It’s so great and easy and saves you time instead of waiting in lines and letting that suck up all your time at the parks. #6 TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MAGIC BANDS AND BOOK FAST PASSES TO YOUR MUST-DO RIDES BEFORE HAND! 

[below is a picture I snapped of my husband, Jose, using his MagicBand to enter the park 🙂 ]

TRANSPORTATION 

If you decided you will be flying to Disney, congratulations. You’ve just made things 10x easier on yourself! Disney has got everything figured out for you! When you go to disneyworld.com and book your trip – make sure to select GROUND TRANSPORTATION. This means when you arrive at Orlando International Airport, Disney’s Magical Express is there waiting for you to pick you up and drop you off to your hotel! The best part about this? They pick up your luggage too! Yes, your checked luggage too. When you book your trip, they send you special luggage tags so they know you have booked with them and to pick up your luggage. When you arrive at Orlando, your magical Disney vacation has already begun! When you arrive at your hotel and check in, once you’re done – you can get started and make your way to the parks! Tip #7 DO NOT RENT A CAR. DISNEY HAS BUSES THAT TAKE YOU TO EACH AND EVERY PARK. It is the easiest way to get around Disney, with thousands of buses bringing you to whatever park you want to go to each day – even the water parks and downtown disney! That way you don’t pay for parking at the theme parks. This is the biggest money saver!! No need to pay to rent a car or parking at theme parks.

WHEN TO GO TO DISNEY WORLD

This is something that can change EVERYTHING about your trip to Disney! It can affect not only how crowded the parks will be and the weather but also how much you will spend! #8 THE BEST TIMES TO BOOK A DISNEY TRIP ARE BETWEEN MARCH-MAY AND SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER. These are the “off season” months and they are the best times to go! The parks are less crowded which means shorter wait times and less time waiting to eat, the weather is fantastic in these months and schools are IN! Less kids everywhere!  [which trust me, if you don’t have any they are a lot to deal with, even if they aren’t yours] June-August are the absolute worst times to go to Disney for a number of reasons. School is out and kids are EVERYWHERE, making the parks more crowded and lines for rides insanely long. It’s summer too so it will be HOT and HUMID, meaning it will rain on and off every day of your trip. No fun!

Here I am below [on the left] in February – FREEZING and [left] in late March walking around in a t-shirt! It’s funny how one month makes all the difference.

Holidays and special events are ALWAYS celebrated at Disney World and deciding to go when one is occurring is a great choice! September through October it is Halloween Time at Magic Kingdom! Christmas is the absolute BEST holiday to experience at Disney. Every single park celebrates in a big way and it is not something to miss, especially at the Magic Kingdom. EPCOT has 2 special events in the year – there is the Flower and Garden Festival in the Spring with beautiful character topiaries throughout the park and even bands from the 60s and 70s performing on special nights! EPCOT also has the Food & Wine Festival every Fall where you can drink and eat your way around the world with small food plates from hundreds of countries! In the summer time – Hollywood Studios hosts STAR WARS weekend every June! Star Wars takes over the park with daily parades, shows and nighttime shows as well and is great if you’re  a Star Wars geek, like me 🙂 I’m happy to say I’ve gone during Halloween, Christmas, Valentines week, at the Flower & Garden Festival AND my birthday which is always fun and every time has been different from the last!

OH! And if you are going to Disney to celebrate your own special occasion, be sure to let them know when you check in! Birthday, Getting Married, Family Reunion… whatever! They will give you a special pin to wear while you’re there & you might even get some special treatment! (I got free sweets from Starbucks for my birthday! 😉 )

TIP #9 MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON ONE OF THESE BAD BOYS. Trust me, it’s the greatest ice cream bar you’ll ever have.

And those are my tips for getting the most of your Disney Trip! There is SO much more to talk about and cover and if you’d like, I can do another post more in depth about the parks so let me know! Of course if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments below 🙂 HAVE FUN PLANNING YOUR DISNEY TRIP!