As hard as it is to believe, 2024 is coming up fast!
We’re celebrating the holidays now and anticipating the new year. 2024 is going to be another big year for Disney World. EPCOT’s transformation will be complete with lots of new things to explore, and new rides and attractions will be opening. There will also be some new guidelines for how to “do Disney.” With all these big updates, we want to be sure you don’t make these 6 mistakes on your 2024 trip to Disney World.
Not Making Advanced Dining Reservations
You might have heard us talking a lot about January 9th, 2024, recently. That’s because it is a very BIG day in Disney World. On January 9th, the Disney Dining Plan finally returns! This means, that when you book a stay at any of the Disney World hotels, you can purchase one of the two new dining plan options -– the Quick-Service Dining Plan or the standard Dining Plan.
While we are excited for the dining plan to return (you get A LOT of food!), we realize this will probably cause a lot more demand for Disney restaurants. When you get the standard Dining Plan, you receive one table service credit per day that you purchase the plan. Generally, table-service restaurants will allow (and potentially require) advanced dining reservations.
So with the dining plan’s return, we might see reservations filling up even more quickly!
You’ll want to make sure you’re getting your dining reservations as soon as you can to avoid missing out on a restaurant you want to try!
Not Using a Travel Agent
Planning and booking a Disney vacation can become a bit confusing. There’s a lot to consider when making your plans (especially now that so many things are changing on January 9th)! That’s why we recommend checking out a travel agent.
If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!
A travel agent doesn’t cost you anything extra, and it’s a great way to have a much more relaxed Disney experience. By working with a travel agent, you can easily avoid most of the mistakes on this list!
Forgetting You Don’t Need a Park Reservation
Here’s another big update coming to Disney World on January 9th -– you won’t need a park reservation for date-based tickets! That’s right, you can wake up on the morning of your trip and decide where you want to go right then and there (as long as there’s a date attached to your ticket).
Some tickets, like Annual Passes, group tickets, and military tickets, will still require you to make reservations since they aren’t linked to any specific dates. But all others no longer need them after January 9th! So don’t forget this nugget of information on your 2024 trip.
Not Getting a Park Hopper Ticket
Guess what! There’s a THIRD change happening on January 9th! January 9th will see the return of any-time park hopping. That means you can jump from park to park at any time of the day. Currently, you have to wait until after 2 PM to visit a second, third, or fourth park. But not on January 9th!
Once the all-day park hopper returns, the park hopper ticket will be even better. Even if you have no plans to visit another park, it’s always nice to have the option! If you rope drop Animal Kingdom, it’s pretty easy to get it all done long before 2 PM and then head over to EPCOT for lunch. The possibilities with a park hopper are truly endless.
Not Knowing When Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opens
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is replacing Splash Mountain, is set to open in late 2024 (stay tuned to AllEars for an opening date)! We’re pretty confident that day in the parks will be VERY busy. Everyone is eagerly waiting to see the story that is replacing a beloved Disney classic.
While you know we will be there on opening day, we want to issue a word of caution -– Magic Kingdom will be busy. If you plan on being there on the day it opens, be prepared for large crowds. So when we find out an opening date, make your calendars!
Not Dressing Comfortably in the Parks
We cannot stress this one enough. It may be at the bottom of this list, but that does NOT take away how important it is to dress for the parks. Chances are, you will be walking a lot and riding some mega-awesome rides. You’ll want to be comfy while speed walking (running is prohibited!) around the parks. You can still look cute and be comfy– just like with our ride challenge outfit!
We also love a good Disney Bound outfit! This Hollywood Studios outfit is an epic park Disney Bound and still super comfortable. One thing is certain, we highly suggest tennis shoes.
Don’t make the mistake of not dressing comfortably for the parks! And be ready for all the changes and updates coming in 2024. You don’t want to make these mistakes.
For more Disney tips, keep following All Ears!
8 Easy Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Next Disney World Trip
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What are your Disney World tips for 2024? Let us know in the comments!
Just another thing to consider. It used to be when you bought a multi day pass it would be good for like two weeks from the day you first use the pass. Not the day your vacation begins , but the day you first go to a park. It then expired two weeks later. Now you have to tell them the first day of use (not what park, but that you will go to a park) when you buy the ticket and then it expires (in the case of a three day pass 5 days later). So if you are going to be there for 7 days and have a 3 day pass and you got the pass to start the second day and you get there and its pouring raIn the second day and you thought” Ill not go to the park today and go on day 6 instead” , well the ticket expired after day 5. So that plan won’t work.