So, you want to go to Disney World in 2024? But maybe you don’t know where to start when planning a trip.
Well, there’s a lot that goes into planning a Disney World vacation. It includes everything from making sure you’ve got the right tickets, booking your hotels, booking advance dining reservations, and more. We get it — it can be very confusing. Well, we’re going to try to simplify the whole process for you so you can get started!
So, let’s take this step by step. What should you do first when planning a Disney World vacation?
Work up a budget
The first thing you need to do is know how much money you are willing to spend on your Disney World trip. Are you going to be on a tight budget? You’ll need to know the answer to that before you do any planning so you can focus all your efforts on working within that budget.
Prices on Disney World tickets and Lightning Lane Multi Pass fluctuate depending on demand throughout the year, so figuring out how much money you can spend could help you in all your other planning.
Figure out when you want to go
So the first thing you need to decide is when you want to visit Disney World. Your trip might need to coincide with school breaks, or you might want to consider going anytime that’s not considered a peak season (when the parks are busier).
Do you want to visit during the holidays? Do you want to visit in the spring? Do you want to attend any particular EPCOT festival? You’ll need to pin those dates down first before you do anything else. You’ll also start to think about cost and your budget because, as we previously mentioned, Disney World’s ticket pricing and Genie are all based on the dates you visit the parks. You’ll also want to consider the weather — it can get REALLY hot in Florida in the summer.
Where should you stay?
This is a decision that will also be based on your budget. If you’re on a tight budget, Disney’s All-Star Resorts might be right for you. If you want access to transportation that isn’t just buses, you might want to stay at a Skyliner or Monorail resort.
Determine your budget and priorities and then start researching hotels. Need details on Disney World’s hotels? You can start here!
Determine which tickets to buy
Disney offers a variety of ticket options that cover a number of days. You can also buy the park hopper ticket option, which lets you visit more than one theme park per day. Note that park hopping is allowed at ANY time in Disney World — there are no restrictions!
The way Disney World’s ticket pricing is set up, you’ll get a better deal the more days you add to your ticket, so keep that in mind when you’re deciding just how much time you want to spend in the parks. Of course, your budget could help you with this decision, too.
Figure out transportation
Okay, so you’ve figured all that out, but do you know HOW you’re going to get to Disney World? Well, if you’re close enough, you could choose to drive. However, many Disney World guests fly into Orlando International Airport and then take a transportation option to Disney World.
From the airport, you can rent a car, get a rideshare, or book the Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine shuttle. Once you arrive at your Disney World hotel, you can then use Disney World’s free transportation service to get around the resort.
Where do you want to eat?
Disney World has a variety of dining options at the hotels, at Disney Springs, and at the parks. However, if you want to eat at any of Disney World’s table service restaurants, you’ll need to be ready to book dining reservations 60 days in advance of the first day of your trip.
You’ll also need to decide if the Disney Dining Plan is for you and your group. Would you like to prepay for all your dining and not have to worry about it? This option certainly helps you figure out how to budget for dining, but on the other hand, you may end up spending more on the dining plan than you would without it depending on where and what you eat.
Rework your budget
By this time, you probably have a good idea of what your trip will cost so you can adjust your budget accordingly. You may have to rearrange some priorities or change some of your plans if you can’t go over your initial budget. Or you can decide you can put back more for your trip and add in a few extras.
Figure out the extras
If you do have some wiggle room in your budget or budget isn’t a concern, you might want to add on some extras. You could consider doing a dining package to get great seats for Hollywood Studios’ Fantasmic! and Magic Kingdom fireworks. You may want to go to an After Hours event or one of Disney’s holiday parties. Maybe you want to do one of Disney World’s many tours.
Perhaps you want to see a show, like Cirque du Soleil in Disney Springs or the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
Let an expert do it for you
If you still feel overwhelmed, turn your planning over to a Disney travel agent. Not only will they help you plan your trip FOR FREE, but they can help you find any discounts that might be available, as well as help you figure out pretty much ALL of the above.
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!
As you can see, a LOT goes into planning a Disney World vacation, but we’ve got plenty of resources right here at AllEars to help you with everything. In other words, you’ve got this!
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I love your information in YouTube — you are all wonderful! Since I’m 64 and — like other seniors — have issues with the technology … both being attached to my phone all day and not being able to read the small print, or remember how to do Genie+ fast and efficiently, or figure out the dining plan, being on a fixed income — need I say more — I would appreciate some tips to make the whole experience a little more relaxing and simple for our generation! Maybe you guys should hire yourselves out to seniors for a day! I would prefer to make all my plans prior to leaving home, and then have the ability to modify them once I arrive. That would make my trip more relaxing. I don’t like all the nickel and dimeing, as it makes it hard to budget!