Disney World Planning Guide 2024
In this post I share with you my Disney World Planning Guide that will help you plan the most magical trip.
Walt Disney World is one of my favourite places to visit. I have visited here many times and have such wonderful memories. But when it comes to planing a trip to the most magical place on earth it can be quite overwhelming. There are so many things to consider when booking and planning the holiday of your dreams. I have put together this Disney World Planning Guide to help you plan your vacation so you can enjoy the magic. For me planning a trip to Walt Disney World is where the excitement begins.
How long to go?
This is a hard question to answer as it depends on your personal circumstances. I would plan to go for 10 to 14 days. It takes a few days to settle in and get your bearings. Also I found there is so much to do and see you will be able to experience your must do’s list within that time, it’s impossible to do everything that Walt Disney World has to offer but make a list of your top 10 and enjoy what you do. When you are planning what you are going to do each day, schedule in time for relaxing and breaks, you don’t realise until you’re there how exhausting it can get going from one park to another or how much the Florida heat gets to you. Enjoy time by the pool or taking a rest.
Time of Year
When deciding when you want to go there are a number of different factors to think about. You may be tied to school holidays or work commitments. I have been during August and October, which have slightly lower crowds as the schools is the US have started again from the summer. Throughout the year they have lots of different season festivals such as Food and Drink Festival, Flower and Garden Festival and Halloween.
On my last visit I planed the trip to go to the Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party, Which is a special ticketed event that is from August to October on selected nights. I was able to dress up and trick or treat around Magic Kingdom and collect lots of candy. There was also a special Boo To You Parade and nighttime fireworks show which was so much fun. I would love to visit around Christmas time as they have special holiday events.
Correct Documents
When traveling to the US you will need a valid passport with at least 6 months left on it. You will also need a visa called an ESTA to be able to travel to America from the UK. When I travel I take a photo of my passports incase I need it in an emergency. It costs around £12 per person and all members of your party must have one. I recommend you apply as soon as you book that way you have piece of mind that you are able to travel. It doesn’t take long to complete, it took me around 10 minutes and the next day I received confirmation that I was good to travel. I take a copy with me when I travel as I like to take copies of all travel documents just incase.
Flights
If you are not planning to book a package deal, it may be cheaper to book your flights separately. Before booking my my flights and accommodation I like to compare prices to see if it’s cheaper to book a a package or separately. I like to use Skyscanner to get the cheapest flights. There are a number of different airlines to choose from when booking flights, Norwegian Air, BA and Virigin are the ones I usually check. If your flexible on dates, try different dates as they can vary a great deal.
Where to stay?
Firstly you need to decide if you are staying onsite or off site. I have stayed on and off site when visiting Walt Disney World and there are pros and cons to both. You will need to work out what is best for your individual needs. There are a number of benefits to staying on site. One of the main benefits to staying onsite is being immersed in the Disney bubble if you are a Disney fan. Another pro to staying onsite is getting around the Disney World site.
If you are not planning to drive when you are here, the on site transport is really easy to get from hotel to park or from park to park. You have a number of different choices depending on which hotel you are staying at. You have hotels that are on the monorail route, the Skyliner or bus route.
A big pro for staying on site is the extra magic hours. Some of the parks open earlier for hotel guests only, this means you can ride some of the more popular attractions before the park opens to the general public and the lines get longer. I thought that this was really beneficial because I would go to he park in the morning then when the weather got too hot would go back to the pool for the afternoon. If you are booking when the free dinning plan is available, you might be able to save some money. If not you may be better off staying off site and eating off Disney property.
On-Site Hotels
If you have decided you want to stay on-site, there are three triers of hotels at Walt Disney World. Deluxe, Moderate and Value. Each hotel has pros and cons and it’s worth having a look at the map to look at where your hotel is situated.
Deluxe Hotels
There are eight deluxe hotels to choose from. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney’s Polynesian Resort, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Disneys Grand Floridian Resort, Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney Yacht Club, Disney BoardWalk Inn. These hotels add luxury to your stay. theses hotels are the most expensive but each have there own unique experiences. The Polynesian Hotel is one of my favourite deluxe hotels, it is beautifully themed hotel with Moana inspired rooms. The hotel is on the monorail line which takes you to the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT.
Moderate Hotels
If you’re thinking about staying at a moderate hotel, there are four to choose from Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter, Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside, Disney’s Caribbean Beach and Disney’s Coronado Springs, I recently stayed at Disney’s Caribbean Beach, The food was good there and rooms were a nice size. This resort is one of the biggest so you may have a little extra walking to do. The transport at this resort was very good as it has hub for the skyliner that can take you directly to Hollywood Studios or EPCOT. It also has a regular bus service.
Value Hotel
A moderate hotel is a great choice if you’re on a budget. These hotels having great theming, swimming pools with activities and large food courts with a great selection meals or snacks. There are five value hotels to choose from Disney’s All Star Sports, Disney’s All Star Movies, Disney’s All Star Music, Disney’s Pop Century and Disneys Art of Animation, Two of these The Art of Animation and Disney’s Pop Century both share access to the skyliner making them a great choice. There are also regular bus that will transport you to the parks from all of the value hotels.
Different Parks
When you are planning your trip there are four theme parks, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. There are also 2 water parks Blizzard beach and Typhoon Lagoon.
Park Tickets
There are lots of tickets when it comes to Walt Disney World. I used Attraction Tickets to book all of our tickets including Discovery Cove and Universal Studios, they have some really great offers and were the cheapest tickets that I could pay in installments. You can also book them directly through Walt Disney World. When you’re looking to book your tickets you can get really good deals. Attraction tickets offer 14 Day tickets with free memory maker. You can also purchase special event tickets from them.
Airport Transfers
Something to consider is how you will get to the airport. I like to take the airport bus to the airport and stay the night before because I live quite away from Gatwick and like the piece of mind of worrying about not getting there on time. When staying at Gatwick I really enjoyed staying at the Bloc Hotel as it is located at the terminal which makes it easy to get to, the rooms are comfortable but small and had everything I needed. You may choose to drive to the airport and use valet parking, there are quite a few places you can book this but the easiest is when you are booking your flights you are given the option to book parking. Book this in advance as it can be cheaper.
Before arriving in the US you may choose to hire a car. This is personal preference depending on your circumstances, you can get some really good deals when booking our vacation. If you choose not to drive there are other options to get around. There are airport transfers that you can book in advance, Mears Connect is the most popular and will take you to your hotel or you can take an Uber from the airport to your hotel.
My Disney Experience
My Disney Experience is a free online service that allows you to plan your days when you visit Walt Disney World. Using this tool lets you pre book dining reservations, gives you access to Memory Maker, gives you unto date wait times and book your genie ride reservations.
The easiest way to access My Disney Experience once you have bought your park tickets, is to download the app and register, you are then able to start planning your trip. This tool allows you to also share your plan with the rest of your party. If it’s your first time visiting there is a lot of information about which rides and attractions would be best for your parties needs.
When I plan a trip to Disney World I use the My Disney Experience all the time and found it really easy to use, especially when mobile ordering food or booking Genie Plus reservations.
Dinning Plans and Reservations
At present there are two dining plans available when booking a holiday. The Disney Quick Service Dining Plan and The Disney Dining Plan. The Quick Service Dining plan includes 2 quick service meals, 1 non alcoholic/alcoholic drink per meal, 1 selected snack or drink and a refillable resort mug. The Disney Dining Plan includes 1 quick service meal, 1 table service meal, 1 non-alcoholic/alcoholic drink per meal, 1 selected drink or snack and a resort refillable mug.
To use the dining plan you must be a hotel resort guest. The meals are added to your reservation and you use them throughout your stay. If your thinking about using the dining plan from time to time there are free dining plan offers, I recommend keeping an eye open for them as they can save you a lot of money.
If you’re stay at a Disney resort you are able to make your dining reservation up to 60 days in advance for the entire length of your holiday. if you are staying offsite you can make your reservations 60 days in advance but not for the entire stay, you will have to do it each day as it approaches 60 days.
Dining reservation are essential if there are particular restaurants you would like to eat at. The advanced dining reservations open 10.45 am for the UK and 5.45 AM EST.
Other Activities to do in Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World has so much to offer others than the parks, so if you’re looking to take a break from rides and attractions, you may ant to add into your plans a few other activities. Disney Spring is great place to explore, it has plenty of unique shops, restaurants and entertainment for all. There is always Disney’s Boardwalk, where you can enjoy a stroll along the waterside and enjoy the nightlife, shops and dinning.
Enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the spa that it located at the Grand Floridian Hotel or a round of golf at Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course, If you are looking for a fun activity with your family you can play Miniature golf at Winter. Summerland which is located at Disney’s Blizzard Beach.
Memory Maker
Memory Maker is the package you can purchase or comes free with your holiday booking that enables you to keep and download your photos or videos that are taken by Disney photo pass photographers, on rides, character meet and greet, or photo spots around the parks.
When you are going on a ride you will scan your magic band or scan your you can scan you QR code which is found in the My Disney Experience app. Your photos will automatically be transferred to the My Disney Experience app. You will also find Photo pass photographers around the parks that will take your photo’s which you can also keep by scanning your magic band or QR code on the My Disney Experience app. This allows you to be able to keep and download them for up to 45 days after your trip. There are many photo location spots available across all parks and you can even use them during special ticketed events like Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party.
Disney Genie and Genie Plus
Disney Genie is a free service that can be found on the My Disney Experience app. This free service will give you updates to your itinerary to help plan your day. You are able to add the attractions and places you want to eat to the Genie suggestion board and it will update throughout your day to help you plan which attractions you have low or predicted wait times. There are also reservation planning features that allow you to book dinning reservations and assist you with mobile ordering.
Genie Plus
Geine plus is a paid service that enables you to access the lightening lane and ride some of the more popular rides with expedited access. The price of Genie plus varies from park to park and from day to day. You can also purchase Genie Plus Multiple parks if you have a park hopper ticket. On average the Magic Kingdom is $25, EPCOT is $18, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is $22, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is $16 and Multiple parks are $25. These prices can be changed at any time.
When I visited Walt Disney World I purchased Genie Plus for some of the days that I wanted to ride some of the rides with longer wait times. Something to note with Genie Plus is that you can only book and ride an attraction once, after that you are able to ride again but you will have to use the standby lane.
Lightening Lane
Lightening Lane allows you to purchase individual Lightening Lane for select rides and attractions at the parks. With this service it only allows you to use on the individual ride you have purchased access for. There are only select rides in each park that you can use the Individual Lightening Lane. In Magic Kingdom it’s Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Iron Lightcycle Run. At EPCOT you can use it on Gaurdians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios the Lighting Lane is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and at Disney’s Animal Kingdom its Avatar Flight of Passage.
If you have purchased Disney’s Genie Plus you will not have to purchase the lightening lane as well. Some of these attractions for Lightening Lane can be changed
Money and Budgets
It is difficult to give you a budget of how much spending money you will need as it depends on how many people are in your party or how long you will be going to Disney World.
When traveling abroad I prefer to take a prepaid card with me as it helps me to budget my money throughout my trip and often there are no charges. I also like to take some dollars with me for tipping and convince, although most places take debit/credit or prepaid cards. When I know I am going abroad I like to order my dollars in advance from the Post Office to make things easier.
If you haven’t been to the US you may not know that tipping is a part of life when you are in Disney World or other parts of the US. Some situations you have to give a tip. For example if you have assistance with your luggage at the airport, when you are at your hotel at the bellman helps you take your luggage to your room or at table service dining, it is customary to tip between 18 and 20%.
Useful things to know
Walt Disney World is huge, so if you stay for a month you probably won’t be able to do everything. My best advise is to enjoy the time you are there and the activities you choose to do. It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to fit everything in. It’s also tiring so plan for some rest days or afternoons when it’s hottest, you’ll thank yourself later!
Make a plan for each day you are there. This way you can decide what your priorities are and not be disappointed if you don’t get everything done. When you are making your plans think about which parks you will be going to and book your dining reservations around your which park you are going to. I can’t stress enough how big Walt Disney World is and sometimes it can take up to an hour to get from one park to another.
If you have found this Disney World Planning Guide helpful you may like Walt Disney World Packing list which will help your trip go smoothly. I hope you have a wonderful trip.
