A Disney Vacation is one of a kind with character dining experiences, FastPass+ for your favorite attractions and special photography services that have a little extra dose of pixie dust! These services add even more magic to your vacation, but making sure you have everything planned out can be overwhelming. There have been countless times in the park where I have seen couples, parents and kids alike in the midst of a DMD (Disney Melt Down!) because they were overwhelmed (I am equally as guilty of this!!). A mix of heat, magical emotions and being on your feet all day can be rough! Over the years and the many trips to Disney, I have perfected my planning technique to ensure those DMD’s are few and far between. These are my life saving, DMD avoiding, planning tips to help you make the most out of your Walt Disney World vacation without being overwhelmed!
- Timing is everything!: Ensuring you are staying in the hotel of your choice, are eating at your favorite restaurants and are riding the coolest rides can be tricky, but utilizing a booking timeline can be helpful to keep you on track when planning your trip so that you don’t miss important booking slots. Important dates to remember when booking are as follows:
499 Days: Accommodations at Disney World become available at 499 Days, which is great to allow you to save for your big trip! While it’s not always necessary to book so far in advance make sure to check what time of year you are traveling at, reservations can be tight around peak times of the year and you should take this into consideration! While you may not want to book your accommodations 499 days out remember to book them before 180 Days out to be able to have access to book Advance Dining Reservations.
180 Days: Advance Dining Reservations can be made at 180 Days out from your arrival to the most magical place on earth and it is important to make a list of places you would like to dine at. Typically, Disney will release their park hours a few days before to allow you to schedule your dining reservations in conjunction with what parks you will be at during that time.
60 Days / 30 Days: FastPass+ reservations become available for all of your favorite rides for those staying at a Disney resort at 60 Days and for those who have other accommodations you will be able to make these reservations at 30 days. ! Make sure to review your dining reservations before to see what times you will be available.
3 Days: This is the perfect time to purchase Memory Maker, Disney’s magical photography service, if you haven’t already done so and if you purchase 3 days or before you can save money!
- Managing Expectations: Timing is two-fold. Timing doesn’t only refer to solidifying your reservations, but also talks to how many activities you plan to pack into your day. A Walt Disney World vacation for anyone is very expensive and I can completely understand wanting to soak up as much magic as possible while you are there, but if you try to pack in too much it often leads to feeling fatigued and cranky (DMD Alert!!). To avoid those DMDs, I suggest finding time within your day to relax. Whether it be by the pool, sleeping in, or coming home a little early these breaks allow you to recharge and get ready for the next bit of magic in your day! Personally, I know that in the middle of the day I need a rest so we will plan our vacation around Extra Magic Hours to utilize those times to fit in our favorite attractions and have time in the afternoon to take a nap by the pool. A win-win if you ask me!
- Strategically Booking Dining & FastPass+ Reservations: Strategically Booking Dining and FastPass+ reservations is important because there are some dining experiences and attractions that are more popular than others, making them harder to book. Prior to the dates you would need to book these reservations I make an itinerary for each day that includes, ideally, where we will dine and what attractions we will ride. This is planned out to the exact time I am hoping to book them for. Once I have completed this, I rank them by popularity. Those reservations that are harder to obtain I try for first, those being: Be Our Guest Restaurant, Chef Mickey, Cinderella’s Castle, Avatar Flight of Passage, Na’vi River Journey and Slinky Dog Dash. If I am unable to book these (Be Our Guest Restaurant I have been trying to book for two years at the exact time reservations open with just no luck – clearly this is still upsetting) I continue to move down my list and add in attractions or dining reservations to fill those slots afterwards. An important change to be noted is that in booking your FastPass+ reservations you will need to reserve them individually. You can no longer select three to see which rides can be paired together. This makes things a little slower, which is why going after those more popular attractions first can make a huge difference.
- Trip Itinerary: The MyDisneyExperience website and phone app will hold all of your reservations as well as select entertainment, such as Fireworks or shows available throughout your day. Having this information at the tip of your fingers as you travel the park is invaluable, but even so I find that there are times where I have forgotten about an experience that wasn’t necessarily listed to save to your itinerary until I am already on my way home. To avoid missing a special shopping experience for DVC Members/Annual Passholders or seeing a hidden gem at Magic Kingdom I make my own itinerary. Not only does it help to take a look each day to remember those special events or experiences but its memorable to have one for each year we’ve been there to remember all the magic! These are personally made by me and because they have become popular with friends and family, I will be opening a Etsy Shop so you can enjoy them too! Make sure to be on the lookout for when I launch in 2 weeks! I’ll make sure to let everyone know!
A Disney Vacation doesn’t have to be stressful if planned properly and I hope that these tips and tricks will help your planning go smoothly. There are so many moving parts to keep track of, if you need any additional help making your Disney adventure extra magical, just ask away!
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