Here it is! A detailed guide on how to plan your Disney trip. If you didn’t already know, I like to plan my trips using a spreadsheet. Now before you panic, I completely understand that you may not be a spreadsheet person, or perhaps you’d prefer the look of something a bit prettier. So, if that’s you, I’ve made some really fun and FREE printable planning sheets for you! They are under the resources tab above, so be sure to check them out 🙂
9-12 Months From Your Trip:
First things first, you need to pick a date and stick with it. You might think this is obvious, but for someone just getting started it could be helpful. So what’s the best time to go? In my opinion, I like to avoid summer months because it is super crowded and really hot, but if those are the dates that work best for your family then you can do it! It might take a bit more planning and patience, but go for it. About 9-12 Months before your trip is when I recommend booking your resort room. If you know well in advance where you will be staying you can plan the rest of your trip accordingly. One tool I highly recommend utilizing is the My Disney Experience section of the Disney Website. It’s the one-stop shop for dining reservations, fast passes, showtimes and more. Be sure to create an account! Next, you will need to decide how many days you would like to be in the park versus having a pool or shopping day. This is important because you will need to know in advance when are where you will want to make reservations for dinning or fast passes. Finally as a quick note: When you book through Disney they have a very nice feature that allows you to make payments for your trip as you go.
9 Months From Your Trip:
For me, this is when I really start to dig deep into planning and start putting everything onto paper. First take the information from your early planning and start applying it. Since you already know how many days you want to be in the parks, go ahead and decide which day will be dedicated to which park. Start a separate spreadsheet document for each park labeled at the top with the date in which you plan to be there. I also recommend writing the park hours on each sheet as well. Next, go park by park and look at all dining, rides, and entertainment options and make a list on each spreadsheet of the things you want to ride, see, and eat at the park each day. I make separate columns labeled dining, rides, entertainment to make the planning process smoother.
6 Months From Your Trip:
At the 180 day mark at 7:00 am Eastern Standard Time you can make all dining reservations for your entire trip using your My Disney Experience account. If you are wanting those hard to get spots you will need to be sure to have your computer up and ready prior to 7 am so you can immediately click the link when it becomes available. A few places that are typically harder to get are Cinderella’s Royal Table and Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. However, if you have already pre-selected where you want to eat you should have no problem! This is really simple to given you have pre selected where you want to be eating each day. Once you have your reservations made, add the confirmation numbers to your spreadsheet on the corresponding day. If you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary or if you have dietary restrictions/food allergies you can add this to your reservation as well.
5 Months From Your Trip: MY FAVORITE PLANNING MONTH
This is the fun part for me. Where the real organization begins. Can you tell I am a Type A person haha?! At this point, you will need to map out your daily itineraries. Go back to your spreadsheets with all the listed rides and entertainment items you hope to do each day. Look up the times for all the shows and entertainment events you listed and write them on your sheet. This includes times for parades, stage shows, and fireworks, as well as the one off street performances you hope to catch. Once the times are recorded, organize the rides and entertainment by their respective areas of the park. For example, I list all items in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom together, or all of the items in Future World in Epcot together. Next, try to organize everything you want to do such that everything is done in one direction around the park. The goal is to only to make one pass around the park and not backtrack. This saves so much energy and effort not having to constantly be going back and forth. Whether you decide to walk in and go left or right at the start just be sure to stay consistent. Using the maps on Disney’s website, is extremely helpful in accomplishing this. It is important to keep all the show times for each show listed on your sheet to allow flexibility and ensure you can catch them as you are walking through and not miss any. Now you should have a pretty good idea of how your day in each park will go.
4 Months From Your Trip:
At the 4 month mark, it is time to take a hard look at your ordered itinerary and decide which rides/items you want to get a fast pass for. I usually highlight these on my spreadsheet so I do not forget which ones I have chosen. Rides are not the only items you can get a fast pass for, most shows offer a fast pass option, as well as some character interactions. Make sure to think carefully before selecting them. Some rides, like “It’s A Small World” may not be the best choice, because the line always moves fast. I would also recommend choosing one or two back up options since the more popular rides can fill quickly. Using your itineraries, you should have a pretty good idea of the times you need to reserve each fast pass for. Write the times you are aiming for next to each corresponding item. This will make the fast pass scheduling process much simpler when it opens up!
3 Months From Your Trip:
If you are flying into Orlando and have already booked your flights, you can utilize the Disney Magical Express, which transports you from the airport to you resort and takes care of your luggage. In this instance, you do have to call and make the arrangements. They will ask for your flight information and will send you special luggage tags to mark your bags. All of the information on how to reserve is on the Disney website.
2 Months From Your Trip:
If you are staying on Disney property, which I highly recommend (check out my other blog post about Disney planning for a deeper look as to why I recommend this) you will be able to book your fast passes 60 days in advance at 7 am Eastern Standard Time. Because your daily itineraries are already organized, your fast pass activities are selected, and you have a rough time slot goal for each, this will be an easy process. Be sure to get logged into your My Disney Experience account and be ready to go prior to 7 am. This will give you the best chance of success at securing the Fast Pass of your choice! Once you have fast passes booked for each day of your trip, make the necessary adjustments to your itinerary in the event you didn’t get all any of the Fast Passes you pre-selected or a different time had to be selected. If this is the case, and the attraction is a very popular item I recommend rope dropping it. Which simply means go straight for the item you were unable to snag a fast pass for as soon as the park opens. Then you will be able to cut your wait time significantly because the crowds have not picked up yet. Then carry on with your itinerary as planned. (Obviously my Type A self writes all of this onto the itinerary to avoid confusion).
1 Month From Your Trip:
Only one month away! When you get this close to the trip, start to buy the things you will need to bring with you. Park backpack items, any clothing you might need, things for travel and so on. With only one month to go this is also a good time to review your typed itineraries and make sure they are in perfect order. Double check that you have listed the times of all fast passes, show times and dining reservations with their confirmation numbers. I suggest emailing a copy to all of the adults going on the trip and print out hard copies for the park backpack.
1 Week From Your Trip:
Begin packing a week in advance. Especially when there are park backpacks as well as luggage to have to get organized. Personally, it helps me feel less overwhelmed and lessens the amount of times I have to say “If you want to wear this to Disney, don’t wear it now”. If it would be helpful, I can do a whole separate post about what I pack for Disney in both our suitcases and park bags. Just let me know! I love your feedback.
THE DAY OF YOUR TRIP!!!
Your trip has FINALLY arrived. It probably feels like you’ve been to Disney and back already with as much planning as you’ve done. But all of your hard work has paid off and now you get to relax while having a magical vacation without the added pressure of trying to figure out what to do when. While everyone is racing toward Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom you can be on your merry relaxed way knowing you have a fast pass at 2:15! Have the best time ever making memories with those you love.
This is how I plan my trips. After writing it out, I did realize the degree to which I am an “over-organizer” but you know what.. it works for me haha. And to be fair, when we arrive we always have a great time and never wonder around aimlessly or stressed. Typically I have found that we get to do everything we had hoped to and more, so that is a win! I hope this helps you all on your planning journey and makes it a bit less overwhelming. Feel free to share with anyone you know who needs help planning!
welcome to the blog 