Disney World Planning 101

Thinking about heading to Disney World, but not sure where to start? You’re in the right place. Today’s post covers the first three questions you’ll need to answer to start building your Disney vacation. Well, other than budget, but let’s assume you’ve already considered that topic a bit on your own. I’ve included links with more details around each of the questions for those that want them. For now though, let’s keep it simple. Got your mouse ears ready? Welcome to Disney World Planning 101.

1. When to visit

The first question you’ll need to consider while planning your trip to Disney World is when to visit. If you have a set time frame already in mind, like spring break or your favorite aunt’s birthday, then the first question is pretty much answered for you. Feel free to skip to question #2!

If you’re not sure when you want to visit, and your calendar is flexible, then it really depends on what’s most important to you during your trip. In general, crowds are biggest and prices are highest whenever school is out of session. This includes the summer months, spring break, holiday weekends (especially President’s Day & Memorial Day), Thanksgiving week or the days between Christmas and New Year’s. If avoiding crowds or saving money is most important to you, consider visiting outside of these time frames. January or September are good examples.

If weather is most important to you, in terms of avoiding sweltering heat and the rainiest seasons, consider mid-October to mid-November. This time frame also offers various Halloween (August through October) or Christmas (early November through end of year) decorations and activities. Fall visits to Disney World aren’t much of a secret any more though, so the crowds and rates are typically average or even slightly above so depending on the specific week.

Speaking of specific weeks, try not to stress about picking the absolutely-most-perfect-week ever! I’m not sure it even exists, regardless of the dozens of web pages that rank order the weeks to visit in terms of appeal. Any time of year you get to Disney World is great because, well, it’s Disney World!

If you want more details on when to visit, check out my complete post on timing here.

2. Where to Stay

Once you’ve got an idea on when to visit, you’ll need to decide where to stay. There are literally hundreds of options for accommodations near Disney World, so your best bet for narrowing down the monstrous list is to determine if you want to stay in a Disney resort (also called “on property”) or anywhere else (“off property”).

If you’ve got a place to stay in mind, like your favorite aunt’s sofa, feel free to skip to #3!

If not, here’s a brief summary of the pros and cons of staying on property.

The primary benefits of staying on property are Disney theming, park proximity/transportation, advanced FastPass scheduling, Disney Dining plan availability and extra park hours. If you think you’ll fly into Orlando International Airport (MCO) for your trip, Disney resorts also include transportation (and baggage handling!) to and from the airport as part of your stay. It’s called Disney’s Magical Express and it’s another big plus in the “pro” column for me.

The biggest drawback of Disney resorts overall is price. (Surprise!) In general, you’ll pay more for a smaller room on property than you will off-property. That means if you’re traveling with a larger group, it may be more cost effective to stay outside of the Disney bubble. This is especially true for resorts in the highest category of resorts known as “Deluxe” in Disney-speak. The price variance is slightly less with Disney’s other resort classifications (Value and Moderate) if you factor in all of the fees (daily resort fees, airport transportation, etc.).

You can explore each category of on-property resorts on Disney World’s primary web site to get an idea.

At the risk of complicating this decision, there are a few properties that blend the benefits of both types. They’re not owned by Disney, but they are still close to the parks. These include the Disney Springs resorts or the Disney Swan & Dolphin resorts.

For more background on where to stay, check out my post on the pros and cons of Disney resorts here.

3. What Tickets to buy

Once you’ve figured out when to visit and where to stay, you’ll need to determine what kind of tickets you’ll need. There are three basic kind of Disney World park tickets: (1) One park per day (2) Hopper and (3) Hopper Plus.

One park per day tickets allow you to, you guessed it, enter one theme park per day. You also have in and out privileges if you want to go back to your resort during the day and come back for evening hours. If you’re a first time Disney World traveler or haven’t been to the parks in years, the one park per day ticket is your best and simplest option. There’s more than enough entertainment in each of the four theme parks to keep you entertained for a full day.

If you’ve been to Disney World several times or are traveling without small children, then you may want to consider the “hopper” option. Hopper tickets give guests the ability to visit more than one park on the same day. They’re more flexibile than the standard tickets, but they also cost more (roughly $60 more per person). It can also take quite a bit of time (60 minutes+) to “hop” from one park to another.

The third and most expensive type of ticket is the Park Hopper Plus. This type of ticket provides entry into all four theme parks as well as bonus visits to the two water parks, two miniature golf courses, ESPN Sports Complex and Oak Trail golf course. It’s a lot of entertainment options which is awesome for some guests and a bit overwhelming for others.

So which is best for you? It depends on what is most important for your trip. It also depends on how long you have to visit.

The simplest option is a four-day one-park-per-day pass. This provides entry into each of the four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios). Sometimes Disney offers a discount on basic four-day tickets too (score!).

Obviously, if you have less or more time you can adjust the timing accordingly. If you only have one day, make the most of it with a ticket to Magic Kingdom. This was Disney World’s first park and still offers the most overall entertainment in terms of rides, parades, fireworks and attractions.

You can explore the ticket option details in this previous post, just please note that pricing changes all the time so the figures all are approximate.

Conclusion

And there you have it. The first three questions to start planning your Disney World vacation. Of course there tons of other decisions to make later, but we’re keeping it simple today. At least I’m trying to! I hope this post helped you get started on your (awesome!) vacation.

Whatever you decide, it’s going to be great! Disney World is pretty much awesome whenever and however you get to visit.

Really.

Add a little (simple) magic to your world!