Carol and I have been to Walt Disney World so many times that we no longer feel compelled to rush around and try to do it all! We take our time, we savour the experience! Over the years we’ve picked up some “insider knowledge” from other Disney addicts and we’ve learned a bit through our own mistakes. Our friends often ask us for advice before they visit our happy place.
What do we tell them? Plan ahead!
Experts in real estate will tell you that the three most important factors in assessing a property are Location, Location, Location. The three most important steps to ensure an enjoyable Disney vacation are Planning, Planning, Planning!
We often sit and chuckle after we check in for dinner at some of the nicer Walt Disney World restaurants. As we wait to be seated there is an endless stream of exasperated guests who hope to find a table service restaurant with available seating at the last minute. Many guests don’t understand that the most popular Disney restaurants are fully booked months in advance!
A long time friend of Carol’s asked her, “I want to take my niece to Disney and I think we’ll go at Christmas. Any suggestions?” Carol was quick to reply, “Don’t even think about going at Christmas, it will be too crowded.”
“How crowded?” the friend asked? “Imagine the entire population of Toronto trying to fit into your local Legion Hall.” They didn’t go at Christmas!
There was a wonderful article on planning in the Disney Magazine about a decade ago, in Spring 2004. It was written by Kim Wright Wiley who was a Contributing Editor at Disney Magazine and continues to author many books about Disney vacation planning. The article looks at planning primarily for those who’ve never been to Walt Disney World, then adds a second section for Disney veterans and a final chapter for Disneyland.
I’ve included scans of the 2004 article above and below. Click on the images to see a larger version which is easier to read. There’s some very good information there!
So what has changed in the intervening decade? It has only been 11 years, but technology has changed the booking and reservation process in a very big way. You no longer have to use a telephone; it can all be done on your computer, tablet or smart phone using the My Disney Experience system. You had better study up on a few new concepts such as Disney’s Magical Express, MagicBands and FastPass+ which did not exist in 2004 when the article was written!
Is planning still important? Yes, it’s still important to plan, in fact, it’s more vital than ever before.
The parks are busier now than they were just a decade ago. Since that article appeared Disney has opened Saratoga Springs Resort (2004), Animal Kingdom Villas (2007), Bay Lake Tower (2009), Art of Animation Resort (2012), The Villas at Grand Floridian (2013) and the Polynesian Villas (2015). These resorts add up to almost 5,000 new guest rooms and suites. While the hotel capacity grew there were no significant expansions to the theme parks; the result is longer lines and busier parks.
The low seasons are nowhere near as low as they used to be! There could be 10,000 to 20,000 people in those new guest rooms and some of them might be standing in front of you as you wait to ride Peter Pan’s Flight or buy a hot dog at Casey’s!
Many of the booking “windows” have changed as well. For example, you can now book your Disney hotel room up to 499 days from your departure. Our friend (and AllEars.net Photo Blogger) Scott Thomas has developed a handy tool to help you calculate those oh-so-important dates. You can find Scott’s online Planning Strategy Calculator HERE.
Magical Gatherings have changed too. They’re now called Disney Group Getaways. If your group will occupy 10 or more rooms in a Disney resort you might qualify for some special treatment! Look for details HERE.
If you’re looking for a place to get up-to-date information to help you formulate your plans, look no further than the AllEars.net planning page HERE. It’s updated regularly with the latest information available . . . and it’s free!
If you haven’t already subscribed to the AllEars.net Weekly Newsletter, you should subscribe now. It is delivered FREE each week to more than 140,000 subscribers who share an interest in all things Disney. The newsletter is a great information source. There’s always a feature article and there are often valuable tips from other AllEars.net readers. Subscribe HERE.
There are a number of other resources available to help in your planning. Check your local book store or search on Amazon for planning guides by Disney Vacation experts such as Birnbaum, PassPorter, The Unofficial Guide and many others. Find the Amazon link HERE.
Do I have any planning tips for you?
Nope, I don’t . . . Carol does all of the planning for us. BUT I do have a few suggestions for you:
– Don’t plan every minute of every day. Leave some “down-time”, time to kick back and relax or time to do something spontaneous.
– At the end of your vacation think back to the thing you enjoyed most, then go do it again. Savour the experience a second time!
– Act silly! Wear a funny hat, dance in the rain, sing as though no one can hear you. That’s what Walt Disney wanted you to do!
– If you’re a frequent Walt Disney World visitor, try to do something new and different each trip. Take an archery lesson, a backstage tour, go fishing or take a romantic moonlit ride in a horse-drawn carriage. There’s an almost endless list of things to do there!
The time you spend planning will ensure that you and your family fully enjoy your Disney vacation; it’s an investment that really does pay huge dividends!
“The low seasons are nowhere near as low as they used to be!” Wow, is that ever true, Gary.
Could you maybe write a future article on when the “lowest” periods are these days, for those of us who like it slow & quiet?
I love to plan, and all our vacations are just as thoroughly planned as those to WDW. However, I’ve now learned to allow one day towards the end of a WDW trip that is left totally open with no plans whatsoever. Then we can be spontaneous with our Park Hopper passes, if we aren’t too tired!
Just returned from latest Disney World trip. Overall it was a good time. Over the last decade however, my attitude has been shifting from, “let’s go to Disney World!!!!” to “let’s go to Disney World???” The advance planning doesn’t really appeal to me.
It doesn’t help either that I visited Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley last year. Wow!
If you are someone who might be skeptical of planning so far in advance, consider this:
When’s the best time to seek medical attention? Seeing your doctor when you first notice symptoms, or waiting until it’s acute and you can ‘spontaneously’ jump in your car and go to emergency? The latter option is more expensive, provides a longer wait, and leaves fewer and more desperate options.
You gotta think about Walt Disney World the same way.
[Gary writes: Thanks for that great analogy Doc!]
There are pros and cons to planning ahead. The pros are being able to secure access to rides, character meets or dining with Fastpass+ and ADRs, which, especially for those families for which a WDW trip is a once-in-a-lifetime event, will help avoid disappointments and long lines.
The big con is that scheduling may remove the spontaneity from your vacation– feeling you need to rush from one scheduled activity to the next or you will miss out on the perfect WDW experience. So many times I have seen or heard young children being moved along from something they are enjoying because its time for the next Fastpass.
My advice is to plan for just one or two must-do activities each day, and then slow down and allow the WDW magic to move you through the rest of your vacation.
[Gary writes: Great advice Susan.]
Hi Gary,
I agree…even for the solo traveler, I have to plan more and more ahead of time, especially for the most popular restaurants
To Barbara, It’s the same people that get ADR’s at Le Cellier!
This morning, 180 days out, I awoke at 5:45 AM to make dining reservations online. It did not go smoothly. So, at 7:00 AM, I was on the phone with Disney Dining trying to rectify the situation. No one will be surprised to learn I am Be Our Guest-less for my December trip. Alas, there will be no dinner for the Beast and me. (Who are the people who actually get these reservations?). Listen to Gary, PLAN AHEAD.
I’ve been going to WDW since 1973, have just about seen and done everything and have adopted the “whatever” attitude. If lines are too long, whatever, I’ll do something else. Newbies and families with children do not have that luxury. So my suggestion is a daily itinerary, with options for long lines, bad weather and things of that sort. Include down time. Swim, nap, sit. Immerse yourself. But…PLAN AHEAD.
Gary, I always look forward to your interesting and informative articles. Some are like a walk down memory lane. Thank you for that.
Hi Gary –
I couldn’t agree with you more that planning is necessary, and is becoming even more so. We’re used to a mix of planning and “winging it.” I do obsessively book my DVC resort the first possible day I can, 11 or 7 months out. Same with our ADRs at 180 days. What park(s) we would go to on any particular day was based purely on if we had a meal scheduled in that park and the predicted park crowd levels from touringplans.com.
Our trip this August will be our first MagicBand and FP+ trip. Room and ADRs are set. MagicBand colors are picked. Though, to be honest, I’m not looking forward to losing the choice to be spontaneous by having to decide what park we want to go to and what attractions we want to see, somewhere in the very near future. Choosing which park we would go to the night before or during the midday break is what kept the trips exciting.
Sorry for the rant, but wasn’t technology supposed to make our lives easier?
– Jeff
PS: We don’t plan to pre-order our Be Our Guest lunch 30 days out – what if we’re not in the mood for the pre-ordered food?
[Gary writes: Not ordering your entree 30 days ahead? You’re a real rebel Jeff! LOL]
Yep, I agree too! We’ve been DVC members since 1997 and we have really seen the change in just the last few years.
With the invention of the Dining Plan, suddenly ADR’s weren’t just a nice idea, they have become mandatory! We have a trip planned for November, and our 180 day window was to open the same day I was to have surgery. So there I was, on the computer and phone making very important dining reservations, still in an anesthetic haze! 😉 – Because I knew if I didn’t, we wouldn’t get the ‘Ohana’s, Cinderella’s Royal Table or Be Our Guest ADR’s that we HAD to have. 😉
And I almost feel bad these days when someone says, “I’m thinking of going to Disney World in a few months, have any advice?” I ask tentatively, “how many months?’ because I don’t want to sound like a Debby Downer telling them, that if they haven’t already booked things, their precious child will never see the inside of Cinderella’s Royal Table.
Even me, “Mistress of All Evil…er, Planning”, couldn’t manage to get a Fast Pass for my daughter to meet Elsa and Anna last year! So I feel bad for newbies who are in way over their head and without a clue where to start. But Allears.net is always the first place I tell anyone to start their research, because you have all the best info!
I will agree with Gary (and Carol) that planning is everything. Gone are the days of the spontaneous trip once every few years. I do admit that I fought ADRs in the beginning. How the heck did I know what I wanted to eat 180 days from now? But we have gotten used to it and it’s just part of the Disney experience. Once you understand ADRs and FP+, they truly do add to having a good time. But PLAN, PLAN, PLAN.