The Best Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Disney World Trip

Any links in this post to a merchant may contain an affiliate link, which means that if you click on that link and then buy something, I may earn a commission from it.  However, all opinions in this link are 100% mine and 100% honest.  If I didn't believe in a particular product, I wouldn't recommend it to you.

So, you’ve decided to go to Disney World for the first time, but not sure where to start planning? Then you are in the right place! This easy step-by-step guide to planning your first Disney World trip will help you plan your trip like a pro. Ready to get started? Let’s go! (Updated June 25, 2023)

Planning is a must!

Before we dive into trip planning, it’s important to understand WHY you need a plan. A trip to Disney World is NOT the time to “wing it.” Every time someone says they had a horrible time at Disney World, it’s almost always because they did no planning or research before their trip.

So why do you need to plan?

First of all, Disney World is huge. Believe it or not, it is about the size of San Francisco. It includes 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, 25+ hotels, a shopping/dining/entertainment district, 4 golf courses, 2 miniature golf courses, spas, pools, lakes, and thousands of entertainment options.

Secondly, tens of thousands of people visit Disney World everyday. And advance planning will help you beat some of the crowds.

Third, Disney World is expensive. Planning will allow you to get the most out of your trip.    

Step 1:  Who’s going?

Now that you know why you need a plan, let’s get started!

The first step in planning your Disney World trip is to decide who’s going. I know that sounds like a dumb place to start! But there’s a reason to start here.

You don’t want to plan this trip for months just to throw those plans out the window at the last minute because someone else decides to join you. This has happened to me before, and it’s very frustrating!

Also, the hotel options for a party of 4 are very different than they are for a party of 5. Knowing how many people are going will greatly impact your decision on where to stay.

So, now is the time to find out if the grandparents are going with you!

Lastly, and this is a big one, Disney charges everyone 10 and older adult prices. Children between the ages of 3-9 pay child prices. Children under the age of 3 are FREE.

So, if you’re on a budget, this matters! Going before your children turn 10 will save you hundreds or thousands of dollars! The same holds true if you go before your child turns 3.

Step 2: When to go?

Once you’ve decided who’s going, figure out the best time to go. This will usually come down to personal preference and family schedules. But, there are a few things to consider when deciding what time of year to go.

For more help deciding when to go, check out the best time to visit Disney, but here are some general factors to consider.

Christmas

The #1 busiest time of year to go to Disney World is Christmas. The week between Christmas and New Years is so busy that the parks shut down due to capacity! It is literally wall to wall people.

I highly recommend avoiding Christmas week if at all possible.

If this is the ONLY week of the entire year you can go, then go into it knowing it will be crazy busy. 

If you want to see Disney World all decked out for the holidays, you can experience all the holiday fun from the week of Thanksgiving until early January.

Spring Break 

The second busiest time of the year is Spring Break. I have been to Disney World a couple of times during Spring Break, and it is a zoo. Once again, if you can go another time, do it. 

One advantage to going in the Spring, however, is that it’s not hot. The mornings and evenings are a little chilly, while the days are comfortable. 

During the School Year 

If you can, consider going during the school year. The crowds are lower, the temperatures are cooler, and the prices may be lower since it’s not a peak time of year.  

Summer 

Summers are busy, but not as busy as Christmas and Spring Break. The one caveat to this is holiday weeks. 

The biggest downside to going in the summer is that Florida summers are hot and humid. So, it comes down to whether you would rather endure crowds in the spring or the heat in the summer.

Fall

Thanksgiving week is a great time to go if your kids are out of school. The crowds are lower, the weather is great, and the Christmas decorations are all up. This is my favorite time to go to Disney World.  

Another good time to go is during the fall months. During September and October, you can celebrate Halloween at the parks. The crowds and weather are usually perfect during this time too.  

Step 3:  What’s your budget?

While a Disney World trip is expensive, you can plan it to fit your family’s budget.

So, it is important to have a budget in mind when you start planning your Disney World trip. This will make some of your decisions easier. 

Large or small, you can take a Disney trip on almost any size budget. It may not be exactly the trip you dreamed of, but you can make it work.

Check out one of my other posts to see how much a Disney trip will cost you. And see Disney World on a dime for ways to save money on your trip.

Also, if you book your trip directly through Disney and stay on property, you can book it with a minimum deposit of $200. You can then make payments on your trip until 30 days prior to your check-in.

Step 4:  Should you stay on or off property?

The next important decision to make in planning your Disney World trip is whether to stay on or off property.

Staying at a Disney hotel is more expensive than staying off property. So, if you are on a tight budget, off property may be the best option for you.

However, I would recommend staying on property if you can make it work in your budget, even if it means shortening your trip by a few days. In short, staying on property is worth the extra money.  

Step 5:  Where to stay?

Regardless of whether you choose to stay on or off property, the next step is to pick a hotel.

On Property

There are three price levels of hotels at Disney:  value, moderate, and deluxe.

All of the Disney hotels are highly themed and have great pools. After deciding which price range fits your budget, pick a hotel based on which theme speaks to your family most. 

Each hotel has a few different room categories, depending on the view. So, this will give you some wiggle room within your budget.

For your first trip, don’t worry much about location. They are all close to the action, and they all use Disney transportation to access the parks.  

If your travel party includes more than 4 people, your options will be a little more limited because most Disney hotel rooms only sleep 4 people.

There are only a few options on property, however, that will sleep more than 4 per room. Otherwise, you can rent two rooms and request them to be adjoining.

Off Property

If you have decided to stay off property, then you have many choices. Choose a nearby hotel or rent a vacation home in Orlando. 

For a vacation rental, try Airbnb.com. For a hotel off property, try one in the Disney Springs area to be almost as close as the Disney hotels. Additionally, staying at the Disney Springs hotels will give you some of the same benefits as staying at a Disney hotel.

Step 6:  How long to stay?

The next step in planning your Disney World trip is to decide how long your trip will be. Your budget and hotel choice will have a lot to do with this decision. 

I recommend staying as long as your budget will allow. Stay at least 4 full days if you can. This will give you one day to explore each theme park. 

Spending a whole week is even better because it will give you time to fit in the things you missed earlier in the week. Plus, it will allow you to repeat any thing you want to do again. Longer trips are more relaxing than shorter trips because you don’t feel as rushed to do everything in one day.  

If your budget won’t allow you to stay in your hotel of choice for 4 or more days, try dropping down a price level. It is more important to stay those extra days than to stay in a fancier hotel.

If your budget forces you to choose between a shorter stay on property or a longer stay off property, then choose a shorter stay on property. Read where the magic lives to see why.  

Step 7:  Park Tickets

The next step is to decide on park tickets. Disney park tickets are bought per day. The more days you get, the cheaper they are per day. 

Disney’s ticket prices vary depending on when you go. Ticket prices during peak seasons are more expensive than during less crowded times. 

Visit Disney’s website for more details on the price of tickets.  

Like with your hotel choices, there are ways to make park tickets more budget-friendly if necessary. If your budget is tight, cutting out tickets for your arrival and/or departure day is a good way to save some money.

There are plenty of things to do outside the parks on those days to keep you busy.

If you will be going before January 9, 2024, you will need to make park reservations for each day you plan to visit a park in addition to buying your park tickets. This reservation system will end on January 8, 2024, however. So, if you will be going after that, you don’t need to worry about reservations.

Step 8:  Extra Options

You can add on some extra options to your park tickets if you choose. But, they will cost you more money. Let’s talk about them individually.

Park Hopper

With the base park ticket, you get into 1 park per day. However, if you want to go to more than one park in the same day, you need to add the park hopper.

This will cost you about $55 per person per day. 

On your first trip, if you only have 1 day to spend in each park, I would suggest skipping park hoppers and save the money.

If you will have park tickets for 5 or more days, then get the park hopper. After devoting one day to each park, you can then use your extra days to hop from park to park to revisit your favorite attractions or catch things you missed on previous days.

Don’t worry if you can’t afford park hoppers on your first trip. This won’t detract from the enjoyment of your trip. There is more than enough to do in each park to keep you occupied all day.  

Please note: You can currently only hop to another park after 2:00 pm.

Park Hopper Plus

You can also add the Park Hopper Plus option to your base park ticket. This option gives you the park hopper plus a number of visits to the two water parks, one of the golf courses, ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex and/or the two mini golf courses. 

This option will cost you $80 dollars more per person per day. Depending on your budget and family’s preferences, this may be a good choice for you. However, you can still have a great time without it.

Step 9:  Disney Dining Plan

The next thing you need to consider when planning your Disney World trip is whether to get the Disney Dining Plan or not. The dining plan works for some, but not for others. 

We love it because it lets us prepay for food and allows us to eat better than we would if we paid as we went. Also, the restaurants are a big part of the Disney experience for us. 

However, if your family doesn’t eat much or would rather snack all day instead of having a big sit down meal in a restaurant every day, then the plan will be a waste of money for you.  

If you plan on eating several character meals during your trip or plan to have a sit down meal every day, you need to seriously look at getting a dining plan.

My family of 3 (2 adults and 1 child over age 10), we have never had a table service meal that was less than $100. Most of them are between $110-125 for the three of us.  

Remember, it is a theme park, and food is expensive. So, you really need to think about how your family eats and figure out whether the dining plan is a good fit for you.

You can only get the dining plan for trips that begin on January 9, 2024 or after.

The Details of the Plan

The only way to get the dining plan is to stay on property and book your trip as a package. Basically, this is a way to pay for your meals in advance of your trip. The cost of the plan will be added into the price of your vacation package.

There are two different dining plans to choose from. With each of them, each person gets a refillable mug for use during the entirety of your trip. 

You can use your dining credits at any participating restaurant across property in any combination you want before midnight of your check-out day.

Quick Service Dining Plan

The quick service dining plan will give each person in your party 2 quick service meals (think fast food) and 1 snack per night of your stay. 

Each meal comes with a drink. Adults can get either an alcoholic or nonalcoholic drink as part of the plan. 

Disney Dining Plan

The Disney Dining Plan gives each person in your party to 1 table service meal, 1 quick service meal, and 1 snack per night. 

The table service meals include dessert. Each adult can get either an alcoholic or nonalcoholic drink with each meal. Gratuity is not included with the plan however.

 This is the plan my family always gets.

Step 10: Get the App

The My Disney Experience app is a necessary and convenient addition to your phone.

You can use it to make your dining and park reservations. It will also keep track of all of your plans while you are on the go.

The app also gives you wait times of rides, park hours, and lots of other information you will want to have at your fingertips during your trip.

Step 11:  Dining Reservations

The next step in planning your Disney World trip is to think about dining reservations. Even if you don’t get the dining plan, you need to make advance dining reservations if you want to eat at a table service restaurant. 

Depending on the time of year you visit, many, if not all, of Disney’s restaurants will fill up with reservations. And almost all of the character meals on property will fill up with reservations in advance.

So, if you don’t make reservations, you may find yourself with only quick service options or a very long wait to get a table. So, I highly recommend making reservations in advance!

Disney has every kind of restaurant imaginable:  buffets, character meals, family style places, and a la carte restaurants. They have casual, kid-friendly places and fancy, gourmet restaurants.

So, do some research to find choices that will appeal to your family before making reservations. A good resource for Disney dining is Allears.net. They have updated menus for all of the Disney restaurants.

If you are staying on property, you can make your reservations 60 days prior to your arrival date and then for 10 days after that arrival date. This allows you to make reservations for your whole trip at one time.

If you are staying off property, you must wait until 60 days before each day of your trip to make dining reservations for that day.

Make reservations on Disney’s website or by calling 407-939-1947. If you want to eat in the castle at Cinderella’s Royal Table or another popular place, you need to book that reservation as early as possible on the morning of the 60 mark!

Step 12:  Touring Plans

A touring plan is basically your plan for what to do when while in the parks. At the Magic Kingdom, you will easily need 2 full days to do it all!

So, to maximize your time in the parks, you need to have a game plan before arriving. Don’t waste your time in the parks looking at each other and asking, “What do you want to do next?” Decide before you get there.

When planning your trip to Disney World, I recommend getting a touring plan from touringplans.com. They have many plans to fit the needs of any family.

These plans will help you plot out your time in the parks to minimize waiting and maximize fun! They are an invaluable resource!

Please note that each park has its own hours independent of the other parks. Park hours may be different from one day to the next. You can find the park hours for your trip at Touring Plans or on Disney’s website.

Step 13:  Decide on Genie+ and/or Lightning Lane

Disney now has two new paid services which allow you to reserve a time slot to experience a particular attraction without waiting in the standby line. You can access them both through the My Disney Experience App on your phone.

Genie+ costs $15 or more per person per day, depending on the day. It will allow you the opportunity to unlimited “ride reservations” at many of the attractions at Disney one at a time. It cannot be used for all of the attractions in the parks, however.

Lightning Lane selections are separate from Genie+ reservations. They are for the most popular rides at Disney World and must be purchased individually. You are limited to two per person per day. The price of these will vary based on when you are there.

You can begin making your selections at 7 am on the day of your park visit. So, during your trip planning, you just need to decide if you will be getting Genie+ or Lightning Lane reservations once you arrive at Disney World.

Step 14:  Get Your MagicBands

MagicBands are the greatest things ever! They are plastic bands, similar to a FitBit. The MagicBand contains your hotel room key (if staying on property), your park tickets, your Genie+ and Lightning Lane reservations, and your dining plan, all on your wrist!

You can also link your credit card to it so you can charge your purchases right to your band.

Disney no longer gives MagicBands to guests for free. However, you can buy them to use during your trip. You can find them at shopDisney or any Disney gift shop on property.

After you buy your MagicBand, go to the My Disney Experience app and link it to your park tickets.

Step 15:  Online Check-in

Almost there! The last thing you should do if you are staying on-site is online check-in. Starting 10 days prior to your arrival, you can go to My Disney Experience and check into your hotel online.

This will let Disney know what time to expect you on your arrival day so they can have everything ready for you.

Also, during online check-in, provide your cell phone number and/or your email address to Disney. On your arrival day, when your room is ready, they will email and/or text you with your room number!

This means you can skip the front desk and go straight to your room!

Step 16:  Enjoy Your Trip!

That’s it! You have successfully booked and planned your Disney World trip! Now, go have a blast and make some wonderful memories with your family!

One last bit of advice:  Don’t try to see and do it all in one trip. That’s impossible! It’s not about doing it all. It’s about making memories and having fun with your loved ones. Have a great trip!

Conclusion

I seriously hope that this guide has make planning your Disney World trip easy and stress free. I also hope you have the greatest vacation ever!

For more help planning your trip, read my answers to the frequently asked Disney World questions, best resources, quick tips, best tips for Disney trips, and packing tips. And check out the ultimate list of new things coming to Disney World.

Happy travels!

P.S. Are you planning a trip to Disney World and not sure what you need to do or when? Do you feel completely overwhelmed by it all? My Disney World Trip Planning Checklist can help! It will guide you through every step of the planning process! And it’s FREE! Grab yours in the box below!