Top Ten Disney Vacation Tips

Here are my top ten Disney Vacation tips:

1. PLAN YOUR TRIP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. The sooner you know you are going to Disney the better. This way if you stay on Disney property you can get fast passes for your stay 60 days ahead of time instead of 30 days if you don’t stay on property.



2. STAY ON DISNEY PROPERTY. This has many perks that you won’t get by staying off property. If you are flying into Orlando you can utilize the Magical Express which will pick you up at the airport when you arrive and return you to the airport for your flight home at no additional charge. As stated in the first tip you can also get fastpasses 30 days earlier than if you were staying off property. This is crucial if you want to ride some of the newer rides such as Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom, Seven Dwarves Mine Train at Magic Kingdom, or Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios. One other perk of staying at a Disney Resort is transportation to all of the parks. There are buses, boats, and monorails at resorts waiting to take you to each park.

3. MAKE SURE YOU GET FASTPASSES. Fastpasses are critical for time management at Disney Parks if you want to get the most out of your stay. Fastpasses are limited to 3 per day at a single park at first and once you have used those 3 passes up that day it opens up for you to add a single fast pass at a time until the end of the day. Since this is the case it is best to get your fastpasses for the morning so that you will be able to add more on as the day goes on. If you set all 3 fastpasses for the afternoon or night then you won’t be able to utilize it as much and will have to wait in lines during the morning.

4. MAKE DINNER RESERVATIONS EARLY. Dinner reservations can be made as early as 180 days out of your vacation. There are some restaurants that are extremely difficult to make reservations for and in some cases the only way that you can get into those restaurants are to book them 180 days ahead of time. 2 of these are Cinderella’s Royal Table and Be Our Guest Restaurant. Many character meals fill up fast as well and are sometimes hard to reserve.

5. MAKE A LIST OF MUST DO’S. Many people are going to Disneyworld for their first time or are going for the only time they will be able to for a while. If this is the case you want to make sure that you do certain things so that your trip will be magical. The worst thing would be to have this be your one and only Disney trip and miss out on something that you really wanted to do. Even if you are a Disney regular and know you will be back soon it is important to make sure that you do something that you want to do that is special to you.

6. VISIT DURING A FESTIVAL OR HOLIDAY. There are many festivals during the year that make Disney that much more magical. Festival of the Arts, Flower and Garden Festival, and the International Food and Wine Festival are all wonderful times to visit. You can take in great art, wine, and food from all over the world and also see amazing flowers and topiaries done only the way that Disney knows how to do them. Holidays at Disney are also like no other. Halloween and Christmas are truly amazing times at Disney. The parks are transformed and there are special Halloween and Christmas parties that are must do’s for anyone visiting during the holidays. I will never forget the first time I visited Disneyworld while the Christmas decorations were up and getting to see the castle being lit up with all of the icicle lights. It is something that I wish everyone could see at least once in their lifetime. It is truly magical.

7. SPLURGE ON SOMETHING EXTRA. There are so many extra things that you can book that can take your Disney vacation up a few levels. Whether it be going to the luau at the Polynesian resort or reserving a boat to take out on the water for the nighttime fireworks at either Magic Kingdom or Epcot a few extra dollars will make your trip one that you won’t forget. If you are there during holidays there are dessert parties that you can book that give you reserved seating and unlimited desserts and some will have special gifts for you such as ornaments or bags of chocolate.

8. VISIT DISNEY SPRINGS. If you are a foodie or love to shop this is the place for you. There are so many amazing restaurants at Disney Springs that anyone can find something that they will love. Many of the world’s top chefs have opened restaurants there and there are still more to come. My favorites there are Art Smith’s Homecoming and the Boathouse. I have never had anything but amazing service and food at both. If shopping is your thing then get that wallet ready to be put to use. There are shops there for any and everything you might be looking for. There is even a hot air balloon that you can get on that will give you amazing views of all of Disney’s property.

9. GET AN ANNUAL PASS. Disney offers different annual passes for those that plan on making more than one trip per year to Disneyworld. In many cases getting an annual pass will be a better deal than purchasing park tickets each time. Florida residents get a discount on annual passes which in some cases are less expensive than buying tickets for only a week. Annual passholders get special discounts on merchandise in the parks, many restaurants, and also free parking at the parks. During the festivals at Epcot at different times of the year Disney often offers annual passholders special gifts as well.

HAVE FUN! Disney truly is the most magical place on earth and it needs to be enjoyed. While you are there, make sure that you leave the outside world behind and let Mickey and his pals bring you as much joy as you are willing to have.