Tips for Planning your Disney World Vacation

Planning your Disney World vacation can be a bit overwhelming. With so many factors to consider, it’s hard to know where to begin. When is the best time to go? How much should we budget? Where will we stay? All these questions can leave your head spinning. My goal with this guide is to break it down and help you figure out the best plan for you and your family!

Check Disneyworld.disney.go.com for the latest Covid-19 guidelines. On our recent trip in February 2022, face coverings were required indoors. As of March 2022, face coverings are only required for unvaccinated guests.

Where to Stay

Disney World Resorts are divided into categories based on your budget: Deluxe, Moderate, and Value. All resorts provide transportation to and from the parks. Some other perks to staying at a Disney World Resort are early theme park entry (30 minutes before opening), early FastPass booking, and the ability to purchase a dining plan. *Note: dining plan was suspended due to covid but it is set to return in March 2022. If you purchase a room/tickets package, you only put a $200 down deposit. You can cancel your reservation 30 days or more out for a full refund or change the dates of your package, 30 days or more out!

There are also many off-property hotel options in the area that aren’t affiliated with Disney but provide shuttle service. Staying at a hotel that is not a Disney resort can be a little less convenient but can save you a little money. It’s also a good alternative when the Disney resort you had in mind is overbooked. Below you will find a list of Disney resorts broken down by category.

Disney’s Value Resorts

• Disney’s Pop Century Resort
• Disney’s All-Star Sports (temporarily closed. Set to open March 31, 2022)
• Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
• Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
• Disney’s Art of Animation

Disney’s Moderate Resorts

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney’s Port Orleans Resort Riverside and French Quarter
• Disney’s Coronado Springs
• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness

Disney’s Deluxe Resorts

• Disney’s Beach Club Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Theme Park Tickets

You can purchase your tickets separately or as part of a package if staying at a Walt Disney World Resort. One of the benefits of doing a package is that your tickets purchased through a package are refundable up to 30 days before the trip. Another benefit of a Disney Resort package is the dining plan add-on option (when available). Disney packages also have “magical extras.” You can check the website for the latest. The sooner you book the better. You won’t save money, waiting for a discount. You can apply discounts to existing reservations. If you are purchasing a room/tickets package, it is only a $200 deposit at the time of booking.

Basic Tickets Vs. Park Hopper

You can purchase basic tickets anywhere from 1-10 days. This allows you to entrance to one park per day. The price per ticket per day decreases the more days you stay. Prices start at $109 and must be used for the time period they were purchased for.

The Park Hopper allows you to visit multiple parks per day and is a good idea if your trip is short and you don’t have time to spend a full day at each of the four parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios). with the Park Hopper, guests must make a theme park reservation for the first park they plan to visit each day, then be able to visit the second park starting at 2 PM and stay until close or visit a 3rd or even 4th park.

My Disney Experience

Disney’s mobile free mobile app allows you to manage your itinerary, see current real-time attraction wait times, make dining reservations, Disney Photo Pass and manage Genie + Lightning Lane. Lightning Lane is the new term for Disney’s once Fast Pass, allowing you shorter lines and wait times. Please note that Genie+ and Lightning Lane and Disney Photo Pass come with an added cost.

Water Park and Sports Option

For about an extra $70 per ticket, you can the Water Park and Sports Option to a standard ticket which allows you to also visit Disney Water Parks or sports experiences:

• Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon
• Disney’s Blizzard Beach (temporarily closed as of March 2022)
• NBA Experience at Disney Springs (temporarily closed as of March 2022)
• Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course
• Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course
• Disney’s Summerland Miniature Golf Course
• ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

Cancellation Policies

You can cancel your room and tickets package 30 days or more ahead of time for a full refund. You can also make changes to your reservation, 30 days or more ahead of time, such as changing the dates of your trip. You only pay the difference in the price. Room-only reservations can be canceled and fully refunded 6 or more days before your travel date. Ticket-only purchases through Disney can be changed or rescheduled but not refunded. Dining reservations must be canceled 24 hours in advance, to avoid a penalty charge of $10 per person.

Dining

Most dining locations have opened back up in 2021/2022. You can make reservations for dining up to 60 days in advance. Character dining experiences are still available however have been modified to maintain social distancing standards. At this time, dining plans can not be added to reservations.

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Getting to Walt Disney World

If you are flying to Walt Disney World Florida, Orlando International Airport (MCO) is your closest bet. There are a number of transportation options to kick off your Disney Vacation. Disney’s Magical Express airport shuttle service ended in early 2022. The newest option is Sunshine Flyer. This Disney-themed motorcoach allows you to get into the spirit right away. The buses provide transportation to all of the Walt Disney World Resorts. Tickets must be purchased at least 4 days before arrival and will cost you $17 per adult and $12.50 per child/each way.