How to plan for your first Disney World Trip

Being part of an only child family is great because Disney World is a bit more affordable. If you are big Disney fans like Sops and me and you have been planning for the trip of a lifetime to Disney World, we would highly recommend you go in 2022. Disney World celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year and there are loads of exciting new attractions opening. If this is your first time going to the most magical place in the world then our guide on how to plan for your first trip to Disney World trip will be invaluable to you.

Avoid rookie mistakes when you plan your first Disney World trip

I have a confession to make. Sops and I went to Disney World for the first time in 2018 and we made some serious rookie mistakes. Everyone always does, apparently. As we plan our second trip, we have learned loads from our first trip, and we are much better prepared. Take heed of our guide. We have been consulting seasoned experts who know how to help you plan for your first Disney trip.

1. Decide where to stay
2. Book Park Reservations
3. Make Dining Reservations
4. Make Transport Decisions
5. Set a Realistic Budget
6. Research

Decide where to stay when you plan your first Disney World trip

When you are planning your first trip to Disney World you will first need to decide where to stay. You have a few options:

Stay in a Disney Owned Resort: Disney has 36 resorts on-site. The resorts fall under three categories: Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. Plus there are the Disney Vacation Club properties. If you book one of these hotels for your stay you can make use of a few perks such as booking your Genie Plus Lightning Lanes early and going into the parks half an hour before they officially open. Also, if you are staying at a Deluxe Resort, you can stay later in the parks on selected days.

Remember: Never pay full price for Disney accommodation, there is usually a deal somewhere. Check with the Disney Travel Company to see what offers you can get.

Also, Disney World is offering some awesome package deals for UK guests. Sops and I booked a package deal with Travel Planners. But there are other agencies available that specialise in booking Disney package holidays.

It is worth staying onsite for the free transportation. Buses, boats, the monorail and sky liners are all free methods to travel across the Disney World estate. We will talk more about Disney transportation later in this post.

Stay in a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) accommodation: Disney has a timeshare scheme for people who regularly visit Disney World. It is called the Disney Vacation Club. The DVC has special suites throughout the park at the Deluxe resorts. You do not need to be a member of the DVC to use a DVC suite as you can rent the shares. For more information check out the Allears post on how to rent DVC points.

Stay in a good neighbour hotel: There are a few hotels on the Disney site that are not owned by Disney such as the Swan and Dolphin hotel. They are considered good neighbour hotels and you can still benefit from some of the perks of a Disney resort in one of these stylish 5* hotels, but for less than the premium of the Disney owned Deluxe resorts.

Stay offsite: I won’t lie, there are much cheaper hotels outside of Disney and some of them have much bigger rooms than Disney owned resorts. If you stay offsite, it is easier to explore the rest of Orlando and visit other places such as Universal Studios. If you are travelling with a larger group then it may be worth booking a holiday villa.

Camping: Did you know you can camp on Disney property? You can pitch up a tent or an RV near the Wilderness Lodge. This is a much cheaper way to visit Disney and in the height of summer, you can have lots of fun in the great outdoors as well as in the parks. For more information check out Disney’s post on camping at Disney World.

Book Park Passes when you plan your first Disney World trip

After the Disney parks reopened in 2020 guests were expected to make reservations for each park they wanted to visit. This is because the parks were not running at full capacity due to social distancing policies. Whilst many restrictions have been dropped at Disney World now, there are some still in place including making park reservations called park passes.

It is really important you make the reservations as soon as you book your tickets. Here is how to do it:

If you have booked a package deal, contact your travel provider and request a confirmation number. Once you have this number you can add it to your My Disney Experience account. Your booking will then be attached to your My Disney Account and then you can make your reservations.

If you have booked your tickets separately you need to add the 12 digit ID number to your My Disney Account. You can then add everyone in your party to your My Disney Reservation.

Some of the most popular days in the year are already booked out for this year, so make sure you make your park reservations in plenty of time so you can guarantee you can attend the parks during your visit.

Make Dining Reservations when you plan your first Disney World trip

There are so many wonderful places to eat in Disney World. When Sops and I visited Orlando in 2018 we genuinely struggled to find places to eat that had healthy food. Eventually, we found an Italian restaurant and I took photos of the peas on my dish because it was the first time I had seen vegetables for a few days. However, Disney World Restaurants are filled with great healthy food. Garden Grill in Epcot actually serves vegetables that they grow on-site.

Some Disney World restaurants are so popular you need to book reservations for them such as the new Space 220 restaurant in Epcot. You can make reservations 60 days before your visit. But some restaurants are so popular they get booked out straight away, so be sure to wake up at the crack of dawn to get your reservation in. You can start making reservations from 7:00am EST. For those living in the UK, here is a GMT to EST time converter for you to use.

If you have allergies or special dietary needs just ask your server what things you can have on the menu or talk to the chef about your needs.

For a comprehensive guide of the food in Disney World check out the Disney Food Blog. Each year they publish a fabulous guide of all the restaurants and places to eat in Disney World. The guide is full of so much useful information. Sops and I have a copy and highly recommend it.

Make Transport Decisions when you plan your first Disney World trip

There are times I wish I had a Magic Flying Carpet so I can get just fly to the parks. Do you feel the same? It can be such a bind waiting in long queues for the bus or the Skyliner, but at least these methods of transportation are free. The same goes for the monorail and the boats. This is one of the bonuses of staying on a Disney property. If you are staying on property, but have a car you will have to pay for car parking.

However, if you have a dining reservation and you need to get to a restaurant on time, you may want to arrange a lift share like Uber or the on property lift-share service Minnie Vans. If you miss your dining reservation slot you could be charged. So sometimes it is worth spending extra for a lift share ride.

If you are flying into Orlando and you do not want to hire a car then you can book a Mears Connect or Sunshine Flyers coach service to your Disney resort. This is a cheaper option than using a lift share service.

Setting a Realistic Budget

Disney is super expensive. They keep raising their prices on goods and services. They also keep taking away free perks such as the Free Disney Dining Plan and the Magical Express coach service. Plus, Disney has taken away our beloved fast pass system and introduced a paid service called Genie+. It makes me want to weep. So, unless you are super rich and this doesn’t apply to you, most people will have to budget very carefully when planning their trip to Disney World.

But Fear Not! Here are some top tips on how to set a realistic budget when going to Disney World:

1. Write down a list of the non negociable costs e.g the price of the park tickets so you know what your inital costs will be.
2. Research all your accomodation options and choose one that suits your budget.
3. Use the Free Transportation when you can.
4. You don’t need to use Genie+ for every park. Research the parks and see which ones you should use the Genie+ for.
5. Buy food to be delievered to your hotel. Amazon Fresh delievers to Disney resorts. You can get snacks, breakfast cereals and milk. This will save on your food budget.
6. Buy essentials before you travel to Disney World. Essentials are a lot more expensive on property. See below for a Free packing list you can use.
7. Purchase toys in the Disney Discount Stores outside of Disney World, or online before your trip. Then you can give your child these toys if they are getting tempted by the over priced merchandise.
8. Use the DFB Guide to Disney Dining to roughly work out how much your food will cost during your trip.
9. Use a prepaid credit card for the Epcot festivals so you don’t accidently over spend (very easy to do when you smell all that tasty food).
10. Set a realistic budget for each day of your stay. You are likely to spend more during the park days, but allocate some resort days where you can do some activites at your resort for free.

Click here for your FREE Packing List. This is the list I have compiled for Sops and me, but you may need to adapt it depending on your needs and the age of your child.

Research

Sops and I did not want to watch Disney World videos before we went to Disney World in 2018. We wanted everything to be a wonderful surprise. But that was a big mistake. Had we watched the DFB Guide and All Ears YouTube videos we would have avoided the rookie mistakes that we made. So our advice to you is to watch plenty of useful YouTube videos about Disney World. We have learnt so much about Disney food, accommodation, attractions, Disney Genie and Genie+ and all sorts from the two channels we just mentioned. Do heaps of research about the parks so you get the most out of your trip.

Don’t Forget

If you are travelling to Orlando from the UK please don’t forget the following:

• Apply for an ESTA – You cannot enter the USA without one.
• Regularly check the entry requirements regarding Covid-19. These requirements are subject to change.
• Make sure all your passports are in date. It can take a few weeks to renew your passport.
• The flight to Florida is jolly long. Don’t forget to download your FREE copy of our Travel Activity Book for your child.
• For more help on planning your Disney World Trip sign up to helpful Websites such as The Dibb (Disney wirth a British Accent) forums.

Comments

We hope you have found this guide helpful as you plan your first trip to Disney World. Please share your experiences of going to Disney World in the comments below or what you are most looking forward to. Sops and I cannot wait to travel back to the most magical place in the world.