Hi y'all!
I am so excited to go to Walt Disney World and
experience my first Disney Cruise in March!
That is coming REALLY REALLY soon.
If you have seen my other posts, you know that
planning a Disney World vacation is a lot of work. I am a planner by nature and
thoroughly enjoy this part of the process. In fact, I love the planning aspect
of Disney World so much that it is almost just as enjoyable as the parks
themselves to me!
I am going to show you today how I planned my upcoming
trip. Note that these plans are tailored to my family and our preferences. The
steps will stay the same but please personalize them to fit your tastes!
I am going to break down each of the steps that I
think are important into chunks to make them easier to read.
The steps will come as follows:
1. Who's Coming?
2. Establishing a budget
3. When is the best time for the trip?
4. Where should we stay?
5. Make a plan for your time
6. What are we going to eat?
7. Fastpass+
Today we will cover step one.
1. Who's Coming?
For this trip, it will be my husband and I.
Noah:
- Mid Twenties
- Never been to a Disney park
- NOT a Disney nerd
- Enjoys animation
- Wants to eat good while we are at Disney
- Suffers from motion sickness
- Mostly going on this trip to appease me - also because he didn't have to pay for it
Tori:
- Early Twenties
- Over 5 Disney Trips including Disney World and Disneyland
- THE Disney nerd of all Disney nerds
- Could happily spend ten days in the theme parks and never bore
- Doesn't particularly care where she sleeps as long as there is a shower and a bed
- Could eat chicken nuggets for the entire trip and be totally happy
- Enjoys the thrill rides, although she suffers from mild motion sickness
The point of the descriptions of my husband and I
are to show that I need to tailor this trip to both of our preferences to make
it enjoyable for both of us.
This will be true on your trip too! You can ask
questions such as these for your family:
- How old is everyone going on this trip?
- Age is a big factor at Disney World. Many people travel with multiple generations. This may mean that you need to cater to toddlers, teenagers, adults and senior citizens at the same time.
- How tall is everyone?
- There are height requirements for some of the more intense attractions. It can be devastating for a child to find out that they are not tall enough to ride Space Mountain or Test Track. Manage expectations before you go and make Fastpass+ selections accordingly.
- Does anyone have motion sickness or other conditions that will prevent them from going on certain attractions?
- Noah suffers from severe motion sickness which will prevent us from making very many Fastpass+ selections that will adversely affect him. Some guests with heart or back conditions will be advised not to board thrill rides. Pregnancy may also prevent going on certain attractions.
- How does my family eat?
- If your family is used to eating three meals a day at a certain time, try not to change up your routine very much. Many people claim that the dining plan gives you too much food. Others say it is not enough. Decide how much your family really eats and plan accordingly. Families with small children may have picky eaters that won't enjoy trying French food in Epcot. Some families don't eat food purchased from the parks at all and instead pack lunches. Disney allows soft side coolers to come into the parks. Very typically, my family would make sandwiches in the park for lunch in order to save for a nice dinner. You may need to inform restaurants that you have food allergies.
- Mind your family's schedule.
- If you've got a two year old that naps after lunch daily, you can make plans to accommodate this. Maybe consider staying at a hotel on the monorail loop so you can quickly leave and reenter Magic Kingdom as needed. Kids and adults alike thrive on routine so try to maintain it if you can.
- Do we have any special needs to attend to?
- Some families have member that require wheelchairs or ECVs. Others need visual or audio devices to enjoy the parks. Some need special passes to help manage the parks for conditions such as autism or Down's syndrome. Even food allergies can be catered to. Fortunately, Disney is fantastic at making sure that guest needs are met.
- Do we require a certain type of hotel or vacation home?
- Different accommodations will fit different needs. Only a few Disney resorts offer rooms that will sleep 5. Perhaps you will need the Ft. Wilderness cabins that sleep 6. I have traveled with 14 people before and we stayed off property at neighboring vacation homes for a fraction of the cost of putting that many people in hotel rooms.
These are a few of the most important questions but
there is always more to ask. Hopefully, these will get your planning started.
Have a Zippity Doo Dah Day!
