10 Ways to Plan For a Better Walt Disney World Trip

 

 

 

 

If you are planning or thinking about an upcoming trip to Walt Disney World here are some favorite tips to help your trip be more enjoyable and stress free.  You may also want to check out my article on what to pack for your trip here.

1. Magical express: Disney offers free transportation to and from the Orlando International Airport when you are staying in one of their hotels. This services includes free baggage pick up and delivery. Once you check your bags at your home airport you won't see them again until you check into your resort. Most luggage arrives within 2-3 hours of your check-in so pack your necessities in your carry on such as swimsuits and sunscreen and any medications.
   
2. Orlando stroller rental: Here is a tip that I wish I had known about on my first trip to WDW. This company will have a stroller waiting for you upon check-in at your resort and when your trip is over just leave it with your hotel baggage claim and they will pick it up there. I’ve written more about this great service here.
   
3. Advanced dining reservations: this was something we did do right on our first trip. We took the time to plan out what days we were going to be in what parks then looked at the dining choices. For full service restaurants reservations are recommended. With small children it is the difference of waiting 5-10 minutes for your table vs. 45-60 minutes for walk-ins. Disney offers some of the best dining experiences from character dining to, dinner shows, themed dining and even fine dining.  For all of these reservations are recommended.  I really delve into this topic more in this article “Do I Really Have To Make Reservations”"?” Another question that is asked a lot is “Should I Buy The Dining Plan?”  and then Utilizing Your Dining Plan.
   
4. Park Hopper Tickets: Unless you are a frequent visitor to the Walt Disney World Parks the park hopper tickets are not really necessary. With careful planning you won't need them at all. Disney World is very big and although Disney provides excellent transportation it can easily take you up to an hour to get from one park to another. Plan your day so that you are maximizing your time in each park. I’ve written more about Park Hopper Tickets in this article Planning Your Vacation For Success Part 2
   
5. Water Parks: Disney has two outstanding water parks. Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. The cost to add these onto your Disney World package is very minimal. However, if you only have one day to go the water parks then it is more affordable to buy them separately from your package. These water parks are fun for the whole family however many of the slides do have a height requirement so you may want to view their websites to determine if this will suit your family.
   
6. Extra Magic Hours: These come with pros and cons. You decide.
   
   • Pros: During the Extra Magic hour only guest staying at the Disney Resorts are allowed in so the crowds are smaller for these times. It also means that you have a longer day in the park sometimes up to 3 hours.
     
   • Cons: Although your actual Magic Hours can be smaller crowds the argument is said that overall throughout the day those parks are busier and have more crowds.
     
7. Package Delivery: guest services provides complimentary package delivery to your resort. While paying for your item in the park ask to have it delivered to your resort. It usually takes about 24 hours to be delivered so keep your departure date in mind.  Also, you can have larger bulky items shipped to your home for a fee.
   
8. Think outside the parks: Disney World could be a wonderful vacation location even if you never stepped foot inside a theme park.  There are dinner shows, special events, and experiences all through out the Disney Resort Property.  There is a Richard Petty Driving Experience, fishing, world class golfing, scuba diving, and segue tours just to name a few.  Special events such as Haunted Hey Rides at Fort Wilderness during the Halloween season, and Holiday Sleigh Rides during the Christmas season.  Even Atlanta Braves Spring Training opportunities. One of the events our family enjoys is Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
   
9. Check out Disney’s special offers: Since we like to take our vacations during the slow season we also know that we are already saving on our hotel cost but before we book our trip we check to see if there are additional discounts being offered.  A good deal may decide when we take our vacation. Here’s the big tip though even after we have booked we continually check back on the website to see if new offers have sprung up.  By doing this we have saved big on deals such as free dining plans or extra days on park tickets.   Another way we save money is to use our Disney visa and earn Disney Reward Dollars.  You can use these to pay for anything Disney related on your vacation. Here’s how to Save 5% On Your Next Disney Vacation 
   
10. Disney’s Fast Pass: On Disney’s biggest and most popular attractions they offer a Fast Pass.  It allows you to come back during a one hour time slot later in the day for this ride and stand in the much shorter line.  The catch is that you can only have one outstanding fast pass at a time. The Fast Passes are undergoing a change at WDW they now how the Fast Pass+ system and I’ve written about our experience with the new system in my article on Disney’s Next Generation Theme Park Experience.  Your Fast Pass+ will now include even your dining reservations.  All of your Fast Pass Plus options will be embedded into your Disney Magic Band check my article on our first time with using them. There are still some great tricks to know such as the Rider Switch Pass. When you have children that don’t meet the height requirement this pass works like a fast pass for the person who has been waiting with the small children for their other party at the exit.  The person who waited with the children can enter the Fast Pass line instead of the stand by line.  Maximize your Fast Passes with these rides by only getting one Fast Pass for the person who stands in line first.  This will allow you to have two outstanding Fast Pass Rides at a time.  Now with the Fast Pass+ system this will require some careful planning ahead of time to make the most of your Fast Passes.