Disney World: Trip Planning

I grew up with a Mom that loved Disney World. The first time I remember going we stayed at The Contemporary Resort. It was one of only two resorts in the area, The Contemporary and The Polynesian. I also remember trips with the whole extended family staying in condos near a golf course so the guys (My Dad, uncles and Grandpa) could go play golf. The ladies shopped and the kids went to the parks. Of course there were only two parks then. 

My family will now be taking our Fifth Trip to the Disney Parks this summer. 2 of the trips were just day trips to Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom while we were in Florida. This will be my 3rd, stay on property for a week trip with Kristy and the kids. (ok for one of the trips our oldest, Madison, was the only kid) 

I have come to love planning the trip and the anticipation that comes along with it as much as the trip itself.  

The first big decision is when to go. We have to go when the kids are out of school so it's always going to be summer which is busier. I try to make sure it's a trip that is mostly weekdays in the parks they will be a little slower than weekends. We usually go in early summer because school starts to early to go in late summer. So early June for our trip arriving and leaving on Saturday. 

The next big decision is where you are going to stay. There are so many choices. Staying on property is always going to be more expensive but I think the perks are worth it: Transportation, Extra Magic Hours, Disney amenities. When choosing where to stay the first thing to consider is price. The more expensive resorts are all closer to the Magic Kingdom. They have easier transportation, better pools and bigger rooms. The Value resorts are further away and they don't have all the theming and water slides at their pools. Most Value resorts have 2 full beds in the rooms. We found out this year though that the Pop Century Resort has replaced the full beds with Queens so we picked Pop Century as the place to stay. We found that we could add an extra day to our stay and still not spend as much as we would spend for a day less at a moderate resort. 

I also like the theming of the value resorts more than the moderate or deluxe resorts. The Value resorts are just more "Disney" 

You have to do this early though and plan months in advance. Advantages are the ability to make advanced dining reservations six months out and getting fast passes 60 days in advance of the trip. People not staying on Disney Property have to wait till 30 days to get Fast Passes. 

When you make your resort reservations you can link them to your MyDisneyExperience Page and pick out your magic bands, do early check in and room requests. I'll cover all of this in the next few weeks as we continue our planning for this June trip. 

Let me know if you have any questions about planning for Disney.