Hiya Jon,
Welcome to planDisney. If you ask me, it is never to early to start planning your magical
Walt Disney World Resort vacation.
The earliest you would be able to get your planning wheels rolling is 500 days before your arrival date. At that time, you are able to book a "room only" reservation. This means you can make a reservation for your selected
Disney Resorts Collection hotel by simply paying a deposit equal to one night's stay for the selected resort and room type. Reservations this far out are usually not available online, so you will want to contact a friendly Cast Member at (407) 939-1936.
If you are looking to book a Disney World vacation package, you will need to wait a little longer. While there is no specific time frame or date when packages become available, they are typically announced in June for the following calendar yEAR. While you are able to convert your room only reservation to a package once available, you will need to speak to a Cast Member to complete that process as it involves refunding your initial deposit and reapplying the new deposit amount.
You will want to keep an eye on the
Disney Parks Blog for information on the release date for the packages or any special offers. A helpful tip is to contact the
Disney Resort Hotel Reservations team as soon as packages are released for your travel dates. This is because availability for certain packages may be limited and a room reservation does not guarantee package availability. Bonus tip - be sure you have created a
My Disney Experience account as you will use this to keep track of your vacation plans as well as a handy mouseketool once your vacation starts.
Happy planning. If I can help with any additional planning questions, please stop back and
see me.
Hope to see ya real soon,
Margaret