Hey Howdy Hey Colby and welcome to planDisney!
I am so excited to hear you are in the early stages of planning your trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. Many people visiting Walt Disney World plan their trips far in advance for a variety of reasons. It is best to plan early and be the first to get your high-priority requests, but knowing the timelines is an essential step. Thank you so much for stopping by with your question on how soon to book your vacation. Let's review recent updates to the timeline to get you set for your upcoming trip.
In the past, the 499 days in advance was accurate where you would have the ability to call and make a room-only reservation. You would then update them to a vacation package as they were released to book to ensure you had your accommodations booked at the hotel of your choosing. Recently, Disney has updated this policy and the new rule is you can only book accommodations as far out as availability exists online. At the time of this writing, you can book your entire trip through the end of 2024. Typically, Disney will release availability for the following year towards the end of spring to early summer. So if you are thinking about visiting in 2025, sit tight and keep an eye on
Disney Parks Blog for updates on availability for that year.
As you are planning for your upcoming vacation, I wanted to review a few other things that have recently changed. As of January 2024, you no longer need
Theme Park Reservations for date-based tickets. These are the ones available in most vacation packages or ticket-only purchases on the Walt Disney World website.
Advanced dining reservations are currently available for Guests staying onsite at a Disney Resorts Collection hotel 60 days from their date of arrival. They are also able to make reservations 10 days in the future which should allow most Guests to make dining reservations for their whole vacation. The dining reservation window usually opens at 5:45-6:00 AM EST on the 60-day mark, so make sure to wake up a little early!
Those are just a few of the highlights of the many things that have recently changed with planning your trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney Parks Blog or following Disney Parks on social media will give you the latest updates for any major changes that may occur between now and your vacation. You are also more than welcome to stop back with any further questions you may have as we are always happy to help!
Happy planning,
Nick