Hi Penelope! I’m so happy to welcome you to planDisney and to have the opportunity to help you plan your first Walt Disney World Resort vacation! I love that you are planning so far in advance. That will give you plenty of time to research and plan for all of those extra details that will make your vacation even more magical!
There are several things I want to share with you, so let’s start by talking about Good Neighbor hotels. A few hotels have early booking advantages for Lightning Lane passes and dining reservations, similar to the perks of staying in a Disney Resorts Collection hotel. These include the Dolphin, Swan, Swan Reserve, and Shades of Green. At these hotels, you will be able to reserve your Lightning Lane passes seven days in advance, and you will be able to make dining reservations 60 days in advance of your check-in day for the entire length of your stay (up to 10 days). At all other Good Neighbor hotels, the booking windows are a little different. At those hotels, you will only be able to book your Lightning Lane passes
three days in advance, and you’ll need to make each dining reservation separately, 60 days from the date of each reservation rather than for the full length of your stay 60 days prior to check-in.
Now let’s talk about military discounts! First, thank you for your family’s service. I love that Disney offers special rates for military families to be able to spend quality time together at the Most Magical Place on Earth. Disney traditionally offers both room discounts and deeply discounted rates on theme park admission to service members and their families. While no special rates have been announced yet for 2027, these are usually released later in the year around November or December. You can check out the
Disney Military Salute offers for 2026 to get an idea of what might be available in 2027. We won’t know until later in the year, but I would recommend holding off on purchasing any theme park tickets until closer to your vacation so you can see if there will be Disney Military Salute offers in 2027. These offers also usually come with great room discounts at Disney Resorts Collection hotels, so you might find there’s a rate that fits your needs. You would then have all of the perks that come with staying at a Disney resort hotel!
I have a few more tips for you before I go. As your vacation gets closer in 2027, be sure you have linked both your theme park tickets and your hotel reservation (especially if you switch to a Disney Resorts Collection hotel) in
My Disney Experience prior to booking your Lightning Lane passes and dining reservations. For some theme park tickets, including the Disney Military Salute tickets, you will also need to make
theme park reservations prior to booking Lightning Lane passes. By linking everything in advance, that will make everything run smoothly when it’s time to make your reservations for both Lightning Lane passes and dining reservations.
Penelope, I hope this gives you a good start as you begin planning your magical getaway! I would love to help you continue planning your first visit to Walt Disney World, so
come back and see me here at planDisney. I’m happy to answer all of your planning questions and love adding extra pixie dust to your Disney vacation!
Magically,
Casey