Dear Will,
Welcome to planDisney! I totally understand your sentiment.
Planning a Walt Disney World vacation can appear to be overwhelming for your first time. There's so much to know! With you arriving this spring, it must feel like you don't even know where to start. Having planned several Disney World vacations myself, I can say with certainty that it's a lot easier than it may seem. Here's your game plan:
1. Decide where you'll stay. There are over 25 hotels in the
Disney Resorts Collection to choose from, so look at the overviews and decide. Is cost a factor? Consider the value resorts. Want a few more amenities and more of a resort feel? Take a look at the moderate resorts. Deluxe resorts provide the most amenities and some of them are even closer to the theme parks. Available transportation should also be considered when making this decision if that's important to you.
2. Take a look at the Disney World
Special Offers page. This page shows you the current promotions Disney is offering. It's always worth it to take a look here before you start planning.
3. Decide how many park days you'd like and think about whether you want a vacation package. Sometimes, depending on the special offers available, a package might come out to more or less than a separated room booking with tickets. Feel free to add the different components to your cart to price it out - there's no harm in looking to be sure!
4. While you're planning your park days, think about whether you'll want to add a resort day to the mix. Disney World's resort hotels are so immersive that you may want to spend a day just soaking in the magic at your resort. My family and I love a resort day at either of the Port Orleans resorts. We spend the morning/afternoon at the pool, enjoy the resort activities, then take the boat to Disney Springs for some dining and shopping in the evening. It really is a great time, and no park tickets are used that day for entertainment.
After you've followed these steps, you might be ready to book your vacation! Remember these important notes:
A.
Advance Dining Reservations for table and signature dining experiences (character meals, etc.) and reservations for Enchanting Extras open 60 days prior to your arrival. Quick service dining does not require reservations.
B. If you'd like to purchase
Lightning Lane passes of any kind, your window to do this opens at 7 days prior to arrival if you're staying at a Disney resort. You'll also be able to pre-select 3 attractions (depending on availability at the time of purchase).
C. Download the My Disney Experience app to prepare for your vacation and to manage it when you arrive.
D. Consider purchasing
Memory Maker. This service allows you to download all of your attraction photos as well as all the photos you take with the very talented
PhotoPass photographers.
If you still feel overwhelmed, a simple internet search for authorized Disney vacation planners should populate some options for you.
I hope this information is helpful and shows you that you can do it, Will! You won't even need a super suit to get this done - as Edna Mode would say, no capes! Come on back if you need additional planning help. See ya real soon!
Sakinah