Hey Howdy Hey Jewel and welcome to planDisney!
There is so much to consider when planning a trip to Walt Disney World Resort that it is good to have an attack plan for addressing the important "to-dos" on this list. I love talking with first-time Disney go-ers about planning their trips so sit tight and let's review a few things.
You already have a big step down, figuring out when to visit! The next step I would take is to figure out how many days you would want to stay in Walt Disney World. I would then try to come up with a general budget for your vacation. Once you have those few general items then you are all set for really digging into some options.
The first big step would be deciding where you would want to stay. Disney has so many great options from three-tiered hotel accommodations from the Disney Resorts Collection offerings. You have the option to select from these accommodations resorts in the
Deluxe,
Moderate, or
Value category to fit your budget and your plans for the Parks. If you plan to visit the parks a lot and spend minimal time in the resort, I would suggest maybe considering a lower-tier room since you will not be in the room much. Disney also has a partnership with many great hotels with a variety of accommodations and more variations with pricing from the
Good Neighbor Hotels,
Walt Disney World Swan and
Walt Disney World Dolphin hotels and so many other Great Accommodation offerings to fit your budget while still being very close if not in the Magic of the Disney bubble.
Next are the
Theme Park tickets. With four Theme Parks and two Water Parks, there are so many great options to suit the needs and interests of everyone in your party. I would highly encourage you to visit at least the four Theme Parks as they are all entirely different and places you can spend full days and still not have enough time to experience everything. If this truly is your first time in Walt Disney World, I would also suggest purchasing the 1 Park Per Day ticket, instead of the Park Hopper Option as you will have so much to see in each park that it will be hard to experience everything.
Your biggest expenses outside of getting to Walt Disney World will be the room and ticket options. So once you have those big items taken care of, everything else is on the smaller detail side. This will include your dining reservations, special experiences such as attractions and shows that are on your "must-do" list and consideration of purchasing
Genie+ to make the most of your days in the parks, which I do highly encourage! Package availability should open sometime in early summer, May, or June for 2023.
Walt Disney World has so many free resources to help plan your trip with
videos online. If you feel a little overwhelmed with all these things, I would also suggest looking into using a travel agent from an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. These agents' experience and expertise are invaluable and the best part is they do all the hard work for you at no additional cost! Of course, you can always keep us in mind and ask any questions you have.
Happy planning,
Nick