Hi Theresa,
Welcome to planDisney! I am delighted to hear that you are planning a visit to the Walt Disney World Resort!
We typically plan our vacations a year in advance but I did plan a surprise trip for our girls about three months in advance one year. When deciding on when to book, I would just consider the time of year you are going, the launch of
The World's Most Magical Celebration, and the
runDisney event schedule. We also typically visit during
The Holidays at Walt Disney World Resort and this is a very busy time of year as well.
Prior to booking a
vacation package, I check the
theme park reservation availability calendar to make sure there is park pass availability for the dates of our planned visit. Once I have booked our vacation package, we make our
Disney Park Pass system reservations. Then, we start planning our
advanced dining reservations. Currently, the
dining reservation window is 60-days prior to arrival. On the morning our dining reservation window opens, we are online by 5:45 a.m. to make all of our dining reservations. We start trying to reserve the most popular restaurants first including any character dining experiences.
If you are planning to go when there might be special ticketed events, be sure to purchase those tickets as soon as they go on sale. When
Disney After Hours Boo Bash tickets went on sale, several evenings sold out pretty quickly. After we have our vacation package booked, park pass reservations and dining reservations made, we keep our eye on the
Disney Parks Blog to stay up-to-date with theme park experiences. As new experiences are announced, you may want to modify your park plans. Just be sure to check the theme park availability calendar before canceling any park pass reservations and trying to make new ones!
Theresa, keep the planning going! We cannot wait to welcome you to the magic!
Magic and memories,
Donyell