Hi Kathie!
Welcome to planDisney! Kudos to you for taking the lead on planning!
Let's get this planning party started! First, start exploring the digital tools that are available on the Walt Disney World website. The navigation links at the very bottom and in the top middle of the page helped me. You can start by reviewing this list of
Disney Resorts Collection hotels. As you consider which resort hotel might suit your family's needs, take a look at the dining and transportation options at each resort hotel. My family prefers resort hotels with multiple dining and
transportation options.
A few of our favorite resort hotels include Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Contemporary Resort, and Disney's BoardWalk Inn, all because they are within walking distance to one or more theme parks. Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney's Contemporary Resort are all within walking distance to Magic Kingdom and have monorail access to EPCOT. Disney's BoardWalk Inn is within walking distance to EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios. We also love staying at resort hotels with access to the Walt Disney World monorail because we then have easier access to dining options at those resort hotels. On our most recent visit in July, we stayed at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and enjoyed walking over to the Grand Floridian Cafe for lunch. We also caught the monorail to dine at California Grill which is located atop Disney's Contemporary Resort.
Then, decide what type of
theme park ticket you would prefer, Standard 1 Park Per Day or Tickets with the
Park Hopper® Option and the number of theme park ticket days your will need. Once you have a few resort hotel preferences and an idea of what type of tickets you would prefer, start searching for
vacation packages. Prior to actually reserving a vacation package, be sure to check the
theme park reservation availability calendar to be sure that there are
Disney Park Pass system reservations available for the dates you want to visit. Once you confirm that there are park passes available for the dates of your visit, then book a vacation package.
In the planning process, you also need a
My Disney Experience account. Once you book a vacation package, use the confirmation number to link that reservation to your My Disney Experience. Log into My Disney Experience, click on My Plans, and then click to Add More Plans. From there, click on
Link Reservations and Purchases. Once your vacation package is linked, you can make your park pass reservations. And once you make park pass reservations, those should link to your My Disney Experience account.
Kathie, currently, at 60-days prior to arrival, we can make
advanced dining reservations. I would suggest that you at least make reservations for dinner if not for more meals! Happy Planning!
Magic and memories,
Donyell