Welcome to planDisney, Judy, where we've mastered the art of vacation planning! There is a lot to consider when assembling the perfect Disney trip, and you must build your itinerary in phases. I'd be happy to help you plan out what I call an "aspirational booking:" a trip we are planning, but may or may not actually take.
Our aspirational booking begins by choosing our
Disney Resort hotel. I have a goal of staying at each of the hotels on property, and I am well on my way to achieving it! I'd type my potential dates into the hotel search tool on the Disney website to see what's available, then choose a new-to-me resort. I put the hotel stay in my cart, and I sometimes make it a vacation package with tickets. I'll be honest with you, Judy. I sometimes just book the trip because I know I can cancel it later without a penalty. Make sure you read the Terms & Conditions if you are feeling chancy and decide to live life on the edge like me.
From there, it's time to look at
park tickets. If you aren't interested in a package, you can take a look at the rough cost of park tickets by selecting the type of ticket you'd like, the number of days, and choosing any add-ons like Park Hopper or water park options. Put these in the cart, too...just to see.
Once that step is complete, we have to wait a bit.
Dining can be booked 60 days ahead of time, and you can get an idea of dining availability by perusing potential reservations online or via the
My Disney Experience app. Availability changes so often that I wouldn't get too hung up on it, especially with an aspirational booking. Make sure you chat with your travel party about where they'd like to dine and what types of food they want to eat on the trip, then take a look at menus and select a few reservations that you'd want to snag when the time comes to book. The same is true for
Lightning Lanes: research your must-do attractions and prepare your strategy for booking experiences that are in high demand.
Sometimes the best laid plans end up scuttled, and that is okay! I have never been disappointed when I've visited Disney World because I was able to make memories with my family even if I didn't ride every attraction or have a chance to try every snack. As long as the bones of your trip are well-established, the rest of the experiences are icing on the cake. Plus, this is all aspirational, so the stakes are relatively low.
Disney World offers a
Family Vacation Planning Guide and a
Vacation Checklist that can walk you through the steps of an aspirational or real booking, and I recommend you take a look at it as you consider how you'd like to structure your vacation.
Come back and see us again if you have more questions, Judy! We'd love to provide recommendations, strategies, tips, and heartfelt advice for your trip, whether real or imagined. See you real soon!
Stay magical,
Scott