Hi Diane! Welcome to planDisney! Thanks for stopping by with your question!
I like to consider myself the ultimate planner, but I think you may have me outdone on this one. Although bookings are not available for 2025 yet, it is never too early to start planning your Walt Disney World Resort stay. You can start looking into which
Disney Resorts Hotels will work out best for your group and which dining locations you want to put at the top of your list. While many changes often occur over three years, you will be surprised how many things stay the same!
Vacation packages for 2025 will likely not be available until mid-way through 2024. Historically, next year's packages are not released until the beginning of summer. This is true for this year as Walt Disney World announced that 2023 vacation packages will become available to book starting on June 8th. You have plenty of time now to coordinate with the other families traveling with you to figure out which resort you plan on staying at.
You do have the option to book just your Disney Resorts Hotel up to 499 days in advance of your stay. This will only include your resort accommodations and not your ticket package. Once vacation packages are released, you can call the Walt Disney World Resort and make the necessary changes to your package. I did the math based on your expected arrival date in 2025, and since you are not planning until October to travel, the earliest you can book the room portion of your stay in the beginning of June. Since that is about the expected time frame that the full packages are released, it might make sense to just wait until that time.
When booking a package directly through the
Walt Disney World website, you are only required to leave a relatively small deposit. Once booked, you can start paying down the total of your stay by logging into your account. The complete balance will be due 30 days before your arrival. One trick that has worked for me is to slowly purchase
Disney Gift Cards leading up to your trip. You can usually purchase them in different denominations and save them for the big trip. The gift cards can be used at most restaurants and shopping locations around the resort. You can even use them to pay for the balance of your stay. Also, while there is no current deal for multiple families staying together in one resort, this does not mean there will not be one by the time you book your stay. I recommend checking the Walt Disney World website prior to booking for any current deals at that time.
Since you have multiple families traveling, I would highly suggest reaching out to an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner for help planning and booking your visit. These individuals can book your entire stay, including airfare, airport transportation, resort reservations, and ticket packages. The best way to find one is to perform a Google search for Authorized Planners. Check to see which one will work best for you and contact them for help. The best part about using a Vacation Planner is there is no extra cost to you. You will pay the same amount for your vacation as if you booked it yourself!
Happy planning!
Greg