Disney vacation planning tips

Tips for planning a Disney vacation

Plan your Disney vacation early! To get your choice of onsite Disney resorts, or offsite hotels, houses, or condos, you'll want to book early! Cheap airline tickets are often sold out early, so to get the most of your Disney vacation, you should begin booking your trip at least six months in advance!

Here are some Disney vacation planning tips to help you get the most of your Walt Disney World vacation to Orlando, Florida!

• Book your character dining reservations well in advance of your Disney vacation. You can book up to 90 days in advance, and some of the restaurants, especially Chef Mickey's at Disney's Contemporary Resort, will book quickly. Unless you want to eat dinner at 10:00 p.m., make your character dining reservations early!
• Disney ticket pricing is such that the difference in price between a 6-day and a 7-day pass for example, is minimal. You may want to add an extra day or two so you don't feel like you need to cram everything in one day.
  
  
• Bring Ziploc storage bags, they'll come in handy throughout your trip. If you visit the Lego store in Downtown Disney's Marketplace - you'll definitely need them! The kids will want to build their LEGO sets while you're there, and being able to pack the bricks into Ziploc bags (instead of in their original boxes) will save storage space on the trip home.
• If you're staying offsite, consider bringing a soft (collapsible) cooler with you. You can pack a picnic lunch to carry into the park with you, and fold the cooler up to store in your backpack afterward.
• Consider a condo or home rental (rather than a hotel) if you're staying offsite. The convenience of having a full kitchen, a place to do your laundry, and extra living space, cannot be over-stated. The kids will enjoy having their own space, and so will you!
• Bring a Sharpie with you, and write each person's name on their own Disney ticket. You'll need to scan your thumbprint the first time you enter the parks, and each person can only get in on his or her own ticket.
• Write the ticket numbers for everyone in your party on a separate sheet of paper, and keep it in a safe place. If you lose your ticket, it will be much easier to get a replacement.
• Pick up several battery operated fans with the built-in water sprayers, especially if you're visiting during the summer months. We went once in August, and those fans were life savers!
• If you're staying onsite- don't book your return flight home before noon. The hotels want you to board the shuttle 3 hours prior to your your flight. Unless you want to get up in the middle of the night, you're better off with a later flight.

For more information, check out these Disney travel guides!