A step-by-step guide to planning a Walt Disney World family holiday

1. Do your research
Whether it is reading an annual Birnbaum’s Guide, watching YouTube videos or talking to friends who’ve visited, I would strongly recommend doing some research before booking your Walt Disney World holiday. Find out where you want to stay and what parks you want to visit to decide on the length of your stay.

2. Use additional resources like TouringPlans
We use TouringPlans for Walt Disney World holiday planning, and I have several friends who do the same. During the early stages of holiday planning, it can be worth looking at the TouringPlans crowd calendar. Later on in the process, I use TouringPlans for creating personalised daily plans, which TouringPlans can help optimise to ensure we minimise waiting time. During the stay, I use TouringPlans for expected queue times as an additional resource to compare to posted queue times.

3. Look out for holiday packages or room offers
Last time we booked when Disney offered the Free Disney Dining offer, which meant the Disney Dining Plan was included in the package as well as a $200 gift card we spent on merchandise. As we prioritise spending time on meals and character dining experiences, this seemed like a good time for us to book and we upgraded the booking to a Deluxe Dining Plan to have more table service credits. I’ve heard others take advantage of room-only offers advertised on the US booking site.

4. Create a My Disney Experience account and link your booking
After booking a hotel and tickets, it is important to set up a My Disney Experience account and link it with your booking. This is easy to do and means you’ll be ready to carry on with your holiday planning, making reservations and getting FastPasses.

4. Decide which park to visit on which day
When you have your holiday dates set, it is also useful to decide which park to visit on which day, as this will impact restaurant bookings. Advanced dining reservations can be made up to 180 days before your arrival date, so it is ideal to plan to complete this step before then if you want to eat at some of the most popular table service restaurants at specific times of the day. For families that plan to eat at quick service restaurants, it is not necessary to plan so early, and you can hold on until it’s time to book your FastPasses.

5. Look out for tours, events and makeovers
If you consider going on a special Disney tour, such as a backstage tour, or attending an event like a dessert party for night show viewings, these are also worth looking into before the 180-day mark when bookings open. Similarly, I would advise families considering princess or knight makeovers at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, or pirate or mermaid makeovers at The Pirates League, or hair cuts or styling at Main Street’s Harmony Barber Shop to be prepared to book these at the same time too to get slots that work with other plans. In addition, there are Early Morning Magic events and Disney After Hour events that can typically be booked online several months in advance, and families with young children might be particularly interested in Early Morning Magic in Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom or Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios.

6. Learn about sports activities
Families who may not be convinced Disney is their cup of tea might like to incorporate some sports experiences and mix up their days. There are several golf and mini golf courses in Walt Disney World and it is also possible to do horse riding, go on carriage rides, try archery, go fishing and take part in many other activities that are not what most typically associate with a Walt Disney World holiday. Some of these experiences can also be booked months in advance.

6. Get ready to make FastPass+ selections
When planning a Disney holiday I still feel the most important date to determine is the date your FastPass booking window opens. All ticket holders can pre-book up to three FastPasses per day in a single park, and the booking window opens 60 days before your check-in date if you’re staying in a Disney resort and 30 days before if you’re staying off property. (Please note that you need to have park tickets booked before making FastPass reservations.)
I would typically recommend trying to book FastPasses in the mornings as guests can book an additional FastPass after using the three pre-booked ones depending on availability. In my experience, the most difficult FastPasses to book have been Slinky Dog Dash in Hollywood Studios, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom and Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom. I usually create an Excel sheet with my desired ride times and dates for FastPasses. Read my tips on making FastPass+ selections HERE.

7. Plan any extras
Do you need to rent a stroller? Are you planning to surprise the children with a hamper? Should you buy some ponchos to be prepared for Orlando weather and wet rides? Do you want to take a photo package? Check out my last-minute planning tips HERE and read about the Disney photo package Memory Maker HERE.

Tags: Disney, Disney app, Disney dining, FastPass, Florida, Orlando, Walt Disney World