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I’ve Been to Disney World Over 20 Times, and These Are Things I Always Do When I Visit

I ’ve been visiting Walt Disney World for almost 30 years. I started visiting when I was just nine months old and I’ve been visiting at least once a year, sometimes more. That means I’ve been around the Disney Parks a lot. As a Disney Veteran, I’m sharing my secrets of the things I always do when I visit Walt Disney World. While they might seem simple, they always make a big difference in my trip. Keep reading to learn what I always do when visiting. 

Expert Disney Planning Tips

Order from instacart.

Now, you might think this is a weird secret. Why are you ordering from Instacart? Well, instead of buying individual bottles of water everyday that are over $3 each, I will usually order a case of water from Instacart. The order typically comes quickly and I can purchase any necessities I need without a steep price tag. And water isn’t the only thing you can get. If you have a family and want snacks or toiletries you didn’t want to carry during your trip, it is super convenient. 

Make Advance Dining Reservations

A lot of people underestimate dinner reservations at Disney. They say they aren’t necessary or it’s too much but as a Disney veteran, I think dinner reservations make your trip so much more seamless. If I can, I’ll make those reservations as far in advance as possible, within the 60-day window, and that way I don’t have to worry about figuring out dinner when I get there. 

Make Time for the Pool

I know, I know… a lot of people love going hard at the parks from rope drop to closing. But, Florida is hot and it can become a lot sometimes. I’ll usually start my day at the pool at my resort and then in the afternoon head to the parks when it’s not as hot.

All Star Sports pool. Photo by Judd Helms

Other than a reprieve from the heat, the resorts are usually amazing and it’s fun to take advantage of their amenities since you are paying for them. 

Visit Other Resorts

In addition to visiting the parks, I always make sure to resort hop. Resort hopping lets you see the other resorts and check out the merchandise and amenities they have to offer. While I love doing this all year, I highly recommend doing this during the holiday season when the resorts are decorated. 

Use Your Discounts

If you are a DVC Member, Annual Passholder, D23 Member, or Disney Visa Card Member, you are able to get certain discounts on either merchandise, food or even rooms. If you are in one of these groups, make sure you use your discount when you go to different places around the park. Some people often forget that they need to mention these discounts and miss out on deals.

Use Lyft Strategically 

First, my one tip is to usually only use Lyft when in Disney World. I’ve noticed over time they are more available and they seem to be cheaper around Disney World. Around the resort, the prices are generally low, you’ll only maybe spend $10 for a ride if you need one. I always love using them if I leave Magic Kingdom late or EPCOT late and there’s a rush for the buses. But, here’s my caveat for those. If you are planning to Lyft to Magic Kingdom or from Magic Kingdom… don’t.

A regular Lyft won’t drop you off at the actual park, they will drop you off at the Transportation and Ticket Center. Instead, either walk or take the monorail to the Contemporary and call the Lyft from there. The same is true at EPCOT. The Lyfts only pick up near the parking lot, which is hard to find. Instead, leave through the International Gateway and walk to the Beach Club for a Lyft. The exception to these rules are if you use a Minnie Van but they are more expensive. 

The post I’ve Been to Disney World Over 20 Times, and These Are Things I Always Do When I Visit appeared first on WDW Magazine .

Ultimate Walt Disney World Planning Guide (2024)

Planning a Disney World vacation can feel like a daunting task, especially for first-time guests. The entire Walt Disney World resort area covers around 43 square miles, which is almost twice the size of Manhattan!  Learning how to plan a Disney Vacation can help ensure you have a great time on your trip.

There are so many engaging activities, exciting attractions, magical details, and wonderful restaurants and resorts.  It’s nearly impossible to experience everything at Disney World over the course of several trips, let alone in a single visit to the park. That’s why it’s important to start your planning early and decide what you should prioritize on your trip.

This guide will take you through how to plan a Disney World vacation step-by-step. Disney vacations have become harder to plan each and every year, with Disney Lightning Lane, Advanced Dining Reservations, My Disney Experience, transportation, etc.  There’s so much to know, and this Disney vacation planning guide will be your go-to resource.

Do You Need To Plan a Disney World Vacation in Advance?

It’s no longer feasible to go to Disney World without doing at least some planning ahead of time.  Even entering a theme park requires an advance reservation in many cases.

In our view, these are the four bare-minimum planning actions needed to have even a functioning  Disney vacation.

• Decide when you will visit.   Crowd levels can impact your experience and time of year will affect your overall cost.
• Decide which park you will attend on each day.   Theme park reservations are mandatory for some ticket types — no reservation, no entry.
• Decide which hotel you’ll stay in.   While you can technically find a room without a reservation during some parts of the year, it’s not worth the risk.
• Decide if you want to dine at any table-service restaurants.   Dining reservations are strongly suggested; during the busiest days, many restaurants may completely refuse walk-ups.

These are the minimum plans needed to have a tolerable Disney World vacation.  To make your vacation good — or, dare we say, magical — you’ll probably want to do a good bit more Disney planning.  Below, we walk you through the eleven things you need to do to plan the best possible Disney World vacation .

Our planning guide is a great way to get started with researching your upcoming Disney World vacation.  As you’ll see, planning a Disney trip is no small task.  Imagine if you could have someone else do most of the work for you, for free!

That’s why we strongly recommend you contact the Disney travel agents at The Vacationeer .  There are plenty of good reasons why you should use a Disney travel agent , including taking advantage of their years of Disney experience and letting them handle making all of your reservations.

But one of the best reasons is that their planning services don’t cost you anything!

The Eleven Steps to Disney World Planning

There are plenty of ways to plan your Disney vacation, and everybody has their own way of doing it.  Below we’ve outlined what we believe to be eleven critical steps, in roughly the order that you should do them.  We’ve tried not to overwhelm you with too much information at once, but there’s no doubt that planning a Disney trip can be very complicated.  Take your time, read through it all, and follow the links throughout to find out more about some of the items we discuss here.

1. Learn the basics by doing some research

As you start to plan for a Disney World vacation, you should begin researching well in advance of booking the trip.  The information you gather during this important first step will help you through the rest of the process; starting early gives you plenty of time to learn before key dates in the trip planning process.  It will also be key to creating a detailed itinerary for each day so that your vacation will include every event, attraction, and restaurant you wish to experience.

Without a daily itinerary and at least some knowledge of the parks, Disney World can be a confusing and overwhelming place. Informed and organized vacationers are less stressed, save more money, and have more fun!

Being in-the-know will also help you secure your spot at popular resorts, attractions, and dining establishments.

Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to research travel destinations online , and Disney World is no exception. There are lots of Disney World resources online these days (such as our entire website!), so getting up to speed with the ins and outs of the parks is well within your reach.  To get you started, we’ll go over some basic information about Disney World.

Disney World at a Glance

Walt Disney World has four major theme parks:

Magic Kingdom

It’s the flagship theme park of Disney World and a rite of passage for kids of all ages.  Leave the real world at the gate — age melts away as you walk down Main Street, USA to reach Cinderella Castle.  Then, head in any direction to experience Liberty Square, Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland.  Your kingdom awaits with adventures on flying elephants, doombuggies, space rockets, and steam trains.

Rides   |   Dining   |   Secrets

Originally envisioned as a functioning city of the future, EPCOT offers four neighborhoods: World Showcase , a tribute to the global diversity that enriches us as a species; World Nature , showcasing our interaction with the planetary forces that drive us; World Discovery , celebrating humankind’s ingenuity and innovation; and World Celebration , dedicated to the joy and camaraderie that are essential parts of the human experience.

Rides   |   Dining   |  Secrets

Hollywood Studios

Hooray for “the Hollywood that never was and always will be!”  Here, the golden age of motion pictures gets equal billing with modern blockbusters in a park dedicated to an entire universe of entertainment.  Drop into the Hollywood Tower Hotel, find yourself off-world on Batuu, or slink your way into a Pixar adventure.  You’re the star of this silver screen epic — are you ready for your closeup?

Animal Kingdom

Experience the glory and wonder of nature as you immerse yourself into a world that more than 1,000 animals call home.  Set off on safari, where giraffes are free to walk right alongside your open-air vehicle (from which you can also glimpse elephants, lions, and hippopotami).  Then, escape reality by staging a daring mountaintop run from the mythical Yeti, or traveling back in time to rescue a doomed dinosaur.

Other Resort Complex Amenities

In addition to four theme parks, you’ll find a full resort complex covering upwards of 27,000 acres:

• More than 20 large resort hotels are owned and operated by Walt Disney World, with additional third-party hotels nearby
• There are nearly 400 places to eat and drink at Disney World, from ice cream carts to high-end luxury dining, and everything in between
• Disney Springs is the largest shopping, dining, and entertainment district at Disney World ( no tickets required ); Disney’s BoardWalk offers an additional entertainment and dining district
• Disney World has 2 water parks: Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon
• WDW has 5 golf courses and 2 mini-golf courses , an entire sports complex , and several lakes (offering boating, kayaking, parasailing, fishing, and other water sports)

There’s much, much more to learn about Disney World, but the above information should give you the basics that you’ll need to know as you start to plan.  At the end of each of our 11 steps in this guide, you’ll find links to special planning tools and additional articles/websites that further discuss items mentioned in each section of our planning guide.  The tools and links for this step are immediately below:

Planning Tools for This Step:

✔️  Use our  Disney World Map to get the lay of the land

✔️  Use our Disney World Transportation Map to chart your route

✔️  Subscribe to Disney-focused  YouTube channels

✔️  Review some fascinating Disney World Statistics

✔️  Learn the History of Disney World

✔️  Enjoy some interesting WDW Trivia

2. Download the My Disney Experience App

My Disney Experience is Disney’s mobile app & website that serves as a centralized hub for everything related to your Disney vacation.  In the app, you can:

• Create a profile
• Add friends and family members so you can plan together
• View your tickets and reservations
• Purchase priority access to certain attractions through the Lightning Lane service
• Enter a virtual queue for highly-demanded attractions, when available
• Access entitlements under the Disability Access Service, if applicable
• Place mobile orders for some meals, helping you avoid lines at some quick-service restaurants
• Use the MagicMobile service, which lets you use your mobile device as a contactless payment/entry device around Disney World.

Note:  If you’d rather not use the MagicMobile service to access your tickets and services, you can either purchase a MagicBand (a colorful RFID-enabled wristband), or request a plastic RFID card at no charge. 

The app is available for both iOS and Android devices — you might see it listed in the app store as “My Disney Experience” or even just as “Disney World.”  There’s no charge to download and use the app; you might see a notice about in-app purchases, but that refers to the ability to do things such as buying park tickets or placing mobile dining orders.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, you’ll want to sign in — you can use an existing Disney account or create a new one.  You’ll also need to grant it permission to use location services because some features such as virtual queuing are geofenced (only available when you are in a certain location based on your phone’s GPS).

Downloading the app early in the planning process is important for a few reasons.  First, it’s a great research tool.  Second, getting to know it now will make it all the easier to use during your trip.  And most importantly, as you begin to purchase tickets or make reservations you’ll want to link them to your Disney account.  For example, linking your hotel reservation in the app allows you to access an extended restaurant reservation booking window — as well as to access early booking for Lightning Lane attraction entrances.

Many (but not all) of the same services are also available through a dedicated section of the Disney World website.

Ready to talk to someone about planning next steps?

✔️  Download the My Disney Experience app

✔️  Access My Disney Experience via the Disney World website

✔️  Learn more about My Disney Experience

✔️  Learn more about using the MagicMobile service

3. Start Considering How Much to Budget for Your Disney World Trip

On average, a typical Walt Disney World vacation for a family of 4 in 2024 will cost about $6,559. This includes a 7-night hotel stay at a Disney Value Resort, 6 days of standard theme park tickets, Lightning Lane service, and quick-service meals for 4 people over the course of the trip.

Just like any vacation, you might want to plan for additional expenses such as transportation costs, upgrades, a longer stay, and souvenirs; or you might opt to save some money by staying off-site, shortening your trip, spending a day or two away from the parks, or visiting during the off-season.

Not surprisingly, some families end up putting themselves into debt to make a Disney World trip happen.

Of course, you won’t know exactly how much to budget until you make some choices about hotels, dining, tickets, etc. — but now’s a good time to at least begin thinking about how much you’re comfortable spending on your trip so you’re not left with sky-high credit card bills long after.

The resources below are a great way to start that process.  If you don’t want to devote a ton of time to it at this point, we suggest you start with just the first two resources… our How Much Does it Cost to Go to Disney World article and our Disney World Cost Calculator .

✔️  Explore how much it costs to go to Disney World

✔️  Estimate prices with our Disney World Cost Calculator

✔️  Learn about Disney Payment Plan options

✔️  Find the Cheapest Time to go to Disney

✔️  Check out Disney World discounts & deals

✔️  Save on your trip by buying discounted Disney gift cards

✔️  Learn how to do Disney on a Dime

✔️  Explore some free things to do at Disney World

✔️  Read Is Disney World Worth It?

✔️  Leverage your credit card points on your Disney vacation

Consider Working with a Disney World Trip Planner (For Free!)

This is a great time in your Disney vacation planning timeline to connect with a Disney Travel Agent if you’re planning on using one.  Your agent can provide a more accurate estimate of what you can expect to spend by walking you through all of the big choices you’ll be making in the remaining steps of the process.

Not sure which Disney World Travel Agency to use?  We strongly recommend The Vacationeer .  It’s not hard to see why we’ve ranked them as the best Disney travel agency .  First and foremost, they don’t charge anything to use their planning services and there’s never any obligation to book.  And, as an EarMarked Diamond level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner , they’ve arranged Disney trips for thousands of families.  They boast a team of 90+ travel agents, but you’ll have one dedicated agent to serve as your personal Disney trip planner from start to finish.

Contact them to see which money-saving promotions might be available for your trip.  They can book your reservations, set up a payment plan for your trip, and even automatically apply newly-announced discounts to your trip after you book!

4. Decide When to Go to Disney World

Holidays at Disney can be crowded but festive

Deciding which time of year to go to Disney World is a very important part of the planning process, and not just for the obvious reasons of school/work schedules.  Crowd sizes, special promotions, festivals, and weather should also factor in your decision; these can not only affect your overall experience at Disney, but also your overall cost as well.

Crowd sizes are a major consideration when planning a trip to Walt Disney World.  Because park attendance fluctuates throughout the year, there are certainly better (less crowded) times of the year go.

For those of you who are not as tied down with schedule obligations (such as parents who homeschool or people who can work from anywhere), you are in a much better position to be flexible with your travel dates. For the rest of us, work schedules, school schedules, and other factors often influence the timing of our vacations, so we just have to plan a trip around a timeframe that works.

With millions of annual visitors, each Walt Disney World theme park can become crowded. The week you choose to visit the park can have a major impact on wait times for attractions and crowd density on the sidewalks and in the restaurants. Each park also has day-to-day crowd dynamics to consider.

The best way to gauge crowd sizes any particular day – at any one of Walt Disney World’s 4 theme parks – is to consult our  Disney World Crowd Calendar .  By using data compiled from recent years, our crowd calendar determines which theme parks will have the shortest lines and which parks will have the longest lines.

While not everyone has the flexibility to plan their trip around the least-crowded dates, crowd calendars can still be a valuable tool to help you to maximize your Disney experience during your visit.

It’s also worth noting that crowd levels tend to be a good indicator of how expensive your hotel and tickets will be.  Hotels and tickets are both subject to seasonal prices; the less popular times of year are the least expensive, while high-demand times like holidays and summer vacation cost more.

When is Walt Disney World Least Crowded?

Walt Disney World parks are typically less crowded from January 2nd until just prior to Presidents’ Day week (third Monday in February ), the week after Labor Day until just prior to Thanksgiving week, and the week after Thanksgiving weekend until the week prior to Christmas. As a general guide, when schools are in session, WDW is usually less crowded.

When is Walt Disney World Most Crowded?

Walt Disney World parks generally experience their highest attendance around school breaks. These include around Presidents’ Day week (third week in February), the Spring Break timeframe from mid- March through late April , Memorial Day weekend , Summer (mid- June through Labor Day), Thanksgiving week, and Christmas week through January 1st.

Special Promotions

During their slower seasons, Disney World will sometimes offer special promotions to lure guests to the park.

Some previous examples have included a Free Dining promotion which offered meals as part of a package that included non-discounted resort hotels and park tickets.  Other promotions have also been offered from time to time, allowing for discounted hotel rates, special ticket packages, or other benefits.

While promotions have been a bit scarce lately, things do tend to change quickly.  It’s a safe bet, though, that any promotions that come along will be limited to specific hotels or specific travel dates, and will likely be in the off-season.  If your plans are flexible, you’re more likely to be able to take advantage of these.

Walt Disney World is a great destination any day of the year. However, there is something about the seasonal festivals which make the park extra magical.

Besides the spectacular Festival of the Arts (typically in January) and the Flower & Garden Festival during the spring and early summer, most of our favorite seasonal events take place during the Fall and Winter months.

Epcot hosts The  Food & Wine Festival in the fall, and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is a real treat for Magic Kingdom guests around – you guessed it – Halloween.

During November and December , the wildly popular Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party takes place at Magic Kingdom, as do a host of other holiday events, such as A Frozen Holiday Wish Show (Magic Kingdom), Christmas Day Parade on ABC (Magic Kingdom), Joyful! (Epcot), Holidays Around the World (Epcot), and much more .

If we had an absolute favorite week to be at Walt Disney World, we may have to choose some time in early December. The park is festive, the weather is comfortable, and the crowds are lighter than normal.

Any How to Plan a Disney Vacation guide must discuss the nuances of Disney’s weather.

First of all, Orlando, Florida is known for its warm and sunny weather. Ice and snow are virtually non-existent here and the temperatures rarely dip below the freezing level.

That said, there are some seasonal differences that you may want to take into consideration when booking your Disney World vacation. January is typically the coolest month, July is the warmest and wettest (though August is a close second for heat), and June has the most sunshine hours.

Daytime thunderstorms are a given during the summer; they often pop up with little warning and disappear just as quickly, usually leaving a rather unpleasant sauna effect in their aftermath.  On the bright side, a storm lasting 30-45 minutes is usually enough to send people scurrying for the exits, leading to lighter crowds afterwards.

Hurricane season technically lasts from June-November, though September has historically been the most active.  Even then, it’s rare for the Orlando area to take a direct hit from a hurricane.  That said, the parks have had to close a few times for hurricanes, though typically only for a day or so at a time.  Thanks to Disney’s generous hurricane cancellation policies , it’s still generally safe plan a trip to Disney World during hurricane season (though travel insurance is still also a good idea).

Our favorite seasons at Walt Disney World are probably the pleasant spring and fall seasons, with October being particularly nice. Our least favorite season is during the summer months — not only are the crowds heavy, but the weather can be quite hot and humid. If you do plan a summer vacation at Disney World, remember to come prepared with the proper amenities to keep you cool and hydrated.

Overwhelmed and ready for some expert help?

✔️  Use our Disney Crowd Calendar to pick the best time to visit

✔️  Research typical Disney World Weather

✔️  Learn about the best time to go to Disney World

✔️  Review our tips to avoid lines at Disney World

✔️  Beat the rain with the best attractions for rainy days

✔️  Learn about Hurricane Season at Disney World

5. Decide on Your Length of Stay (How Many Days)

Because there is just so much to see and do at  Walt Disney World , there is really no right answer for how long your Walt Disney World vacation should last. However, there are several wrong answers. One wrong answer would be staying for only 1 or 2 days!

We recommend that any trip should last at least four days, with an ideal range of a full week or so. Some people buy an Annual Pass and spend 30+ days at the park, so the sky is the limit! It just depends on your budget, time limitations, who you are traveling with, and what the goals of your trip are. But with so much to see and experience, a day or two won’t even scratch the surface of what Walt Disney World has to offer.

How Long Do Most People Stay at Disney World?

Most Disney World vacations last 3 – 7 days. Many guests devote one full day to each of the four Disney World theme parks. Given their size and number of attractions, it’s certainly possible to spend two days each at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Additional days can be spent re-visiting one of the parks, going to a Disney water park, or doing other various activities, inside or outside of the park.

If your objective is to experience most attractions, shows, parades, etc., you really need to provide yourself with adequate time/days to explore all facets of each park.  If saving money is an important consideration, a shorter trip can help accomplish that.

Many guests like to spend a day or two at other (non-Disney) Orlando-area attractions – such as  Universal Studios , SeaWorld, Legoland Florida, or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Other guests set aside a day or two for golfing, boating, or just to simply relax at the pool.

If your trip to Disney World is a “rite of passage” event for the kids – and your goal is to just experience the popular rides and get a feel for the park – 3-4 days is doable. However, just be aware that you may feel as though you are rushing to get as much in with your time constraints.  You probably won’t be able to experience everything that you set out to achieve.

Besides simply having enough time at Disney World, another reason for booking a longer WDW vacation is the financial incentive. The more days you spend at the park, the less the cost of your daily ticket. That’s not to say you will spend less money on an 8-day pass vs a 3-day pass — you certainly won’t. But, the cost per day  goes down substantially the more days you spend at Disney World.

Thoroughly review all current promotions and ticket pricing scenarios before deciding on the duration of your Disney World vacation.

✔️  Compare prices for different trip lengths with our Cost Calculator

✔️  We explore how long to stay at Disney

✔️  See how many days you need for each park

✔️  See our favorite day trips from Disney World

✔️  Extend your trip by visiting one of the beaches near Disney World

6. Decide How to Travel to Disney World

Planning a Disney World trip must, of course, include consideration of how you will actually get there.

The two most common modes of transportation to Walt Disney World are by car and by air.

Buses and trains also come in and out of Orlando, but these options tend to be more problematic with luggage considerations. Consult your bus service or Amtrak for their guidelines on luggage if you decide to go this route.

Driving to Disney World

For guests within a reasonable driving distance (or those who just love a good road trip), there’s some convenience in having your own car at Disney.  Of course, you’ll need to consider all of the costs associated with driving to Disney… fuel prices, auto maintenance / wear & tear, tolls, and parking fees.

An oft-forgotten expense is that those staying in an off-site hotel must pay a daily parking fee at the theme parks (Disney hotel guests don’t pay this fee).

Those who live far away will likely find the cost of driving to Disney World to be prohibitively expensive.  But for those who live in the southeastern US — or who are faced with the prospect of buying airline tickets for a large family — driving might be the right choice.

Flying to Disney World

Since most people fly to Disney World, let’s review some of your best options for booking a flight.

Most people use airline travel search engines – such as Priceline, Kayak, Expedia, or Travelocity – to book their air travel. We also recommend checking Google Flights or ITA Matrix  — both are robust search engines for finding airline deals. If you have flexibility with your booking dates, sign up for Airfarewatchdog alerts. You can get real-time or daily alerts for special offers and flight deals between your departure city and Orlando.

Which airports are closest to Disney World?

Orlando is served by three major airports, all of which have confusingly similar names.

• Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the airport of choice for trips to Disney World.  It’s the nearest airport (about 20 miles away)  and offers by far the most ground transportation options to Disney World.
• Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) is located about 45 miles away from Disney World.  Though it’s further away and offers fewer ground transit services, it may be your only choice for a nonstop flight if you’re flying with a smaller/discount carrier or if your home airport is a smaller regional facility.
• Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB) is located about 65 miles away from Disney World.  It’s the farthest “Orlando” airport from Orlando (they actually got sued for using the word Orlando” in their name) , and is likely better suited for a Disney Cruise from Port Canaveral than it is for a stay at Walt Disney World.

If you’ll have a rental car and don’t mind a bit of a drive, you can also investigate flights into Tampa International (TPA, about 75 miles away) or Daytona Beach International (DAB, about 70 miles away)… but the flight discounts would have to be amazing to make up for the difference in time and cost.

Tips To Save on Flights to Disney World

Here are a few more cost-savings tips for booking your flight to Walt Disney World:

• For the best deals, book six weeks in advance.
• Scan for deals in the morning, as most airlines offer their best deals at this time. Act fast because good deals get scooped up quickly.
• The most inexpensive flights are often the earliest departures in the morning.
• Wednesdays are typically the cheapest days to fly.
• Credit cards with frequent flyer mile points can save you money on future flights.
• Not all airlines offer their cheapest flights through travel search engines. Check low-cost airlines individually to see if booking directly through their website is less expensive.

Traveling Within Disney World

Regardless of how you get there, once you’ve made it to Disney World, transportation is a breeze.  Disney offers a completely free network of monorails, boats, buses, Skyliners (suspended aerial gondolas), trams, and walking paths to move people from place to place.  You’ll really only need a rental car if your plans take you off-site to a non-Disney destination (and even then, an Uber might be better).

Check out our Disney transportation map in the planning tools below to map out your journey through Disney World.

✔️  Search for airfare on Google Flights

✔️  For advanced flight search options, try ITA Matrix

✔️  Explore our Transportation Map to find out how to get around Disney World

✔️  Review options to get from the Orlando Airport to Disney

✔️  Estimate the cost of taking an Uber

✔️  Learn about parking at Disney World

✔️  Explore the Disney Monorail

7. Choose Your Disney World Resort Hotel

Disney owns and operates more than 20 on-site hotels, which it calls “Resorts.”  This name can be a bit confusing, because you’ll also hear the entire Walt Disney World area referred to as a “resort.”  As an alternative to the on-site hotels, you can choose to stay at a hotel not owned by Disney; that could save you some money, but you’ll miss out on a number of perks offered exclusively to on-site Guests.

Official Disney On-Site Resorts

There is something special about staying at an official Disney World resort.

For one, each resort has its own distinctive character, charm, and identity. You can leave the real world behind and surround yourself with Disney magic, 24/7.

Since all of these resorts are on Disney World property, you will be in close proximity to all the parks and have direct access to monorails, boats, skykliners, and buses.  A few resorts are close enough that you can easily walk to Magic Kingdom or EPCOT.

On-site guests also receive special perks that off-site guests do not. These include Early Theme Park Entry and the ability to book Dining Reservations and Lightning Lane entries ahead of non-Disney resort guests. For 2025, Resort Guests also receive free water park admission on their check-in day.  Make sure you link your Disney World hotel reservation to your My Disney Experience account to take advantage of these perks!

Disney’s on-site Resorts are categorized within the following tiers:

Disney Value Resorts

The rooms at  Disney Value Resorts are smaller and are situated among larger campuses, so you might find there’s a bit of a walk between your room and the bus stops, dining, and front desk.  Transportation to the Disney World theme parks is mostly via bus or Skyliner.  Dining is typically quick-service that’s more akin to a food court, but still usually features a surprising variety that goes well beyond burgers and pizza.  Value resorts are a fantastic option for families who want to keep an eye on their budget but still have all the benefits of staying on Disney World property.

Disney Moderate Resorts

The  Disney Moderate Resorts offer a nice middle ground between the Value and Deluxe resorts.  You’ll have a somewhat upgraded room, good transportation, and usually a few different dining options that may offer a broader menu.  A Moderate Resort is a great way to upgrade your stay at a Disney World resort hotel without a major impact on your budget.

Disney Deluxe Resorts

Deluxe Resorts tend to be closest hotels to the Disney World theme parks, usually just a monorail, boat ride, or short walk away.  Not only is it easier to get to the parks in the morning and back from the parks at night; it’s also easy to avoid the hottest and most crowded parts of the day by returning to your hotel and letting the kids cool down in the pool or take a midday nap.  Then, while everyone else who stayed in the park all day is hot, tired, and cranky, you’ll be refreshed and ready for the nighttime fireworks.  Disney World’s Deluxe resorts also often feature larger rooms, the best pools and restaurants, and a generally upgraded experience.

Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts

Deluxe Villa Resorts offer vacation home style amenities. These are Disney resorts with kitchens or kitchenettes , separate bedrooms, and often even laundry facilities — a great option for larger groups.  These range from studios (basically a hotel room that also includes a kitchenette and pull-down bed) to 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units featuring full kitchens and living rooms.  There are even some unique offerings, such as treehouse villas and over-the-water bungalows.  Even beyond these deluxe villa resorts, many other Disney World hotels offer family suites .

The only major disadvantage of staying at an on-site Disney resort is the cost. With the extra perks and close proximity to the park, these resorts are more expensive than off-site resorts, so your decision will really just depend on your budget and the priorities of your vacation.

Traveling with a fuzzy friend?  You might be surprised to learn that pets are welcome at a select few resorts, and there’s even a facility made exclusively for them.  Check out Pets at Disney World for more information.

Our favorite Disney World YouTube Channel has a great overview of Disney’s official on-site Resorts.

Off-Site Hotels (non-Disney)

Most off-site properties are further away from the park and do not have direct access to the monorail (though some might offer a limited shuttle service). Despite this, many off-site resorts are still quite close to the parks – some, in fact, are situated directly on Disney-owned land.  For example, you’ll find third-party hotels not far from EPCOT, as well as an extensive “Hotel Boulevard” just an intersection or so away from Disney Springs.

While you won’t enjoy the same perks as on-site guests, these off-site properties are generally very nice.  And some  non-Disney hotels do have agreements with Disney to allow their Guests to experience some special perks.

Many have all the amenities of the more expensive Disney Resorts (some even have more), and the rooms are often larger. If your party has 5 or more guests, off-site resorts offer more value, as most of the on-site 5-person+ options are quite pricey.

The bottom line is, if you are sticking to a tight budget and don’t mind being a little further away from the action, a non-Disney resort may be your best bet. You can have a fantastic vacation staying at either on- or off-property resorts.

We recommended that you explore both options and weigh the pros and cons as they apply to your situation. You can certainly split your nights between on-property and off-property. But if you are only at Disney World for a few nights, we recommend just paying a little more to be on the property.

Find the perfect hotel for your budget

✔️  Explore our Disney Resort Comparison page

✔️  See the best Disney Value Resorts

✔️  View the best Disney Moderate Resorts

✔️  Review the best Disney Deluxe Resorts

✔️  Find the best Family Suites at Disney

✔️  See the best Disney Resorts for kids

✔️  Explore the best Disney Resorts for adults

✔️  Learn where to book Disney World hotels

✔️  Find off-site hotels with shuttle service

✔️  Find our picks for the best on-site hotels overall

✔️  See which resorts have the best hotel pools

✔️  Splurge on Club Level at Disney World or a Five-Star Hotel at Disney

✔️  What’s the cheapest on-site hotel?

8. Buy Theme Park Tickets and Make Park Reservations (if needed)

Image © Disney

While it’s certainly possible to go to Disney World without ever setting foot inside a theme park, very few people actually do that.

And given that it’s possible that you may end up spending more on park tickets than on your hotel room, the decision about which tickets to buy is an important one.

We recommend you review all your options well in advance so you have time to think about which package makes sense for your budget and duration of stay.

And remember, you might need to make a theme park reservation (Disney Park Pass), depending on your ticket type.

Disney Theme Park Tickets

Let’s first look at the theme park tickets.

When and Where to Buy your Disney World Theme Park Tickets

As a general rule, you should always purchase tickets either directly from Disney, your travel agent, or an through an authorized seller/reseller — and you should do so well in advance of your departure. This will shield you from any price hikes that might occur and gives you the best chance of securing a reservation to your desired park on your desired day  (if your ticket type requires reservations).

Given that tickets can sell out and that some even require a theme park reservation, it’s not wise to just wait to buy your tickets when you get to the front of the park .

Most importantly, NEVER buy your tickets via eBay, Craigslist, or another unauthorized reseller.   There’s a very good chance that those tickets will be expired, completely used (no days left), or simply counterfeit.  Don’t risk it!

Ticket Pricing

Disney World theme park ticket pricing varies throughout the year.  They’re generally the most expensive during popular times (such school breaks, holidays, and weekends) and the least expensive during slower times. Prices also vary by park; Animal Kingdom is usually the least expensive and Magic Kingdom is usually the most expensive, with Hollywood Studios and EPCOT falling somewhere in between.

You can purchase single-day tickets or multi-day tickets (up to 10 days).  Ticket prices are structured in a unique way that rewards Guests for committing more time to the parks; the per-day price of a multi-day ticket gets cheaper the more days you add.

We have a full rundown of the ticket pricing structure in our How Much Does it Cost to Go to Disney World article.

2024 One-Day One-Park Ticket Starting Price (actual price varies by park)

Types of Theme Park Tickets

The basic Disney World theme park ticket allows entry to only one theme park per day.  But there are optional upgrades which allow you to visit multiple parks on the same day or add other special experiences.

Park Hopper option

The Park Hopper ticket option allows Guests to visit multiple Disney World theme parks on the same day.  After starting the day at one park, Guests may then go to a different theme park later in the day.

We especially love the Park Hopper for spending the first part of the day at one theme park, then spending the evenings at Epcot to take advantage of the wonderful dining options at World Showcase.  It’s an especially great option for those who have a limited amount of time at Disney World, and for those who have short attention spans!

Water Park and Sports option

The Water Park and Sports option allows Guests to visit one theme park per day, while also providing visits to other Disney properties.  Guests who purchase this upgrade will be able to visit water parks, mini golf and nine-hole golf courses, and the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, when available.

The number of these visits provided is equal to the number of days of theme park admission purchased.  As an example, a 4-day park ticket allows four visits to these facilities.

Park Hopper Plus option

The Park Hopper Plus option combines the Park Hopper option and the Water Park and Sports option into a single upgrade.  Guests who purchase this upgrade will be able to visit multiple theme parks in the same day, and also enjoy a number of visits to water parks, select mini golf and nine-hole golf courses, and the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, when available.

Disney Park Pass (Theme Park Reservations)

A theme park ticket isn’t necessarily the only thing you need to get into a Disney theme park.  Guests who buy theme park tickets may also need a theme park reservation through a system called Disney Park Pass .

Because of this, planning ahead can be crucial to ensuring you can get into your desired theme park on the day you want to visit.  If you’re traveling during a more popular time of year such as spring break, summer, or Christmas, it is quite possible that tickets or reservations may not be available if you wait until the last minute.

Example of a theme park reservation availability calendar

Park Pass theme park reservations can be made as soon as you’ve purchased your theme park admission tickets.  We recommend you buy your tickets as far in advance as possible to have the best chance of getting the theme park reservations you want.

Park reservations may be needed for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom — but it depends on the type of ticket you purchased.   They’re not needed for Disney Springs or the water parks.

As of December 2022, all One-Day One-Park tickets automatically include a park reservation — no need to make one separately. And as of January 9, 2024, all date-based tickets will be reservation-free. Other ticket types may still require one, so be sure to check out all the details when you purchase.

If your park hopper ticket requires reservations, you’ll only need a reservation for the park you’ll be  starting  your day at.  You do  not  need a reservation for the  second  park you’re visiting (“park hopping” to) on the same day, but the park still needs to have capacity to admit new Guests.

✔️  View Disney’s official theme park ticket price calendar

✔️  Check Disney’s theme park reservation availability calendar

✔️  Explore ticket prices in our How Much Does it Cost to Go to Disney World article

✔️  Read our complete guide to  Disney Park Pass theme park reservations

Need help navigating all of the ticket options?  Contact the Disney Experts at The Vacationeer .  They can help you decide which tickets are right for you and give you tips on snagging theme park reservations.  And best of all, their planning services are completely free!

9. Select Your Disney World Dining Options

There are literally hundreds of places to eat and drink around the Walt Disney World Resort, from the humblest popcorn cart to the fanciest high-end fine dining restaurant.  If this is your first trip, you may be surprised by all the world-class dining experiences the parks and resorts offer.

Gone are the days when Disney was known simply as a “burgers and kid’s meals” type of destination.  Sure, there are plenty of quick-service restaurants and snack stands around the park, but there is also an eclectic mix of fabulous table-service restaurants to satisfy the toughest of culinary critics.

Some restaurants are themed around Disney attractions, while others are geared towards families or offer formal dining experiences.

All-you-can-eat buffets are popular, as are regional cuisine restaurants. Epcot’s World Showcase offers culinary experiences aligning with the specific country represented, while Disney Springs has an abundance of fabulous dining experiences to choose from.

There’s even a popular dinner show called the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue that features two hours of comedy and music (accompanied by endless fried chicken, BBQ ribs, and strawberry shortcake).

There is really something for everyone’s taste buds at Walt Disney World!

Types of Restaurants

There are two primary types of restaurants at Disney World.

Quick-Service Restaurants

A quick-service restaurant, sometimes also called counter-service, is a place to grab a casual, quick bite.  The ordering, payment, and service experience is somewhat similar to what you might expect at either a fast food restaurant or a “fast casual” place such as a Panera Bread or Chipotle.  You’ll stand in line, order, and pay (or use the mobile ordering service described later in this planning step); then, you’ll either receive your food right away on a tray or be given a pager-type device to alert you when it’s time to come and pick up your meal.  You won’t have a server at your table, and when your meal is over you’re expected to bus your own table and discard your trash.  Despite the ordering experience being akin to a fast food place, your food isn’t necessarily just burgers and fries.  Many locations have innovative menus and substantial meal offerings that rival those of a traditional restaurant.

Table-Service Restaurants

A table-service restaurant, sometimes also referred to as a “sit-down” location, is a more refined dining experience.  You’ll check in with a host/hostess, be taken to a table, and be introduced to a server who will take your order and tend to your needs during your meal.  These restaurants vary from relatively casual a la carte locations, to all-you-care-to-eat buffets, to elegant signature dining locations.  Menus vary from homestyle cooking to authentic international cuisine.  Advance reservations (described below) are strongly suggested, as some restaurants may completely refuse walk-ups during busy times.

Advance Dining Reservations

If you plan on dining at table-service restaurants during your vacation (recommended!), reservations are essential.

Disney calls its restaurant reservations “Advance Dining Reservations.”  Sometimes you’ll hear people call these “ADRs.”  An ADR lets you secure your table at some of Disney’s most popular table-service restaurants (restaurants in which you have a server at your table who takes your order and brings your food to you).

Slots during prime hours go quickly, especially at popular dining locations like Cinderella’s Royal Table and Chef Mickey’s.  Booking your reservations as soon as the reservation window opens is key to getting what you want.

Guests staying in a Disney Resort hotel  may make dining reservations for the entire length of their stay (up to 10 days’ worth of reservations) as early as 60 days in advance of their hotel check-in date.

All other Guests can make their advance reservations for dining as early as 60 days in advance of the meal.

Note: you might have previously heard that dining reservations could be made 180 days in advance.  While that was previously true, the booking window changed in 2020.

We recommend that you spend some time reviewing on Tripadvisor  and  Yelp  before making your Advance Dining Reservations (or speak w/ a Disney Travel Agent first).

Mobile Ordering

Reservations are not offered for quick-service dining at Disney World, though some locations do provide a mobile ordering service through the My Disney Experience app.  For these locations, you can view menus in the app, then order and pay ahead of time.  When it’s time to eat, you can bypass the regular ordering/payment line and go straight to the mobile pickup window to get your food.

Skip the Line with Mobile Ordering

Character Dining

One of Disney’s unique dining offerings is its character dining.  If getting some face time with Disney characters is a must-do for your trip, this is a great way to accomplish it without having to wait in line (and you get to enjoy a great meal, too!).

While you enjoy your meal, several Disney characters will come to your table for a brief visit.  It’s a great chance to snap a photo, ask for an autograph, or just enjoy a personal interaction.  Because the characters are coming to you, there’s no need to wait in any long lines.  And there’s just something special about having the main mouse himself pop up over your shoulder while you’re chowing down on a Mickey waffle!

Each character dining experience focuses on a specific set of characters… for example, the “Fab 5,” Disney princesses, Disney Junior Stars, or Winnie the Pooh and friends.

Disney Dining Plans

For some travelers, one of the best options for dining at Disney is to add a Disney Dining Plan to your on-site hotel stay.  These plans offer a set number of meal and snack credits per person at a fixed daily cost.  Historically, during certain low-demand seasons, Disney has even  occasionally offered the dining plan at no additional charge as part of a vacation package including a hotel stay and theme park tickets.

Disney Dining plans were put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’re returning for 2024 Disney World vacations .

Until the dining plan fully returns, you’ll be paying out of pocket for your food on-site, unless you opt to bring your own food into the parks (and yes, you can get groceries delivered to your hotel).

✔️  Calculate the date you can book dining reservations

✔️  Explore menus for every restaurant at Disney World

✔️  Use our Disney Dining Plan Calculator

✔️  Estimate your food costs by viewing examples in our  How Much Does it Cost article

✔️  See how different meal choices affect your budget in our Disney World Cost Calculator

✔️  See our picks for the best Magic Kingdom restaurants

✔️  Explore our ranked list of the best EPCOT restaurants

✔️  Review our choices for best Hollywood Studios restaurants

✔️  Go wild when dining at the Best Animal Kingdom Restaurants

✔️  Explore the best options for Character Dining

✔️  Experience culinary excellence at one of the Michelin Guide restaurants at Disney

✔️  On a plant-based diet? Check out the best Vegetarian dining

✔️  Just love food? Review our guide to Disney World for Foodies

✔️  Learn more about Disney Dining Plans

✔️  Read about Disney World Free Dining promotions

10. Create a Daily Itinerary for Your Disney World Vacation

Now that we have covered the basic elements of your Walt Disney World vacation, it’s time to start thinking about the nitty-gritty details of your trip. Improvising on-the-go can cost you money and lost time while you are at the park, so creating an itinerary will keep your vacation on track.

If your trip to WDW is 4 days or fewer, you will most likely spend each day exploring at least one of Disney’s 4 theme parks. Consider a Park Hopper pass so that you have the ability to jump between parks during the day.

Time is of the essence, so we recommend that you map your route and create an itinerary of high-priority attractions so nothing is overlooked.

If your Disney World vacation is a week or so, consider spending one day at a Disney water park (Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon), at a non-Disney property (such as SeaWorld, Universal Studios, Busch Gardens), golfing, boating, shopping, or just taking a day off to relax.

Reservations for theme parks and dining should be made well in advance of your trip, so the process of selecting which restaurants and attractions are top priorities should begin as soon as you book your trip (if not before).

As you research your options, make notes to help you formulate your Walt Disney World itinerary.

Here are a few things to consider when making your daily plans:

One of the primary factors for your daily itinerary should be how late the park is open each day you’re there.  Park opening and closing times can vary from day-to-day.  So you might want to base your daily park choices on which park has the longest hours — or at least make sure you don’t shoehorn yourself into only being able to visit a certain park on the one day during your trip that it closes early. Some parks take longer to fully experience than others, and you don’t want to run out of time.

A great perk of staying at an on-site Disney hotel is having extra time in the parks when the general public is not allowed in.  While not all attractions operate during these extended hours, it’s still a great way to get a few extra rides in with typically lower wait times.  The previous Extra Magic Hours  program has now been replaced by two offerings:

Early Theme Park Entry

Disney Resort hotel Guests (and Guests of other select hotels) may  enter the Disney parks 30 minutes earlier  than the general public, every day of the week. Each of the four parks offers this perk every day of the week; which park you choose is solely up to you!

Extended Evening Theme Park Hours

Guests at Disney Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villa Resorts, and a few other select hotels may also enjoy additional time at specific parks on specific nights.  You’ll want to check the  latest schedule  to verify which dates and parks are available during your trip.

Waiting for Rides/Attractions

It’s an unfortunate fact that a sizable portion of your Disney World trip will be spent waiting in line to get on rides or see shows.  Fortunately, there are ways to minimize this as much as possible.

Standby Lines

When most people think of waiting in line for a ride, they’re thinking of what Disney World calls a Standby queue.  It’s line waiting in its simplest form; you walk up to an attraction entrance, wait in line for as long as it takes, and then get into the ride vehicle.

Standby wait times can fluctuate wildly throughout the day, often peaking in the mid-afternoon.  While you can’t do anything about the length of the line itself, you can game the system a bit by deciding when to enter that line.

For your most important attraction of the day, I suggest doing what frequent visitors call “rope dropping” the park.  This means that you are at the park before it opens for the day, enter the park as soon as Guests are allowed in (as soon as they “drop the rope” that is keeping people out), and go directly to the desired attraction so you can ride it with as little wait as possible.

Other tactics to try to avoid the worst of the standby wait times is to go during the afternoon parade, or to go when most people are having lunch/dinner.  The Tip Board section of the My Disney Experience app will also show you a forecast of wait times for each hour of the day so you can better plan your arrival time to minimize waits.

One further tip that won’t necessarily help you avoid an extended wait time but will certainly increase your comfort level. As a long-time Floridian, I highly recommend doing all of the rides that have completely-outdoor waiting lines either early or late in the day; when it’s miserably hot/steamy outside during the afternoon hours, I prefer to hide away from the midday sun by experiencing the rides with indoor air-conditioned queues. These rides are also less likely to close during afternoon thunderstorms.

Virtual Queues

If your trip happens to occur in the months immediately following the opening of a highly-anticipated attraction (such as a new roller coaster), you’ll likely find that you can’t simply go stand in line for that ride.  Instead, you might have to use something called a virtual queue .

It’s exactly what it sounds like — rather than physically standing in line, your spot in line is held virtually via the My Disney Experience app.

Virtual Queue

A virtual queue is both good news and bad news for your itinerary planning.

The good news: Historically, people have spent as much as five or six hours (!) waiting in line for a new ride — I did that when Seven Dwarfs Mine Train opened and don’t recommend it.  Those long lines are not the case with virtual queuing.  Your wait might technically still be that long, but you don’t have to spend that time actually waiting in a line.  You’re instead free to go have plenty of other fun elsewhere in the park during that time, and then come back when it’s time to ride.

The bad news: Competition to grab a spot in the virtual queue can be fierce.  Spaces open up daily at 7AM and again at 1PM.  On dates when Extended Evening Theme Park Hours are offered for select Resort Guests, another round of queuing begins at 6PM.  On the busiest days, all available slots can be claimed within seconds of being released. To give yourself the best possible chance of snagging a spot, read Disney’s extensive instructions  ahead of time so you know exactly what to do at 7AM on the day you wish to visit.

Priority Attraction Entrance (Disney Lightning Lane)

Many rides and experiences in the parks have a special Lightning Lane entrance which allows you to bypass the regular line and board more quickly.  If you’ve been to Disney World in the past, you might remember this service previously being called FastPass, FastPass+, or Genie+.  The Lightning Lane concept is still mostly the same, but there’s one big difference: you now must pay to enter the Lightning Lane.

Lightning Lane passes

Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Most rides which have a Lightning Lane entrance are packaged together into a paid, bundled service called Lightning Lane Multi Pass.  It lets guests make reservations to use the Lightning Lane entrance at roughly 50 attractions throughout the parks. Guests make their first three Lightning Lane reservations in advance and can make additional ride reservations, one at a time, once they arrive (subject to availability).

Lightning Lane Single Pass

The Lightning Lane entrances at the most popular attractions in each park are not included in Multi Pass and are instead sold separately.  You’ll be able to purchase one entrance per day for each ride offering this individual entry service, for a maximum of two rides per day.

If a ride’s Lightning Lane is sold under this individual pricing structure, it will not be included in the Multi Pass package offering.

Disability Access Service

A special service is provided to assist Guests who have a cognitive condition that interferes with their ability to wait in line.  This offering, called the Disability Access Service (DAS), assigns return times so Guests don’t need to be physically present in the attraction line (but still experience a similar length of wait as those who are waiting in line).

There’s an important distinction when understanding DAS: qualifying is based on a guest’s ability to wait  in line, not their ability to  stand in line. Most attraction lines are wheelchair accessible , so a wheelchair alone is unlikely to qualify someone to use DAS.  There’s no official list of disabilities which automatically qualify, but some which may qualify include ADHD, autism , or anxiety.  Each decision is made on an individual basis, and Disney alone has sole authority to grant or deny DAS to a Guest.

This is a highly-nuanced topic that we can’t completely cover in just a few sentences.  We suggest you read our extensive guide to the Disability Access Service for further details.

Timing Your Meals

Your itinerary should include a solid plan on when you’re going to eat your meals.

Unless you have breakfast reservations for an in-park restaurant, we do NOT recommend that you have breakfast in the park.  You’ll likely be missing out on some of the lowest ride wait times of the day if you’re off getting food right after the park opens.  One option is to have breakfast at your hotel’s restaurant before heading to the park (the restaurants open early enough to allow this without missing park opening). I personally prefer to just have bagels and cream cheese in my room and opt for an early lunch — that lets me sleep in just a bit and still get to the parks early.

Speaking of an early lunch, having your meals during an off-peak time is a great way to avoid wasting time waiting in long lines at counter-service restaurants.  If you have lunch at noon and dinner at 6PM, you’ll quickly notice that pretty much everyone else in the park had the same idea.  Not only will there be longer waits in line (and for your food to be prepared), but you might even have to “hover” a bit to find an empty table.  If you do have to dine during the busiest hours, take full advantage of mobile ordering within the My Disney Experience app whenever you can.

Of course, should you have dining reservations at a table service restaurant for lunch or dinner, your time for that meal is set and you just need to plug it into your daily itinerary.

Planning When to Stop and When to Go, Go, Go

With the prospect of a full vacation in front of you, it’s easy to either over or under do it.

Yes, you’re on vacation, so it’s tempting to sleep in.  But doing so will put you a step behind everyone else in the park, meaning you’re at the mercy of higher crowds and longer lines.  Waking up early and getting to the parks right away goes a long way toward starting the day right.

On the other hand, if you plan to go nonstop from morning to night seven days in a row, you’re going to crash midweek and have a miserable time.  You’ll probably end up losing more time due to the inevitable meltdown than if you had just planned to take some downtime along the way.

Take it from someone who spend more than a decade battling the central Florida heat: the afternoon sun will suck the life right out of you. A midday break is just the thing to rejuvenate your spirits.

If you’re staying on-site, you can easily go back to your hotel for a midday nap or dip in the pool.  I also like to give myself at least one “day off” during my trip. I usually just spend it relaxing at the hotel or maybe checking out the animals on the Savanna at Animal Kingdom Lodge — but you might want go play a round of golf, sit on the lakeside “beach” at some resorts, or have a laidback day at Disney Springs (go shopping, have a meal, take a balloon ride , or see a movie ).

Giving some thought  now to periods of activity and periods of rest will help make sure your vacation doesn’t veer off track.

Our Top Tips for Disney World Itinerary Planning

With all of the above in mind, it’s really going to come down to a matter of personal preference.  Once you have a good handle on all of the things to do, see, eat, and experience at Disney World — what do you want to do each day?

Only you can answer that question.  But here are a few of our favorites to consider when planning your daily itinerary:

Our top picks include:

• Magic Kingdom – Seven Dwarfs Mine Train; Space Mountain
• Epcot – Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind; Frozen Ever After; Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Hollywood Studios – Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run; Rise of the Resistance; Slinky Dog Dash; Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Animal Kingdom – Pandora’s Na’vi River Journey; Avatar Flight of Passage; Expedition Everest

Some of the other most popular attractions at each of the four Walt Disney World theme parks include:

• Magic Kingdom – Haunted Mansion; Magic Carpets of Aladdin; Pirates of the Caribbean; Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
• Epcot – the pavilions of Epcot World Showcase; Mission: Space; Test Track; Spaceship Earth; Soarin’; Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• Animal Kingdom – Expedition Everest; Jungle Cruise; Kali River Rapids; Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Hollywood Studio – Fantasmic; Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster; Toy Story Midway Mania; Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Some of our favorite WDW restaurants include:

• Be Our Guest Restaurant , Magic Kingdom – This ornate French eatery with a Beauty & the Beast theme offers fixed-price dining.
• California Grill, Disney’s Contemporary Resort – Contemporary Resort’s premier restaurant is a great spot to watch the fireworks and offers breathtaking views of the park.
• Chef Mickey’s, Disney’s Contemporary Resort – Popular breakfast & dinner buffet restaurant with special visits from Mickey and friends.
• Cinderella’s Royal Table, Magic Kingdom – This Cinderella-themed eatery is set in a room that resembles a medieval castle’s banquet hall.
• Flame Tree Barbeque, Animal Kingdom – Tasty BBQ featuring a relaxing outdoor pavilion with amazing views of Animal Kingdom. And it’s quick-service, so no need for a reservation!
• Hollywood Brown Derby, Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Retro dining establishment with fantastic caricatures of old-time celebrities on the wall.
• Le Cellier, Canada Pavilion at World Showcase, Epcot – Steaks are a specialty at this top-notch table service dining establishment.
• ‘Ohana, Polynesian Village Resort – All-you-can-eat, American-style (with a Polynesian twist) buffet for breakfast and dinner.
• Teppan Edo, Japan Pavilion at World Showcase, Epcot – Guests are seated around the teppanyaki grills as skilled chefs prepare your meal in front of you.
• The Boathouse Restaurant, The Landing, Disney Springs – Upscale waterfront dining experience featuring steaks and seafood, Amphicar tours, and live music.
• Via Napoli, Italy Pavilion at World Showcase, Epcot – Amazing pizza! Need we say more?

✔️  Read our Lightning Lane Overview and Tutorial

✔️  See the scheduled Disney Park Hours

✔️  Learn about the Virtual Queue

✔️  Learn a few of our favorite Disney Tips and Tricks

✔️  Find the Best Days To Visit Magic Kingdom

✔️  See  What’s New at Disney World

✔️  Check the  Ride Closure and Refurbishment Calendar

✔️  Learn if we believe Lightning Lane passes are worth the cost

✔️  See our complete guide to the Disability Access Service

✔️  See our list of fun things to do at Disney

✔️  Traveling with little ones? Find the best attractions for kids

✔️  Want some time off your feet? Plan on attending a stage show

✔️  Find the best places to relax at Disney

11. Create Your Disney World Packing List

Depending on the duration of your Walt Disney World vacation, you will most likely pack lots of items to take with you. Let’s look at some of the things you should include in your WDW packing list.

Luggage / Backpacks for Disney World 

First and foremost, make sure your luggage/backpacks are in tip-top shape for the journey, and of adequate size to hold your travel essentials.

Many families prefer to bring a backpack with them into a Disney World park so they have everything with them. It’s handy to have the essentials (or even a snack) — just remember not to overdo it!  Everything you bring in with you has to be hauled around all day, stowed away for rides, or left in a rented locker at the front of the park.

Some people prefer to skip the backpacks all together and use a smaller pack that goes around the waist.  While not necessarily the height of fashion, they certainly do the job and are much easier to work with when it comes to boarding ride vehicles.

Disney Souvenirs

This tip might sound odd, but hear us out.

Consider purchasing some of your Disney World souvenirs before your departure.

Purchasing items beforehand – like t-shirts, trading pins and lanyards, Disney autograph books, games and toys, and Mickey Mouse Ears hats – can save you money and time spent shopping for these items at the park. Plus, you will have these Disney souvenir items ready to use as soon as your flight touches down in Orlando.

Packing List

And finally, it’s time to think about which clothing items, documents, toiletries, medications, electronics, swimwear, baby items, food and snacks, and other accessories you will need to pack.

From our experience, you will arrive at Disney World – thinking you have packed everything you will need for your trip – only to discover that you left an important item or two at home.

For your convenience, we have created a suggested Disney World Packing List  to ensure that nothing is overlooked during the packing process.

Print this list and check items off as you pack. We have also included a few recommended items on our Packing List.

These include links to inexpensive ponchos, comfortable shoes, external batteries, USB wall chargers, and Disney beach towels, as well as water bottles and Frogg Toggs Chilly Pads for those warm days at Disney World.

✔️  Download our suggested Packing List

✔️  See our suggestions for the Best Backpacks for Disney World

✔️  Review the Best Disney World Fanny Packs

✔️  Scope out the Best Souvenirs in advance of your trip

Final Thoughts on How To Plan a Disney World Vacation

We hope our Ultimate Guide to Walt Disney World Vacation Planning will get you on the right path to planning, prioritizing, and booking your magical vacation to Disney World.  It’s a lot of information, but with enough research and planning, you’ll have a magical trip!

We should point out that this guide is mostly geared towards Walt Disney World in Florida, but many of the basic ideas still apply to other Disney vacations .  If you’re headed to Disneyland in California, you’ll also want to check out our Disneyland vs Disney World ,   Disneyland Resort Map , and  Disneyland Crowd Calendar pages.  We also offer extensive resources for those planning trips with Disney Cruise Line (including a complete guide to planning your first Disney Cruise ), as well as resources on Adventures by Disney .

Contact a Disney Travel Planner to Book Your Disney World Trip

As you’ve seen in this article, there is a LOT that goes into planning a Disney vacation.  Why not call in a professional to help?

The Authorized Disney Vacation Planners at The Vacationeer can plan your trip for you and take care of all of your reservations, all at no additional charge.  You won’t pay a penny more than if you’d have booked it yourself — and you might even pay less !

Their team of 90+ Disney fanatics know all the tips and tricks for hotels, dining, park tickets, and more… and can even apply new discounts to your trip as they’re announced, after your trip is booked!

There’s never any obligation to book and their services are free, so there’s nothing to lose by contacting them for a quote.

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My Disney Experience — The Online Planning Tool for Your Walt Disney World Vacation

UPDATED August 5, 2024

My Disney Experience is an online vacation planning tool for Walt Disney World Resort guests. My Disney Experience made its debut in early 2013, offering guests the opportunity to plan and experience their Walt Disney World vacation in an entirely new way!

My Disney Experience

From the very start of your vacation planning to the final day of your trip, My Disney Experience offers several features to help you make the most of your Walt Disney World vacation .

My Disney Experience app

Here we are exploring everything My Disney Experience has to offer, beginning with how you can set up your own free My Disney Experience account . BUT FIRST… 

If you would like to jump to a specific topic, simply click any of the links below :

• My Disney Experience — Getting Started and Registering for an Account

Reserve Dining

View your plans, online check-in.

• Digital Room Key
• Virtual Chat with Guest Services

Bus Transportation Schedule

Disney world lightning lanes, navigating the theme parks, guest services.

• Virtual Assistant
• Joining Virtual Queues for In-Demand Rides

Cast Member Compliments

• Setting Up a MagicBand+  
• Using Disney MagicMobile

Disney PhotoPass Service

• Special Event Information
• Parking Lot Car Locator
• Mobile Order — Quick Service Restaurants
• Mobile Order — Table Service To-Go

Mobile Dine Check-In

Check walk-up dining availability, track disney dining plan credits, disney magicmobile service, mobile checkout at merchandise locations.

• Need Assistance?

My Disney Experience — Getting Started

Register for an account.

All you need to get started with My Disney Experience is a Disney account , which you can register for on the Walt Disney World website .

My Disney Experience sign up

It’s also highly recommended that you install the corresponding My Disney Experience app on your smart device (free for iOS and Android), which will offer you additional features that will be especially helpful during your trip.

From here you can:

1. Set up your Profile with the requested information.

2. Create and CONNECT your Family & Friends list so you can make and share plans with your traveling group. Essentially, linking  ensures that your entire group has access to the same dining reservations , Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass selections , and more. (You can search for someone by their name, phone number, and email address — as long as they have chosen to make themselves searchable. Just click “Allow” when asked if you’d like to allow others to find you.)

3. Link your Reservations and Park Tickets . (Note that if tickets are included in your Vacation Package, you do not need to link them separately.)

My Disney Experience screenshot

4. Make and manage your plans !

And, if you enjoy vacation planning as much as we do, THIS is where the real fun starts…

My Disney Experience — Before Your Trip

You can also use My Disney Experience to make and modify dining reservations for participating Table Service restaurants throughout Walt Disney World prior to your trip.

My Disney Experience Screenshot ©Disney

On My Disney Experience, the process starts by selecting Check Dining Availability . The window to make Advance Dining Reservations opens up 60-days ahead of when you wish to dine, and you can learn more about the process by clicking here .

You can view any plans you’ve made in advance of your trip under “Future Plans” online or in the app.

My Disney Experience — Select “Future Plans” to see everything you have booked! ©Disney

These include any Advance Dining Reservations , booked Tours or experiences , and the like!

View Advance Dining Reservations in My Disney Experience ©Disney

Click HERE to see everything you can do on My Disney Experience BEFORE your trip!

Countdown clock.

And, just for fun… A vacation countdown clock is accessible to all Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort guests  with a  hotel reservation . To find it, first  navigate to the home screen  of your My Disney Experience app.

When you click on your reservation , the clock should appear at the top of your screen!

My Disney Experience — At Your Resort Hotel

Once you arrive in Walt Disney World , you can utilize My Disney Experience in many additional ways.

If you’re staying in a Walt Disney World Resort hotel , you can use My Disney Experience to check in to your Disney Resort up to 60 days ahead of your trip and bypass the front desk upon arrival with the Online Check-In feature.

Mobile Check-In

You will be notified via text when your room is ready! And once it is, you can use the next feature.

Digital Key

The Digital Key feature allows guests to unlock their Resort room with their smart device ! By enabling Bluetooth, you can view your Disney Resort hotel reservation in My Disney Experience, and can select “Unlock Door.”

Upon giving the appropriate permissions, simply hold your mobile device against the door lock to enter.

Note that you may also opt to use your MagicBand or MagicBand+ to unlock your room.

Virtual Chat

As a resort guest, you should see a new option pop up on the menu screen of your My Disney Experience app once you are at your Resort.

Virtual Chat New Message

Just click on the button that says “ Chat with Us” if you have a question, concern, or request and you’ll be able to chat with a cast member.

If you’re relying on Disney transportation , My Disney Experience allows Resort guests to see real-time estimates for when the next buses will depart from their Disney hotel , as well as when they will arrive at their destination!

Disney World Bus at Contemporary Resort

The estimates include bus times for all four theme parks, both Disney water parks, and Disney Springs. The “See Bus Times” feature will become available for viewing on your device when you are staying at a Disney World Resort hotel under an active reservation.

Guests may always opt for the automatic check out, which takes place on the scheduled check-out date at 11AM. However, guests may now opt to use a check out service through the My Disney Experience app instead. Through this mobile check out service, you’ll be able to check out through the app after you’ve left your room.

To use this feature, you’ll need to have a credit card on file or have a zero-dollar balance. You can first ensure that you meet those criteria by opening the My Disney Experience app, going to your reservation details, and selecting “view charges.”

Once you’ve done that, and you’ve confirmed that you qualify for this feature, you can view and approve the charges. Then you’ll  hit “check out now” in the “Mobile Resort Checkout module” to start the checkout process.

My Disney Experience — In the Theme Parks and Around the Resort

The My Disney Experience app offers LOTS of additional features to help you make the most of your visit to any of the four Walt Disney World theme parks: EPCOT , Magic Kingdom , Animal Kingdom , and Hollywood Studios .

Lightning Lane services are available to purchase within the My Disney Experience app . There are two different Lightning Lane systems guests may opt to utilize.

Attraction Sign at Animal Kingdom directing Guests to Standby Line and Lightning Lane Entrances

Lightning Lane Multi Pass  is an optional paid service  which allows you to  bypass standby lines and enter the Lightning Lane  (previously known as the FastPass line) at select attractions in the parks by  paying a base price for multiple attractions. 

And another paid option is available for  DIFFERENT —  and  more in-demand — attractions .   The Lightning Lane Single Pass  service  (pay-per-ride)  is how guests can pay a fee to utilize the  Lightning Lane for Disney World’s most popular attractions.

There is a LOT to learn about Lightning Lanes, so you can find ALL the info you need HERE .

CLICK HERE to learn everything you NEED to know about Disney World Lightning Lanes!

You can navigate your way around the park with the park maps in My Disney Experience and can also use the app to find locations such as Guest Services, restrooms, phone charging stations, restaurants, merchandise locations, and even PhotoPass photo spots (including Character Greeting locations that have a PhotoPass photographer present ).

In-Park Features on My Disney Experience

And to help make the most of your time , you can view park hours, attraction Wait Times, entertainment options and show times, attraction refurbishment schedules, and more . You can even find information and wait times for Character Meet and Greets .

Magic Kingdom Character Appearances and Greets in My Disney Experience ©Disney

Say you’d like to meet Jack Sparrow, for instance… when you see him appear on the list, simply click to find the times he’ll be making appearances!

Character Appearance Times in My Disney Experience app ©Disney

You can even view menus for individual restaurants and snack kiosks to help you choose where you might like to dine!

When you filter to Guest Services under “Select Categories” in the expansion menu, you may be surprised by the wealth of information you can access right at your fingertips!

Guest Servies features include — but are not limited to — the following: 

• Car Care Center and Car Rentals
• Coin Press Machines
• Designated Smoking areas
• Information for Service Animals
• Services for Guests with Disabilities
• Lost and Found Locations
• Mobile Charging Stations
• Stroller, ECV, and Wheelchair Rentals
• Disney Transportation options
• Picture Spots
• … and MORE!

And as part of Disney’s partnership with AdventHealth , there is a section on the app called Guest Care Health Services . You can find it by typing “Advent” in the app’s Search Tool as seen below.

Should guests find themselves in need of non-emergency medical assistance during their trip and are not sure where to turn, this is a great place to start ! Below are just a few examples of what kind of services you can get quick answers to:

©AdventHealth

You can see the range of virtual care services here !

Chatting with a Virtual Assistant

What are today’s park hours? How do you  rent a wheelchair ? What are the details about other rentals in Disney World? You’ve got questions, Disney has answers. But sometimes  getting on the phone with Disney or chatting with a Cast Member through the My Disney Experience app can take a LONG time. So…what do you do?

Disney World offers a “virtual assistant” feature within the Disney app chat function (under “Chat With Us”).

Virtual Assistant screenshot

While the virtual assistant function can’t answer all of your questions, it can be helpful to get some basic (and sometimes critical) information sooner than a Cast Member may be available via chat . So, the next time you have a basic question, head to the chat and see if the virtual assistant can help. If not, you can tap the “Get a Cast Member” to speak with someone,  call Disney directly , or speak with Cast Members in the parks.

Click HERE to learn to navigate the Virtual Assistant feature!

Joining virtual queues for attractions.

Disney parks often utilize a Virtual Queue as a line management tool for new attractions during their opening months. A Virtual Queue, for instance, is in place for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind , which opened in EPCOT on May 27, 2022. (A Standby line is NOT currently available for this attraction.)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

The key to joining the virtual queue lies in your My Disney Experience app.

Virtual Queue Prompt on My Disney Experience Home Screen

You can learn about the entire process for joining the virtual queue here .

Click HERE to learn the ins-and-outs of joining a Virtual Queue!

Get directions.

Wondering how to get from here to there around Disney World ? You can find directions on the My Disney Experience App . Just search for your destination (using the search feature, which is the little magnifying glass at the bottom of the screen) and click “Get Directions.”

Enter your starting point, and directions will pop up!

You will be notified of all the ways you can utilize free Disney World Transportation to get to your desired destination.

Has a Disney World Cast Member helped you or added some extra magic to your vacation? You’ll find a section on the My Disney Experience app for   sharing Cast Member appreciation .

To leave a mobile Cast Compliment ,  open the app and search “Cast Compliment.”  From there, you can enter the reason for your compliment, the location, name, hometown, and date of your interaction so that they can be recognized for their amazing work!

By the way, the names and hometowns (or college) of Cast Members can be seen on the Cast Member nametags .

Cast Member Name Tags

But if you didn’t happen to see the Cast Member’s name, you can still leave a compliment by describing the location where they assisted you and created a little extra magic!

Setting Up a MagicBand+

MagicBands  are the wearable technology  (a band worn on the wrist containing a Radio-Frequency Identification or  RFID chip )  that connects — or “unlocks” — all the experiences booked through  My Disney Experience  once guests arrive at Walt Disney World.

Orange Bird MagicBand

MagicBand+ is a NEW type of INTERACTIVE MagicBand . Guests who purchase a MagicBand+ will use the My Disney Experience app to set up their new MagicBand+. Follow the instructions on the app to (1) link your MagicBand+ to your Disney account, (2) assign it to a guest, and (3) pair it to your phone .

The My Disney Experience App also informs if your band is charged and if the software is up to date.

Click HERE for a Step-By-Step Guide for setting up a MagicBand+ with My Disney Experience!

If you prefer not to purchase a MagicBand, no worries! Disney MagicMobile (available through the My Disney Experience app) allows guests to access those same features of a MagicBand directly from their smart device. 

MagicMobile ©Disney

You can  enter theme parks (with your  valid admission ),  connect PhotoPass photos , and  access Virtual Queues for in-demand attractions   with your pass. And you can even  charge to your Disney hotel  with MagicMobile, just like you would with a MagicBand!

Your  MagicMobile pass  can be created and managed through your  My Disney Experience app , and you can find the complete steps HERE .

Click HERE to learn how to set up and use Disney MagicMobile!

Disney Photopass photographers are available throughout the Resort to take pictures of your traveling group together! They are situated at spots including iconic locations in the park (such as Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle and Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life), select restaurants, and Character Greeting locations.

Pluto and a PhotoPass Photographer

Select attractions like Haunted Mansion, DINOSAUR, and more even offer on-ride attraction photos.

Haunted Mansion On-ride Photo ©Disney

Photographers will scan your MagicBand or theme park ticket before or after taking your picture, and your photos will automatically be linked to your My Disney Experience account where you can view and purchase images for individual download.

Disney PhotoPass on My Disney Experience

Disney also offers Memory Maker , which allows unlimited downloads of all of your PhotoPass pictures and videos for one price — either $199.00, or $169.00 for advance purchase.

Video Memories

Guests can now create videos using PhotoPass photos and more to revisit their magical vacation at home with the Video Memories feature! In order to create yours, open the My Disney Experience app (to the home page) and scroll down until you see Video Memories.

First, you select a Disney Template to create a theme for your video memory. Second, you can choose either Quick Video Memory or Advanced. With Quick Video Memory, you will select your photos and videos and Disney will combine them for you. If you choose Advanced, you can select and edit the photos and videos yourself(they needn’t be official Disney PhotoPass images — you can choose your own from your camera roll) and add music, text, and more! Finally, you can preview and download the video memory to share.

Check out Video Memories HERE!

Special events.

Disney is greatly expanding the offerings available on My Disney Experience, and it is not unusual to see new items pop up on the home screen of the app , specifically regarding current Special Events in the parks. For example, guests visiting Walt Disney World during the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival have access to a digital Festival Guide in the app.

EPCOT Food and Wine Festival Guide in My Disney Experience

And that’s just one example! Remember, additional features may be available depending on the time of year of your visit , so be sure to check.

Transportation Options and Car Locator

Disney has introduced a “Transportation” portion in the My Disney Experience app.  To get to it, hit the 3 horizontal lines on the bottom right of the app and scroll near the bottom. You’ll find it under the MagicBands and More section.

Once you tap on that icon, you’ll get to look at information about the Disney Skyliner , Minnie Vans , parking, Disney buses, and more. Each tab displays more information about the different transportation options, pricing details, and more, which could all be helpful as you navigate around the Most Magical Place on Earth.

If you drive to Disney World, you are gonna LOVE this new feature: the Car Locator presented by State Farm !

The feature is presented by  State Farm and uses location technology to find and save your parking details. It is available at  all four Walt Disney World theme parks, Disney Springs,  the  Disney World water parks,  and the  ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex .

Magic Kingdom parking lot signs

Simply open the My Disney Experience app and tap the  car locator card on the home screen (or you can use the feature menu with this symbol “☰” for access). In order for the feature to work best, you will need to enable location services, bluetooth, and  notifications  on your phone.

Then, just follow the prompts and enter your parking info .

(If you choose to enable location permissions on your device, the car locator feature will help fill in the details for you .) Ready to leave? Return to the car locator function to see your parking info again!

My Disney Experience — Dining Features

Mobile order — counter service.

Mobile Order is a feature available within the My Disney Experience app which allows guests to pre-order and pre-pay for their food at participating Counter Service restaurants around Disney World.

Mobile Order sign at Woody’s Lunch Box in Hollywood Studios

Upon arrival to the restaurant, guests using Mobile Order can bypass the ordering queue and go straight to a designated Pick Up Counter or Waiting Area to get their food.

See a step-by-step guide to using Mobile Order for Counter Service restaurants here!

Mobile order table service to go.

Mobile Order Table Service To Go functions similarly to the Mobile Order Counter Service feature mentioned above; however, select Table Service restaurants at Disney World Resort hotels offer a Mobile Order “To Go” service, too!

Table Service To Go Screenshot

While the ordering process is quite similar, there are a few differences to keep in mind. (For instance, at Counter Service locations, you dine in the restaurant after getting your meal, whereas the Table Service option is for meals taken To Go to eat elsewhere in the hotel.) You can find out more about this feature here .

Check out Mobile Order Table Service To Go by clicking here!

A large number of Table Service locations offer Mobile Dine Check-In , which allows guests to check in for their Advance Dining Reservation and bypass the check-in host counter using the My Disney Experience app.

Mobile Dine Check In

You can see the full list of participating restaurants — and also see how the process works — by visiting our Guide to Mobile Dine Check-In here .

Find out more about Mobile Dine Check-In here!

If you are hoping to dine at a Table Service restaurant, but do not have an Advance Dining Reservation, select restaurants offer the Mobile Dine Walk-up Waitlist feature.

My Disney Experience Screenshot — Select “Now” for Walk-up Availability ©Disney

If you’d like to learn more about how you can see if a restaurant that you’re interested in has available seating to accept walk-up guests, you can learn more here !

My Disney Experience Screenshot — Walk-up Waitlist Example ©Disney

Learn about the Mobile Dine Walk-up Waitlist here!

Guests participating on the Disney Dining Plan may use the My Disney Experience app to track the balance for their remaining Table Service, Quick Service, and Snack credits.

To access this feature, guests may click on their Disney Resort hotel reservation under “Resort Hotel” in the app.. Here you will see “Check Dining Plan” to discover your credit usage and how many you have remaining!

©Disney — My Disney Experience app

For example, you can see that this guest has redeemed 1 snack credit of 2 issued , and therefore has 1 snack credit left to use . Ditto goes for Table Service meals!

Not familiar with the Disney Dining Plan? Click HERE!

Disney magicmobile.

Guests are now able to access MagicBand features   on their phone with the new   Disney MagicMobile  service!

A  MagicMobile pass can be created and managed through the My Disney Experience app .

MagicBand and Mobile reader in Walt Disney World

Check out all of the features of Disney MagicMobile AND find a step-by-step guide to setting up the MagicMobile Service here !

Click here to learn more about Disney MagicMobile!

Mobile Checkout is a time-saving feature available at select major merchandise shops throughout Disney World .

Mobile Checkout

This option allows guests t o grab a designated shopping bag, scan their chosen merchandise items, and even pay for their items, contact-free .

This feature is available at the following retail locations around the Resort:

• Emporium in Magic Kingdom
• Critter Co-op in Magic Kingdom
• Creations Shop in EPCOT
• Treasures of Xandar in EPCOT
• Mickey’s of Hollywood in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Discovery Trading Company in Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Island Mercantile in Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• World of Disney in Disney Springs
• Super Hero Headquarters at Disney Springs

Learn how to use Mobile Checkout here!

Features for disney world annual passholders.

Disney World Annual Passholders have access to special features on the My Disney Experience app. The Passholder Buzz section ensures that Passholders can easily learn about any Disney World Passholder discounts and limited-time happenings such as the popular Annual Passholder Magnet releases !

Additionally, on “Good-to-Go” days , Annual Passholders do NOT need a  Park Pass Reservation to go into the Disney World theme parks. My Disney Experience makes it easier for Passholders to find and remember when those days are scheduled!

You’ll find that message on “Good-to-Go” days on the  home screen of the app  if you just scroll down a little bit from the top. It’s great to have this reminder so that Passholders know when they do and don’t need a Park Pass .

Need Some Help?

If you encounter problems with My Disney Experience, Disney has a dedicated phone line where you can find help: (407) 939-4357.

Want to see My Disney Experience in action ? You can check out our DFB YouTube Video to find out even more about My Disney Experience!

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Disney World Itinerary: The Perfect Plan for Your Family Trip

By: Author David Reeve

Posted on July 1, 2023

Imagine the perfect Disney World itinerary for your family vacation at Walt Disney World, where every day offers a new adventure and unforgettable memories.

What if I told you that it’s possible to experience the best of Disney World in just 5 days?

Well, I’m an Orlando local with a lot of Disney World experience under my belt. And I’m here to help you out.

My meticulously crafted itinerary will guide you through the magic of all four Disney World parks, plus a relaxing day at a water park, ensuring that you and your family make the most of every enchanting moment.

Ready to embark on the ultimate Disney World adventure?

Let’s dive in!

Short Summary

• Embark on a magical Disney World adventure with thrilling attractions, character meet-and-greets and unforgettable memories!
• Explore Future World, the African Safari at Animal Kingdom and classic Hollywood Studios attractions for an incredible experience.
• Relaxation spots, delicious dining options & transportation tips help make your family’s vacation perfect!

[elementor-template id=”8727″]

Day 1: Magic Kingdom Adventure

There’s no better place to start your Disney World adventure than at the iconic Magic Kingdom. Filled with classic Disney attractions, mouth-watering snacks, and loads of character meet-and-greets, Magic Kingdom offers a magical experience for all ages.

Begin your day with a visit to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, one of the most popular attractions in the park. As the day unfolds, make sure to check the wait times in the My Disney Experience app and take advantage of Disney Genie+ for the optimal experience.

Morning Attractions

As you step through the entrance gate of Magic Kingdom, the excitement begins! Head straight to Discovery Island and marvel at the park’s iconic Tree of Life. With the morning sun shining bright, take a spin on Tomorrowland classics like the PeopleMover and Astro Orbiter.

When you’re ready for a break from the heat, explore the incredible indoor shows at Magic Kingdom, such as Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Hall of Presidents, Country Bear Jamboree, and Carousel of Progress.

Remember, planning is key to making the most of your time at Magic Kingdom, so use Genie+ to buy Lightning Lanes and maximize your morning fun.

Afternoon Thrills

As the afternoon unfolds, don’t miss out on Magic Kingdom’s thrilling attractions like Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Experience the spine-tingling adventures of Haunted Mansion, soar away to Neverland on Peter Pan’s Flight, take a flight on Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and take a thrilling mine car ride on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Remember to stay cool and hydrated, and don’t forget to capture those magical moments with your favorite Disney pals.

Evening Entertainment

As the sun sets on your first day at Magic Kingdom, prepare to be dazzled by the evening entertainment. Character meet-and-greets, the spectacular Festival of Fantasy parade, the awe-inspiring Happily Ever After fireworks, and the magical Cinderella’s Royal Table are all waiting to enchant you.

Indulge in savory spring rolls, regular and specialty Dole whips, and corn dog nuggets with plastic cheese as you explore the park at night. The magic of Disney World comes alive at night, so be sure to soak in every unforgettable moment.

Day 2: Exploring Epcot

On Day 2, it’s time to journey into the realms of imagination and innovation at Epcot. With Future World’s exhilarating attractions and the World Showcase’s cultural experiences, Epcot offers a unique blend of entertainment and education for visitors of all ages.

From the breathtaking Soarin’ to the exhilarating Test Track, you’ll discover a world of excitement at every turn.

Future World Adventures

Epcot’s Future World is home to some of Disney World’s most thrilling attractions. Experience the adrenaline rush of Soarin’ Around the World, the high-speed action of Test Track, and the captivating journey of Spaceship Earth.

For the more daring, take on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – a thrilling backwards launch with 360-degree vehicle turns and a unique soundtrack that’s random every time you ride.

Be sure to make the most of your time in Future World by utilizing Genie+ to access Lightning Lanes for popular attractions.

World Showcase Exploration

The World Showcase at Epcot invites you to embark on a fascinating exploration of 11 pavilions representing different countries around the world. Be sure to experience Frozen Ever After in the Norway Pavilion, a thrilling family boat ride featuring your favorite characters from Frozen.

As you wander from pavilion to pavilion, take time to uncover the unique side exhibits and galleries that act as a mini self-guided tour through each country’s history and current culture. Don’t forget to indulge in a variety of delectable dining options, including the Rose & Crown Pub in the United Kingdom, La Crêperie de Paris in France, and Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar in Italy.

Nighttime Spectacular

Finish your day at Epcot with the mesmerizing nighttime show, Harmonious. This awe-inspiring performance combines global influences, incredible special effects, and breathtaking fireworks to create a truly unforgettable experience.

For the best views, head to the front of the World Showcase, between the Mexico and Canada Pavilions. As the night sky lights up with dazzling colors and classic Disney songs, you’ll be reminded of the magic that only Disney World can create.

Day 3: Animal Kingdom Safari

Day 3 takes you on an African safari adventure at Animal Kingdom, where you’ll encounter exotic animals, lush landscapes, and thrilling attractions. Start your day with a visit to Pandora – The World of Avatar, and then head to Kilimanjaro Safaris for an up-close encounter with the wildlife of the African savanna.

Experience the sights and sounds of the African savanna, and get a chance to see some of the most iconic animals in the world, including giraffes, elephants, zebras, and more. Enjoy the thrill of the thrill.

Pandora – The World of Avatar

Step into the breathtaking world of Pandora – The World of Avatar, where you’ll find two awe-inspiring attractions: the tranquil Na’vi River Journey and the exhilarating Flight of Passage. Be sure to take advantage of the a la carte selections for a Lightning Lane for Flight of Passage, as they’re not available with the regular Genie+ choices.

As you explore the bioluminescent landscape, you’ll feel as if you’ve been transported to another world.

African Safari

Next, embark on an unforgettable African Safari at Kilimanjaro Safaris. This 20-minute adventure takes you across an expansive savanna, where you’ll encounter a variety of incredible animals. The best time to experience Kilimanjaro Safaris is during a light rain, when many animals are most active.

After your safari, explore the walking trails such as the Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail to see even more amazing animals up close.

Asia and Dinoland U.S.A.

Continue your adventure in Asia, where you’ll find thrilling rides like Expedition Everest and Kali River Rapids. Be prepared to get soaked on the exhilarating Kali River Rapids, or take on the heart-pounding Expedition Everest roller coaster for a different kind of thrill.

In Dinoland U.S.A., step back in time to experience the prehistoric world on the exciting Dinosaur ride. Animal Kingdom offers a unique blend of excitement and exploration that you won’t find in any other Disney park.

Day 4: Hollywood Studios Action

On Day 4, it’s time for some Hollywood Studios action. This action-packed park is home to Toy Story Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and classic attractions like the Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

Get ready for a day filled with excitement, adventure, and a touch of Hollywood magic.

Toy Story Land

Venture into the world of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and all your favorite Toy Story characters at Toy Story Land. Here, you’ll find two exciting rides: Toy Story Mania and the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster. Be sure to arrive early and head straight for Slinky Dog Dash, as wait times can get quite intense.

Toy Story Land is a fantastic place for both kids and kids-at-heart, with larger-than-life decorations and plenty of photo opportunities.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Next, step into a galaxy far, far away at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Here, you can pilot the Millennium Falcon on Smugglers Run, join the Resistance on the thrilling Rise of the Resistance ride, and immerse yourself in the intergalactic world of Star Wars.

Be sure to plan ahead and aim for the best ride-throughs, as this immersive land is incredibly popular.

Classic Attractions

Don’t forget to experience the classic attractions that make Hollywood Studios a must-visit park. Plunge into the Twilight Zone on the Tower of Terror, race through the streets of Los Angeles on the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and journey to a galaxy far, far away on Star Tours.

With so much action and adventure, Hollywood Studios is sure to leave you starstruck.

Day 5: Water Park Fun

After four action-packed days, it’s time to unwind and enjoy a day of relaxation at one of Disney World’s water parks. With thrilling attractions, serene relaxation spots, and delicious dining options, a day at a water park is the perfect way to recharge before continuing your Disney World adventure.

Attractions and Slides

Whether you’re visiting Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach, you’ll find a variety of attractions and slides that cater to all ages and thrill levels. From family-style raft rides to adrenaline-pumping waterslides and wave pools, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Remember to follow safety guidelines and keep an eye on little ones, as water park attractions can sometimes be intense.

Relaxation Spots

When you’re ready for some downtime, Disney’s water parks offer a range of relaxation spots, such as hot tubs and spas. Find a comfortable lounge chair on a sandy beach or float along a lazy river, soaking in the sun and the soothing sounds of the water.

These serene spots provide the perfect opportunity to recharge and reflect on your Disney World adventure so far.

Dining Options

A day at a water park wouldn’t be complete without some delicious dining options. Both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach offer a range of quick-service restaurants, snack stands, and even full-service dining options.

From classic theme park fare like burgers and hot dogs to more unique options like tropical-inspired dishes, there’s something to satisfy every craving.

Transportation Tips

Navigating the vast expanse of Disney World can be a little overwhelming, but with the right transportation tips, you’ll be able to move between parks and resorts with ease. From buses and monorails to boats and the Skyliner gondola ride, Disney World offers a variety of transportation options to help you make the most of your vacation.

Whether you’re looking for a quick way to get from one park to another or a leisurely ride to your resort, there’s a transportation option that’s perfect for you. With a little planning, you can make the most of your time in Disney World.

The Disney bus service is a convenient and efficient way to travel between the parks, Disney Resort hotels , and the Disney Springs area. Buses run approximately every 20 minutes, ensuring that you’ll never have to wait too long to get to your destination.

Be sure to allow for some extra travel time, especially during peak hours, and remember to check the bus schedules in the Disney Experience app for the most up-to-date information.

The monorail system is another fantastic transportation option at Disney World, providing a unique and scenic way to travel between the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and select Disney Resort hotels. With three different routes to choose from, the monorail offers a convenient and enjoyable way to explore the resort.

Be sure to take advantage of this iconic mode of transportation during your Disney World vacation.

Boats and Skyliner

For a more leisurely journey, consider taking a boat ride between select Disney parks and resorts. The water taxis offer a relaxing and scenic way to travel, providing a unique perspective on the resort’s beautiful landscapes.

In addition, the Skyliner gondola ride offers a thrilling bird’s-eye view of the resort as you soar between Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and several Disney Resort hotels. No matter which mode of transportation you choose, you’re sure to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

Accommodations and Dining

With so many exciting experiences to be had at Disney World, it’s important to choose the right accommodations and dining options for your family. From luxurious Disney Resort hotels to memorable character dining experiences , there’s something to suit every budget and preference .

Choosing a Resort

When planning your Disney World vacation , consider the three tiers of resorts available: Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. Each tier offers a range of accommodations , from standard rooms and suites to extravagant villas and cozy cabins.

Choosing a Disney Resort hotel allows you to take advantage of the many exciting amenities and services offered, such as convenient transportation, delicious dining, and thrilling entertainment.

Character Dining

For a truly unforgettable dining experience, consider booking a character dining experience at one of Disney World’s many restaurants. Character dining allows you to come face-to-face with some of your beloved Disney characters while savoring a delectable meal. Options include Chef Mickey’s, Tusker House, Hollywood and Vine, and the Garden Grill, to name just a few.

Be sure to book dining reservations well in advance, as character dining experiences are extremely popular and can fill up quickly.

Quick Service and Snack Options

In addition to table service restaurants and character dining, Disney World offers a wide range of quick service and snack options to satisfy your cravings throughout the day. From classic theme park fare like burgers and hot dogs to more unique options like cultural cuisine and specialty treats, there’s something to satisfy every palate.

Be sure to try some of the must-have snacks at Disney World, such as Dole Whip, Mickey-shaped pretzels, and churros.

Additional Experiences

Beyond the four main theme parks and water parks, Disney World offers even more exciting experiences for you to discover. From the vibrant shopping, dining, and entertainment complex of Disney Springs to special events and festivals throughout the year, there’s always something new and exciting to explore at Disney World.

Disney Springs

Disney Springs is a must-visit destination during your Disney World vacation. This bustling shopping, dining, and entertainment area offers a unique experience away from the parks, with no admission fee required. Browse an array of shops, enjoy a delicious meal at one of the many restaurants, or catch a live performance at one of the entertainment venues.

Don’t forget to stop by World of Disney, the largest Disney merchandise store in the world, for the perfect souvenir to remember your trip.

Special Events and Festivals

Throughout the year, Disney World hosts a variety of special events and festivals that offer unique experiences for guests. From the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival to the Food and Wine Classic, there’s always something new and exciting happening at Disney World.

Be sure to check the event calendars when planning your trip to see what special events might be taking place during your visit.

Disney World Itinerary for [currentyear]: My Parting Words

My Disney World itinerary has taken you on a magical journey through the four theme parks, a relaxing day at a water park, and a variety of additional experiences at Disney Springs and special events. By following this carefully crafted plan, you’ll be able to make the most of your time at Disney World, ensuring that you and your family create memories that will last a lifetime.

So, what are you waiting for? Start planning your perfect Disney World vacation today and get ready to experience the magic, adventure, and unforgettable moments that only Disney World can offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 7 days at disney world too much.

Disney World is the ultimate vacation destination, so going for 7 days will ensure you don’t miss out on any of its exciting activities. You’ll get enough time to explore all the rides and attractions and make magical memories that will last a lifetime.

Spending 7 days at Disney World will certainly be an unforgettable experience!

Is 10 days at Disney World too much?

It really depends on what you want to do at Disney World. Ten days is plenty of time to experience the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios, but if you want to truly immerse yourself in all that Disney has to offer, it may not be enough.

Enjoy your time and create magical moments!

How to do all 4 Disney parks in one day?

Experience all four Disney parks in one day by making a park reservation and utilizing the 2:00 pm park hopping time. Take full advantage of your ‘home’ park before you move on to exploring the other three.

With careful planning, you can conquer all of them in a single day!

My Disney Experience 4+

Walt disney world.

• #34 in Travel
• 4.6 • 2.5M Ratings
• Offers In-App Purchases

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Description.

The official Walt Disney World® app! Now it’s easier than ever to plan & share your vacation details—at home & on the go. -Maximize your park time by taking advantage of our new Disney Genie service, which generates a personalized itinerary that guides you through our theme parks with tips that can help you reduce time in lines & take the guesswork out of “what’s next.” -Quickly access real-time wait times, park hours, Character Greetings, showtimes & more. -Use the interactive, GPS-enabled map to explore the Resort & easily see the dining options, attractions & more nearest to you. -Find your way around with step-by-step directions. -Browse restaurant menus, make dining reservations, modify existing ones & even mobile order meals from select locations. -Download, edit & share your Disney PhotoPass® photos & videos throughout your vacation once you’ve purchased Memory Maker. -Search & filter activities to find exactly what you’re looking for. -Keep select Disney Resort hotel reservations, dining plans & activities organized—all in one spot with My Day & Plans. -Save time by starting your Disney Resort hotel check-in process right from the app. -Link a MagicBand+ to your Disney account on the app & unlock enchanting touches of magic. -Save your parking information at select parking locations with car locator. -Manage your Disney Resort reservations, tickets, MagicBands & cards & share plans with others. -Discover official content for Walt Disney World Resort, including our 4 theme parks (Magic Kingdom® park, Epcot®, Disney’s Hollywood Studios® & Disney’s Animal Kingdom® park), 2 water parks (Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon & Disney’s Blizzard Beach water parks), Disney Springs®, select Walt Disney World Resort hotels & ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Have questions, problems, comments or suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. Connecting to the Internet in the parks: Without a strong Internet signal, wait times, park hours & schedules may not update accurately. You can see if your device is connected properly by checking under Settings. Note: Some features in this app will require your full name, country, birthdate & email address, as well as access to your location data. If Bluetooth is enabled on your device, this app will also collect your precise location information through beacon technology in order to improve your in-park experience, such as wait times. To facilitate the sign-in process, the app will also require access to your email address, stored within Account Manager. This app may request access to your camera to capture media & scan barcodes. Some Disney PhotoPass Lenses may use information on your device to detect face & hand coordinates. The app may request access to your external storage to cache certain data for offline browsing. Optional planning tools may also ask you to provide details about your travel party. Some features in this app include the ability to make purchases & will require a Wi-Fi or mobile carrier data connection. Message, data and roaming rates may apply. Availability subject to handset limitations and features may vary by handset or service provider. Coverage and app stores not available everywhere. Guests must be 18 years or older to make purchases. Before downloading, please consider that this app contains in-app purchases that cost real money. The app provides you with the option to receive push notifications for information relating to your visit to a Park or a Disney Resort hotel. Terms of Use: http://disneytermsofuse.com Privacy Policy: https://disneyprivacycenter.com Your US State Privacy Rights: https://privacy.thewaltdisneycompany.com/en/current-privacy-policy/your-us-state-privacy-rights/ Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information: https://privacy.twdc.com/dnssmpi Important Info About Disney PhotoPass Lenses: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/photopass-terms-conditions/#important-notice-about-attribute-lenses

Version 8.0.1

Starting July 24, 2024, Lightning Lane Multi Pass will replace Disney Genie+ service and Lightning Lane Single Pass will replace individual Lightning Lane entry—and add some exciting new benefits. You can purchase these Lightning Lane passes—and start choosing arrival times for experiences—days in advance (subject to availability). We also fixed bugs and improved overall app performance.

Ratings and Reviews

2.5M Ratings

Confusing for a large planning party

We are a large family of 10 with multiple households. It was unclear about linking tickets. We are managing through the bumps and bruises but it has been somewhat difficult. As the vacation planner setting everything up, I didn’t realize until it was too late that children should be set up by their parent. Once all the tickets were entered and I began sharing family & friends we realized I couldn’t share their info with their parent. We also lost a member from the list when invites were accepted from the same email, that person received 2 tickets under their name in their account. Once we got that figured out, we realized he had also been deleted from our park reservations. I could no longer add him back to correct it since the ticket was now linked to another account. It looks like she can reassign the ticket to the proper account/ticket owner. It also appears that you must share with each person individually or you don’t all see the entire party that was originally set up (a security feature?). As we sent invites between us we began to see the list of family & friends grow. All in all, it’s not as seamless and easy as it seems if you are a large group. We still have to call for help with corrections for fear of deactivating or ruining our tickets before we ever get there!

Nothing will link and app is frustrating to use

I have tried numerous times to link my resort reservation to this app so we can book reservations for dining etc. It will not let us use our reservation confirmation number. We have called support 3 times over the last week and got no resolution to the issue. Each time the cast member gave us a different answer for how to resolve it. None of it worked as we attempted to get this resolved prior to our 60 day mark. Now we are at the 60 day mark and some of the reservations we wanted are not available. :( Also, went to Shop Disney on the app to purchase a new Magic Band+. When the purchase was trying to go through the page would freeze and appear as if the transaction didn’t go through. I would try again over and over. My cart would still be full and I never got a purchase confirmation. The next day I got an alert from AMEX, my card was charged 5 times for the magic band. I called AMEX and they flagged the charges. Then I had to call Shop Disney support to verify that the purchase was for one magic band and not five. The cast member said none of the sales were completed. She completed a new one on the call but said it would take several days for the other five charges to fall off the card. Let’s just say that the app is unpredictable and doesn’t work very well. Keeping my fingers crossed that all of this can eventually be corrected and will work for Genie+ etc. once our days in the parks happen.

Developer Response ,

Hey there! This sounds like something our support team can help you with. Will you please send us a message from the app? Head to the More (☰) tab, and under the Help menu, select "Send Us Your Feedback." We'll get right on it!

Terrible & ruins vacation

Don’t count on getting in to Rise of the Resistance even if you get up at 4:30 am and arrive at the park at 6 am... even though all members of your party went through security an had admission scanned at around 6:30 am, and are standing well inside the park by Grohman’s theater....BECAUSE you MUST use that lively My Disney Experience app to join a “ boarding group”...and as people around us were getting group 35 , the Disney Exoerience did NOT work for any of our phones until my husband pulled his out and got us Boarding Group 105...Which would still be ok, if we didn’t need to leave and drive 4 hours home today. So while people around us had their groups called at 8:30-9:30 am... we are still sitting here, knowing our “group” probably won’t be called until late afternoon or early evening...too late for us. Ift wouldn’t be so bad if we just didn’t make the group but to be here and only because of Disney, not be in the group is EXTREMELY frustrating. Cast members were not helpful or sympathetic...so maybe we won’t be renewing those very expensive Premium Annual Passes after all. And this is all with having a DAS card. Getting too old for this 🤔

App Privacy

The developer, Disney , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

• Financial Info
• Contact Info
• User Content
• Identifiers
• Diagnostics

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

• One Day Memory Maker $74.99
• 30 Day Memory Maker $209.99
• Mural of Memories $9.99
• Developer Website
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• Privacy Policy

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Disney Theme Parks

Enchantment Awaits at Walt Disney World Resort

Journey to all 4 parks during your disney vacation for endless fun.

Imagine a place like nowhere on earth, where moments and memories have no limit.

 Magic Kingdom Park Wander through 6 captivating lands, hop on iconic Disney attractions, meet beloved Characters and catch spectacular fireworks displays and animated parades.

 Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park Behold the magic of nature and delight in wild animal encounters, high-speed thrills, nightly entertainment and Pandora – The World of Avatar.

 Disney's Hollywood Studios Embrace the spirit of Tinseltown with a variety of attractions and entertainment inspired by movies, TV, music and theater—including Star Wars - and Toy Story -themed experiences.

 Epcot Ignite your imagination at a park brimming with innovation and global allures. Here, you can travel to outer space and stroll through 11 countries in a single day.

Mix In Water Parks, Dining Shopping and More!

Uncover excitement and leisure outside of the theme parks.

Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park

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Create Your Magical Disney Vacation

Begin building your one-of-a-kind escape by choosing from over 25 Disney Resort hotels. Then, customize a package that lets you take advantage of all 4 theme parks, our 2 water parks and over 150 Walt Disney World Resort dining locations.

Start Planning My Disney Vacation Package

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Happiness Awaits at Disneyland Resort

Each park boasts a unique vibe.

Celebrate your love for all things Disney at the original home for never-ending fascination and glee.

 Disney California Adventure Park Make yourself at home in a world where the stories of Disney, Pixar and Marvel come to life within 7 vibrant lands.

 Disneyland Park Feel a dreamy nostalgia at Walt Disney's original theme park, where you can float through 8 themed lands, meet Disney Princesses, encounter a variety of Star Wars experiences and take in mesmerizing entertainment.

Mix In Dining, Shopping and Local Hotspots

Unwind with family and friends in a lively promenade located in between the parks—admission is complimentary! Plus, enhance your trip by checking out nearby landmarks.

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Plot the perfect getaway by choosing from 3 amenity-packed Disneyland Resort hotels. Then, customize a package that lets you take advantage of both theme parks, Character Dining experiences—and conveniently add travel options like your flight, ground transportation and other popular SoCal experiences.

View Disneyland Resort Hotel Guest Benefits

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How to Use the My Disney Experience Mobile App and MagicBands

If you haven't been to  Walt Disney World in a while, you'll want to know about an innovative planning tool called My Disney Experience , which replaced the old paper ticketing system by combining a powerful smartphone app with wearable technology.

For families, the result is a truly seamless experience that starts with your pre-trip planning, letting you schedule FastPass+ and dining options , and continues during your stay at Walt Disney World.

Set Up Your My Disney Experience Account

My Disney Experience revolutionizes the Walt Disney World vacation by bundling nearly every aspect of your trip together. The process can begin as soon as you've booked your trip and have a hotel and ticket reservation.

The My Disney Experience website  allows you to set up your account and download the free My Disney Experience mobile app (available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices).

Once you're signed in, just enter your reservation info. Each family member can choose a different colored MagicBand—cards are also available—and have it personalized with a first name. Disney will send your MagicBands to your home (though they don't ship to all countries), and in the meantime, you can start planning.

Schedule FastPass+ and Dining Experiences

What Walt Disney World experiences are you most looking forward to? You can program them into your day with FastPass+ , a reservation system that lets you bypass the regular lines at popular rides and attractions.

FastPass+ replaced the paper FastPass system that Walt Disney World used for decades. If you will be staying at a Disney Resort, you can make plans 60 days in advance. If you're not staying at a Disney Resort but have bought tickets online, you can make plans 30 days in advance.

For each day of your ticket, you can use FastPass+ to designate advance times to visit three attractions of your choice in a single park. Note that you can use FastPass+ for every Disney experience—for popular rides,  character greetings , parades, shows, and fireworks.

You can also use the My Disney Experience mobile app to make advance dining reservations and even pre-order a meal in venues such as the wildly popular Be Our Guest restaurant in the Magic Kingdom.

In addition, once at Walt Disney World, you can use your app to pre-order meals with Mobile Order at select restaurants in the parks.

MagicBands Are the Ultimate Disney Accessory

Think of your MagicBand as your key to Walt Disney World. It's a rubber bracelet containing a computer chip that holds all the components of your Walt Disney World vacation— theme park  ticket , room key, FastPass+ choices, dining reservations, Disney PhotoPass—and it also acts as a resort charge card.

All of these plans are stored on your MagicBands, so keep them safe and remember to pack them for your trip. Once you arrive at Walt Disney World, you can also create a personalized MagicBand at the Tomorrowland Light & Power Co. in the Magic Kingdom Park.

Check Into Your Hotel

The My Disney Experience mobile app is particularly handy for families that want to take advantage of the many perks of staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotel.

If you're staying at an official Disney World resort, you can use your MagicBands to check into your hotel and enter your hotel room. The app has a feature called “My Resort Dashboard,” which gives you access to your reservation details all in one place, including the ability to see room number, theme, building, and floor once you have your room assignment and even check in from the app.

“My Resort Dashboard” even gives you directions to your resort using Disney transportation options, a map showing you the location of your room, and a link to directly call the Resort Front Desk if you need further assistance during your stay.

Enter Turnstile-Free Theme Parks

The turnstiles at Walt Disney World's park entrances were replaced with sleek MagicBand readers. Just touch the Mickey head on your MagicBand to the Mickey head on the reader and it turns green. It's fun for kids to watch the famous mouse's head light up.

Get Your Bearings and Find More Fun

The My Disney Experience mobile app opens right to the park maps to help you find attractions, restaurants, restrooms, and more. A section called “Spotlight” highlights new park experiences and entertainment offerings to help you find the latest in entertainment at the parks.

Make Purchases

Gift shops and vendors around Walt Disney World are also equipped with MagicBand readers. Instead of swiping a room key or a credit card, you simply place your MagicBand against the reader and type in your PIN.

If your MagicBand is lost or stolen, nobody can make a purchase without your PIN. You can immediately deactivate your band using the My Disney Experience mobile app on your smartphone or iPad until you can get another MagicBand.

It's important to know that your credit card information and other personal data is not stored in your MagicBand. Instead, the readers access an encrypted database of your stored information with a randomly assigned code that securely links to your account.

Use the App to Check Wait Times and Much More

The My Disney Experience mobile app can give you current wait times at attractions and character greetings in the park. Use the map view to find nearby dining venues, restrooms, and other amenities.

Don't worry about being locked into your plans. When you're at Walt Disney World, you can use the app to change your FastPass+ and dining choices on the fly.

After you have completed your three FastPass+ experiences, you can get three more FastPass+ choices for later that same day. You can also "park hop" in a second park with your fourth FastPass+ of the day.

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Hi! I’m planning my upcoming trip to Disney but can’t seem to figure out the best way to park hop between AK & MK. I’m not sure if it’s faster to drive between parks or use bus transportation. Planning to go to AK for opening then MK in the afternoon. ”

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Guide to Planning a First Trip to Walt Disney World

You’ve finally decided to go to Walt Disney World! You’re ready to pack up the kids (or just yourself) and head to Florida. You have images of rides, characters, and castles dancing in your head. But now what? Where do you start and how do you plan?  If this is your first trip to Walt Disney World, this is the guide for you!

This handy guide will help you sort through some of the questions you will need to answer. It will also serve as a starting point for tips on how to make your trip memorable. Here are some of the areas you will need to consider:

When to Go   How to Get There   Where to Stay   Where to Eat   What to Do When You Are There

Planning a trip to Walt Disney World will require a little time. Walt Disney World is big — almost 40 square miles big. That’s about the size of San Francisco or twice the size of Manhattan. There are over 70,000 cast members (the Disney word for employees) working at Walt Disney World. There are over 25 resort hotels and over 100 restaurants. All of these facts aren’t meant to scare off visitors, but instead the goals is to help you understand the size and variety available at Walt Disney World.

Know that planning a trip to a place of this size, especially a first trip, will require some important decisions. You won’t do or so it all of this first trip. And since Disney parks are always evolving, there will always be something new to do on each and every trip. Our tip is to plan this trip, your first, to see the highlights. See what interests you. Experience the things you’ve always heard about. Get a taste for the location. Know that you can always go back — and each year, many, many repeat visitors do just that!

There are many factors to consider when deciding when to go to Walt Disney World. Consider some of the first to narrow down your choices for your first trip: school schedules, work schedules, and other activities or family obligations may narrow down the dates. Once you have taken care of your obligations, you can look at other factors.

The lightest crowds tend to be

• Mid-January through Early February
• Late April through Mid-May
• The week following Labor Day through the week before Thanksgiving
• The week following Thanksgiving through the second week in December

Notice that these also tend to be times when schools are in session. It follows that these lighter crowd times also tend to be the times when the cost of a Disney vacation is the lowest. Please note, holiday weekends (such as President’s Day in February) are much busier than the surrounding days during each of these times.

Conversely, the higher crowd times are also the most expensive. The busiest week of the year is the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The hotel pricing for this week has its own special category. Other busy times are the weeks before and after Easter, the general spring break season (mid-March through mid-April), summer, and President’s Day Weekend.

There are some benefits to visiting during busier times though. Those include things like there are generally fewer attractions and amenities closed for refurbishment, and the park hours tend to be longer.

Along with crowds and pricing, the weather is another factor to consider. The summers in Florida are hot and humid. If you don’t like to be warm, this may not be the time for you. The summer also tends to be the rainy season, although most summer storms in Florida last a short time and disappear. It does tend to rain more often than not in the afternoon during the summer.

For a more in-depth look at these factors, visit our Choosing Vacation Dates .  Consider these factors when planning your first trip.

How to Get There

Planes, trains, and automobiles are all options. Which one to choose depends on not only the budget but time as well. Depending on your starting point, driving can add a significant amount of time to your trip. But it could be the most economical. Flying is a fast way to travel, but it can cost more than driving, especially if you have a family traveling together.

You will need to often add a day each way for driving. If your time is limited, this can cut down on the park time and relaxation time.

While air travel or personal car are two of the more popular choices for getting to Walt Disney World, you can also explore the options of bus, train , or rental car . Take a look at each option to decide what would work best for your family.

Where to Stay

Central Florida has a significant number of options for your stay. There are over twenty-five on-site resorts at the Walt Disney World Resort that cater to a variety of tastes and budgets. Then there are off-site hotels, house rentals, and timeshares (not including Disney’s Vacation Club villas).

There are definite advantages to staying on Walt Disney World property. Transportation is one of those. Bus , boat , Skyliner , or monorail service (depending on the resort) is available to all four theme parks, two water parks, and Disney Springs free of charge for guests. This means no expense of driving or renting a car, and no need to find directions. While this is an easy option, it does require additional time to wait for transportation.

Another advantage of staying on Disney property is Early Park Entry . Each day, all the theme parks open thirty minutes early. In addition, for those staying at a Disney Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resort Hotels, there’s another perk. Those individuals will also be able to enjoy extended evening hours on select nights in select theme parks. This means lower crowds for getting in rides and attractions.

To see more reasons to stay at a Disney resort, visit our Benefits of Staying at a Disney Resort page. Not sure about staying on property? There are times when it makes sense to stay off-site as well. Visit our guide on deciding where to stay when taking a Walt Disney World vacation.

Ok, you’ve decided to stay at a Disney resort, but how do you know how to go about selecting which one? We have a guide to Choosing a Disney Resort that will highlight the differences between the categories of resorts. Once you settle on a category, you can see more about each resort, including amenities and rates, by visiting our Resort Guides .

Where to Eat

Right now, you may be thinking, “My vacation is many months away, why do I need to consider where I’m having dinner so far in advance?” It’s one of the differences in planning a Disney vacation and a vacation to another location.

Disney restaurants begin accepting Advance Dining Reservations 60 days ahead of time. Believe it or not, some locations will book up that far in advance. And if you have your heart set on a certain dining experience, you will need an Advance Dining Reservation. Guests traveling at crowded times (go back up to the “ When to Go ” section to see if you are planning during one of those times) will especially need to plan ahead.

While you won’t starve at a Disney park without planning ahead, you will potentially miss out on some great experiences. Disney Parks and Resorts have some amazing table-service venues that add to the experience of visiting Walt Disney World. Some people find the restaurants to be one of the highlights of their trips. Disney works hard to offer a wide variety of different cuisines and work to provide healthy and delicious food alternatives. Of course, you will find “traditional” theme park dining like burgers and chicken strips in the parks, but there are so many options, many guests don’t even look for these fast-food staples.

Start by exploring some of the menus at the restaurants. You don’t have to choose your exact meal, but you can see if the restaurant appeals to you and your family.

Some restaurants even feature characters . These are great and relaxing ways to visit with some favorite characters. Imagine Mickey Mouse coming to visit you at your table while you eat. Photographs and autographs can be had without a line, and with a meal. Do keep in mind that these locations will likely book up first, and oftentimes will not be available to walk up to and get a table. If characters are important to your family, we highly recommend booking at least one character dining experience on your first trip.

Another consideration for dining are the Disney Dining Plans . These are available for on-site guests who purchase a hotel package (hotel and tickets). There are a few options, with the Quick Service Dining Plan and the Standard Dining Plan being the most popular. These dining plans are a great way to get a handle on dining costs ahead of time. They also can be money savers. The dining plan that is right for you depends on how you will eat. Does your family prefer only quick-service (fast food-type) locations? Then the Quick Service plan may meet your needs. Do you like to have a table-service meal each day to have some family time to sit down and relax? Then a standard Dining Plan may work for you. If you prefer more table-service options, there are other plans as well.

Whether you choose a dining plan or not, planning for your dining choices -or at least some of your dining choices – will be a definite advantage when you get to Walt Disney World.

What to Do When You Are There

So you’ve saved, and planned, and made reservations. Now what? Have fun, of course!

That being said, even having fun at Walt Disney World requires a little advanced planning. There is so much to see and do; you can’t do it all it one trip, especially your first trip. That may be the most important thing for new visitors to remember. Even a two-week trip would leave things untouched. (I mean, there are those of us who have been going for 20 years, multiple times a year, and STILL haven’t done everything!) There are four theme parks, two water parks, the Disney Springs shopping and entertainment district, mini-golf courses, resort hotels, marinas, fishing expeditions, special events, and the list goes on. Find what appeals to you and your family and go from there.

Trying to do it all will undoubtedly lead to a less-than-magical experience. Make sure to build in some time to stop and smell the roses. While many people do go on their first trip assuming it will be their only trip and try to do it all, you may find after that you can’t wait to return.  Plan some time to swim in the resort pool. Make at least one Advance Dining Reservation at a restaurant and experience the food and fun. Check out any special events that may be happening during your stay. Just make sure to make your trip memorable.

Other Helpful Tips for First Trip Guests at Walt Disney World

One thing you may want to consider using is Lightning Lanes to help you get on attractions quicker. While this does come with an additional cost that does vary depending on the day you are traveling, it can allow you to see more attractions than you would have been able to experience without it. Make sure to check out our guide to learn how it works, how to take advantage of it.

You can also see travel specials highlighting different aspects of the parks. These are available on services like Disney+ for your planning enjoyment. You can also check out our own YouTube channel for great video content.

Remember that the crowd levels will determine the number of attractions you can visit. As will the age and stamina of the travelers in your party. There is a handy guide that highlights the height requirements of specific rides. Take a look at that to determine what younger riders can experience.

There are several recreational activities to experience without being in a theme park. Our Recreation Pricing and Information guide will help you look at the experiences available and determine if you would like to add on to your first trip.

There is plenty to do without a day of tickets at Walt Disney World. There is also so much to do within the four theme parks . Each park can easily hold your attention for a day. And some parks, like Magic Kingdom and EPCOT may even take longer to explore — EPCOT because of its size and Magic Kingdom because of its classic attractions, as well as the number of attractions available.

Walt Disney World Resort Free Quote

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8 of the biggest mistakes I made while visiting Disney World for one day

• I spent one day at Disney World in July.
• I thought I was well-prepared, but the day didn't go perfectly.
• By the time I left, my feet were aching and my phone was dying.

I recently took a 24-hour trip to Disney World and back from New York City to see if it was worth the hassle to save money .

By not staying overnight, I potentially saved hundreds of dollars on an expensive trip . But while I loved the experience, I'll be making a few tweaks to my plans the next time I head to Orlando.

I did a lot of research for this trip, including contacting TikTokers who'd completed similar journeys to ask for their advice, but the day didn't go perfectly. I underestimated just how hot Orlando is in July, how dependent I'd be on my phone, and how unsettling an empty Disney park could be.

These are the biggest mistakes I made on my day trip to Disney World.

I should've taken a water bottle or a foldable water flask.

I normally try to travel with my reusable water bottle, but since I was only bringing a crossbody bag, I didn't have room to shove it in there.

Giovanna Arbisi , a TikToker who's also completed a 24-hour trip to Disney, told me to take a foldable flask, but I couldn't get one in time for my trip.

Instead, I had to keep buying water bottles at the park — a necessity in the July Orlando heat.

I bought three bottles of water throughout the day for a total cost of $15. Since Disney isn't a cheap vacation, I was annoyed at having to pay an extra expense that could've been avoided.

I didn't budget enough time to go from park to park.

I hadn't been to Disney for 11 years, so I'd forgotten just how far away the parks are from each other. It took about 25 minutes each way to get from Epcot to Magic Kingdom and then from Magic Kingdom to Hollywood Studios.

If you're not cramming in three parks in one day, that wouldn't be a big issue, but since I was crunched for time, it was less than ideal.

Plus, if you have a specific Lightning Lane slot — an hourlong window to get on an expedited line for a ride — you could miss your chance if you don't budget your time correctly.

I ended up having to switch a Lightning Lane slot in Hollywood Studios because we weren't going to make it in time from Magic Kingdom.

Next time, I'll invest in the most comfortable sneakers, even if they're not the cutest.

My Nike Air Force Ones were not the best choice for taking 23,000 steps in one day. By the end of the day, I had blisters, and my arches were killing me. They also felt so heavy.

My mom, who wore her Asics , had none of these problems.

Business Insider recommends Hoka sneakers for walking . I'll be wearing those the next time I go on this trip.

I should have gotten a physical ticket card or a MagicBand instead of using my phone all day.

There are three ticket options at Disney parks.

Option No. 1 — the one I took — was to use my phone as my ticket through the Disney app. This was easy, but I didn't anticipate how much I'd be using my phone for other tasks at Disney as well.

I was constantly checking the app to see what the wait times were at rides. I also used my phone to take pictures, check the weather, and check the length of the security line at the Orlando airport.

Luckily, I took a portable charger because if my phone battery had completely drained, I wouldn't have been able to enter any other parks or use my Lightning Lanes.

Your ticket is also supposed to be your key for a locker when you go on thrill rides. When I went on the TRON ride, I instead had to ask a cast member who provided me with a temporary keycard.

In the future, I would probably choose option No. 2, which is to head to a Will Call ticket booth and obtain a physical key card for free. It's one less thing to rely on your phone for, and you get a physical keepsake from your trip.

Option No. 3 is to purchase a  MagicBand,  which is like a smartwatch but for Disney parks.

They're cool and can be a cute fashion statement, but they're not free. A basic one starts at $35, but limited-edition bands can be as much as $65. If I was going to the parks frequently , I'd invest in one, but since I'm an infrequent visitor, it seems unnecessary.

I won't be going to Epcot first thing in the morning the next time I go to Disney World.

With the way my Lightning Lane time slots shook out, I didn't have to be anywhere in particular until my first slot at 1:55 p.m.

My mom really wanted to go to Epcot, and since we had purchased park-hopper tickets and wanted to visit as many parks as possible, we decided to start our day there at 9:30 a.m. when we got to Disney.

What I didn't realize, though, was that most of the World Showcase doesn't open until 11 a.m. So most of the country's pavilions were closed, and no one was around.

It meant we were able to ride Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, which normally has a long line, with only a 15-minute wait time. But it was kind of eerie to walk "around the world" without seeing cast members or any open shops.

I'd much rather be at Epcot when more attractions are open and there are signs of life.

I took an 8:45 p.m. flight back to New York. Ideally, I'd take a later flight, if possible.

The fireworks shows at Disney World (Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom, Fantasmic! and Wonderful World of Animation at Hollywood Studios, and Luminous at Epcot) are famous — though they aren't for everyone .

But since I had to leave the park by 7 p.m., I missed them. If I had taken a later flight, I might've been able to see at least a few minutes of the show.

I'd never go back in the middle of the summer.

I was lucky that the sun held out for almost the entire day, but it did start pouring, thundering, and lightning as I was walking out of the park. I wasn't surprised, though — everyone I spoke to told me to prepare for at least one rainstorm during a summer day in Florida.

But before the rain, it was almost unbearably hot. It felt like 98 degrees at some points during the day, and the Florida sun was strong. We kept having to take breaks in the shade and drink lots of water, and I whipped out my portable fan more times than I could count.

Next time, I'll visit in the winter, when rain is less likely and the heat is less intense.

I didn't make this mistake, but my mom did: She wore jeans, which was not a good choice.

Almost immediately after stepping into the Orlando heat, my mom told me she knew that jean shorts were a big mistake. They were heavy, they chafed, and when they got wet, they took forever to dry.

I, on the other hand, wore a nylon romper, so it was lightweight and dried quickly. I'd recommend wearing clothing that's as light and airy as possible for a day at any theme park, not just Disney.

• Main content

Disney Data Dump August 21 2024

Welcome to the weekly Disney Data Dump, numbers fans! I’m especially excited to dig into the past TWO weeks of data today, because it covers my most recent trip to the World with my big kid from August 10-13. I can tell you that I made a lot of anecdotal observations, which I’ll be sprinkling throughout this week’s article.

One interesting note to start – the table service restaurants where we dined had no available reservations around the times when we booked. But most of them were only 25-66% full. The one exception was ‘Ohana, which was very much filled to capacity. Meal times were incredibly slow – much different than the normal rush to clear tables so more visitors can dine. I think Disney might be lowering staffing at dining locations to save some money. There isn’t high demand for most of them anyway thanks to low crowds and budgets being pointed elsewhere.

Observed Crowd Levels August 6 – 19

Let’s separate out these two weeks and talk through the trends we can see across each. First was August 6th through 12th – where there was a bit of a “bump” in crowds (if you can really call it that) as a bunch of families seemed to try to squeeze in one more bit of family vacation before the school year started. This week had an average crowd level of 5 – which is the highest we’ve seen all summer. Still … it was only an average of 5.

Then we have August 13th through 19th where most of those families headed back home for the start of “fall”. The average crowd level dropped down below 4. This points to a nice, uncrowded end of summer and beginning of fall before school holidays start tempting more people to visit in October and November.

Once we dig a little deeper into the park-by-park crowd levels, things get even more interesting. The very earliest days of these two weeks were all remarkably steady. Every park was hanging out around a crowd level 6 (or so). But then party season started on August 9th! Now, we’re still early enough in the fall calendar that there aren’t parties 3 or 4 nights a week. So we’re not going to see the  wild swings in crowd level at Magic Kingdom yet. But we can still easily pick out August 9th, 13th, and 16th as party dates here. August 18th wasn’t a party date, but still had low crowds. That’s more due to weather than anything else, though.

We’re also starting to see an interesting trend where Animal Kingdom and EPCOT have (relatively) heavier crowds than Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. This is at least partially due to the fact that Animal Kingdom and EPCOT have so few attractions (rides, not entertainment) compared to the other two parks. Operationally, there is less room for people to spread out and lower wait times. And if one of those few attractions goes offline, it has a bigger impact on wait times overall.

Performance of Crowd Level Predictions

Each week, I give you a very transparent look into how the TouringPlans crowd level predictions performed. Each day at each park is one data point, so we have 28 different crowd level predictions to evaluate each week (and therefore 56 predictions to evaluate this week). Any time a prediction is within one or two crowd levels, things won’t really “feel” much different than what was predicted. Being off by 3 or more crowd levels is where you might feel that difference in wait times throughout the day.

In the past two weeks, Touring Plans predictions were either spot-on or within 1 crowd level 73% of the time. That’s finally in line with historical performance, thanks to TP predictions getting slightly lower in time for a summer slowdown, and instead crowds picking up from where they were the rest of the summer. Lower predictions and higher real crowds helped close the 2-crowd-level gap we’ve been seeing most of the summer. 87% of the time Touring Plans predictions were within 2 crowd levels, and that means we achieve a B for our predictions in the past week. That’s the best performance we’ve seen since the re-start of the Data Dump. We’re still seeing a skew toward overpredictions, but it’s not nearly as bad as it has been in the past few months. The biggest misses of the week were at Hollywood Studios on August 14th (when 7 was predicted, but the actual crowd level was 3), and at Magic Kingdom on August 13th (when 5 was predicted, but the actual crowd level was 1). August 13th was a party day at Magic Kingdom, which you can expect to have very low crowd levels for the rest of August and September.

Attraction Downtime August 6 – 19

If we average all of the capacity lost due to unexpected downtime over the past two weeks, it comes out to 4.2% of attractions unexpectedly being down. That’s pretty on par with what we expect in the late summer, thanks to its almost-daily afternoon rain storms. And back in a spot that it’s starting to occupy with concerning frequency, Animal Kingdom was the park with the most overall downtime issues, coming in at 4.6% overall downtime over the past two weeks. That’s part of the reason we’re seeing it with elevated crowd levels compared to the rest of the parks.

The worst day for attraction downtime in the past week was on August 11th. On that day, 8% of all capacity at WDW was lost due to unexpected downtime. And we have a tie worst park-day – at Animal Kingdom on Sunday, August 11th AND Monday, August 12th. On those park days, 13% of the capacity was lost at Animal Kingdom due to unexpected downtime. Animal Kingdom was open for 10 hours on the 11th and 12th, so 13% downtime is the equivalent of the whole park being down for 78 minutes each day.

Attraction Downtime Worst Offenders

The worst offender of the past two weeks was Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which was unexpectedly down for approximately 16% of that time. The worst day for PeopleMover was clearly on August 11th, when the ride was down for 49% of the day. Of course, this had to be the day I was in Magic Kingdom, with a LLMP for Tiana’s that got cancelled and then the ride never opened back up. But I digress.

Rope Drop Downtime

Here are problematic offenders from the past two weeks, with the percentage of downtime during the first hour of the day in parentheses:

• Magic Kingdom : Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (30%), Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (14%), Space Mountain (13%), TTA PeopleMover (12%)
• EPCOT : The Seas with Nemo and Friends (14%), Frozen Ever After (11%)
• Hollywood Studios : Rise of the Resistance (15%), Runaway Railway (14%), Rock’n’Roller Coaster (11%)
• Animal Kingdom : Expedition Everest (21%), Dinosaur (10%)

The bad news is that every park was impacted by some bit of rope drop downtime, which is a departure from two weeks ago when EPCOT and Animal Kingdom emerged unscathed. The good news is that other than Magic Kingdom, there were still good and reliable rope drop options at every park (Pandora attractions at Animal Kingdom, Remy at EPCOT, and Slinky at Hollywood Studios).

Magic Kingdom continues to be tricky, though. Now that Peter Pan’s Flight is back online, that’ll take some pressure off of Seven Dwarfs and Space at rope drop, but really those are the best early entry rope drop options and they both struggle a lot first thing in the morning.

Wait Times July 23 – August 5

Attractions with the highest average posted wait at each park.

• Hollywood Studios : Slinky Dog Dash, average posted wait of 73 minutes (two weeks ago was 67 minutes)
• Animal Kingdom :  Flight of Passage , average posted wait time of 85 minutes (two weeks ago was 78 minutes)
• EPCOT : Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, average posted wait time of 59 minutes (two weeks ago was 55 minutes)
• Magic Kingdom :  Seven Dwarfs Mine Train , average posted wait time of 56 minutes (two weeks ago was 61 minutes)

Thanks to that last little surge (emphasis on little, not on surge) of vacationing families during the first half of August, most of these highest wait times are slightly higher than the previous two weeks. The only exception to this is Seven Dwarfs, which benefits from party day wait times dragging down the overall average. Thanks, party days! [insert cheesy 90s high-five here]

Parks with the Highest and Lowest Average Wait

These parks likely won’t change week-to-week unless something ridiculous happens, but these data points will give us a high-level view of how wait times are trending from week to week.

• Highest : Hollywood Studios, average park-wide posted wait of 36 minutes (was 34 minutes two weeks ago)
• Lowest : EPCOT and Magic Kingdom tied, average park-wide posted wait of 23 minutes (was 22 minutes at EPCOT two weeks ago)

With just three party dates in the past two weeks, Magic Kingdom has seen some lower wait times – but not quite enough to totally steal away the lowest overall wait time from EPCOT. But I fully expect that flip to happen by the time we get to September with its more frequent parties. More parties = more short party days = more low crowds = lower wait times overall!

Most Inflated Posted Wait Times

We all know that Disney inflates their posted wait times on purpose. They have many reasons for doing this. Some are totally understandable, and some are potentially more problematic. We can figure out how much posted wait times are being inflated by comparing submitted actual wait times from the Lines App and the posted wait time when the person timing their wait entered the line.

Over the past week, actual wait times in the Lines App averaged 66% of what was posted. This is slightly above our historical average, which means that posted wait times are just a bit more accurate than normal. But even so, if the posted wait time was 60 minutes, you could’ve expected to wait just less than 40 minutes instead.

But the worst offender for the past week is Living with the Land! At this one attraction, submitted actual wait times were 45% of posted wait times in the past week. That means that if the attraction had a 30 minute posted wait, you probably would have actually only waited 13.5 minutes instead. Less than half of what was posted. Remember to always check the Lines app for predicted actual waits instead of believing what is posted.

This Week’s Wait Time Rock Star

Between August 6th and 19th, we had over 3000 timed actual waits submitted through the Lines app. The one person who recorded the most actual waits during that time was mbcollins, with 72 overall timed waits – 37 Lightning Lane waits, 31 standby waits, and 4 virtual queue waits. Thanks for all of that timing, mbcollins! More impressively, 68 of those waits all came in the second out of our two weeks, so mbcollins claims the crown to our weekly record, with 68 timed waits in a week.

Looking Ahead: August 20 – 26

I write this article on Tuesday evenings so that you all have the very freshest of data on Wednesdays. That means the 20th will already be in the past when you read this post. Pretend you’re time travelling. It’s fun.

Weather-wise, what you’ve seen the past few weeks is what you’ll get the next few weeks. Nothing is guaranteed other than death, taxes, and afternoon thunderstorms in Orlando in August. Bring your poncho or rain jacket or umbrella, have some dry socks in your bag, and you’ll get through just fine. It’s also a good time of year to plan your outdoor attractions for the morning to avoid weather-related downtime.

There are two parties this week at Magic Kingdom – on August 20th and 23rd. Wait times will be gloriously low on those days, and the 7 am virtual queue for Tron stays open for much  much longer on these days too, if that’s an attraction you’re especially interested in riding without pay for LLSP. Other than those days at those parks, expect overall crowd levels in the 3 or 4 range throughout the next week with no special events or big crowd draws, and lots of kids being back in school.

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Becky Gandillon

Becky Gandillon was trained in biomedical engineering, but is now a full-time data and analytics nerd. She loves problem solving and travelling. She and her husband, Jeff, live in St. Louis with their two daughters and they have Disney family movie night every Saturday. You can follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-gandillon/ or instagram @raisingminniemes

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The 17 best Disney World hotels for your 2024 stay

Things have certainly changed since Walt Disney World opened more than 50 years ago . There used to be just a handful of hotels and one theme park. Now, you have the magic — and the challenge — of choice. There are more than 25 hotels to choose from and multiple parks to visit when you embark on a Disney vacation.

Related: The best travel credit cards

Choosing the best Disney hotel is a fun challenge, but a challenge nonetheless. The resorts at Walt Disney World range from those with views of live zebras and giraffes to treehouse villas and even log cabins in the woods.

When you choose a Disney World hotel, you not only stay in the "Disney bubble" but also gain access to the parks 30 minutes early each morning. Additionally, you can purchase Lightning Lane passes for newer rides — like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Tron / Lightcycle Run — before non-resort guests, starting up to seven days before you check in. This means you'll have a better chance of snagging those coveted ride passes.

Related: 14 reasons to stay at a Walt Disney World Resort property

Still, not all Disney resorts are created equal. Fortunately, TPG is here to help sort through the best hotel options at Walt Disney World. We've tried dozens of Disney-area hotels and carefully considered the best (and less-than-stellar) features of nearly every on-property resort to bring you this list.

Whether you're looking to be treated like a fairy tale princess or a grown-up who happens to be staying near a theme park, Disney World has you covered.

Here are our top picks:

• Best Deluxe Disney World resorts: Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge , Disney's Contemporary Resort , Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney's Wilderness Lodge
• Best Moderate Disney World resorts: Disney's Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter , The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Gran Destino Tower at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
• Best Value Disney World resorts: Disney's Art of Animation Resort and Disney's Pop Century Resort
• Best Disney World resort pools: Disney's Yacht Club Resort and Disney's Beach Club Resort , Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
• Best Disney World resorts for large families: Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa , Disney's All-Star Music Resort
• Best Disney World resorts for adults: Disney's BoardWalk Inn , Disney's Riviera Resort

FOR NO-COST ASSISTANCE WITH PLANNING AND BOOKING YOUR NEXT DISNEY VACATION, CHECK OUT TPG'S DISNEY BOOKING PARTNER, MOUSE COUNSELORS .

Best Deluxe Disney World resorts

The cream of the crop among Disney World hotels in terms of amenities, quality and price are the Deluxe resorts. These resorts have multiple on-site full-service restaurants and extensive pool areas with waterslides. Some are within walking or monorail distance of the theme parks.

All of this comes at a cost, though. Deluxe Disney resorts can range from $400 to $800 per night for a standard room. Renting Disney Vacation Club points can help bring this cost down at times, but a Deluxe resort stay will be an investment compared to the other tiers of Disney hotels.

As mentioned, Deluxe resorts are the most expensive of Disney's hotels.

While some offer luxury amenities like spas and fine dining venues, others emphasize great themes and proximity to the parks. You also get access to select parks two hours later than everyone else when staying in a Deluxe resort on eligible nights.

A true safari involves incredibly long flights and the possibility of malaria pills. For a safari-style vacation closer to home, there's Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge .

Offering an unforgettable wildlife experience within U.S. borders, Animal Kingdom Lodge is its own ecosystem away from the hustle and bustle of most of the Disney World complex.

The soaring ceilings at Jambo House are adorned with traditional decor. If you want to see giraffes, zebras, ostriches and a host of other animals, all you have to do is merely walk past the lobby's expansive windows.

Dining at this Deluxe resort is another highlight of a stay here. Boma and Jiko are excellent choices if you want to experience an authentic African meal at the resort.

Look into the nighttime Starlight Safari , which comes with loaner night vision devices, for a unique experience.

The property is an example of an excellent time to rent DVC points, especially if your family wants more space while saving money. During low seasons, rooms start at just 7 points per night, with DVC points typically available to rent from David's Vacation Club for $20 to $25 per point.

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge average around $485 per night.

Disney's Contemporary Resort is another original Disney World resort from the 1971 opening. It's about as close as you can get to The Magic Kingdom without pitching a tent inside the gates (and subsequently getting kicked out by security).

It may have been built over five decades ago, but its amenities have recently been updated and the rooms now sport an "incredible" new look. While the theme and renovations are a big step up, the main draw of this property is undoubtedly its monorail design and Magic Kingdom-adjacent location.

We prefer tower rooms over garden-wing options as they are more centrally located to the amenities and monorail, and many offer superb views of The Magic Kingdom's nightly fireworks.

When you've worked up an appetite, you'll find a few of our favorite Disney World restaurants on-site, including Chef Mickey's. At this popular eatery, you can dine with characters like Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. For something more upscale, there's California Grill. If you time it right, it has some of the best views of The Magic Kingdom fireworks around.

Related: The 5 best Disney World character meals you've never heard of — and how to book them

If you're ready for a splurge-level stay at the Contemporary, there is also a club level where bites and beverages from the aforementioned restaurants are included.

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Contemporary Resort average around $575 per night.

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is arguably the most traditional and iconic of Disney World's high-end hotels. You won't find many bright, in-your-face character themes here, but you will have access to some of Disney's most upscale amenities, including a spa and the fanciest (and priciest) restaurant at Disney.

It's one of Disney World's most expensive resorts thanks to its proximity to The Magic Kingdom, top-notch facilities, and over-the-top Christmas displays, including a gingerbread house in the lobby.

Fortunately, the Grand Floridian is undergoing a resort-wide renovation involving converting one of the hotel buildings into beautiful DVC studios. So, there's now one more reason to visit.

Dining is another highlight here. The acclaimed Victoria & Albert's experience is unparalleled, with a dress code and a no-little-kids policy to match. For an equally excellent but more affordable option, grab a cocktail or mocktail at the "Beauty and the Beast"-inspired Enchanted Rose bar on the second floor of the Grand Floridian's lobby.

Related: More rides and fewer crowds: What to expect at Disney After Hours

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa average around $750 per night.

A short drive or boat ride away from The Magic Kingdom, Disney's Wilderness Lodge is equal parts Great Wolf Lodge , Yellowstone National Park and Disney magic. There are great attractions and restaurants on-site, including a water feature that starts in the lobby and becomes a creek that feeds into one of two outdoor pools.

For a fun, reasonably priced family dining experience, try Whispering Canyon Cafe — and be aware that if you ask for ketchup, you may get a lot of ketchup. If rare Disney characters are more your jam, enjoy dinner with the Evil Queen at Story Book Dining at Artist Point .

Those who want more space and ambience than a standard hotel room should reserve one of the Copper Creek Cabins in the woods adjacent to the Wilderness Lodge or the truly spectacular two-bedroom Yosemite Suite . Both are pricey, but we promise you'll love staying in either option.

If you do opt for standard rooms (or even club-level rooms ), the good news is that Disney's Wilderness Lodge is generally one of the more affordable of the Deluxe Disney resorts. So, you can rest easy knowing you're paying a little less than average for Disney's high-end properties.

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Wilderness Lodge average around $500 per night.

Best Moderate Disney World resorts

If you want a balance of price and amenities, the Moderate category of Disney resorts can be a sweet spot. At Moderate Disney resorts, there are some full-service restaurants, more on-site amenities, waterslides at the pools, and a great variety of themes and locations to choose from.

Expect rates at these hotels to range from $250 to $400 on most nights for a standard room.

One of the best Moderate resorts at Disney World is Port Orleans. We're especially partial to the French Quarter side, with its charming wrought-iron railings, bubbling fountains and an eatery serving tasty Mickey-shaped beignets.

This property is much more compact than other Moderate resorts like Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. This makes everything from parking and catching a Disney bus to grabbing dinner that much easier.

It isn't the newest or fanciest option in Disney's resort portfolio, but it is a calm and lovely balance of theming and easily accessible amenities. Although you'll need a bus or car to get from this resort to any of the Disney World theme parks, you can catch the free boat to Disney Springs for shopping and dining.

In addition to the property's relaxing vibe and manageable size, the greatest asset of Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter is the price.

Rooms here are often more affordable than what you'll find at other Moderate properties, most likely because it's not connected to the theme parks by anything other than ground transportation (and Minnie Vans ).

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter average around $300 per night.

One of Disney World's lesser-known Moderate resorts is also one of its most entertaining.

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort has plenty of campsites for tents and spots for recreational vehicles .

However, if you're not interested in either, The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort are an excellent choice. It gives you the best of many worlds regarding space, price and resort activities — especially if you're not planning to spend all your time at the theme parks. The cabins sleep up to six and offer a queen-size bed, a set of bunk beds and a relatively comfortable pullout sofa bed. And soon, Disney will replace the current cabins with 350 all-new cabins .

Trust us, there is one essential Fort Wilderness expense you'll want to budget for — golf carts .

It costs $65 to $84 per day to rent one. However, it makes it much easier to travel to the Meadow Trading Post for snacks, the docks for transportation to The Magic Kingdom, and other parts of the 700-acre property. Lock in your golf cart reservation as far in advance as possible since they're known to sell out.

Fort Wilderness has a nonstop list of activities you probably didn't know you could do at Disney World, including pony rides, archery, fishing, and rides in wagons and horse-drawn carriages.

When the day winds down, you can also check out the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue , a lively performance full of dancing, singing and comedic moments.

Rates for standard cabins at The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Lodge average around $460 per night.

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort is the poster child of a Moderate Disney property. It's an older resort with two-story buildings spread across a large area.

Complimentary theme park transportation is limited to buses, and on-site dining venues are mostly quick-service options, given the resort's large convention clientele. Additionally, the rooms are on the smaller side, though they were recently renovated.

But one thing changed a couple of years ago that catapulted part of this property onto our favorites list: the new Gran Destino Tower .

This "hotel within a hotel" has a stunning lobby and an equally snazzy lobby bar. If you're looking for a completely different perspective, let an elevator whisk you up to the 16th floor, where the rooftop Dahlia Lounge awaits — along with an award-winning wine list. Gran Destino Tower is light on a Disney theme, but otherwise, its accommodations are on par with many Deluxe resorts.

Gran Destino is also the only Moderate option at Disney World that has a club lounge, should you prefer an exclusive space to visit and grab refreshments throughout your stay.

Rates for standard rooms at the Gran Destino Tower at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort average around $400 per night.

Best Value Disney World resorts

Value Disney resorts are the most affordable Disney World hotels.

Nightly rates start around $125 and increase to about $300 on peak dates. None of these hotels are walkable from the theme parks, but some are close to the Skyliner. Others require bus transportation.

Value Disney hotels don't have full-service restaurants or fun extras like waterslides, but they do offer grab-and-go food outlets, lively pools and colorful themes.

Disney's Art of Animation Resort is the king of Value resorts at Disney World.

The resort features bright colors and memorable Disney cartoon characters. It's also accessible from both Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios thanks to the Disney Skyliner gondola system .

Art of Animation really shines with its family suites, which provide a lot more room and have three beds in each suite (one traditional bed, one Murphy bed and a pullout sofa bed). The family suites have your choice of "The Lion King," "Cars" and "Finding Nemo" themes, while standard rooms feature decor inspired by "The Little Mermaid."

When it comes to pools, the Big Blue Pool at Art of Animation is actually the largest option available at any Disney World resort.

While the food here won't blow you away, Landscape of Flavors is a reliable cafeteria-style venue that can be a nice, easy option for families.

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Art of Animation Resort average around $240 per night.

Disney's Pop Century Resort is across from Art of Animation. While it doesn't have our favorite theme (it's themed to bygone decades), it is usually the lowest-priced Disney resort that isn't one of the All-Star properties.

We generally prefer it to the All-Star resorts, as Pop Century is a stand-alone property that doesn't have to share a bus service. It's less likely to be packed with thousands of cheerleaders and children's sports groups. In addition to the included bus service to the parks, it also sits on the Skyliner route, so you can soar in a gondola to various parks and resorts.

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Pop Century Resort average around $200 per night.

Best Disney World resort pools

Nothing beats an afternoon dip in your hotel's pool, so if you want to know which Disney resort hotels have the best pools, here are our top picks.

Disney's Beach Club Resort and its sister property, Disney's Yacht Club Resort , share access to Stormalong Bay, which offers top-notch poolside fun for the whole family.

Both resorts have the distinct feel of a beach in an otherwise landlocked resort thanks to sand-bottomed pools, a lazy river, a pirate ship and a wicked waterslide, among other amenities that will keep young swimmers entertained for hours.

Related: The best pools at Walt Disney World

The Yacht Club is marginally more convenient to the large pool complex, but the Beach Club is a little closer to Epcot. Choose accordingly. No matter which property you pick, don't miss the huge sundaes at Beaches & Cream Soda Shop, steps from the pool.

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Yacht and Beach Clubs average around $540 per night.

Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort is one of Disney's Moderate resorts and one of the largest. Because the resort is so spread out, there are multiple pools across the property — six in total. The main Fuentes del Morro Pool is themed to resemble a Spanish fortress, with two waterslides, a zero-entry area, a 12-person hot tub and a pirate-themed splash area for kids.

The resort has a colorful island style, and some guest rooms recently received a Little Mermaid makeover. Despite the resort's size, it does offer convenient transportation options, including bus service and a Disney Skyliner station that can take you to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Rates at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort average around $300 per night.

One of the original Disney World resort hotels inspired by Walt Disney himself, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort sits on the monorail only a few minutes from The Magic Kingdom. Yet, it transports you to a lush Pacific island the moment you enter. It's such a great property we almost warn against staying at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort because it will set the bar pretty high for future Disney resort stays.

At "the Poly," you'll find a couple of our favorite Disney restaurants. Notably, there's Ohana — a Polynesian-inspired dining venue within the resort's main building that serves delectable noodles and a mouthwatering bread pudding — among other options on the family-style, all-you-care-to-enjoy menu.

There are plenty of activities and amenities on the grounds, such as free outdoor movies at night and a 142-foot waterslide that drops riders into the main Lava Pool (there is a secondary quiet pool, as well). There's also a large splash area with several smaller waterslides for younger guests, a zero-entry section, a separate quiet pool and a nearby stand to grab Dole Whip. The icing on the on-site Dole Whip is being able to watch The Magic Kingdom fireworks from the pool in the evenings as the perfectly timed music pipes in.

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort average around $640 per night.

Best Disney World resorts for large families

Large families and groups can really rack up a bill when visiting Disney World since most on-property rooms are designed for no more than four or five people. As a result, your choices tend to be limited if you have at least five or six people in your group. Fortunately, a few resorts offer plenty of space for larger families.

Related: The best Orlando hotels for large families

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa is another DVC property, with room sizes ranging from studio suites to one-, two- and three-bedroom villas. Deluxe studio rooms have a kitchenette and a balcony or patio, and villas have separate bedrooms, a full kitchen, in-room laundry and a balcony or patio.

The resort also has multiple pools, bike rentals, tennis and basketball courts, and a Community Hall with movies, video games and daily activities like crafts and games.

In the woods behind Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa are several Treehouse Villas that sleep up to nine people. Offering three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen, these spacious accommodations can easily fit an extended family.

Rates for Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa average around $500 per night, while the Treehouse Villas average around $1,300 per night.

Best Disney World resorts for adults

We love Disney, but we're not afraid to admit that having a brief break from its intensity is sometimes nice. Luckily, a couple of options are ideal for those who want to stay near the magic without living with Mickey and his friends 24 hours a day.

Disney World's newest stand-alone hotel is easily one of the larger resort's best options for adults who want to balance a Disney trip with some less in-your-face Disney elements.

On the Disney Skyliner route, Disney's Riviera Resort offers easy access to Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot without placing you right in the heart of all the theme park action.

The real highlight of this easygoing property, though, is its Mediterranean vibe. The blue-and-white decor, music and cuisine will transport you to the Mediterranean coast.

You'll find all the usual Disney amenities at this Deluxe resort, but it's just a touch more refined and grown-up without being stuffy.

We're serious Riviera fans thanks in part to its design, which includes everything from "Tangled"- and "Peter Pan"-inspired mosaics to marble bathrooms that may be the nicest in all of Disney.

Don't worry if you want to bring the kids, though. There's plenty for them to enjoy, including poolside gelato, a waterslide and our favorite toddler splash area at Disney World.

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's Riviera Resort average around $500 per night.

Disney's BoardWalk Inn is a DVC resort along Disney's BoardWalk in the Epcot resort area. That means you can easily walk to Epcot to eat and drink global cuisine around the World Showcase or to Disney's Hollywood Studios to fly the Millennium Falcon at Galaxy's Edge. The resort also offers water taxi and bus service around Disney World.

Related: Is a Disney annual pass worth it?

Guest rooms range from standard rooms to multi-bedroom villas, and the resort has three pools. You can splash and slide at the Luna Park Pool (or soak in the hot tub) or head for one of the quieter leisure pools.

This resort is all about location. In addition to being close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, Disney's BoardWalk Inn is close to the dining, shopping and nightlife that line Disney's BoardWalk area. When you are done visiting the parks, you can visit Abracadabar, a magic-themed cocktail lounge, or Jellyrolls, a dueling piano bar.

Rates for standard rooms at Disney's BoardWalk Inn average around $600 per night.

Bottom line

Choosing the best resort hotel at Disney World gets easier once you identify your budget and priorities.

Do you want a great pool, more space, proximity to the parks or perhaps an immersive theme? No matter what is most important to you, you'll find a Disney property that will likely satisfy your needs.

Whether you're itching to splash around in the Stormalong Bay pool complex at Disney's Yacht Club and Beach Club resorts, stretch your budget at Disney's Pop Century Resort, retreat to a cabin at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort or get an iconic eyeful of the monorail coming through Disney's Contemporary Resort, there's a Disney resort that will have every member of your family excited to be on vacation at Walt Disney World.

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Families Are Going Into Debt for Disney Vacations

Some families are spending more than they can afford on Disney vacations. They say it’s because they know their children won’t stay young forever.

Credit... Photo Illustration by The New York Times

Supported by

By Jessica Fu

• Published Aug. 20, 2024 Updated Aug. 21, 2024

Alyssa Leach and her husband have visited Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., every year since 2015. To them, the theme park feels like an oasis where they can escape the stress of everyday life.

So when their son, Lincoln, was born in 2020, Ms. Leach wanted his first visit to the park to be special and spared no expense in planning it. She booked a two-week trip to visit Florida in December 2022, which included stays at Disney World and Universal Studios.

The costs quickly accumulated. Ms. Leach and her family traveled from New Haven, Conn., and paid extra for admission to “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party,” an after-hours event that cost about $200 per person. She also shelled out $100 for the theme park’s photo service so she could download photos of the family that photographers took during the visit.

The vacation cost around $6,000, which included accommodations, tickets and a car rental, and which Ms. Leach charged to her Disney-branded credit card.

Ms. Leach is one of many parents who have taken on debt for a Disney family vacation. In June, LendingTree, a financial firm, published the results of a survey of over 2,000 people that found that 45 percent of parents with children under 18 who have gone to Disney went into debt for the trip.

For a family of four, the cost of a one-week trip to Disney can range from $6,463 to $15,559, not including flights or souvenirs, according to an analysis by NerdWallet, a personal finance site. Many families can’t afford the trip at all. Last week, Disney reported softening demand for its theme parks because families, after years of dealing with high inflation, have less money to spend on amusement.

But Ms. Leach, 38, who works in sales, relies on quarterly bonuses to cover vacation costs. She and her husband earn about $250,000 annually, combined, though that figure can fluctuate each year. Her family doesn’t always have the money to pay for vacations upfront. Instead, she books first, then pays off her balances as the bonuses come in.

For the trip in 2022, Ms. Leach paid the minimum on her credit card for two months, accruing around $382 in interest before she was able to pay off the balance.

Disney stories, and the characters who populate them, are deeply embedded in American pop culture, and many families consider a trip to Disney-themed parks to be a rite of passage. The Magic Kingdom theme park at Disney World is the biggest amusement park in the world by attendance, drawing over 17.1 million visitors in 2022, according to a report by Aecom, an infrastructure consulting firm. The second biggest is Disneyland in California, which drew more than 16.8 million visitors in the same year.

Ms. Leach said she had no regrets about taking her young son on his first Disney trip.

“I’ll make more money,” she said. “But he’ll never be that young again.” Today, the family lives in Tampa, Fla., and each member has a Disney World annual pass.

“Disney does carry a level of nostalgia for people,” said Rachel Cruze, who hosts a personal finance podcast and wrote a personal finance book with her father, Dave Ramsey, geared toward parents. “It’s a lot of people’s childhoods. When you can go to one singular place and have so many of those memories and those characters come to life, it does bring a level of joy.”

However, Ms. Cruze said, the pressure to visit Disney theme parks and to go all out for what may be a once-in-a-lifetime trip can lead families to spend beyond their means. Often, visitors contend with sticker shock when they arrive at the park.

For Johnny Esfeller of Helena, Ala., Disney was a central part of his childhood. When he became a parent, he wanted his daughter to experience the same love for the theme park and its characters.

Mr. Esfeller, 41, who works in public relations and marketing, prides himself on nailing his budgets. So when he took his wife and their daughter, then 4, to Disney World in February 2022, he was shocked to find himself in debt after the trip.

“Disney’s never been a cheap vacation,” he said. “That’s been true since probably when Walt opened the park in the 1950s.” He had budgeted about $6,000 for the trip, but overspent by $2,500.

Mr. Esfeller and his wife are both employed full time and describe themselves as upper middle class. Together, they were able to pay off the debt from the trip in a few months. Still, it lingers in his memory like a cautionary tale.

He and his wife consider themselves seasoned Disney vacationers, but they were caught off guard by numerous pricing changes. The biggest one involved the park’s line-skipping system. For years, Disney offered visitors FastPass, a free service that allowed them to effectively hold a reserved time slot to ride an attraction without having to wait in long, winding lines. The park replaced it with a paid version in the fall of 2021. The cost of FastPass can vary depending on the ride, theme park and time of year.

The service cost Mr. Esfeller’s family $15 per person per day. “By the end of the trip, it was several hundred dollars that I didn’t bank on,” he said.

But shelling out extra for the new paid version of the line-skipping service, Mr. Esfeller said, didn’t feel like a choice.

“You’re there, you’re not sure when you’re coming back, and it’s like: ‘Fine, I’ll just bite the bullet. We’ll worry about the cost later,’” he said. “I just didn’t want my daughter to miss out on anything.”

Another example of what Mr. Esfeller described as the “nickel-and-diming” of his experience involved transportation within the park. Previously, Disney offered a shuttle service, branded as the Minnie Van and operated by Lyft. The company initially charged a $25 flat rate to transport families between any two locations on the resort premises. By the time Mr. Esfeller and his family were vacationing in 2022, it was operating on a surge-pricing model instead.

Also gone during their trip were prepaid dining plans that let families budget a flat payment for a set number of meals. (Disney brought back its dining plans in 2024 because of demand.)

A spokesperson for Disney said the company offered vacation options at multiple price points, including for hotels, park tickets, transportation and merchandise. The spokesperson said that the FastPass pricing model was standard in the industry, and that one benefit of variable pricing was lower costs for rides and parks that saw less demand.

Ms. Cruze advises families against going into debt for vacations. She said more families should consider less expensive travel, such as going to national parks. Though a Disney vacation can feel like an escape from reality, families eventually return to everyday life.

“If you don’t have the money, and you charge it, then that vacation follows you home for the next few months,” Ms. Cruze said.

She urges people to hold off on traveling until they have a solid amount of savings socked away, including for emergencies, before booking a vacation.

But that doesn’t work for all families. Rebecca Mitchell used to take on significant credit card debt to pay for Disney trips for herself and her child, who is now in college. As a single mother living in Iowa, Ms. Mitchell, 46, did administrative work for a company that sold manufacturing material, earning $15 an hour.

At the time, she didn’t think that saving and budgeting could do much for her. Whenever she managed to put some money away, a financial emergency would wipe it out.

“Had I waited for the money, I don’t know if I would have ever done it,” Ms. Mitchell said of the Disney trips.

Ms. Mitchell first took her child to Disney World in 2008, and they have returned to the theme park regularly. Her strategy has always been to just book the trip and then figure it out along the way.

She estimated that the trips with her child typically cost $2,500. When booking a vacation with Disney, families are required to make a minimum deposit of $200 to reserve their tickets and accommodations. Ms. Mitchell would pay the minimum deposit and then make additional payments whenever and however she could in the weeks before the trip. When it was time to take off, she charged the remaining balance to her credit card and typically paid off the debt within six months.

Ms. Mitchell said she had no regrets about taking on the debt. “I was young, my child was young, we only had that time,” she said. “Especially once your kids get older, memories are everything.”

An earlier version of this article misstated Rebecca Mitchell’s age; she is 46, not 48.

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• Children  - Opens menu - 0
• Children  - Opens menu - 1
• Children  - Opens menu - 2
• Children  - Opens menu - 3
• Children  - Opens menu - 4
• Children  - Opens menu - 5
• Children  - Opens menu - 6
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - -
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 17
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 16
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 15
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 14
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 13
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 12
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 11
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 10
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 9
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 8
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 7
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 6
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 5
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 4
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 3
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - 2
• Child 1  Age at Time of Travel - Infant
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - -
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 17
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 16
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 15
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 14
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 13
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 12
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 11
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 10
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 9
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 8
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 7
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 6
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 5
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 4
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 3
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - 2
• Child 2  Age at Time of Travel - Infant
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - -
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 17
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 16
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 15
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 14
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 13
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 12
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 11
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 10
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 9
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 8
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 7
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 6
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 5
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 4
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 3
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - 2
• Child 3  Age at Time of Travel - Infant
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - -
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 17
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 16
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 15
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 14
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 13
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 12
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 11
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 10
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 9
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 8
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 7
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 6
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 5
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 4
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 3
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - 2
• Child 4  Age at Time of Travel - Infant
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - -
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 17
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 16
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 15
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 14
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 13
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 12
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 11
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 10
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 9
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 8
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 7
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 6
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 5
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 4
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 3
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - 2
• Child 5  Age at Time of Travel - Infant
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - -
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 17
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 16
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 15
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 14
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 13
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 12
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 11
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 10
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 9
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 8
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 7
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 6
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 5
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 4
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 3
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - 2
• Child 6  Age at Time of Travel - Infant
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Disney's Pop Century Resort

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Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside

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Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

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Disney's Contemporary Resort

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Disney's Yacht Club Resort

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Disney's Old Key West Resort

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Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows

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Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort

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The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

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Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village

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Disney's BoardWalk Villas

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Disney's Beach Club Villas

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Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

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Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House

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The Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort

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Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

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Disney's Riviera Resort

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Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel

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Walt Disney World Swan Hotel

The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort - A Disney Vacation Club Resort

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Walt Disney World Swan Reserve

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Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World Area

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