Planning your first trip to a Walt Disney theme park can be an overwhelming experience. The very reason why web sites such as this one are so popular is that nine out of top 10 amusement parks in the world in terms of visitors are owned by The Walt Disney Company. Since many people visit these locations on an annual basis (or even more often), many people you don’t know possess a lot more Disney wisdom than you do.
In order to maximize your entertainment and minimize your aggravation, here is a compilation of the eight steps you need to take in order to guarantee the ultimate Disney Vacation. Keep in mind that a lot of these tips are straightforward. Nobody is attempting to re-invent the wheel here. If you have visited Disney parks many times before, a lot of this information should be clear-cut. If, on the other hand, you are embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime trip and feel a bit overwhelmed, this is the guide for you.
1. Determine your budget
No, this is not a fun way to begin thinking about your dream vacation. It is important, though. Establishing the price range for your trip will go a long way in identifying several of the steps that follow. If you are on a shoestring budget, you may choose to drive rather than fly to the appropriate theme park. Also, you may choose to stay further away from the chosen Disney Park in order to garner a cheaper hotel room. Conversely, if money is no object, feel free to stop reading this column. You can have Jeeves the Butler do everything for you.
2. Pick your resort
This step is trickier than it may seem. Now that you know your budget, you can determine how far you are willing to travel to enjoy the ultimate Disney vacation. Statistically, the odds are good that you will choose Orlando, Florida, as your destination. 92% of all theme park attendance for the top 10 in terms of visitors travels to Disney. Out of that group, almost 45% of traffic is for the various Walt Disney World properties. In 2013, almost exactly 50 million visitors attended Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.
Perhaps you want to do something a bit different, though. Tokyo Disneyland spiked in popularity last year, with its two parks increasing roughly 14% in visitors. Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris are also wonderful options for people residing in Europe and Asia or for North Americans seeking a more exotic vacation. Finally, there is always the park that started it all, Disneyland in Anaheim, California, a place that will always hold a soft spot in my heart as well as anyone else’s who has ever visited there.
3. Select your travel plans
Obviously, locality plays a huge part in this decision. Personally, I loathe flying, but I am located so far away from the various Disney Parks that it is my only option unless I want to waste an entire vacation day driving. If you prefer flying to driving, that will probably be your selection, but this conversation is not solely limited to those two options.
Disney cruises have a sterling reputation for good reason. If the idea of spending all of your vacation at theme parks sounds too hectic, they are a viable option as a key component of the Ultimate Disney Vacation. If you plan to visit one of the American parks, consider traveling to San Diego, California, or Port Canaveral, Florida. A trip composed of a few days at a theme park and a few days at sea represents a wonderful compromise for families who want a nice combination of entertainment and relaxation.
4. Determine whether you want to stay onsite or offsite
This step and the following one will be somewhat correlated. In previous columns, I have stated my fondness for Disney’s onsite properties. I understand that many people feel differently, which is why so many major hotel chains have placed some of their finest properties within minutes of Disney Parks. Simply stated, there are few wrong choices for people who stay close to the American properties. If we widen the scope to Europe and Asia, well, the next bad Parisian hotel I stay at will be the first. Since I have not been to Japan or China (Hello, bucket list!), I cannot speak from experience in this regard.
What you need to know about staying onsite at Disney properties is that company incentivizes you to do so. In order to claim as much of your entertainment budget as possible, Disney offers bonuses such as early FastPass+ selection windows and convenient transportation to the various parks. The last time I visited Walt Disney World, I didn’t even carry around my wallet. With the Magic Band working perfectly and easy access to all parks plus Downtown Disney, the company earned 100% of my tourist money.
If you are less Disney brainwashed, the idea of staying offsite will make sense. Orlando and Anaheim are teeming with marvelous entertainment options, and Paris is basically the entertainment capital of modern civilization. Sorry, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi fans. The point is that if you are traveling with your own vehicle or renting one, staying offsite is not only viable but possibly preferred. Determine exactly how you plan to spend your days and nights and go from there.
5. Realistically evaluate how much time you plan to spend in the park(s)
It should be obvious why this step ties back to the last one. If you plan to be in the parks a lot, staying offsite becomes inconvenient. You have to take everything you need with you and if you forget something, you either waste valuable vacation time backtracking or are stuck without the item for the day.
Conversely, if you only plan to spend a few hours at the park each day, being offsite is wonderful. You are insulated from the chaos of Disney Parks and have more control over your individual vacation choices. In other words, spending less time at the park gets you out from under Disney’s thumb. Personally, I travel to these areas for the Disney Parks, so I love being under that particular mouse thumb. Wait, does Mickey Mouse have thumbs?
The other important aspect of making this determination involves ticket purchase. If you plan to visit a park a day while you are at Disney, all you need to do is buy a basic ticket for the duration of your stay. If you want to park hop, spend time at Downtown Disney’s DisneyQuest, and visit the various Disney water parks, you will need to select the various add-ons with your ticket purchase. There is no need for the added expenses if you are going to Disney just for the four parks and don’t plan to spend much time at them.
6. Grab your advance dinner reservations
No matter how long you plan to visit, most Disney guests enjoy at least one table service meal per visit. Some people (like me) set up a full slate of them. Anyone who visits Walt Disney World will have to be a bit forward thinking in this regard. Due to the extreme popularity of this park, some of the most hotly contested reservations must be set up 180 days in advance.
If you have never visited Walt Disney World before, that probably sounds crazy. It’s true, though. In fact, Cinderella’s Royal Table and Be Our Guest, the two most popular restaurants at Magic Kingdom, sell out so quickly that you would be well served to try to make reservations at 7 AM on the morning 180 days out from your visit.
The above represents an extreme amount of planning that most people find off-putting. The good news is that the other Disney parks do not require such logistics. In fact, a person who calls Disneyland to make reservations a week before arrival is probably in good shape. Many folks have been able to acquire same day reservations. If you don’t want to stress about getting a table, simply call a few weeks ahead of time. That should be plenty of advance notice everywhere but Walt Disney World.
If you are more of a “we’ll figure it out when we get there” sort of person, you can eat happily at Walt Disney World. It will simply be a series of quick service meals (read: cheeseburgers) or you will have to wait a good while as people with advance dinner reservations get seated ahead of you.
7. Choose your FastPass+ selections (Walt Disney World only)
If you are visiting one of the other Disney Parks, skip ahead to the next section. Everywhere else still uses the prior FastPass process, which can be handled easily once you arrive at the park. As is the case with Advanced Dining Reservations, Walt Disney World requires additional planning.
Thirty days prior to your visit (or 60 days if you are staying onsite), you will need to log on to MyDisneyExperience.com or the MDE app. From there, you will be provided with the ability to choose up to three rides at a selected park. This has become a crucial step as some popular rides such as Toy Story Midway Mania, Test Track and Soarin’ experience brutally long wait times, especially during the most popular periods on the tourism calendar.
8. Consider splurging
The Ultimate Disney Vacation shouldn’t be run-of-the-mill. If your finances allow it, there are several additional options you can choose in order to create the most memorable vacation possible. Are you a fan of Cirque du Soleil? Consider going to La Nouba, the Orlando show. If you want an unforgettable combination of dinner and a meal, Spirit of Aloha and Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue could fit the bill. The latter has been a crowd pleaser for forty years now! At Disneyland, I suggest the character meal at Goofy’s Kitchen or a meal at Napa Rose in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel.
Of course, food and shows aren’t the only way to splurge. If money is no object, consider one of the special tours. The Ultimate Day of Thrills and The Ultimate Day for Young Families at Walt Disney World are roughly $300 per person. For that cost, you get to ride over a dozen rides across three different Disney Parks. Disneyland offers an even more amazing experience. For $109 per person, you can Walk in Walt’s Disneyland Footsteps, which basically sets the bar for Disney once-in-a-lifetime moments.
