Last year my husband and I surprised the kids with a trip to Disney World. This was a very special trip as it was not only our children’s first time ever at Disney World, but my husband and I’s first time there as well. So I was determined to make this a vacation to remember. Let me tell ya, it was definitely a dream come true!

The moment I realized that we could actually pull this trip off I went into full blown planning mode. I watched numerous YouTube videos and read countless blogs for any tips that could help me plan the perfect family vacation. I got some really great tips and learned quite a few along the way. I have put together some tips just for you, to help you plan for your Disney World vacation with ease.

Book your vacation months to a year in advance.

I booked our vacation a whole year in advance. Trust me, you don’t wanna wait until the last minute. Those rooms go fast. We booked straight through Disney World’s website and had the option to make payments towards our vacation. This worked out great considering we didn’t have a large lump sum of vacation money saved up at the time. There wasn’t a set amount that had to be paid each month so anytime we wanted to make a payment we just logged into our Disney account and entered the amount that we wanted to pay. Easy peasy.

Take advantage of Disney World’s ‘Magic Your Way’ Package. 

We went all out for this vacation (bougie on a budget). I wanted the whole Disney experience so we decided to get the ‘Magic Your Way’ package. This package included a Disney resort, a dining plan, theme park tickets, magic bands, and other little perks like mini golf vouchers, refillable drink mugs, and 1st time at Disney World buttons to wear. We ended up staying four days at Disney’s Pop Century Resort (great price and we loved it!). We were going to be celebrating my daughter’s birthday while at Disney so I knew that I wanted character dining and unique themed dining experiences, and that can get a bit expensive, so we went with the deluxe dining plan and boy did those dining credits come in handy. We also did two-day theme park tickets for Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. 

Map out your top attractions and book your Fast Passes as soon as you can.

As soon as I booked our vacay, I wrote down the top attractions that we wanted to do and kept an eye out for the date when I could book our three Fast Passes. Unfortunately, there was a brand new popular ride (Flight of Passage) that got booked super duper fast so we missed out on that even though I was on my P’s and Q’s. Make sure that you’re booking attractions according to the location that you plan to be in because Disney is big and that can get very stressful having to run to and fro to make your allotted time for the rides.

Plan your dining accordingly and book as soon as possible.

While planning your dining keep in mind the area that you will be in around that time. As I stated above, Disney World is a big place and you don’t want to be running to and fro, so make sure your scheduled attractions and dining work nicely around each other. You’ll thank me for this. You’re going to want to book as soon as you can as well. I was also on my P’s and Q’s when my booking for dining became available and I still missed out on a popular restaurant (Be Our Guest) because they got fully booked fast. We did get to eat breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Castle though, and I may have enjoyed it more than the kids 🙂

Wear a back pack to the parks and fill it with useful items.

Although our dining plan gave us refillable mugs, we took some cold drinks from our resort room mini fridge and packed them in a insulated lunch box that my husband carried in his book bag. To be honest we just really didn’t feel like searching for a place to keep filling up. Also, pack disposable ponchos in case it rains (unless you’re like us and too hot to care). I would also advise packing hand towels for the hotter months because they will come in handy. That sun was scorching hot.

Bring your own misting fan while vacationing during the hotter months.

We went during the month of September and although we had so much fun, it was so hot that I almost melted. Needless to say, I will be more prepared next time. They do sell misting fans around the park but I can assure you that it would cost a lot less to just buy them from Walmart. And if you’re like me and don’t carry cash, you may find yourself sweating bullets watching the Festival of Fantasy parade front-row while fanning your kids and shielding them from the sun all because you weren’t able to buy from one of those convenient carts because they don’t take debit cards. Whew!

Go early to secure a good spot for the parades and fireworks.

Regarding Festival of Fantasy parade, yes, we did get there early for those front-row views. We also secured a great spot for the Happily Ever After Fireworks all by getting there before it got crowded…and trust me, it fills up pretty quickly. So grab a snack for you and the kiddos and find a happy place on the ground (because after walking around the parks all day you won’t care about sitting on the bare ground). It’s so worth it though. Their firework show is the most amazing one I have ever seen!

Allow  time for leisure activities.

There’s a reason why we only booked two-day theme park tickets for our four-day vacation. The parks are really fun but you will be exhausted. It’s great to just have time to relax and do chill things. The first day of our trip we went to Animal Kingdom, and the second day we went to Magic Kingdom. On the third day we leisurely explored our resort grounds and visited Disney Springs. At Disney Springs we ate lunch at a really fun themed restaurant (T-Rex) and visited a couple of cool shops.

On the fourth and last day we relaxed at our resort’s pool, explored other Disney resorts, and ended the day on Disney’s Boardwalk. We walked over the bridge from our resort to Disney’s Art of Animation resort, took a bus to Disney Springs in order to take a boat to Disney’s Port Orleans-Riverside resort, and then took a bus over to Disney’s Boardwalk Inn. Once on Disney’s Boardwalk, we road a surrey bike (so much fun!), had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant named Trattoria Al Forno, and relaxed on the boardwalk for the rest of the night. We even got to see fireworks. It was the perfect ending to an amazing vacation.

Have you and your family vacationed at Disney World? If so, let us know your tips for a successful trip!