There are laid-back vacations where preparation takes little more than making the reservation and packing your bathing suit. Then there are distant land vacations where you probably should brush up on your language skills, research the country and customs a bit, and do a little bit more prep before departing.Then there’s the Disney vacation.
Planning an enjoyable (keyword: enjoyable) trip to Walt DisneyWorld (WDW) in Orlando, FL can be a bit labor intensive for a variety of reasons. First of all, the square footage is twice the size of Manhattan so transportation is an issue. WDW is comprised of four different parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Studios (formerly Disney-MGM Studios). Fortunately, many of the Disney parks and resorts have at least two free modes of transportation as alternatives to driving yourself (and paying for parking): the internal bus system and either a monorail or boat option.
Neurotic Disney Planner (NDP) note: Animal Kingdom is the only park that only has the bus option, and no busses run from resort to resort. You'll need to transfer at a park or Downtown Disney.
Besides transportation, there’s the question of where and when you’re going to eat. Certain on-site restaurants book up quickly, especially those that include character interaction. One of the most difficult reservations to book is breakfast in Cinderella’s castle in the Magic Kingdom. Seasoned Disney travelers book all their ADR’s (Advanced Dining Reservations in Disney speak) as soon as they can (6 months out) and then tweak them here and there as their plans change. The thought is that it’s better to have the reservation and cancel it than to not have one and get stuck eating hot dogs and popcorn for dinner.
Additionally, good time slots for dining have become harder to secure during Disney's “free dining" promotions. Disney has had a dining plan for quite some time, where you pay a flat fee per day and get x-amount of meal credits to be used throughout your trip. “Free dining” is a concept that Disney has introduced to drive park attendance during slower times (read HOT – August and September) by offering guests the same food credits for no additional charge. When free dining is offered, many visitors take advantage and book restaurants they would never visit if they were paying out of pocket.
NDP note: Dining plan options (free or paid for) can be used at most restaurants but not all and do have certain restrictions so you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the dining plan before you book your ADR’s.
A little planning can make a big difference in your vacation experience at WDW. Fortunately, it is not difficult to find publications that give terrific planning advice. One essential piece of information is historic park attendance so that you can zig while the masses zag. On any given day, one park is historically more crowded than the others. That’s the park you want to avoid. Big crowds mean long wait times for rides, crowded parade viewing, and general difficulty and frustration moving around and seeing everything there is to see. Once you’ve planned which days you’ll be where, it’s a good idea to make a note of park opening and closing times, as well as parade and fireworks schedules.
NDP note: Disney offers “Extra Magic Hours” (EMH) in the mornings and evenings that are additional hours only for Disney resort guests. You’ll want to take note of which days of your vacation have EMH because those parks are generally more crowded on those days. However, if you are a resort guest and can make a morning EMH right at opening, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to hit the most popular rides with little crowds. It’s the folks behind that first wave who find the waits a little longer than normal.
Regardless of how much planning you’re willing to do, the best time to experience WDW is during off-peak times of the year: October, early November, January – March. The weather is mild and the crowds are lower. You can generally walk right on to rides and enjoy the parks without a throng of people at your back. Of course, the most crowded times are school holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the summer months (when the temps and humidity are at their worst).
No matter when you choose to visit WDW, here are some planning sites worth checking out:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/
http://www.disboards.com/
http://www.tourguidemike.com/
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/
Enjoy your Disney trip!
~ Tiffany
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