When you are planning a trip to Disney World, you are going to see a lot of different articles about what to do. But this guide will be a little different. Planning a Disney Vacation is not as scary as a lot of people make it out to be. I do think everyone needs to experience Disney at least once before making a final opinion about the happiest place on earth. So to help you make the best of your trip I have put together a list of things to avoid doing.
Mistake 1: Not Making Dining Reservations in Advanced
Disney dining reservations open 160 days before you stay. You heard that right, you have to decide what you’ll want to have for dinner six month in advance. Trust me, you’ll thank me later. Dining reservations book up super fast at Disney World. You can book dining for every meal; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Disney does offer a lot of different options when it comes to dining from quick-service to table-service. You won't need to make reservations for quick service but you’ll want to lock in your table-service reservations right away.
Disney’s different dining experiences are offered at the parks, at the Resorts, and at Disney Springs. You’ll be sure to find something that will satisfy every craving you might have while on vacation. Many of the table-service and character experiences should be reserved at this point. Especially if you want to dine at one of the more popular restaurants such as Cinderella’s Royal Table or Be Our Guest. In my opinion, you don’t need a dining reservation for every night you are at Disney.
Character dining experiences are a good way to ensure you get to meet as many characters as possible without waiting in all the lines. You can meet all different characters from Mickey and Friends to Princesses to Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too. In my opinion, Breakfast is the best time to do a character experience meal. Before you decide which dining experiences are for you, you should check out the different menu options Disney has to offer.
Mistake 2: Not Understanding How to Use Fastpass+
This is a big one. If there is one mistake you should not make when you are planning your Disney World vacation, it’s this one. One of the biggest concerns people have when they are planning their vacations is how they will beat the crowds and lines. The answer to that question is with Disney’s Fastpass+ system.
Let’s break down Disney’s Fastpass+ system simply. The first questions everyone has is “are they free?” The answer is yes. Every guest with a ticket to the Disney Parks is allowed three FastPasses to start each day. After you use the first three, you are eligible to book more that day you are in the Park. You will be able to book these ones one at a time. Once you use the fourth, we’ll be able to use the fifth, and so on. There is no limit to how many FastPasses you can get in the day.
When you can start scheduling FastPass+ depends on where you are staying. Guest staying on-property will be able to start booking FastPass+ 60 days out while guest staying off-property can start booking at 30 days out. Booking will open at 7:00 am EST on the first day of your planned visit. You’ll be able to book your FastPass+ through your My Disney Experience App or on your computer. There are a limited amount of passes available per day per attraction and the most popular ones do book up early. Because of this, you will want to have your App or computer opened right away.
Having a Fastpass+ doesn’t mean you will be skipping the line completely, it just means you won't be waiting standby. This will decrease your wait time significantly, in some cases from 2 hours to 20 minutes. You can use your Fastpass+ for almost every attraction at Disney World from rides to shows to fireworks and even character meet and greets.
Stay tuned for my blog post coming out all about planning and scheduling Fastpass+ at Disney World.
Mistake 3: Being Unprepared for the Florida Weather
I am from Wisconsin, and while we can get some hot and humid summer days, nothing compares to the Florida heat. When you vacation in Florida during the summer, you will normally experience that hot, humid and sometimes very rainy weather. Crowd also play a huge factor with the weather. Large crowds mean less personal space for guests which translates into a lot of sweaty people in close proximity to one another.
With that being said you’ll have to make sure you are prepared for whatever mother nature throws at you. I would suggest being fully prepared by bringing a collapsible water bottle, rain poncho, and a portable fan. You can pick everything you need for your trip at Target, Walmart, or on Amazon.
Being prepared can also mean planning out your day so you can spend some time inside in the air conditioning. Every park has attractions that you can experience indoors throughout the day. Whether it be a show or indoor attractions such as Peter Pan’s Flight or The Haunted Mansion, there are many ways for you to take a break from the heat or rain. Another way to combat the heat would be to leave the park in the afternoon to either grab lunch, take a dip in the Resort pool, or both.
Mistake 4: Writing Off the “Other” Disney Parks
A big misconception people have about Disney World is that it is all one Park. When in reality it’s comprised of four separate ones. I’ve heard it before, “I want to go to Disney World but I don’t want to go to Disney everyday. I want to go to Epcot too.” It’s never occurred to me before but a lot of people think Disney World just means Magic Kingdom, which is false.
Sure Magic Kingdom is the most popular of the four parks, but it’s also always the busiest. Magic kingdom has the iconic Castle at the end of Main Street so it’s only natural for people to think of it when you say Disney World.
In reality, Disney has three other Parks that are just as fun and are usually less busy.
Epcot is definitely the most fun park at Disney World for adults. This is the park that is comprised of all the countries. Within the countries, you can experience not only the different cultures from each country but different drinks and foods. “Drinking Around the World” is one of the most popular things to do at Epcot since it has less rides than the other parks. Each country also offers a different attraction, most of the time a show, that is unique to them. Epcot is also home to four different festivals throughout the year. It’s not all about the food and drink at Epcot, Soarin’ is a must do when visiting this park as well as Test Track and Mission Space for all you adventurers out there.
Hollywood Studios has gone through the most change throughout the years. It has not only changed names, but it has added new lands; Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land. With these additions, you will be able to step in and be immersed into what it would feel like to be apart of these movies. This park is getting more and more popular because of the additions of these two new lands. Both lands are bringing together the old and new generations of fans through their love of the movies. Some of the best rides Disney has to offer at located at this park. Three new rides within the new lands; Toy Story Mania!, Alien Swirling Saucers, Slinky Dog Dash, and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. As well as some that have been around for a while such as Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Animal Kingdom is the biggest park in terms of landmass. The best way to describe this park is as a giant interactive zoo. It focuses on the education of the conservation of animals. When you enter the Animal Kingdom, you forget that you are in the middle of Florida. This park is perfect for the adventurer in everyone. You can experience attractions such as Kilimanjaro Safaris to Broadway-like shows like Festival of the Lion King to adrenaline filled rides such as Exploration Everest.
Mistake 5: Trying to do Too Much in One Trip
You’re going to Disney World, the happiest place on earth, so the last thing you want to do is get cranky and annoyed when you should be having the time of your life. The last thing you want to do is burn yourself out by trying to do too much in one go. I’m not going to deny it Disney can be a lot to swallow, especially on your first trip. They have four different theme parks as well as two water parks you have to option to visit.
In order to prevent temper tantrums, I highly recommend scheduling yourself AT LEAST one day off in that time period. A day off can consist of anything from relaxing by the pool, going to Disney Springs, or hitting up one of the many other amenities Disney has to offer. Florida can get very hot, so you are going to want to have a planned break from not only the heat but also the crowds. After two or three straight days in the parks you’re going to be tired and want a little bit of a break, which is totally understandable.
Every Resort offers amenities exclusive to them. All resorts have pools, game rooms, and kids clubs that are included with your stay. Different resorts will also offer various outdoor sports courts such as tennis, basketball, and volleyball. They will also offer different events every night such as movies by the pool, bonfires, and arts and crafts. All of the resorts have gift shops specific to their theme, they also offer a wide variety of Disney Movies that you will able to watch in your room.
Disney also offers they own Downtown District called Disney Springs. This is a good place to get all of your shopping done as well as eat at some great restaurants. Disney Springs is not exclusive to Disney Resorts Guests, so it does offer shops that are not directly related to Disney.
I have people ask me all the time, “Since we are going to be in Orlando, should we just do Disney and Universal at the same time?” In my opinion, those should be two separate trips. It can get crazy busy and expensive to do both during the same vacations.
Please check back for more posts about planning your next Disney Vacation. And remember, every Disney Vacation holds its own Magic.