After spending a lot of time and energy planning a Disney World Vacation, it seems only right for you to want it to go swimmingly. If you’ve ever gone to Disney World, or on any vacation that requires multiple locations, you know that it is hard to keep you and your party organized.
It doesn’t matter how many people you are vacationing with, it can be hard to keep everyone together. Over the years, I have picked up on some tips and ticks on how to stay organized during a Disney Vacation. A lot of these tips can be helpful for any type of trip, but many of them are geared specifically for a Disney Vacation.
Plan Ahead
When you go to Disney, whether it is the first time or the tenth time, planning ahead is crucial. Even the most seasoned Disney-goers plan ahead.
There are so many things to do at Disney that it is nearly impossible to get everything done in one trip. It doesn’t matter how long your trip is, you will never get through everything in one trip. To maximize your time on vacation, you should make a wish list of everything you want to accomplish. Everyone’s wish list will be different. Your list will include everything from what rides and attractions you want to experience to the characters you want to meet and the different foods you want to try.
Before making your wish list, you have to know about what each park has to offer. I have different lists for different things around the parks. I have lists for all the attractions at the parks as well as the different foods offered. You’ll want to go over everything there is to offer on your Disney vacation before making final plans. The next part of the organization process is doing research.
Do Your Research
You can plan your vacation minute to minute but it will do nothing without doing research as well. Research comes into play at multiple steps in the planning process. You’ll want to research the best time to travel, special event, park hours, and much more.
When organizing my Disney World vacations, I always start with looking up the park hours for the duration of my stay. You’ll be able to find hours for all Disney’s park on their website. For the most part, the hours stay pretty consistent. However you have to be aware of some changes which can come from special events and new land openings. For example, park hours at Hollywood Studios were extended to the early hours of the morning when Star Wars Land opened while the Magic Kingdom closes early on select nights for the Halloween and Christmas parties.
Another part of research includes reading reviews. Just like you wouldn't go to a new restaurant or hotel without first reviewing it, you’ll want to see what other people have to say about Disney World. Reviews can come from different sources. Some of the best reviews come from independent bloggers who are not paid by Disney, so you know they are being honest. You can find articles all over the internet on different subjects from where and when to stay to what to eat while on your vacation.
Make a Schedule
If you’re anything like me, you need to see things in writing to truly visualize your plan. It is really amazing what you can do on a computer that makes making schedules and lists fun. You can either play around with different applications to create your own designs or download pre-made ones from the internet.
When I say make a schedule I’m not saying plan out an hour-by-hour or even minute-by-minute itinerary, but you should have an idea of what you’ll be doing day-to-day. My schedules usually include what park we’ll be visiting that day, our scheduled Fastpass+, and any dining reservations.
They can be as vague or specific you want them to be. For any given vacation I have multiple itineraries. I’ll start with a vacation overview and then go into more detail with daily ones. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, I’ll attach examples of the schedules I make for my trip.
Staying organized may not be your top priority while on vacation, but it is very helpful. I would recommend considering having some sort of schedule to maximize your time on vacation. Like every other detail of your trip, it’ll be different every time you go. New attractions will be opening and some you simply won’t get to do in one vacation. That will want you coming back for more.