Disney planning

[I❤️Disney]

How long did it take you to plan your magical Disney trip?

 

[penelope75]

Well, I'm working on planning now and we are not going for 2 years. There is a certain amount of planning involved. Fastpass+, dining, which parks you are going to visit and on which day. I've already started to think about which parks that I want to go to and where to eat for dinner/lunch/breakfast. If you like to plan, this is the vacation for you. Also, bank on about 8-10 months total for planning, just to get a good idea of what you are going to be doing, but once you have decided where, when, which restaurants the longest part will be waiting to make your reservations 6 months out and then 60 days out for your FP+. Happy planning!!

 

[Jonzy2]

We start planning as soon as we make our reservations. That's part of the fun,

How long did it take you to plan your magical Disney trip?

Well, I'm working on planning now and we are not going for 2 years. There is a certain amount of planning involved. Fastpass+, dining, which parks you are going to visit and on which day. I've already started to think about which parks that I want to go to and where to eat for dinner/lunch/breakfast. If you like to plan, this is the vacation for you. Also, bank on about 8-10 months total for planning, just to get a good idea of what you are going to be doing, but once you have decided where, when, which restaurants the longest part will be waiting to make your reservations 6 months out and then 60 days out for your FP+. Happy planning!!

 

[I❤️Disney]

Well, I'm working on planning now and we are not going for 2 years. There is a certain amount of planning involved. Fastpass+, dining, which parks you are going to visit and on which day. I've already started to think about which parks that I want to go to and where to eat for dinner/lunch/breakfast. If you like to plan, this is the vacation for you. Also, bank on about 8-10 months total for planning, just to get a good idea of what you are going to be doing, but once you have decided where, when, which restaurants the longest part will be waiting to make your reservations 6 months out and then 60 days out for your FP+. Happy planning!!

Thanks you too! So much more than I thought

 

[Minnie Bow]

We have always stayed in a resort condo off property, and so planning has been way easier. A lot depends on your personality, expectations, flexibility and time you go. We just booked our condo this week for December, and I will take start looking for character dining reservations about 2 weeks before our trip. This is the earliest that we have ever booked our trip for a December visit!

 

[Kickstart]

I think it depends what type of vacation you're looking for.

IMHO, I think a "proper" Disney vacation should be planned (reservations made) at least 6 months prior. Assuming you've made reservations prior to the 6 month mark, you can then book some of the more difficult ADR's at the 180 day mark. But everyone has different preferences/expectations for what they want their Disney vacation to be.

If character meals, or other hard to get dinner reservations, aren't that important to you, then 2-3 months is probably enough and you'll be be able to book your FP+ at the 60 day mark.
I also know people who plan their trip less than 30 days from visiting... they still have a great time but just don't have high expectations for dinner reservations and/or maximizing their FP+.

If this is your fist visit, with a family or group, then the earlier the better.

 

[TwinkleKS]

It is pretty subjective. We've done last minute trips that I planned in a couple of days and we had a great time. We have an annual trip that I book pretty soon after we leave one year for the next year. I don't really do anything else until the 180 day mark when I make my ADRs. Then I may mess around with stuff on and off during the six months before the trip. A lot of times when I move stuff around, it's just because I'm bored that day and didn't have anything else to do so I thought I'd mess with my vacation.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I think this is a personal choice. I am a planner and organizer by nature and we planned our last WDW trip less than 2 months out. Once you know when, how long and where in WDW you want to stay/parks to visit, the rest is just fun and easy. We were able to get great ADR too. We are within driving distance so no air travel which makes going down a lot easier without having to get plane tix but I am an executive assistant for a living so planning travel is my middle name. If you are persistent and organized, you can get it done quickly!! If you aren't into themed dining and reservations, doing shows, or having every in demand FP+, you can plan a trip in no time. We have done the wing it trips and the planned trips and neither ever were planned more than 2-3 months out.

 

[tellemarie]

I'm the big planner and I could probably plan everything in a day, but I like to stretch everything out so I can be somewhat distracted from the fact that I'm not there yet. We're DVC and I'm a very Type A person so I book right at 11/7 months, unless it's a last minute trip. We generally go in May and October/November so it's easy to book that far out. Of course it also helps that most things can't happen until the 180 day mark! I even made a WDW-centered template to use when I'm making a new note in OneNote to record all the information like To Dos, important dates, and money things.

 

[shellyj]

Ideally, I start at least 13 months out. I'm always planning or next trip, lol!!! We have made faster plans for just my immediate family, but generally we travel as a big group so our big trips are planned and organized in advance with milestones like this:

Budgeting and saving - starts as soon as we get home from a visit
Dates - tentative dates chosen around 13 months because we like to rent DVC points for 2 2-bedroom villas and we are prepared to book and pay exactly 11 months out.
Tickets - as soon as the room is paid for we look for the best deal on tickets and grab them
ADR planning - group starts discussing maybe 9 months away and a plan is agreed upon by 7 months so I can make reservations on our 180 day
Other plans - travel, other activities, etc, discussed and settled between 6-3 months
Dog boarding - reserved 2-3 months out
FP - 60 days

 

[Kickstart]

Very helpful posts Tellemarie and shellyj..

I was thinking about renting DVC points for our next trip since our family of five is getting older and it's a tight fit into one room (we have two adult kids now), but I've never done this before. I know the first step is to read up on the process (and I know there are several threads on this board)... but I would love your input on a couple of questions:

• In your experience, how significantly does the price (for renting points / or amount of points needed) fluctuate from when they're first available. Shellyj, you mentioned you like to book exactly 11 months out - is that due to price or availability?
• Are there any difference with ADR, wristbans, or FP reservations when renting DVC points vs booking directly with Disney?

Thanks!

 

[Still_N_Charge]

I have been working on planning our since about 2 months ago and we are not going until October of 2019.

 

[MikeNamez]

Typically 3-6 months out from when we are leaving. Headed down Thursday and we booked in June 17. Although we never hit the WDW parks only UO/IOA so I don't have to worry about fast passes. As long as I can get into Trader Sam's I'm a happy DISer.

 

[Oneanne]

For my upcoming November trip I booked the air and resort back in May. I'm meeting up with friends and one of them did the FP+ (hallelujah) at 60 days and another did a couple group meals. I'll probably add another ADR or two before departure and also need to get a Groupon for airport parking, but that's it. So I really feel like I haven't done any planning for this trip at all, which is really kind of wonderful.

 

[KEWellborn]

How long did it take you to plan your magical Disney trip?

Start as soon as you are able. I usually start 12+ months out because we are DVC members and in order to get our home resort, we have to book 11 months out. Then, you start researching the restaurants, decide which days to visit which parks (check out TouringPlans.com for their crowd calendars) up to 180 days, 'cuz that's when you can make your dining reservations. If you want to eat at Be Our Guest, for example, you will need to do this 180 days prior to your visit, it's crazy. Make out your itinerary, and start researching what FastPass+ reservations you will be interested in. You can book these 60 days before your trip if you are staying at a Disney World resort. Also be sure to research any activities you would like to do as well. I would say 7 months is the minimum, and the sky's the limit for the max. For me, planning our trips is half the fun. The YouTube videos, websites and books are all part of the Disney experience. So, enjoy!

 

[DisneyRegulars]

• In your experience, how significantly does the price (for renting points / or amount of points needed) fluctuate from when they're first available. Shellyj, you mentioned you like to book exactly 11 months out - is that due to price or availability?

• Are there any difference with ADR, wristbans, or FP reservations when renting DVC points vs booking directly with Disney?

If you are going through a broker, the prices are set and do not change. They are a per point cost, and prices are based on resort and when reservations are made. More preferred resorts cost more for reservations made more than 7 months out. If you are booking within seven months (which is just about impossible) then all points cost the same.

DVC members can begin booking at 11 months out from a reservation, but can only book at the resorts they own points at. It is much easier to find availability when booking at 11 months out. At seven months out you can use your points at any resort, so all points become equal at that point, and availability quickly declines after the seven month mark. Request to book early if you want any resort other than SSR, OKW and AKV.

 

[BobbyDukes]

Depending on how long you booked out.
Reservations for any dining around 5-6 months out
Then between 2-5 month period I start making our original spreadsheet for the vacation with everything on it in an easy day to day format.
The 60 day period is exciting, Fastpass and Hotel Check IN!!!!

I try to finish the plan around the 50 day period so theres nothing to do than wait