What Do You Need to Know to Plan a Disney Vacation? | Disney World FAQ

Last Updated on: October 14th, 2023

Planning your first trip to Walt Disney World can be an exciting, but overwhelming project. There are so many different aspects of the trip that need to be planned out and the pricing differences between options can be significant. You almost need, or have to become, a Disney travel agent to do it right.

Thankfully, there are a number of online guides available that explain a lot of the more confusing aspects of Disney vacation planning. Over time, I will be adding my experiences and tips to the fray.

Helpful Disney Vacation Planning Tips:

I did want to share this awesome infographic from WDW Prep School (a great resource for Disney vacation planning), which lays out the basics of Disney World trip planning. It explores the pros/cons of off-property vs. on for hotels; dining options and offers some helpful planning tips. The infographic is from 2015, but still very relevant and accurate.

A couple of items I would add to the planning would be:

  • Deciding if you want to purchase Disney After Hours or Disney Early Morning Magic tickets – Disney’s two newest ticketing options
  • Making sure that the rides and attractions you want to see most are open on the dates you’ll be visiting. You can find a complete list here.
  • Map out where your kids’ favorite Disney Characters will be to ensure you see them all. I have a number of posts listings where various characters can be found here.

Finally, one quick tip I would add that has absolutely no scientific backing, but proves true every time is: Whenever you encounter a line at Disney, go to the line/gate to the furthest left. For some reason, it is always the shortest/quickest line.

Disney Vacation Planning tips

Infographic credit: WDW Prep School

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About the Author

Craig Smith
I am founder and editor of DisneyNews.us. My passion for all things Disney goes pretty far back to my first trip to Walt Disney World in the mid-80's. I have since returned to the magical place more than 20 times. I started this site when I came to the realization that I spent a significant portion of my day reading articles about Disney and watching Disney content with my 8-year old, so it made sense that I would start sharing some of what I read and see and building a little community around it. Other interests include 80's nostalgia, vintage toys, video games, LEGO, Star Wars and tech gadgets. Other sites include DMR and VideoGamesStats.com.