After what seemed like an eternity saving and planning our week long adventure to Walt Disney World (WDW), in a blink of an eye, our vacation has come and gone. As most everyone know, Disney vacations are anything but inexpensive. So, when we began our planning journey, I wanted to ensure we were going to get the most of our vacation. Some of our tips include:
- Book your Disney experience using a reputable travel agent
- Plan as early as possible
- Do your research for crowd levels, meal plan, and Resort accommodations
- Be open for change
I strongly recommend booking your Disney experience through a travel agent; even if you know a lot about Disney, they are able to take care of all the details. We used Frosch Vacations Travel in Columbus, and were very happy. They took care of everything from the initial booking, checking for discounts and promotions, trip insurance, airfare, resort accommodations, transportation to and from Orlando International Airport to our Disney Resort and so much more. Whenever, I had any questions, I simply reached out to my travel agency and she found the answers. I encourage you to find an agent you feel comfortable with and book through them.
My son and I choose a time of year that Disney refers to as their low crowd season, early February. This also meant lower airfares as well. However, our week choice was much earlier than my son’s School spring break, therefore, he did miss a week of school. We felt the off season rates and crowds were more in line for our family. Your family will need to make decisions you feel are appropriate for your family and budget. Also, we loved that Walt Disney Walt in February usually means milder temperatures; highs in the 70s and over night lows in the 50s. Not sure if we caught a lucky break or not, but our week had highs in the 80s; this meant much higher crowds than anticipated. For us, we experienced longer than average lines for food, longer wait times for the Disney bus transportation to and from parks, more traffic in and around the Disney parks and no more Fast Passes to grab. While, we utilized varies websites about crowd levels in each park, no one including WDW can guarantee the attendance on any given day.
Booking early also allows you to research and plan each day’s details. After reviewing the meal options, we decided to purchase the Meal Plan (we went with 1 quick service and 1 table service per day). Knowing that we would have one table service meal a day, this provided an opportunity for us to make reservations at a variety of cuisine venues that we would not normally choose. Another great feature of booking early, is when staying on Disney’s Property, you can make your lunch/dinner reservation 6 months in advance. I recommend you take advance of that as some of the more sought after meals go very quickly (Character Dining, and the specialty Restaurants). This did involve more research and planning on our part; we watched several You Tube videos regarding dinner choices and the types of cuisine we would be interested in eating. More on our dining selections later.
No matter the warmer than normal temperatures or the crowd level, my kiddo and I were still on our Spring Break vacation and were
going to make the most of our time at the parks. We took the view from our Disney Magical Express (as seen above)
heading to the Resort as a sign that all was right with the (Walt Disney) world.
