Plan A Disney Trip In 4 Easy Steps

When you plan a Disney trip, you can quickly feel overwhelmed. But don’t worry—we’ve got you. This post breaks it down into four easy steps!

When you plan a Disney trip, it should be enjoyable, not stressful. There’s no shortage of well-written, informative blog posts on the internet, but many overcomplicate the process. This post gives you an easy, four-step process to simplify it as much as possible!

I remember being a young mom planning some of our first Disney trips and feeling completely stressed. I would go online for help only to find 6,000-word blog posts that overwhelmed me even more. That was 20 years ago when planning a Disney trip wasn’t as complicated as it is now. Not to mention, Disney is constantly changing things, and it’s confusing for everyone. In this post, I provide four easy steps to plan your Disney trip, with a few more that are optional.

Consider the source. The internet is full of so-called experts. Are they really Disney experts? How many times have they gone? When was the last time they went? Are they just copying other people’s information? Sadly, that happens a lot. I’ve been going to Disney regularly for nearly 30 years. My daughter completed a Disney college internship and a professional internship and then went on to work full-time on the conservation team at Animal Kingdom. She writes a lot for the blog. With so much misinformation online, I felt it was important to provide you with some credentials!

My goal is to help you plan a Disney trip without feeling overwhelmed. Therefore, I also recommend you don’t get too caught up in your plan. You don’t have to plan out every second of your day. Depending on your vibe, you can structure your day to suit you and your family best.

While I suggest making an itinerary, let it serve more as a reminder of what you have planned for the day and what you hoped to do, not a rigid plan that must be accomplished. Things can go south quickly at Disney World, especially if you have kids. Admittedly, when I was younger, I was neurotic about the plan. Ultimately, that stresses everyone out. Allow for spontaneity and focus on having fun!

Disney Trip Essentials
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Plan A Disney Trip In 4 Easy Steps

Book as far in advance as possible. This gives you plenty of time to work on all the little details without feeling stressed. I recommend booking 9 to 12 months out. During that time, check the special offers at Disney World often. If you see one that you can apply to your vacation days, you can call Disney World customer service, and they can help you apply the discount.

1. Choose Your Dates

Before you can book a resort or your travel, you have to know your dates. Some things to consider here are the weather and crowds. If you’re like us and avoid crowds, check out the post I wrote for the slowest time of the year at Disney World. Major holidays, weekends, and school breaks will always be much more crowded.
Remember that the slower times of the year are also more affordable. This is when Disney sometimes releases special offers to attract more people. Tickets and resorts will also be cheaper when the crowds are low.

2. Book Your Resort Or Hotel

After you’ve decided on your dates, the next step is to book your resort or hotel. This can be a room-only reservation or a package, but here’s the deal. If you’re not ready to book a package, you don’t have to decide now. I always book a room-only reservation and then roll it into a package once I decide on dining and/or tickets.
Disney resorts and nearby hotels can fill up quickly, so you’ll want to secure your room as early as possible. The room-only cancellation policy at Disney World (and most hotels) is very forgiving, so you can always modify or cancel your reservation if necessary.
When choosing a Disney resort, there are pros and cons:
- Value resorts are affordable but can be noisy because they draw families and young kids. They also host several cheer and dance competitions and can be very loud outside practicing their routines.
- Deluxe resorts are amazing, but they come with a hefty price tag. Since you don’t spend much time in your room, we suggest skipping them and saving the money.
- You’ll usually find us at a moderate resort. They’re affordable and still offer all the details and amenities that make you feel like you’re staying somewhere magical. They also have fantastic food courts, which most deluxe resorts lack. Port Orleans Riverside is our favorite moderate resort and food court on the property!

3. Book Your Travel

When you plan a trip to Disney, you have to get there! Once you have your resort booked, the next thing you want to do is book your travel. If you’re flying, you’ll want to get your tickets as early as possible. Some people suggest waiting to do this because canceling plane tickets is a hassle, but I do not recommend that. Disney World is one of the top vacation destinations in the world, and you’re taking a significant risk of not getting the flight you need if you wait too long to secure your tickets.
We always drive. It saves a ton of money because gas is cheaper than plane tickets for our family. Driving also allows us to bring a lot of from home, which saves a ton of money. I discuss that and more in my cheapest way to do Disney post.

4. Add Park Tickets

This doesn’t need to be done yet. You can wait to add tickets and dining just weeks before your trip. However, I like to do it as soon as possible. Knowing how many days you’ll be in the parks helps when working on your itinerary over the next few months. If you haven’t decided yet, that’s OK. You’ve got your room booked and your travel secured. You have time to decide the number of park tickets you need.
Once you decide how many parks you want to visit, you can add tickets to your reservation. As soon as you do that, your reservation will change from a room-only reservation to a Disney package. One of the benefits of a package is that you can make payments online in your My Disney Experience account. I love this feature because I can go in every payday and throw money toward our trip.
When you decide on the number of days you want to visit the parks, call Disney World customer service and add those tickets to your reservation.

Disney Essentials
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At this point, the four most important things are done. You can spend the next few months scouring Disney menus, events, resorts, and Disney Springs. Look for places you want to eat and fun things to do, and start building your itinerary. This is the fun part! You’ll have months to research, read reviews, and look at photos! We are Disney foodies, and I can’t tell you how much time I’ve spent scouring the Disney food pictures thread on DISboards.

Make An Itinerary

This is before making any dining reservations because the dining you book will be determined by where you’ll be each day or close to it. If you do it the other way around, you risk wasting a lot of time trying to get to and from restaurants.
For each day on your itinerary, note where you’ll be. This might be:
- Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios (or multiple if park hopping)
- Exploring resorts, Disney Springs, or hanging out at your resort.
Next on your itinerary will be things you want to do at those places mentioned above, like any shows, parades, character meets, or food you’re excited to try.

Pro tip. This will look different for everyone. Our itinerary is loose because we are spontaneous and prefer flexibility. Before heading out for the day, I take a picture of that day’s itinerary, which helps me not forget something we wanted to do or try. You can tweak this in the months leading up to your trip.

Dining Plan Or Not

Dining is a big factor when planning a Disney trip. Some love the Disney Dining Plan, while others don’t. You can choose between the quick service or regular dining plan.
Read up on both and make the best decision for your family. We haven’t used the dining plan in years. The truth is, it doesn’t save you money. Some people like the structure of knowing where they’re going to eat and when, but we find that to be stressful. It doesn’t allow for spontaneity, and we were constantly worried about making it to our next reservation.
If you decide to do the dining plan, you can add it to your reservation. I recommend calling a Disney reservation specialist and letting them assist you. I’ve been going to Disney for almost 30 years and still call them when changing my reservation. It ensures I don’t make a mistake, and they’ll often make suggestions I wouldn’t have thought of.

Make Dining Reservations 60 Days Out

If you choose to do the dining plan, you’ll need to book any necessary reservations.

Guests staying at a Disney Resort can book 60 days before arrival and make reservations for the entire stay, up to 10 days.
Guests not staying at a Disney Resort can also book reservations 60 days before arrival, BUT only for one day at a time.

Pro tip. Park admission is required for in-park dining. So, if you have a dining reservation for Tiffin’s at Animal Kingdom, this should be your Animal Kingdom park day – or have a park hopper so you can hop to the park where your dining reservation is.

Make Ride Reservations

Disney’s new ride reservation system, aka Lightning Lane, allows you to skip the long line and enjoy a shorter one by booking specific times to ride. There are two options:

Lightning Lane Multi Pass allows you to make three Lightning Lane selections per day, up to seven days in advance, if you stay at a qualifying Disney Resort. All other guests can book three days in advance of their park visit. The price for Lightning Lane Multi Pass differs daily for each park.
Lightning Lane Single Pass allows you to purchase up to two daily passes for the most popular rides. Think of this as an add-on. You are limited to one single pass per ride daily, so you can’t purchase two passes for Guardians. I wish-ha!

There’s much more to it, but this isn’t the post to dive into it. We’ll be at Disney in a few months, so I’ll wait until then to write a comprehensive post. In the meantime, read up on it here.

Bonus Tips

My Disney Experience. You’ve planned your Disney trip and can now relax a bit. I highly recommend downloading and familiarizing yourself with the My Disney Experience app. You will do most things in the app while you’re at Disney. You can book tickets and dining reservations, purchase Lightning Lanes, check for current wait times, place mobile food orders, and so much more.
Be realistic. There is never enough time to do it all, so don’t get discouraged when that doesn’t happen. As often as we’ve been to Disney, we always leave missing out on some things we wanted to do, and that’s ok. Relax, have a great time, and try to let expectations go. Just have FUN!
Give yourself plenty of time. Getting from point A to point B at Disney World will always take longer than you think. Be aware of that when making your daily itinerary. If you have somewhere to be, like a dining reservation, ensure you give yourself enough time.
Disney experiences. Sometimes, people are so focused on the rides that they forget the experiences. Disney experiences like parades, shows, and character meet-ups are magical. Kids love them, and most are completely free!

Disney Trip Essentials
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And that’s a wrap! Remember that the first four steps are the most important and should be done as early as possible. Once those steps are done, you have plenty of time to research and educate yourself on other things. Have a magical trip! 😉

I hope this is helpful, and we'd love to hear your favorite Disney tips! Please share in the comments below or tag me on Instagram, follow on Pinterest and Facebook, and join my email list so you don’t miss anything new. Thanks for being here, friends! 🙂