CHAPTER
THREE
BACK TO CHAPTER ONE
Chapter 2
Just like an artist sketches before they put paint-to-canvas, we have to get a faint view of our overall vacation before we set anything in stone.
This part is my FAVORITE, especially since I can do it while sitting in bed in my pajamas. When we rush ahead to the end of planning: reservations are made, dining is booked, etc. we can completely miss the bones of a successful plan.
As always, start with watching the video below - or continue to read on.
Love, Dana
Have you been referring to your checklist? This will help keep you organized!
DOWNLOAD NOW
- Your travel dates
- Festivals + events
Think fireworks, Mickey's Christmas Party, etc. - Crowd level predictions
I use the crowd calendar from UnderCover Tourist. Don't put TOO much weight on crowd predictions, but it can give a great baseline when you don't know where to start. - Park Hours
If your vacation is more than 6 months out, this will be hard to do. Look at
the month closet to your
visit on Disney's calendar.
Make a Vacation Sketch
01.
TRAVEL DATES
EVENTS
PARK HOURS
CROWDS
Make a vacation sketch with me!
PRINTABLE PLANNER
DOWNLOAD .XLSX
Create a Vacation Sketch
MY DISNEY WORLD PLANNING TIPS
I don’t care if you’re six or sixty, it's always a good idea to head back to your room from 2PM to 4PM for a nap or sit by the pool. This is always the most crowded and hottest part of the day.
Take advantage of your mornings, when crowds are the lowest. I like to say “early to rise, early to nap" because the only way I can get out of bed before 7:30AM is to gift myself a nap later. And coffee.
Rest Day
Park
Two
Park
One
Park
Four
Park
Three
Try the "park-park-rest" schedule
A common question is "how many days is the right amount for Disney World?" If this is your once-a-year family vacation a full week is ideal. You'll have 2 travel days, 4 park days, and a break in between. I use this formula for our trips!
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
How many days do we need for the parks?
Will we be visiting more than one park a day?
Do we want to experience any WATER PARKS?
Buy Your
Park Tickets
A plus ticket gets you an equal number of "plus visits," to
Blizzard Beach Water Park, Typhoon Lagoon Water Park (currently unavailable), or a round at one of Disney's 3 golf courses.
Park
Hopper Plus
Allows you to visit 1 park per day (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom.)
You cannot visit multiple parks on the same day, but you can leave and return to the same park.
Base
Ticket
1
Deposit: 1st night's cost + balance due at check in
Tickets can be added later or through a third-party
Can be made up to 499 days beforehand
1
2
Allows you to hop (scan) into multiple parks in 1 day.
Park hopping starts at 2pm.
You'll need a park reservation for the FIRST park you visit and scan in before hopping to the 2nd.
PARK HOPPER OPTION
Deposit: 1st night's cost + balance due at check in
Tickets can be added later or through a third-party
Can be made up to 499 days beforehand
1
A plus ticket gets you an equal number of "plus visits," to
Blizzard Beach Water Park, Typhoon Lagoon Water Park (currently unavailable), or a round at one of Disney's 3 golf courses.
Park HOPPER PLUS
3
Buy Your Park Tickets
If you booked a vacation package with Walt Disney World, you can skip this step and go ahead and confirm that you can see your tickets under your Profile.
But if you rented DVC points, are staying off property - like an Airbnb - or only booked a room, it's time to buy park tickets! There are 3 options:
02.
Allows you to hop (scan) into multiple parks in 1 day.
Park hopping starts at 2pm.
You'll need a park reservation for the FIRST park you visit and scan in before hopping to the 2nd.
2
Park Hopper Option
3
Commonly Asked Ticket Questions
What's a Park Hopper?
DOES MY BABY NEED A TICKET?
HOW DO I LINK OUR TICKETS TO MDE?
CAN WE LEAVE + COME BACK?
Adding the + Park Hopper option to your ticket let's you visit more than one park per day, or "hop".
Right now, Park Hopping hours start at 2PM each day. You have to have a Park Reservation for the first park you plan to visit AND enter that first park before you can scan into another. A Park Reservation isn't needed for any park except the first one you want to visit.
What's a Park Hopper?
DOES MY BABY NEED A TICKET?
HOW DO I LINK OUR TICKETS TO MDE?
CAN WE LEAVE + COME BACK?
If you purchased through Disney and entered in the same email as your My Disney Experience account, they should be already linked under "My Tickets + Passes."
If you don't see them, click on "Link Tickets & Passes." No matter where you purchase tickets from, they will have an ID Code. Enter the ID and voila! On the next screen, you can assign the ticket to an individual.
What's a Park Hopper?
DOES MY BABY NEED A TICKET?
HOW DO I LINK OUR TICKETS TO MDE?
CAN WE LEAVE + COME BACK?
Even if you only purchased a base (or single-day) park ticket, yes! You can leave to take a break, and then come back to the same park later.
If you have a + Park Hopper option added, you could scan into all 4 parks in one day if you wanted to. Just make sure you have a park reservation for your first park, and start hopping after 2PM.
Having everyone connected through My Disney Experience helps things run smoothly. Both parents should have an MDE account so they can both mobile order food, make Genie+ selections, and a bunch of other things.
Take the time now to confirm that ALL of your family is under your Family & Friends list. When it comes to children: the person who creates a child’s profile will manage all the plans for that child.
MOM's MDE ACCOUNT
Here's an example of sharing plans:
03.
Link Your Family
& Friends
MOM's MDE ACCOUNT
Mom
Child 1
Child 2
Dad
before
DAD's MDE ACCOUNT
Mom
Dad
Child 1
Child 2
DAD'S MDE ACCOUNT
Mom
Dad
Child 1
Child 2
after
How to link to anyone's My Disney Experience account:
04.
Now that you have your tickets ready to go, and you know what parks you're going to on which days (yay), you can make Park Reservations.
Head over to Disney World's website and choose "Disney Park Pass System" under My Disney Experience to start.
And since you're all linked up with your family - you can make Park Reservations for everyone!
You are crushing this!
Make Park Reservations
SKETCH YOUR VACATION
MAKE PARK RESERVATIONS
You're on your way to creating the vacation of your dreams, I can feel it! This first chapter takes a lot of brain power - you got this!
continue to chapter 3
