Just like an artist sketches before adding paint, sketching out your week in Disney World is a crucial (and to me, the most fun) part. Setting a foundation helps you hone in on what your family wants to experience.

We all do this without realizing it. If you’ve planned a trip before, what’s the first thing you do?

You draw some lines on a random piece of paper and add “M T W T F S S”. Then you fill in our check-ins, check-outs, and each park you want to visit each day.

Guys welcome to the sketch!

Step 1: Fill in What You Know

• Fill in your flights, resort check-in, and check-out day.
  
  
• Look at a crowd calendar and mark which parks are predicted to have the highest and lowest crowds.
  

• Add events like fireworks, parties + festivals, including their times. If these haven’t been posted yet, try looking at days from the years’ past.
  
  EXAMPLE:
  For our trip this year, I googled what nights the Magic Kingdom had fireworks in past Novembers. After some research, I’m going to leave our Saturday night open.
  
  
• Disney announced that extra hours are starting to come back for Resort guests in 2021. These used to be called “Extra Magic Hours”; special times before park opening and/or closing that were only open for guests staying at a WDW resort. If this is the case, plug in these times.
  
  

Step 2: Give more details

• Does that new brunch you want to try only happen on Sundays? Make a note.
  
  
• Write down any special occasions that week like a birthday or anniversary.
  
  EXAMPLE:
  Our football-loving family is going in the fall, so I have the Eagles’ game blocked out on Sunday.

• Start filling in your overall vision for the day. Erase, move, swap things around until you get a feel for how your downright perfect vacation is going to look.
  
  

Step 3: Add dining

• Now that you have a birdseye view of your trip, start filling in your must do dining. Like, can’t-live-without-already-looked-at-the-menu kind of dining.
  
  
• Once your big dining reservations are added (like character breakfasts, etc.), start filling in your other meals, even if you’re winging it. Write “breakfast in the room” or, “random lunch by the pool”. It’s fine to be spontaneous, just write down that you’re being spontaneous.
  
  

Step 4: Add Must Do Attractions

• Let’s say you have Magic Kingdom planned for Tuesday since it’s predicted to have lower crowds. Looking at the list of attractions in that park, start marking down which ones you want to ride. Try to stick to 3 each day so you don’t overwhelm yourself.

That’s it! I promise you: don’t skip this step and you’ll have the foundation for a Disney World vacation meant for your family and your family alone. It’s worth it.