Fisrt trip to Disney here are some tips.

[WDWTRAVELLER]

1.Book through a travel agent that knows Disney ( dreamsunlimitedtravel.com) have had great communication with them
2. If you book online the deposit required is one night cost, balance due 30 days prior to arrival. Phone reservations will be a $200.00 deposit and balance due 30 days prior to arrival. There is no fee to cancel or change your reservation up till 30 days out. After that there is a $50.00 change fee. reservations cancelled 24 hours prior you will lose all your money. ( might want to look at 3rd party cancellation coverage)
3.Research all the resorts and see what suits your family's needs. (youtube can you tour all the resorts)
4.If you are flying in and are not renting a car you might want to book a hotel that has access to the monorail or the skyliner. (quicker then waiting for the buses)
5.Make use of the Magical Express Bus. This is a free no hassle way of getting to the resort. No need to collect your bags they will arrive at the hotel 3-4 hours after your arrival.
6. If you take the magical express take a change of clothes or your bathing suits in your carry on. (make use of the pool if your room is not ready)
7.Download the My Disney experience app. this tool is very helpful for all your disney needs. (fast passes, dining reservations, maps and wait times.
8. Beat the check in line up. Pre check in with the my disney experince app and your room number will be sent to you when it's ready.
9. once you arrive get familiar with the resort. ( dinning rooms, bus stops. playgrounds and different pools.

This is what we find the best. We spend 3 weeks every year at Disney.

 

[Shellyred8]

A few items to add/clarify:
2. if you book a Room-only reservation online, the deposit required is one night cost. If you book a package reservation on-line, it is a $200 deposit.
4. Or an Epcot resort. You can walk or boat to HS and EP.
5. It is not uncommon for bags to take more than 4 hours to arrive. To avoid having to wait for your bags, you can pick them up yourself and bring the with you on the Magical Express bus.
9. Pick up a resort map from the front desk or concierge if your room isn't ready yet. The map will also have a list of the activities going on for the week.

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't agree #1 is necessary. Super easy to do everything yourself, especially with a resource such as the Disboards to help you out.

I don't agree with #4 either. Pick which resort is best for your family. Not everyone can afford a deluxe resort. Disney buses do a pretty darned great job of moving a huge number of people around.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

#1 Yeah, not so much...we have never used a TA for Disney travel. Not in 43 years.
#2 The buses are not that bad. While Monorail or Skyliner is nice it would never influence our stay. If I could walk from Poly to MK I'd do that (and may be able to soon)
#6 Oh yes this is necessary for sure. You never know when that room will be ready.

 

[buzznina]

I agree with most We have done over 30 trips.
TA's: I have done it both ways and now I only use a TA, but ONLY If you get a good Disney TA like the one we have. EX; One trip I received an email before I even woke up, telling me that a discount had come out and that my TA had already changed my reservation and saved me $$. With discounts being a lot more limited, you have to jump on it first thing in the morning and you could be on the phone a good amount of time, especially if it's FD.
Magical Express: If arriving at night I would highly suggest you take your own luggage, because it may not arrive to your room until 1-2AM
Transportation: Buses get a very bad wrap and we have found them to be very reliable, plus I think it's foolish to pay 2-3 times more $ per night at a resort just because they have other transportation. We rarely use transportation in our decision when picking a resort.
Online Check-in: If you a have a specific room request I would skip that part and call in to have the request added to the reservation. Also, on our last 4 trips we are 50% on getting a room notification before we arrived.
Resorts: We have had great times at all 3 levels of resorts, so always keep an open mind when looking at them.

 

[focusondisney]

1. Travel agent.... not needed. So easy to research & book yourself. Remember if you use a travel agent, you have NO control over the reservation. Everything related to the reservation must go thru the travel agent until you check in. You will be totally dependent on the TA & your ability to contact them if you have any changes or questions before the trip. Personally I am not willing to give up that control over my vacation.

2. Not completely accurate. There are 2 different types of reservations: room only & package. A room only reservation requires 1 night deposit, remainder is due at check in & you can cancel 5 days before arrival with no penalty. A package requires $200 deposit, balance due 30 days before & cancel 30 days before with no penalty. It doesn’t matter if you book online, thru a TA or call in. Those rules apply no matter how you book, it is the type of reservation that sets the rules. Recently phone CMs seem to have started booking everything as a package by default, thus a $200 deposit. So you do have to be clear with them exactly how you want your reservation booked. But they absolutely can book a room only reservation if requested.

3 & 4. Agree you should research all resorts. I would first point out the different levels of resorts & the costs of each. And research will show that as well as the types of amenities including dining & transportation available. The monorail is a positive to some travelers, but not everyone. And even monorail resorts use bus transportation to some parks. I personally find taking a monorail from Grand Floridian to Epcot a long, annoying process. I prefer an Epcot Resort for direct access to 2 parks & don’t mind taking a bus directly to MK. Most families have to stay where their budget allows, so yea. Research.

5. Magic Express is one option. But it isn’t always the best option. We have tried it a few times & find it very time consuming & just waste of time. Disney tells you it takes about 90 minutes to get to your resort. It has taken us almost 3 hours to get to YC the times we tried it. It all depends how long your wait is to check in, how long you have to wait for a bus & where your resort is in the drop off rotation. We prefer a private car service... they’re waiting for us when we get off the plane, help with our luggage & we’re at YC an hour after landing. Lots of people also prefer ride share options for quicker arrival. We also don’t like depending on ME for transport back to the airport. Again, we find private transportation options give us the control we want for departure.

6. This depends on when you’re arriving & what your plans are for the day. We never go swimming, we always arrive early & hit a park for a few hours. Also, the hotel bell services will hold your luggage until your room is ready.

7. You pretty much use MDE for everything. If you don’t use the app, keeping the website open on your phone is another option.

8. The room ready text is pretty hot or miss for us. Even if you do online check in, you can still go to the desk when you arrive. You can check on room requests, ask if you want a room that is ready now even if it doesn’t meet your requests & pick up Resort & Park info.

9. Good idea.

I’ll add my own 10. Hang out on the Disboards! There are forums for parks, resorts (including a subforum for discounts), restaurants & transportation. Read & ask all the questions you can think of. Someone here will have the answer you’re looking for.