Overwhelmed... 2017 Planning

[RuthieT]

I can plan a trip to DL in my sleep, but DW its stressing me out... Dh and I haven't been in nearly 14 years and this will be our first time going with our daughters to DW. We plan on staying 2-3 weeks in Florida to hopefully see and do most of everything there is to do. Where do I start with the DW part of the planning???

 

[Travis B]

There are planning books which can be helpful, like Birnbaum's or the Unofficial Guide to Disney World, which you can find on Amazon. I used the Unofficial Guide when planning my first trip, and it was really helpful in helping my wrap my brain around everything. IMO the Disboards are one of the best WDW resources available - so you're in the right place. Don't be overwhelmed - you've got plenty of time to do your research and plan.

 

[RJstanis]

Agree with previous poster. I would also specifically read up on mesaboy2's (I believe that is his callsign) Fastpass post in this forum (you can search his name or Fastpass and you are bound to find it). Also if you are staying at a resort in Disney at all during your stay or at least thinking about it, I would go to the Resort forum on DIS and look at the created resort pages you are staying at (or thinking about staying at), and check them out. People work really hard on these and post wonderful information about their resorts on them. Plus they keep you up to date on possible construction and/or changes.

Remember your dates of 180 days prior to your trip for Dining Reservations, and 60 (stayimg onsite) or 30 days (staying offsite) out for your daily fast pass booking dates.

Planning is half the fun and with the head start you have it shouldn't be stressful or to overwhelming once you start reading up IMO (actually it should never be stressful or overwhelming IMO).

And lastly there are tons of people with an abundance of knowledge all over these boards you can ask questions privately through the conversations option if you feel more comfortable with that, and is a great tool to use. You will find more people willing and eager to help than not.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

My trip plans are not super regimented, but I always start with the resort. Then figure out my park days based on tickets, park hours & EMH (I'm not a crowd calendar person because I go often, but definitely take a look at those)
Then I make dining reservations based on my park days. FP's are last.
Trip planning doesn't have to be stressful. Just remember the Disney website only works when IT feels like it, not when you necessarily need it to

 

[ChasingLeslie]

While I've never been to DL, I imagine most of the basic planning is the same...

- set your budget and dates
- research and choose resort
- decide on tickets/package and book
- look over menus and choose ADRs ASAP (180 + 10)
- research FPs (and child swap, if necessary)

 

[hodad]

**************.net has a good planning to-do-list that you can alter to suit your needs:
http://**************.net/2014/05/20/to-do-list-for-basic-december-fastpass-itinerary/

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I always plan my resort first...after that I plan which parks I am going to do when and if I am going to need park hoppers. After that I always plan my meals next bc we always get the Disney DxDP, and the meals can be bothersome...After that I get a rough estimate of about how much tip money I will need. Excel is your friend, thats all I have to say with that, lol. I also create my own autograph books and next year we go I am also creating my kids own world showcase passport. I have already started on putting the books together that when I don't feel rushed in making them perfect, LOL. We have gone to Disney several times and all I can say is practice makes perfect, lol...the more you go the less daunting it feels.

 

[niffer5150]

DL is my home resort too. it's really not as bad as it probably seems. disney makes it pretty easy by offering packages. staying on property, getting the dining plan, using the buses, and using the magical express if you're flying, helps simplify a lot. wdw has much more to offer than DL and is much, much larger. just leave yourself extra time to get around. since you have your dates probably nailed down, i'd start by looking at resorts. there really isn't a bad one. DL only offers deluxe, but wdw offers a wide array of resorts for much less.

 

[tink9702]

I agree with others & research in the following order:

dates
place to stay
which parks you want to visit & how many days/how many ticket days you need
ADR's - Restaurants Forum, Disney's website
FP+ - mesaboy's thread

 

[mshanson3121]

I can plan a trip to DL in my sleep, but DW its stressing me out... Dh and I haven't been in nearly 14 years and this will be our first time going with our daughters to DW. We plan on staying 2-3 weeks in Florida to hopefully see and do most of everything there is to do. Where do I start with the DW part of the planning???

When are you planning on going? There's really not much you can plan/book yet since the dates are so far away. But in order:

1. Choose dates
2. Choose lodging
3. Choose how many days you want to spend in parks (I would do no less than 5-6 if possible, which allows a full day for HS, AK, 2 days for MK and 1 or 2 full days for EP)
4. Start looking over the rides, shows and restaurants available at each park to get an idea of what you want to do.

That's really all you can do this far out. As it gets closer (6-8 months away):

4. Start looking at crowd calendars if you want, to decide which parks you want to visit on which days.
5. At 6 months out you can start booking your ADRs (dining reservations)
6. Book your FP+ (you can do this at 60 days out if you're staying on site, 30 days out if you're staying off site)

 

[Garyjames220]

When does 2017 prices come out anyway

 

[StirlingSilver83]

When does 2017 prices come out anyway

They usually release them in the summer, so last year I believe they released them in June, but the year before they were released in July. Once June hits I always start watching all my boards and and websites and forums to watch for the release dates, lol. I am a little on the obsessive side, LOL

 

[Garyjames220]

Hmmm that really doesn't give people much time to budget, make payments etc if going in January 2017

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Yeah I know...we usually don't go until March/April but I feel bad for January people, but I guess they figure everyone will get the same opportunity in January so you just have to stalk the website and have all your plans ready to go by like May so when they do release the dates you are ready to go and and just put it all down in black and white sort of speak...What I would suggest is when they do release the dates to just nail down some ADRs and reservations and stuff. You can always tweak your plans as they get closer and park hours and crowd calendars are released.

 

[Hopefully]

I recommend getting a good guide book - **************.net or the UnofficialGuide.com.
This will help you formulate questions to ask here on the DIS. Familiarize yourself with the various sub forums here to get the best info. - Resort. Theme Park Attractions & Strategies. Transportation. Etc.
I choose resort first
I consult crowd calendar websites once my dates are firm. I use both easy wow and touring plans.com. I choose parks next then restaurants in or near that park next
Critical dates are 180 days from check in for restaurant ADR's and 60 days before checkin for resort guest for scheduling FP+
Good Luck and keep asking questions

 

[disnut8]

When are you planning on going? There's really not much you can plan/book yet since the dates are so far away. But in order:

1. Choose dates
2. Choose lodging
3. Choose how many days you want to spend in parks (I would do no less than 5-6 if possible, which allows a full day for HS, AK, 2 days for MK and 1 or 2 full days for EP)
4. Start looking over the rides, shows and restaurants available at each park to get an idea of what you want to do.

That's really all you can do this far out. As it gets closer (6-8 months away):

4. Start looking at crowd calendars if you want, to decide which parks you want to visit on which days.
5. At 6 months out you can start booking your ADRs (dining reservations)
6. Book your FP+ (you can do this at 60 days out if you're staying on site, 30 days out if you're staying off site)

Agree with this. Take it in steps. Once you get step one decided, move to step 2 or do both at the same time depending on your needs.

Ask questions here based on what YOU and your family want/need. Read posts but if someone is complaining about a fish stick at a restaurant, don't let that get to you - that's their opinion. Same thing with resorts. Look at what YOU want to do and then, when asking questions, let us know why you want that.

So, take a step back, take a deep breath, and look forward to all of 2016 to plan. And there's a bunch of people here who can help you out.

 

[GillianP1301]

Here's how I go about it...

1) Dates - if you have flexibility in when you can go, then check crowd calendars and use that info to help select your dates
2) Determine how many days you want to be in the parks
2) Book Resort & Ticket - I always book this first, although I do double check on flight info beforehand to make sure I'm not choosing a crazy expensive flight date.
3) Book Flights
4) Use crowd calendar to decide what part to visit on what day and plan on what restaurants I want to eat. Early on, I tend to have just blocks of time, i.e. morning at park A, lunch at X, afternoon at park B, etc...
5) Book ADRs 180 days out
6) Play around with my daily plan and start to break down my chunks of time into more detail and decide what attractions I want to fastpass ahead of time
7) Book Fastpasses 60 days out
8) Tweak and retweek my plan just for the fun of it because I'm really anxious for the trip.

 

[AaronInWI]

For our first couple trips, we relied on the Passporter guide book, which is updated every year, to help us plan.