Planning first vacation to Disney World

[Woody and Buzz]

Over the last 2 years, I wanted to plan a trip to Disney World. My wife and I have 6 year old twins and live in California. Over the last 3 years, we have gone at least 3-4 trips a year.

So I am looking to see if we can go late 2015 or early 2016. For first timers to Disney World, where should I look or do for planning? I have read that January to March is a good time to go. And also September to November is good too. I have looked on Disney’s website for vacation packages. It looks like for a family of 4, I will spend around $6,500 - $8000 for airline tickets, hotel, park tickets, and rental car if needed. I have also looked going through Costco travel and it would cost around $6500.

 

[Sprocket1020]

I would say best time is fall and usually disney comes out with free dining plan in may or june to book for that time of year we go every year that time and the crowds are very minimal too for example we will be there 2 adults in nov this year and for 11 days with our meals memory maker and park hopper and water parks its 2300$ for us

 

[Quellman]

I'll caution against the Jan-March time frame. The weather is indeed colder and many rides will be down for refurbishment. If you plan for the fall time you can also experience the Not So Scary Halloween Party and the Food and Wine Festival.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

So exciting to be planning your first trip! The DIS is a great place to gather all the information you need. When we were planning our first trip, I did a lot of reading, and asked a lot of questions. Just keep in mind that everyone has a different opinion, so take things for what they are worth and use them to draw your own conclusions. Start with the big stuff - WHEN you want to go, WHERE you want to stay, and HOW you are going to get there. Once that is in place you can start looking at other things - like Dining, Fastpasses, etc. Keep yourself current, because things can change a lot!

One of the biggest perks of staying onsite at Disney is NOT needing a rental car. If you fly into MCO you can take the Magical Express right to your resort. Disney provides transportation to/from your resort to the parks.

As a family, we prefer to stay off-site (we rent pool homes in the Kissimmee area - there's more room for the 5 of us to spread out), so we need a car. For our first three visits, we drove from PA to FL and used our own car. This winter we are flying, and will be renting a car. Parking at Disney is expensive and that (plus the rental car fees) add a lot to the bottom line, but the rent from the house is much less than a stay onsite, so it evens out for us. We also like to try to save a little money and eat a few meals at "home" so the full kitchen is a plus for us as well.

Dining is overwhelming - especially if you go on the Dining Plan and need to set up meals for your whole trip. Give yourself plenty of time to read up on that, and be sure to schedule your meals as soon as you are able. With my next trip being just 6 weeks away, we are finding that some of our favorite places just aren't available. We're looking at it as a way to try new places.

Good luck planning - whatever you end up doing will be fantastic!