What do I need to do NOW?

[Aflyingbuttress]

I'm planning my first family trip to Disney. We booked our trip a month ago and are traveling in 4 months. I made a couple of ADRs at Be Our Guest because I read that was necessary but I have absolutely no idea what else I need to do now, 4 months in advance.

I don't know what I don't know. What should I be looking at at this point in the planning phase?

 

[ErinsMommy]

I would look at making more dining reservations -- if you want to make them now would be better than trying to get them last minute. Also start looking at some of the rides, and height requirements, so once your 60 day window opens you can book your FP+.

 

[MariMama]

I'm planning my first family trip to Disney. We booked our trip a month ago and are traveling in 4 months. I made a couple of ADRs at Be Our Guest because I read that was necessary but I have absolutely no idea what else I need to do now, 4 months in advance.

I don't know what I don't know. What should I be looking at at this point in the planning phase?

If you are staying onsite at a Disney resort, your FP+ window opens at 60 days. If you are off-site, your FP+ window opens at 30 days. You can make other ADR's at other restaurants if there is somewhere in particular you'd like to eat. Just make sure you make FP+ reservations for the correct park to match up with your ADR's (depending on times, of course).

 

[hakepb]

Book ADR's for any additional Table Service restaurant you want.

Look at crowd calander a and determine which park(s) which day(s)

If you do not already have park tickets, buy them now.

Be ready to book your FP+ when your window opens (60 days on site, 30 days if off property), meaning you should know which park and what rides are your top priorities.

 

[AJA]

I agree with the previous post, make any must have ADR's you think you may want now. When you get your FP+ selections made at 60 days out then you can adjust your ADR's if necessary.

We are going at the end of October so are also about 4 months out. I've made our two must have ADR's already. We aren't on the dining plan so if a table service we would like to have isn't available then we'll just do more quick service or carts at F&W. If you are on the dining plan and have a certain amount of TS meals you need then I would book them sooner rather than later.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

What others have said is all sound advice. I would say plan on at least one sit down meal (ADR) a day. The quick service at Disney is very good but it will get tiresome eating quick service food three meals in a day. If you are staying onsite, get ready to book Fastpasses at 60 days away EXACTLY. Don't wait because some rides fill up fast! This might be a good time to make a trip plan if you haven't already (What park on what day, etc). This is also a good time to listen to some Disney related podcasts or spend some time on here doing research/asking questions. That way you'll be very prepared! Have fun!

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Book ADR's for any additional Table Service restaurant you want.

Look at crowd calander a and determine which park(s) which day(s)

If you do not already have park tickets, buy them now.

Be ready to book your FP+ when your window opens (60 days on site, 30 days if off property), meaning you should know which park and what rides are your top priorities.

This. In addition, look at the park hours, special events, firework shows, etc. Look at the rides in each park and try to determine how many days you want in each park. Have your schedule ready - that will help with the FP+ reservations.

Start considering the time of your and your family needs for a packing list. Determine what you have and what you need and what you might need to purchase (bags, sunscreen, shoes, hats, etc). Order online from a good source the things you can get for good prices.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

At this point, four months, I relax and check adrs and such. I plan my days based on park hours and plot out possible fp selections. At 60 days I do fp.

 

[shelemm]

How much you want table-service dining is up to you. There is some fairly interesting counter-service food in the World Showcase in Epcot and Animal Kingdom. In Hollywood Studios, there are two super-fun, beautifully themed table service places: the Sci-Fi Drive-In Theatre and the 50s Prime Time Cafe. Both have reasonable prices and large portions, so be careful not to over-order. There is nothing worth eating either way in Magic Kingdom, so spend as little as you can; it's not worth it.

As a tip, most counter service places that serve burgers give you a double burger by default. If you don't want to eat that much, you can ask for a single at a lower cost, despite that it is not listed on the menu.

 

[NeverTooOldForWDW]

I'm a newbie too (haven't been to WDW in 20 years). I checked the book Unofficial Guide to WDW out from the library and found it to. E a great resource. It gives you a timeline of what to do when. There is a version of the book for traveling with kids. I read both cover to cover. I have made my FPs, made only 2 ADRs, and have a plan as to what to experience at each park. The book also gave tips for discounted on property hotels and tickets. Somehow managed to plan the entire trip in 3 months! That being said, It was essentially a full time job for a month. Good luck.

 

[Aeweddle]

I started making some necessary purchases for the trip starting a few months out so that I could spread the purchases out over a longer period of time rather than buying everything last minute. New shoes to break in, warm weather clothes, ponchos, etc. it didn't hurt my bank account so bad this way!

 

[msk]

I agree with all of the PP's. I am 4 months out, my ADR's are made, my tickets and package are purchased and I know which parks I will be in each day. As a new WDW guest, I would read everything I could get my hands on. This site has a great wealth of information as does easyWDW, Kenny the Pirate and WDW Prepschool.

One of the fun things you can do ahead of time is get Tinker Bell gifts. We go to the Dollar store and buy $1.00 Disney items. Every night Tink brings our kids a gift. It could be glow lights that will be used on the next day when we stay for a night parade, or stickers that will be given out to spread magic, sometimes it is a Disney shirt that is a surprise to be worn the next day. Just a little bit of extra magic.

Enjoy the process, relax and have fun planning! You are going to have a wonderful time!

 

[Kelly014]

I like to make an excel sheet with each day and time slots. Put times on the side and on the top put each day you're in a park with the park you're visiting that day. We do an ADR each day so I put those in (you can make those now) and when we get fastpasses booked I put those in too. I also put in special events like parties, what time we want to get to the park, pool time, parades, etc. Gives me something Disney related to do and I have a tentative schedule which can be super helpful in the parks! I also make a detailed list with exact fastpass/parade/ADR times as the big excel sheet is more of a general guideline since the times on the side are only in 30 minute increments. I've also made a list of attractions I'm interested in in each park. Look into height requirements if you have little ones. I print it off, hole punch the sheets and put them in a folder to take to the parks so I have all the info we need. I am a planner!

I also watch the Disney planning DVD and Disney parks series on Netflix like a million times

 

[agavegirl1]

I also start with a spreadsheet. At first, it only has which park which day. I then add ADRs as I make them. To get what I really want, that sometimes requires stalking the website for cancellations or better times. At my FP+ mark, I add those in. If hours change as I get closer to my dates, additional tweaking may be required. Right now, I would research potential table service restaurants and check periodically for ADRs and book them. Get a really good idea of which park which day before this however. You do not want to spend park time on Disney transportation.

 

[Accident]

As with others, make as much dining as you may want, table service is hard to get the closer it gets to your travel date.. you may not be able to make more if you wait and you can always cancel some closer (up to 24 hours without a fee).. Also start to read up and learn about fastpasses, the rides and which rides tend to need them if you dont want to be in line for over an hour or up to 5 hours (not an exaggeration).

I also highly recommend the book The Easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2016 It's really the first book of it's kind for disney vacations and really goes into all the little things that you may not know about disney and planning and it written by the guys that run the easywdw site. most other books are really just the same thing this is focused on you've never been there before...

 

[Aeweddle]

I like to make an excel sheet with each day

Oh! A girl after my own heart! We should be friends. I did the exact same thing. It was so helpful with planning my days. I color coded the different events and created a separate sheet to track my budget.

 

[Kelly014]

Oh! A girl after my own heart! We should be friends. I did the exact same thing. It was so helpful with planning my days. I color coded the different events and created a separate sheet to track my budget.

I color coded too! And added a nifty little key for my husband lol! I enjoy my pretty excel sheets more than I should.

 

[jeannieVW]

Download the My Disney Experience MDE app if you have a smart phone.

If you're staying onsite customize your magicbands thru the website!

Check out the menus ahead of time for the restaurants. I brought my family to BOG for breakfast however it wasn't their favorite selection.

Have a great trip!

 

[aretha30]

I started making some necessary purchases for the trip starting a few months out so that I could spread the purchases out over a longer period of time rather than buying everything last minute. New shoes to break in, warm weather clothes, ponchos, etc. it didn't hurt my bank account so bad this way!

I do this too! It's a great tip. I start with a list of everything we need and work from there.

 

[Shanti]

I'm planning my first family trip to Disney. We booked our trip a month ago and are traveling in 4 months. I made a couple of ADRs at Be Our Guest because I read that was necessary but I have absolutely no idea what else I need to do now, 4 months in advance.

I don't know what I don't know. What should I be looking at at this point in the planning phase?

You might like Sci Fi Diner in Hollywood Studios- it's an unusual place to eat.