When to book and what to book?!

[trimad22]

We are hoping to go WDW in 2016. We have never been and when people talk Disney it's like code. I am slowly learning. In the meantime how far in advance do you want (can you) you book things? Since my trip isn't 100% guaranteed I need a good cancellation policy.
Stuff like character dinners
Bibbiity bobbity boutique and all the other things we SHOULD do that fills up fast.

Wondering also about the magic memories and fastpass.
Heading to search this huge community but if anyone can share their advice I would love to hear it!

 

[MissDisneyDora]

At the moment you are able to book dates for 2016. In terms of when to book it really is subjective- on what works best for you. If you really want to plan things out I would recommend booking at least 180 days before your holiday. At the 180 day mark you are able to book any extra activities, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, tours etc. At this stage you can also book your dining. If you are staying onsite, at 60 days out you are also able to book your Fastpasses. So if there are must-do activities that require a reservation- I would book pre-180 days just to give yourself a bit of security. However that being said, I planned an impromptu visit for the end of this month and with under 60 days was still able to get every dining reservation and extra booking that I wanted- this is always a bit of a gamble but can be done. If you want to book a bit more last minute trip please don't think for a minute that your holiday will be ruined because dining, fastpasses etc won't be available to you..it just makes it a bit more difficult but is still do-able.

For the photos, you can book Memory Maker directly on-line through the My Disney Experience app. If you don't have an account I would recommend setting one up, this will be the dashboard for your holiday. From here you will see your reservations, can book your dining and fastpasses. The only thing you can't book here is the extra activities like BBB (you still need to call for these). In the drop down menu you will see the tab for Memory Maker, if you purchase in advance you save $30 dollars for a total cost of 169.00 and it will automatically link to your reservation. Anytime you have your photo taken with a photographer at Disney it will (through your magic band) be linked to your account. You have the option of downloading all of the photos for free or you can pay $29.00 extra to have them sent to you on a CD.

Hope that helps in answering some of those initial questions.

Happy Planning,
x
Dora

 

[DisneyBelle27]

Just wanted to add, for the 180 day stuff you don't need to have a room booked, you can book those things independently. If you stay onsite you can book fastpasses 60 days out, if you stay offsite you can book 30 days out (all assuming that you have park tickets purchased)

 

[Raenstoirm]

We usually book exactly at 180 or close. Park hours come out 6 months in advance including emh (longer hours for those staying in a disney hotel). Parties (christmas and halloween) are not usually announced at 180, but if the magic kingdom closes at 7 and its sept-dec its most likely and party (with a few minor exceptions). First step is to plan your budget. Tickets are what they are. You can save a few dollars buying from an authorized reseller, but its not a lot. Make the budget as wide as you can, i.e. we would like to spend 5k, but can go all the way to 10k. That gives you some flexibility with times of year, hotel and length of stay. If you have school age kids look into the YES program. Its "school" but really neat classes and you can buy really cheap tickets if your kids attend a class. At the 180 mark (if you already have a room reservation) you can book all of your dining. If you do not have a room yet, you can book one day each day at the 180 mark. (So on Tuesday you can book Tuesday's meals 6 months from now and Wednesday you can log on and book Wednesday's meals etc). Unless you are a big group or want Be our Guest you don't have to book exactly at 180. Things like Cinderella castle (royal table) and Chef Mickeys do fill up fast, so if you want them, try and book as early as you can. We rarely have issues getting what we want 2-3 months out, but we are flexible with days and times and often go during slow months and if something is booked, we'll be back soon, so no biggie. Fast passes can't be booked till 60 days before your trip so you have some time on that one and the photographs have to be bought at least 3 days before your trip so you don't have to think about that right now either.

As for cancelation, book a room only reservation and buy your tickets separately. The tickets should be bought at least 60 days before you leave (so you can book your fast passes at the 60 day mark), but if you already have them and you have to cancel they just hang out in your account indefinitely. You can buy them today and travel in 2020 and be fine. I think you have to cancel and room only reservation 3 days in advance, but I have heard of 7 days. Either way, in almost every situation you will know if you are going before that time anyway.

 

[trimad22]

We would be staying at the Yacht/Beach club resort but wouldn't know exactly which one until probably March/April? (totally guessing but it will definitely be after Jan. 31 2016)
Also I won't have tickets until even later so maybe that makes planning harder?

Also the trip is not guaranteed so I need to be able to cancel without losing out too.

Our hotel and flights would be totally covered so I am just wondering about all the extra's.
We had planned and saved to go either this year or next and were being kind of budget strict but now that flights/hotel is covered we can use the 5k we saved for all the extras. Kids will be 11 and 7 at the time and if earned there will be a HUGE group of us going.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Book at least one dinner show. HDDR would be a good first.

 

[DisneyBelle27]

We would be staying at the Yacht/Beach club resort but wouldn't know exactly which one until probably March/April? (totally guessing but it will definitely be after Jan. 31 2016)
Also I won't have tickets until even later so maybe that makes planning harder?

Also the trip is not guaranteed so I need to be able to cancel without losing out too.

Our hotel and flights would be totally covered so I am just wondering about all the extra's.
We had planned and saved to go either this year or next and were being kind of budget strict but now that flights/hotel is covered we can use the 5k we saved for all the extras. Kids will be 11 and 7 at the time and if earned there will be a HUGE group of us going.

Well, if you're definitely going to WDW at some point, then you can purchase tickets whenever since they don't expire until you start using them. So you could even buy your tickets now, and if you don't end up doing this trip, then just use them for the next year.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I would check out 4 websites - the first is www.mousesavers.com. Click on Walt Disney World and then you will see a list under that. Click on How to get started and go from there.
The rules regarding Disney's cancellation policies are also on that website. I've found them to be pretty good mostly. I routinely have had to cancel room only reservations a week before my trip thanks to my old job which I no longer have (and good riddance. LOL)

When you are ready for more information such as crowd calendars you can go to www.easywdw.com.

Also here on the disboards are links to menus for the various restaurants, and lots of other info at www.wdwinfo.com.

and if you are having fun checking things out and not overwhelmed with it all - check out www.allears.net. Tons of information and fun stuff there too.

It's really not bad once you break it down into sections:

When you want to go
Where do you want to stay and are there any potential discounts (mousesavers.com has a great discount historical listing)
How many days you are going for
Do you want the Dining Plan or not
Which park on which day
Which table service restaurants (TS) you want to eat at (try to book around your 180 day mark if you can for the best choices)
Any special things you want to do (book those early as well)
And finally plan your Fast Passes (use Mesaboy's thread about FP+ Basic Info, Suggested priorities and strategies Part II)
Book your FP+ (at the 60 day mark if you are staying onsite at Disney or the 30 day mark if you are staying offsite)

Happy Planning!

 

[trimad22]

Thank you all so much!!


It will be a trip I earn -- so nothing is guaranteed but I am doing everything in my power to get there. I guess I just want to plan and have all the extras in place when the decision comes through!

I would check out 4 websites - the first is www.mousesavers.com. Click on Walt Disney World and then you will see a list under that. Click on How to get started and go from there.
The rules regarding Disney's cancellation policies are also on that website. I've found them to be pretty good mostly. I routinely have had to cancel room only reservations a week before my trip thanks to my old job which I no longer have (and good riddance. LOL)

When you are ready for more information such as crowd calendars you can go to www.easywdw.com.

Also here on the disboards are links to menus for the various restaurants, and lots of other info at www.wdwinfo.com.

and if you are having fun checking things out and not overwhelmed with it all - check out www.allears.net. Tons of information and fun stuff there too.

It's really not bad once you break it down into sections:

When you want to go --June 6th - 11th
Where do you want to stay and are there any potential discounts (mousesavers.com has a great discount historical listing) - Either the yacht or beach club resort
How many days you are going for - 5-6 as I am not sure what time of day we arrive/leave
Do you want the Dining Plan or not
Which park on which day
Which table service restaurants (TS) you want to eat at (try to book around your 180 day mark if you can for the best choices)
Any special things you want to do (book those early as well)
And finally plan your Fast Passes (use Mesaboy's thread about FP+ Basic Info, Suggested priorities and strategies Part II)
Book your FP+ (at the 60 day mark if you are staying onsite at Disney or the 30 day mark if you are staying offsite)

Happy Planning!