When To Start Planning?

[theworldneedscolor]

We know we are taking our first trip in late April/early May or July of 2014. But that is basically it. We have taken several trips to Disneyland, and from what I've heard, WDW requires much more advanced planning.

So, what does your planning calendar look like?

 

[theworldneedscolor]

I meant to put this in the family section. Whoops!

Well, I will add more to the question. How does a strict budget affect your planning timeline? How early/late do you plan to get the best deals?

 

[BeBeCee]

I have often wondered the same thing. Have only one successful Disney World vacation under my belt, but no matter if you are going in a peak season or a low crowd season, you need to get any advanced dining reservations booked 180 days out. We are a month out from our second time, but I started planning in April of last year.

 

[HouseMother]

I booked our May 2012 trip at the end of February and that felt very last minute. I couldn't get all the ADRs I wanted, but wasn't too crushed because there are so many great options. We are planning to go again in February or March of 2014, and I am already planning for that trip.

 

[HouseMother]

Duplicate.

 

[PosadaGirl519]

My bank offers a vacation club. It's like a christmas club but we can access it at any point throughout the year. Throw $25 a week in there and that's $1300 a year!!! Also I just read this great trick on facebook for a 52 week savings plan. Week 1, save $1. Week 2, save $2. Week 3, save $3 and up and up and up. Week 52, save $52. After a year you have over $1300 saved that way as well. We also look up restaurant and theme park ticket prices ahead of time. So we know approximately how much we NEED for the trip. The rest is all extra fun and shopping money

 

[Marionnette]

I meant to put this in the family section. Whoops!

Well, I will add more to the question. How does a strict budget affect your planning timeline? How early/late do you plan to get the best deals?

A lot will depend on where I'm going and how I want to vacation. A quick, spur of the moment trip to Disney can be planned in as little as a week if it all falls in place. But if I have very specific criteria (must-do restaurants, a villa at BWV during Food & Wine, inflexible dates that require specific flights or if I'm using FF miles to pay for the airfare) then I can be planning for more than a year in advance.

But, I'm always saving for vacations. If we have a Disney trip planned, I begin accruing gift certificates and airline points to help bring the OOP costs down as much as possible. RFC used to be a tradition for us when the kids were young. Now, we make Yak & Yeti a must-do. Both are because I earn Landry's GCs from Mypoints. I do surveys on e-miles and e-Rewards to earn airline miles on SWA. And I put all of our recurring bills on my Disney Visa in order to earn points toward Disney Dream Dollars. It makes the budget a little less tight.

If you want to rent DVC points and you're thinking of getting a value studio at AKV because it require the lowest number of points, you would want to have a DVC member who owns at AKV lined up more than 11 months before your first day of vacation. DVC members can only book at their home resort between 11 months and 7 months prior to arrival. And the AKV value studios book up very quickly. Even then, some owners have to waitlist their request.

But if you're looking to stay at POP in a standard room, you don't have to begin your planning until much later. They have a lot more standard rooms than the AKV value studios. Plus, Disney really doesn't bring out their discounts until 3-6 months before they go into effect.

Airlines won't let you book more than a year in advance. Some have even tighter release dates for their schedules. You can look at what tickets cost for April of this year but airfare prices fluctuate so much that it's very difficult to project the cost a year ahead of time.

My advice would be to go to Disney's website and price out the cost of a trip that closely mimics the one you would like to take. Don't do it thru the special offers. Get the undiscounted rates. This will give you an idea of a ballpark figure to shoot for in your savings plan. When the new rates are announced for 2014 (some time in early August), go back to the website and get a more concrete figure. That price will reflect the maximum amount that you can expect to pay for your visit.

At some point in early Jan. 2014, there should be a discount announced that includes April/May. It might be helpful to know that Easter 2014 will be on April 20. The weeks before and after Easter will be not only be expensive, they will also be crowded. You'll want to avoid those late April dates.

Good luck planning!

 

[Sunnygal75]

I booked our flights in Aug. and then from there I started writing a list on what we would like to do (parks, where to eat etc). I looked into what kind of car we would need (decided on an SUV) and of course a few days just taking it easy at the vacation house we rented.

Not long to go now so getting excited!

 

[theworldneedscolor]

Thanks for all the ideas, everybody. We have a lot to start looking at. This will probably be the most expensive trip we've ever taken, so we are working really hard to find the best deals and still make it a great trip!

 

[Aliceacc]

We're planning to go in August 2014.

Because we've been there a number of times already, a lot of the pre-planning is done. We know where we want to stay (Beach Club if we can get a decent discount, possibly the teacher discount at the Dolphin if not.) We know we're hoping for the meal plan (though if we're at the Dolphin, that won't work.) We know we want to travel in Value Season (August should be fine, but we're always back in school before free dining kicks in.) We know we want the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert party either way. We want to pre-order the Photopass CD, though I have to look into Photopass+. (Not trying to scare you with info, just kind of organizing my own thoughts. And making the point that it's certainly not too early to start planning.)

And we know we want to work with the same Disney certified travel agent who booked our last trip. It was great having someone call in our ADRs, and (far more important) looking out for the deals. She'll book the trip as soon as the 2014 prices come out this summer.

I'll book our airfare somewhere around New Years; I always seem to get a good deal at that time. I'll try very hard for Jetblue-- our kids love the personal TVs. And (again, more important) between the "first bag flies free" and the free snacks, they turn out to be less expensive for my family.

We're already putting money aside each paycheck for the 2014 trip. And every single occasion from this point out will include Disney gift cards. We also have a Disney Visa card, so we're earning points each time we charge something, even if we pay off the balance each month.

OP, wanna be my planning buddy? The planning is so much fun!!

 

[danielle79]

We're planning to go in August 2014.

Because we've been there a number of times already, a lot of the pre-planning is done. We know where we want to stay (Beach Club if we can get a decent discount, possibly the teacher discount at the Dolphin if not.) We know we're hoping for the meal plan (though if we're at the Dolphin, that won't work.) We know we want to travel in Value Season (August should be fine, but we're always back in school before free dining kicks in.) We know we want the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert party either way. We want to pre-order the Photopass CD, though I have to look into Photopass+. (Not trying to scare you with info, just kind of organizing my own thoughts. And making the point that it's certainly not too early to start planning.)

And we know we want to work with the same Disney certified travel agent who booked our last trip. It was great having someone call in our ADRs, and (far more important) looking out for the deals. She'll book the trip as soon as the 2014 prices come out this summer.

I'll book our airfare somewhere around New Years; I always seem to get a good deal at that time. I'll try very hard for Jetblue-- our kids love the personal TVs. And (again, more important) between the "first bag flies free" and the free snacks, they turn out to be less expensive for my family.

We're already putting money aside each paycheck for the 2014 trip. And every single occasion from this point out will include Disney gift cards. We also have a Disney Visa card, so we're earning points each time we charge something, even if we pay off the balance each month.

OP, wanna be my planning buddy? The planning is so much fun!!

Yay for 2014 planners! I want to be buddies we are hoping to go end of January/early February 2014 and I must say we are already looking at places to eat and options for park days! We were last there in Feb 2011 and stayed in the Fort Wilderness cabins and really liked them, so hoping for a discount for moderates again!

 

[golf4miami]

I would say the most important thing is to get the traveling and hotel locked down first. Those are the most important things. Once you know how you're flying, where you're staying, and for how long, the rest is a piece of cake.

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

I love planning vacations. I think I like it even more than the vacation itself (JK) . As soon as I think I might even have a possiblity to take a trip, I will start planning. My family is planning a big trip to Portugal/Spain/Morocco in Spring of 2014 and my Mom and I are super big into planning right now.

We usually start doing the research and after a couple of weeks will make up a mock budget. As we save we like to check off things that are now "paid" for. As we get closer to the trip we start to refine our plans and adjust the budget accordingly.

I really like to get a baseline of the costs. That way as I am constantly researching, I am able to spot a great deal. It is good to be able to recognize what is a good deal so you can pounce on it right away.

Happy planning!!! I am sure it will be lots of fun for you.

 

[beansmom]

i am ALWAYS planning my next trip...sometimes several. Right now i am planning 2 disney trips, a trip to europe and a trip to Hawaii.

as for disney, i start with ADRs if there is a place I am dying to eat...such as Be Our Guest ...i make those 180+ days out. I book the hotel whenever and airfare when i think it is cheapest.

I planned my first trip to Hawaii for over a year...but i was able to research, book what we wanted and felt ready to invade a 'foreign land'. This next trip won't take so much work.

We are going to Ireland/Scotland and Paris in May and I have been planning this for many months as well since I know very little about any of these places. DH has been to Paris several times so he is helping with that.