when to start planning...

[kniquy]

we would likely have stayed at one of the value resorts to save a little on the price.

Have you looked into a Disney vacation club rental? This sometimes provides your family with more room, cooking and laundry facilities ( in room) depending upon the room size. There are a couple rental companies that you can go through. we did this for our first trip and we were hooked and bought a DVC. Definitely something to price out as an option.

 

[elcmum]

I just planned our last trip in 29 days. (Supposed to be 30, but we left a day early due to the hurricane.)

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

We always start to talk about our trip early on. We go every year for Xmas and we actually start talking about next year during the last few days of the trip.

It always goes the same way... we say "we better enjoy the trip this year because who knows what next year will bring?!"

Then: "we need to start traveling to new places. For all the money we spend on Disney, we could see the world!"

Then the trip starts nearing and we start planning our moves - the food we wanna eat, our rides, etc.

Then 12/30 hits and we start to get sad. We start saying "well maybe we'll do a short trip next year." Then we start talking about what we'd do.

Long story short, the same vicious cycle has taken place for the past 4 years. We've gone back every year.


As far as planning, I'd say around 250-300 days out you should start to plan. Start to check your finances, get your budget intact, decide where and when you wanna stay.

By 200 days out, I'd personally like to be booked — my resort, my park tickets, etc. Usually flights are announced 200 days out (for Southwest, at least.) We fly Southwest as it's the best value (IMO), we have the points from our credit cards and you can modify your trip if the fare drops.

Also around 200 days out, you can start discussing your dining. Whether you do the DDP or not, you should start to look into restaurants. With planning out your restaurants, whether you like it or not, comes planning out your parks. You're not gonna book Tusker House when you plan on going to Magic Kingdom, for example. Parks and ADRs is kind of like the chicken or the egg argument.

At 180 days book your FP+.

Around 80-100 days, start to plan out your days. "Okay, we have an ADR for Crystal Palace, so we'll go to MK that day." ... "okay, so we'll need FP+'s for these rides..."

At 60 days book your FP+... then the waiting game starts.

From there on, it's a gigantic game of checking the park hours and eventually the weather. And round and round we go....

 

[Accident]

So, on average, how far ahead of time do you start seriously planning?

I don't plan at all, but I do research to know what's changed and going on.. basically once I pick where I want to stay, the 1 or 2 places I want to do table service, i'm pretty much done and waiting to go. maybe I'll do a circle of fastpasses guessing what where we might want to be each day but overall, we don't really stick to that plan and it's overkill.

 

[halssister]

I am always planning, even though we only go every few years!
We buy our tickets ahead of time using Disney Visa Rewards and gift cards, whenever we have enough saved up to buy five days worth of tickets. We don't usually do any table service meals, so don't need to worry about ADRs. We figure out our tentative dates, usually in the summer, 6-9 months out so DH can get his vacation request in at work. Then we will book our room as soon as the discounts come out - going (probably) end of July next year, so likely those deals will be released in January and we will book then. Once booked, I'll start researching which park to do which day and getting our rough schedule down so I can be ready to book our fastpasses when we get to 60 days out!

 

[desiree71081]

Have you looked into a Disney vacation club rental? This sometimes provides your family with more room, cooking and laundry facilities ( in room) depending upon the room size. There are a couple rental companies that you can go through. we did this for our first trip and we were hooked and bought a DVC. Definitely something to price out as an option.

Do you have to pay the full price when booking? I believe that is what someone told me and we just don't have that amount at the moment. We want to put the deposit down and then take our time paying the rest.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

We generally plan anywhere from 4-7 months in advance.

 

[MochaDrinker]

I started planning last year for a trip in November 2017, but it's our first and possibly only trip so I wanted to do everything just right. We booked our hotel the day military discounts came out.

 

[SA mom]

Secretly, I am always planning a trip. Always. On our last trip to Orlando, we only went to Universal. I am having huge WDW withdrawal right now. Huge. So I basically keep planning trips. Sometimes in my head only.....but sometimes....I make fastpasses and then delete them. I'm sick.

 

[Eoywin]

I usually start planning in earnest at least a year to a year and a half ahead.

I'm already having planning withdrawal.

 

[agavegirl1]

I think i might need to find a friend that needs a trip planned, i love it! I've got the bug. I think we'll go late 2018/early 2019 - which seems like forever...way too far away to seriously plan. I've earmarked our hotel and about the number of days...but oh, what I wouldn't give for a trip in 2017!

I'm in the same boat. I've picked hotel and dates and now I sit around watching and waiting. Sigh. October 19 2018 is along way away.

 

[kniquy]

Do you have to pay the full price when booking? I believe that is what someone told me and we just don't have that amount at the moment. We want to put the deposit down and then take our time paying the rest.

I don't remember exactly how payment is handled. You might have to pay all of the resort part upfront, but tickets and dining plan can be added later as you get closer to your trip.

 

[wonderlandwego]

I think i might need to find a friend that needs a trip planned, i love it! I've got the bug. I think we'll go late 2018/early 2019 - which seems like forever...way too far away to seriously plan. I've earmarked our hotel and about the number of days...but oh, what I wouldn't give for a trip in 2017!

I am having the worst time trying to get dining reservations for my trip. Please fell free to plan mine!!!!!

 

[Kimber733]

We're planning on going September/October 2018, so there isn't much we can do in terms of actual plans aside from research! We'll likely book the hotel about a year out, depending if WDW renews their military discount into 2018. If they do, that puts us almost exactly one year out (assuming they release it around the same time as this year.) This will be our first visit (for all 12 of us) so we have plenty to learn and get excited about during this time.

 

[Kimber733]

We are planning for February 2018. We have our top two choices of where we are going to be staying, either Caribbean Beach or Port Orleans - Riverside. We could book the room now but I'm going to wait a bit longer. There isn't much else you can do this far out. I'm so anxious for the 2018 packages to come out so I can get a better idea of which way we want to go.

We will need a room for 5 so I am trying to figure out the pros and cons of each resort. If we only had 4, we would likely have stayed at one of the value resorts to save a little on the price. The price difference between the two moderates won't be a huge deal so it's pretty much up to which one we think we will enjoy more.

I had to do a double take on your posts because I could swear that I (or my sister, who's on here) wrote these! We're in the same situation, going in 2018, needing rooms for our families of 5, and considering POR or CBR. We're limited in the family of 5 category for a regular, non-suite room, which has been one of the biggest surprises for me in my WDW research that there aren't more places to stay with 3 kids.

 

[desiree71081]

I had to do a double take on your posts because I could swear that I (or my sister, who's on here) wrote these! We're in the same situation, going in 2018, needing rooms for our families of 5, and considering POR or CBR. We're limited in the family of 5 category for a regular, non-suite room, which has been one of the biggest surprises for me in my WDW research that there aren't more places to stay with 3 kids.

We even looked into the family suite at All-Star Music but it was more than getting the moderate resort room. That could all change when the packages come out I guess but for right now, our cheapest option for 5 is one of the two moderates.

 

[kwdw]

it's a been almost a year now, a long, long year since our Disney Trip in 2015...it had all the magic I could hope for, and my little ones did so great!

Which...has added to the urge...NEED...to plan another trip. We are trying to balance that magical time between when dd will be old enough to remember some of it and still find princesses magical, and my need to basically be there yesterday Also, I think my son will lose his mind in Toy Story Land, once it's completed.

So, on average, how far ahead of time do you start seriously planning?

OP - you know - this really varies! If I'm planning a big trip with family - I might try to lock in dates on the calendar and make a resort reservation 12-11 months out. (Especially because that might meaning renting DVC points at 11 months.) At that same time - we would likely discuss if there are character meals or special events we want to hit that trip. I'd keep updated on happenings (but my traveling companions most likely won't) over the next few months - and then about 7 months out - we'd start talking about IMPORTANT ADR's for us and tentative park days. Then at 180 days - we'd start on the ADR's. Might not book all of them - but anything we considered a high priority would be booked. Again - between 180 days and 60 days - I'd stay on top of WDW news, maybe do a bit of planning - but I wouldn't get serious about planning FP+ until about 2.5 months out. Book those at 60 days. (Note - probably buy tickets about 65-75 days out.) After the priority FP+ are booked - we'd play around with those and any more ADR's we needed on and off until the trip. I might do this - or a traveling companion might be thinking about. So - in this scenario - because it takes cooperation between family units - it's more work. Now - for flights - I know the price point for a cheap flight for us on SW - so - we'd book those when a SW sale happens. That can vary. I've book those LONG in advance (like the day seats were released) and we've booked those about 45 days in advance.

For a couples trip - I'd probably try to plan 7 months - 4 months in advance. My boyfriend is horrible at committing in advance - so the most I can usually get out of him at this point is a commitment to the dates. I do everything else.

If I were planning a solo trip - because I need to fly and want to stay on site - and have to make sure I can get time off work - I could do everything 45-20 days in advance. But - I do play with my FP+ selections and ADR's even during the trip.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

ooo I love hearing from all of you! I think it boils down to the fact that I just need to go to disney every 2 years...

 

[Kimber733]

We even looked into the family suite at All-Star Music but it was more than getting the moderate resort room. That could all change when the packages come out I guess but for right now, our cheapest option for 5 is one of the two moderates.

Yup, I'm in the same boat! Hopefully we get some good deals!