Booking, and Planning, Your Walt Disney World Vacation

Walt Disney World offers so much to do. Planning is very important, if you want to see a lot, and do a lot. Everyone wants to get the most out of their vacation dollar spent, so a vacation budget is a must. Here are some tips on how to get the most value, while still having a magical and memorable Walt Disney World vacation.

The first thing you can do is decide to enlist the help of a travel agent, and when looking at any Disney Destination, always use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. Our Laughing Place Travel offers you a wonderful trip planning experience, and, you can contact me personally for help.

First thing that needs to be decided is your Walt Disney World Resort. There are lots of choices, and Disney encourages you to build a package that will work for your family. You have Value Resorts, such as Pop Century, Moderate Resorts, such as Port Orleans Riverside, Deluxe Resorts, such as The Yacht Club, and Deluxe Villa Resorts, such as the new Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary, giving you choices form a well appointed hotel room in a resort, to a three bedroom villa, with a full kitchen, three baths, washer and dryer, Jacuzzi tub, and more. To know what is being rehabbed check at Franniepoppins’ WDW Resort Rehab page.

Having an idea of what Disney is offering for deals is also a great idea. You can find the current Disneyworld special deal at Our Laughing Place Travel, and you can bet your OLP Travel agent will know what deal will work for your stay. We always get the best deal available for our clients.

It is also a good idea to book a Disney Dining Plan, and to schedule your sit down dining meals. There are so many wonderful dining experiences at Walt Disney World. You can dine with many of the Disney Characters, having fun with them, or look for a quiet dining experience. All the information you need is available at OLP Travel’s Disney Dining Guide.

Next thing to consider is what you will need for theme park tickets. Here is some information to help you decide on what will work for your family.

The Magic Your Way ticket system lets guests decide what ticket features best fit their Disney vacation plans … and that’s what they buy.  Guests decide the number of days and whether optional features – park hopping, visits to Disney attractions outside the theme parks and “non-expiration” of tickets – are important.  Some price and value considerations…

Per-day ticket costs decrease for longer stays.  A seven-day ticket without optional features brings down the per-day cost to less than half the price, per day, compared to seven individual one-day Base Tickets.  And the per-day cost of a 10-day ticket is less than one-third the price, per day, compared to 10 individual one-day Base Tickets.

The Water Park Fun & More option can produce significant savings for recreation and entertainment outside the theme parks.  Here’s what you need to know about the option:

 

• It provides admissions to the guest’s choice of Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, DisneyQuest, Disney’s Oak Trail golf course and Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.
• The number of admissions it provides varies depending upon the number of days of the Base Ticket (the option added to a one- or two-day Base Ticket provides two visits to the guest’s choice from among the listed attractions; added to a seven-day Base Ticket, it provides seven visits).
• It costs $52.  Considering that one-day admission to a water park is $39-$45 or to DisneyQuest is $35-$41, substantial savings are possible. .

The Park Hopper option can enhance the value of the vacation by allowing a guest to take advantage of special fun offered at different times of day at different Disney theme parks.  Other potential Park Hopper benefits:

 

• If the vacation stay is longer, “hopping” is perfect for repeating favorite attractions at the various parks.
• If the guest is staying “on property,” park-hopping can be the ticket to extra time in the parks (more about this under “Making the best use of time”).

Kids under age 3
are provided free admission to all Walt Disney World theme parks.

Planning your touring activities at Walt Disney World requires some pre-trip planning. Get to know Walt Disney World Theme Parks by looking at maps, looking at pictures and reading reviews online. Have an idea of what attractions at the theme parks are being rehabbed but checking at Franniepoppins’ WDW Theme Park Rehab page on a regular basis. Two quick tips that my clients use are to head right to your favorite ride first thing in the day, to avoid a line, and another great tip is to ride rides while parades are going on; usually the wait times go down dramatically. Here are some tips that Disney offers, to help you use your time wisely.

Disney’s FASTPASS system allows guests to avoid waiting at designated popular attractions in all four Walt Disney World theme parks.  Here’s how it works:

 

• At the entrance to attractions offering FASTPASS, two times are posted – (1) approximate wait time using the normal queue and (2) return time for FASTPASS tickets currently being issued.
• If the wait in the normal queue is long, guests can choose to obtain a FASTPASS ticket (at no charge) with an assigned return time (an hour-long window) and then use the time until then to enjoy other experiences in the park.
• Upon returning to use their FASTPASS, the guest can hop on the attraction with little or no waiting.

A “rider swap” program lets both parents enjoy a ride – one parent waits with a child who is unable to ride an attraction while one parent rides.  Afterwards, the other parent can board the ride with minimal wait time.

Tip Boards located at strategic “crossroads” in each theme park provide guests with a heads-up concerning attractions’ wait times.  Guests can save time – and “steps” – by consulting the boards throughout the day.

Extra Magic Hours provide guests of select hotels at Walt Disney World Resort an opportunity for exclusive time in a Walt Disney World theme park.  The details:

 

• The exclusive time is one hour prior to scheduled park opening or up to three hours after park closing.
• The park varies from day to day.
• In all, there are up to 16 extra theme park hours available each week.
• The time is exclusively for guests of the 24 Walt Disney World owned-and-operated hotels, and Walt Disney World Dolphin, Walt Disney World Swan, Shades of Green and the Hilton at Downtown Disney.
• Disney water parks sometimes open one hour early for guests of select Disney resort hotels.
• To take advantage of the additional time in the parks, guests must have a Magic Your Way ticket valid for the park(s) offering Extra Magic Hours – and, of course, their hotel ID.
• The Park Hopper option on Magic Your Way tickets allows guests to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours in a park or parks different from where the guest spends the rest of the day.
  

Walt Disney World really does offer a totally immersive vacation experience. I’d say that it gives you the chance to really escape your daily responsibilities. With a little planning, you will make the most out of your stay.

Written by Francine - Visit Website
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