how far in advance to plan...where / how to start?

[lmh2402]

so, we want to do Disney next year - probably Jan/Feb '16

the moms I know who have gone recently seem to have been planning for FOREVER

i don't even know where or how to start

any basic tips would be greatly appreciated

are there specific books or websites I should start reading?

thanks!

[anonomom]

It's useful to start planning about seven months in advance. You can choose a place to stay, start scoping out possible deals, decide on a rough schedule (which park on which day, etc) and if you plan to eat onsite, choose restaurants. That way, you're in good shape when the dining reservation window opens at 180 days out.

I would highly recommend the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and its associated website, touringplans.com. For $10 a year, you get access to a ton of information, plus a crowd calendar that will tell you the best days to visit each park.

You might also check out mousesavers.com and sign up for its newsletter (free). They keep good track on discounts and they almost always have a link to discounted tickets from a third party seller.

Once you have your rough schedule and dining set, you can pretty much stop thinking about it for about 3.5 months. If you stay on property, you'll want to make fastpass reservations 60 days out. If you're off property but have already purchased tickets, you can make those reservations 30 days out.

Hope this helps!

[lmh2402]

yes, thanks! mostly it means I still have time and don't have to stress this yet!

[Chitowngirl]

You have tons of time. Feb is off season so it will be easier for you than some of the busy times of year. We are going the beginning of feb 2015 and didn't even decide to go until the end of oct 2014. We got the hotel we wanted, the rooms we wanted, and all the dining reservations we wanted except Be Our Guest (which is the hot restaurant to get now a days). Basically for this time of year it's a lot easier unless you want princess stuff - that you have to be on top of. I guess it also depends on the type of traveler you are. I'm pretty laid back and there is not any ONE thing on the trip we absolutely HAD to do. If there is something you just can't miss then I would stick very closely to the timeline above.

[lmh2402]

You have tons of time. Feb is off season so it will be easier for you than some of the busy times of year. We are going the beginning of feb 2015 and didn't even decide to go until the end of oct 2014. We got the hotel we wanted, the rooms we wanted, and all the dining reservations we wanted except Be Our Guest (which is the hot restaurant to get now a days). Basically for this time of year it's a lot easier unless you want princess stuff - that you have to be on top of. I guess it also depends on the type of traveler you are. I'm pretty laid back and there is not any ONE thing on the trip we absolutely HAD to do. If there is something you just can't miss then I would stick very closely to the timeline above.

thanks! I am not a laid back traveler, unfortunately. i don't even know what our choices will be, but i am not one to take things as they come, unfortunately. but good to know that feb is actually low time - i'm surprised by that, actually.

but anyway, thanks!

[klwa]

Here's a good overview about when the best times are to visit: http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/crowdcalendar/
Late January/early February are some of the lowest crowds you'll see all year.

If you're wanting to stay on site, hotel prices won't be released until the summer. On easywdw, you'll also find an explanation of the different hotel options for onsite, as well as the writer's preference in hotels within the categories. (We usually stay at All Star Music, because they are a value with the family suites and aren't as expensive as Art of Animation. I think his ranking of Music is skewed down a bit because he isn't giving them any extra points for the family suites.)

Dining reservations can be made 6 months in advance. Allears.net has a good review board http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/ for both resorts & restaurants. Note that menus can & will change.

[MSWR0319]

You're fine! You'll be able to book dining about July/Aug depending on when you end up going. So by that date you need to know which parks you want to tour on which days so you can book appropriate dining. You don't have to have a room booked by that date. I agree with easywdw.com. It's a great website and their crowd calendar is supposed to be the most accurate. We used it last time and I feel it was right on. One day we did what it told us not to do and I regretted it! We are going next month and it's the only tool I've used to plan. Feb is low season but you want to make sure you avoid the time around President's Day. It gets VERY busy then.

[123LuckyMom]

I also recommend the Unofficial Guide. You've got plenty of time to read it before you need to solidify your plans.

[belovedgandp]

We are going the first week of February this year. I have been two other times so was familiar with lots of things but a lot has changed in the past five years also.

I would also recommend the Unofficial Guide. I read it cover to cover before I went the first time in 2002. Then skimmed it for the next visit in 2011. Helped me get a feel for things without getting buried. Some of the messages boards can be blackholes if you are new to planning. They are great resources but overwhelming also.

We settled on our firm dates to visit by the end of June. The one quirk with going at the beginning of the year is that they don't release packages (tickets, dining and rooms) rates for the next year until the beginning of August. I think it was August 1st. But our 180 day window for doing dining reservations started on August 4th. I didn't want to HAVE to do all of our reservations in that three day window.

Our plan was to stay on Disney property and do their dining plan. To making dining reservations you need a reservation number, but it only had to be a room. I made my room only reservation in early July for our stay. If you're doing a package they charge a $200 deposit at the time versus the room which was pay for one night at the time. This room reservation let me make all the dining reservations at the 180 day window. Then I sat on everything until October. That's when they released their discounts - play, stay and dine which made adults kid prices, great for us since my older kids are adults in WDW eyes. I called back then and was able to change my room to a package reservation.