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You've decided to go to Disney World...now what?

Where do you start? How much will it cost? When should you go? Where do you buy tickets? There's more than just the Magic Kingdom??? 

The questions can be overwhelming and it's probably one reason so many people end up not going at all. They think it sounds like a good idea but then someone like me tells them to start planning and that restaurant and special extras can book up six months out, suddenly Disney-phobia sets in.

Relax. You can do this. It can be complicated but you just have to take it one decision at a time. 

Let's get started with a quick overview for those just starting out with planning their very first (or first in a long time) vacation...

There are four theme parks and two water parks...

Magic Kingdom is the original and has Cinderella's Castle. If this is your first time planning, Magic Kingdom is probably the theme park you're thinking about when you think Disney World.

Epcot connects to Magic Kingdom via monorail and was the second park built. For years it wasn't considered very kid-friendly and it still caters to adults (eat and drink your way around the world) but has certainly grown to be a favorite for many kids with attractions like Turtle Talk with Crush where kids actually do get to talk with Crush and he talks back.

Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios) is probably the park that is the most balanced between what kids and what adults want. There's stunt shows and thrill rides but also Disney Jr characters and a Woody and Buzz Lightyear meet and greet spot.

Animal Kingdom is a double-edged sword. It's awesome but it will ruin your ability to just go to your local zoo and have a good time. The Kilimanjaro Safari is worth the price of admission alone but there's also Expedition Everest-a roller coaster that will have you running to the single-rider line over and over (thereby skipping the regular line which can get pretty long even in the slowest of seasons).

Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon are Disney's two water parks and each offers a lot for those that are so inclined. If you have very small children and want to do a water park, we recommend Typhoon Lagoon as Blizzard Beach has more of the high-adventure type water coasters. Typhoon Lagoon does, however, give you the opportunity to swim with sharks...yup, sharks. We've done it a few times and it's a blast. Just be sure to bring your underwater camera (the Kodak Sport C123 works great).

Now that you're excited about where you're going, let's talk about all those planning decisions you have to make..

First you should decide when you want to go. Most people ask us "what's the best time of year to go?" which generally translates into "when are the crowds the lowest, the temperatures the best and the prices the cheapest?"

Crowd levels-

Historically, the lowest crowd levels are...

January (just after New Years) to President's Day in February 

*tip-all US national holidays are times that will be much busier as both locals and families from around the nation who don't want to pull their kids from school will opt for these times

September (the week following Labor Day) to the week BEFORE Thanksgiving

*tip-if you opt to go in late September/October keep in mind that Magic Kingdom will close early at least twice a week for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Epcot will be MUCH busier-especially at night because of the annual Food and Wine Festival 

The week AFTER Thanksgiving to mid-December

*tip-this time can really be hit or miss, there's Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in Magic Kingdom and the Candlelight Processional in Epcot BUT it's a great time to go with pretty low crowds if you're wanting to see the parks decorated for the holidays

Moderate crowd levels...

The week of Thanksgiving

*tip-the crowds may not be as packed at the peak season where you're just sardines in a can but moderate crowd levels can still be overwhelming and if you plan to have a nice Thanksgiving meal, you MUST call 407-WDW-DINE 180 days in advance at 0700 est. Disney restaurants-especially American themed restaurants like Liberty Tree Tavern and the popular Character meals like Cinderella's Castle will book up first and fast!

Late April through early June (with the exception of Memorial Day which falls into the peak season)

Highest crowd levels (aka insanity...at least 90 minute wait times for most attractions)...

President's week in February

Mid-March until late April

Memorial Day Weekend

About the second week of June through Labor Day

Thanksgiving Day Weekend

Christmas Eve through New Year's

*tip-New Year's Eve is the single busiest day of the year. The parks often reach capacity and shut down the front gates mid-day. Go during any of these peak times only if you must, you don't want to see our family or you're just a big fan of waiting two hours for a 60-second ride.

It may go without saying but resort stays are cheapest during the seasons with the lowest crowds and highest during the peak seasons. Check out our break down of the resorts by clicking on one of the resort links on the left. We've included a general idea of what to expect to spend. As for temperature, that's all up to you. We prefer early fall because we still get that summer feeling without melting into the pavement.

Second, figure out your budget. Someone asked us yesterday if they're family of four can go to Disney World for less than $10,000. I choked a little when I heard the question because as many times as we've been and even though we've gone for as long as 15 days and have always stayed on Disney property, we've never spent anywhere near that much. In fact, I'll level with you. The most we've spent from our front door to Disney and back is less than $5,000. Granted, we're on a budget and we are vigilant about seeking out the best deals. My husband is in the military and I'm a stay-at-home mom-it goes without saying that we have to be wise about what we spend and where it goes. Can you go and spend $10,000? Absolutely. Do you need to? No. However, if you'd like to, I have a few ideas of what you can do to make it an amazing time...and if you decided to take me along, I'd be ok with that too...just throwing that out there. Once you know your budget, you can start on the third decision you have to make...

Where will you stay? We always recommend staying at a Disney-owned resort on property but you can check out your options with our comparison of on-property/off-property and even Shades of Green (for all our military friends and family) for more details.

Next, where do you buy your tickets/package? I know people who ONLY use a travel agent because they're afraid they'll make a mistake on their own...understandable but stay informed because more than once, we've known about a discount someone qualified for but didn't receive because their travel agent either didn't know about it or didn't bother to do the work to get them the discount. If you want to plan it on your own...as I suspect since you're here...keep in mind some of the biggest discounts...free dining, room-only discounts, and Disney's Military discounts CANNOT be purchased or added to a reservation online. You MUST call into the reservation center at 407-WDW-7675. In fact, if you call that number and ask them, they'll help you start your planning and the great thing with Disney is that when you're ready to book your vacation, you only need a $200 deposit. The rest of your package is due 45 days before you check-in so you can make monthly payments or save up and pay it all off at once...just be sure to book as soon as you can so rooms fill up fast. If you're looking for just tickets...for example, you've decided staying on property just isn't for your family, and you don't qualify for the greatly discounted military tickets, check out websites like Undercover Tourist for discounted tickets. However, generally speaking, you'll only find discounted tickets when you purchase a minimum of three of four days worth of tickets. 

Lastly, if you have children...especially small children, be sure to take a little more time and do some extra planning-particularly check out the height restrictions. Also, click on our Bibbidy Boppidy Boutique and Pirate's League pages for the fun extras to add to your trip.

As always, if you have any questions, email me by clicking on the profile (where it has my name), I'm happy to help.

Animal Kingdom in a Day

A family friend (and former boss) is starting to plan their first vacation to Disney World. School and work schedules mean that they'll only have 4 days in the parks and one of her first questions was how much time should she spend in each park. Of course it's a subjective question and depends greatly on who is going and how long you plan to be in the parks but I figured I would break down our preferences and why they are our preferences in the hopes that it helps you. The park that most people think of as the easiest to get through quickly is Animal Kingdom and for the most part I agree but the tricky thing about Animal Kingdom is that it's the first park to close each day (with the exception of when one of the other parks is having a special event in the evening like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party). Animal Kingdom will close as early as 5pm especially in the fall and winter.

The first thing we do if we think we'll only have a day in Animal Kingdom is try and go on a day that has a morning extra magic hour at Animal Kingdom. 

*Extra magic hours are extra park hours available ONLY to guests staying at an official Disney-owned Resort. One park per day will EITHER open an hour early or stay open up to three hours late.

Generally speaking we avoid morning extra magic hours because A-we're not morning people-none of us. Not. At. All. and B-the park which has extra magic hours (either morning or evening) is usually the busiest throughout the day. So, if we do use extra magic hours, it's night time extra magic hours and we will often not go to that park during the day but rather spend our day elsewhere and then hop over (got to love those park hopper tickets) to the park with the evening extra magic hours just as it is closing to the general public. 

The reason we go to Animal Kingdom on an extra magic hour morning is simple. The safari. The animals are fed early in the day and so they are much more active AND the lines are almost non-existent...especially if you arrive just as the park is opening and go straight back to the safari. The last time we did this we ended up stopped THREE times because of animals in the road. We got to see a couple rhinos apparently fighting over who got to eat first. Good times.

Something else we do on an Animal Kingdom day is book a breakfast at the Tusker House for Donald's Safari Breakfast...it takes time not eating at the resort before going to the parks so I don't often recommend it when time is limited but we do it because it's one of very few places where you are guaranteed to find Daisy...our son has been in love with Daisy for YEARS!

(his reaction the first time he had to say goodbye to Daisy)

Moving on, after the extra magic hour safari (and possibly breakfast with Donald), we usually head to the back of the park, pick up fast passes (if available) for Kali River Rapids (you will get soaked!-but it's a blast). Kali has one of the shortest height requirements at Disney World-just 38". Once we have either ridden, picked up fast passes or both (because if it doesn't have a line to start with, it will!-especially later in the afternoon) we move onto Expedition Everest.

 Expedition Everest is Animal Kingdom's big roller coaster. It's still fairly easy for us to get on because neither of our kids is big enough to go on it yet (44" minimum requirement). Until the boy is big enough, Joshua and I have to take turns going alone while the other waits with the kids so we just use the single rider line option. You (most likely) won't get to sit in the very front seat if you go through the single rider line...unless you luck out like I did once. The single rider entrance is to the right of both the main stand by and fastpass lines. Also tucked in the corner is a train car so if you're larger and concerned about not fitting into the seat, you can test it out on the side without the fear of embarrassment of finding out you don't fit after waiting in line.

(that's me in the second row on the left...another upside to not being able to ride together is that Joshua and I can take each other's pics coming down the mountain)

The other big ride type of attraction we like to do while at Animal Kingdom is Dinosaur. It can be and often is very frightening for small children as it's in the dark and you're being chased by dinosaurs. It's jarring and jerky but it's also one of my personal favorite rides. There's a great gift shop outside Dinosaur (as with most of the big attractions at Disney-they're not fools...they will do all they can to get your money) where parents of smaller children can wait for the rest of their party. Dinosaur has a 40" height requirement (the boy will be going on it for the first time this fall!).

(in line to ride Dinosaur)

Animal Kingdom has a couple shows that are must dos in addition to the rides I already mentioned. It's Tough To Be A Bug is a great 3D attraction that we love to do whenever we have the time (just know that they use a machine that blows various scents in the theater to go with the show-including a certain stink bug scent and if you have bad asthma, you may have a problem). The best advice when it comes to attraction wait times I can tell you is to get a Disney World wait time app. Verizon is the only company with an official Disney wait time app but there's dozens out there. We have Verizon so I can't speak for anything but the official app which is simply called "Disney Parks" and has an icon of the Mickey Sorcerer hat and has always been accurate for us. The other show isn't a "just fit it in when you have time" sort of show. The Finding Nemo Musical will take a chunk of your time away. It's a 45 minute show and you'll need to find the theater about 30 minutes early in order to have a good seat. For these reasons, we didn't do the Nemo Show until about three ago and now it's a must do. It's Broadway caliber with excellent acting and brilliant design. Go see it!!!

The only thing I would absolutely say to avoid when your on a tight schedule is Rafiki's Planet Watch. It doesn't come close to making out must do list anyway (again, just our opinions) but in order to get to it, you have to take the Wildlife Express Train and it can be a challenge if you have a stroller (must be left or folded-Disney's rental strollers do not fold...go HERE to see my recommendations for strollers and a bunch of other infant/small children tips at Disney World). The trains come every 5-10 minutes and once the train stops, you have to walk about 5 more minutes (thus one of the MANY reasons I'm not a fan of the Disney rental strollers) to get to Rafiki's Planet Watch. It can eat up time in a day like none other. I know people who love it but unless you or your kids are DETERMINED to go, I'd say skip it. 

There's other fun things to do at Animal Kingdom...like the Flights of Wonder show (we're not even "bird" people but we love it), the Pagani Forest Trail, Festival of the Lion King Show, face painting and other fair/carnival-type fun in Dinoland and half a dozen others that are great but just don't make our must do list when we're on a tight schedule.

No matter how tight your schedule is, keep your eyes open for the infamous DeVine...she's, well, divine.