Call me an eager beaver, but I’m am currently in the process of planning a vacation that won’t happen for another 8 months. Ordinarily, it would seem absurd to be planning this far in advance for a 2 week vacation to our neighbours to the south, but this is not your standard vacation… oh no. This is Disney!
Did you know there are a zillion websites out there that help you strategize your trip to this magical wonderland? My starting point was obviously the official Disney website, but I was quick to realize that this would not be my only point of reference. So far I have made multiple references to:
- disneyworld.disney.go.com
- mousesavers.com
- undercovertourist.com
- Advanced Reservation Calculators
- Crowd Estimator Calendars
- blogs offering savings advice
- tripadvisor.com
- etc. etc. etc.
In order to keep all my web research in order, I have bookmarked all the important pages on my computer, and have created a binder to hold all my information in one convenient location.
I have phone numbers for reservations, hotel pricing, park ticket pricing, the days I want to visit each park based on forecasted crowd conditions, maps to all parks with relevant attractions highlighted and categorized by day (if I’m visiting the same park multiple times), a list of the character dining experiences I’d like to (hopefully) reserve along with the date I have to call (at 7am) to make the reservation because you can only book 180 days in advance…
*take a deep breath*
…transportion options and estimated travel times, logon codes for the Disney site along with their Photo Pass site, estimates on Disney dining plans vs. pay-as-you-go…
I could go on (and on, and on), but I think you get the picture. I sure hope that my family appreciates the fact that I’m spending hours on this research to ensure that we have the BEST vacation ever… however, I am fully aware that this effort will be completely lost on my 2 pre-schoolers… and probably my husband too. *sigh*
I guess I’ll just have to pat MYSELF on the back. “Good job me!”
Despite the fact that this is a work-intensive task, and I’m not getting paid for it by my family, I do enjoy the planning. I’m a big kid myself and am totally excited to explore the Magic Kingdom and see all the characters. I still remember going to Disney when I was 25 years old, and I bowled over little kids so I could get a photo with Dopey. I admit it. I have no shame.
But I think the most exciting thing about this trip will be the looks on my kids faces when they see life-sized versions of Mickey & the gang… their eyes will either light up in amazement, or they will run away in terror…
Part of me expects that latter to happen… and I’ll have my camcorder ready to capture every moment 🙂
I’m so glad you posted those links. I’m planning (well, supposed to be planning – I’m slacking) a trip for our family of four in May and it’s so overwhelming. Everyone I’ve talked to has had a different experience with things they loved/hated so I’m trying to collect as much information as possible.
here are a few more links that I’ve used:
http://mydisneyplan.blogspot.ca (step by step planning)
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm (list of restaurant menus so you can see prices & food type)
http://pscalculator.net/allearsnet/pscalcae.php (calculates earliest date you can call to make advanced reservations at restaurants)
http://www.undercovertourist.com/planning/when-to-visit/disney-world-crowds-calendar_august-2013.html#disney-opening-hours (estimates days that have lower traffic at the parks)
hope this helps! good luck with your planning
Thank you!
We used this website/book for our DisneyLAND trip – we followed a lot of the advice and touring plans provided. They also have a DisneyWORLD edition. http://touringplans.com/unofficial-guide
Don’t forget to download Apps for when you’re at the Park, so you can track the line-ups in real time 🙂