Step 1 is to decide when you want to go. Everybody is different and everybody's schedules are different. Some people have flexible schedules while others may not. For our trip I could pretty much go whenever I wanted, so I did not have a lot to factor in. I had two time periods I was trying to decide between. While trying to decide when to go I stumbled upon a crowd sheet. I have no idea how I found it, but it tells you the most crowded times and the least crowded times. Here is what that looks like:
For most of our trip the chart showed light crowds. One of the times we wanted to go was considered not a peak time, while the other time was. Something else I looked up was when the best time to go to Disney World was. The results were September, October, and November. With everything I looked up we just kind of pieced together an ideal week to go. We contacted a few travel agencies to get quotes on a resort we really wanted to stay at, but it was way over the budget. We had to let go of our ideal room and move to a resort other people we knew really liked.
Along with figuring out when you want to go, you will need to figure out what your budget is. Prior to making your reservations you will also need to decide if you want to include any of the dining plans. I found that some people really liked the dining plans while others did not. As a first timer I thought it would be a great idea to purchase a dining plan. I purchased the deluxe dining plan that gives you 3 table/quick service meals that include an appetizer and dessert as well, and 2 snack credits. At the time of purchasing I did not know how much the plan was a person. It wasn't until I started researching it that I found it was $100 for adults and I think $29 for kids. While we are there I plan on tallying up my totals to see if it was worth the money to purchase the plan, or if it is cheaper to not purchase. Sometimes you can get the dining plan for free, but if you get free dining then you are not eligible for any room discounts.
Other factors to consider are how you plan on getting there. Do you plan on flying or driving? This question was not answered right away for me. I really wanted to fly to maximize our time in the parks, but flying out of my town is really expensive. After looking online for a few days my mom found a great deal and just like that it was decided we would fly. The last thing I can think of to consider are how do you want to tell your kids or family they will be going to Disney for vacation. Do you want to surprise them? If so, how? When should you tell them? I will talk more about what I did in another post.
This concludes the initial planning/reserving stage. I may have missed something, but for now this is all I can think of. Google and Pinterest have been my best friend in the planning stage. I will have a few more Disney posts that will be coming :)
Jeremiah 29:11
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