Planning a Disney World trip is complicated, and keeps getting more so. My goal is to un-complicate the process as much as possible. I like to start with a basic minimalist plan, and go from there.
The Bare Minimum Disney World Plan
- Resort Stay: The biggest piece of my plan is booking the resort stay. As soon as I have the resort booked, and know what dates we’ll be there, I start adding in other basic plans. Choose your resort and your dates early to give you the time and freedom to figure out your other plans.
- Plane Tickets: You should have some time to shop around before you need to actually purchase your tickets, but looking early to have an idea of approximate arrival and departure times is an important part of planning– arriving in Orlando at 1 pm or 7 pm makes a big difference! Check your favorite airline or call a travel agent.
- Park Tickets and Reservations: How many parks are you going to during your trip? Which day of your trip will you go to each park? Don’t forget when you’re planning to buy tickets AND book a park reservation!
- Dining Reservations: There are so many must-do restaurants at Disney World, it’s our favorite addition to every trip! Table service restaurants (sit down, order with a server) will need to be reserved 60 days before you leave. If you don’t want to sit down, no reservations need to be made.
Is That It?
This bare minimum plan is the basis for all the rest of my fuss-free planning. From here you can add as much planning detail as you like, or keep it totally basic. You know best whether your perfect trip has all of the details lined up or leaves room to be spontaneous.
And if you found this resource helpful, check out the rest of our Fuss Free Disney series here!