When planning your Walt Disney World vacation, you are probably constantly finding advice and suggestions about what to do during your trip. Although this is meant to be helpful, it can be overwhelming at the same time.
To help you narrow down all those tips and tricks, we will share the top pieces of advice that we give first-timers. These are the suggestions that, if followed, will have the biggest impact on your overall experience at Walt Disney World.
Let’s get started!
Tips for Packing
Being prepared with the essential items for your trip is a big part of having a lower stressed experience in Disney. We have a lot of detailed posts about what to and not to pack for your Walt Disney World vacation, but we will provide you with a quick breakdown here.
These are the essential items to pack.
Shoes
You must have good walking shoes for everyone to have an excellent vacation at Disney. In Disney, you walk a ton of miles each day. To make sure everyone can keep up, you will want good shoes.
We recommend bringing more than one pair for everyone. Having two pairs allows you to switch them out when they start to rub or get wet from the rain.
Rain items: speaking of rain, no matter when you visit Walt Disney World, make sure that you bring rain gear. Small ponchos and umbrellas and game-changers. With these in your bag, you will be prepared for those sudden rain storms that always happen in Disney.
Even though the weather might say sunny all day, toss those cheap ponchos into your bag, just in case.
Layers: it doesn’t matter if you visit during the summer months; you will want to have some layers with you. The shows, restaurants, and buses can be extremely chilly. Having a light layer to put on can make these areas much more comfortable.
Check out our detailed packing suggestions HERE.
Before You Arrive
You need to do a lot before your vacation to Walt Disney World. We have a few suggestions to focus on before you leave on vacation.
Park Pass Reservations: our first tip is a big one. Guests must have a valid Theme Park ticket and make Park Pass Reservation to a specific Disney Park. This means they need to select which of the four Parks they want to visit each ticket day.
Because these are limited, we highly recommend making these as soon as possible. Once you have purchased tickets, select Parks, so you at least have something locked in. You often will be able to adjust later.
Dining: If a sit-down meal is essential to your trip, ensure you know when to make those. Sixty days before your check-in, you can start making dining reservations. This might seem extremely early, but many of Disney’s top restaurants book up two months early. Character meals such as Chef Mickey’s, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and other similar experiences are quickly snatched up. If you want to enjoy them, then you will want to have a plan and be ready.
My Disney Experience:
Before heading to Walt Disney World, it is essential to have the My Disney Experience app downloaded. This is the official app of Walt Disney World. It is through the app that Guests can stay informed throughout the trip.
The app allows Guests to see wait times, place mobile orders, and more. We have great information about My Disney Experience if you need more tips here. Use those to help you get familiar with the app before you arrive. Doing this will make the app that much easier to use.
Top Must Dos: finally, before you leave for your vacation to Disney, make sure you create a list of your must do attractions. You can’t do everything at Walt Disney World, so having a priority list is helpful. This will let you know what you want to focus on daily.
Think of three to five top experiences (rides, shows, snacks, etc) that you don’t want to miss out on during your trip. Use those to create an overall plan. This can keep you focused and let everyone know what the goals are for the day.
At Disney
So many tips can be helpful once you arrive at Disney. We are going to focus on the big ones.
Be Flexible: during your trip, make sure that you are flexible. Even though it is important to have some goals, be flexible within those goals. Allow yourself to adjust when needed. People will tire, and you might need to sleep or hit the pool more than anticipated. That is okay.
Allowing yourself to be flexible will make the trip much less stressful.
Enjoy the Moment: getting wrapped up in what you think you have to do or the next step can be easy. Try hard to be in the moment. Enjoy the magic all around you instead of focusing on the next move. Disney is full of magical moments; it can be easy to miss them if you don’t slow down.
That is the top advice we always give people planning their Walt Disney World vacations. Those are the big hitters, and if you are able to check them off, your overall trip will be smoother. For additional tips and tricks, head to How to Disney.
