How Soon is Too Soon to Start Planning a Disney Vacation?

How Soon is Too Soon to Start Planning a Disney Vacation?

If you talk to Disney Fanatics you may hear them saying things like, "??? days to Disney!" Sometimes it is in the hundreds of days!! So how many days before a Disney trip should you start planning? That depends on you, your finances and how far in advance your work and other schedules can be planned.

Planning a trip to Disney can be as fun as going! It is a great way to keep the Disney Dream alive between visits, or build excitement for your first trip. It allows you to relive past trips and hold onto hope and encourage saving for your next visit to the Mouse!

Disney generally lets you book about 24 months out at the furthest. They started booking 2013 vacations in the fall of 2011. In the fall of 2012 they will announce the pricing for 2014. They will also release the2014 itinerary and prices for the Disney Cruise around the same time. So in general the furthest out you can actually book a trip is about 2 years give or take. That time gets shorter as the calendar goes on. Is that far enough out?

Today I wish to book a Disney Cruise and WDW trip in late January early February of 2014. I can't book it until the fall of this year! Why this far out? Well there are several reasons to start planning even before you can book. Let me share them.

1.       This trip is for the Walt's Basement for the Love of All Things Disney fan page. It is a gathering of the members. It was decided to set the time that far out so more people would have the time to save up for the trip. We actually started talking about this trip several months ago in WaltsBasement.yuku.com. I know we personally will need the entire time to save the money needed for this trip! We will be adding 7 nights at WDW to the Walt's Basement 4 day cruise on the Dream so we will need some extra time to save up.

2.       Having more time allows for more planning.

a.       You will want time for researching what is available in the way of places to stay. Will that be on property or off? What fits the budget and gives best access to the parks? Do you want a kid friendly wild/playful resort like the Pop Century or a more calming resort like the Port Orleans French Quarter?

b.      What deals are available for airfare?

c.       When to go? Consider weather, your schedules and special events in your lives (birthdays, graduation, anniversary or even a honeymoon) or at the parks. The larger the group the harder it is to find a good time to go.

d.      What special events might you want to go to? Is there a holiday event or maybe it is Food and Wine you wish to go to? Are you a runner and do you wish to get in on a Disney Marathon?

e.      Check the refurbishment schedule for what attractions and even parks might be closed. Nothing is more disappointing than getting to the park and finding your favorite attraction is closed during your stay for refurbishment. If you check the schedule you may be able to schedule your visit before or after the refurbishment.

f.        Do you have a small child in your group? Maybe you wish to wait for the child to be taller so they can ride the big rides or until you feel they will enjoy it more. Maybe the reverse is true for you. You may want to go sooner because a child is growing up so fast and you want to have them enjoy the "kiddy" rides one last time. (Some kids never outgrow the kiddy rides. I know it is true for me! LOL)

3.       You will get better prices the further out you book. This is even truer with Disney Cruises. The DCL is usually fully booked and therefore does not have last minute deals. Disney Parks often offers deals so keep checking and maybe even rebook if you can for a better price if a good deal comes along. Never hurts to ask.

4.       With more time you can have time to make or get things for your trip. Maybe you want Disney themed clothing for your trip. Matched T-shirts for families and groups can add to the fun and help make it easier to find people in your group. If you are going on the cruise you may want to do something fun in the way of a pirate outfit for pirate night. (Pirate night is a special night on all Disney Cruises with fireworks and a deck party.) Again for a cruise if you are doing Fish Extenders you may want time to make gifts. The more time you have the easier it is to spread out the time and cost of all of these little extras.

Shall we go to Disneyland or Walt Disney World??

Shall we go to Disneyland or Walt Disney World?

          You have saved up and are planning a Disney Trip. Where do you go? Disneyland Resort (DLR) or Walt Disney World (WDW)? What is the difference?

          Disneyland Resort has two parks, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure and three hotels. There are many other non Disney hotels within walking distance of the parks. Many of the rides at the parks are also found at WDW but there are differences in the rides. DLR is 160 acres in size. DLR is more compact and things are closer together. I live in So. Cal. and go to DLR often. I've only spent one week at WDW.

          If you need to go to a market or would like to eat off Disney property to save money there are many options right around the park. Many are within walking distance and within driving distance you have all major markets, stores (such as Walmart) and restaurants. This gives you the option to drop by, let's say Walmart and pick up a case of water and snacks to take into the park once you get to the resort. You can also get groceries to save you money on meals.

          There is enough to do at DLR that if you want to ride every ride and see every show and attraction you can do that in five to seven days without running yourself crazy. I say a week is a perfect amount of time and you can do the things you enjoy a second time.

          If you go to WDW there are four parks, two water parks, golf, twenty-three themed resort hotels and a campground. The WDW Resort property is 30,080 acres (47 sq miles) in size. Things are spread out and there are Disney Buses and boats to take you from one location to another. There are gift shops with resort priced snacks, drinks and some minor food items but there are no markets if you wish to save money making sandwiches. You also can go off property if you have a car or wish to call a taxi.

          There are hotels and vacation homes you can rent around the park. If you choose to stay off property you will have to drive into the park. There are stores outside but you will need to drive to them taking out of your fun time at WDW. It is harder to bring in food and such to save money at WDW because of the logistics.

          Just because of its size of WDW it is impossible to see everything even if you are there for a week. My personal experience and feeling is you can't do less than a week at WDW if it is your first time. That is just enough time to get a good taste of the adventures you can find there. I can only guess it would take several weeks or a month to see everything and even then I don't think you could see everything there.

          Now I'll tell you my emotional response to choosing the park to go to. I'll leave the fact that I go to DLR at least once a month out of it.

          DLR is more compact and feels like you are playing in Uncle Walt's personal playground. In fact you are, Walt built Disneyland so he could have a place to play. Things are closer and smaller at DLR due to the limited space. WDW is huge and it feels impersonal to me. Both are fun and have plenty of fun to offer. It is up to you where you go. I do suggest that any true Disney fan must see DLR at least once because it is the original. There is so much history there.

          I love the intimate feeling of DLR. I appreciate the history and the feeling of walking in Walt's footsteps at Disneyland. But I will not turn down time at WDW either.