How far out does your fam plan?

[AWholeNewW0rld]

With the sheer complexity of Disney World, I was wondering how far out all you DISers plan your vacations such as where to stay, how long, what parks on which days, when you leave, do you drive or fly? My wife and I went by ourselves the first time, but next time we will be travelling with an almost 4 year old. Seems like there is a little more planning involved when there is a little one in the mix.

 

[dislovefrommn]

We are going this Sept and it was booked 13 months out. Decided that was too long to wait and we booked a short trip before then that was 3 months our. Just booked an anniversary trip for next spring and that is 10 months out.

 

[mjmgsssp]

I usually start planning 10-12 months out for my annual trip; however, I've also planned a trip less than 3 weeks in advance.

 

[tami82]

I booked right when the window opened up which was during the summer in June so about a year. I did find a better deal elsewhere in September so cancelled the first reservation. With most of my vacations when we come back home in August, by September I have a reservation booked no matter where I go. I like to be prepared and don't want to be disappointed because I couldn't get a certain condo, etc...

 

[amy1981]

Personally I need to have a well thought out plan, especially with kids. As in, I have a color coded excel spreadsheet that outlines each day. A bit excessive maybe, but we know what rides we're doing in what order, when and where to take a break so everyone can eat what they like, etc. Every time we go we see families bent over maps looking confused with screaming irritable kids ... I don't ever want to be 'that' family! A little planning goes a long way to a great, enjoyable trip for everyone. If you're planning on making ADRs for character meals and such I'd say 7 - 8 months out for planning. This gives you time to go over crowd calendars, figure out where you'd like stay and what days you need to make ADRs at which restaurants, that way on you 180 day mark you're all set.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

This past January was our first trip, and we spent two years planning it. It was for our 20th (we made it a family trip and took our child, though), and we figured it would be a once in a lifetime trip so I wanted to make sure we made the most of our time there. Big trips for us are usually spaced very few and far between. We tend to do things on a simpler scale - state or national parks, family visits in various parts of the country, returning to our most favorite city we ever called home, etc. But at WDW, we had so, so, so much fun, we immediately decided to do it again. So, our second trip will only get a year's worth of planning. WDW planning is part of the fun for me! After this, we will probably venture off for awhile to other places we've always wanted to try but keep putting off for "someday". But, we will return to WDW again after taking care of some of those trips.

 

[buzznina]

Due to school and not wanting to take our DDs out and then AP blackout dates, we are limited on the times we can go and then we will wait for the discount to come before we make a reservation. We are a firm believer that WDW is not worth rack rates. Just got a TA exclusive deal for March and I may make 1 or 2 ADRs, but then I just wait til it is time to do FPs and then I will decided what parks on what day and that is it. We use to do a very detailed touring plan per day, but we did a last minute trip and did not do one and realized, for us, it was soooo much more relaxing and fun that we just do a basic plan and that is it.

 

[monorailsilver]

We are going in August 2018. I prefer summer and I prefer the 2nd half of August if I am able.

I have known where we are staying for quite some time but...we aren't doing chef mickeys that trip so I may try to stay at the beach club for a night or two vs the poly...easy to get to chef mickeys from the poly.

But if dh says no to the BC then we will spend the entire time 11-12 days at the poly.

I don't have exact dates yet but I am thinking it will be a Thursday or Friday thru a Monday or Tuesday (11-12 days).

We will fly, most likely out of bradley/Hartford but I will also look at white plains, LGA and providence.

We will not do dining. Our kids are all Disney adults now and when they were kids it wasn't worth it price wise as we don't do more then 2 sit downs a trip.

As far as parks, I know arrival and departure days will have no park. If we do a split stay, we probably won't do a park that day either. I do a park for 2 days and then we do a pool day. I won't know which parks I am doing for the day until they come out with the hours. We tend to do MK and Epcot at night though, lately it's been 3 nights at Epcot and 2 at the MK. But we wing it, even with small kids (under 2). It works better for us then to be in a rigid schedule.

 

[suzimar57]

Love the planning - gives me more time to dream!!

 

[disneydreamer781]

Usually start at 11 months and that's only because I'm a DVC member but next year I really want to stay in a CR Tower room for 2-3 nights so I'll be booking that at about 13 months out.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We book at 11 months. Sometimes at 7.

And we start planning just before that.

 

[marryfrmtx]

One trip a year I usually plan at least 6 months in advance. And then I have days like yesterday. My oldest DD is 28 and was having a bad day yesterday. I texted her about 9 AM and asked her how she was doing and what she was doing. She says I looking at airline tickets to fly to Disney next weekend. She says the tickets are on sale and she can fly American for $122 round trip. I asked if I could go with her. By 11 AM we had airline tickets, 4 nights booked at All Star Music, fast passes, and 2 ADRs. We are eating at Captain's Grille and Yak and Yeti. Both are new restaurants for us. This was not in the budget but my half of room was $210 and $122 for an airline ticket who could pass us a 4 day trip to Disney. My daughter and I both have annual passes so no cost there. 7 more sleeps I will be in Disney.

 

[Leelo]

We usually decide around what time frame we want to go up to 2 years out. But we don't start planning until 7-12 months out. I definitely don't start planning within the 6 month time frame due to needing to book ADRs at 180 days out for some hard-to-get restaurants that we love. We have our week picked and place to stay booked before the 180th day hits.

 

[Mickey2378]

I've been planning this trip for a couple years now. My youngest is really shor for her age and have been waiting for her to hit 48 inches. She is 9 and finally hit it this year. Once I knew she was tall enough I booked my trip. That was 10 month out from our original dates but had to switch dates do to air fair. I am planning another trip for my high schoolers graduation present in 2019. So you can I plan years in advance.

 

[tndisney5]

We book at most 6ish months out...booked a last minute, 2 park visit at less than a week out.

We always drive, flown once-our kids are good riders and it works out. We have learned to skip parks with EMH and do parks with no EMH, so that is how we pick our park days, for the most part.

I planned the most for our first visit. We booked 3 months in advance and took two of our children, ages 3 and 4 at the time. Maybe it was luck, but we got the ADRs we wanted and had a great time. We went a less crowded time of year, Feb, which may have helped also.

 

[kerry34]

The day after we get back from our current trip! Well at least we start talking about it anyway. Usually book anywhere from 6-9 months out, touring plans are done when we book our fastpasses.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Normally a year in advance. This time its 6 months and Im totally stressed about it. From the time I found out we were going until my 180 was less than 2 weeks! I have NO idea how people do last minute trips, or book 2 - 3 months in advance. I cant even think about it!