There Is An Element of Fun

Currently, my family and I are in the process of planning a Walt Disney World vacation. Just around the corner, we will be making Fastpass+ selections and undergoing online check-in, ultimately the final step in an exciting but strenuous road to a fully planned vacation. For me, there is no greater joy than planning a vacation to the place where dreams come true. From the day the resort is first booked to the dining reservations being made to the dealings with the MagicBands, the entire ordeal is a thrill.

However, I can fully understand why people dread planning a Disney World vacation. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just show up and enjoy everything the resort has to offer? Yes, it certainly would be, but the magic would be sorely missing. In my opinion, part of the magic comes from the planning. The memories begin when the planning is not omitted from the must-dos list. Knowing which park to visit on which day is just as vital to the magic as experiencing the Haunted Mansion upon every trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Today, I want to provide some tips that I have gathered over my years of planning Disney World vacations that will eventually make your stay in Central Florida a genuinely magical one. Hopefully, by the end of this post, you will start to look forward to your next planning session.

On most occasions, avoid Extra Magic Hours.

I know that upon first glance this sounds absurd, but hear me out. The first step in the planning process for a lot of vacationers is to look at the operating hours for each park. When they see that a park has Extra Magic Hours added to the schedule, the desire to visit that park on that day grows exponentially for those staying on property. Therefore, if you decide to visit a park with regular operating hours, the crowd has potential to be less crowded. Now, every Disney park is going to be crowded no matter when you go, but by avoiding Extra Magic Hours, you could greatly improve your chances of not feeling overcrowded. There are exceptions to this rule though. For example, the Magic Kingdom is often opened to midnight or beyond due to Extra Magic Hours. If that's the case, take advantage of EMH. However, on most occasions, you would be better suited to visit a park operating with normal hours and take advantage of a reduced crowd.

Be strategic with Fastpass+ selections.

You're going to be walking a bunch while visiting a Disney Park, so don't make your journey longer than it needs to be by booking back-to-back Fastpasses for attractions at polar opposite ends of the park. For instance, if you're at the Magic Kingdom at you have a Fastpass for Space Mountain from 10:00-11:00, it would be wise not to get a FP for Splash Mountain from 11:00-12:00. Inspired by the words of legendary basketball coach John Wooden, you must be quick, but never hurry while at Disney. Sure, you want to experience everything the parks have to offer, but you don't want to unnecessarily tire yourself out because you did not consider an effective strategy for your Fastpasses. Furthermore, some attractions will never require a FP. Most shows (i.e. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor) and continuous attractions (i.e. Under the Sea- The Journey of the Little Mermaid) will get you inside the attraction quickly and without much waiting. There are so many other attractions that do in fact require a FP that there is really no need to waste your FP on an attraction that normally has a short wait time. All in all, ensure that you take some time to strategically plan out your Fastpass selections.

Make dining a priority.

A while ago, I wrote a post about this very idea (read it here: http://insidedisney407.blogspot.com/2015/09/a-delicious-priority.html). Some of the best food on the planet just so happens to be served at Disney, so whether we're talking about table service meals or quick service dining, take some time to plan out where you're going to eat. I encourage you to look online beforehand at the menus that intrigue you the most and make reservations and plans accordingly. Booking a table 180 days in advance of your vacation can be quite an intimidating step in the planning process, but it must be done. You don't want to squander an opportunity to dine with royalty while visiting the Walt Disney World resort. Similar to the Fastpass planning, be strategic with your dining choices.

Prepare for the inevitable disaster.

Regardless of how much planning you do, something will go wrong when visiting a Disney Park. Something will go awry with your MagicBands, a Fastpass selection will be missed, a reservation will be misplaced. It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when. However, if you can anticipate that beforehand and factor that into your planning, it'll make the situation much easier to handle. Don't allow one mistake to ruin an entire vacation. Know in advance that something like that might happen and be prepare for it. By doing this, nothing can stand in your way of enjoying a WDW vacation to the fullest extent.

As Mary Poppins explains to the Banks' children, in every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. Planning a Disney vacation must be done. It may not be the most enjoyable thing to do for you, but if you want your trip to be memorable and magical, planning is required. So why not try to make it fun? By planning Fastpasses, dining, park visits, and more as outlined above, those aspects are part of the process that are relatively fun to do. When adding in the inevitable financial and technical planning, the fun and the tiresome balance each other, leading to a immensely less stressful process. Don't be intimidated by planning a vacation to Disney. It can be done. It must be done.

-Cody Fleenor