How Far In Advance Should I Plan a Disney Vacation?
In this blog, I'm going to lay out the timelines a "planning type" should use to get the most out of their Disney vacation. Then, I'll talk about what the spontaneous or last-minute traveler can realistically expect if they didn't plan ahead as well as my recommendation for minimum lead on planning your Disney vacation.
For the Planning Type
If you are the planning type, or even if you are not the planning type but are willing to do it for this vacation, the rewards are worth it. With steady planning, you'll be able to eat where and when you want and wait less time for rides.
Lately, vacationing at Walt Disney World has become something like the "death of spontaneity". As table service restaurants became more popular, rides developed long lines, and crowds grew larger, Disney developed ways to reward those "planning types" by giving them opportunity to book their experiences well in advance.
First, let's talk about Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs)...
It may surprise first time Disney guests to know that it is frequently impossible to walk up at a table service restaurant and get a table, even in the low season. You might be able to do this at the less popular restaurants, but there are certain restaurants that you must book ahead the maximum time in advance in order to get in at all.
Booking ahead does not require a resort stay or ticket confirmation to the parks, but you will need a ticket to get to restaurants that are inside the theme parks on the day you wish to dine. You just don't have to have it on hand to book.
Booking begins at 5:45 AM (online) or 7 AM (on the phone) Eastern Time, 180 days before you dine.
Yes, 180 days. As in about 6 months.
Whyyyyy so early? Well, some Disney restaurants and dining experiences are insanely popular. If you have hopes and dreams of pretty much any character meal, but especially places like Cinderella's Royal Table or Chef Mickey's, you need to be ready with your clicking finger, at your MyDisneyExperience site at 5:45AM or else you may not get the time or day you want. A few minutes after 7:00 AM, expect the restaurant to be completely booked.
Other dining experiences you must be ready to book the minute they open up are dinner shows like Hoop Dee Doo Review and the Polynesian Luau, and fireworks dessert parties.
The one saving grace is if you are a REALLY good planner and already have your tickets in hand, you may make dining reservations for your entire stay 180 days ahead of your first day of vacation (for up to 10 days). That means that if you have a 10 day park ticket, you may call 180 days ahead of day one, and book for days 1-10 (meaning you are 190 days ahead once you get to your last day of vacation). For this reason, I recommend planning those character breakfasts and special hard-to-get dining experiences for later in your vacation to get a better chance of securing the reservation at a reasonable time for you.
Let's talk about "booking" rides ahead with FastPass+...
Disney has also replaced it's original fastpass program with a program called FastPass+. Fastass+ allows you to "book" fastpasses for select rides in advance, which allows you to get into the fastpass line rather than the standby line at the designated time and day. Using the fastpass line on many rides is a huge advantage as the wait is usually minimal. Often, there is little to no wait. However, for very popular rides, a reasonable expectation is the time you will stand in the fastpass line is about a third of the time you will stand in the standby line.
Disney plans this out by knowing the ride capacity and setting aside a certain number of hourly riders as fastpass riders. This is how many fastpasses will be available for the ride each hour.
You DO need a reservation confirmation or park tickets to book FastPass+. You may book 60 days ahead if you have a Walt Disney World Resort room confirmation. You may book 30 days ahead if you are staying off-site but have park tickets. FastPass+ is booked online or on your MyDisneyExperience app at 7 AM Eastern Time on the day your window opens. Again, you may book for your entire vacation (up to 10 days) the minute the window opens for day one.
Here's the trick: All three of your FastPass+ reservations need to be in the same park for the day, and some parks have tiered systems where you only get perhaps 1 headliner and 2 other rides, so research is needed. You also need to know a general layout of the park so you known how far apart rides are and aren't running all over town to book your rides.
I will offer more detail on FastPass+ in future posts, but for now, you should know what park you plan to be in and what you want to ride 60 days in advance so you are ready to book your FastPasses.
For the Last Minute Traveler...
It is possible to go to Walt Disney World without a ton of pre-planning MOST of the time. However, you need to expect that it is unlikely you will get to sit down and take a meal at that restaurant you've been eyeing. Cinderella's Royal Table will be completely out of the question. And you will likely have to wait in the standby line for the most popular rides.
Let's Talk about Table Service at the Last Minute...
It can be possible to get an ADR the day you want to dine. I still recommend using the MyDisneyExperience app to do this and looking for your options and ADR times. You do need to expect that character meals and special meals will be completely out of the question, though.
You will have better luck finding ADRs for lunch rather than dinner, and at these restaurants (though you can certainly look to see if any restaurant is available):
*Biergarten at EPCOT
*Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort
*The Wave at the Contemporary Resort
*San Angel Inn at EPCOT
*Maya Grill at Coronado Springs Resort and Spa
*Olivia's at Old Key West Resort
*Yak and Yeti at Animal Kingdom
Just because these restaurants can usually accommodate you doesn't at ALL mean they are bad. They might be a little out-of-the-way or just less popular than neighboring restaurants.
Let's Talk About Last Minute FastPasses...
You can still ride rides, but you need to have the expectation that you will wait in line a little (or a lot) more than others. The good news is you can book your FastPass+'s the day of your visit, but some rides will not be available. You will almost definitely not find FastPass+ for Toy Story Mania, 7 Dwarves Mine Train, Flight of Passage, or Navi River Journey the day of, so the best advice I can offer is to show up at park opening and make a mad dash for what you want to ride.
However, I have been pleasantly surprised at my ability to secure FastPass+ later in the day (after I've used my first three) for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Soarin' which are still headliner rides.
Another option to cut your wait time down, if you are willing to do it, is to ride during the afternoon parade or during the evening fireworks because most people are at the shows. However, there are certain fireworks I would NEVER want to miss to ride a ride (Happily Ever After and Illuminations, ahem).
What About Park Tickets?
Admission to the parks themselves almost never sells out, with a few notable parks and exceptions, but it is possible on very busy days to be denied entry to a park because the park is already at capacity. If this happens, it is most likely at Christmas and the day after Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Easter week, and the 4th of July.
Because of the way Disney approaches limiting entry to parks, you are more likely to be turned away if the park is reaching capacity if you have a single day ticket or are arriving to purchase a ticket than you would be if you were staying at a Walt Disney World Resort and/or already had tickets or an annual pass (though once crowds reach a certain level, even those guests will be turned away).
Magic Kingdom will typically be the first park to reach capacity, followed by EPCOT, Disney Hollywood Studios,and then Animal Kingdom.
I had the dubious honor of working at Walt Disney World on both Christmas Day and New Year's Eve 1999. Because it was also the Millennium celebration and a lot was happening in the parks to celebrate, the Magic Kingdom reached capacity about an hour into the day. EPCOT reached capacity at around noon. Disney Hollywood studios reached capacity in the early afternoon. Disney's Animal Kingdom, where I worked, was blissfully quiet all morning and only started to get mildly crowded in the late afternoon both days. It was still very possible for guests to enjoy the parks, just not the park of their choosing.
Let's Talk About Room and Board...
Disney Resorts can and do sell out, though when and if depends on when you plan to go. If you are going during the summer, during a major event, or during a holiday, you will want to book as early as you know your plans. However, if it's some time of year other than that, it is likely you will find a room, but you might not have much choice about which resort the room is at. Value resorts tend to offer the most rooms, and therefore won't fill as quickly as Deluxe resorts. Of the Deluxe resorts, the Polynesian Village Resort is quite small and will sell out more quickly than Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, or the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts. Of the value resorts, Pop Century is HUGE and the most likely place you may still find a room.
If, however, you go looking for a room at disney.com and find they are sold out, don't despair. Disney sells blocks of rooms to travel agencies and wholesalers, so first check Expedia, Travelocity, and your travel agent. If still no luck, there are plenty of off property resorts that are close by. If your dates are not flexible, then I would recommend looking into the Disney Springs area resorts or other Orlando resorts. Keep in mind, though, that when staying off property, you lose certain privileges like the Magical Express, Extra Magic Hours, and 30 extra days in which to book your FastPass+s, which really makes a difference when trying to secure Flight of Passage times.
So... Do I Have to be an Advanced Planner to Go to Disney?
YES!
Sorry... that is the side of me that is a very serious and meticulous planner speaking.... The real answer is...
No. Not really.
But you need to give yourself some realistic expectations. You're not going to just show up on a whim on Christmas Day and be admitted to the Magic Kingdom. If you don't plan ahead, you might not get the dining or times you want. If you don't plan ahead, you're going to wait in lines more often than not.
The advantage of planning is being able to get the dining experiences you want at times that work for you, and having 3 rides per day (!) where you can practically skip the lines. I personally plan my own Disney vacations about 18 months in advance, but if this is hard for you, shoot for a little over 180 days. Know when you are going and what park you plan to be in 180 days ahead, and you can secure ADRs at that time. FastPass+ comes later at 60 days ahead, max. So that's the advance time I am going to recommend.
Did you ever go to Disney at the last minute? How did it go? Comment below!
