Questions to Consider When Starting to Plan your Walt Disney World Vacation

There are several things to consider when planning your trip to the Walt Disney World resort. Are you trying to vacation on a tight budget? Do you love amenities? Do you want the best accommodations money can buy? Do you want to try to do everything you can? Do you want to relax? While everyone will have a different answer to the above questions, I thought I would share some of our answers and considerations when starting to plan a vacation. 

SHOULD I DRIVE OR FLY?

Depending on where you are coming from, this answer could be wildly different.  If you drive down, consider the parking fees at resorts and theme parks into your budget. If you are going to fly, look into how you will get from the airport to your resort. With the discontinuation of Magical Express effective January 1, 2022, this answer may not be as simple as it once was. You may have to look into ride share or taxi options after ME goes away. What do the Wyman’s do? We have always flown to WDW from Chicago. I’m a loyal Southwest flyer for work and strategically hoard as many points as possible to have my family fly free down to Disney. Upon arrival, we have always taken the Magical Express, so I’m in the same boat as you all when trying to figure out what I will do in 2022 and beyond.  Stay tuned for advice and tips…

HOW LONG SHOULD I STAY AT DISNEY?

However long you can afford! Stay forever! In all seriousness, it really depends on what kind of trip you are planning and how frequently you travel to WDW. When planning a trip for a girls weekend, we chose Thursday – Sunday. If this is your one family vacation for the year, I would stay for a minimum of 6 nights. Do you want additional non theme park days so you can relax? Bump that number up a couple of days. What do the Wyman’s do?  We typically go to Walt Disney World twice a year. When we travel as a family we typically stay Sunday – Saturday. Crowd levels at the parks are typically lighter during the weekdays so we plan all of our park days Monday – Friday.  Additionally, as a working mom, it’s really nice to have the Saturday before you leave to finish packing and a Sunday at home before returning to work and school. 

SHOULD I STAY ON OR OFF PROPERTY?

Such a tricky question in light of recent changes! Due to COVID, a lot of the ‘perks’ that you received for staying on property are no longer available (amenities like Magical Express airport transfers, Fast Pass+ reservations, and Extra Magic Hours eligibility have been discontinued) What do the Wyman’s do? We always stay on property. The biggest reason is because of transportation after you get to your resort. There is complimentary bus, monorail, and boat transportation to and from all four parks and Disney Springs. Given we have two small children who require car seats, it is so convenient for us to use Disney’s transportation vs renting a car, paying for parking, etc. Finally, the proverbial “bubble” is what Disney is all about. Once you get to your resort, you don’t have to worry about anything anymore. Logistically, everything has been carefully thought out and is easily accessible, so it’s really what works best for us. 

WHAT TIME OF YEAR SHOULD I VISIT WDW?

Is there a bad time to visit? Honestly, that answer is no. However, there are some days I would avoid if you don’t like large, maximum capacity crowds. If crowds aren’t your jam, I would stay away from the week of Spring Break (the week before and after Easter, typically), the week between Christmas and New Years, and the week of Fourth of July.  Parks can easily reach capacity during these times, especially on the actual holiday. If you don’t think you can handle the high heat and humidity, I would steer clear of the summer months and maybe go during a milder time like January – March or October – December. What do the Wyman’s do? Our favorite months to visit are October and December. The parks are beautifully decorated for the fall and holiday seasons.  During the fall, Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival is running and do I need to say more? If you can head down in early December, there is truly nothing more magical than Christmastime at Disney. Also, with the milder temperatures, we can last longer in the parks and get more accomplished during our stay.  

IF I STAY ON PROPERTY, WHAT RESORT CATEGORY SHOULD I CHOOSE?

This is really going to depend on those questions I asked at the beginning of this post. It will also depend on how many people are in your travel party. There are pros and cons of every category and I will list those below with my favorite resort pick in each category. (I will be doing full resort reviews in later posts)

Value:

Pros: Affordable & Really cute theming

Cons: Proximity to theme parks, lack of food options, REALLY small rooms, capacity is only 4 guests/room

Favorite Value Resort*: Walt Disney World’s Pop Century Resort – Pop Century is such a fun resort. If you like the nostalgia of the 1950s-90s you will love the theming of this resort. Think neon colors and fun memorabilia from your childhood. The main pool offers plenty of room for people to space out, a splash pad for your little ones, and a pool bar for your favorite drink. My biggest gripe about Pop Century was the room size. When you have two small kids, a Pack ‘n Play, double stroller, plus all of our luggage, there was barely any room for us to sleep. When we stayed here in 2016, we literally put Vivienne in a Pack ‘n Play in the bathroom. I vowed ‘never again’ and we haven’t stayed in a value room since. However, if you don’t have the extra items in your room like we did, Pop is a great option. While proximity to the theme parks is a major con for values, Pop Century is now on the Skyliner, which can get you to Hollywood Studios and Epcot very quickly. 

Moderate:

Pros: Still pretty affordable, more food options than value, Capacity bumps up to 5 guests/room

Cons: Moderate resorts are fairly large and often have internal bus systems, Proximity to theme parks

Favorite Moderate Resort: Walt Disney World’s Caribbean Beach Resort. This resort, much like Pop Century, is on the skyliner. You also have access to restaurants such as Sebastians** and Banana Cabana, but you can also use the walking path to walk to Disney’s Riviera resort which offers amazing grab and go food options and signature dining experiences. Plus, Caribbean Beach offers Pirate themed rooms. And if that isn’t enough to convince you, I don’t know what will. If you stay at a resort like Caribbean Beach, be sure to really consider the room category type you choose. If you choose a standard room (which is more affordable,) chances are you will be far away from transportation options and may have to take an internal resort bus just to get to the park transportation terminals. This could tack on an extra 5-20 minutes to your travel time! If you value time like I do, I would look into another option. 

Deluxe:

Pros: Proximity to theme parks, dining options, suite room options, gorgeous hotel lobby

Cons: The most expensive options

Favorite Deluxe Resort: Walt Disney World’s Wilderness Lodge. This is such a hard question. It’s almost impossible to pick between the Deluxe resorts, but my favorite resort is Wilderness Lodge. It may come with a little bias as this is our “Home” resort with Disney Vacation Club. (We are DVC members and “own” at this resort. If you don’t know what that means – that’s okay! More posts on this to come!) Wilderness Lodge is GORGEOUS. Especially around Christmas time. It’s peaceful and serene, yet a quick ferry ride away from the hustle and bustle of Magic Kingdom. The restaurant options are awesome. Geyser Point is an amazing open air gastro pub on the lake complete with an amazing Bison Burger and great beers on tap. Artist Point** offers a great character meal dinner with Snow White and the Evil Queen. Wilderness Lodge also offers a variety of different room types. Studios, 1, 2, and 3 bedroom villas, and Cabins on the water.  Since joining DVC, we are partial to 1 bedroom suites because again, we really like space. All of this on top of the world class service this resort team offers, it really is our family’s favorite hands down. 

*Honorable Mention Favorite Resort: Art of Animation I put this as an honorable mention because AoA is a great ‘middle of the road’ option for all who are considering to stay on property, especially with young kids.  Art of Animation is technically a value resort, however they offer a family suite option that is priced more like a Moderate. The family suites really solved our biggest problem with the value resorts which is space in the hotel room.  AoA family suites offer a bedroom with queen bed, a murphy bed, a pull out couch, and TWO bathrooms. Talk about a game changer. These rooms sleep six, have amazing theming, and are located on the Skyliner just like Pop Century.  While they are more expensive than traditional value rooms, the space is totally worth it in my opinion and makes this our resort pick when we aren’t staying in DVC Villas.

Once you have answered these questions, it’s time to officially book your reservation. What time of the year did you choose? Are there any hotels you have always wanted to stay at? What other questions do you consider when booking a vacation? I can’t wait to hear what you decide and hopefully my family’s choices help you in your planning process! 

– Melinda

**Currently at the time of this post, Sebastians and Artist Point restaurants are still closed during the phased reopening due to COVID-19