We recently took a road trip to Walt Disney World for the very first time! It is so big and there is so much technology and information, it can be overwhelming where to start if you have never been or haven’t been in a while. Here are some helpful tips for your first time at Disney World!
Also, if you plan to drive like we did, make sure to check out my blog “How to Road Trip with Kids” for how we made it 14+ hours without any meltdowns!
*This post contains affiliate links which may result in a small commission for me if used for purchasing products at no additional cost to you.*
1. Do Your Research!
This blog is a great place to start! Disneyworld can seem big and overwhelming when you’ve never been. The more information you can start reading about and hearing about, the better! Talk to friends, family, neighbors, co-workers…you’ll be surprised how many people frequently visit the Mouse. There are also so many fantastic bloggers and vloggers that are all about Disney. Some of my favorites that I referenced all the time was Vacation Pointers or The Keele Deal. There are also various Facebook groups you can request to join, such as Smart Moms Planning Disney and Walt Disney World Tips and Tricks.
Pro Tip: I found there to be a point where I felt like I had too much information I didn’t understand and felt WAY over my head. If you can find a reliable expert or clarify your questions as they come up, you’ll be better off! Everyone has their own opinions and does Disney a little differently.
2. Know Your Party
When planning big Disney World park days, the automatic reaction is to want to Go, Go, Go!
But, take into consideration the party you are traveling with…just because you are at “The Most Magical Place on Earth” doesn’t mean your toddler will magically no longer need a nap or that your 4 year old can make it 12+ hours walking in the Florida heat, overstimulated and excited, without having a meltdown. Disneyworld can be SO. MUCH. FUN! But it can also be physically exhausting, and mentally and emotionally overstimulating. The more you can take everyone’s abilities and developmental ages into consideration and proactively plan accordingly, the better experience everyone will have!
Plan for breaks, nap times, and “cool down” experiences (like shows). Don’t wait until all of the kids (and adults) are hungry, hot, and exhausted and have reached the point of no return…they won’t care about Mickey anymore during a tantrum, I promise.
Which leads to my next point…
3. Be Realistic about your Time
Don’t feel pressure to do everything! Even if it is a one-time very special trip, to be able to do EVERY THING at EVERY PARK if you have young kids in tow would be TOUGH, especially during peak season. I won’t say impossible, because depending on the length of your trip, age of your kids, time of season you are going, and your ability to navigate the parks and use Lightning Lane perks (more on that later), you may very well be able to do it.
Pick the most important things that are MUST DOs for your party, then plan around those. Anything else is a bonus!
4. Read about the Disney World Parks and have a Plan
There are 4 separate parks at Disneyworld, and each offers a completely different experience. Polka Dots and Pixie Dust has an awesome blog with great information on all the parks!
Magic Kingdom: the one with the big castle and all the classic rides
EPCOT: the one with the big white ball and all the “different countries”
Animal Kingdom: the one with the…animals. Pandora (from Avatar) is here.
Hollywood Studies: the one that is very movie themed. Star Wars, Toy Story Land, and the famous Tower of Terror are here.
If you’re visiting all 4 parks during your stay, plan each day accordingly. Also, decide if you want to add the “Park Hopper” option onto each ticket. This costs extra, but means you can “hop” to a different park starting at 2pm each day.
Of note, at this time, you need to make reservations for each day you plan to visit each park. So, you buy your tickets in advance (general park tickets), then go into the app and reserve your spot in the park on your park days, at least for the park you are starting off in. You do not need to do this for any parks you decide to “hop” to in the afternoon.
5. Be familiar with the My Disney World Experience App
I don’t believe it is possible to go to Disneyworld in 2023 without using the My Disney Experience app. The app can be downloaded onto your smartphone anytime (you can link it to your trip once you have confirmation number/tickets). You then use this for everything from getting into the park or scanning into Lightning Lane, ordering food, checking waiting times for rides/attractions, and even unlocking your door if you’re staying at a Disney resort. It is the free alternative for Magic bands (and what we used most of the time, as our kids didn’t want to wear Magic bands so it was always easier to just scan everyone at once).
Pro tip: this app is great, but will DRAIN YOUR PHONE BATTERY! Bring a power bank with you so you don’t lose phone power mid-day!
My Disney Experience app help
There is A LOT of options and information on this thing! I practiced navigating around the app pre-Disneyworld and felt pretty confident, but still stumbled around once I started using it in real time. Here are a few of the big things to watch for/be familiar with using before you go:
Genie/Genie+
There is a difference here! Once you download the app, Disney Genie is a complimentary FREE part of the app where you can click and add preferences, like the type of rides and attractions you like, and it will “build a day” for you. This is also the part of the app where you go to check out your daily itinerary if you already have reservations, look at wait times, and made dining reservations/order food.
Genie+, on the other hand, is NOT FREE. It is an extra charge per ticket, per day. You cannot purchase this until midnight on the day of attendance to the park. And the PRICE VARIES. I have seen anywhere from $20-$28 per ticket per day. This is what gives you access to Lightening Lane (details below), as well as other little things, like extra Photo Pass attraction photos.
Lightning Lane
Oh…the infamous Lightning Lane. Once you’ve spent the extra $20+ dollars per ticket (per day!), you now have capability to utilize the Lightning Lane benefit. Of note, I still find this incredibly difficult to understand, and it took us actually doing this to truly “get it”, so don’t feel bad if it boggles your mind!
If you are staying at a Disney resort, at 7:00 (when I say 7:00, I mean people legit sit there and start refreshing the app at 6:59AM), you can book your first Lightning Lane attraction. If you’re offsite, you can book when the park opens. You will have want to have done your research to figure out which rides get the busiest at which parks the fastest, and use your first Lightening Lane towards those. The app will then schedule you a time to be there (you have a 1 hour block). At your scheduled time, you show up to the ride of choice, enter through the “Lightning Lane” entrance, then bypass the standby line and essentially walk right on (sometimes we’d have to wait 10-15 minutes still).
You cannot book a second Lightning Lane ride until you’ve checked into the first once. While you’re waiting for these rides, research the rides/attractions that aren’t as popular or move quicker to fill in the time.
Another important point is that some rides don’t have Lightning Lane options (some don’t need them), and sometimes they close the Lightening Lane option down because the standby lines get too long. So always a good idea to make the most popular rides that YOU REALLY want to do your first pick!
Some rides/attractions also have their own separate a la cart Lightning Lane that you can purchase just for that specific ride.
Was Lightning Lane worth it for us? 100% yes. We’ve never been to Disneyworld and have no immediate plans to go anytime again soon, so we were able to bypass lines that were 1-2 HOURS long and get much more done! We were prepared and budgeted for this expense.
Virtual Queue
A couple rides (TRON at Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Animal Kingdom) do not have any standby line option at all. You can only “wait in line” virtually or utilize a Lightning Lane option.
Dining Reservations
There is a separate area for dining where you can see which restaurants are close to you, which is mobile, how long wait times are, etc.
IMPORTANT NOTE: For the popular character dining meals…these reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance. If you think you may want to do any of the special character dining (there are quite a few different options), you will want to book this far in advance.
6. Have a plan for food
Speaking of food…HAVE A FOOD PLAN. Food and snacks at the park are expensive! You are allowed to bring food and drink into the park as well as coolers. We loved our backpack cooler and packed a bunch of drinks and snacks, as well as small lunches (we had dinner reservations on park days).
Also be prepared for the cost of food. The character meals are PRICEY. We ate at Chef Mickey’s and Akershus. The food was delicious, but you are also paying to meet the characters, so just keep that in mind. At Chef Mickey’s, the cost of our breakfast buffet for a family of 5 was $200 including tip, to give you an idea.
7. Get the stroller!
If have young children and are on the fence about needing a stroller, GET THE STROLLER and thank me later! You will be walking upwards of 10 miles a day potentially. Our adult legs are tired…now imagine little kid legs that have to take 3 times as many steps. Plus, you can drive them around quicker and easier, as well as store your bags and water bottles, etc. There is PLENTY of designated stroller parking near rides, and it may be a little annoying to have to take a few extra seconds to fiddle with the stroller, the benefits far outweigh, in my opinion.
Another great thing is stroller rental. You can either take your own stroller, rent one from Disney World (they are the hard plastic ones), or there are outside companies that you can rent from that will deliver and pick up right to/from your hotel. We rented from Kingdom Strollers. We ended up renting a double for our 4 year old and 7 year old to share. At certain times, even our 10 year old would sit down in it.
8. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
Figure out whatever water bottles work for your family, and use them! We took these, and they were perfect! They came with different types of straps so we could hang them from our stroller, came with different types of lids/straws, and kept the water fairly cold ALL DAY. They were also skinny enough they fit in cup holders.
You can also get water cups for free at restaurants, but it doesn’t taste the best. We brought a cooler of water bottles as well.
9. Dress for comfort and function, not style
You are walking 10+ miles in 90 degree Florida heat, riding fast moving rides, and there’s a high likelihood it may rain. Wear clothing that is comfortable, cooling, and works well for you.
Also, pick good shoes! Preferably shoes that are broken in already. Bring extra socks in case your feet get wet, and plan to wear different sets of shoes each day. I loved my Teva sandals, my husband loved his Hey Dude shoes. Also, make sure you have some good Blister protection or Moleskin, just in case.
10. Be familiar with available transport methods at Disney World locations
If you are staying at a Disney resort or other various hotels, or moving back and forth between parks or other Disney properties (some restaurants you may attend are at Disney resorts, for example), there are various methods of transportation available to you free of charge. Since we stayed at a Disney resort, once we parked our car, we didn’t end up using it again until we left.
Minnie Van
These are an extra charge and are a rideshare program (like Uber or Lyft) that you can order from your smartphone. These can travel anywhere on Disney property and to/from the Orlando International airport. We never ended up needing these, but nice option to have.
Disney World Buses
The bus service begins 45 minutes before the park opens and 1 hour after it closes. Buses run approximately every 20 minutes (I don’t think we ever waiting more than 10). The morning is the most crowded and you may need to wait in line at your resort, but they get everyone moved through quickly. You CAN take your big strollers-they just need folded before so practice this.
Monorail
The famous Monorail. This runs about every 15-20 minutes and only travels to/from certain locations. You can always just ride it for fun!
Skyliner (pictured above)
This was our favorite mode of transportation! Of note, it is not available at all resorts. It is also set up subway like-you may have “connecting flights” where you get off at a Skyliner station and switch to another. The kids loved this, and you get fun views of locations (if you have a crippling fear of heights, I may skip).
Ferry Boat
A handful of Disney resorts have the ferry boat as an option to Magic Kingdom. We did not ride this, but they definitely hold a lot of people and can move pretty quickly. These resorts would
11. Scope out souvenirs
It is easy to spend money at Disneyworld on all kinds of various things. There are toys, decor, apparel, kitchenware…so much that you cannot find anywhere else. So, have a plan for how to handle all the “things” you or your little ones HAVE to have, and also how to get them home, especially if you’re flying. For example, EPCOT has some really neat and large home decor…might you need to ship these home?
Also, of note, we figured out not all locations and souvenir shops have the same merchandise. Disney pins are a popular item to collect, and I wanted to surprise my kids with a “My first trip” kind of pin. I found one at a particular hotel resort (not the one we were staying at), and figured I would just pick it up at ours before we left. Needless to say, our shop DID NOT have the same selection, so I had to opt for another pin. If you see something you like and plan on getting anyway, JUST GET IT, because you may not find it easily again.
12. Work with a Disney travel agent
This was the best decision we made and will do it again every time.
I am an overthinker and chronic over-planner. I had researched and budgeted for Disney for YEARS and already had a tentative plan, knew pretty much what we wanted and how much we had to spend, and felt like I knew as much as I could. Yet, when the time came to book our trip…I WAS OVERWHELMED. I was so worried I would forget something…there seemed to be so many details, things I never would have thought of…and I was getting discouraged.
Enter our travel agent, Kailyn.
I cannot speak to anything regarding how their income works, but I can tell you that working with an actual Disney travel agent DOES NOT cost any extra. As a matter of fact, I had already completely priced out our trip…and yet it was still cheaper to book with our agent (don’t ask me how).
The difference she made…
There are many ways to find an agent. You can ask for recommendations from friends or family or on local sites (your agent does not need to be local to you). Kailyn was referred to us by word of mouth from friends.
While I can’t vouch for all travel agents, SHE WAS AWESOME! She gave us all the information we needed without making us feel overwhelmed. We already pretty much knew what we wanted, but helped us nail down all the specifics for what, when, and how much. She had great suggestions, answered all our questions (timely, I might add!), and even was available to help get some of our competitive reservations booked (character meals). She would even send us daily information like “If you want to get to the park at opening, you’ll want to be ready and waiting for the shuttle by xxxx time”, which was so helpful for people who had no idea how everything functioned.
I am not sponsored by her or receiving any commission from referrals, she is just THAT GOOD that I can’t make a post about our Disneyworld vacation without mentioning her, because I felt it went so much smoother with her on board. If you’d like to work with her, please visit her Facebook page for more information https://www.facebook.com/destinationdreamingtravelwithkailyn.
The biggest piece of advice that helped us the most and made our first trip to Disney World magical was…we were FLEXIBLE!
We had tentative plans, things we wanted to do…but the minute our kids started to hit the point of exhaustion and weren’t having fun anymore…we took their feelings and wants into consideration and took breaks or went back to the hotel for naps. This way we never felt “rushed around” or stressed…we just enjoyed the trip!
Now it’s your turn!
Have you ever been to Disney? What is the biggest piece of advice for someone going for the first time?
If you haven’t been, any plans to go? What would be on your “must do” list?
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