One of the most frequently asked questions we get is when should I book my family's Walt Disney World vacation. There's really no right or wrong answer here, but we wanted to give you a little insight on what we recommend and that is 7 months.
I know, I know some of you are like 7 months really...I don't even know what I'm doing next weekend. We firmly believe that if you had to pick an optimum time you would want to be ahead of the planning process and here's why:
DINING! Dining reservations for Walt Disney World open up 180 days in advance for all guests and 180 days plus 10 for Disney resort guests. (That part can be confusing. For example if you a Disney Resort guest and your dining window opens on June 6 for your December 1 vacation then you can make reservations for December 1 - 10. If you were staying off property you would have to do it one day at a time, December 1 one day, December 2 the next, etc.) Ok, now that we have you confused and looking at your calendar let's go over why making reservations 6 MONTHS in advance is important. 7 months gives your family time to decide on where they would like to eat. Dining reservations go fast, especially character dining and most of the popular restaurants. Want to eat at Cinderella's Royal Table or Be Our Guest? Then you will want to make your dining reservations as soon as you can. Want dinner at Ohana' that's not at 8:30? You get the picture. (Our MousePros can assist with reservations and recommendations)
FASTPASS! If you haven't heard, Disney's FastPass+ service is kind of a big deal. Each day you start off with 3 attractions that you can skip the regular queue line and go to an expedited line. When planned right it can make a major impact on your vacation. Disney resort guests can begin making their selections 60 days before their arrival while offsite guests can make them at 30. The key to getting the best attractions with the optimum times is making those selections when the window opens. You want to dictate the flow of your vacation, not settle for what times are left once everyone else has picked through them. Our MousePros are experts when it comes to making the right selections and times to maximize your family's time in the parks.
PAYMENTS MADE EASY! Walt Disney World vacation packages only require a $200 deposit with final payment not being due until 30 days before arrival. While it's never to early to start saving for your Disney vacation, having at least 6 months to pay makes life a lot less stressful.
WAIT A MINUTE! We're telling you to book 7 months out and there may not even be any special offers out. No, we're not trying to trick you into paying more. One of the major perks to working with a MousePros is we watch for special offers like hawks. Once a new offer releases, we automatically work to apply that offer to our existing qualifying client reservations when available. If a reservation needs a bit of tweaking to qualify, we contact our clients right away to create a new plan for a reservation that will fit what they are looking for and will conform to the offer for savings.
We hope this post helped give you an idea on when to book you family's Walt Disney World vacation and what the planning process involves. It may seem daunting and overwhelming, but it's a vacation, not rocket science. We're here to help every step of the way and would love to share our knowledge and passion for Walt Disney World to help your family get the most out of your vacation!
To learn more about our MousePros visit the Meet our Team section of the website!