how long in advance to plan disney??

thinking sometime next year? feeling so overwhelmed by the whole thing!

Re: how long in advance to plan disney??

Honestly, however in advance you are comfortable.

We just booked for October, but will be staying off site (at Universal) and not doing character meals (just not into it). We booked so that airfare doesn't go up.

If you MUST stay at a resort in particular, book early. Otherwise, a few months in advance is probably more than fine.

I don't know why people stress Disney so much. Orlando is a huge place. There are lots of places to stay, eat, and do!

Re: how long in advance to plan disney??

We went at the end of January and booked maybe 1.5 months in advance. I think the airfare would be the main factor... You want to make sure you do that far enough in advance so it's not so expensive.

Re: how long in advance to plan disney??

Depends on your budget, your expections, etc. You can book a couple of days before but airfaire, choice of restaurants, and hotels might be limited or very expensive. Otherwise the more time you give yourself the more time you have to get good airfaire, etc. I don't think 2014 packages have been released but they should be soon. You do want to book before 180 days out IF you cate about some of the more popular restaurants. As far as wdw deals, if a discount comes out you can just call them and have them apply the discount if it is available for your dates or hotel. If not you can switch hotels or categories to fit the discount.

Re: how long in advance to plan disney??

We went last December and booked only 5 or 6 weeks before the trip. It worked out great. We were even able to have a character meal every day we were there!

Re: how long in advance to plan disney??

I think it depends upon the time of year you are going. If you are going during any holiday/spring break/summer, then the earlier the better. As pp said, dining reservations for WDW are taken 180 days from the date you want. If you know your family wants to eat at noon and 6 pm at a specific restaurant regardless of the day of the year I would call 180 days before to guarantee you are getting those times. If, on the other hand, you don't really mind eating dinner at 9 pm or where you are going to eat then you can wait a little while to call. If you want a character meal, at a prime time, on a prime date when the park is at capacity call 180 days before you plan to go. If you are going in mid January I think you could likely make reservations a few weeks before and not worry as much.

eta: reservations for Disneyland in CA is 60 days.

Message edited 6/12/2013 11:02:16 PM.

Re: how long in advance to plan disney??

I start planning about half a year in advance but we usually don't actually book until 1-2 months prior.

Right now we are shooting for a Disney trip at the end of Sept/October. I have all the Mickey mouse parties and early openings in my calendar but we won't pull the trigger until the date gets closer. This is due to DH's work schedule. I don't know how many times we have cancelled/postponed already booked trips.

how long in advance to plan disney??

I think it really depends on what you want to do.

I never stay on site, not into eating there etc. SO for me I would book a month or 2 in advance and but tixs there.

Its the meals and character things that are what book up.

how long in advance to plan disney??

I usually only plan a couple of months in advance. We aren't huge sit down character dinner fans, so missing out on ressies for those isn't a huge deal to me.