So you’re considering a trip to Disney World in Florida? I don’t blame you; this was a bucket list trip for us in 2019 which was meant to be one and done… and has become something of an addiction. This trip can quickly overwhelm, not just financially but also because there are so many things to consider, plan and do – and you just never have enough time.
This is where I come in. Let me make it easier for you by sharing my experience with planning an amazing (on Disney property) trip from Europe!
Not everyone is as type A personality when it comes to planning, but since I am; I’ll be your guide.
First things first; when do you want to go?
Depending on your situation and with how many calendars you have to align to plan this trip, this may be very flexible or extremely tight. Every month has pros and cons including weather, on or off season, special events or theming. My tip is to consult Disney Tourist Blog’s Crowd Calendar, as it is kept up to date and discusses all above things per week so you can make the best choice for you and your party. For example, if you are flexible September is by far the best time to go for the least crowds. However, it is also the most risky month weather wise because of it being peak hurricane season. Go ahead and consult the crowd calendars per month. I usually like to consider at least two periods so I can compare prices of hotels and flights, and activities on offer during that time.
Staying on or off property?
Full disclosure, I have only ever stayed on property (meaning in the ‘Disney bubble’, in one of the hotels run by Disney itself or one of their so called ‘good neighbour hotels’). Off property means accomodation that is not affiliated with Disney at all, and is therefore not on their property. Keep in mind that Disney World is as big as San Fransisco in its entirety, so assuming you are flying in and don’t rent a car… I have always found the price outweighs the perks for our situation. This is very personal though, and may be an issue with bigger groups.
Disney World has a really great complimentary transportation network which everyone can use, like going from Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom – but I love the perk of taking the complimentary buses (or Skyliner, or boat) from my hotel straight to a park or Disney Springs in the morning.
This option is obviously not available to you if you are not staying on property, and therefore you’ll have to use Uber of Lyft, or paid parking at the parks (parking is free at hotels and the parks for resort guests). Transportation is the biggest perk for me, but If you want a really comprehensive debate check out Disney Tourist Blog’s on site vs off site article. Depending on which category of hotel you stay at (Value, Moderate or Deluxe) you will also get different benefits, most notably the after hours park entry for Deluxe resort guests. Meaning that you can stay at the park longer than all other guests. This also applies a half an hour some mornings for all resort guests. See up to date perks here
How many days should I go?
This is very personal and obviously governed by your budget/ time off. However, assuming you are going all the way there from Europe I would say 7 nights is my personal minimum. Of course every day you stay your budget has to increase, but there is so much to see and do that you will not be bored. As flights are one of the biggest expenses and tickets get gradually cheaper for every day you go, it makes sense to make the most of your time. There are four parks, Disney Springs and always at least one of the two water parks open.
For reference; our first trip in 2019 was 5 nights because we were combining it with going to Canada. Our flight arrived late on the first day and left early on the last day, so we only had four full days. Luckily it was September and the parks were as quiet as they could be (note that this is relative; Disney World is never actually ‘quiet’), but this put a lot of pressure on one day per park and everything going according to plan. Depending on the type of ticket you get you can only visit one park per day. Our second trip in 2023 was 7 nights, and the next time I would want to go at least 10 nights to allow for a bit more chill and pool time.
Which hotel works best?
When it comes to which hotel you should choose; that could be literally a blog post per hotel! This completely depends on budget, who you’re travelling with and what you value. You can YouTube the names of the hotels to literally get so many current reviews from different users. I find AJ at DFB Guide is one of the best Disney content creators out there and would recommend her Best hotels of 2024 or Ranking every Disney Hotel 2024 videos. The good thing about AJ is that she takes into account very current updates. So when listing the best hotels to stay at in 2024 for example, she will take into account renovations, pool closures, food options etc etc – which means that the list is actually different yearly, making it easy to make the best choice for your party.
Time to start comparing brochures
One of the best tips that I can give is to compare all of the different ‘brochures’ to get the best deal. What do I mean by this? When I Google Disney World holidays from The Netherlands, or try to navigate to the www.disneyholidays.com site, I will always end up on the European site. Logical right? But not what I want, because I have personally found the Irish website to have the best deals for me.
I figured this out after I had booked our 2023 trip, because I was curious why so many people seemed to be going from the UK. I realised that I could switch to different websites by scrolling all the way to the bottom and selecting a different international site:
At the time of booking in 2023 the European site had no deals, but the Irish one had a deal for up to 25% off selected hotels and a pay for 7 get 14 days ticket deal (!). Quite the difference! I was able to call and gain back a few hundred Euros by just telling them I had seen the Irish brochure and wanted to make use of this deal. You can always make changes for free (subject to availability), but the cost of waiting an hour on an International call just to make changes is a real bummer. When booking Disney will never compare all brochures, so I prefer to just do this myself to ensure I get the best deal.
The only site that I have trouble referencing is the US one, I only managed this with the direct URL and using a VPN that had a server in the States. The total holiday dates I was comparing were $1000 more expensive than the Irish brochure so I tend not to check anymore.
On the day of publishing this post these are the results when I plan the exact same dates, hotel and park tickets on the European site vs the Irish site. As you can see, not only is the same holiday cheaper on the Irish side (left), but the list of perks is longer, including memory maker worth about 210 Euros for this specific trip. This perk ensures all attraction and park photographer photos are downloaded for free. In this case the difference comes down to the the pay for 7 and get 14 days magic ticket deal, which makes quite a difference on a 10 day trip as you can see!
Another good example of this is that the UK and Irish brochures have just released a free Disney Dining Plan option for the majority of 2025, where I see no mention of this on the European brochure. For the US the release was for very selected 2024 dates. Considering this could get you a big chunk of your food costs for free when you visit, this is nothing to sneeze at and very worth comparing.
Note: If a better deal comes up (on any brochure) after you’ve booked, know that you can still change it. You just have to deal with calling the right number of the country via which you booked, and with a long wait time. In the US there’s lots of travel agents who check prices daily to ensure you get the best deal (like People Mover Travel) – but for The Netherlands I have not found something comparable. I tried getting a quote with People Mover Travel, but they only looked at the US brochure so not interesting for me.
Book your flights first
I like to use Skyscanner to easily compare flights, especially useful if your dates are flexible and you are still comparing two different seasons. Perhaps you can get the lowest price for your selected period this way, or you realise that there are direct flights available only part of the year. I was comparing September and November 2024 and noticed that the direct flights from Amsterdam to Orlando are back after the pandemic! But only in November/ December….
Book your airport transfer
If you’ve booked your flights, got your hotel and tickets sorted too – time to get the airport transfer sorted! If you want to use a Taxi, Uber or Lyft you don’t have to do this yet, but I would recommend pricing out both options to see what’s most cost effective. For anybody who visited before the pandemic; unfortunately the complimentary Magical Express is no more and you have to make your own way. A bummer as it’s an extra cost, but the shuttle option is just as good. Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer joined forces recently, so now the only option is Mears connect at $16 per trip or $32 round trip per adult. We travel with just the two of us so this is generally the best option, not having to deal with availability or surge prices for ride sharing. Keep in mind that they do take one shuttle to multiple resorts though, so it will generally not be the most direct route.
Follow some Disney content creators
One of my favourite things about booking a Disney World trip is the joyous anticipation leading up to it. To get into the mindset, prepare and keep up to date with any changes, new restaurants or events. There are plenty of content creators to follow to get your fix, but I have found the best all rounder to be DFB guide, who I mentioned before for the hotel ranking videos. Molly and Allan at The Mammoth Club are also great, particularly for their fun facts and reviews of current events, food and hotels at Disney World.
Consider extras, seasonal events and dining reservations
Now that the countdown has started, consider if there’s any seasonal parties, events or tours you want to budget for.
- If you are going between August – December you can consider Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which are both after hour, separately ticketed events.
- Consider the Keys to the Kingdom Tour if learning more about the history, Walt Disney, and a sneak peek at the Utilidor tunnels only used by cast members is more your thing! Keep in mind its 16+
- If you’d prefer a guarantee VIP view of the nightly Fireworks and projections show at Magic Kingdom, the Fireworks Dessert Parties might be worth the splurge
- Guests staying at Walt Disney World Resorts are able to make dining reservations for their whole trip 60 days out from their arrival date. This could be a whole post in itself, and something that you should really be hearing from DFB Guide. When you start looking into this you’ll realise that there’s quite a few restaurants whose reservations are hard to come by (like a lot of the character dining options). If this is a must do for you then realise it can be like getting tickets to a Taylor Swift concert, so look into it beforehand.
During the Spring Season Epcot transforms to lovely gardens of themed topiaries as part of the international Flower & Garden Festival
Enjoy the process!
As I said, getting ready for a DW trip can be very intense planning wise, but I also find it to be one of the most enjoyable to look forward to and get hyped for. So enjoy the process, and be sure to let me know if you have any questions in the comments. I’d be happy to help!
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