Welcome to those of you joining me from Capturing Magical Memories and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 4th stop on our Magical Blogorail.
Special thanks to all of my Magical Blogorail Teal mates today as I fill in on this month’s loop! I hope I can do justice to all of your work!
When I think of my Walt Disney World tips, I really don’t have any that stick out in the back of my mind. I think that most of my tips are things people already know about, so when I told the Blogorail group I could fill in, I really didn’t have any idea what I was going to write about. In fact, I still don’t know, as insane as that sounds!
There is an old adage that goes like this: “Fail to plan, and you plan to fail.” When it comes to Walt Disney World vacations, this simple little statement is perfectly true! As a result, I thought I would share with you some of the tips that I employ in the planning stage of my vacations.

The first thing I look to is to determine whether or not I need some assistance from a professional. The good thing about this is that the right Disney Travel Agent can take a lot of the worry off of your shoulders! They will be the person holding on the phone to make your reservations; they will be the person that will tell you that this ride is really good, or that ride is closed for right now, and on and on. As it happens, I am an Authorized Disney Travel Agent and my services are free, so let me know if I can help!
However, if you decide to plan this on your own, you can still have a wonderful vacation! The key points to look at in the planning stage are this:
- What time of year do you want to visit?
- How long do you want to stay?
- Do you want to stay on property or off property?
- What sort of dining options do you want?
- What is your budget?
All of these questions will work to help you figure out the logistics of your trip.
You know your family better then anyone, so it’s important to get an idea of what your family likes about Walt Disney World. If you have younger children, more then likely they are going to gravitate more towards the Magic Kingdom then the other parks; or, if you have teenagers, Disney’s Hollywood Studios or the water parks may be their thing. Use your knowledge of your family as a strength as you do your planning to maximize your Disney experience!
Don’t forget that it is everyone’s vacation, so make sure that you get input from all of the interested parties along the way so that everyone feels like they have a say in how much fun the vacation will be!
If this is a surprise for someone, one thing I like to do is order Disney’s Customized Maps to help break the news to your family that they are going to Walt Disney World! We did that one year with my daughter, and we put a big gold star at the location where we were staying, and she was so excited! Some other things you can use in your surprise package include a travel guide of the resort, maybe a calendar — and put dates on the calendar of when your trip is — or maybe a special autograph book! The only limit is to your imagination!
I don’t think that these tips are really all that unique — but I am certain that my other panel members on the Teal team have some great ones for you!
Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is The CanaDisney Blog.
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Loop should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ YourFirstVisit.net
2nd Stop ~ The Many Adventures of a Disney Lovin’ Spectrum Mom
3rd Stop ~ Capturing Magical Memories
4th Stop ~ My Dreams of Disney
Final Stop ~ The CanaDisney Blog
Related articles
- Magical Blogorail Red – Disney Breakfasts! (mydreamsofdisney.com)
- Magical Blogorail Red – A Few of our favorite Disney Things! (mydreamsofdisney.com)
We’ve really enjoyed the map before. I really like the ides of the star on the resort.
Thanks, Mary! Have a great day!
Great tips…I never knew about the customized maps!