You have decided on your Disney World Resort reservation, and diligently made your Disney Dining Reservations. Now what? What do you do while you are waiting, to make sure you don’t forget anything?
So, today I want to share with you a Disney To Do List – What “To Do” After You Have Your Resort and Dining Reservations.
- Start making a packing list. Write down EVERY SINGLE THING you want to take along with you. I go through each family member, and write down how many outfits they will need, what new clothes need to be purchased, and all the essentials they need to get through each day.
- Create a “to buy” list from your packing list. Separate this out into categories like toiletries, medications, park necessities, clothes, food, etc. This way, you can be on the lookout for sales and items you want to buy. This is especially helpful if you have booked a trip in one season, like summer, but you’re actually traveling in the fall or winter. You’ll know to be on the look out for bathing suits, flip flops, and other items that are hard to find in the winter months.
- Order your Customized Maps and your Disney Parks Planning DVD. Our kids love these, and they make a fun souvenir. While we are sitting at the computer planning park days, our kids are poring over their maps.
- Book your flights, and set up your Magical Express transportation.
- Login to My Disney Experience at least once a week to check and see that all your reservations are up to date, as well as if you are able to customize and order your MagicBands, and make FastPass+ selections.
- Make special experience reservations. Do you want to experience Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique? How about the Pirates League or a Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise? You’ll want to book these soon after making your dining reservations.
- Check crowd calendars. Our friends at Touring Plans have an accurate crowd calendar, as does EasyWDW. Look at the dates of your trips, and lightly plan which park you’ll visit on which day. If necessary, change around a few dining reservations to match your park days. Also, be sure to use those to check when the night shows are occurring. If Wishes is only two nights out of your stay, or you don’t want to miss Fantasmic, you’ll want to plan your days accordingly.
- About 8 weeks before you travel, or more if you’re like me, start “soft packing“. Set aside items that are exclusively for your Disney trip. Did you get the kids matching tshirt for that fun character meal? How about a special princess dress for Cinderella’s Royal Table? Is it still too cool where you live for sunscreen, but you know you’ll need it in Florida? Set those items aside to make sure you don’t forget anything.
- Start mapping out your park days, with what attractions you don’t want to miss, and which ones you don’t mind skipping. Do you want a non park day? If so, account for this and make a few rough plans as to what you are going to do on that day. Three days before you depart, check the park hours to see if you want to make any last minute adjustments to your touring. Perhaps a park has added some Extra Magic Hours, or another showing of the Main Street Electrical Parade.
- Investigate special magical options through Disney Floral and Gifts or Walt Disney World Personal Shopper. These, as well as other companies, will be happy to work with you to have something magical delivered to your room while you are traveling.
- Box up items to ship to your resort. A great planning tip is to send yourself a package to your Disney Resort. Include dry snacks, sunscreen, wipes, diapers, or other toiletries, etc. This will save room in your luggage or in your car
- Call the Disney Dining Reservation line to make sure any celebrations are noted on your dining reservations, as well as other special dietary requests. Even though you may have already noted these, it’s a really good idea to double check so you don’t have any surprises upon your arrival.
- Gather last minute documents and small but important items. About a week before you leave, charge your camera batteries, and double check your packing against your original list. Are there any last minute items you need to buy? Documents you need to track down?
Does this Disney To Do list look like anything you like to do before traveling? What am I missing?
Would you like to take the hassle out of a lot of these details? Or have someone to bounce ideas off of to help you make the most magical, yet stress free vacation possible? I’d love to help you! You can email me at carrie@destinationsinflorida.com, or find me on Facebook. I’d love to be your personal travel assistant!
Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.
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