(Article last checked: April 11, 2016)
In years and years of planning Disney World trips, I've made some mistakes.
And you will too.
You can read and read to plan your trip but some of what you learn will be gained just by going there and figuring some things out on your trip.
Here are 5 mistakes I've made while planning trips to Disney World.
In this article
Mistake #1: not allowing enough time for transportation
You might read that the distance between 2 points at Disney World is just a few miles so you might assume that it'll just take a few minutes.
Nothing at Disney World takes a few minutes.
When using Disney transportation, allow for an hour to get anywhere. It may not end up taking that long but often times, it does.
On our first trip, we had young children so I planned an afternoon break each day but a dining reservation around 5. By the time we left the parks around 1 or 2, got back to the hotel, laid down for a few minutes and then...it was time to go again!
I suggest considering taking a taxi/Uber to alleviate some of the long travel times. Times when taxis/Ubers make a lot of sense include:
- Traveling between many resorts
- After a nighttime show when the bus line is really long
- When your schedule is tight and you need to save some time
Mistake #2: eating all over the place
There are a LOT of places to eat at Disney World.
My mistake was reading about a fun place to eat without considering where it was located.
That's why I suggest making your daily plan (step 3 in the planning process) and then choosing your dining based on where you'll be located each day.
Mistake #3: planning too much
The top thing that I recommend to people is that they pare down their plans.
It's super tempting to want to do it all but you won't. It's important to be realistic and allow some free time to be flexible.
Planning too much means you spend your trip being frantic to get to the next thing rather than enjoying things as you do them.
Mistake #4: not using PhotoPass photographers
After our first Disney World trip, I realized we didn't have many pics with all 4 of us in it. Every trip since then, we've used the PhotoPass photographers so we have plenty of pics in prime spots featuring our whole family.
Learn more about PhotoPass photographers, including using a special link to get a discount when you pre-order.
Mistake #5: booking flights based on cost alone
This is sort of a general mistake but after getting stuck at Ohare well into the wee hours of the morning after a Disney trip, I'd really suggest not doing this with your Disney trips.
Most people book flights based on cost which is why the airlines know they can get away with not offering much seat space or any extras. If they do offer extras and charge more, people will still always be looking for the best deal.
Flights really need to be chosen based on a combo of things including schedule and price. If you can book direct flights, do that. That reduces the possibility of delays and allows you to start and end your Disney World trip with less stress.
You can also use FlightStats.com to check the history of a flight you're considering booking to see how often it's on time.
To learn more about booking flights for your Disney World trip, read my article on finding the best flights.
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21 Comments on "5 mistakes I’ve made when planning Disney World trips"
Can anyone tell me how long check-in at Magic Kingdom takes if you get there 1st thing in the morning?
Mistakes 2 and 3 – GUILTY as charged! So many things I would have done differently if I got a do over. Mainly I would have made a better daily plan that allowed us to prioritize things accordingly.
ProTip: when using the Photopass services ask them to take an additional photo with your camera (you can do this without paying for Photopass, but I don’t, because it’s nice having 2 copies.)
We are traveling Nov 14-18 and I booked 3 hours of downtime after lunch – this includes travel from a morning park and then to an afternoon park. Basically one hour of round trip travel and 2 hours to rest. Do you think I need to add more time? We are staying at Pop.
Yeah, I allowed for 4 hours and still found it a bit tight.
If you have a rental car do you think that you still need an hour to get from the parks back to the resort. We are staying at POR. Thanks!
Nope, a little less but still allow 30-45 minutes. Allow more time for Magic Kingdom though because you have to take the monorail or ferry after parking.
We are planning on renting a stroller because our son is big for his age and has outgrown his stroller. Plus at 4.5, he doesn’t use one much anymore. I think he will want to rest some so I think the stroller will help.
I had booked our flights for our upcoming November trip and made the book based on cost mistake for our return flight. We had a good flight for traveling to Disney but I had booked a 7:30 am flight to come home.
After I read this article I had second third and fourth thoughts and went on line with Southwest Airlines and changed our flight to 3:30 in the afternoon. Southwest doesn’t charge a fee for changing so I only had to pay the difference in airfare.
Now I feel a lot better – thank you for your postings
Love your site! When my family went for the first time (well, it was my first time as a grown up!), my biggest mistake was not putting the stroller near ride exits! I spent more time walking around attractions to find my stroller! Also, my mom made the dining reservations and had us ALL over. I’d make my reservations for the park I’m staying in. We ended up not enjoying some special meals because of the rush to get from place to place.
Your tips are great!
When we visited Disney World last fall, we used Disney transportation the first day. Our trips between Port Orleans and the Magic Kingdom were so long and arduous that we decided to drive ourselves the rest of the time. It was one of the best decisions we made all week: the Disney parking lots were very simple to get in and out of and since we were staying at a resort, parking was free.
I also recommend using the photographer. Not only did we get some great pictures but my camera developed a problem and I lost 2 full days of disney shots. It may seem expensive at the start but I am sure glad to have the pics and memories for my grandkids.
I especially like your tip on booking flights based on cost alone. My hubby booked our flights for our upcoming Disney trip. Not only do we not have a direct flight, but our flight leaves home at 6am and leaves Orlando at 7am! Gasp! I actually do not mind arriving at WDW early. However, leaving the beloved World at 7 means the Magic Express is supposed to pick up up to go to the airport at 4am. Yuck! Next time, I won’t let the hubby book anything while I’m at work.