No destination is quite as difficult or fun to plan as Disney World. That's why I've always had a planning binder full of info and printables to keep me organized.
Below, I have shown the sections I use for my Disney World binder and links to downloads that you can use to create your own.
Let's get started...
In this article
My Disney World binder
The binder I use is something I designed myself and it includes 8 tabs...
The 8 tabs are labeled:
- General Info
- Hotel
- Dining
- Magic Kingdom
- Epcot
- Hollywood Studios
- Animal Kingdom
- Everything Else
The company that I used to order my binder and tabs is no longer available. However, Disney's Zazzle store also has hundreds of cute binders that can even be personalized (and they cost about 1/4 of what mine cost).
To get a Zazzle Disney World binder that feels a lot like mine does, I'd recommend doing these things:
- Order the 2 inch option
- Choose black for the inside color if it coordinates with the design better than white
- Customize it, including uploading an image that can be used on the front cover (FYI: to change the font, click the "f" icon under the font size drop-down box. Took me forever to find it!)
Expand the area below to see some examples that I created when playing around with their options.
Note: Zazzle won't allow you to use the phrase "Disney World" on your design anymore, but I'd suggest "WDW" along with some other text (such as "WDW trip") as an alternative that they will allow.
Black and red style
How I did it: the red spine and Mickey patterns are part of the style already. I uploaded the front label and back stripe images and then used Zazzle's text tools to add text to the front, spine and back. For the front, this meant having two layers: one for the label and one for the text. Just drag the layers on the Zazzle site to make sure the text lays on top of the label.
Font used on the Zazzle site:
- Front: Folio Bold
- Spine: Folio Medium
- Back: Folio Light Italics
Download the images below by right-clicking and choosing "save image as":
 Front Label |
 Black stripe |
Comic Art Mickey Mouse
How I did it: just took the design already on Zazzle and used Zazzle's text tool to add the text on the front
Font used on the Zazzle site: Futura Medium
Mickey Retro Polka Dot
How I did it: the polka dotted pattern is part of this style already so I uploaded the oval label for the front and used Zazzle's text tool to add two different text layers to the front and 1 to the spine
Fonts used on the Zazzle site:
- Front (the year): Roundhand Bold
- Front (the rest of the text): Sprocket
- Spine: Sprocket
You can download the label here by right-clicking and choosing "save image as":
 Turquoise oval label |
Mickey and Friends
How I did it: I just used the default design and added two text layers to the front using Zazzle's text tool
Fonts used on the Zazzle site:
- Front (big text): Impress
- Front (small text): Futura Medium
There are literally hundreds of choices of binders.
Note: If items are purchased by clicking on one of the Zazzle links above, Zazzle will send me a referral fee.
Of course, you can pick up a binder wherever office supplies are sold and make your own cover for an inexpensive way to create a personalized one at home.
Creating a digital Disney World binder
Want a digital binder instead of (or in addition to) to a physical binder? You can use Evernote to do that.
Watch the video for details.
Take a look at each section for ideas on what to put in your Disney World binder...
General Info Downloads
In the general info section, I include a map of Walt Disney World as a whole, our trip itinerary, a calendar of the year so I can jot down dates that I need to remember (like making ADRs 180 days in advance) and a chart of which parks are best on each day of our trip.
Although the trip plan should mostly be decided beforehand, it's nice to stay flexible and make changes as needed (plus, I like to let the kids choose what we do on the last day so that's a helpful chart to have as a reference).
Disney World map
Printable blank calendar
Monthly crowd calendars
- January dashboard
- February dashboard
- March dashboard
- April dashboard
- May dashboard
- June dashboard
- July dashboard
- August dashboard
- September dashboard
- October dashboard
- November dashboard
- December dashboard
Transportation map
Trip planning worksheet
Magic Kingdom section
In the Magic Kingdom section, I keep a park map, touring plans and recommended viewing spots. I also like to keep a list of recommended Quick Service dining locations so I know where to head when it's time to eat.
My custom park maps (linked below) include all of that info on 1 map that prints out on 1 piece of paper.
Magic Kingdom park map
Magic Kingdom touring plans
Magic Kingdom entertainment schedule
Buzz Lightyear scoring tips
Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom card list
WDW Prep Members Magic Kingdom map ($)
Epcot section
For Epcot, I like to have a park map, touring plans, and the entertainment schedule (especially since there are so many entertainment options in the World Showcase).
Epcot park map
Epcot touring plans
Epcot entertainment schedule
WDW Prep Member Epcot map ($)
Hollywood Studios section
Not only do I like having a park map and touring plans for Hollywood Studios, but I especially need the entertainment schedule since there are so many shows in this park.
Hollywood Studios park map
Hollywood Studios touring plans
Hollywood Studios entertainment schedule
Toy Story Mania scoring tips
WDW Prep Member Hollywood Studios map ($)
Fantasmic map
Animal Kingdom section
As with the other parks, I include a park map, touring plans and entertainment schedule in the Animal Kingdom section.
Animal Kingdom park map
Animal Kingdom touring plans
Animal Kingdom entertainment schedule
WDW Prep Member Animal Kingdom map ($)
Resort section
In the hotel section of my binder, I put a map of our hotel and things specific to the area (walking paths, viewing locations, etc.).
You may also want to include a general page that includes contact info for your hotel. You can find the address and phone number info here.
Deluxe/DVC Resorts
Animal Kingdom Lodge
| Animal Kingdom Lodge map |
Animal Kingdom Lodge recreation calendar |
|---|
Beach and Yacht Club
| Beach/Yacht Club map |
Beach Club/Yacht Club recreation calendar |
|---|---|
| Epcot area running map |
Boardwalk Inn
| Boardwalk Inn map |
Boardwalk Inn recreation calendar |
|---|---|
| Epcot area running map |
Contemporary Resort
| Contemporary Resort map |
Contemporary Resort recreation calendar |
|---|
Grand Floridian Resort
| Grand Floridian map |
Grand Floridian recreation calendar |
|---|---|
| Grand Floridian jogging map |
Old Key West Resort
| Old Key West map |
Old Key West recreation calendar |
|---|---|
| Old Key West running map |
Polynesian Resort
| Polynesian Resort map |
Polynesian Resort recreation calendar |
|---|---|
| Polynesian jogging map |
Saratoga Springs Resort
| Saratoga Springs map |
Saratoga Springs Resort recreation calendar |
|---|---|
| Saratoga Springs Resort running map |
Wilderness Lodge Resort
| Wilderness Lodge map |
Wilderness Lodge recreation calendar |
|---|---|
| Wilderness Lodge running map |
Moderate Resorts
| Caribbean Beach map |
Caribbean Beach recreation calendar |
|---|---|
| Caribbean Beach running map |
| Coronado Springs map |
CSR rec calendar |
CSR running map |
| Port Orleans map |
POR rec calendar |
POFQ rec calendar |
| Port Orleans jogging map |
Value Resorts:
| All-Star Movies map |
AS Movies rec calendar |
| All-Star Music map |
AS Music rec calendar |
| All-Star Sports map |
AS Sports rec calendar |
AS running trail |
| Art of Animation map |
AoA rec calendar |
| Pop Century map |
Pop Century rec calendar |
Pop Century jogging map |
Ft. Wilderness Campground:
| Ft. Wilderness map |
FW rec calendar |
Wilderness running map |
Dining section
After deciding where we want to eat, I print off menus to store in this section so my family has an idea what to expect at each meal.
I also keep a 1 page worksheet that summarizes all of our dining locations and includes our ADR numbers.
For people using the Disney Dining Plan, having a worksheet to keep track of how your credits are being spent is a good idea too.
Dining Downloads
| Restaurant menus |
DDP snack list |
DDP calculator (free login required) |
Everything Else section
This section includes all of the other miscellaneous stuff that doesn't get its own section: water parks, Disney Springs, pressed coin info, packing lists, etc.
Everything Else Downloads
| Disney Springs map |
Blizzard Beach map |
Typhoon Lagoon map |
| Pressed coin machine locations |
Driving directions to WDW |
FP+ quick reference (at bottom of page) |
| Rider Switch ride list |
Ultimate packing list |
Orlando airport map |
| La Nouba seating chart |
173 Comments
Is there a way to dlownload these all at once?
No, there isn’t. Many/most of them link out to external sources that are updated all the time. Best to just snag the downloads you find useful.
Do you have a link where we can find the updated recreation calendars for the resorts? We won’t be going for a year or two and I was wondering if there’s a site where I can check this when it gets closer to our vacation time.
Thanks!
The links posted are updated monthly by Disney, so you can use those.