If you're reading this then you probably know that there is more planning involved for a Disney World trip than you'll find with many other vacations.
With dining reservations happening at 180 days out and FastPass+ reservations happening at 60 days, you'll need to be prepared.
But, when can you actually book your Disney World vacation?
How far in advance can you book a Disney World vacation?
Room Only reservations
First of all, you can book Room Only reservations 499 days in advance, but you can only do that via phone by calling (407) 939-1936.
So, if your dates are next year and within that 499 day time frame, and you are only planning on doing a Room Only reservation, you can do that now by phone.
Vacation Packages (2020 Disney World Packages now available to book!)
Packages, however, are different.
If you want to book a room reservation plus tickets OR a room reservation plus tickets and Disney Dining Plan, you'll have to wait. Packages for the following year typically are released in the summer - usually mid to late June although they have been released as late as July before, too.
So, if you are looking to book a package for 2021 unless Disney changes how they do things you'll need to wait until June/July of 2020 before you can do that.
Historical release dates for Disney World vacation packages
- 2020 Walt Disney World Vacation Packages opened up on June 18, 2019
- 2019 Walt Disney World Vacation Packages opened up on June 19, 2018
- 2018 Walt Disney World Vacation Packages opened up on June 20, 2017
- 2017 Walt Disney World Vacation Packages opened up on June 21, 2016
- 2016 Walt Disney World Vacation Packages opened up on June 22, 2015
- 2015 Walt Disney World Vacation Packages opened up on July 30, 2014
Waiting for packages to be released? Here's what you can do now
If you're anxiously waiting for 2020 vacation packages to be released there's still some things you can do:
Get in contact with an agent
Right now is a fantastic time to start communicating with a travel agent.
They'll get all your information and requests filed away and then when packages open up, they'll take care of snagging you exactly what you want.
Even if you aren't able to book packages for the following year yet, you can still connect now with a travel agent and if you'd like a recommendation, we can't say enough good things about the agents at Perfect Story Travel.
They truly care about helping people create magical memories and are hard at work right now making sure they are ready to book their 2020 clients as soon as those packages open up.
Learn more about all the reasons you may want to book your next Disney World vacation with a travel agent.
Finalize your resort options
Disney World is huge - and there are more than 25 different resort options to choose from.
Before packages open up is the perfect time to research your Walt Disney World Resort Hotel options.
Get your choices narrowed down so you'll be ready to book when packages are released.
Is booking earlier really better?
There are many reasons why people might want to book as far out as possible.
Sometimes people like to pay their vacation off a little bit at a time. The sooner the trip is booked, the sooner they can start applying payments to it.
Other times people might want a highly sought after room category or location and in order to maximize the chances of snagging it, they book as soon as they can.
Or, maybe you're traveling during a busy time (like the holidays) and you want to make sure you get the resort and room category you want.
And then there are people like us - we just like knowing our next trip is booked! It makes it feel more "real" and there's nothing like seeing it in our My Disney Experience accounts when we log-in.
Whatever the reason, when the packages open up Disney's low deposit rates makes it easy for people to make reservations plus their cancellation policies are quite friendly too, giving you peace of mind that if something happens and you have to cancel, you won't be out any money.
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Want to compare the differences in deposit and cancellation policies between room-only and package reservations? Read our post on How and When to Make All Disney World Reservations for more information.
