OPINION: The Happiest Place on Earth - Part 2

Welcome back to planning your Disney trip with Erin! Last week you completed the first part of your vacation planning: booking your hotel. However, there’s still more to do before you’re ready to fly to Orlando.

While definitely not a necessity, my family has utilized the Disney Dining Plan more than once. This plan is a prepaid food bundle that provides credits for various food options, including snacks and full meals.

The dining plan comes in two options: quick service and full dining. Both options include one resort-refillable drink mug and one snack or nonalcoholic drink per night of your stay. If you get the quick service option, you also get two quick service meals per night of your stay. If you get the full package, you get one quick service meal and one table service meal per night of your stay.

When it comes to redeeming these credits, you have many options. If you’re staying for four nights, you have all of these credits times four right away. If you wanted to, you could get four snacks all in one day and not have any snacks left the rest of the trip.

Additionally, there are a few special table service restaurants that require two credits. There are 20 restaurants over all, but the four most popular are Cinderella’s Royal Table, Storybook Dining at Artist Point, Be Our Guest and lunch and dinner at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.

However, simply having a credit for food doesn’t mean you can eat anywhere. Whether you have the dining plan or not, many sit-down restaurants will require reservations. Reservations open at 6 a.m. 60 days in advance. If you’re staying at a Disney resort, you’re able to book your dining reservation for any time on your stay starting 60 days in advance of your first day.

While many restaurants will have reservations available after this exact time, the most popular ones might not. If you want a reservation to Cinderella’s Royal Table, you better be ready at 6 a.m. or you might not get to eat there.

OK, food is covered. What else? Well, you still need to buy your tickets. Disney does use a surge pricing system for tickets, meaning during the busiest season, tickets will be the most expensive.

When buying your ticket, there are numerous options. Once you choose how many days and which days you want to go, you are able to upgrade your ticket to add a park hopper, meaning you can go to multiple parks on the same day.

Park hopping isn’t for everyone. Unless I had already visited all four parks and had an extra day, I probably wouldn’t want to use a park hopper. However, it’s a great option if you aren’t able to spend a full day at each park.

While you generally don’t have to worry about this any more, in some cases, you do have to make park reservations. If you have a date-based ticket, you will not be required to make a park reservation.

However, if you have a student group ticket, a sport or convention ticket, a Florida Resident Discover Disney ticket, a Military Salute ticket or an annual pass, you will be required to make a park reservation. This can be done easily online, but it’s important not to forget this, as you won’t be allowed in without one. Park reservations can be made starting 60 days before your arrival date.

If you aren’t driving to Orlando or getting a rental car, you’ll also need to figure out transportation to Disney before you leave. Once upon a time, Disney World provided a free airport shuttle called the Magical Express. However, like many things after COVID, that has been taken away.

When this free service ended at the beginning of 2022, Disney told guests they would have to find other options from the airport, such as Uber or Lyft. However, it didn’t take long for the Sunshine Flyer to jump in to replace the Magical Express

Within months of the free service being taken away, Sunshine Express started offering bus shuttles between the Orlando International Airport and Disney resorts. Use of this shuttle must be booked ahead of time and costs $19.50 per adult and $11 per child one way. There is no round trip discount.

OK, with all that, you should be ready to leave for your Disney trip. However, your planning isn’t over yet. Next up, day of planning and scheming to keep your trip going perfect.