How a Disney Travel Professional Does Walt Disney World (Part III: Planning: Getting Organized)

Now that you have gotten to know me a bit, it is probably obvious that I am a planner form the top of my Mickey Ears to my toes.  I talked in previous articles about resort choices, what kind of park tickets to purchase, dining reservations, and many other choices….so how does this all tie together when it comes to actually going on your trip? I have one word for you…SPREADSHEETS! 
OK, I know that most of us think of spreadsheets as a place to store boring, tedious strings of numbers but they can also be a helpful tool to keep all of your vacation information organized and easy to access.  So how do you start?  Think of a vacation planning spreadsheet as a recipe for a great vacation.  You gather all of the ingredients, mix it all together and the result is something greater than the sum of its parts.  

Ingredient #1: Start with the park hours, major parade times and fireworks shows for each park for each day of your trip which can be found by clicking here.   These are usually announced for Walt Disney World about 6 months in advance but they can change so always go back and check for changes a few days before your trip.

Ingredient #2: Check out the Extra Magic Hours that will be happening during your trip if you are a Disney Resort guest.  Extra Magic Hours are when a Disney Theme Park opens either one hour early or stays open up to three hours late for Disney Resort Guests only.   Only about 25% of Disney Resort guests take advantage of Extra Magic Hours on any given day so they can be a great time to visit attractions with shorter lines.

Ingredient #3: Add all of your dining and special experiences reservations along with any notes you want to remember.

Mix it all together and you get something like this: (Click here to download this spreadsheet)

Everything fits on one page so it was easy to take with us to the parks.  I create a personalized spreadsheet like this for every family that books a trip with Magical Castle Vacations because I find them so handy myself.  You can also make a spreadsheet to hold all of your airline, accommodations and car rental information although I would keep it separately from the spreadsheet with park information.

Another great way to use spreadsheets is to make a packing list.  No one wants to interrupt their time in the parks to go shopping for toiletries that were left behind.  I use a spreadsheet to mark off items for each family member as they get packed so I can be sure not to miss anything.  Here is what our packing spreadsheet looks like:

I hope that all of this planning advice has given you an easy way to start your next Walt Disney World Vacation.  There is one last piece of advice I would like to offer….be flexible.  Nobody likes to have a plan more than me but I can tell you that even I deviate from the plan as the situation warrants. 

For example, on a recent trip, it was announced two days in advance that President Obama would be visiting The Magic Kingdom on the last day of our trip.  We were planning on visiting the Magic Kingdom that day.  I would have loved to see the President’s speech in front of the Castle but I am afraid I was not on the “special list of guests” so we decided to avoid the hoopla and go to Epcot that day instead.  Being flexible allowed us to avoid the crowds that accompanied the President and have a great last day.

Another good reason to be flexible with your plans is the mood and stamina level of your family.  If you aren’t having any fun, you are doing something wrong and the plan needs adjusting.  Maybe your plan says that you need to get to the park early for morning Extra Magic Hours but what your children really need is some extra sleep.  Extra Magic Hours aren’t so magical with sleepy children in tow.  You may miss the morning Extra Magic Hours but you will have a more enjoyable day overall if you get a few extra hours of rest.   Even the most energetic of families can have all of the get-up-and-go sapped out of them after several days of non-stop fun in the sun.

So, now that you know how a Disney Travel Professional does Walt Disney World, when is your next vacation?

Katherine Schutte  

About the author:

Katherine Schutte first fell in love with Disney as a child on a family trip in 1976.  Her passion for all things Disney led her to her career as the Owner of Magical Castle Vacations where she happily makes the magic of Disney vacations come true for families, honeymooners, adult and senior travelers.  She is a graduate of Disney’s College of Knowledge (yes there is such a thing) and has extensive knowledge of Disney World, Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line through her many visits.  Visit her website at MagicalCastleVacations.com