How to get started making Disney Reservations.

How to get get started making Disney reservations is not complicated but there are some decisions to make. First off do you want to handle all of the planning and decision making or do you want to use a travel agent/specialist? We have done it both ways with much sucess so it probably depends on if you are a hands on or off person.

The benefit to getting started with a travel specialist is that it is easier because they probably have done the process many times. They will also probably have suggestions and be very helpful with additional information which many times is personal experience (always a good thing). The other advantage is their service is free to you because their commission is paid by Disney. The drawback as with most commission oriented jobs is the more you spend the more they make. So you still need to do your homework so you do not get talked into things you do not want or need. On the plus side if you need to make changes to your reservation at any time it is much easier and faster if you let the agent handle this. I have had great experience with one agency in particular which I will cover in a future blog.

The benefit to doing it yourself is simply that it forces you to plan and make decisions based on your knowledge. Therefore it is critical that you research and plan alot in order to maximize your trip. You can google things like Disneyworld, Disney vacations, Disney packages, etc. and read all that you can from numerous sites before entering into anything. We typically do everything through Disney.com because we find dealing with one place simplifies things and creates less confusion. If you choose to make resort reservations and buy your tickets from another online source just be careful. As with anything online there are many scams out there and you do not want to lose your money! If it sounds too good to be true it probably is because as I stated in an earlier post nothing at Disney is cheap!

Now from earlier discussions we have made up our mind when we are going and have decided whether or not we are going to do it ourselves or use a travel agent. Now the real fun begins, the work!

How to get started making Disney reservations from this point is rather simple. How much money does our budget allow us to spend, are we flying or driving to Disney, and based on all the criteria from our earlier discussions how long are we staying? You must budget at least in the beginning or you will go way over what you can handle believe me we have done this before. Now take this budget amount and calculate how much it will cost to drive and how much it is going to cost you to fly. Then calculate both options out because after all you have to get there before the Disney magic begins. After you decide which fits your family needs the best then this is your beginning budget to start with. Also in this preliminary budget you must estimate food costs which is very difficult if you have never been before. There are many websites out there that will actually give you menus from all types of Disney restaurants. Our general rule of thumb is $50 a day per adult and $20 a day per child. Ages 3 and under are free, ages 3-9 are considered children, and 10 and up is considered adult. This budget usually allows for one counter service type meal and one table service meal per day! If this seems excessive it probably is but it is expensive to eat at Disney. I would rather budget too much than not enough and eating at nice places in Disney is a real treat. Can you do it cheaper definitely but that is up to your personal preference.

Now that we have travel and food budgeted out where are we staying? Major decision time here! Are we staying on Disney property or off and there are many pros and cons to both! Staying on property means more expense but can mean more convience. If you choose to stay on property you are always in the "Disney magic", but for some it is too much. Will you get more room for your money off property, almost always but you can have more room if you are willing to pay for it. There is free transportation for Disney property guests in the form of bus service which is nice but can be inconsistent at times. We have only had trouble a couple of times and Disney was pretty quick to remedy the situation. We have heard horror stories but not from anyone we know well so how credible those sources are is suspect. If you choose off property you have to drive from where you are staying, pay to park, park, ride a tram to the entrance of the park, stand in line at bag check in, and the stand in line at the tunstyle to enter. If you stay on property you go to the resort bus stop, sit and wait, ride the bus to the parks, stand in line at bag check in, and stand in line to enter. Both sound exhausting but off property from our experience takes about an hour to complete where as on property takes about 30-40 minutes on average. That is not a whole lot of time savings but lets say in the middle of the day you want to got to the hotel and rest then the tables turn dramatically in favor of on property. Then you walk out to the bus stop which in the afternoon is empty and you go back to the hotel and this process takes maybe 20 minutes because of the reduced traffic. Back to the resort and in the refreshing pool in less than 30 minutes on a hot day priceless. The major choice here will be more money for less space but more convience; or less money for more space but less convience. To be perfectly honest now that my children are a little older I am torn on this one although we typically stay on property. In a future post I have some suggestions for some incredible off-site facilities that are amazing.

How to get started making my Disney reservations overview is complete and my next topic will be value, moderate, deluxe, and vacation club and which to choose for my family if we stay on Disney property!