Walt Disney World Planning Timeline

Planning a vacation to Walt Disney World can be a daunting task! With four large theme parks, 25+ resort hotels, and over 400 restaurants and dining locations, there is already a lot of research and planning to do but on top of all that, there are a number of important dates to remember to ensure you have the best vacation possible. Here is a timeline to help keep track of those dates.

499 – 180+ Days Out: Pick Dates and Book Lodging

That’s right, you can start booking your Walt Disney World vacation up to 499 days out from your trip. The option to book this far out is not always available online, but you are able to do so by calling (407) 939-1936. But before you book, you need to pick dates. Is there a certain time of year you wish to visit? Do you want to see the Christmas or Halloween decorations, or experience one of the Epcot Festivals? Do you want to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary? Can you only go during a school break?

After you have picked your dates, it is time to pick where to stay. The big question is whether to stay onsite or offsite but I definitely recommend staying onsite if you are able. There are so many perks that are included with staying onsite that we will discuss throughout this timeline. If you choose to stay onsite, the next question is which tier of resort to book. The resorts are categorized into Deluxe, Moderate, and Value with their amenities and prices reflecting each tier. At the time of booking, create a My Disney Experience account for everyone in your party and link the accounts together.

Here is when you can start looking at purchasing tickets if you booked a room only instead of a package. Tickets must be purchased at least by 60 days out in order to make FastPass+ selections.

Next, do some research about which restaurants you would like to dine at in order to know what to book as soon as the 180 day window opens up.

180 Days Out: Book Advance Dining Reservations

180 days out from your trip is when the dining reservation window opens up at 6:00 am EST online and 7:00 am EST over the phone. You are able to book dining reservations either on the Walt Disney World website, through the My Disney Experience App, or by calling (407) 939-1947. One of the perks of staying onsite is that you can also book dining for the first 10 days of your vacation. This is known as the 180 + 10 rule (so no, it does not mean you can book 190 days out). This is extremely beneficial for two reasons. The first benefit is that you do not need to book dining day by day of your vacation exactly 180 days out from the day you want that reservation. The second is that you have a better chance of getting harder to book reservations if you book them closer to the end of your vacation. That day’s reservations are only open to guests whose vacation starts before that day. If you are staying offsite or have not booked a resort hotel yet, you will need to book each day of your vacation exactly 180 days from the day you want that reservation.

So a great tip is to book your dining in order of hard to get reservations instead of in order of your trip’s days. Some hard to get dining reservations are: Be Our Guest, ‘Ohana, Cinderella’s Royal Table, California Grill, Victoria & Albert’s, and Chef Mickey’s. Resort restaurants that offer views of the fireworks such as California Grill and ‘Ohana are especially hard to book around that time but are so worth it if you are able to!

60 Days Out: Book FastPass+ if staying onsite

Another perk to staying onsite is that you can make you FastPass+ selections 60 days out from your trip instead of 30 days out and that extra month can make a big difference in what is available. Just like dining, if you stay onsite you can also book for your whole trip at once instead of needing to book day by day. The number of days you can book FastPass+ is based on your ticket, not room reservation, and you can book up to three FastPasses per day. Please note that you can only book FastPasses for one Park per day and some of the Parks are tiered (please see below). After you have used up those three FastPasses, you have the option to select another one and it can be in any Park. FastPass+ can be selected on the Walt Disney World Website or via the My Disney Experience app, and the window opens up at 7:00 am EST.

Again, select your FastPasses in order of hard to get FastPasses instead of going day by day. Hard to get FastPasses are: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Frozen Ever After, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Na’vi River Journey, and Avatar Flight of Passage.

60 Days Out: Online Check-In option

If you are staying onsite, you are able to start the check-in process at 60 days out. This allows for a speedier time at the front desk, or even the option to skip the front desk all together as your room number can be texted to you. Information such as a credit card number for incidental charges, your phone number, and home address are given at this time. Online check-in is also one option for making room requests as there is a drop down menu to do so. These requests tend to be quite general (i.e. upper or lower floors, close to elevator, connecting rooms, etc) but with one or two resort specific requests (i.e. Casitas section at Coronado Springs Resort). Specific room requests will be addressed at 9 – 5 Days Out.

30 Days Out: Book FastPass+ if staying offsite

At 30 days out, you can select FastPasses if you are staying offsite. You will need to select the three FastPasses for each day of your vacation exactly 30 days from the day you want to use those FastPasses.

11 Days Out: Finalize Magic Bands

Every guest who is staying onsite receives a free Magic Band that is your room key car as well as Park ticket. Guests are able to choose between 8 colours (blue, green, red, pink, purple, yellow, orange, and gray). Guests are also able to personalize their Magic Bands with up to 9 letters/numbers. Most people put their names but I know some guests commemorate their trip by including which resort they stayed at and the year (i.e. AKL2018). Personally, I am trying to get all of the classic Lands on Magic Bands; Fantasy is next on my list!

Customizing Magic Bands is something that can, and should, be done much earlier in your vacation planning timeline, but 11 days out is the last day you can customize them in order to have the Magic Bands shipped to your home (if you are a U.S. resident). You can still customize Magic Band up to 6 days out and they will be waiting for you at the front desk of your resort. Less than 6 days, and you will receive an un-customized Magic Band (aka boring gray with no personalization). Non-U.S. residents will have their Magic Bands waiting at the front desk no matter when they customize.

Any guest does have the option of buying Magic Bands as well at Walt Disney World or beforehand at ShopDisney.

10 Days Out: Finalize Magical Express Reservation

Similar to Magic Bands, the Magical Express reservation should be done much earlier in the planning process, but 10 days out is the last day to book. Disney’s Magical Express is free transportation to and from the Orlando International Airport for resort hotel guests. This is another great perk for staying onsite! Disney’s Magical Express is super easy to book. It can either be done online or by calling the hotel reservation number. Make sure to have both your hotel reservation number and your flight numbers handy. A few weeks prior to your trip, you will receive luggage tags in the mail. These yellow luggage tags include information such as your name, the resort you are staying at, and in which area of Walt Disney World the resort is located. You will receive one tag for each member of your reservation and if you need more, you can call (866) 599-0951. Your bags with these luggage tags on them will be picked up for you by Disney’s Magical Express and will be brought to your rooms once they arrive at your resort. No need to worry about your bags! Included with the luggage tags in the mail is also a map of where to board the Magical Express at the airport.

Please note that Disney’s Magical Express does run 24/7, but the baggage pickup service only runs from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm.

9 – 5 Days Out: Make Room Requests

If you have any specific room requests such as close to the pool or bus stop or dining, there a few different options to let Disney know. There might be a specific resort request such as a partial Savanna view at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Another request could be to be away from the construction if you know the resort you are staying at is under refurbishment. I suggest only making 2 or 3 requests that are really important to you for a better chance at getting those requests. Please remember that they are only requests and there is no guarantee that you will receive the exact room you want.

1. Call: If you have more specific requests than what is available with online check-in, you can call (407) 939-7630. If you have specific requests due to a disability, you can call (407) 939-7807.
2. Fax: There is much debate over if faxing your requests works or not. I have had great luck in faxing and it really does not hurt to try. Each resort has their own fax number and can be found at Touring Plans. Wait, what? You don’t have a fax machine because it is 2018? Don’t worry, there are online services that have free trials to fax via email. I use FaxZero, which allows 5 free faxes a day.

3 Days Out: Purchase Memory Maker

Memory Maker is Walt Disney World’s photopass service. It includes all onboard attraction photos (and videos on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Tower of Terror!) and any photopass photographer photos. You can purchase Memory Maker at any time between buying your Park tickets and 3 days out from your trip. The price is $169 and lasts for your entire trip (up to 30 days). You have 45 days after the photo was taken to download it. Only one member of your party needs to purchase Memory Maker and then everyone can link up photos in the My Disney Experience app. There is an option to purchase Memory Maker less than 3 days out or during your trip, but the price increases to $199 and that extra $30 could have been a couple of Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bars!

Special Note:

• When booking Dining Reservations and FastPass+, have both the Walt Disney World website and the My Disney Experience app ready. With so many guests trying to book at the same time when those windows open, sometimes one or the other is not properly working. Don’t get discouraged if you get a “Someone ate the Page” message from Stitch on the website when trying to book, just open up the app on your phone and try from there.

FastPass+ Tiers: 

Magic Kingdom is the only Park without FastPass+ tiers. Here are the tiers for the other Parks:

Epcot: 

Tier 1 (Choose 1):

Frozen Ever After
Test Track
Soarin’
Epcot Forever

Tier 2 (Choose 2):

Mission: Space
Spaceship Earth
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush
Living with the Land
Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
Journey into Imagination with Figment

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

Tier 1 (Choose 1): 

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Slinky Dog Dash

Tier 2 (Choose 2):

Toy Story Mania!
Alien Swirling Saucers
Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
Disney Junior – Live on Stage!
Fantasmic!
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
Muppet Vision 3D
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Voyage of The Little Mermaid

Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

Tier 1 (Choose 1):

Na’vi River Journey
Avatar Flight of Passage

Tier 2 (Choose 2):

Kilimanjaro Safaris
Expedition Everest
DINOSAUR
Kali River Rapids
Primeval Whirl
Rivers of Light
It’s Tough to Be A Bug
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo Musical
Adventurers Outpost Character Greeting
UP! A Great Bird Adventure
The Animation Experience at Conservation Station

Please note that it is possible to select three FastPasses from Tier 2 instead of two from Tier 2 and one from Tier 1.