Sometimes, it is probably difficult to get the kids and the spouse to agree on where the family should go on vacation every year. Have you ever considered Walt Disney World? If you haven’t, you should. It is one of the few places that cater to families and provides a nearly infinite amount of activities to suit the taste of each family member. In planning a Disney World vacation, pleasing the entire family may be the hardest part of the trip. You will want to consider a few things before you start planning:
-
Contents
Planning with the Family
-
Vacation Packages and Deals
-
Hiring an Agent to Help You Plan
-
Reading the Small Print
Planning with the Family
Before you start to plan your trip to Walt Disney World you need to make a few decisions and plan activities. The budget may depend on it. It is a good idea to sit the family down together and talk about what you’d all like to do. You will not be able to do it all in one trip. Trust me! We’ve been going for years and still have not seen everything.
Decisions: The first thing you will need to do is decide on how long you will be at Disney World. From there you will want to decide what park you want to go to or if you want to try and go to all the parks. We’ve been going for years and we still sit down together and plan our trip and it’s just my husband and me now. We decide how many days we’ll be there, we choose which park or parks we want to visit, whether we want to stay a day or two at the resort in between park days to relax, we decide where we want to eat and whether we will eat out only once per day or more. There are a lot of decisions to make. You do not want to get to Disney and sit around trying to decide what to do. It will cause a lot of stress and disagreements. If you make these decisions as a family, you are sure to please everyone.
Activities: There are more than enough activities for the whole family. There are four theme parks, mini-golf courses, water parks and swimming pools at all the resorts and hotels. Another option is also Disney Springs which offers restaurants, shopping, a movie theater, a bowling alley, Lego World, boat rides, a Star Wars virtual game and much, much more. There will be plenty to do for everyone. The hardest part will be deciding what to do and when.
It is a good idea to try and mix up the activities a bit. Your family will be exhausted if you try to go to every park, every day, all day. Try to enjoy the trip by mixing a day or two at the resort or hotel relaxing by the pool or one of the water parks, a day or two at a park, and a day at Disney Springs. Everyone will enjoy it so much more.
Vacation Packages and Deals
The next thing you will want to do in planning your trip to Disney is looking at vacation packages and deals. If you are a family of four it goes without saying that your budget will have to be taken into consideration when planning your trip. The good news is that there are generally some great vacation deals that can save you some money. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to go to Disney.
If a trip to Walt Disney World has always been overlooked because you thought it was too expensive you may be surprised. With a little research, you can find some spectacular money-saving vacation deals. However, you need to know where to look. The first place to start is the Internet. Travel sites such as Expedia and Priceline often offer great Walt Disney World vacation deals. Each travel site offers all-inclusive vacation packages at affordable prices.
If you really want a lot of options to choose from consider visiting Disney’s website to see what is available, or you can call them directly. This may be the best place to start your search. The cast members at Disney World want your family to spend their vacation there just as much as your family does. A Disney cast member can help you to find discounts or value packages to make sure you are able to stay with them.
Hiring an Agent to Help You Plan
Another option to planning your Disney vacation is to hire a travel agent to book the trip for you. Choose a reliable travel agent, someone you know or have been referred to. Once you have contacted an agent provide him or her with as much information as you can – dates of travel, what your budget looks like, how many members of the family will be going, whether you are flexible with the dates of travel, what parks you’d like to visit and how often, whether you’d like to stay on Disney property or at a hotel close to Disney. The travel agent does this every day so if you have chosen to hire an agent allow them to work their magic. Oftentimes travel agents know exactly where to look to find hidden deals and discounts that are not generally advertised, so that the average traveler may never know they exist. You may think that hiring an agent is a little more expensive because you will need to pay their commission; however, if he/she manages to find you a terrific deal the commission may be offset by the savings.
Read the Small Print
Whether you decide to book your Disney World vacation or hire a travel agent always make sure to read the fine print on any deals you may be considering. Find out if meals are included, and if so, what the rules are regarding the meal plan. Find out if there is a fee for changing your vacation dates and what the fee may be. Find out if there is a deadline to cancel your trip should the need arise. Find out if there are hidden fees or if your money is refundable if some unforeseen emergency arises and your family cannot go. Ask about travel insurance if something happens, and you can’t go at the scheduled time. With travel insurance, you may be able to recoup some of your money or reschedule your trip. Because your trip is likely going to be booked months in advance try to prepare for all contingencies. A lot can change during the time between booking and the actual vacation.
Start planning and make decisions on the activities you’d like to partake in, research vacation packages and deals to help with the vacation budget or hire an agent to help you and read the small print so there won’t be any surprises.
Go on your Disney vacation and enjoy. It’s the most magical place on earth!
