There’s a lot of planning to do when it comes to a Disney World trip these days. And, you might find yourself having some pretty bad ideas in the process!
Cinderella Castle at Disney World
Whether this is your first trip or 50th trip, it’s easy to end up making some big mistakes that cost you some of the fun on your Disney trip. So, let us help save you from yourself and avoid making these 8 mistakes in Disney World!
Waiting to book your park pass reservations
Right now, Disney requires that each guest have both a valid ticket and a park pass reservation for the park that they plan to visit before arriving – you’re basically reserving your spot in the park for the day. This is a HUGE change for seasoned park-goers who are used to making their plans for the day closer to their vacation dates, or even the day of. But, if you wait, you could end up finding that there’s no availability in the park that you want to visit on a particular day, or – even worse – no availability at any park at all.
Magic Kingdom Entrance
We’ve seen park pass reservations book up months in advance for the really popular times of the year (think holidays and opening dates for new rides or restaurants), so be sure that you’re making your park pass reservation as soon as you purchase your ticket.
EPCOT Park Entrance
We recommend securing a reservation for one park even if you’re not 100% sure that that’s the final plan – you can always look to see if you can change your reservations closer to the date but you can’t get a reservation if there aren’t any left when you finally decide. As long as you have one park booked, you could choose to upgrade your ticket to a park hopper if you find that the park you really want to visit isn’t available (just remember that you’ll need to have entered your first park and then can’t park hop until after 2PM if you’re doing this).
Oh No…You FORGOT to Book Park Passes For Disney World. What Now? Click HERE for some tips!
Eating a heavy meal before riding Mission: SPACE
Unless you have a stomach of steel, you’ll want to plan ahead and time those big meals (or even alcoholic drinks) around your attraction riding schedule! Some rides are worse than others, but you could seriously end up regretting that tasty lunch if you’re not careful.
Mission: SPACE
And, if you’re prone to motion sickness you also might want to think twice about riding attractions like Mission: SPACE or Star Tours — both of these can turn your stomach even if you haven’t filled your belly with Disney World goodies right before you ride!
See What 9 Rides to AVOID in Disney World if You Struggle with Motion Sickness HERE!
Sleeping in (for the most part)
Yes, a trip to Disney World is a VACATION after all, but hitting that snooze button a few too many times can really cost ya when it comes to your park days. Especially if you’re purchasing Disney Genie+ — this can eat into the number of Lightning Lanes you’re able to secure in the day. Even Disney suggests starting early if you want to maximize your purchase!
Disney Genie+…the new way to skip the lines
Plus, if you’re staying at a Disney World Resort hotel, you can get a bit of an advantage in securing those Individual Attraction Selections too (if you’re opting to purchase them). You can make your lightning lane reservations starting at 7AM, and sleeping in could cost ya an earlier return time or even a Lightning Lane for a popular attraction (which could mean you’re waiting when you get to the parks instead of skipping the line).
Lightning Lane at Tower of Terror
Early Theme Park Entry can also be super helpful in hopping on those popular rides without a wait time (meaning you don’t have to pay to skip the lines if you’re not a fan of waiting), but you’ve got to be up and at ‘em because you’ve only got 30 extra minutes in each park in the morning.
Select resort guests can enter the parks EARLY!
But, that’s not to say that you can’t enjoy some extra snooze time – you’ll just want to think ahead and weigh the pros and cons. Maybe you choose to forego the parks one day of your trip and spend the day sleeping in and relaxing at the resort. Or, maybe you don’t plan on riding much at EPCOT so you can sleep in until all the food booths around World Showcase open – do what works best for you and your family!
Do You Need to Stay at a Disney World Hotel for the BEST Pay-Per-Ride Choices? Click HERE to find out!
Booking three table service meals in one day
It’s important to be reasonable about how much you can (and want) to eat – three BIG sit-down meals can be A LOT of food (and pretty costly)! Table service meals can easily suck up a couple of hours from your day so instead of stuffing your day hopping from restaurant to restaurant, prioritize where you really want to eat and save that time you’d spend sitting at a restaurant for exploring the parks!
Grand Ballroom at Be Our Guest Restaurant
We recommend narrowing down your list to dine at one table service restaurant per day (if that) and opt for quicker meals – there are a lot of great Quick Service restaurants in the parks and resorts, too. And, remember, dining reservations open up 60 days in advance – so have your list ready to go and book the harder to get ones first.
These Will Be the HARDEST Reservations to Get in Disney World in 2022
Thinking you’re going to use a pricey souvenir when you get home
There are a lot of souvenirs in Disney World and, yes, there are some things that you might use every day (like a coffee mug). But then there’s the stuff that you buy because, in the moment, it seemed like you couldn’t live without it. A lot of times, you stock up on the souvenirs that you’re “100% going to use all the time at home,” and then they get stuffed in a closet and you don’t discover them until you’re Marie Kondo-ing your house (if people are still doing that nowadays).
Birthday Castle Mug
If you find yourself using this excuse to talk yourself into purchasing a pricey souvenir, turn the other way! Or, more practically, plan ahead by setting a souvenir budget and stick to it when you’re in the parks.
5 Souvenirs We Really Regret Buying in Disney World!
Using a bag that is too small to carry all of your park essentials
You certainly don’t want a heavy bag bogging you down during your park days, but you could end up really regretting leaving your rain jacket or sunscreen in the hotel room because you didn’t have room for it in your wristlet. Bring a bag that is big enough for you to fit anything that you might need for the day (including the weather!) and make a checklist so that you don’t forget anything!
Make sure your park bag is big enough to fit all your essentials!
You don’t need to overpack your bag, but you definitely want one that is big enough for your sunscreen, hand sanitizer, face masks, rain gear, wallet, and maybe even a small souvenir. If you forget any of these items or choose not to take them with you, you could end up having to pay the high park price because ya definitely need them!
“It’ll be so much fun to spend a whole week with my in-laws!”
We’re not saying that you can’t love your in-laws (we certainly do!) but it can get to be a lot when you have the extra family to think about in your party.
Traveling with a big group can be difficult!
That’s not to say that they shouldn’t come along – they can be really helpful with kiddos after all! Consider splitting up so that everyone gets to do what they want to do. Even if you’re visiting when crowds are lower, you’re probably not going to be able to do absolutely everything that Disney World has to offer, and trying to herd a big group from thing to thing can be overwhelming (and it can slow ya down!).
Click HERE For The Best Disney World Restaurants for Big Groups!
Trying to tackle all four parks in one day
It’s easy to want to do it all in Disney World and if you’re short on time, you might be tempted to cram as much as humanly possible into one day. It’s a fun challenge to visit all four parks in one day, but with current park policies in Disney World, it’s likely not realistic.
The Monorail is a great way to park hop between EPCOT and Magic Kingdom.
You can’t park hop until 2PM right now (and even that is subject to availability), so you’ll be cramming A LOT into maaaaybe 8 hours. Heck, this makes visiting even three parks hard!
Don’t overload your schedule with park hopping!
Instead of spending your time trying to squeeze it all into one day, opt for 2-4 days tackling the parks. And, if you only have one day, prioritize what you really want to do and stick to that list! This will give you time to enjoy the parks, not worry about the wait times for attractions you really want to ride, enjoy the cavalcades and entertainment, and take in the atmosphere (including all the snacks!).
See The Best Half Day Park in Disney World, According to You, HERE!
So, if you’ve got these items on your to-do list for your next Disney World trip, do yourself a favor and scratch them off right now. You can still have a really great (or perhaps even BETTER) Disney trip without them! And, be sure to stay tuned to DFB for more Disney tips, tricks, and updates!
Learn About 8 Additional Costs to Plan for in Disney World in 2022 HERE!
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MISSION SPACE: GREEN is not likely to cause stomach problems. It’s just a relaxing orbit aroungd Earth with no spinning. I suppose it’s still *possible* to get motion sickness, but much less likely than on the RED side. And the line is usually shorter!
When traveling with a large group, I think it’s important to discuss expectations going in. Even without a large group, that’s important. In 2016, we had 10 days, and I spent months planning, making dining reservations, fastpass reservations, itineraries leaving the afternoon free every day for some down time, etc. When we got there, my husband kept changing the plans, not following the itinerary, and kept commando-style touring, skipping those rest moments I had so carefully planned in. He refused to split up at all, so what one person did, we ALL had to do, and if one of us wasn’t into something, none of us got to do it. We were miserable. After a few days, everyone was frazzled, and my husband had a really short fuse and kept losing his temper with our son, who was 8 and not wanting to ride much after Tower of Terror scared him to death. He lost it and announced we were all going back to the resort, because he was done. We went back for a rest, we all felt better, and I reminded him that my itinerary had scheduled in that down time. He agreed and we took the afternoon off for the rest of the trip and were all better for it. For our 2019 trip, he agreed to let me do the planning and he’d go wherever I pointed him, and he agreed that sometimes splitting up was a good idea. He went his own way about 1/3 to 1/2 of the time, since he’s the only one who likes thrill rides, and he’s not big on most of the other things. He got to do his thing, he wasn’t forced to do things he didn’t enjoy, and we all had a better time. He did request that from now on, maybe I should just take mother/daughter trips. He isn’t a fan and our son is Autistic and gets overwhelmed easily and needs more down time. Our son actually wants to spend most of the time in the hotel playing on the computer. He wants to ride Buzz lightyear and tomorrowland speedway, and he wants to do test track at Epcot. That’s about it. And he won’t set food in Animal Kingdom at all. It’s kind of wasted money to go to Disney when he could play on his computer at home for free.
Set your expectations before you go. Are you willing to split up? Who will stay with the kid who doesn’t want to ride? How often will you take breaks? Will you do Table Service meals, are would you rather grab quick snacks so you can do more attractions? If you are doing Table Service, do you want character meals, themed dining, or a quiet meal away from the noise? Or a mix of all three? Do you plan to rope drop every morning or sleep in every morning, or do some of each? How much of your time will be spent enjoying your resort amenities? I had been expecting to follow my itineraries….I had spent months researching menus, crowd calendars, etc. My husband hadn’t realized how much work I had done, and was expecting to just do what he felt like doing. He hadn’t really thought about the heat, and how we’d feel, and he wanted to do as much as we could because we paid so much for the vacation. Our expectations were different and it caused a lot of frustration. In the end, we decided it’s not his thing, so I’ll just go with our daughter from now on, and he and our son can spend the money on a game computer instead.