Walt Disney World promises to be a different experience in 2024, but the planning process for a Disney World vacation remains crucial. Despite the park pass reservation system being (mostly) done away with, planning a trip to Disney World is still daunting and takes time (along with a lot of money).

The first question when booking a Disney World vacation can be, “How early is too early?” In actuality, the answer is “never too early”. When it comes to your trip, you need to factor in hotel bookings, dining reservations, time of year, important dates, closures, budgeting and more. If all of that seems overwhelming, don’t worry — we’re here to help! Here are some things to keep in mind when planning your 2024 Walt Disney World Trip and why you should consider starting the planning process TODAY.

2024 Vacation Packages and Hotels

Disney World typically releases vacation packages well in advance, and the packages for 2024 are no exception. Not only are vacation packages available, but you can also purchase hotel reservations and park tickets, as well.

First, the obvious piece of advice regarding booking tickets, hotels and vacation packages — Book ASAP. The phrase “subject to availability” cannot be stressed enough. The closer we get to 2024, the probability of your favorite hotel being sold out and unavailable increases. Keep in mind, room retheming or special demand in addition to the popularity of your chosen vacation dates will affect how many booking offerings are available to you. Also remember that demand can be affected by available transportation and proximity to the parks.

Depending on what time of the year you may plan on visiting Disney World next year, there is a chance your preferred hotel room isn’t available. If that’s the case, consider booking something else with the option to modify or cancel your reservation at a later time. Also be sure to check for hotel discounts when booking your trip. Keep checking (even after you book your hotel) for more discounts and see if they can be applied to your trip.

As previously mentioned, the sooner you book the less you have to worry about availability. If you’re already too late to get that room you wanted, all is not lost! Keep up-do-date on the availability for the room you want or get in touch with a travel agent to ease the booking process. For free services, we strongly recommend our friends over at Small World Vacations to help get you the best deals for your vacation!

Click here to see the BEST Disney World hotels in 2024!

Park Tickets and Pricing

We briefly mentioned park tickets already, but it’s important to note the massive changes coming to the actual process of going to the parks in 2024. As mentioned the park pass reservation system will be no more beginning January 9th, 2024. There are some exceptions that you should be aware of, however. It should also be of note if you plan on visiting Disney World in 2024 but before January 9th, you still need those park pass reservations.

For the general park-going public, ticket purchasing will be on a date-based system. This means you buy your ticket or vacation package with date-based tickets, and then you’re done — no specific park reservation required and no extra steps after you purchase your tickets. We still recommend getting park tickets early to avoid availability and pricing issues.

Click here to learn some Park Pass Reservation system secrets

When it comes to park ticket budgeting, it’s important to know that Disney World has flex pricing for its tickets. This means certain days are cheaper than others and time of the year plays a factor in what you will pay. Also be aware prices could change in the future. Disney World has a history of increasing ticket prices based on specific months and there were some hidden price increases this year as well. AllEars.net has a historical database with ticket price information since 1971.

While the ticket price range is set for the year, single day prices are subject to fluctuate within that window based on demand. We have seen some days get moved into a higher ticket price bracket, meaning those days are deemed more in “demand” and made more expensive than they were during the previous year. Regarding fluctuation, don’t expect the prices to decrease any time soon. Just this summer, Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “Pricing is not an issue.”

With all of that in mind, the best advice we can give is to book park tickets ASAP to lock in existing prices that fit your budget. This keeps you in the clear if prices are raised because your existing rate cannot be modified. To get some perspective on the cheapest days out of the year, click here for our list of the cheapest days at Disney World in 2024. If you’re curious to know what days might be best the most expensive, click here for days to avoid Disney World in 2024.

Click here to learn more about hidden PRICE INCREASES at Disney World in 2024

Dining Reservations and Other Extras

We’ve covered reservations you can make way in advance, but what about reservations like dining and special experiences such as tours and special offerings?

These booking windows are considerably shorter — generally reservations are allowed to be booked 60 days ahead of your trip.

We understand that it can be hard — nay, nearly impossible — to predict when and where you want to eat 60 days in advance. That being said, we still advise you reserve dining times and places as soon as possible. You’d be surprised how quickly reservation times fill up and you’re left scrambling for food — unable to go that restaurant you’ve been dying to try.

Waiting until that 60 day mark to book your entire vacation is also a huge mistake due to the volatile availability of hotel rooms and good ticket prices. Book everything as early as you realistically can to lock in that reservation and best prices. If you have a vacation package, make sure you’re ready to go 60 days from your first day to grab all the dining reservations and/or other special event reservations you want.

If you are unable to get the reservations you wanted, you can still view comprehensive dining availability through the My Disney Experience app and try your luck with that. For quick service restaurants and less-popular dining options, the app will be a huge boon and works well for go-with-the-flow-type families. Reservations for popular restaurants can fill up quickly, though, so your best bet is still booking as early as possible. Sometimes reservations get canceled day of or closer to trip dates, so be sure to check reservation availability periodically and maybe you can get lucky!

Click here to see the 14 BEST Disney World restaurants in 2024

Big Opening and Closing Dates

Finally, you’ll want to consider BIG dates coming up in 2024 when planning your trip. You may want to be in person for a special event or avoid a specific ride refurbishment.

Here are a few opening dates you’ll want to be aware of for your 2024 trip, either to avoid or to make a point to visit:

• The Cake Bake Shop will open at Disney’s BoardWalk (Early 2024)
• 2024 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend — January 3rd through 7th, 2024
• Return of the Disney Dining Plan and removal of the Park Pass Reservation system — January 9th, 2024
• EPCOT International Festival of the Arts (Mid-January through mid/late February 2024)
• Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend — February 22nd through 26th, 2024
• EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival (Early March through early July 2024)
• runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend — April 18th through 21st, 2024
• EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival (Late July through mid November 2024)
• EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays (Late November 24th through late December 2024)
• Disney Vacation Club Villas at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (Late 2024)
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opening (Late 2024)
• Redesigned Disney Vacation Club cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground (Sometime in 2024)
• Country Bear Jamboree New Show at Magic Kingdom (Sometime in 2024)
• New Star Tours scenes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Sometime in 2024)

In conjunction with openings, it’s important to have refurbishments and closures in mind. Click here for all the latest refurbishment info.

It’s important to note that several hotel pools will be closed in the beginning of the year for some time due to refurbishment and there are indications that the Disney World Skyliner could be closed for near the beginning of the year, as well.

Early in the year, it is also common for Kali River Rapids in Animal Kingdom to be closed for refurbishment through the winter months. Only one of Disney World’s two water parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach) are open at a time, and we assume Typhoon Lagoon may be closed for refurbishment in 2024. Both parks will also close for cold weather. Keep in mind each park’s availability and closures are subject to change.

These are just a few things to consider BEFORE booking a trip to Walt Disney World in 2024. If you take anything from our advice, it should be that the earlier you make the important decisions, the less stress you create for yourself when it’s actually time to take your vacation.

Did we convince you to get a jumpstart on your Disney World vacation planning? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re stressed out at the thought of planning your trip, we encourage you to reach out to our friends at Small World Vacations! With a wealth of knowledge about vacation planning for Walt Disney World, they can help ease the planning process to make sure you don’t miss a step FOR FREE! Let them help you today!