One Month Before Your Disney Trip: A To-Do List

Hey y’all!

So, you’re a month out from the most exciting week of your year… Your DISNEY TRIP!! It’s easy to get caught up in the magic and forget about the things you should be doing to prepare for your trip, so I thought I’d put together a handy to-do list for what you should be doing one month before your Disney Trip to really get the most out of it, and not end up stressing at the last minute!

I’ll write another post later about what to do 2 -3 months before your trip, but let’s just say you’ve done these things already:

• Book your hotel/resort
• Book flights (if needed)
• Set up My Disney Experience app

One month before your trip:

• Fast Passes: You can actually begin setting up your Fast Passes 60 days before check-in (if you are staying on property) or 30 days before check-in if not. Make sure you do these AT the 30 or 60 day mark, because they go FAST!! These passes allow you to come back during a designated hour to skip the line and ride the ride quickly. You can Google rides with long wait times to determine the rides you want to ensure you get to go on. Especially with littles, you don’t want to be standing in line for an hour or more. Now, you can only get 3 Fast Passes at a time. However, once you use those 3, you can go to a kiosk (or use the My Disney Experience app on your phone) to add on more Fast Passes for later that same day.

• Reservations: Again, you can begin setting up reservations 180 days before your trip if you are staying on property, but if you haven’t already, do it now! A lot of the restaurants fill up quickly, so you might have to settle for an 11 a.m. lunch or a 4:15 dinner, but it’s better than trying to get in at the door! Here’s where you can make reservations… we definitely recommend:
  • Belle’s Enchanted Castle (Magic Kingdom)
  • Sci-Fi Diner (Hollywood Studios)
  • Hollywood and Vine (Disney Jr. Character lunch at Hollywood Studios)
  • Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge)

• Order/buy Disney shirts: If you’re like us, you’ll want some cute themed shirts for your trip! We get a lot of our Disney shirts for the kids at WalMart and Target. Check out Target’s selection here. I’m also getting these shirts for Cele and I and can’t. freaking. wait. Visit GraphXVinylandMore to purchase these shirts!

• Sign up for Memory Maker Package: For only $149, your family can take, download and keep all the pictures you want at Disney World. Honestly, it’s a steal. Every time we pass a Disney Cast Member with their camera, we are able to stop and pose without it being a waste of time, knowing we aren’t going to buy the pictures. As we are there at Disney, we are able to login and see our pictures so far, and then you can download them after you get home! And then they are all yours!!
• Book a halfway hotel: If you are driving in and have a long drive (8 or more hours, I’d say) it might be worth it to find a half-way location to stop for the night. We always do this, and our “halfway point” is Lake City, FL. It’s actually a little more than halfway, which is nice, because we get the majority of the drive done the first night, and then next morning, we take off and are at Disney in 2 hours, more or less, ready for a full day at the parks! If you choose to do this, make sure you map it out and book in advance, so you aren’t chancing whether or not they have availability.
• Start buying the extras: Anticipate things you might need, and start purchasing those things now. If you are taking the kiddos, here are some things we recommend:
  • Stroller clips to hang bags from
  • Small cooler that fits in the basket of the diaper bag
  • Ponchos (enough for your family + the stroller)
  • Phone battery packs
  • Snacks
  • HUGE water bottle/jug
• Start Packing!! That’s right, we start packing a month before our trip? Why? Well, it gives us a good idea of what we have, and what we still need. Also, this year, this is the first time I’m pulling out my summer clothes, so it gives us enough time to try on last year’s shorts and realize they are a size or two too small! Also, as I was packing today, I realized Tino didn’t have enough Disney shirts (oh, the horror!) and each kid only had one swimsuit. So, I’m able to start a shopping list now, while getting the packing done ahead of time.

• Make a packing checklist: This will help you keep track of what you’ve already got in the bags you’ve begun packing, what you still need to pack closer to go time (make-up, hair products, medicines), and what things you need to still buy.
• Check to see what attractions are closed: It would be THE worst to be so excited about taking the kids to a particular show or attraction, only to show up and find out it’s closed. Do yourself a favor and start reading up to see if anything will be closed when you go!

• Read the blogs! Lots of parents who have been going to Disney for years have great blog posts with advice, tips, and tricks for navigating Disney, especially for first-timers! Here’s one of my posts about traveling to Disney with kiddos.

ENJOY YOUR TRIP!
XO,

Amanda