How To Plan a Disney World Trip in 1 Week

Hey y’all!

So, as y’all may remember, we just got back from a relaxing, 2-week #saltlife beach vacay. While lounging on the beach, we realized that, being only 2 hours away from Orlando, it would be an absolute shame to NOT stop by Disney World while we were down here!

So, we set out on planning a weekend vacation to Disney World, and this was hard, because we are such planners that we usually get started about 9 months to a year in advance! It worked out well, though, so I wanted to share a few tips that were really helpful to us while planning our last-minute trip!

Tips for planning a last-minute Disney World trip

1. Pick which parks you want to visit
   • First things first CHECK MAGIC HOURS to see which park has them, this way you can maximize your short time at Disney! Also look through what Fast Passes are available before picking your park! If you HAVE TO do Test Track at Epcot but all the passes are taken up, then maybe you would want to go to Animal Kingdom instead and do Everest.
   • We had originally just planned to go down on Saturday to Magic Kingdom and leave Sunday, just doing one day at the park. Then, my dad had the idea to make it a two-day park trip, so that we could visit Hollywood Studios for the more adult rides like Rock-n-Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror, and I’m so glad we did! So we ended up going Friday and Saturday to the parks and spent Sunday at the Nemo pool at Art of Animation before heading home!
2. CALL Disney to get the best rates
   • You can find everything you need online at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/, however if you call and talk to an agent, they may even be able to find you better rates! It’s worth a shot.
3. Book your room and tickets together if you are staying 2+ days.
   • This helps keep everything down to one transaction and one receipt, and less things to look at and keep up with is helpful when planning anything last minute. It will also link everything to your My Disney Experience account. ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND is if you are only buying a 1-day ticket, you can’t purchase it with your room and will need to buy separately.
4. Once booked, pick Magic Band colors online (if still available). If not, MAKE SURE TO ASK FOR DIFFERENT COLORS at the front desk when you arrive! When booking last minute the magic bands will NOT have anyones name on it, so if everyone gets the same color, it will get very difficult to keep up with which Magic Band belongs to each person!
5. Book Fast Passes immediately! You won’t have all rides available since you are so close to time, but you’ll still be able to find some good ones!
6. Book any reservations asap (dining, Bibbidi Bobbidy Boutique, etc.) We also had to check back all throughout the week and even up until the day we arrived because a few of the restaurants we wanted weren’t available at the time, but reservations are always opening up, so be sure to check back frequently and even check while at the parks to see what opens up! We were able to get into while at Magic Kingdom at Belle’s Castle for breakfast because I kept checking and a reservation became available while we were in line for the Tea Cups. You can check easily online at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/
7. Head to a local store for essentials! Since we were at the beach, we didn’t have a lot of the stuff we would have at home, so we found the local Wal-Mart and got things on the cheap!  Disney clothes, strollers, ponchos, etc. We decided not to spend any money on a double stroller since we have one at home, but knew that a stroller with a basket underneath was a must, so we got a cheap stroller with a nice sized under basket to hold our small cooler and then an umbrella stroller for under $75!
8. Go buy some Disney gift cards at Target to save 5%! These can be used to pay off your room balance, for souvenirs, food, etc.
9. Once you arrive, HAVE FUN! Let go of the planning and enjoy! Because it’s probably a short trip, you’ll want to soak in every second!

This was literally one of the best weekends ever and one of the best decisions we’ve made. We loved our time there and already can’t wait till our next trip!!

What do you think? Have you ever planned a last-minute trip? If so, do you have any tips to add?

XO,

Amanda