Planning Stage 1: The prefabrication of a trip to Walt Disney World.When to go?

    So, you want to go to Walt Disney World? OF COURSE YOU DO! (Obviously or you wouldn't be reading our posts, that or you're family, no doubt! Hi mom!) As anyone knows when deciding to take a trip, you decide where (YAY! Figured that one out!) and when.  So let's start there. There are so many times of the year  to go to WDW, of course we'd be there all year round if we all could, but then we'd be working there and we'd be too occupied with being there, where would we find the time to try and help out you folks with tips and tricks to take the perfect vacation! Quite the circle of events! Let's discuss the seasons and the reasons...

 

January-March - I'm sure this could be a good time (like there's not a good time!) but what I've noticed is there tend to be a lot of refurbishments going on, just this year, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Mad Tea Party, and Kahli River Rapids are some of the more known  rides that were taken down temporarily. You also may not be able to experience some of the water rides and enjoy them as much, we just love when the sun can dry you out so you can get wet again. Though it's Florida, it can get chilly, and the water parks are closed, on the other hand you can pack light as there's no need for you to take those assortment of swim suits you love to pack! On another positive note though, with the weather cooler you're not dealing with the heat and the crowd numbers are usually lower.

 April-June - These are the dates we usually go for, the weather hasn't heated up too much, the girls are getting out of school. If you do take the kids out of school (and there's a great letter circulating out there to give to your kids school) remember World Showcase is an excellent source of educational information, it really can be a learning experience, and Epcot is full of science exposure, heck all of the parks are a great examples of civil engineering! We really like the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot, the topiaries on display are always beautiful and make for great photo opportunities. This is going on for the first couple of months here. This year  we'll be right outside the dates for it, it is truly our favorite time to visit.(Yet). Crowds are usually very manageable during this time frame while getting into Summer time they get busier. In June the parks start to hit their peak times, as it is the time of the year when the kiddos are out and families start their traditional family vacations.  Just bring ponchos, like ye old saying,  "the rains in Florida fall gently on the parks" wait what do you mean you've never heard of that?!

July-August - Brave are ya?! The peak time of the year.  It's hot, it's busy. It's hot, it's busy.  Okay I'll stop the copying and pasting, but seriously, you go during this time you're battling the masses, after all it is summer vacation time! Even then though the parks can definitely be manageable if you plan right. Usually Disney will have some sort of summer theme going, at least the last couple of years they have, so it's a fun time to go. Again plan, plan, plan, anything can be handled with a well conceived plan.

Sept-December - it begins to cool down, fall time and Christmas time events make there way.  We always want to take a trip this time of year. The parks look so lovely when they get decorations, Magic Kingdom always looks so marvelous. Picture opportunities galore. So jealous of people that get to go this time of year and get to enjoy the special events it brings. Mickeys not so scary Halloween party, with all the special meet and greets. Villains galore show up as the park gets haunted, the joy of Christmas around the corner with the parades and the snow that only Disney Magic brings! Originally planning our next trip for this time, during fall, then it moved to Christmas. we began to fret about how crowded the parks will be, and the extra money we'd need to invest in and around that time frame. Course it would've replaced Christmas for us as it would have been THE gift. Oh and what a marvelous gift!  But I think ultimately we just couldn't wait that long! A whole nother year! Oh the torture!

Whatever the time of year you pick, there's no doubt you'll enjoy it! Walt Disney World has that wonderful way of making you forget all your worries in the world and become that kid again! We've always felt like someone special every time we went, and that magical feeling is what keeps us going back again and again.  So decide your date, figure out how many days you'll be there (we always try to go a minimum of 5 days to get a decent amount of stuff done) and start that countdown! Of course you'll discuss it with your partner or travel mates, change dates, discuss again, change dates, rinse and repeat , then change your countdown. (That's how we do it anyway!)  Next post I'll talk a little about where to stay while on your fabulous vacation.  Of course if you know that already, go you! Oh and feel free to skip ahead to any other posts, as I'm covering our process, yours could be different, I'll be sure to link them as I create more to try and help! Thanks for reading! See ya real soon!