When To Go

OK - so my first couple posts might have made it seem like planning your Disney vacation is comparable to giving your Masters dissertation. Bottom line -Walt Disney World is huge. There is no way to see it all in one trip, but there are a lot of tools out there to help you figure out what to focus on to make your trip magical for you and your family.

The very first thing you need to do when planning your trip is to decide what time of the year you want to go. There are lots of things to factor in, but the four main ones are: crowds, holidays, the kids' school calendar and weather.

The following are, in my opinion, the best times to go because the weather is great and the crowds are low.

1) January 1st - February 12th

2) April and May (after Spring Break and before school gets out)- The International Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot adds a beautiful spring touch and on the weekends there is a concert series featuring artists from the 60s and 70s.

3) October and Early November (before Thanksgiving) - Magic Kingdom plays host to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and The International Food and Wine Festival is going on at Epcot

4) Early December (before Christmas break) - the parks are decorated for Christmas and it's "value season" so the rooms are discounted

Are you noticing a pattern? I know that the great state of Texas would not appreciate me telling people to pull their kids out of school to go on vacation, but the bottom line is - when your kids are on break, so are everyone else's. If you can't swing the vacation time or don't want your children to be truant, here are my choices for other times of the year.

1) If you must schedule around a holiday, shoot for Easter. It usually falls within the regular season so you won't pay a higher room rate. The crowds will be heavier over the weekend, but the weather should be great.

2) Mid to late August is considered part of "value season" at DW. The weather will be hot and very humid, but the heat and fears of hurricanes keep the crowds at bay. You should get a sizable discount on your resort and the only thing hurricanes bring to Orlando is rain.

Planning Tools

Whether it's your 1st trip or your 31st, there are some great tools that will help you make the most of your Disney World vacation. Here are some of my favorites. (If it's your first trip, or first trip in a while, the ones marked with stars will help you get started).



* The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World by Bob Schlinger with Len Testa - I think the first edition of this book came out in the mid-80s and they've been cranking them out annually ever since then. It's size can be a little overwhelming, but you don't have to read it cover-to-cover. Some key topics to read about: Fast Pass, touring plans, hotels and dining plans.



www.touringplans.com - by the creators of the Unofficial Guide. The $10 annual subscription fee is waived if you by this year's edition of The Unofficial Guide. There are great packing checklists, park maps, crowd calendars and touring plans that are already set up for you based on your family size and length of stay.



*www.allears.net - this website is a go-to for even Disney experts. The writers at All Ears are seasoned veterans and they are up on all the latest goings-on at DW. First-timers will find the sections on accommodations and dining particularly useful. (Check out the up-to-date menus for all the restaurants at the parks and the resort hotels)



*http://disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/ - The Disney Mom's Panel is made up of 26 Moms and 4 Dads who have been hand-chosen by Disney because they each have some sort of unique insight into the Disney experience. There is a section where you can type in a key word and search for questions that have already been asked, or you can post your own question for the panel. These folks are actual Disney Cast Members, so the answers you get will be "straight from the Mouse himself".



*iPhone - There are tons of Disney aps for iPhone or iPod Touch. I've played around with almost all of them, and these are the best:

• Disney World Lines - (touringplans.com) The limited version is free, but touringplans.com subscribers will get full access with the annual subscription. The interactive plan lets readers post wait times and fast pass return times for all of the attractions at all four parks. They also tell you which parks to avoid based on park hours and crowd calendar.


• Disney World Mini Guide (UPinPoint.com) You can buy the full DW bundle for $2.99 or each park separately for $0.99 each. The map will use your location to tell you where you are in the park. You can use the tools to find the closest restroom, attraction or restaurant (with menus and prices) based on category or location.

Mother of the Year

Sydney, my five-year-old, announced that she did not want to go to Disneyworld this year for vacation. She wanted to go to Chicago to see a Cub's game with her Grandpa. WHAT?!?!?!

A friend of mine once said that Disney was the reward for being a good mother. When your baby chooses the Cubs over Mickey Mouse does that make you a bad mother?

Kidding aside, I was secretly relieved to not be planning a Disney trip this year. Tax season has been brutal (my husband is a CPA), I've been doing a lot of volunteer work for a friend of mine who is running for Congress and our house is on the market. February and March were a blur.

Once the dust began to settle and Spring had sprung, I began to get a little sad. Seems like everyone around me was planning a trip to DW and I found out that two of my BFFs from college were moving to Florida. I must not have disgused my moping very well because my husband announced that we ought to consider a trip to DW in early December.

BINGO! Christmas and The Mouse - It's like someone nominated me for Mother of The Year.

When I decided to start a Disney blog this winter, I was having a hard time finding the motivation to post, but now I will be able to blog about my planning. I know that I spend a lot of time online in the months leading up to a trip. I've gotten a lot of good advice from other Moms, and I hope to be able to provide the same for you.