I’m not a planner in my “real life.” I don’t know what I’ll do at work tomorrow, what I’ll have for dinner or even who is picking my son up from golf practice. Tomorrow is plenty of time to work that out. But I DO know that more than six months from now, on September 19th at 7:05 pm I will be at Epcot’s Coral Reef restaurant for dinner. Disney is different. Disney requires planning far ahead of time if you want to get the most out of a trip. Luckily, even for the planning-averse such as myself, Disney planning is actually fun. Figuring out when to go, where to stay, what to eat and what to do during your trip takes time and effort, but also helps to build up the joy and wonder and magic of a Disney vacation. But what planning should you do when? Here is a rough timeline that works for me, and I hope it helps you.

The Dreaming — It’s never too early to start dreaming of Disney. Even if you know you won’t be able go for a few years, it is fun and helpful to start perusing the Disney fan sites like Chip And Company. You should set up an account on the official Walt Disney World  website as well, and start playing around with the online reservation system. Order the free vacation planning dvd and the free customized park maps. Not only are these things lots of fun to have and to look at, but ordering them will put you on Disney’s radar as a potential guest and they may start sending you special offers and pin codes.

Resort Reservations and Park Tickets — The Disney online reservation system seems to let you book a stay as far out as you like. The trouble is that you won’t know what the rates, for both rooms and park tickets, will be beyond a certain point. Rates for a new year usually are released in the early summer. For instance, the 2012 rates were released  on June 14th of 2011. Special promotions like discounted room rates and free dining can come out at any time, but they can be applied to an existing reservation easily, so there is nothing wrong with booking as soon as you know when you can go. Disney only requires a $200 deposit with the balance due 45 days prior to your arrival.

Dining Reservations — Disney calls them Advanced Dining Reservations, or ADRs, and they are important if you want to eat at specific table service restaurants. You can walk in and probably eventually get a table at most places, but making ADRs will ensure you eat where you like and when you like. The trick is, you need to decide where and when that is far in advance. Disney will accept ADRs 180 days out, and if you are staying on property, you can cheat a little. Resort guests can make up to ten days worth of ADRs 180 days out from their arrival day, which gives you a leg up on off property guests. That can be important, as some meals at some restaurants, like Cinderella’s Royal Table and Chef Mickey’s breakfasts, will fill up within hours or even minutes of the 180 day window opening. Online reservations can be made starting at 6:00 am Eastern time and the phone reservation system opens at 7.

Special Events — If you plan to attend any special events, like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, you’ll probably want to buy advance tickets. While tickets for both are sold up to and including the day of the event, they do sell out and you don’t want to be disappointed. This can present a problem when your 180 day mark is coming up for making ADRs, but the dates of the parties have not been released.  Luckily, you can cheat. Disney’s park hours are released 6 months ahead, and the two parties begin at 7 pm. So, when you look at Magic Kingdom hours and see the park closing at 7 pm, you can be pretty sure that is a day for either MNSSHP or MVMCP and plan accordingly.

Rides? — Coming soon, perhaps, is a system that will allow Disney guests to schedule Fastpass times for certain attractions from home months in advance. The next generation Fastpass system is rumored to be going into testing this summer and may make planning a Disney trip that much more interesting. While picking which rides you will ride at what time months out won’t appeal to all guests, it will likely make the lines more manageable for everyone, whether they take advantage of the new Fastpass system or not. We’ll just have to wait to see if another opportunity to plan makes the process more fun or more of a hassle. My guess is Disney gets this one right.

Do you have any planning tips to share? If so, leave them in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.

Related articles

• Now Open Tutto Italia, Tutto Gusto at Italy Pavilion at Epcot (chipandco.com)
• 2012 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Schedule (chipandco.com)