Hi everyone!

I am going to Disney for the first time with a friend who's been to Disney for a few years and wanted to know how I could budget for the trip! For reference, I'm more-so on the budget side because I am a college student and spent a lot splitting the hotel and flight to get there.

I have the 3-day pass and plan to go to Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom (my friend said she doesn't want to do it but she convinced me to buy the pass). We don't have any meal reservations, but I wanted to find some good restaurants and places to get drinks/food, but don't know the exact price range of each place (or how many meals we plan to eat).

I'll be there during Halloween and wanted to make the most of it! Thank you so much in advance for your help!

Just decided we're going to Disneyland on Thanksgiving. Looking for a place on or off property nearby for a traditional thanksgiving meal but looks like we're late and there are no reservations at Storyteller's or Goofy's kitchen. Any other options we can look into? Thanks!

Hey all, heading to DisneySea tomorrow, Disneyland the next day and DisneySea again the following day. I’m just wondering what a realistic single rider wait looks like in Tokyo? Seems to be a super limited number of rides compared to other parks so not sure if that’s a good or bad thing!

mapping out five days for magic kingdom and epcot with the kids later this spring, and we want to book a good hotel where four of us can actually spread out without paying on-property villa rates.

westgate town center resort keeps popping up on travel portals with reasonable rates for two-bedroom suites with a kitchen. looking through westgate town center resort reviews though, mostly everything is either complaints about timeshare sales desks or owners talking about deed maintenance.

tbh we want a solid setup where we can cook breakfast in the room, get decent rest, and hit the park gates early for rope drop. um so for people who drove from here to the parks on a regular booking, does getting out of the resort gate onto 192 add unexpected bottleneck time early in the morning, or is the drive over to the toll plaza smooth enough to beat the main crowd?

hello! i am going to disneyland for the first time ever on October 21st. i have tickets, parking paid, fast past tickets, and the app downloaded, and i plan to stay there for the entire day. I am just wondering what i should be prepared for? please let me know if theres any tips or tricks or things i should look out for, or things i should know.

i am 23 years old and i have never ever been here and i am super excited to go and experience disneyland for the first time especially during fall time! i asked my boyfriend to purchase these tickets for my birthday and he delivered and i really want to get the most out of my day. please any comment or reply will help helpful and i appreciate it all!

thank you all so much!!!

edit: by fast pass i mean lightning lane multi pass and i plan on rope dropping this day too

My family and I will be visiting Disneyland in on Wednesday. We have a hopper ticket with Lighting Lane pass. I have to admit I haven't been there in over 25 years, and I have no idea how to even go about planning for the day.

We are staying less than a mile away and plan to take an afternoon break and go back in the evening. We aren't trying to "maximize" our day, just have fun. I am not sure what to prioritize, my boys are 5 and 9 and love trains. Thunder mountain is definitely at the top of our list.

Do we need to be there for rope drop or can we take the shuttle bus next to our hotel and go through security there (opens at 7 am, much less stressful). Thanks for any advice!

Hi all! We are planning a Disney trip for May with our 5 year old and 2.5 year old. We did Disney a few years ago with our oldest and stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort. We loved how easy it was to use a small stroller and get on the Skyliner to head to Epcot. However, knowing our kids, we will spend lots of time at Magic Kingdom when we go. We are thinking about a resort in the MK resort area if we could get recommendations on what you all like most for kids around our age, or try to talk me into a different deluxe or moderate that you loved! We will have double stroller and our kids wake up early so will be at parks early in the day and love a good pool with zero entry!

Thank you!

Hello,
We are in the process of looking into a trip mid December.
We have not been in 9 years so I’m not very well informed on the lightning lane passes. anyone know how much the cost is per person per day?
Also is it worth it for a family of 4, 18 year old and 17 year old boys.

We are interested in a special experience, any recommendations or suggestions between Keys to the Kingdom, or Savour the Savanna or wild Africa Trek?

Thanks for the help!

Hello all!

Just wondering. Are there any other kid friendly visuals at the Grand Californian or just Orange Bird theme rooms? Outside of the Orange Bird, I don’t really see a lot of like fun visuals, and it just seems like a huge luxurious stuffy hotel. And I could be totally wrong, as I’ve never gone and just cut through there from PP.

I am still very much on the fence whether to pick here or Pixar Place again with two kids under five years old.

If anyone has any pictures of the Grand Californian, I would actually really appreciate seeing them. Thank you!! ❣️

Does anyone know if we can expect a Fall/Winter ticket deal, similar to the Summer one, this year. I know they had one last year but I don't see anything so far this year.

I’m planning a trip for my 15 year old daughter and I for next year. It’s for her 16th birthday, she picked a main Disney trip with 1 day at Epic. The issue is her birthday is in mid-July and we don’t want to be in the parks when it’s hotter than the surface of the sun. So, that leaves us with two remaining time frames, which also suck for their own reasons.

Option 1: March 7-12th. Right now there are some significant discounts that make this very appealing, it’s not during hurricane season, weather is mild, it’s during Flower & Garden (my favorite). Of course it’s at the start of spring break season, there’s a cheer competition that starts the weekend we leave (I think)

Option 2: October 12-17. There’s no discounts posted yet, but October discounts are usually not as robust as spring and summer offers so that is in the back of my mind. Indigenous Peoples Day/Columbus Day break or fall break week is during these dates. I’ve been paying attention to what’s been going on this past week and the stories coming out are pretty awful.

If it were you, and you had to choose between two bad choices, and those were the dates you had, which way are you leaning? Second part, how late are you booking? For some crazy reason my husband seems to think we can book a week before we go and get everything we want and it’ll be great. Not realizing that things like dining, the Wild Africa Trek and the discounted rooms themselves all sell out. What is supposed to be a fun special thing for my daughter is becoming a mess

I’m planning a trip for mid-December and wondering if I missed the opportunity to book a dining reservation at Blue Bayou. When I check the reservation system online everything is marked as unavailable through December 18! Is this normal or will spots open up?

I was a faithful annual pass holder up until 4-5 years ago when it got priced out of my budget. I'm going for the first time in 4-5 years on the 22nd with a 1 day park hopper ticket.

I'm not sure how much has changed in the last 5 years. Any tips/advice on making the most of my 1 day ticket? I got so used to the casualness that being an AP afforded me that I'm not sure how to attack the day as a one time visitor.

Hi, my daughter is turning 6 November 7 and we will be at disney world in Florida November 5-7. We have been unable to get her in that weekend. Is there an alternative to this in park? Or any other suggestions?

Hello!

We are taking our kids out of school for a trip to DW in Mid March 2027.

I noticed that it will be Orange County Schools spring break BUT we avoid Broward county as well as the Northeast (NY/NJ), Texas, West Coast, and Illinois spring breaks and luckily we are missing the week of Easter (which is the last weekend in March this year).

How bad is it with just Orange County spring break? I know Disney does restrict some APs dates but not all. At this point the trip is set (using DVC points that are confirmed, and due to our family's schedule this is the only week that works this year), but for those that have gone in midmarch and during Orange County's spring break if you have any advice or tips that would be great. We are staying on property, will be getting lightening lanes and reservations, and I am a pretty type A planner. We plan on taking advantage of early entry and being out of the parks around 3pm-4pm most days.

Trying to stay positive and be excited for the trip, but i've also heard horror stories of the last few March's in recent years.

Hi! I am visiting with a five-year-old soon. She is 42 inches so meet the requirement for most rides however, would you say rides like guardians of the Galaxy, space Mountain, Soarin are appropriate for her?

Thanks
Maira

My husband and I took our kids this past June to Disney for the first time. I went once when I was a kid. I am DYING to go back again. Obviously it is so expensive and we are looking at ways to cut down some costs and one of them is we are thinking of driving vs flying. We would be driving from MD with a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Both kids are used to traveling to visit family once a month but it is a 4 hr drive each way vs the 13 hr drive we would make from MD to Disney. We are playing around with the idea of leaving at maybe 5 am and just driving straight to one of the resorts so we can just check in for the night already on property. Obviously we would make some stops along the way like to eat and bathroom breaks. My mom thinks we should drive 7 hrs one day, sleep at a hotel somewhere then continue the rest of the way the next day. But that seems like a waste of time to my husband and I. She just thinks my kids won’t make such a long travel day like that but idk. What do you guys think ?! Is it just too much for the kids ? My husband and I would be switching on and off with the driving so we are good on that.

Hi all! We're taking our daughter for her 5th birthday for the first time on Wed Feb 24 and Thu Feb 25, 2027 (the week after Presidents' Day). She's about
42", obsessed with princesses, and will be dressed as Elsa both days. Two adults + her. We're doing two separate 1-day tickets (one regular, one Park Hopper) rather than a 2-day ticket.

Obviously, this isn't a strict schedule, just a rough outline so we don't miss anything important. We know things will change on the day (naps, lines, moods!) and we're happy to go with the flow.

DAY 1, Wed, Disneyland only
- Morning: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (hair and makeup only, she brings her own dress)
- Straight after: Royal Hall at Fantasy Faire to meet princesses while she's all made up
- Then Royal Theatre, then Tinker Bell at Pixie Hollow (picked Wednesday because Pixie Hollow is closed Tue/Thu right now)
- Lunch around 12-1, expecting her to hit a wall
- Early afternoon, slower stuff: it's a small world, Jungle Cruise, the Railroad, Casey Jr., Tiana near Tiana's Palace
- Late afternoon/evening: Fantasyland (Peter Pan, Dumbo, Storybook Land, Alice, Carrousel), hoping the lines are shorter by then than at rope drop
- Skipping Mr. Toad and Pinocchio (too scary for her?)

DAY 2, Thu, Park Hopper, start at California Adventure
- Rope drop: Monsters Inc first
- Around 8:50: line up at the Animation Building for the Anna and Elsa meet (standby only, I've read about 1 hour wait and that it doesn't start at park opening)
- Animation Academy right after (same building, a sit-down break)
- Then one loop: Cars Land (Mater's, Luigi's), Pixar Pier (Jessie's Critter Carousel), Little Mermaid on the way back
- Midday: hop to Disneyland and redo whatever she loved most on day 1

Questions:
1. Is BBB + Royal Hall + Pixie Hollow realistic in one morning, or am I overpacking it?
2. Does doing Fantasyland late really work in late February, or should we do Peter Pan early anyway?
3. For Anna and Elsa, is ~8:50 the right time to get in line, or earlier/later?
4. Is Lightning Lane Multi Pass worth it for a 5-year-old with this ride list, on a quiet midweek?
5. Anything we're missing?

Thanks so much!

Hiiiii all,

I am trying to plan a Disney trip! I’ve been many times throughout my life as a NorCal resident. This will be my first trip with my boyfriend, who hasn’t been in over 10 years. I’m super stoked!

I really wanted to go for my birthday, March 14, but it’s looking like I won’t be able to make that happen with my work schedule. Now I’m looking more towards February. I’ve never been during this time, I’ve mostly done summer trips or Fall (September & October).

Any tips or advice? I’ve read about trying to avoid Presidents’ Day & “ski week” whatever the heck that is. I’m slightly intimidated by rain… I feel like a wuss but I don’t want to deal with it 😭 I know I just need to suck it up, or don’t go, but wahhhhh.

We’d be driving down, spending 2 days in Disney and 1 in DCA. Please share your experiences, opinions, etc!!

My husband and I would like to plan a Disney trip for our now 4 year old but when she's 5. I was speaking with a travel agent for Disney and it just seems like such a scam the cost of staying on a Disney resort just for fast passes 7 days in advance versus 3? And then like the ticket costs themselves. I was really wanting to stay offsite at an air bnb and only do Disney like two days out of trip. Is it really this challenging to go to Disney where we have to worry about being disadvantaged cause we stay offsite and then do we really need fast passes for just the usual rides for a 5 year old??? Any insight is appreciated!

Planning a family trip from UK in 2028 and getting wheels slightly in motion. I have been 5 times before spread out through the year but as it will be me with my family I’m hoping to obviously get the most done as is possible.
Was hoping to see end of Halloween start of Xmas decorations but not sure about end of October start of November for business? Would we be better off with last 2 weeks of October?
Is there anytime in October that would be a better choice?