Are You Planning A Disney World Vacation? A 12-Month Out Breakdown on Planning your 2024 WDW vacation! Here is the Tea for 2024.
Disney World vacation planning is constantly changing with the price fluctuations, Genie+ changes and new deals and discounts being offered. In this post I will go over some of the best ways to start pre-planning and then execute that plan for your 2024 Walt Disney World Trip(WDW).
Walt Disney World is HUGE. The entire Walt Disney World Resort is almost 25,000 acres! That being said you will not get everything accomplished that may be on your to do list while you are visiting and that is okay! Doing your research beforehand and narrowing down to the things you absolutely want to do is the best policy! You are already reading this so you are on the right track!
- While planning your vacation, pick your dates. I recommend Avoiding June, July, August, and some of September if you can. These months when visiting can feel like you are visiting the sun instead of the most magical place on earth. If you cannot avoid those times of year due to children’s schooling or your own job that is totally fine with the right planning you can have a wonderful time even in July.
- Weigh your options staying on property or off. We, as a family of 3, stay on property. I prefer staying on property so we can purchase the dining plan. We go to character meals with our son and this package pays for itself after just two table service meals. This plan is only offered to guests staying on property. I love the immersive feeling of being on property and how the cast members go the extra mile to make your day magical. If this upcoming trip staying on property is not in your budget that’s okay! You can spend a day visiting the resorts and see which one you would like to stay on your next trip! You can schedule a meal at a resort or just tour them. My favorite to visit and eat at is the Polynesian resort. We have breakfast there and get to dance with Mickey, Lilo and Stitch!
Properties are broken up into 3 Tiers of Disney Hotels
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Value resorts starting around $130 per night,
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Moderates around $275,
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Deluxe around $450. When Disney offers deals, some prices see reductions that can be over 20%.
3. Consider getting one of the two Dining Plans. Disney World has more than 50 table service restaurants, over 100 quick service locations, and even more snack carts throughout the parks. The dining plans are a way of paying for your meals before you get to Walt Disney World. When you get a Disney dining plan, you are purchasing a meal plan which turns into dining credits that you can use at Walt Disney World during your stay. When you book your Disney vacation package, you’ll be given the option to add either of the two dining plans. Pricing ranges from about $24 per night for children on the Quick-Service Dining Plan to $94 per night for adults on the Standard Dining Plan.
If you opt for a dining plan, when you purchase food or beverages at Walt Disney World, you will need to tell the Cast Member you are ordering from the dining plan. The Cast member will clarify any questions you have about how your credits can be used at the specific restaurant. Depending on your plan you purchase you can use your credits on drinks, snacks, quick service meals(without a waiter) or table service meals.
I recommend keeping track of your credits per person on a notes tab in your phone and this plan can help you plan ahead to know what/where you are going to eat for dinners or lunch so you can use your credits accordingly.
Dining credits are linked to your reservation, so you’ll “pay” using your Magic Band or room key. You need to inform a Cast Member that you’re using the dining plan in order to use it for a given meal.
*Pro Tip We personally never use all of our snack credits so at the end of our trip we use them collectively to purchase souvenir snacks for gifts. The rice crispy treats, bagged candies and chocolate bars travel well!*
4. Pick theme park days. As I said above the property for Walt Disney World Resorts is thousands of acres and doing everything in one week is impossible and I highly do not recommend trying to do it all. I am speaking from experience here, do not make my past mistakes. Make yourself a list of things you want to do in each park such as 1-2 dining experiences in each one, top 3 rides, mix in some shows and down time to rest your feet. If you are constantly rushing you will exhaust yourself. Your family will be cranky and everyone will fuss and NOBODY wants that.
5. Lastly you may need to budget in for Disney Genie + service. This service replaced Disney’s previously free FastPass service(may it rest in peace) This process can be complicated but with the right research prior to your trip you can handle it. (click here for our blog post dedicated to just Genie+)
The price of Genie+ varies by the day. It begins at $15 (plus tax, so about $16) per person per day, but prices have hit $39 in 2023 and it is expected to hit $45 by the end of 2024. A typical day is priced around $20 to $25. You can buy it any time after midnight for use that same day and that day only.
When I went for a solo trip in April of 2023 I purchased Disney Genie+ every day for my trip and the highest I paid was $21 for Hollywood Studios the others were $15. You also do not have to purchase Genie+ for all of your park days. If you get to
Epcot early enough you can complete all the rides you want by standing in line and then spend your afternoon wandering the world showcase. I personally will buy the Genie+ every time because I have used it enough to understand how to get my money’s worth and also it’s a tremendous help to be able to skip lines with a toddler and family in tow.
Each park besides Magic Kingdom has 1 Attraction that has an individual lighting lane which must be purchased outside of the purchase of Genie+. You do not have to purchase one to purchase the other. These individual Rides are the newest/most popular Rides. I have listed those rides for each park below, In addition these individual rides can varies daily on price from $20 to $12 (These prices are based on stats from 2022)
Magic Kingdom Individual Lightning Lanes
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- TRON Lightcycle / Run
EPCOT Individual Lightning Lanes
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Hollywood Studios Individual Lightning Lanes
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Animal Kingdom Individual Lightning Lanes
- Avatar Flight of Passage
I recommend booking at 12-9 months out and below is a break down of my rough draft for that upcoming trip.
Example of Walt Disney World weeks plan: at 12-9 months out
Dates: June 9th – June 16th 2024
Staying at All Star Movies Resort (Value)
Disney Dining Plan-This is the top tier plan and includes table service meals where we can do character meals.
Magic Kingdom to Dos
Breakfast from Sleepy Hollow (Click here for my lists of MK bite sunder $10)
Rides: The Haunted Mansion, Thunder RailRoad and Jungle Cruise
Shows: The Happily Ever After Fireworks show at 8pm.
Animal Kingdom to dos:
Food: Lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue dinner at Tusker House (character meal) (click here for my List of the best 10 AK bites)
Rides: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Nav’i River Journey and Expedition Everest
Shows: Festival of the Lion King
Epcot to dos:
Food: Visit the Food Booth in the world Showcase! In June starts the Food & Wine festival which will have an outdoor food booth to entice your palate to try a little of everything.
Rides: Frozen Ever After, Spaceship Earth , and Soarin’ around the world
Shows: Epcot forever Firework 9pm
Hollywood Studios to dos:
Food: lunch at Woody’s lunch box and dinner at Hollywood and vine (Character meal) (Click here for my lists of HS best bites)
Rides: Toy Story Mania, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickeys & Minnie’s Runaway railway
Shows: Fantasmic two different show times 8pm and 9:30pm
That is it a simple list
Example at 2-1 month out from trip: I would pick my days/dates for specific theme parks at my 60 day mark as this would coincide with making RSVP for table services. You can make RSVP for your dining up to 60 days in advance *for those staying on property, *off property 30 days in advance* This may be what truly helps you decide on which park on what day for the week. Planning what park to visit at your 60 day mark is just fine and if you change it up because a RSVP for dining you really wanted came up for another day that is also fine! 
Example in 2022 I had our Family week planned with RSVP by 15 days out, however the week before we left I got the RSVP I wanted for Tusker house but on a different date then I had originally planned so I was easily able to switch my Epcot day for our Animal kingdom day. I also always leave a day or two in the week where nothing is truly planned. I like to do this in the middle of the week so we can rest, enjoy our resort amenities and go do some shopping at Disney Springs.
Below I give an example of a week in Disney’s plan for a family of four with the dining plan, staying on property and how I would prioritize the must dos. the plan below does not include The individual lighting lanes rides that are not included with the Genie+ Service.
Here is the week of our trip Example Plan
- June 9th arrival day
- June 10th Animal Kingdom
- Purchase Genie+ for Park day and scheduled first Genie+ Experience at 7am
- Park opens at 7am , get there at 6:30am for rope drop and to enjoy as much park before midday heat wave.
- Scheduled next Attraction while waiting to get on the first attraction *you can schedule your next genie+ ride as soon as you scan your Magicband or App which redeems your Genie+ reservation.
- Break for lunch @ Flame Tree Barbecue.
- Fill in your day with the Genie+ on your Walt Disney World My Experience app. Genie will also be on the app to help make suggestions for you.*if for any reason you need assistance, something is not correct on the app, you deleted something etc.. Throughout the park there are blue umbrellas set up where you will find cast members who are there to help with any questions you may have!*
- Dinner @ Tusker House meet Mickey,Minnie, Donald,Daisy and goofy in their safari outfits!
- Watch the Tree of Life come alive at night!
- June 11th Unpack relax day
- June 12th Magic Kingdom
- Purchase Genie+ for Park day and scheduled first Genie+ Experience at 7am per our must do list trying to schedule Jungle Cruise *pro tip- when you schedule your first ride it will not show you your time slot for the ride until after you have booked it. The time slot may be for 9am, 12pm or even 4pm. Do not worry you can check back and refresh your App to then edit the time slot for another that is close to the time you want.*
- While Commuting to Magic Kingdom on the Disney My experience app you can order your breakfast from sleepy hollow and select a pick up window! This is my favorite advice as we don’t have to wait for breakfast when everyone is already hungry!
- Park opens at 9am. Try to get there at 8:00am for rope drop. This is a great time to get beautiful park pictures without crowds and to get on a ride before the crowd. *Resort perk! if you are staying on property you can get into the park 30 mins before non resort guests!*
- Ride Haunted Mansion at rope drop! then you will not have to schedule it with Genie +
- Schedule Big Thunder Mountain while waiting to get on the Jungle Cruise attraction! you can schedule your next genie+ ride as soon as you scan your MagicBand or App for your first one! *If you can not get time slots close together using Genie+ that is okay if your Jungle Cruise time slot is 3pm-4pm. You will need to wait 2 hours from the park open to book your next ride. This can be complex but here is a link to a video I refer to for Disney Genie+ break down to understand it!
- depending on weather may take a break from the park for 2-3 hours back at resort for a little recharge/downtime
- Back to the park to secure a spot for the fireworks show Happily Ever After (H.E.A.) typical show time is at 8pm and park closes at 11pm. This is a great time to watch the show and then hang around the park. Most folks leave the park right after H.E.A! Perfect time to ride attractions, meet n greets or just enjoy the glow of the castle and lands at night.
- June 13th
Rest day! Pool day/Shopping
- June 14th Epcot
- Purchase Disney genie+ at 7AM then booked the first ride of the day Frozen Ever After.
Park opens @ 9am arrive at the park around 8 as a resort guest we get in 30 mins early and can get some great picturesque shots while the park is empty. *Upon arrival grab a Food & Wine Festival guide. Review to find the food booths to be sure to hit on our world travels* - *Do not ride Spaceship earth first thing in the morning. It’s right at the front of the park and it typically slammed in the morning. Wait until midday to escape the sun to ride this!*
- Set out to Ride Soarin’ upon arrival to the park no need for a Lighting Lane RSVP if you got there early it will be a walk on.
- Genie+ Secure your Remy Ratatouille Adventure ride!
- Then take the day in strides! Walk the world showcase and explore the different pavilions. Speak to the cast members at each pavilion as they are from that country and love answering questions about their homes and culture.
- *Mexico pavilion is my favorite and you can meet Donald duck outside to the left of the pavilion!*
- Visit the Morocco Pavilion and relax in the fountain area, rest your feet and get some shade from the sun.
- Find the best treats at the Food & Wine festival and check out the outdoor kitchens!
- Grab a snack and drink and find a good spot for the show
- Shows: Epcot forever Firework 9pm
- June 15th Hollywood’s Studios
- PurchaseDisney Genie+ at 7AM then booked the first ride of the day I would book Slinky Dog Dash the window for the ride will probably be later but this ride RSVP go quick and it’s on my must do list!
- Park opens @ 9am arrive to park around 8 as a guest we get in 30 mins early and ride Mickeys & Minnie’s Runaway railway at
- Visit Olaf for a picture op!
- Wonder through Batuu (Galaxy’s edge) and maybe run into Chewie and grab drinks at Olgas and get some out of this universe drinks.
- Lunch at Woody’s lunch box *PRO TIP-Mobile order this in advance this is a POPULAR place for lunch as its delicious! and can have long waits!*
- Use Genie+ and Book Toy Story Mania. *try to scheduled everything in Toy Story land after midday as it barely any shade areas*
- pick some filler shows to rest from sun EX: the little mermaid play, Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy, Disney Junior Dance party
- Dinner at Hollywood & Vine around 6-6:30pm meet Minnie, Goofy and Donald!
- Pick Show time for Fantasmic (8pm or 9:30pm) I would go with the later one and while the first is happening to ride one the other rides with less wait!
- June 16th
Departure day! Sleep in if you can have a last breakfast of mickey waffles and head for home!
