Is a Change as Good as a Rest When Planning your Walt Disney World trip?
- Stevie
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
My first blog laid out my plans for a Resort Only Split Stay and how to get the most from that type of vacation. This blog, my second, discusses how and why my Walt Disney World vacation planning has changed multiple times since then.
Some of us love the organization and planning that comes with a Disney trip, others not so much.
Can being flexible with your plans lead to a more enjoyable vacation or does it become a boring chore?
ACCOMMODATION
Split stays involve staying at more than one resort during your vacation, and they are not for everyone. I am a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member, and we can book stays at our home resort at 11 months in advance. However, if we want to book stays at other DVC resorts, we have to wait until 7 months out. This can often mean that we cannot book the resort we would like for the entire duration of our trip, leading to a split stay.
Booking a DVC resort can be quite quick and painless. When you have decided on your vacation dates, at 11 months you book your home resort (mine is Saratoga Springs) for the whole duration of your stay.
While sensible people might leave it at that, I like to walk on the wild side and try to vary the resorts I stay at. This can be a bit of a gamble, as often the more popular resorts have already been reserved.
Beach Club is notoriously hard to book at the 7-month mark, and normally you only get the odd day appearing every now and then. If you snag that one day but would like to snag more, then you have to be prepared to keep checking the availability frequently in the hope that someone cancels a previously booked reservation.
You can also waitlist your dates with the resort you would like to stay at and if successful, they will automatically swap over. You have to make sure you have enough DVC points to cover the transfer, but don't forget you can borrow points from your next year's allotment.
This may seem like a big kerfuffle, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. The joy and excitement you feel when your plan comes together makes it all worthwhile. Imagine it as a game of bingo, and you are waiting for the right numbers to complete your board.
As it stands we are staying for 2 days at Port Orleans Riverside, 2 days at Old Key West, 2 days at Beach Club and 1 day at Animal Kingdom lodge. Will it change again by the time we go? Probably.
WALT DISNEY WORLD PROMOTIONS
We had planned on having a resort-only stay and not visiting the parks, but Disney had other ideas. Probably spurred on by the opening of Epic Universe, Disney announced some amazing summer offers.
This is the first time we have visited Walt Disney World in the summer, and depending on how we manage the heat, it may be our last. Coming from England, we are more aligned with Elsa than Hades. The upside of a July visit, though, is that is when Disney usually offers the best discounts.
To save some DVC points for a future vacation, we took advantage of a great Disney+ discount and decided to stay at Port Orleans Riverside. We had always wanted to stay at that resort, and as it is not part of DVC we seized this opportunity. It is always worth being flexible with your plans and keeping an eye out for any offers and promotions.
Even though we had not planned to visit the parks, we could not let this awesome ticket offer pass us by. A 3-day ticket valid for Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for $89 dollars a day plus tax means that we will experience amazing rides and restaurants during our stay that otherwise we would not have had access to.
DINING RESERVATIONS
Currently, we can book dining reservations 60 days in advance, and it pays to be on the ball as popular restaurant time-slots can vanish faster than Dalmation puppies around Cruella De Vil.
If you cannot book the restaurant or time that you would like, then do not panic. This blog is about changing plans, and dining plans change all the time.
Keep checking the website or the My Disney Experience app to see if any suitable reservations have popped up. Even if you have not been successful before you leave for your trip, check the day before you want to dine, as that is a prime time for people cancelling their reservation. You could even try walking up to the restaurant and asking if they can squeeze you in.
To summarise, a Disney trip can be planned to the Nth degree or change everyday like the wind. Try not to stress-out if everything does not go according to your itinerary. So many variables may affect your day such as ride-closures, the weather, sickness, tiredness or even overeating.
If something interferes with your plans then prioritise what you can, postpone and rearrange where possible and most importantly keep that smile on your face. You are at Walt Disney World, after all.
Are you a stickler for keeping to the plan?
Have your plans changed and worked out for the better?
We would love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.
Pivoting with an open mind has created some of our best vacation memories anywhere.