Planning Guide
Planning your Walt Disney World trip
Four parks. Two water parks. Dozens of resorts. Here's how to make sense of it all.
Start with your resort
Where you stay shapes everything else about your Walt Disney World trip — your transportation options, your dining access, and your Lightning Lane booking window. Disney resort guests can book Lightning Lane up to seven days in advance, while off-site guests get three days. On popular travel dates, that difference matters enormously.
Disney resorts are organized into four tiers: Value, Moderate, Deluxe, and Deluxe Villa (DVC). Each tier offers a different experience, price point, and set of amenities. Our specialists help you find the right fit for your family's travel style and budget.
Understand the parks
Walt Disney World has four theme parks, each with its own character and crowd patterns. Magic Kingdom is the classic — Cinderella Castle, beloved rides, and the most visited single-day destination in the world. EPCOT blends World Showcase dining and international culture with Future World attractions. Hollywood Studios is home to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and the immersive Toy Story Land. Animal Kingdom is a full-day park with breathtaking landscape, Pandora, and the thrilling Expedition Everest.
Most guests benefit from at least four park days — one per park — and many families do a second day at Magic Kingdom or EPCOT. We build your park schedule around crowd calendars, your family's priorities, and the best days for each park.
Dining reservations
Walt Disney World's table service restaurants open for reservations 60 days in advance, and the most popular spots—Cinderella's Royal Table, Be Our Guest, Space 220, California Grill—book up within hours of that window opening. Your Mouseways specialist helps you build a target list and a booking-day strategy: which restaurants to prioritize, which to keep as backups, and the order to grab them in. The actual booking happens at 6 a.m. ET on your 60-day mark and is yours to make—we'll be available during business hours if you need help adjusting the plan or finding alternatives.
Lightning Lane
Lightning Lane has replaced FastPass+ as Disney's paid skip-the-line service. There are two products: Lightning Lane Multi Pass (covers most attractions, one at a time throughout the day) and Lightning Lane Single Pass (covers the highest-demand attractions, purchased separately). Understanding when to buy each, which attractions to prioritize, and how the tier system works at each park is one of the biggest ways a specialist adds value to your trip.
Ready to start planning?
Tell us about your trip and a Mouseways specialist will reach out to begin building your itinerary — at no cost to you.