r/DisneyPlanning

I need to vent. We live in the Pacific Northwest and are bringing our two kids, 10 and 13, to Disney. This trip is a big deal for us and I actually want to enjoy it, not treat it like a speedrun. But every time I try to plan with friends or family the conversation turns into an intense debate about rope drop, stacking Lightning Lanes, hopping parks non-stop, and having a minute-by-minute schedule. If we are not booking something at 7:00 am on the dot, the day is apparently ruined.

I knit and I am a pretty calm, DIY kind of person. I like having a plan, but I also want room to breathe. My ideal day is a few priority rides, then a midday reset where nobody is melting down, maybe sitting in the shade for a while and just existing. For some reason that feels controversial.

What really gets to me is the guilt. People act like slowing down is wasting money, but spending extra on Park Hoppers, upgrades, and all the add-ons just to keep up with the optimization mindset feels like a waste too, because that is not how our family actually functions.

How do you set boundaries with your group so it does not turn into a spreadsheet war? And for anyone who did a slower paced trip, did you regret not going full tilt on Lightning Lanes and hopping?

I recently went on a family vacation on the Adventure ship for Disney Cruise lines, though all the ships will probably be just as good. We took a 7 day excursion through St.Thomas, Tortuga and the Disney Island Castaway Key. I will break my review in categories below:

Ship
- Beautifully designed and huge in scale, there is plenty of food for the eyes, The Disney imagineers come full force in design. Every resteraunt, bar, and theatre has its own theme and expertly achieved. Small easter eggs and hidden mickeys are throughout. I would highly recommend the tour they offer on ship, they show you a lot of things you otherwise might not know or could miss easily.

- One of my favorite spots was the haunted mansion bar. They have some wild drinks, and you can sit in there for a view hours and experience a ton of cool effects, like things showing up in the bar mirror, a ghost fish tank, changing portraits, props that move and react at times. Every once in a while the fish and paintings sing songs!

- the areas for kids were great, you could see all of them having a lot of fun, and they have movies going all around the ship along with plenty of events to keep them busy when not in the deck pools

- the adult area is placed well with great views. I spent a lot of time in the hot tub and infinity pool watching the water move by, socializing with others and enjoying some drinks. It was removed enough from the kid areas that it was pleasantly quiet in a lot of areas, just the odd spot here and there where you could hear the audio for the slide repeating, but it was faint enough for me to ignore.

- they have a really cool slide for all ages, it even peaks out of the boat perimeter a bit so you can see the water below you. They have a fun show as the slide lifts you up at the beginning that changes each day! It is worth riding at least once a day when able

- They did not have as many shops as I thought they would, but they had some good and unique to the cruise line items in a variety of styles, so there would be something for anyone.

- The rooms were well designed, the beds are nice and they have a pullout bed and murphy bed if you have kids with you in the room as well. Plenty of storage space for everyone's things. We had a balcony room and it was an amazing view and relaxing space away from everyone on the upper decks. When you have multiple rooms side by side like we did, they can open the sides so you can connect into one longer balcony and have more space as well.

Food

- As a celiac, food safety and variety were huge concerns when planning the trip. thankfully, the servers you have follow you from restaurant to restaurant as you rotate through the options on their dining schedule. This way they get to know you well and are incredibly helpful in helping navigate. Every night they would show me the next day's menu and I could choose most items, even if not marked gluten free, and they would make a gluten free version of it.

- For breakfast they would take your order the night before as well, and you could choose a sit down restaurant called 1923, or the buffet area. No matter where you went the food was excellent and safe

- If you miss dinner or leave before they can take your order for the next day there is no worry, they would still be able to make safe food, the wait time would just be a little longer in some cases.

- The buffet was well set up with lots of options. With allergies, you just talk to the manager at the front of the buffet area and they take your order or pull your preorder, and provide you a buzzer so you can return for your order when it was ready. For lunch, i would suggest arriving a bit earlier than the rest of your party, as i found this was the only time I would have to wait longer, depending on what I ordered as they make it fresh for you.

- The menu options had wide variety at each locatiion, with both well known and unique dishes. I enjoyed everything I got, and the staff were great if you wanted more or to switch out for a different meal if you ended up not liking what you had. We would always be struggling to eat our desserts with how full we got!

- They have a pirate night where they have a special pirate themed day, guests can dress up and they have special menus with fun pirate-like dishes

- I loved the gf dinner rolls they had, I would always ask to take some back to my room as a late night snack! They also make gf churros for pirate night, i wish i could have eaten them the whole trip! Their soft serve also had nice gf cones, and unique flavours that changed everyday along with the standard vanilla and chocolate options.

Staff

- All were pleasant and helpful at all times, many would get to know you and enjoy conversation and checking in on your stay. They encourage you to speak up if something is concerning you, and work hard to help in any instance.

- the manager would visit your table every dinner to check in as well, and were always fun to talk to

- I adored our 2 servers, who helped me feel so safe when eating. They helped me pick the best meal options, and would start bringing me extra buns without asking once they realized I liked taking some back to my room. They gave me a bunch when i left the ship as a parting gift. It was wonderful to get to know them over the week, they helped me really relax and enjoy myself.

- the cleaning staff were excellent, and they would leave fun towel animals and chocolates. They even tidy up your things, folding clothes left tossed out and whatnot. When passing them in the halls, they would always check on your preferences for the room and were happy to adjust and provide whatever was needed

Locations and Excursions
- The cruise line has multiple routes, so I can only speak on the one we took

- St. Thomas was beautiful. We did a snorkeling tour with an excellent boat crew that were hired by the company. They were funny and great about their safety walk through and teaching about the island and snorkeling area. I got to swim alongside a turtle and see a wide variety of coral and fish. I wish we could have stayed in the water longer! They made a lovely rum punch for the return trip, and it was so relaxing to feel the boat moving through the sunny waters with a nice drink in hand. Afterwards there was a large shopping area with a wide variety of souvenirs, clothing, jewelry, food, booze and more. I got a bunch of beautiful dresses for myself while there.

- Tortuga was also excellent. We did another snorkeling excursion to a beautiful nearby island, and this one had a separate stop at a small but beautiful beach! I couldn't pull myself away from getting to swim along such colorful schools of fish. This boat also serves rum punch on return and had fun nets you could lounge in and see the water race past below. The islands were beautiful and the crew were excellent at teaching some of the history and names for each area. We sadly did not have the time after this excursion to explore the land areas, but they looked beautiful with plenty of options from what I was able to see.

- The final stop was the disney private island called Castaway Key. It was absolutely gorgeous. They made me a gluten free lunchbox on ship for this stop that i could collect before hitting the beach areas and small shops they had on shore. I would suggest picking this up first before going to the adult area if you plan to go there, as it can take a long time to go back and forth otherwise. I befriended many of the lifeguards as i swam around! The adult area was beautiful, my only complaint was how shallow the water was in that area, at the furthest point you can go you can still stand. The kid-friendly and snorkeling spots had deeper waters for those who want a more authentic swim instead of lounging. They had some nice buffets, bbqs and shops throughout the island as well, and plenty to do. I spend most of my time just swimming and enjoying the people and sun.

I felt very safe on this trip, enjoyed so many different types of food, and made excellent memories with my family that i will cherish forever. I would highly suggest anyone to take this cruise, even if you don't have kids. It is fun for everyone and you will feel looked after by the staff.

We visited DL in February and will return this September for seven days. In what order should we navigate the parks. We will also have LL passes.

We are planning a trip to Southern California this summer and will be there for 12 days (Wednesday to Monday) with 11 and 3.5 yrs old kids. Day 1-3 are blocked for family get-togethers. Day 4 is open but thinking to keep it relaxed and enjoy the resort (Newport) we will be in. We will checkout and stay for 3 days with a relative who lives closer to Disney.
Day 5 Disney
Day 6 DCA
Day 7 Aquarium of Pacific (planning to stay at a Long beach hotel)
Day 8 Drive down to San Diego, planning to make coastal stops
then rest of the days are spent touring SD (safari, zoo and uss midway) til early flight the following Monday.

Would you sacrifice going to the Aquarium and instead make that another day in Disney? Or would you keep it this itinerary (it is what it is/do what is possible)? It’s our first time.

6:30 – Arrive at security
6:45 – At Disneyland gates
7:30 – Tap into Disneyland
7:31 – BOOK LL #1: Runaway Railway (refresh until 9:00–10:00)
ROPE DROP
Rise of the Resistance
Millennium Falcon
Star Tours

Use LL: Runaway Railway

9:01 – BOOK LL #2: Space Mountain (refresh until 10:30–11:30)
Matterhorn
Mr. Toad
Meet Mickey in Toontown
10:45 – Use LL: Space Mountain 10:46 – BOOK LL #3: Indiana Jones (refresh until 12:00–1:00) 11:00 AM — DCA LLs UNLOCK 11:00 – BOOK LL #4: Web Slingers (refresh until 12:30–1:30) It’s a Small World
Use LL: Indiana Jones 11:31 –
BOOK LL #5: Toy Story Midway Mania (refresh until 2:00–3:00)
12:00 – Hop to DCA
12:30 – Use LL: Web Slingers 12:31 – BOOK LL #6: Incredicoaster (refresh until 3:00–4:00)

1:00 – Lunch/snack 1:30 – Character meet (Avengers Campus or Pixar Pier)
2:00 – Use LL: Toy Story Midway Mania 2:01 – BOOK LL #7: Monsters Inc (refresh until 4:00–5:00)
2:30 – Use ILL: Radiator Springs Racers
3:00 – Use LL: Incredicoaster
3:30 – Turtle Talk with Crush 4:00 – Use LL: Monsters Inc 4:30 – Grizzly River Run (LL or standby)
5:30 PM — HOP BACK TO DISNEYLAND 5:30 –
BOOK LL #8: Big Thunder Mountain (refresh until 6:30–7:30)
6:30 – Use LL: Big Thunder 6:45 – BOOK LL #9: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (refresh until after fireworks)
7:00 PM — EVENING Dinner near the castle Fireworks (approx 7:00 PM) Wait for fireworks and watch parade. Fantasmic second show (approx. 10:30 PM) Use LL: Tiana’s after fireworks

Hi! I am planning on going to Disneyland on October 1st (for my bday). Will it be very crowded or moderate that day?
I’ve already looked at some crowd calendars and they say it will be busy, but I honestly don’t trust them anymore.

I just need to get this off my chest because I feel like I am failing some invisible Disneyland planning exam.

We are doing a short trip this year and my plan is intentionally tiny: ride a few classics, have one fun snack, watch a nighttime show if we have the energy, and not come home broke. That is it. Simple, low stress.

Every time I ask for tips or read trip plans it turns into this intense discussion about stacking Lightning Lanes, rope drop order, refresh strategies, hopping between parks, and dining reservations down to the minute. I get that some people love the spreadsheet game and that is cool. I do not have the brain space for it, and I do not want my whole day to be phone-in-hand trying to execute a timetable.

I am already budget-conscious in real life-NYC habits die hard-so watching the costs for every little add-on creep up is stressing me out. It starts to feel like if you do not buy the upgrade you are choosing to have a bad time, and that is not the point of a vacation.

To make things worse, the people I am going with keep sending reels that are basically, do these 15 things before 10 am or your day is ruined. Now I am second guessing everything, including whether we should even try Park Hopper for a short trip or if it will just be expensive chaos.

If you are also a low-stress, value-focused planner, how do you set expectations with your group so we can actually enjoy the day without turning it into a full-time job? Any tips for sticking to a relaxed plan and not getting railroaded into upgrades would be awesome.

I need to vent for a minute. I'm starting to lose my mind.

I'm 26 and planning my first Disney World trip as an adult. I saved up for this with side gigs (and honestly a few too many hours on reward apps on my phone), and it's my big treat. I purposely chose a slower pace: fewer reservations, no Park Hopper on a short trip, and more time to actually be in the parks instead of rushing every minute.

Then my aunt kind of invited herself into the planning. She acts like there is only one right way to do Disney and that if you do not optimize every minute you're wasting money. She keeps pushing Park Hopper, sending minute-by-minute itineraries, and treating any suggestion of downtime like I'm being irresponsible. Now it's a spreadsheet war with color coded plans and checklists.

What gets to me more than the logistics is the attitude. She's already weirdly judgmental about other parts of my life, and now that vibe has followed me to my vacation. If I do not rope drop and cram everything in, apparently I'm doing it wrong.

I want to set boundaries without starting a family fight. Has anyone dealt with a relative who steamrolls the planning? How did you tell them, politely but firmly, that I'm paying and I want this trip to be fun, not a timed exam? Also, please tell me that taking it slow with one park a day is not some unforgivable Disney sin.

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion on planning forums, but I feel Park Hopper gets recommended way too often for 1- to 3-day trips to Disneyland or Disney World.

I am pretty budget-conscious and, honestly, not great at staying perfectly organized once I'm inside a park. For me, Hopper turns into this weird pressure to "get my money's worth" by bouncing between parks. On paper it sounds smart. In practice it adds decision fatigue, extra walking, and a constant itch to chase shorter waits instead of just enjoying what you are doing. I’d honestly rather save that money for food, souvenirs, or even a little side hobby on my phone in line (I’ve been messing around with Mistplay lately) than spend it on the ability to run myself ragged.

I keep seeing plans that go rope drop to close with Hopper treated like a necessity. But if you are already there from open to close, when are you actually going to switch parks without killing your momentum? And if you plan a mid-day break, which I think most people need, the travel and timing become another thing that can go wrong.

My approach: pick one park per day, pick 2 or 3 anchors (one big ride, one must-eat, one show/parade/fireworks you want to see), and treat everything else as a bonus. If you finish early, great - you get a relaxed lap of snacks and shops instead of feeling like you should sprint to the other gate.

Curious what others think. For people who love Hopper, when has it actually made a short trip better instead of just busier?

So I caved and got the premier pass for myself, husband and my 5 year old. We also have a 2.5 year old, who is going to be height limited for quite a few rides but does enjoy things. Now I’ve got them, what should my plan be?! Where do we start?? Is there a good logical route around the park? We also have park hopper, starting at DL, and the day we go is a grad night.

Some other considerations, we also have LLMP and we have another day with park hopper starting at DCA.

Thank you!

Hey yall. My boyfriend and I will be visiting August 16-18 (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) and it will be our first time at Disneyland. With that being said, we are doing one park a day to take it easy. I need some advice choosing which park we should do each day. I know Disneyland offers more things to do, but we do love drinking and are big foodies so I was thinking maybe DCA, DL, DCA? Or should I do DL, DCA, DL? Because I have heard DCA feels more like a half- day park. We both love cars, and Star Wars, and literally everything so it’s hard😭 give me yalls best advice please!!!

I am taking my two year old daughter to Disneyland for the day (June 5 2026) and I wanted to know what is worth it for her to see and do?

I know she won’t remember the trip but I want to make the most of it for the one day that we have there.

She absolutely loves and adores the traditional characters, Mickey and Minnie. But her second obsession for Disney/Pixar is Woody and Jessie. So the four characters are definitely on our “to find” list.

We do plan to spend the entire day there but I wanted to know people’s inputs to better plan how we go about the park.

Also! What are parents must haves for Disney? What made the trip easier? What do you wish you had to make your trip easier?

Much appreciated!

This is our first Disney trip as adults - four park days, staying on property - and I want to keep it fun without turning everything into a spreadsheet. At home I meal prep and eat pretty clean: lots of protein, veggies, and predictable textures. I will happily splurge in the parks, but I get overstimulated when I am hungry and stuck in long mobile order lines or when the only nearby options are heavy fried foods.

I am looking for a low-stress food plan that still feels like vacation. Specifically:

1. Quick service spots in each park that are reliably fast, have solid protein plus veggie options, and are not all mushy textures. I am picky about texture.

2. Snacks that actually survive Florida heat and a day in a backpack with no cooler. I want simple, rule-friendly stuff that keeps.

3. Is it worth booking a few table service meals for the predictability, or do those take too much time away from the parks?

4. Tips for timing mobile orders so you are not constantly watching the app.

If it matters: we will do rope drop most days, take a mid-day break, and come back in the evening. I am trying to avoid Park Hopper and keep the days calm. Would love your go-to approach and specific quick service picks by park.

Just ended our 3 day park hopper trip with a 5 and 1 year old. We had a magical time. Core memories were made for my 5 year old for sure (getting drenched in the front row of Tiana’s for her first time) I wanted to jot down my thoughts and tips from what I experienced, I did a lot of research and planning before hand and a few things I learned in park I didn’t see mentioned online. 

Here are my hot takes/ things I learned:

1. Lightning lane only allows you to book the ride once. I think this mistake is for sure on me but I figured you could book the same ride multiple times. Nope. So try to use it when it’s necessary. 
2. Everywhere I saw said to make dining reservations beforehand. I made mine 2 weeks before our trip. We ate at lamplight lounge (our fav) carnation cafe (least fav) and river belle terrace. What wasn’t mentioned is that you should CHECK IN on the app! We got to the restaurant at the given time and were told “check in on the app” and had to wait another 10 min. Def check in on the walk to the restaurant to save time. 
3. I saw a lot online that said California adventure is not as good for littles. I found this wholeheartedly untrue! There is goofys sky school coaster, jumping jellyfish, the zephyr, critter carrousel, little mermaid, the redwood play area! Don’t get me started on Mickey Mouse clubhouse live and the Mickey and friends dance party! It was amazing!! 
4. While the convenience of online everything is great, it does keep people on their phones which is something that bothers me. I am a very low phone usage person, and I was staring at my screen (tickets, lightning lane, rider swap….) for a lot of the day. Just be prepared for that.

 

Here are my agreed upon takes: 

1. Mobile ordering for food and beverages! 
2. Rope drop is worth it! 
3. Go slow and at the pace of your kids. Kids don’t get the idea of “rushing” unless you make it fun and exciting for them and it fits their personality. My daughter (5) loved running around and getting in lines, while my 1 year old hated the stroller and wanted to walk everywhere. So we had some great slow walks down main street and duck watching. 
4. Rider swap is amazing! I saw very few families taking advantage of it!!

 

Fav moments: 

1. As a millennial mom who grew up going to Disney, I loved watching my daughter look at the shop window displays on main street. Those were always so magical for me. 
2. Riverboat at night. The lights, the ambiance, it was magical. 
3. Goofy walked right over to my 1 year old and said hi to her a blew her a kiss. Pure magic! 
4. Seeing my 5 year old try the big kid rides, loving some, hating others!  
5. Our first rope drop when the overhead speaker said “ WELCOME!” And the rope dropped and my daughter just started running and laughing from pure joy!!

 

An amazing trip! Cant wait to make it happen again! Also I’ll say one more thing, we were there on insanely busy days and it was still a blast!! 

hi everyone! my partner, our 6 year old, and I are going to disneyland on october 15th which is a thursday and we are flying in that morning at 9 am, ubering from john wayne airport to the pixar hotel and starting our trip at DCA however oogie boogie bash is taking place that evening so i got park hopper tickets so we can go into disneyland once DCA closes for the event. friday we are doing disneyland (but have park hopper in case we want to go back to DCA) and then flying back home saturday afternoon. realistically, how much will we be able to accomplish? we also have lightning lane passes. are oogie boogie bash tickets worth investing in as well or is it better just to have that extra time at disneyland? again this is our first time going! tia

We are planning on going on a $104 park day on Wednesday in September. Wanted to get an idea of what the lines are like in the last 30ish min or so before park closing, since Peter Pan has a consistently long wait time throughout the day. I want to convince my folks to ride it since we've missed it the last couple times we were at the park, so if we got in line a minute before park closing, would it still be a 30 minute wait?

I watched a FreshBaked video recently where he was at the park for Star Wars Day and he actually caught Peter Pan at a 20 minute wait in the early afternoon. Wonder if this was just an outlier since DL was closing earlier for a Star Wars night event and maybe there were less people in the park?

Me and 3 other girlfriends will try and register for the Princess Challenge in a couple weeks. If we all secure a bib, we are trying to decide on either staying the Caribbean Beach Resort or Swan Reserve. I've only stayed at Beach Club and Polynesian when vacationing, but didn't want to spend that much on a race weekend. However, I do still want the Disney resort vibe and proximity is important.

So, it comes down to two separate rooms at Caribbean or one Signature Suite at Swan Reserve with two queens and a sofa bed. Both options are pretty much the same price. I also thought about getting a one bedroom at Kidani Village but it seems too far to starting line...

Any advice on either property for race weekend?

I just bought a loungefly backpack for an upcoming Disneyland trip but am having a bit of buyers remorse… is it worth it? Should I return it? I would probably only use the bag in Disneyland and don’t know when we will go again after this - probably not for a few years at least. I have a medium Baggu crescent that would be my alternative bag.

Need some Disney World itinerary advice.

We’ve got a 3-day trip coming up with my sister-in-law, nephew, and our family. We arrive Thursday at 11 AM.

My wife and I are debating the best plan to make this an awesome first experience for my nephew while also winning over my sister-in-law… who is a Disney skeptic.

My plan:
Arrival Day:
Relax at the Polynesian
Animal Kingdom for ~4 hours
Back to the resort for swimming
Maybe pop into Magic Kingdom for fireworks and a couple rides

Day 2:
Magic Kingdom rope drop
Leave around 2 PM for rest + pool time
Head back into a park that evening

Day 3:
Hollywood Studios for most of the day (my nephew is a huge Toy Story fan)
Possibly another park at night if everyone still has energy

We’d love to fit in EPCOT and Disney Springs too, but that may need to wait for another trip if this one goes well.

My wife’s plan:
Arrival Day: Magic Kingdom
Day 2: Animal Kingdom rope drop (possibly Magic Kingdom at night)
Day 3: Hollywood Studios
Which plan would you pick for a Disney skeptic + a kid?

Any changes you’d make? Who is right here?