Things You need to know now to Plan a Trip to Disney World

(Updated 1/28/2024)

Park Tickets and Park Reservations (Disney Park Pass)

NOTE: Theme Park Reservations are no longer required for date-based tickets.

How to Purchase Tickets

Ticket purchasing is pretty much the same as before. If you have never purchased a park ticket or room package, check this out first.

(1 Park Per Day, 1 Park Per Day with Park Hopper, 1 Park Per Day with Park Hopper Plus, 1 Park Per Day with Water Park and Sports) will all give you access to the Disney World theme parks. 

As mentioned above you will need to make a theme park reservation for one of the four Disney World theme parks for each day you are using a ticket. 

For Tickets with Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus

NOTE: Beginning January 9th, 2024, guests with Park Hopper tickets will be able to “hop” to their second park at ANY TIME during park hours. FINALLY!

Everything you need to know about purchasing theme park tickets can be found here.

Park Planning Tool: Genie

Disney launched a new free planning tool called “Genie” in the fall of 2021. It is part of the My Disney Experience app. Here you will be able to select attractions, restaurants, and personal interests and Genie will suggest a daily itinerary for you. It will also offer suggestions on the fly based on wait times, allow you to mobile order or make dining reservations, and more. Genie will continue to update the itinerary throughout the day.

It’s good to check it out, but we find that it’s not that helpful. It tends to recommend attractions and dining locations to disperse crowds. That’s not a bad thing necessarily, but it might not represent things that you are interested in and doesn’t consider location. Suggestions often have you trudging back and forth across a park a lot. There is enough walking to do at Disney World and you don’t need to add unecessary park criss crossing. What IS good to do here is select the park you are going to (and select the park you are hopping to if you have park hopper tickets) and select the top 3 attractions that you want to do for each day of your trip. The app will list those selected attractions on the My Day tab making it easier to keep track of the wait times.

Ways to Ride Attractions or Experience Shows

This sounds a bit crazy. You just get in line and get on the ride or find a seat at a show, right? Yep. BUT, there are currently 3 different methods of getting on attractions.

Standby Lanes

This is free to everyone with a park ticket. You just get in line. Free for everyone regardless of whether they stay at a Disney Resort Hotel or not. Nearly all of the attractions at Disney World have a standby lane.

Lightning Lanes

For a paid upgrade, guests can bypass the standby lane and enter the faster Lightning Lane.

Here is where it gets tricky. There are three different ways to gain access to the Lightning Lanes.

1. Genie+ Lightning Lane

This is a PAID UPGRADE that allows guests to select ride times for MOST attractions and enter via a faster line called the “Lightning Lane.”

For an explanation of all of Genie+ Lightning Lane nitty gritty and rules, go here.

2. Individual Lightning Lane Selection (ILL)

This is another PAID UPGRADE that allows guests to select ride times for SELECT attractions at the parks and enter via a faster line called the “Lightning Lane.”

For an explanation of all of the Individual Lightning Lane Selection nitty gritty and rules, go here.

3. Virtual Queues

There are two attractions currently utilizing a virtual queue: Guardian’s of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in Epcot and Tron Lightcycle/Run in Magic Kingdom.

Virtual queues are free to everyone regardless of where they are staying. All that is required is a valid park ticket. Guests can go online at 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. and try to book a time for a boarding group. Getting a boarding group is not guaranteed. They can go fast (like seconds fast) so it’s important to be familiar with the My Disney Experience app before you hop on at 7 am. Guests staying at a deluxe resort on dates with access to Magic Kingdom or Epcot Extended Evening Hours will get another chance at a 6 p.m. drop.

For an explanation of all of the Virtual Queue boarding group nitty gritty and rules, go here.

In the simplest terms:

  • Nearly all attractions have a Standby Lane (free)
  • Most attractions have a Lightning Lane (requires purchase of Genie+)
  • Some Top Tier attractions will have an Individual Lightning Lane option (requires purchase of Individual Lightning Lane Selection)
  • Two attractions have a virtual queue option (free but requires securing a boarding group) AND a Lightning Lane option (requires the purchase of an Individual Lightning Lane Selection)

It’s a lot, but understanding how it all works is pretty essential to planning your park day.

Resort/Hotel Reservations

Staying at Disney Resort Hotels or hotels near the parks and Disney Springs often referred to as “Official/Gateway/Good Neighbor Hotels” can offer guests certain perks. Not as many as before, but some.

Transportation from the Airport to the Resorts

(Disney World’s Magical Express transportation has been discontinued and I’m still not over it.)

Options for guests to get to and from the airport and Disney World resort hotels include car rental, rideshares, private transportation services, or the new Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine.

Early Theme Park Entry

For those of you who have stayed at the Disney World Resort before, Extra Magic Hours no longer exist, and have been replaced with Early Theme Park Entry.

Guests staying at the following participating resorts can enter a park 30 minutes before the official park opening time. This perk is available at  EACH of the four parks EVERY DAY. These are a combination of Disney Resort Hotels and Official/Gateway/Good Neighbor hotels.

  • Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
  • Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
  • Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
  • Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
  • Disney’s Pop Century Resort
  • The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
  • Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
  • Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
  • Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
  • Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
  • The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
  • Disney’s Beach Club Resort
  • Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
  • Disney’s Contemporary Resort
  • Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
  • Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
  • Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
  • Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
  • Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
  • Disney’s Beach Club Villas
  • Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
  • Disney’s Old Key West Resort
  • Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
  • Disney’s Riviera Resort
  • Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
  • The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
  • Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
  • Shades of Green® on Walt Disney World® Resort
  • Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
  • Waldorf Astoria Orlando
  • B Resort & Spa Lake Buena Vista
  • DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando
  • Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
  • Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
  • Holiday Inn Orlando
  • Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista
  • Wyndham Lake Buena Vista
  • Four Seasons Resort Orlando

NOTE: Not all attractions will be open during Early Theme Park Entry. Check here for a full updated list of Early Theme Park Entry attractions. Magic Kingdom, in particular, only has some of the attractions in the right half of the park (Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) open during Early Theme Park Entry.

We recommend getting to the park gate about an hour before opening, so if the official park opening is 9, but you are staying at one of the resorts above and can enter at 8:30, arrive around 7:30. They often allow guests into the park before the early entry time.

Extended Evening Theme Park Hours

Guests staying at the following participating DELUXE resorts can enjoy an extra 2 hours after official park closing at certain theme parks on certain days. With 1 Park Per Day tickets, a valid Theme Park Reservation for that park is required. For 1 Park Per Day Plus Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus, guests wishing to hop to the park with extended evening hours must have visited or tapped into the theme park they reserved that day BEFORE hopping. 

  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
  • Disney’s Beach Club Resort
  • Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
  • Disney’s Contemporary Resort
  • Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
  • Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
  • Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
  • Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
  • Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
  • Disney’s Beach Club Villas
  • Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
  • Disney’s Old Key West Resort
  • Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
  • Disney’s Riviera Resort
  • Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
  • The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
  • Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
  • Shades of Green® on Walt Disney World®

Extended Evening Theme Park Hours are available at all four parks. NOTE: These extended hours are offered sporadically. During the party season from August to December, extended evening hours are often not offered at Magic Kingdom at all. A Deluxe Resort stay does not guarantee an extended evening hour situation on your dates so make sure to check the official Disney World Calendar for updated information.

NOTE: The list of attractions open during Extended Evening Theme Park Hours is a bit longer than the Early Theme Park Entry list. Check here for a full updated list of Extended Evening Theme Park Hours’ attractions.

Everything you need to know about the perks of staying at a Disney Resort or “Official/Gateway/Good Neighbor” hotel can be found here.

Dining, Dining Plans and Advance Dining Reservations

Disney Dining Plan

NEW The Disney Dining Plan has returned for guests with resort/ticket packages. This is a way to pay for all or some of your meals prior to your trip. Check out the nitty gritty here. Keep in mind, that for most guests, this is more a matter of convenience than savings. Occasionally, a free Disney Dining Plan offer will be available but do the math first. Discounts on resort/ticket packages will often save more money that a free Disney Dining Plan offer with a rack rate resort package. Our advice? Get a Disney authorized travel agent. They cost you NOTHING. Totally FREE. They will keep an eye out for any discounts that can be applied to your trip and will apply them for you.

Quick Service

This is counter service dining in the parks and at the resorts. You can wait in line to order your food but the BEST way to get your meal is to place a mobile order in the My Disney Experience app. Quick Service dining service locations can get very busy at typical meal times so keep that in mind. Mobile ordering allows you to select a pick up time. If you have your heart set on a particular meal, you may want place a mobile order as soon as you get to the park to make sure that the first available pick up time isn’t well after you know you and your travelling party will be getting hangry! Placing the order earlier, allows you to select the pick up time that works for you. You can also modify the pick up time if needed. Keep in mind that if your pick up time is at typical popular meals times (like noon for lunch) you may still have to wait in line even for order pick up, but it will be a much shorter line than the regular one. All in all, it’s pretty handy service.

Table Service

The best bet with Table Service is to make dining reservations. There are walk up lists at some locations that you can join in person and/or via the My Disney Experience app, but we strongly recommend that you utilize the Advance Dining Reservation system.

Anyone can begin making Advance Dining Reservations 60 days in advance of the dining date now (used to be 180 days). Those guests staying at a Disney Resort Hotel can make Advance Dining Reservations for the entire length of their stay 60 days in advance of their check in date. 

Everything you need to know about dining can be found here.

Well, folks, that covers, playing, eating and sleeping at Disney World for now.

Happy planning! Don’t be too intimidated. If you are a first-time visitor, we know, it’s A LOT, but you’ll get the hang of it. For all of the veteran planners, we figured out the old ways, we can figure out the new!

For the most up to date official information, please check the Disney World site here.