I’m back from my most recent Walt Disney World vacation, and I’m so excited to share with you all the information, tips, and a little bit of magic dust I’ve collected along the way.

Let’s talk planning. It may not be the most glamorous part and it certainly isn’t the best, but it is the most important part of having a fantastic vacation. So… how does a travel professional plan their own Disney vacation? Curious?

There are three parts to planning a great Disney vacation. “The Big Picture” involves a bit of research to find out what promotions are available, decide what dates we want to go, and determine our choice of resort and ticket type. “The Nuts and Bolts” involves talking and making dinner reservations, booking tours and any other special experiences. Then there are the “Essential Details,” where I start spreadsheets to determine which Disney park we’ll go to each day, a loose timeline of how we’ll spend our days, and other little details.

I already knew that I wanted to take advantage of the discount promotion that Disney was offering, so part of my Big Picture was already drawn with a Disney Technicolor brush. Disney was offering up to 30% off room rates for the package I wanted. COUSIN! Sometimes more than one promotion is available, and sometimes additional discounts are available if you are a member of the military or a Florida resident. You can research what promotions are available or ask a travel agent to do it for you to save you time.

There are 25 Disney Resorts that offer various features, themes, types of accommodations and restaurants. Each one has its own charm that makes it unique. After some discussion, we decided on Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. It’s been a while since we’ve been there so it was time to visit our beach home away from home again. Caribbean Beach offers a relaxed atmosphere and I love their hot tubs at the end of a long day at the parks.

After consulting with employers, we decided to go in the second week of January. This week has historically low attendance which we really enjoy. Disney is great anytime, but I definitely prefer to go when the temperature is cool and the crowds are small.

Now I had to consider what type of theme park tickets to purchase as part of our package. The choice is between Base tickets and Park Hopper tickets. Basic tickets allow you access to one of the main Disney theme parks each day, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Park Hopper tickets, as the name suggests, allow you to hop between these theme parks each day visiting as many as you want each day. Park Hopper tickets are definitely our pick for the convenience and flexibility of being able to visit one park for the day and then hop to another for dinner and fireworks. You can also add the Water Park & ​​More option to your tickets, but we decided to skip this because we couldn’t be sure it would be hot enough to enjoy the water parks.

I have been on a mission for years to eat at every restaurant on Disney property. (Almost there) Epcot has the most and best restaurants, but I don’t want to stay at Epcot every day, all day, so… Park Hopper tickets are the way to go for us. Now we can visit the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios during the day and hop over to Epcot for dinner some nights.

Isn’t that all that is needed for planning? We’re done, right? No!

Disney World is a huge place with an almost endless number of restaurants, tours, attractions, experiences, and things to see and do. You can’t see everything in one visit…or two…or three and Disney’s offerings are constantly changing. Travel professionals know that what separates a good trip from a great trip is a basic plan to guide you to the activities that matter most to your family. I call this part of planning the nuts and bolts and it includes figuring out which parks to visit on which days, dinner reservations, and special experiences.

Now, at this point, many guests ask me, “Won’t making a plan ruin the magic? What if I just want to improvise without a plan and see what happens?” To these guests I reply: “AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!” Maybe it’s just the planner in me who has a little panic attack at the words “wing it”, but I can tell you that a Disney World vacation is not something you “implant” for the best results. Don’t get me wrong, there should be plenty of time on any great vacation to relax and have some unscheduled time, but you do need a basic plan.

So how do you decide which park to visit on which days? Well, that depends on what is most important to your family! Many families choose to visit the Magic Kingdom first because their children are excited to see the Magic Kingdom and simply can’t wait another minute. You can decide based on which park is likely to have the lowest attendance each day. Depending on the time of year, you may decide to go to a specific park because it offers a show or parade that is only available on certain days during your trip. You may choose the park of the day because of the hours of operation or the Extra Magic Morning or Evening hours offered that day.

Your plan may depend on available dining reservations. If you would like a reservation for Cinderella’s Royal Table, you must be on the phone 180 days in advance. Otherwise, you may be required to accept any reservations that become available when you call, which may upset your overall plan. You’ll want to organize your dinner reservations around the parades or shows you want to see, so it helps to do some research on what you want to see. Every family is different. A good travel professional should listen to your needs and be able to help you design a plan that’s right for you.

So how do you know which restaurants are right for your family? If this is a repeat visit to Disney World, you may already know some places that you would like to experience again. If this is your first visit, you can ask your travel agent or friends for some specific recommendations for your family. If you’re traveling with kids, consider at least one character meal. These are dining experiences where Disney characters stop by your table to interact, take pictures and sign autographs for your family. This is a great opportunity for your kids to spend time with the characters one on one and get some seriously awesome photos without waiting in line. My guests often tell me that this was the highlight of their trip.

There are so many dining experiences at Walt Disney World that it can seem like an overwhelming amount of information to sort through. The key is finding the right ones for your family, and your agent should be able to narrow them down for you. Let him know what kind of food you like, which characters are your favorites, any food allergies or intolerances, and he or she should be able to make personalized recommendations. After my guests have made their decisions, I make dinner reservations to save them time and stress.

We are nocturnal people, so we choose to make as much of the nightly magic extra hours as possible. This is how our plan worked for us:

Wednesday: Arrive, check in and go to Epcot. Dine in Beirgarten.

Thursday: Go to Magic Kingdom all day. Have breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Friday: See Hollywood Studios during the day and have lunch at the Sci Fi Drive In Theater. Hop over to Epcot at night for Extra Magic Hours.

Saturday: Go to Animal Kingdom and have dinner at Yak and Yeti. Then skip to the Magic Kingdom as it’s open until 1am tonight.

Sunday: Go to the Magic Kingdom all day and enjoy Extra Magic Hours at night until 3 am.

Monday: Go to Hollywood Studios all day. Dine at the Prime Time Café.

Tuesday: Go to Epcot today and have lunch at Le Cellier. Then jump into the Magic Kingdom.

Wednesday: Go to Animal Kingdom and then Epcot. Dinner at Teppan Edo.

Thursday: There is no plan for this day. We’ll see what we feel like doing on our last day.

If you are interested in the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, Pirate’s League Experience, Tours, Fireworks Desert Party, or any of the other experiences, now is the time to make those reservations. Your travel professional can help you choose the right experiences for your family.

See how the planning is starting to come together?

It’s probably obvious at this point that I’m a planner from the top of my Mickey ears down to my toes. So how does all of this tie in when it comes to going on a trip? I have a word for you… SPREADSHEETS!

Okay, I know most of us think of spreadsheets as a place to store boring and tedious strings of numbers, but they can also be a useful tool for keeping all your vacation information organized and easily accessible. So how do you start? Think of a vacation planning spreadsheet as a recipe for a great vacation. You gather all the ingredients, mix them all together, and the result is something greater than the sum of its parts.

Ingredient #1: Start with park hours, major parade times, and fireworks shows for each park for each day of your trip, which your travel agent can do for you, or you can look them up yourself. They are typically announced for Walt Disney World about 6 months in advance, but they can change, so always come back and check for changes a few days before your trip.

Ingredient #2: Check out the Extra Magic Hours that will take place during your trip if you are a Disney Resort guest. Extra Magic Hours is when a Disney Theme Park opens one hour early or stays open up to three hours late for Disney Resort Guests only. Only about 25% of Disney Resort guests take advantage of Extra Magic Hours on any given day, so they can be a good time to visit attractions with shorter lines.

Ingredient #3: Add all your dining reservations and special experiences along with any notes you want to remember.

Now you’ve turned all your planning into something you can take with you to the theme parks. Are you ready to run to the parks!