18 Things To Know Before Going To Disney World (2024)

Inside: Must know trips and tricks before going to Disney World in 2024 especially if you’ve never done Disney before.

If you’re visiting Disney World for the first time or you have visited multiple times there are always new tips and things to learn to make your trip even more fun.

This list of things to know before you go to Disney World is primarily for those that haven’t visited the park before or haven’t visited it often.

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Over the years we have traveled to Disney several times and learned a lot of tricks to make our vacations easier and more fun.

What to Know Before Going to Disney World

Our first trip to Disney World was several years ago when our oldest was almost 2 years old.

Since then we have taken several trips including a trip to Disney World with 4 generations in the parks.

Thanks to the fact that Jared and I are planners our time in the park with a big group was a lot of fun. I’ll share some tips for doing the parks with a big group in another post.

If you’re used to visiting Disneyland or haven’t really visited any of the Disney Parks I’m sharing some helpful things to know before you visit the Disney World Parks in Florida.

Because let me tell you Disney World is very different than Disneyland.

Things to Know Before Going to Disney World

Planning a trip to Disney World can feel overwhelming if you haven’t done it before, but don’t worry it doesn’t have to be stressful.

The more you research before your trip the more relaxed and enjoyable the trip will be.

What To Know Before Going to Disney World

Several of the tips and things you will want to know before you go to Disney World are helpful to know during the planning and packing stages of your Disney trip.

The rest of the tips on this list are specific things you will want to know about inside the parks.

#1 Disney World is Big

One of the first things I think people need to realize is Disney World is BIG!

Disney World Resort includes: Disney Springs, 4 theme parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios, and 2 water parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon) plus all the Disney World resort hotels.

Disney World totals 27,000 acres. The largest theme park at Disney World is the Animal Kingdom which is 405 acres.

#2 The Parks are Spread Out

The 4 theme parks at Disney World are spread out and it takes more time and work to go between parks than if you’re visiting Disneyland in California.

To go between parks at Disney World you will need to take the monorail, drive or find other transportation between the parks.

Switching between parks can really take away time from your day in the parks.

#3 Skip the Park Hopper (at least on your first trip)

To go along with Disney world being big and spread out this next tip is to Skip the Park Hopper ticket option.

Park hopper tickets are more expensive than regular tickets and if you aren’t really familiar with the parks it will most likely end up being a waste of money.

You will be able to do and see more by staying in one park each day of your Disney World vacation.

Even though we have been to Disney World several times we still prefer doing one park per day.

If You Decide to Do Park Hopper…

If you feel like you want to park hop that is totally fine, just make sure you plan extra travel time between the parks into your day. Also, be aware of what time you can start visiting the second park.

Note: When visiting Disneyland in California the 2 parks (Disneyland and California Adventure) are located directly across from each other making it easy to go between the two parks multiple times on the same day. Don’t plan on being able to do the same thing at Disney World.

#4 Decide Which Park to Visit

Before your Disney World trip take some time to do research on the different parks and see if you want to visit all of the parks or just one or two.

So many people that aren’t familiar with Disney World will call it Magic Kingdom or use the terms interchangeably. But once they do some research they realize that Magic Kingdom is just one of the parks at Disney World.

If you aren’t familiar with the parks here are some basics about each of the 4 main Disney World parks:

Magic Kingdom – This is the iconic park with the castle, this theme park has a lot of family-friendly rides as well as a few rides for the older audience. Each night you get the classic Disney Fireworks experience.

EPCOT- Has fewer rides than Magic Kingdom is home to the Frozen Ever After Ride, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and the World Showcase. The best part of this park is definitely all the food you can try.

Animal Kingdom – This is the largest of the theme parks in size but it does not have the most rides. There are only a couple of rides shorter visitors can go on. I often hear this park referred to as a zoo because there are a lot of animals to see.

Hollywood Studios – Has several rides but is known for having a lot of different shows as well as being home to the Star Wars attractions.

If you’re looking for that classic Disney experience you are going to want to make sure you visit the Magic Kingdom, in my opinion, it’s the most kid-friendly park. Though kids can have fun in all of the parks.

#5 Get Familiar With The Layout

Now that you’ve learned a little bit about each of the parks my next tip is to learn about the layout of the different parks.

One of the best things you can do before going on a trip to Disney World is to get familiar with the maps and layout of the parks you’ll visit.

Find out where the rides you want to go on are located, find the places with the food you want to try, and try and get familiar with the layout of the parks.

While you’re in the parks you will still probably need to look at a map from time to time but being familiar with the layout will help you find things on the map more quickly.

Being able to find your way around the parks (at least a little bit) will make it so you’re able to enjoy more of the magic without the stress of having no idea where anything is.

#6 Know the Stroller Size You can Bring

If you’re visiting Disney World with kids a couple of very important things to know are the stroller policy and the outside food/drink policy.

Disney World Stroller Policy

If you’re visiting the parks with younger kids you will want a stroller.

Even if your kids don’t normally ride in a stroller they probably will at Disney because there is so much walking.

Stroller parking areas throughout the theme parks make it easy to park your stroller while you explore an area and go on rides. Then you can grab the stroller for your walk to the next area.

Disney has changed their stroller policy to ban wagons and limit the size of double strollers, so be sure to check and make sure your stroller will work.

Strollers must be 31″ wide and 52″ long or smaller.

My Favorite Strollers for Disney World

We love taking our double Jeep umbrella stroller, City Mini Double stroller and the Ergobaby Metro+ stroller to the parks when we want a stroller that will fold up and not take up a ton of space.

Pro Tip: Umbrella strollers like the one we take to the parks are a great option because they so easily collapse to ride on the shuttle from the cars to the park entrance.

On our last trip we took our city mini double stroller and it was my favorite. The stroller takes a lot more space in the car and doesn’t really work great on the shuttle but it works so well for naps in the park and carrying all the things.

#7 You CAN Bring Food and Drinks Into the Park

Disney World is one of the few theme parks I know of where you can bring in outside food and drink to the parks.

For me personally one of the things we always look forward to and is a highlight of our time spent in the parks is trying the different foods.

Even though we love trying foods in the park that doesn’t mean you need to buy every snack at Disney.

We always bring a variety of snacks into the park in our diaper bags.

Snacks to Bring With You to Disney

Fruit snacks, crackers, granola bars, and other mini snack packs work great for when you have to wait in line or the kids just need a quick little snack to keep them happy.

If you really want to save money at Disney you can pack in food for the whole day, just make sure you check to make sure your cooler fits the size requirements.

Check the food and drink policy for updates and things you can’t bring into the park like alcoholic beverages, and glass containers which are not allowed.

#8 Prepare for the Weather: It Will Most Likely Rain

When you think of Florida it can be easy to think of sunshine and warm weather (it is called the Sunshine State).

While it’s true Florida does typically have a lot of sunny days and warmer weather. You can still run into some cold weather in Florida and rainstorms are frequent.

Rainstorms happen A LOT in Florida (especially during the summer) so chances are you will get at least one rainy day during your trip.

If you’re lucky (or visit during the winter) it might not rain on your trip to Disney.

The nice thing is that typically the storms are short and then you can get back to the fun, plus Disney has a lot of things you can still do during a rainstorm.

Disney does not close during rainstorms, some rides may close temporarily, but many rides are inside and will remain open. Those that do close will open once the storm moves out.

Knowing that you will most likely experience rain while at the parks be prepared and bring ponchos with you. It will save you from spending a lot of time waiting in line to buy ponchos and it will save you money.

Pro Tip: Don’t forget to bring something to cover the stroller so your kids aren’t sitting in a soaked stroller.

If you’re visiting during the winter it will probably feel really nice during the day especially if you’re visiting from somewhere cold (like Maryland) but once the sun goes down it can get cool.

Be sure to bring jackets and even some light blankets for the kids into the park for the evening hours.

#9 Don’t Forget the Disney Freebies

Freebies when traveling are hard to find, but when you do make sure you take advantage of them. They can help you save a lot of money and make the trip even more magical.

Ice Water is Free

At any quick-service restaurant that sells fountain drinks, you can get free ice water.

Since Florida is hot and humid it’s very important to stay hydrated so you don’t end up ending the day with a trip to the ER.

Taking advantage of the Free Ice Water can save you a ton of money.

Each bottled water in the park costs $3.50 and spending all day in the park you can go through a lot of water, especially when it’s hot!

Pro Tip: Bring a thermos water bottle filled with ice water and then throughout the day you can get free ice water and fill it back up. This is a quick and easy way to always have cold water. We love these ThermoFlask bottles, they keep drinks cold all day, they are bigger than a normal water bottle and they even have kids-size bottles.

Free Buttons

Free Buttons are a fun and FREE souvenir, plus they make your time at Disney even more magical.

There are 3 different types of Celebration Buttons you can get. The First Visit Button, the I’m Celebrating Button, and Happy Birthday Button.

You can get the buttons at guest relations, any indoor merchandise location, or from your hotel if you’re staying at a Disney World Resort Hotel.

The Free buttons are large 3″ buttons and will draw attention from cast members.

One year we visited on our daughter’s birthday and she thought it was so fun that everyone was wishing her a happy birthday.

#10 Get to the Parks Early

Disney World Parks open at different times depending on the time of year and the day of the week.

You will want to be at the parks at least 30 minutes before opening so you can see the opening show and be there for the rope drop.

That means you need to arrive, park your car, and get to the gate even earlier than that. I like to plan to arrive at the parking lot an hour before the parks are supposed to open.

The first 2 hours in the park are a great time to get a lot of the really popular rides done before the lines get crazy long.

Pro Tip: Take pictures in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom before the park opens. It will often be the least crowded time to get those fun castle shots.

#11 Learn About Your Dining Options

There are several different dining options at Disney World. When you book your Disney trip you can select dining options, you can bring in your own food, or do a mix.

No matter what you decide I highly recommend trying some of the foods in the parks.

For our family, the food at Disney is one of the highlights of our trips to Disney World. We love getting old favorites and trying new foods each time we visit Disney parks.

When deciding what dining options you want to do at Disney World the biggest thing is to decide if you want to do Table Service meals or Quick Service Meals.

Table Service Restaurants and Reservations

Table service restaurants typically require reservations and many of these restaurants can be hard to get a reservation for.

If you decide to do table service meals be sure to get your reservation as soon as possible and also be prepared for a more expensive meal.

You can take a look at the menus online to get an idea of the price.

Quick Service Restaurants

Quick-service restaurants are our go-to when we visit the parks. These restaurants do not require reservations and can be found throughout the parks.

You can check out the menu options for these restaurants online to get an idea of what foods you want to try and the pricing.

Even if you don’t plan on eating a lot of food in the parks do some research and decide on a couple of food items you want to try.

Figure out where to get the food or dink in the park and then make a stop to try some delicious food between rides.

Related Post: Foods You Need to Try at the Magic Kingdom

Snacks

At many of the quick service restaurants, you can get snacks and there are also snack carts throughout the park.

One of our favorite snacks to get is popcorn.

Disney World popcorn is an easy snack that all of our kids like, plus if you get the bucket all refills are cheap. So we like to get the bucket our first day in the park and then bring it with us each day.

The popcorn bucket comes with a lid so you can easily save popcorn for later.

If you’re in Epcot you can get the maple popcorn in Canada as a popcorn refill which makes it really inexpensive to try.

Pro Tip: Eat at off times. Lines for food at lunchtime will be crazy long so instead of waiting for food go on a ride or two. After the lunch rush stops then stop and eat.

Personally, when we visit Disney World we don’t stop for sit-down meals very often, instead, we snack our way through the day eating every couple of hours so no one gets hangry.

#12 Have a Plan – But Don’t Over Schedule

I mentioned above that it’s a great idea to get an idea of the different park layouts. Be familiar with where different attractions are located and what attractions and foods are near each other.

Along with being familiar with the layouts, it’s a great idea to have a plan for your trip.

Plan The Days to Visit Each Park

One of the first things you are going to need to plan is what day you are going to visit the parks. You will need this information to book your tickets and make park reservations.

Before you book your days in each park take a look at a crowd calendar to get an idea of how busy the parks will be, as well as if there are any special events in the parks that you want to be there for or you want to avoid.

Pro Tip: When you’re planning what days you are going to the parks, if you can it’s always nice to have a rest day between park days.

Plan Your Day in the Park

Once you have figured out what days you are going to be at each park it’s time to plan your day in the park.

One thing I want to make sure to say is that while it’s good to have a plan for your day it’s also good to remember to be flexible and not try to fit too much into your day.

When I plan our days at the different parks I pick 3-5 things that are our must-do items and then figure out what we want to start with.

Anything else we do is extra, and we usually are able to do a lot more than those things. Having those key things in our “schedule” we are able to do other things around those items.

Pro Tip: Get and use the Disney World App this will allow you to see a map of the park with your location on the map as well as ride wait times.

Pro Tip 2: For several weeks before our trip to Disney World I would get on the app and check wait times at random times throughout the day. This gave me an idea of when would be a good time (with shorter waits) to do different rides.

#13 Purchase Your Park Tickets in Advance

Purchase your park tickets in advance to save money and be able to schedule your trip.

You no longer need a park reservation which adds some nice flexibility to your trip planning.

Pro Tip: If you want to use Memory Maker on your trip purchase it with your tickets to save money.

#14 Use the Photographers

Pictures at Disney World are always so fun. The memory maker add-on can definitely be worth it and save you money if you are going to want to purchase ride photos and get other photos taken throughout the parks by photographers.

Plus there is a studio in Disney Springs where you can get photos taken and they are included in the memory maker unlimited photo pass downloads as long as your tickets are active.

If you can plan on going to the studio on one of your rest days between visiting parks.

Decided to Skip Memory Maker?

Even if you don’t get the memory maker unlimited downloads you can ask the photographers throughout the park to take your photo using your personal camera or phone.

Every photographer or other cast member I have asked has always been happy to take photos for us and it’s free!

#15 Watch the Movies Before You Visit

While you can definitely have a magical trip to Disney World without watching any of the Disney Movies before your trip.

It can be extra fun and magical if you are familiar with the different characters. I always love seeing how excited my kids are to see their favorite characters in “real life”.

#16 Bring a Battery Pack

Using your phone for photos, videos, and the Disney World app can drain your battery.

Bringing a small battery pack in your backpack is a great way to make sure you will be able to use your phone the whole time you are in the park.

#17 Plan a Budget

This might be the most unpopular tip I’m including in this post but I promise planning a budget will make your trip less stressful and more fun.

When we plan our budget for Disney World we break it up into different categories.

We plan so much for hotels, tickets, groceries, gas, etc.

Then we have a set budget for what we can spend in the park. This includes what we can spend on food and souvenirs.

Having a planned budget gives us permission to spend.

Instead of having to think about every little purchase and decide if we can get it or not, we have already set aside money for those specific things making the decision easy.

Pro Tip: We used the menus available online to get an idea of how much money we should include in our budget for the days in the parks.

Pro Tip 2: We took the kids and let them pick out a souvenir ( at Walmart or the souvenir store) before we went to Disney.

We have also gotten glow sticks to bring with us into the parks so the kids didn’t ask for the glowing toys available in the parks. (we have purchased the glowing bubble wand before and it’s so fun but expensive)

#18 Know You Can’t See or Do it All in One Trip

One last reminder as you are planning your Disney trip, you can’t do it all!

As much as you might like to try and fit it all into a trip there is just too much to do at Disney to fit it into a reasonable amount of time.

So instead of trying to fit it all in decide your top priorities, make sure those things happen, relax, have fun, don’t stress, and plan on taking another Disney trip in the future.

Use the FastPass

Sadly Disney World no longer does FastPass which was one of our favorite ways to do the parks.

Now you can use Disney Genie Lightning Lane to avoid wait times, this is not a free service and can get really expensive depending on the size of your group.

Even if you don’t use the Genie or Genie+ programs you can still have a great time at the parks. If you’re used to the FastPass system you will just have to tweak how you plan your days in the parks.

This post was originally published in 2019 and has been updated.

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