We’re planning our family’s first trip to Disney World – what should we absolutely do?

A Disney expert offers tips to make your first trip to Disney World especially magical.

There are people on Al Gore’s internet who make money simply by experiencing pieces of pop culture for the first time. Maybe it’s a song or a movie or a TV show. They record themselves experiencing it for the first time and share it with the world.

If can be fun to watch with them, knowing what’s ahead and anticipating the moment they get their mind blown – like seeing the ending of “The Sixth Sense” for the first time. It’s a vicarious experience that requires at least a little suspension of disbelief.

Really? You’re a big music fan, but you’ve never heard of The Beatles or Pink Floyd or Prince? You love movies, yet you’ve never clicked on TBS when “The Shawshank Redemption” was playing? Dubious.

Fans watch these videos just for a chance to share even a sliver of the feeling that you get when experiencing something great for the first time. 

I can’t remember how I felt the first time I walked – or was carried – up the little hill into Town Square and onto Main Street. In my defense, I was 4, and the memories from that trip are jumbled. But over the years, I’ve thought about what I would do if I had a chance to experience it all over again for the first time. What are the experiences I couldn’t skip? What are the things that will make an imprint? The things that will linger in our memories for the rest of our days, no matter how many they may be?

The answers to those questions can be as easy – or as complicated – as you like. They depend on factors that vary from family to family based on budget, length of stay, group size, the ages involved, and many more. Here, we will try to offer a broad range of suggestions for families with varying budgets making their first trip to The Happiest Place On Earth.

We’re ready for our family’s first trip to Disney World – what are the must do’s?

1. Familiarize yourself with the Disney website and My Disney Experience app well before your trip

The first thing to do when planning your first trip is to get on the Disney website and noodle around with various packages, finding the best fit for your family and price range. Disney will run a series of deals throughout the year – the most prominent being a quarterly hotel discount that can range from 15% to 35% depending on the quality of resort you choose.

Never. Never ever. Never in your life pay for a Disney resort at the sticker price. There is always some kind of deal to be had.

The hotel deal, which may be 25% at most Disney hotels right now, is only available so many months in advance. If you’re booking more than six months out, you can get your room at sticker price, pay a deposit, and then, when the price drops, call Disney – they’ll adjust your rate to the lower price. Even if you book at discounted rate, keep returning to the Disney site and pricing your exact vacation. I have – after making my original booking – found a better deal and got Disney to lower my price.

The website and app are also good for making and managing dining reservations in advance. Some restaurants at Disney are harder to book than others, like Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ at Disney Springs or Cinderella’s Royal Table at Magic Kingdom. If your first option isn’t available, go ahead and reserve your second or third option. Then keep checking back, you never know when something will open up. (Pro tip: You can use a website like MouseDining to monitor reservation openings.) Your best bet with dining is making reservations in advance at any places you really want to eat. The chances of you getting sat as a walk up to Cinderella’s or Be Our Guest are close to zero, and it’s a similar situation for restaurants throughout all of Disney World.

I like to keep track of wait times on the My Disney Experience app. I don’t have a chart or anything, but I like to know, seasonally, what an individual ride’s wait time is like through the course of the day. That way, when I’m in the park and see something like Rise of the Resistance at 35 minutes, I recognize that is a rarity and I need to hop in line while it’s short.

Between the Tip Board – which helps you manage your day – the park maps and Lightning Lane options, familiarity with the app can really enhance your family’s magical experience.

2. Stay at a Disney resort or an on-property resort that offers Disney amenities

You can stay at cheaper hotels off property, and I have. But for your first experience, a Disney resort is the way to go – simply because of the amenities you can’t get out of the Disney bubble. These range from minor magical touches to things like the free Disney transportation system and extra hours for Disney resort guests.

Disney has resorts that range from value to moderate to deluxe. As you advance in quality of resort, the amenities – and the price – increase. One important detail to keep in mind as you book your stay is that Disney’s resort structure is set up for families of four. There are rooms available for larger families, but they are either suites or at the more expensive deluxe resorts. When our youngest turned 3, we were no longer able to book a room for four adults and had to start spending more for larger options; the cost of staying on property for our Disney vacations increased substantially.

Are the amenities really worth the extra cost? Yeah, they are.

First, it’s simply the vibes. Disney’s people are well trained and excellent at providing little touches that make being in the bubble far better than being out of it. Each of the Disney resorts could be vacation destinations on their own. The quality of pools, entertainment, on-site shopping and restaurants – at least at the moderate or deluxe levels – make each of the resorts a magical getaway before you even set foot in a park.

Second, the transportation options ranging from the amazingly efficient bus system to the monorail to the boats to the Skyliner make getting around the property significantly easier, especially if you have small kids who need a midday break. Also keep in mind that by using these free Disney transportation options, you’re saving on the daily parking fee at the parks. That will offset at least some of the extra cost of staying on property.

Finally, and perhaps most exciting, resort guests get extra time in the parks. Each park opens half an hour early for all guests staying on property. And if you stay at a deluxe resort, you get extended evening hours on select nights at select parks.

3. Visit Magic Kingdom first

This one is easy. I love EPCOT and Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, but Magic Kingdom remains the OG. The first time you set foot inside a Disney World park, it should be walking through Town Square onto Main Street and seeing the castle up ahead for the first time. It is the essence of Disney distilled into one singular location, and there’s no feeling quite like it in the world – including at the other Disney parks. Disney World exists in Main Street and into Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Adventureland, and Liberty Square. The first park? It’s got to be Magic Kingdom.

4. Spend at least a day at all four parks and skip the Park Hopper

For an additional cost, Park Hopper tickets allow you to enter more than one park on the same day. It has its uses, especially if you have a short trip and can’t devote a day to each park or if a ride goes down during your scheduled park day that you really wanted to try. But, in my experience, the juice of Park Hopper really isn’t worth the squeeze. Each of the four Disney parks is worthy of a full day if you have the time and money to do it. And – ultimately – Park Hopper means you’re going to be spending at least some of the day traveling between parks. If I can help it, I prefer not to waste an hour or more of park time.

5. Do a character dining meal

They are expensive but worth it. A character dining meal is at a sit-down restaurant, either with buffet or prix fixe style dining. The food quality ranges from pretty good to excellent depending on the restaurant. During the course of your meal, you will be visited by Disney characters ranging from princesses to Winnie the Pooh and friends or Mickey’s gang, depending on which restaurant you select. The experience of having the characters drop by your table is fun, and it frees up your schedule a bit; you don’t have to stand in line to meet Mickey if you’re having breakfast with him the next day.

When the kids were little, I liked to book a character meal at the parks in the middle of the day, so we could have some time to rest and get out of the Florida heat. Now, I almost always book our character meals outside of the parks – like at Chef Mickey’s, Ohana, or 1900 Park Fare. That way we don’t spend valuable park time eating a long meal. I’ve also found that if you’re not in a hurry to get on the road, a character breakfast is a great way to end a Disney vacation with a bang.

6. Two words: Rope. Drop.

Simply put: Get in the park as soon as it opens and be among the first in line for the rides. The parks usually open around 9 a.m. with resort guests getting in a half hour early (8:30 in the case of a 9 opening). One of the ways to beat long wait times is to rope drop the most popular rides at the park as soon as it opens. If you’re rope dropping, the usual rule of thumb is to be at the park half an hour early, but I prefer 45 minutes to an hour. The current procedure is to let guests into the park before it opens, then set up barriers at various points. At Magic Kingdom, you’ll see a crowd form at the intersection of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland as they try to rope drop Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. At the appointed time, guests are allowed to proceed, and you’ll see many power walking to be the first in line.

Since this is your first time, I would rope drop but not target the big-ticket items. Let the crowds rush to Tron or Guardians or Rise or the Seven Dwarfs. Especially if you have young kids at Magic Kingdom, I’d make a beeline to Fantasyland and knock out a lot of the other attractions like Winnie the Pooh, Little Mermaid, It’s a Small World, and even Haunted Mansion. While the rope drop crowds compete for a handful of rides, you can get several others done.

7. Know your limits

A Disney vacation is a strange animal. You’ve spent a lot of money and effort to make it happen. You want desperately for it to be magical, so you push the limits to get as much time as possible. But it’s still a vacation. Don’t forget to build in time to relax. Don’t work so hard in pursuit of happiness that you make yourself miserable. Disney is a lot of walking and standing, and much of it is done in the sweltering Florida heat. If you have young kids, a midday break is a good idea. If you have older kids, a sit down meal in the middle of the day is a great idea – but don’t eat too heavy. The last thing you need is a big steak followed by hours of walking in 100-degree heat, only broken up by occasional rides on spinning, whirling attractions. 

Plan for a break. If you’re staying at a Disney resort, a hotel day is a great option. Sleep in. Hang out at the pool. Enjoy a meal and relax. Rest your feet. Apply baby powder to any place that chafes.

And be open to opportunities to rest. Years ago, when my son was a train-obsessed toddler, we went to Magic Kingdom when the railroad was down due to Tron construction. How did we avoid disappointment? We promised him a ride on the other train – the one he’d seen on the way to the park. In the afternoon, when he started to get a little cranky, I took him to the monorail, and we excitedly boarded. He climbed up on my chest and rode the loop, falling asleep about halfway through. So we took the opportunity to rest, riding the monorail loop from the Contemporary to the Transportation and Ticket Center to the Polynesian and Grand Floridian and back around again. We rode in the air conditioning and rested. When he woke up, we went back to the park, rested and refreshed, and we avoided going back to the hotel for a full-fledged nap.

8. Watch a parade

You want to give your kid a dose of Disney endorphins? Get a good spot for the parade. My first time at Disney, back in 1979, I was smitten with the Main Street Electrical Parade and insisted we watch it every night before returning to Fort Wilderness. On my oldest’s first trip to Disney, she watched in amazement as all her favorite characters paraded past.

To this day, “Daddy, Goofy waved at me,” still echoes in my ears.

And the magic isn’t limited to the little ones. Last year, my nearly teenage boy got a thrill when Peter Pan’s Lost Boys paraded past, as well as when he spotted the Jolly Roger he’d picked up at Pirates of the Caribbean. He laughed as each Lost Boy gave him the stink eye and Wendy looked on in concern before signaling Captain Hook, who gave JP a pirate salute.

In short, Disney parades are awesome. Don’t miss out.

9. Ride the monorail, even if you don’t need to

I’ve already told you my best monorail story, but in addition to a relaxing, air-conditioned ride, the monorail represents the original vision of what Disney World could be. Sleek, with an idea of a future of possibilities. The monorail isn’t the most exciting thing you’ll ride at Disney, but it has stood the test of time and remains exceptionally cool.