If you beautiful people have been following my blog for the past couple of months, you likely know my feelings on Disney. It’s cute and magical and all, but we’re just not exactly Disney people. At least that’s what I concurred after 7 full days of Disney with my fam this past January.

You know I’m not a planner. All the fastpasses and scheduling and when to ride what and where even is that on the map the whole week kinda stressed me out. I mean, we just like to go and have a good time. We’ve even been known to just fly by the seats of our pants a time or two. 🙂

But, luckily I surround myself with some really cool people. One of those people is my friend, Tleshia. She’s organized and she plans and she’s pleasant to be around. I mean, you can’t go wrong there. I like to call her a Disney expert. A guru, if you will.

So, Tleshia heard my ever-so-slight grumbles about the craziness a simple Disney trip brought into my life and we sat down and drank a bunch of coffee and hashed a few things out. First things first…

Disney is for lovers planners.

If you want to get the most out of your Disney experience, you must plan your trip. You must plan it early and plan it well. If you’re not a planner, find someone who is. Pay someone to plan your trip for you. I bet Tleshia would be up for it. Tleshia plans her trips well beforehand. Like Excel sheets and a glass of wine at midnight planning. By doing so, she is able to secure the best Fastpasses, hotel, and dining reservations. The more decisions she makes ahead of time, the less she has to do on vacation.

Disney is expensive. That’s no mystery. But, luckily, Tleshia is wise beyond her years. And I just love her philosophy on planning (even if I don’t always abide by it. LOL)…If we’re going to spend our money (and time) wisely to make the most out of our trip, planning is imperative. “I hate to feel like I’ve paid a lot of money to go work.”

So, how in the heck does a non-planner even begin to plan for Disney? Don’t fret, my pretties. I have a few tips from wise Tleshia…

• Get familiar with Disney Touring Plans! You can check crowd calendars to find out the most and least busy times to enjoy your vacation at Disney!
• Stay on property, if it’s in your budget. It’s just so convenient to be so close to everything!
• Load all of your souvenir money on gift cards to stay on budget!
• Book your FastPasses early – like Midnight on the day that you can do it (60 days in advance)!
• Book your Dining Plan then too!
• When at Disney, try to have your first 3 FastPasses used up by 1pm, then you can go to kiosks and get one at a time for the remainder of the evening.
• Plan as much as you can before hand…even outfits! The less you have to do on vacation, the better!

So, now you’re a couple of steps ahead on your next Disney vacay! You can thank Tleshia for that. Now, please excuse me while I go pretend to PLAN a summer trip to the Pacific NorthWest. 🙂

xo | Brooke