Buster and the Banshee thought that it would be interesting to walk through our trip planning process with our audience. As part of this series, we will address many of the aspects of WDW trip planning that all families go through.
The first question that most people face when planning a WDW trip is deciding when to go. As you would expect, the most convenient times to go are also the most popular times to go. Therefore, choosing a time is an exercise is balancing convenience with dealing with the crowds during these most popular times.
Because we have children in school and we generally choose not to pull them out of school for a Disney vacation, that limits us to going when they don’t have classes for a contiguous block of time. For us, that means either during Christmas, Spring Break, or summer.
Christmas
PROS: Temperate weather, Holiday decorations and events
CONS: CROWDS! High prices.
Spring Break:
PROS: Weather is warm but not unbearable, not hurricane season
CONS: CROWDS! High prices.
Summer:
PROS: Crowds and prices are not quite as crazy as Spring Break or Christmas
CONS: The weather.
Taking into the factors above, we have historically chosen to go during the summer time. Our school district generally starts classes after Labor Day, so in the past we have targeted the last two weeks of August. Because there are many states where school is already in session in August, crowds tend to be lighter at this time of the year. This is also reflected in the cost of tickets and accommodations. The main downside is that weather in Central Florida in August is akin to spending the day in a furnace. Not to mention that you are at higher risk of encountering a hurricane. However, the tradeoff is worth it for us.
This year, however, there are some extenuating circumstances. First, Buster has some potential work obligations in 2023 that might prevent an August trip. Second, our son Little Buster has begun college, so his start date is earlier than it was when he was in high school.
Our next choice would have been the beginning of June, since many schools are still in session during that time. However one of those schools is Little Banshee’s school, and we are choosing not to take her out of class for a WDW trip, especially considering this is not a “once in a lifetime trip”.
That leaves the six weeks between mid-June and the end of July as options.
The next part of the equation is “how long?” Buster is fortunate to have quite a lot of vacation time with his job, and Banshee is self-employed. Therefore, we have the luxury of being able to spend two weeks in Central Florida. That length of time allows us to do everything we want to do at a leisurely pace with enough down time so we don’t burn ourselves out (literally and figuratively). Also, for me personally, I feel like a one week vacation of any sort is not long enough.
It takes a few days to really get your mind in “vacation mode” and forget about work. If you only take off one week, by the time you get into that vacation mindset, it is already time to start gearing up for a return to your normal lives. However, two weeks gives enough time to get the mental health benefits of taking time off.
I know that most Americans might not have the luxury of taking two weeks off, which honestly is a shame. This is one area where the Europeans, with their months of vacations, really are superior to us New Worlders.
With that tangent out of the way, we plan to take two weeks 🙂
The other consideration is when our vacation home is available for use. We also are fortunate enough to have a vacation home in Central Florida. However, we offer it for rent to other vacationing families. Therefore, we need to choose a two week period when it is vacant.
That leads us to the two week period around the 4th of July.
Honestly, this isn’t the ideal time since summer crowds generally peak around July 4th. Plus, since we will be using our vacation home, we will be giving up the higher than average rental income that we could get during that time.
On the other hand, we have never experienced 4th of July in the parks, so that will be unique experience. Besides, since we go every year, if the crowds prevent us from doing everything that we want to do, it isn’t the end of the world.
So there you have it. That is our thought process behind choosing our vacation dates. In our next installment, I’ll talk about the next step in our planning, which is deciding on park reservations.
AD: We hope you enjoyed this post. If you are coming to Central Florida and need a place to stay, please consider the Encore Magic Villa. It sleeps up to 12 and features a game room, theater room, themed bedrooms, and private pool… located within a short drive to the Magic!
