Cheat Sheet for Walt Disney World in 2014
By Dave Shute
My four-page Walt Disney World Cheat Sheet–an example page is to the right–includes a number of this site’s famous charts and graphs. It’s updated to reflect FastPass+.
In total, the cheat sheet provides the key stuff you need for planning your 2014 first family visit to Walt Disney World.
Click here to open it as a PDF–it’s 1.47 MB, so might take a bit.
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120 comments
Hi Dave. Wow. For every one blog I read the more overwhelmed I think I become. We are taking our kids 10,10,15- all girls for all of our first time in Oct. dates are negotiable. Having no experience with Disney, we bought our 5 day Park Hopper passes as Christmas gifts. Planning in staying off site at a house rental. Where do we start the planning process?! Thank you so much in advance.
Nichole, start here and work your way down its topics: https://yourfirstvisit.net/
Hi Dave,
Great site!
I haven’t seen you comment on the Water Parks and More ticket option. Do you recommend the water parks at all? I will be staying a week 5/3-5/11 with my 5 and 4 year old. Is it worth checking out, or just use the pools? ( I am staying at AoA)
Thanks!
Brian, my itineraries peak out at 9 days in Orlando, and for first timers who may never return, there’s not enough room in them for the minor parks. For families who plan to return the water parks can be great fun!
When will prices, park schedules, etc. for November/December 2014 be ready? Is the Animal Kingdom parade being replaced with another parade or will there be nothing?
Thanks in advance!
Missy, prices are out. The schedule for November will be out in late April, and December’s in late May.
We will have a military four day pass we will be there 5/6-5/10, we have the hopper pass. Do you have a good itinerary for us?
Sorry, I don’t have 4 day itineraries, but can help–but first, tell me how old the kids are?
You have convinced me to want to stay at the poly .. Nov 16th -22 .. 6 adults -6 kids .. 3,3,6,8,12,and16 .. If volcano pool is closed .. Is it still worth staying? Is the other pool fun and is there a beach? Love your site
Matry, the other pool is dull. You’ll be able to use the Beach Pool at the Grand Floridian, which is fun…but frankly it would be easier all around just to book the Grand Floridian…
Awesome sight,
I was hopping you can help me. I’m going to Disney with my twin 9 year olds on 6/1- 6/7.
It’s our first time and we are staying at Art of Animation. I was hoping you can give us an intinerary. We have the 4 day ticket with water pass. I like would like to avoid the most busiest parks on designated days. I just don’t know where to start.
Thank You!!!!
Hi Jill and thanks! I don’t have four day itineraries, but check out josh’s stuff here: http://www.easywdw.com/category/cheat-sheets/
9 years olds can have fun at every park, and you need 6 days to see all the best, so you’ll have to make some choices about whihc parks get two days (e.g. Mk) and thus which you skip.
June 1 avoid MK and HS
June 2 avoid all parks but EPcot
June 3 all parks but Epcot are good
June 4 all parks but HS are good
June 5 avoid AK and MK
June 6 avoid Epcot and HS
June 7 avoid AK and HS
Hello, new to your site and I love it. Family of 7, 4 adults 3 girls 10,6,2 we are staying un two rooms at AoA 11/9-11/15 I know our girls are two young for your itenaries but do you have advice on what parks to stay away from when? We will be spending most of our time at mk with short trips to AK ,HS for disney jr lunch and akershus at epcot. Do you know when mickeys christmas party will start and where icanfind park hours forNovember? Thank you much
Hi Daria!! November hours are here: http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_november.pdf My forecasts for the Christmasa party are here–actual dates should be out in early May: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2014/04/13/mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party-mvmcp-in-2014/
Those dates, MK will be most crowded 11/9, 11/11 and 11/15. AK will be fine most days, but best 11/11. Avoid HS 11/10, and avoid Epcot 11/11 and 11/14.
Hi Dave,
We are planning our trip back to WDW for February 3, 2015 and we are stating until the 12th. I am trying to figure out what is the best way to go about planning this since I can’t really book any reservations (for dining, fast pass etc) yet. We are a party of 6 plus a toddler who will be almost three at the time of travel. We want to do breakfast at the hotel every morning so we need a room with a kitchen area. Last time we went we stayed at the Art of Animation and it was awesome but a little cramped with all of us plus our stuff, food, the pack and play etc… So I was thinking perhaps a family suite plus another room. What do you think? Also, I don’t want to miss out on “Be Our Guest” but we are nowhere near the 180 days…. can I reserve now? I read on your site here that the best time to arrive is on a Saturday and then leave the following Sunday.. I thought that airline tickets are cheapest on Tuesday. Is that not accurate because I am planning our trip to arrive on a Tuesday due to the flight prices? Also we will be adding the dining plan that has the 1 quick service and 1 table service to our trip, what are your thoughts about that? The party consists of four adults and 3 children (boy-7, boy-6 and girl-2.5) …. I know I’m all over the place here with our questions but I want to get planning and make sure I get into the things we want to see this time.
Erica, there’s not a lot you can do now–including making dining–until 180 days before. But you can plan! Start on the home page and work your way through its topics– https://yourfirstvisit.net/ Your prior stay at AofA–was it in a family suite? As you likely know, you would be in different buildings if you got both a suite and a regular room. The Lion King suites are closest to the Little Mermaid regular rooms. I’m not keen on the dining plan for most–see the lower part of this page (the part “What is the Dining Plan Anyway”? https://yourfirstvisit.net/2014/04/16/the-best-ever-free-dining-faq-in-the-history-of-the-world/ And on Sat-Sun–see this https://yourfirstvisit.net/2011/09/26/the-tightwads-guide-to-which-night-to-check-in-at-walt-disney-world/
Dave, thanks for all of your help so far. I love your site! I’m in a major time crunch–coming up on day 180 MONDAY 4/28. I had everything perfectly planned out, and I stumbled upon a fun fact today. I can pay $20 less for FL resident weekday passes than I am paying for my 4 day FL resident park hopper tix. I had planned on visiting parks Sunday-Wednesday and I’m hoping for free dining on our dates (Oct. 25-30). I was on live chat for ages and the operator said I can only get credit for UNUSED tix if I upgrade while I’m there. However, I read this on FAQs on allears.net “I have heard that I can upgrade my MYW ticket to an AP or PAP and get full credit for the original purchase price even after I have used a few days admission. Is this true?
Yes it is. If you decide that you want to upgrade it to an AP/PAP, you will get full credit for the price of the ticket towards the AP/PAP. All MYW tickets must be upgraded within 14 days of first use. In all cases, the AP/PAP will be backdated to the date the hopper pass was first used.”
I’m so confused! Do you have any info on this? I think the operators have to be SO careful of what they put in writing that you can end up just going around in circles with them. If I can get credit for all my tickets, I’m going to keep my res. as is, but if I don’t get credit for my first day, I’ll likely move my reservation over a day and do the parks Mon-Thurs. rather than Sun-Wed and upgrade before using any. Please help clarify if you can :o)
Andrea: I think there’s two different things going on here. You can credit completely unused tickets at any time. You can credit partially used ones only during the 14 day window, and in most cases only before the last use day.
Thanks for the speedy reply. I think the late hour last night coupled with the stress of my approaching 180 days got me worked up :o) So, you think that I will just get credit for the unused tickets–as long as they’re w/in the 14 day window. Is the allears post referring to a different kind of deal (full credit maybe won’t work for weekday only passes?) or maybe just old info?
Andrea, honestly I just don’t know. If these were full price tix, you’d get credit for the entire full price you initially pay, so long as you got to guest services befroe 14 days/last ticket day of use. But I just don’t know the rules for the florida deal tix…Sorry to not be much help…
Ugh…And of course the ticketing office is closed on Sundays, and no one else seems to know the answer to this mystery! Looks like I’ll be getting up and making my reservations tomorrow at 5am cst. Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep what I get and not have to get up at the crack of dawn two days in a row! No need to answer if you don’t have anything concrete. If Disney doesn’t even know their policy, I won’t expect you to. Have a happy day. If my biggest problem today is planning my Disney trip, then I have a lot to be grateful for :o)
No problem. I called the ticketing office and she really couldn’t give me an answer either. She wouldn’t attach any numbers to it, but she did say that I would only get credit for unused tickets. She said that there’s a “formula” in the computer that calculates the value of the remaining tickets, since each day isn’t worth the same amount. When I asked if she could just put the numbers in her computer and give me an idea of how much that would be if I used the first day ticket, she balked. It was kinda strange. I’m not stressing over it. Our room is booked and all of the dining I wanted is booked, so I’m not going to be changing any dates. I’ll just see what happens when we get there. I got up at 4:30 (cst) and had 4 reservations made by 5:10. We’re eating lunch with Cinderella our first day at MK and dining with The Beast on our last! We’re also going to be eating at Chef Mickey’s the night we arrive. Life is goooood :o) Fingers crossed for free dining.
Cool ADRs, Andrea! My only advice on the tickets…check with different Cast Members before you accept the trade-in terms, as I hear that different ones understand the policies differently
Help! I’m stuck with the week of June 21 for our Disney trip. We will be in Orlando for a dance competition, so there is no flexibility. We have three, possibly 4 days for Disney. Any tips for making the most of this really crowded week? I will have one 13 year old daughter with me.
Cindy–use Josh’s cheat sheets here to plan your days and you’ll be OK! http://www.easywdw.com/category/cheat-sheets/
love your site thank goodness we are going on a black week! i wanted to know if you had a cheat sheet on the snacks or quick dining plan we are going to mk, epcot and ak got the dinners reserved
Michelle, sorry I don’t!! But at MK the consensus favorite quick service are Columbia Harbor House and Pecos Bills. At Epcot, it’s Sunshine Seasons, and at AK, Flame Tree Barbecue.
My family and I are going July 27-August 9 with a 7 day pass and waterpark to wdw and 4 day pass to universal . Kids are 11,9 and 6. Any ideas for an itinerary and how I can make this enjoyable?
Sandy, see this: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2013/11/30/fastpass-itinerary-for-high-crowd-periods-at-walt-disney-world/
Hi Dave,
Planning a Disney trip for my7 yr old’s birthday. Would like to go around the 9th of October…but only staying approx. 4 days. This is our very first Disney trip and we want to make the best use of our time. We need help from resorts to best parks and restaurants. I would like to stay at a Disney resort so any recommendations for all price ranges greatly appreciated!
Michelle, the best resorts and restaurants all come through links from the home page: https://yourfirstvisit.net/ At that age, I’d do two days at the Magic Kingdom and one day each at the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. MK will be most crowded the 11th, 12th, and 14th. Avoid AK the 10th and 12th, and avoid HS the 11th and 13th. I don;t have daily itineraries on this site, but you can find them in my book The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit.
I am planning a first time trip 06/12/15 to 06/22/15. We are thinking of purchasing a 8 day pass. We will be on a late flight 1st day and early flight last day. What are your suggestions for parks to visit each day? I was thinking MK 3 to 4 days so we can spread all the fun out and not be exhausted. We have a 5 & 7 year old so want to take a 4 hr break each day to eat, swim, & nap. We also want 1 day as a break day. Also what do you think about Hoop show for younger kids on break day?
Hi Jill, I won’t have an opinion about parks to visit each day until Disney releases its calendar for June, which it won’t do for another 3.5 months. And with the time you’ll have I’d vote for your break day to be completely unscheduled, so do Hoop on the evening of an MK day…
we will be going march1(arriving late night) and leaving march 8(mid afternoon)2015. altho we have six adults and one 4 1/2 year old only the child has never been before.this trip is mostley about her, the 41/2 year old.when would be the best time to go to each of the parks and would fast pass extra cost be worth it since it will be a less busey time of year. also what should be the must see and do with the 41/2 year old? we have her set up at the princess breakfast on wed the third at mk. we will be staying at the shades of green resort. thanks steve
Steve, FastPass+ is free, and even at quieter times of the year waits without it routinely exceed an hour, so you should definitely use it! For a child that age you could focus entirely on MK, but all the other parks except maybe Epcot are worth visiting as well. See this for what to prioritize in each park: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2011/03/09/the-comprehensive-guide-to-walt-disney-world-rides-and-attractions/
March 2, avoid HS and MK
March 3 avoid Epcot
March 4 avoid AK
March 5 avoid MK
March 6 avoid Epcot
March 7 avoid MK and HS
March 8 avoid AK
Hi Dave,
I’d love to know your advice on parking. We are not staying on site. We have a couple breakfast reservations at disney resorts. We purchased park hopper tickets and will be using fastpass. I worry we will be having to go back to our car to get to our next destination and I don’t want to be pressed for time or be spending a lot of money on parking. Any suggestions or advice is appreciated!!
Marie, if you are hopping, you pay to park just at the first park. Keep your receipt and show it at the next park and you won’t be charged again that day. Alternatively you can take Disney transport form the first park to the second park–though on average that will be slower…
Hi! This is a great sight! Thank you! We have our trip planned for March 1 – 6. We will arrive early afternoon on Sunday. Leave late afternoon on Friday. What are your recommendations for the best way to see the parks? We would like to include the hoop de doo and camp fire sing along. Hawaiian buffet at the Polynesian resort. Crystal palace, chef Mickey and cape May cafe buffet. Kids are 14, 12, 11. Thank you for any help you can offer.
Hi Regina! All my itineraries are for longer trips, since I reccomend 6 days in the parks. See this for an example of one: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2014/01/14/fastpass-itinerary-for-lower-crowd-weeks/
However, you’ll find one and two day itineraries for each park in my book The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit Note the link is to the 2014 edition. The 2015 edition will be out soon (we hope).
That is much more dining, and too many evening dining options, than I would recommend on such a short trip. I would skip the hawaiian luau, the campfire sing along, and Cape May. Your evenings are best spent at the park fireworks shows at HS, Epcot, and MK.
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