5. Realistically evaluate how much time you plan to spend in the park(s)

It should be obvious why this step ties back to the last one. If you plan to be in the parks a lot, staying offsite becomes inconvenient. You have to take everything you need with you and if you forget something, you either waste valuable vacation time backtracking or are stuck without the item for the day.

Conversely, if you only plan to spend a few hours at the park each day, being offsite is wonderful. You are insulated from the chaos of Disney Parks and have more control over your individual vacation choices. In other words, spending less time at the park gets you out from under Disney’s thumb. Personally, I travel to these areas for the Disney Parks, so I love being under that particular mouse thumb. Wait, does Mickey Mouse have thumbs?

The other important aspect of making this determination involves ticket purchase. If you plan to visit a park a day while you are at Disney, all you need to do is buy a basic ticket for the duration of your stay. If you want to park hop, spend time at Downtown Disney’s DisneyQuest, and visit the various Disney water parks, you will need to select the various add-ons with your ticket purchase. There is no need for the added expenses if you are going to Disney just for the four parks and don’t plan to spend much time at them.

6. Grab your advance dinner reservations

No matter how long you plan to visit, most Disney guests enjoy at least one table service meal per visit. Some people (like me) set up a full slate of them. Anyone who visits Walt Disney World will have to be a bit forward thinking in this regard. Due to the extreme popularity of this park, some of the most hotly contested reservations must be set up 180 days in advance.

If you have never visited Walt Disney World before, that probably sounds crazy. It’s true, though. In fact, Cinderella’s Royal Table and Be Our Guest, the two most popular restaurants at Magic Kingdom, sell out so quickly that you would be well served to try to make reservations at 7 AM on the morning 180 days out from your visit.

The above represents an extreme amount of planning that most people find off-putting. The good news is that the other Disney parks do not require such logistics. In fact, a person who calls Disneyland to make reservations a week before arrival is probably in good shape. Many folks have been able to acquire same day reservations. If you don’t want to stress about getting a table, simply call a few weeks ahead of time. That should be plenty of advance notice everywhere but Walt Disney World.

If you are more of a “we’ll figure it out when we get there” sort of person, you can eat happily at Walt Disney World. It will simply be a series of quick service meals (read: cheeseburgers) or you will have to wait a good while as people with advance dinner reservations get seated ahead of you.

7. Choose your FastPass+ selections (Walt Disney World only)

If you are visiting one of the other Disney Parks, skip ahead to the next section. Everywhere else still uses the prior FastPass process, which can be handled easily once you arrive at the park. As is the case with Advanced Dining Reservations, Walt Disney World requires additional planning.

Thirty days prior to your visit (or 60 days if you are staying onsite), you will need to log on to MyDisneyExperience.com or the MDE app. From there, you will be provided with the ability to choose up to three rides at a selected park. This has become a crucial step as some popular rides such as Toy Story Midway Mania, Test Track and Soarin’ experience brutally long wait times, especially during the most popular periods on the tourism calendar.

8. Consider splurging

The Ultimate Disney Vacation shouldn’t be run-of-the-mill. If your finances allow it, there are several additional options you can choose in order to create the most memorable vacation possible. Are you a fan of Cirque du Soleil? Consider going to La Nouba, the Orlando show. If you want an unforgettable combination of dinner and a meal, Spirit of Aloha and Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue could fit the bill. The latter has been a crowd pleaser for forty years now!  At Disneyland, I suggest the character meal at Goofy’s Kitchen or a meal at Napa Rose in Disney's Grand Californian Hotel.  

Of course, food and shows aren't the only way to splurge. If money is no object, consider one of the special tours. The Ultimate Day of Thrills and The Ultimate Day for Young Families at Walt Disney World are roughly $300 per person. For that cost, you get to ride over a dozen rides across three different Disney Parks. Disneyland offers an even more amazing experience. For $109 per person, you can Walk in Walt's Disneyland Footsteps, which basically sets the bar for Disney once-in-a-lifetime moments.