Hello!!
This is going to be a bit different than how I normally write a blog. This time, I will be keeping this updated as I’m going through my vacation planning process! You’ll see real (LIVE) updates on what steps I’m taking and when I’m taking them!!
NOW the parameters: I am planning a 4 day 4 park Disney vacation for October 2025! My plan is to book this vacation for 12 people total staying on Disney property and 7 people not staying on Disney property! *Yes this is a lot of people but all these steps could still apply from 1 person to 40 people, it doesn’t matter!
aUGUST 2024: Disney vacation planner
I know I said I was doing this live… but this is a bit of a backtrack since I just had this idea to do the blog this way… it’s fine! From now on it’ll be live I promise.
So you may be wondering… Is a Disney Vacation planner worth it?
100% ABSOLUTELY!!! Here’s the thing with Disney Vacation Planners, they are totally FREE. Yes you heard me right, free. Money doesn’t grow on trees and I for one would not pay extra for someone else to book my stay. That’s the beauty of travel agents. They get paid by commission from their travel agency. So I highly recommend using a travel agent, since they are free to use for you, and they know the in’s and out’s of planning a vacation. Sit back, relax, and let them do the heavy lifting!
Contacting a Disney vacation planner
There’s plenty of options out there. I highly suggest doing your own research on what’s best for you. The one I picked was The Vacationeer. I’m ashamed to admit I was influenced by TikTok. But it worked out anyways!!
I got into contact with my vacation planner, gave her the same parameters outlined above, and we’re off to planning! She the very next day sent me options (with prices included) of packages. This is research that would have taken me hours to figure out. She sent so many options and never hesitated to answer any questions!
Since the vacation was so far out though, I was not yet prepared to put down a deposit until I discussed with the other vacation go-ers what worked for them.
October 2024: Hotel Package booking
You technically do not need to book 1 year in advance for your vacation. However, the further out you book, the cheaper the hotels are. So here we are. I had previously narrowed down my choices and finally came to the conclusion that the Carribean Beach Resort was our choice with the 4 day 1 park per day ticket!
Why Carribean Beach Resort?
Well let me tell you. There was a few things that swayed us this direction.
- Skyliner.
- Quieter, since we’re all adults, we wanted something more laid back and less screaming children!
- Skyliner.
- Heard Sebastians is really good
- Skyliner.
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the skyliner was a BIG reason we picked this hotel. The benefit of waking up and being taken basically directly to EPCOT or Hollywood studios was a plus.
Since we had decided on Carribean Beach Resort, we contacted our planner and BOOM, the deposit was paid. The deposit is $200 per room and the rest is to be paid one month before the first day of vacation!
November 2024: BUDGETING
Now you know me. I couldn’t just sit by and pay FULL price for Disney? No I think not.
The Plan:
- Take advantage of the discounts that Disney releases every few months.
- Pay entirely in Disney giftcards.
Yes you heard me right. Disney vacations can be paid off using Disney gift cards. Now you might be wondering, “okay yeah so? How does that help with getting it cheaper?” Sam’s Club & Target are the hero’s here. Sam’s club once or twice a year offers $200 gift cards for $180 for Disney. Limit of 4 each time, but totally worth it. They also offer those gift cards for $190 all other times of the year (also a limit of 4 per membership each month)
Target ALSO offers 5% off disney giftcards using your Target Red Card. That means you’re basically guarenteed AT LEAST 5% off your Disney vacation. My plan was then to combine these two discounts with Target bonuses & credit card rewards.
So now that the plan was in place, it’s time to secure the Disney discount.
May 2025: DISCOUNTS?
It happened. We got the email that alerted us of the discounts. Now, at this point in time, there were no discounts available for the room types we picked. However, there were other room types with a discount available, making it cheaper still. So we switched room types to the new rooms so that we could get a couple hundred off per room!
Worth it 100%.
JUNE 2025: Gift cards
I’m still on the hunt for gift cards. This is the hardest part really. But we’re getting there! $11,000 in giftcards left to go. We have a plan and we’re making it happen! I did the math, and so far we have exceeded expectations and have so far saved 12% using Disney giftcards. That’s thousands of dollars saved.
JUly 2025: Reservations
Here’s a plus of the vacation planner. I do not have to wake up at 6:00 AM EST to secure reservations. I’m on the west coast and waking up at 3:00AM here time sounds like horrid. I’ll pass.
Instead, I gathered my reservation preferences (dates, restaurants, times) and sent them over to my vacation planner in preparation for when she’s able to get reservations 60 days out!
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