My top tips for doing Disney World based on my most recent experience.

1. Definitely have a basic game plan, but be totally flexible with it because things can change last minute.

2. Seriously consider Park Hoppers to allow maximum flexibility in your park days if needed.

3. To be most efficient with your time, you’ll want to get to your park of choice at opening and either do the virtual queue or pay for the lighting passes

4. Driving in and parking is fine for Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom. It is not fine for the magic kingdom.

5. Consider packing minimal and as light as possible to make getting around less of a hassle.

6. Bring an extra pair of walking shoes in case it rains while you’re there, or you get wet on a ride.

7. Have cash for tipping.

8. Sometimes the weather apps are not accurate with radar so just go out and enjoy the day and see what happens.

SHOULD I DRIVE TO THE PARKS AT DISNEY WORLD?

We actually enjoyed driving in to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Magic Kingdom is the problem area and where I would just take an official Disney bus or boat if possible so that way you get dropped off right in front.

IS IT CROWDED AT DISNEY WORLD IN OCTOBER?

This was the most crowded I’d ever seen Disney. This was likely due to so many people trying to maximize their time before the hurricane arrived.

HOW’S THE WEATHER AT DISNEY WORLD IN OCTOBER?

We’re still in hurricane season, so it seems to be very iffy. You have to be prepared for any kind of weather, from blazing hot in the high 80s, to cool in the upper 50s. That’s what we experienced in the span of just a few days

HURRICANE MILTON IMPACT

For us we ended up leaving 2 days early and cramming in everything into basically 2 days really. The last day we just really went to MK because we had reservations at Crystal Palace and I had ordered that cake for her birthday.

SHOULD I GET MAGIC BANDS?

Yes, Probably - but it’s not necessary.

“Should we get magic bands for our Disney trip?” is another common question and conundrum I see many people have online. Including us. Back in the day, these were always included as part of your package. Once I had booked the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I received an offer of 25% off magic band purchases. Given that, I decided to go ahead and do it since I’ve always had them before. I really wasn’t a fan or relying on my phone to do the park check in and all that and figured that the magic bands would be less hassle. And it turns out, they worked great. I think the new “PLUS” feature is a little hokey because it did light up during shows and as we walked around near all the golden statues which you could interact with. It’s probably fun for the kids and true Disney fans. I know Amanda loved it.

IS THE APPLE WATCH at DISNEY A GOOD IDEA?

Yes, Probably

For the past 3 years, I’ve debated about getting an Apple Watch. But, I just thought they were a little too big and bulky. When Apple announced the Apple Watch 10 was going to be slimmer and have a slightly larger face, and all the improvements, I thought this would be a good time to pick one up to try out. So a few days before we left I got one. This turned out to be an excellent decision because it allowed me to take calls and answer texts without having to get my phone out of the bag. The only thing that would have made it even better is if I had gotten the cellular version so I wouldn’t even have to have my phone - which is useful when Amanda would go somewhere and I would go somewhere else, but she’d have the stroller and bag. So, I highly recommend getting an Apple Watch with the cellular option. I’ll be exchanging mine for it this week.

HOW MUCH DID IT COST AT DISNEY WORLD 2024?

Since our trip was cut short, I’m estimating we saved around $2,500. The additional 2 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge were going to be $1,500 and I know we would have easily spent another $1,000 or so on food because we had 2 more character dining events we didn’t get to do (Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot for dinner, and O’hana at the Polynesian Resort for Breakfast) which would have been another $400-$500. [basing that on the Crystal Palace lunch which was about $250 for the 3 of us.]

Total trip cost from start to finish was $3,491 for 4 days and 3 nights, knowing that it would have been around $5,500 if we hadn’t left 2 days early.

HOW WAS THIS TRIP “FREE?”

Dividend Investments

From the end of 2020 until Summer of 2023 - so about 3.5 years, I did Door Dash and Uber Eats (plus surveys and affiliate marketing) in my spare time and ended up making about $12,000. I had that in a savings account and decided to invest it in high yield dividend ETFs over time.

That single $12,000 investment generates me $600-$1000/mo in income that I then save and use to pay for all our vacations. Meanwhile the original $12,000 is still invested and continually earning money “forever” hopefully. This way, all my vacations are essentially paid using other people’s money and not my own. Just hop on YouTube and look up high yield dividend investing to learn more!

Our 9 day road trip out west over July 4th was about $1,900 and our 4 day trip to Destin at the end of July was about $3,500. So adding in Disney, that’s almost $8,000 in vacations that I didn’t have to use my own money for.

When people say, “let your money work for you” this is what they mean. This is life changing stuff and I hope everyone learns about it, because this isn’t taught in school anywhere. I have friends right now who are paying their mortgages/rent, cell phones, and groceries using this technique. It works. I hope you will take the time to learn about it!

WHEN AM I GOING BACK?

Sooner rather than later

Since this trip was cut short by the hurricane and it rained the last 3 days - I didn’t get to do any of my photography adventures. As soon as I get the money saved up, we’ll probably be going again in 2025 as soon as the next round of resort discounts drops for a place we want to stay.