Planning an Orlando vacation can feel like a full-time job. Between theme park tickets, dining reservations, Lightening Lanes and Express Passes, hotels, transportation, and trying to make everyone happy…it’s a lot.
I’ve spent months planning our Orlando vacation, researching tickets, comparing hotels, organizing dining reservations, building park strategies, and tweaking plans approximately 700 times. This trip is a mix of Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando, rest days, and family time, and Honestly? Now that we’re getting close, I’m so glad I put the time in upfront because I know it’s going to make the actual trip feel so much smoother.
If you’re currently deep in your own Disney or Universal planning spiral, here’s exactly how I approached ours, including what I prioritized, where I splurged, and the systems I used to keep everything organized.
Quick Trip Snapshot:
Dates: June 2026
Staying: Off-Property VRBO
Parks: Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando
Splurges: Express Passes (Epic Universe) and Disney VIP Tours (Hollywood Studios + Magic Kingdom)
Priorities: Lower stress, flexibility, family time
Planning Style: Organized…but trying not to over-optimize
Step 1: Decide What Kind of Trip You Actually Want
Before I booked anything, I really thought about what we wanted this trip to feel like.
Did we want:
- Rope-drop-to-close park days every day?
- A relaxing vacation with some parks mixed in?
- A luxury experience?
- Budget-conscious?
- A trip focused on rides?
- Food?
- Family time?
- Nostalgia?
- Convenience?
For us, the answer was:
- Some high-energy park days
- Some slower recovery days
- A more “experience-focused” trip
- Less stress while in the parks
- Staying off-property with more space and downtime
Those decisions shaped everything else.
Step 2: Choose Where to Stay
One of the biggest decisions was whether to stay on-property or off-property.
While I know many people who swear that on-property is the only way to do Disney, we decided to rent a house instead of booking Disney or Universal hotels because we wanted:
- More space
- Separate bedrooms
- A kitchen
- A private pool
- Laundry access
- A place that felt relaxing after long park days
We found a themed VRBO near the parks, and honestly, I think it’s going to be perfect for us for this trip. The extra space and ability to truly decompress at the end of the day mattered more to us than being immersed in the “Disney bubble” 24/7.
Step 3: Build a Realistic Park Schedule
This is where I think people accidentally ruin their own vacations.
You do not need to do every park every day from open to close.
We intentionally built in:
- Rest days
- Pool time
- Slower mornings
- Flexible evenings
Our rough schedule looks like this:
- Epic Universe
- Universal Studios + Islands of Adventure
- A full rest/pool day
- EPCOT
- Hollywood Studios
- Magic Kingdom
I also tried to alternate more intense days with lighter ones so we’re not completely exhausted halfway through the trip.
Step 4: Prioritize What Actually Matters to You
I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to do everything.
Instead, I made a list of “must-do” items and “nice if it happens” items.
For example:
- Riding Guardians of the Galaxy is a must do for us
- Seeing the fireworks at Magic Kingdom is a must
- Experiencing the How to Train Your Dragon area of Epic Universe is a must
- Eating specific snacks? Nice, but not trip-ruining if we miss them
Once I stopped trying to optimize every second, planning became way less stressful.
Step 5: Book Dining Early
Dining reservations can honestly be one of the most stressful parts of Disney planning.
The restaurants I prioritized most were:
- Space 220
- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
- 50’s Prime Time Cafe
I made a sheet with reservation dates, times, confirmation numbers, and also created an outline of park plans for each day. It may sound excessive, but future me is VERY thankful.
Step 6: Decide Where You Want to Spend More Money
We definitely didn’t approach this trip as a “bare minimum budget” vacation. Instead, we chose a few areas where we wanted to intentionally spend more because we felt like they would improve the overall experience.
For us, those were:
- Express Passes for Epic Universe
- VIP Tours for Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom
- A larger rental house (everyone having their own bedrooms is HUGE for our family)
- Comfortable travel days
- Convenience over squeezing every dollar
But we also balanced those things by:
- Staying off-property
- Using Disney gift card and military discounts
- Planning meals strategically
- Having some lower-key days
I don’t think there’s a “right” way to do Orlando. I think it’s more about deciding what matters most to you.
One of the biggest splurges of this trip was booking two Disney VIP tours.
And yes, they are very expensive.
But after thinking about the goals for this trip, we ultimately decided it was wroth prioritizing for us.
If you aren’t familiar with Disney VIP Tours, they’re privately guided tours where a Disney cast member helps navigate your day, optimize ride order, minimize waiting, and escort you backstage between parks/areas. You also get access to Lightening Lane entrances for attractions during your tour time.
For us, the biggest appeal honestly wasn’t “luxury” in the traditional sense, it was reducing stress and maximizing our time.
We’re traveling during a busy season, and we really wanted:
- Less time standing in lines
- Less logistical stress
- Less rushing around
- More flexibility
- and more time actually enjoying the experience together
We also loved the idea of ending one of our tours with the VIP fireworks viewing at the Magic Kingdom.
Could we do Disney without VIP Tours? Absolutely.
But because this trip is a bigger experience-focused vacation for us, we decided this was one of the areas where we intentionally wanted to splurge.
I’ll definitely report back after the trip on whether we felt like it was truly worth the cost.
Tip: We Got Military Discount Tickets (Even Without Qualifying for Military Salute Tickets)
One thing I kept seeing while researching Orlando vacations was information about the Disney Military Salute tickets…which are objectively an amazing deal if you qualify.
However, what I didn’t realize initially is that not qualifying for Military Salute tickets doesn’t automatically mean you have to pay full price.
Because my husband is a veteran with an 80% service-connected disability rating, we were still able to purchase discounted tickets for both Disney and Universal through the MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) program.
Were the discounts as steep as the Military Salute prices? No.
But the savings were still significant enough that it absolutely felt worth it, especially for a larger trip with multiple park days.
The process was also surprisingly easy. I think sometimes people assume military-related ticket programs are complicated or inaccessible, but that really wasn’t our experience.
So if you’re a veteran family and you’ve assumed your only options were either:
- Military Salute pricing
or
- Paying full retail
…it’s definitely worth looking into MWR ticket discount options before purchasing.
Step 7: Organize EVERYTHING
I would genuinely lose my mind if I tried to keep all of this in my head.
I have:
- Shared notes
- Reservation screenshots
- Outfit planning
- Park day checklists
- Packing checklists
- Dining confirmations
- Ticket info
- Transportation details
- A rough daily itinerary
Not because I want the trip to feel rigid, but because being organized ahead of time actually helps me feel more relaxed once we’re there.
Step 8: Leave Room for Spontaneous Fun
This has honestly been the hardest part for me.
I love planning. Like…deeply love planning.
But some of the best vacation moments happen when something unexpected comes up. A snack you randomly try, an attraction you stumble into, a slower evening by the pool, a funny memory that wasn’t on the itinerary.
So while I absolutely have a plan, I also recognize the importance of allowing room for the trip to unfold naturally.
Things I'm Glad I Planned Ahead
These are the things that already feel worth the planning effort, even before the trip has started.
Here are a few things I’m especially glad I handled early:
- The VRBO reservation
- Dining reservations
- Park ticket strategy
- Outfit planning
- Rest days
- Transportation logistics
- Packing systems
- Lightening Lane/Express Pass/VIP strategy
- Grocery planning for the house
Every little thing I do now is one less thing I have to stress about during the trip.
Final Thoughts
Planning this trip has honestly been part of the fun for me.
Yes, Orlando vacations can be overwhelming. There are a million moving pieces and everyone online seems to have a different “best” strategy.
But at the end of the day, the goal isn’t to create the most optimized vacation possible.
The goal is to create a trip that feels fun, memorable, and enjoyable for your family.
And hopefully, one where nobody has a meltdown waiting in line for overpriced chicken tendies.
Once we’re back home, I’ll be sharing a full honest recap, including:
- What was worth the money
- What I’d skip next time
- Whether the Disney VIP Tours lived up to the hype
- What worked well with our schedule
- and the things I completely overthought while planning
So, consider this the “before” version, and I’ll report back with the real-life review afterward.
Have you done Disney or Universal recently? I’d love to hear your best planning tips (or things you wish you’d done differently).
♡
Continue Reading