So you've scrimped and saved. You've eaten Spaghetti-0s for months. You've gone without your morning latte at Starbucks, and you've built up a nice little stash of money. What are you gonna do next? Look directly into the camera and say, "I'm going to Disney World!"

But halt, eager Mouseketeer. A great Disney vacation requires more planning than most other vacations because of the sheer vastness of what dear icy Walt has left to offer. So get your mouse ears ready (if you don't have any mouse ears, feel free to catch a mouse and glue him on your head) and let's start planning.

1. SET A TIMELINE AND BUDGET

Timeline

Disney World has peak and off-peak times of the year:

  • Highest Attendance:
    Presidents' week in February
    Mid-March through Late April (Spring Break)
    Memorial Day weekend
    Mid-June through Labor Day
    Thanksgiving Day and weekend
    Christmas week through New Year's Day

  • Moderate Attendance:
    After Presidents' week in February through early March
    Late April through early June (except Memorial Day weekend)
    The first part of Thanksgiving week

  • Lowest Attendance:
    January (except New Year's Day) until just prior to Presidents' week in February
    The week following Labor Day until just prior to Thanksgiving week
    The week following Thanksgiving until the week prior to Christmas

As you can see, peak times are generally during the summer and holidays because they coincide with kiddie vacations. During these peak times, the parks are crazy crowded, but that's counterbalanced with longer park hours and more attractions. During off-peak times, the lines will be shorter, but stuff may be closed.

Budget

Right off the bat, let us warn you that Disney stuff is very expensive. Including travel, lodging, food, souvenirs, and Valium, your trip can cost anywhere from $800 to $2000 per person, and the price can go much higher if you splurge for the best of the best. Even the food at the parks will cost $15 per person per meal. A four-day stay is usually the suggested minimum if you want to see the parks without rushing through them at breakneck speed. Don't forget that you are going to be spending MORE money than you think (cash disappears in Disney World faster than the trash).

2. BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM

If you want to avoid headaches and coupon clipping, you can always go to a travel agent. Not only do they know the area (Disney World is, after all, the most popular tourist attraction in the world), but they can often get you deals that will include travel and park admittance. So if you're interested in the travel agent, you better start talking to one sooner rather than later.

For convenience, we recommend staying at a hotel within the park - especially with the recent additions of more economical hotels (such as the All-Star Music resort and the All-Star Sports resort, both of which are around $70 a night).

If you're traveling with a large group (5-12+ people), you should check out the villa-type accommodations. Even though they may seem expensive at first, you'll save money by not having to book more than one hotel room. Also, since the villa accommodations come with cooking facilities, you'll save money on meals. For specifics on resort accommodations, check out Disney's resort web page.

You must book your room as early as possible (in fact, as soon as you decide you're gonna go) if you wanna get one of the good cheap deals. This is doubly true if you're planning on going during peak times. Also keep in mind that off-season value prices are generally available from January through early February and mid-August through mid-December, so you'll save more on your trip if you're flexible about when you go.

3. DECIDE HOW YOU'RE GONNA GET THERE

If we all had a little pixie dust and a happy thought, this might be easier. Alas if you try to pay for a plane ticket with pixie dust, you'll probably get dragged off to the booby hatch-you need to get to Disney World using more practical methods: fly, take the train, take a bus, or drive there yourself. Even if you're set on driving because it's the cheapest (especially if you don't have to rent a car), you should at least check out other possibilities, as they may be cheaper than you think.

Fly
Bus or train
Car

Fly

Plane travel is the most painless way to get to Disney World, especially if you live particularly far away. Most airlines offer a flight to Orlando, so you shouldn't have trouble finding one. For more details about getting good ticket deals, check out SYW find cheap airline tickets?

Bus or train

Greyhound provides frequent service to Kissimmee (very close to Disney World); you can call 800-231-2222 for more information. Bus travel can be slow and torturous, so remember that the greater the distance the bus must travel, the more likely you can get a comparable airplane ticket price. If you're on the east coast, Amtrak trains go to Orlando daily from New York City and cost around $150-$350 for a round-trip ticket. The train makes stops in major cities along the way, including Philadelphia, Washington DC, several cities in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Car

If you do end up trekking to Disney World by car, try to arrange it so you drive about 350 miles a day-you'll get fairly far each day, but won't be so weary that you'll be too tired walk around the parks. For specific driving directions (such as what exit to get off, etc.), click here.

4. PLAN YOUR DAILY ITINERARY

Disney World is huge… so huge that you can either just roam around or you can create a fairly lax itinerary. First and foremost, you should be aware that the ticket prices for admittance into the different parks are ridiculous. We recommend that you go with the "Park Hopper" ticket, which allows you admittance to all four parks whenever you like for up to four days. It costs almost $190 per person (though only $150 for kids 3 to 9 years old). In comparison, a one-day ticket to a park costs about $50 for an adult and $40 for a 3- to 9-year-old. So you're not saving a ton of money with the pass, but they do give you other little perks, and you can visit two parks in one day with them.

There are four main parks:

  • The Magic Kingdom
  • Epcot
  • The Animal Kingdom
  • MGM Studios

There are also three water parks:

  • Typhoon Lagoon
  • Blizzard Beach
  • River Country, USA

Other popular tourist destinations include:

  • Boardwalk
  • Pleasure Island (a night-life hub)
  • The Disney Marketplace

We recommend that you stick to the four main parks-one each day of your trip. While it's pretty tough to know what you'd enjoy most in advance, you can go to the Disney general questions page and see interactive maps so that you have a general idea of what to do.

Park overviews

  • The Magic Kingdom
    Made up of Main Street USA, Mickey's Toontown Fair, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, and Tomorrowland. If at all possible, you should go here first to get into the Disney spirit of things. It's also the most wearying, so you want to do it first while you have the energy.

    Our Picks:

    1. Space Mountain (ride first, eat later)

    2. Splash Mountain (you might get wet)

    3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (ride it at night for a better scream)

    4. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (a relatively new attraction that allows you to ride through the Toy Story world and shoot the bad guys)

    5. Main Street Electrical Parade (grab a snack and your seat at least 30 minutes before the parade)

  • EPCOT
    Broken into the World Showcase (attractions/restaurants centered around various countries) and Future World.

    Our Picks:

    1. Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (a virtual reality ride)

    2. Spaceship Earth (it's that golf ball thing)

    3. Ellen's Energy Adventure/Universe of Energy (Ellen DeGeneres chats about energy and then takes you on a ride with the dinosaurs)

  • The Animal Kingdom
    Go on a jungle safari, dance with the Lion King, or pet a smelly goat.

    Our Picks:

    1. It's Tough to be a Bug (a 3-D show)

    2. Countdown to Extinction

  • MGM Studios
    Themed around Hollywood, all of the rides here pretty much rock. If you pace yourself, you can probably knock them all out in a day.

    Our Picks:

    1. Fantasmic (an all-around kick-ass show)

    2. Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3-D

    3. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (featuring Aerosmith)

    4. Hollywood Tower of Terror

5. PACK RIGHT

Obviously, we can't tell you everything you'll need to bring, nor would we want to (your hygiene habits are your business). We're also not going to remind you to bring things like underwear and money and traveler's checks (whoops… we just did!). But we do have some less obvious packing hints to offer:

  • Bottled water - Bottled water costs about $4 in the park, so bring your own to save money. Keep it hidden as you go enter (those park attendants can be jerks about you bringing in your own stuff).

  • Very, very, very comfortable shoes - Leave fashion in the real world. If those beat up old sneakers feel good, wear 'em. You could easily walk five miles a day in a park, and you'll end up thanking us later.

  • Camera and film - Bring your own film. The film is pretty expensive in the parks, and Disney World is synonymous with "Kodak moments galore" so bring more than one roll.

  • The right clothes - Make sure you check the Florida weather reports before you leave. Florida isn't warm year round, so if you're going in the winter, it's best to dress in layers, so you can peel off a sweater if the sun starts to smile.

6. FOLLOW THESE TIPS WHILE AT THE PARK

You're probably going to be a Disney guru by the time you set foot in the resort, but we have a few more helpful hints for you for when you actually land in Never-Never Land.

  1. Wake up early. Find out what time the theme parks open during your stay, and plan to arrive each day at least fifteen minutes before opening (guests staying within the resort are allowed in a half hour earlier than everyone else). The crowd is thinner earlier in the morning, so you'll be able to knock out a few of the best attractions before the park fills up.

  2. Check out the Tip Board at each theme park first thing in the morning. Each of the theme parks has a "tip board" close to the entrance (ask as soon as you walk in). Here, you can plan your day by finding out 1) the waiting times for popular attractions, 2) which attractions are closed, and 3) the times of the day's parades and shows.

  3. Utilize the new Disney Fast Pass. Believe it or not, the best attractions in each park now offer two ways of "waiting" for the attraction/ride.
    Option 1: You can take a Fast Pass ticket, do something else for about an hour, return to the ride during the hour-long time frame printed on the ticket, and walk right onto the ride.

    Option 2: You can just wait in the stand-by line, which will be substantially shorter because of all the people taking Fast Pass tickets.

    The catch: You can only have one Fast Pass ticket at a time. So you can't run from attraction to attraction hoarding Fast Passes.
  4. Don't eat junk food the whole trip. Although the hotel bathrooms in Disney World are spotless and beautiful, you don't want to spend your days locked up in there. It's tempting to eat cheeseburgers and fries the entire trip to save time and money, but make sure you get some nutrition in there too.

  5. Don't buy stupid souvenirs. That Aladdin business card holder may seem cool in the gift shop, but are you really going to use it when you get home? It's hard to keep track of what you're spending, especially if you're using plastic, so stick to practical items that you know you won't stash away in a drawer when you get back. If you must, limit yourself to one silly souvenir, because after all, who doesn't appreciate a glow-in-the-dark Captain Hook light switch cover?

  6. Take lotsa pictures. Remember that years from now, the best pictures will be the ones with you and your friends/family in them. So don't waste your time taking pictures of the bushes shaped like animals unless your friends and family are standing in front of them.