Holy moly. I had NO idea what I was getting into when I suggested we go to Disney World this fall. We aren’t telling Iris until her birthday in October (so, shhhhh!) and then we aren’t going until Thanksgiving, so I thought I was doing good planning nearly six months in advance… Uh, no. I am so late to the game. I missed the precious 180 mark ahead of our arrival date, which is when you apparently are supposed to book all of your meals and experiences. Thankfully I still have time to figure out the system before the Fast Pass option opens up. I hear that I’m supposed to book those literally the minute they are available, even though it’s in the middle of the night.

I did get a little lucky though. I had some amazing tips and input from folks on Instagram, but also bookmarked a few things I wanted to try to reserve. The most obvious one? Dinner at Cinderella’s castle (did you know they serve champagne now?!). Of course when I went to reserve, every last slot was already taken for our entire trip. But then I read that you should check everyday just in case some one cancels… And guess what? It worked! We might be dining close to 10 pm our first full day there, but our plan was to close down the parks each night any way.

After several recommendations, I booked us a Royal room at the Port Orleans Riverside, got tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and reservations at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. So let me know what else should we definitely do or what really isn’t worth it. I fee like this is like learning another language, so I welcome any tips (and prayers)!