No amount of time in Disney World ever feels long enough, but is one day ample time to explore all of Disney?
There is actually a growing trend online right now where people travel to and from Disney World in just one day from their home state. New Jersey residents have shared hundreds of videos on TikTok chronicling their one-day journeys from EWR to MCO, over to Disney World and back again.
I’ve always wanted to try this, but I know that just one day in Disney is not enough for me. For Annual Passholders, an out-of-state day trip is a great way to justify paying for a yearly pass.
But for those of us not looking to get in and out in a day, how long should you plan for when traveling to Disney World? That depends!
What are my credentials?
If you’re wondering what a Jersey girl has to say to explain how long you should travel to Disney for, well, let me tell you.
I’m a certified Disney adult
I’ve traveled to Disney World for the last 30+ years
I’ve been to Disneyland over 10 times
I write about deals for a living!
Also, don’t count N.J. out; there’s a reason everyone refers to the first week of November as Jersey Week in Disney World, after all.
Related: I just booked a Disney flight during the N.J. teachers’ convention week for under $250. Here’s my secret.
How many days for Disney World?
I have a personal sweet spot; I never like to travel to Disney for less than four full days, but my preferred trip length is eight days.
Regardless of your budget, planning a Disney World trip for between four and seven days is the ideal timeframe for most people.
When planning a trip to Disney, you need to consider a few things:
What’s your budget? If you’re working on a tighter budget, you’ll need to look at all of the optics. If your budget is very flexible, you can essentially go at any time and for however many days you want. Still, even with a huge budget, you should plan a set number of days to achieve the perfect trip to capture all of your interests.
What are your travel dates? After you’ve determined your budget, you need to consider when to go. Disney World can be very busy most of the year, but there are a handful of months that are calmer than others. If you’re flexible on your travel dates, that plays a big factor in how many days you should go for. However, if you can only go during school breaks, that will narrow your travel window down drastically, and you’ll really need to plan smart to get the most out of your trip.
Are you traveling with or without children? If you’re traveling with children, a rest day is essential. You will need to account for that rest day, travel days and park days when counting how many days to go. Grown-ups can benefit from a rest day as well, but it is not as much of a requirement as it is for those who are traveling with little ones.
And finally…
Have you ever been to Disney World before? If you have been to Disney, you won’t feel jipped if you do a long weekend trip. If this is your first time traveling to Disney World, you’re going to want to budget accordingly and find time to go for longer.
Disney World Budget Vacation: How many days should you book?
If you’re working on a budget, your best bet is to try to go for a long weekend or go during a slow season. You can aim for four days and three nights if you time your flights right. You should plan to either stay on property at a value Disney resort (between $130 and $200 per night) or opt for a nearby Good Neighbor Hotel that offers a complimentary shuttle (starting under $100 per night).
If you hop on a flight at 6 AM, depending on where you’re traveling from, you can be in the parks by 9 or 10 a.m., which means that travel day can also be a park day. If you’re doing a four-day trip, you’ll want to get a three-day parkhopper ticket to make sure you can travel to all four parks during your visit.
If you go during a slower season (either September, late January/early February or May), tickets will be more cost-effective during these time periods, which means you can travel on a budget for a little longer. In that case, you can plan for five to seven days in Disney.
If you’re on a budget but your travel dates are 100% flexible, you just want to travel to Disney World sometime in the next year, you absolutely need to stalk Disney’s website to see if there are any special offers available. You might want to even look into a Disney travel agent, as they’ve got their ears to the ground and will know about all of the special offers first, and can help you book around them.
Disney World Discounts
Typically, the special offers section will give you either discounted park tickets, up to 30% off Disney World resort hotel stays and/or kids eat for free dining plan options. There are times when you can score multiple offers, so for those traveling on a budget, this is the best option for planning.
For example, there is currently an offer to save up to 30% on a Disney World resort hotel stay when you stay for five nights or longer (or save 15% on shorter stays). This end-of-summer promotion is valid now through October 11.
That means, you can stay at a value resort like All-Star Music Resort for $139 a night ($25 off per night), a moderate resort like Port Orleans – Riverside for $257 a night ($86 off per night) or a deluxe resort for Disney’s Old Key West for $500 a night ($215 off per night). Each hotel room at those resorts sleeps a minimum of four, but some can fit more.
A 4-day base ticket will cost $581 (per person), or a 3-day parkhopper ticket will cost $526 (per person) in that timeframe. If you’re traveling in a party of two, that means you can travel to Disney World and visit all four parks for under $2,000, and a family of four can travel for under $3,000 (this does not include airfare).
7-Day Disney World Itinerary
A seven-day trip allows you to do four park days, one rest day and two travel days (the day you arrive and the day you leave). This is a common suggestion among Disney parkgoers on Reddit and Facebook.
Even Walt Disney World has a mockup itinerary of what to do when planning a 7-day trip to Disney World.
Day 1 – Magic Kingdom Park
Day 2 – EPCOT
Day 3 – Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Day 4 – Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park
Day 5 – Magic Kingdom Park
Day 6 – Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park or Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park
Day 7 – Disney Springs
Now, this 7-day trip suggestion from WDW does not include travel days and has you repeating some theme and water parks.
If you could only do seven days with one park per day, including travel, but still want a rest day, here is my suggestion:
Day 1 – Travel Day – Stop at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park or Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park (You receive a complimentary water park admission on your check-in day when staying at a Disney official resort)
Day 2 – Animal Kingdom
Day 3 – Magic Kingdom
Day 4 – Rest Day / Disney Springs/ Resort Hop
Day 5 – Hollywood Studios
Day 6 – EPCOT
Day 7 – Travel home (If you fly out later on this day, you can get brunch at a WDW resort or in Disney Springs)
You can obviously change which park you go to on each day, but this itinerary allows for a rest day, a water park day, four theme park days AND both travel days.
I love to start with Animal Kingdom or EPCOT, if I can. When planning your trip, you’ll want to keep in mind which parks are busiest in Disney World. You can go to AK on pretty much any day, but most people should avoid Magic Kingdom on a Monday, as it is one of the busiest days of the week at that park.
You can easily make my itinerary a 6-day travel trip. If you don’t care about water parks, you can skip that and head to Animal Kingdom on your first travel day, because the park has a little less to do than the other three.
4-Day Disney World Itinerary
If you’ve only got four days to get everything done, here’s a truncated itinerary that still gets you into all four parks, plus your travel dates.
Day 1 – Travel In – Magic Kingdom (This park is open the latest, and you can get an LL pass to secure your rides during the day)
Day 2 – Animal Kingdom / Magic Kingdom (MK is open late, you can return here once AK closes)
Day 3 – EPCOT / Hollywood Studios
Day 4 – Travel Out – If you buy a 3-day parkhopper, you can revisit the parks you didn’t get enough time in on your 4th day before flying home
Keep in mind, going for less time does not always mean it will be cheaper. To make sure you’re able to get to every park and on the rides you really want, you’ll need to buy parkhopper tickets and Lightning Lane Multi Pass, which are not inexpensive add-ons. However, these will make the difference between getting on three to five rides in a day or over 10 rides.
To make sure you get to every park during a short amount of time, you need to do these four things, too:
Plan to buy a Lightning Lane Multi Pass: This will cost up to $39 extra per day.
Get a parkhopper ticket: You only have four days, and if you’re traveling on those days, you really might not be able to do one park per day. Getting a parkhopper ticket allows you to bounce between all four parks on the days you are going.
Stay on Disney property: This way, you’ll have access to early Lightning Lane bookings (seven days before your trip) and you’ll be able to utilize Disney’s transportation system.
Book your flights right: If you arrive on the earliest flight and depart on the latest flight, you can go to the parks on your travel days.
You really need to do your homework before trying to travel to Disney World these days, but you can have the best trip in any amount of time if you prep ahead.