To me, Walt Dinsey World is literally the best and most magical place in the world. It is the only time when I am not stressed or unhappy; every issue in my life seems to vanish upon arrival to Orlando. I’ve been to Disney World only twice, but my stepmom is what seems to be the ultimate hacker when it comes to planning a pretty amazing Disney Trip and I was able to pick up her methods, so here are the things you need to know when planning a smooth trip.

1. Go During the Off-Season.

I’d recommend going to the Disney website, “pricing” your vacation (go through all of the different months that aren’t in summer or a major holiday) to find the cheapest month of the year. When you plan an off-season trip you are still able to have the Disney experience you were hoping for, but with fewer people and a smaller price tag. Both times I had gone were around Christmas, the first time was the week before Christmas in which we got to experience the Main Street Electrical Parade and the castle being lit up.

2. Stay on Site

Stay in the Disney Hotels, please (This is literally coming from the bottom of my heart). When you stay in the hotels you are able to have access to free Disney shuttles which saves time and money. By doing this, you don’t have to deal with the struggle of calling a cab every day or renting a car out, you also don’t have to deal with Orlando traffic. Staying at the hotels was also probably one of my favorite parts of my WDW experience. Everything is so authentic and well put together, not to mention you can get some stellar deals on the hotels during off-season. Not to mention, that you can get extra Magic Hours in the park if you stay in a Disney hotel. I also have to add in that the Disney’s Art of Animation resort was seriously the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced. I HIGHLY recommend staying there, especially if you have children or teens.

3. Buy the Dining Plan

So you don’t have a lot of money to be leisurely spending on this trip, meaning you think you can handle Disney without the meal plan. DON’T DO IT. In my opinion everyone needs a meal plan. The meals there are so outrageously expensive and if you aren’t careful you could be spending way more money on food than your hotel. Regular “Fast food” places that are on site can go all the way up to $15-$20 per person. Restaurants that require reservations can exceed $60 per person. With that being said, the regular dining plan is only about $1100 and covers 1 table service mean, 1 quick dining mean, and 2 snacks per person per day. It has the ability to save you quite a bit of money and allows you to have the full Disney experience as well (plus, if you don't use all of your snack credits, you can redeem them at the end of your trip).

4. Solidify Your Trip at LEAST 6 Months in Advance

Personally, I would put in reservations for dining no later than a year in advance so that you have as many options as possible. There are odd cases where you are able to snag reservations last minute due to another family cancelling, but this rarely happens, so it is better to be prepared. If you plan in advance, you won't be left felling stressed.

5. Plan Your Fast Pass Rides First Thing

This is crucial when planning your disney trip. If you want good rides at a decent time then you need to book this in advance. Also, Disney trips are typically planned around fast pass reservations, so in order to even plan your days out you will need to figure out when and where you want to ride these rides.

6. Have an Extra Day to go to Your Favorite Park

Chances are that you won’t have time to cover a whole park in just one day (and if you do, props to you because my family was only able to get about a third done in one day). This means that you will probably want to add on a day or two to be able to shop around, go to shows, or go on your favorite rides again. Booking for about a week long trip is in my opinion, the best route you can take. 4 days for parks, 3 for leisure.

7. Have at the Very Least $500 to Blow on Souvenirs

I have always had an issue with not getting to buy what I wanted because I never was able to cough up enough money to take to Disney. You need a minimum of $500 just to feel comfortable enough in buying souvenirs for yourself, family, and friends. Things are expensive there.

8. Fly through an inexpensive airline

I definitely recommend doing research when it comes to flying to Orlando. For certain regions there are certain airlines that you can get pretty cheap tickets from. Since my family is from eastern Oklahoma, we make the 1 1/2 hour drive to Bentonville, AR and fly through Allegiant Airlines. Personally I’ve never had any issues with flying through them, so it’s something I would highly encourage other people check out.

On another note, I am not sure if this a completely accurate statement, but I have heard that you can get the cheapest flight possible when booing your flight exactly 54 days in advance.

9. Ride to Disney in a Limousine

This somewhat goes with the “fly through an inexpensive airport” thing: going through a cheaper airline means landing in the airport that isn’t as popular. This would be the Orlando Sanford International Airport. Orlando-Sanford does not offer Magic Express rides, so you have to find your own way to WDW. My Dad always liked to surprise us with a limo ride which blew our minds. We thought we were super cool and plus it’s really comfy to fall asleep in after a long day of flying. You can rent them for about $80-$100 per hour (the ride to WDW is only about an hour) and it will make your kid’s day.

10. Buy the Memory Maker

This is definitely a must considering that it is only an additional $160. All of the photos upload to your phone through an app that you can get, you get all of the pictures from the thrill rides that you go on, plus if you stop by any photographer you will get those pictures included as well. You have the ability to rack up hundreds of pictures. A picture says 100 words and lasts forever.