How to Create a Disney World Itinerary for 2023
I planned our first family trip to Disney World over two years. I researched beforehand and knew I needed a Disney World itinerary to organize our plans. I’m a natural planner and often make spreadsheets to organize my thoughts and share them with others. Below is an example of our 7-day Disney World itinerary. Please use my included free Disney World Itinerary spreadsheet to plan your next Disney World Vacation.
Pro Planning Tip: We recommend using Jessica Lieb with ET Family Travel to book your Disney vacation!
How to Use this Spreadsheet
If you have a Gmail account: click File > Make a Copy.
If you don’t have a Gmail account, click File > Download as > Microsoft Excel.
*To use this Spreadsheet, if you have a Gmail account, click File > Make a Copy.
*If you don’t have a Gmail account, click File > Download as > Microsoft Excel.
How to Create A Disney World Itinerary
Add Your Travel Your Plans
The first thing you should add to your spreadsheet is your travel plans. Include your flights, car rentals, hotel check-in, and park tickets/reservations. You don’t want to accidentally plan an activity that will interfere with travel plans or delays.
Update Park Hours
Check the Disney World website to include updated park hours for each park. Note if parks have early entry or after-hours events that may impact regular park hours.
Make a note of Special Events and Shows
If you have tickets to a special after-hours event, add that to your schedule. Add the evening shows to your schedule. We wanted to see the fireworks and other evening shows, so I added them to my itinerary.
Add Your Dining
If you have already booked your Disney dining reservations, add the times you must be at each location. You woke up early to snag those reservations, so plan the rest of your day around dining. Even if you don’t have dining reservations, you have to eat. Have a plan or at least a few options for where to eat; it will save time and stress.
Add Other Reservations
Do you have a reservation for Savi’s Workshop or Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique? Add that reservation to your plan before you plan other activities.
Rank Rides and Shows
Seeing and doing everything on your Disney World vacation is impossible, so you must prioritize. Our family picked our Top 3 Must-Do’s in each park. We made it a priority to do those rides first, if possible. Then, we ranked the rest of the attractions. The lower on the list, the lower the priority.
Color Code things
As you can see, my spreadsheet has a lot of different colors and detailed information about our trip. I like to use bold colors to see our plan’s specific details. For example, meals with reservations are in purple boxes, and quick-service meals are in green boxes. The purple boxes with light gray text are reservations for my parents, and the black text includes everyone. Red text means we have a reservation for an activity. It makes sense in my brain, but whatever helps you get your trip organized, this spreadsheet is just a template to help you get started.
Share Your Plan
We were traveling with other family members, which I included in our plans, so I shared this spreadsheet with everyone beforehand to be on the same page.
Our Disney World Itinerary
I spent hours researching and creating a plan for our Disney trip. Did we follow the plan?
Yes! More or less.
One of the great things about how I plan our trips is allowing a lot of flexibility. Things don’t always go as planned, and you need to be willing to adjust the plan as needed. Sometimes, the weather doesn’t cooperate, kids get tired or sick, rides shut down, or something more interesting pops up. Being flexible is one of the key ingredients to having a fabulous Disney World vacation.
We took our camera and recorded our entire trip, which you can check out on YouTube to see what our family of 6 did at Disney World.
Day 1 – Travel
We flew from Raleigh, NC, to Orlando with my four boys and parents. It was the boys’ first time flying, and I think that experience was almost as exciting as the trip.
We took the Magical Express (RIP) to our Disney hotel, The Beach Club Resort, when we arrived in Orlando.
After we got settled into our hotel, we headed over to Disney Springs to get some lunch and explore. Then we wanted to check out the hotel pool, Stormalong Bay, because we heard it was the best Disney Resort pool. I 100% agree. We also placed an Instacart order to be delivered to our room so we would have snacks and drinks readily available.
After spending time at the pool, we cleaned up in our room and walked over to the Boardwalk Pizza Window for dinner. We didn’t stay out late because we were all tired from a busy day traveling and wanted to be well-rested for our first park day.
Day 2 – Magic Kingdom
The kids were excited to start our first park day at Magic Kingdom. We grabbed a quick breakfast from the Beach Club Marketplace before catching the bus to Magic Kingdom. At breakfast, some kids said they didn’t want to ride roller coasters, so we ditched our plans to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
We arrived at the park before rope drop but could go into the park and take photos on Main Street USA. My parents joined us for the first half of our day, so we planned to do activities that everyone could enjoy. We waited for rope drop in front of Adventureland to ride Jungle Cruise.
After Jungle Cruise, the kids wanted to ride the Magic Carpets of Aladdin; then, we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean. Then everyone was getting a little hungry, so we grabbed some waffles from Sleepy Hallow before heading to Haunted Mansion.
We saw an adorable couple get engaged in front of Haunted Mansion! However, some of our kids found the ride a little scary. So afterward, we got in line for It’s a Small World, followed by Peter Pan’s Flight.
My parents had lunch reservations in Cinderella’s Castle. (They ate dinner there when they were dating in high school 50 years ago!) But before they headed off to their lunch reservation, we watched Mickey’s Philharmagic.
We didn’t want to spend one day at Magic Kingdom in a dining room, so we headed to Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe for a quick lunch.
After lunch, my parents returned to the hotel to rest, and we hit the rides hard. The kids drove like maniacs on the Tomorrowland Speedway. We got tossed around on the Mad Tea Party. Rode the quintessential ride, Dumbo. The little kids decided to be brave and try their first roller coaster, The Barnstormer; they loved it!
It was the hottest part of the afternoon, so we needed some AC and headed to Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid. On our way to Tomorrowland, we caught a princess cavalcade in front of the castle.
We had to ride the TTA PeopleMover, an excellent break for our tired feet. Then we fought Zurg and saved the earth on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
We were hot and hungry, so we headed for a snack and saw Chip and Dale along the way. We wanted a Citrus Swirl, but it wasn’t available. We still got some delicious frozen treats for Sunshine Tree Terrace.
We did a bit of shopping before grabbing a spot to watch the fireworks show Happily Ever After. After the fireworks, we rode the Speedway again instead of fighting with the crowds to leave the park.
Then, we left Magic Kingdom and returned to our resort to prepare for the next exciting day.
Day 3 – Epcot
We intentionally planned our second park day at EPCOT. EPCOT opens later, and after a late night at the Magic Kingdom, we enjoyed the restful and slow morning. Once again, we grabbed breakfast at the Beach Club Marketplace. Because our hotel was beside EPCOT, we could walk to the International Gateway Entrance. My parents were with us again this morning, so we picked some low-key attractions everyone would enjoy.
We first headed to the front of the park to ride Soarin Around the World. Then we hopped on Living with the Land. Next, we rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends and explored the aquariums.
The kids were a little overwhelmed by Spaceship Earth and were afraid it would be a scary ride, but we assured them it was nice and slow. It ended up being a big hit. Afterward, we headed to the front of the park, where we took photos and met Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
We skipped Test Track and Mission Space and headed for Mexico to grab some food at La Cantina de San Angel and ride Grand Fiesta Tour. The weather was intense and scorching, so my parents returned to the hotel to cool off in the pool.
We headed to Norway to ride Frozen Ever After and dream of cooler days. It didn’t help us cool off, so we returned to the hotel. On the way, we stopped in Japan and shopped in Mitsukoshi.
After resting in the room, we returned to the park with my parents and explored the Food and Wine Festival booths. We ate the filet from Canada. Stopped off the visit Figment on Journey Into Imagination. We saw Winnie the Pooh before riding Soarin again.
The kids tried different Macaroni and Cheese from Mac and Eats with varied results. They got donuts from the Donut Box. We explored World Showcase while my parents were at dinner at the Regal Eagle Smokehouse.
Ate some more food from festival booths, got some beers, and found an excellent spot to watch EPCOT Forever. Then we had a short walk back to our hotel and crashed.
Day 4 – Rest Day
I highly suggest building a Rest Day into your Disney Vacation Plans. We were delighted to have a day to explore our hotel, do laundry, and rest.
We started our day with breakfast at Cape May Cafe, conveniently in our resort. After breakfast, I headed off to do laundry while the rest of our crew went to the pool. Stormalong Bay was excellent, and we spent most of the day poolside.
We grabbed a quick and easy lunch in the hotel.
We took showers and headed to Disney Springs for some shopping and cookies from Gideons before our late dinner reservation at ‘Ohana.
Our “Ohana dinner reservation was so late we had to get an Uber back to our hotel, as most transportation had stopped running for the evening. Plus, it was much quicker.
Day 5 – Hollywood Studios
Probably the most anticipated day of our trip was Star Wars. Our family loves Star Wars, so we were excited to see Galaxy’s Edge. Our Hollywood Studios day was the first day of Standby for Rise of the Resistances. Before this day, you had to get a boarding pass, so we were a little worried about how long the wait time would be.
After grabbing a quick breakfast in our room, we decided to walk from The Beach Club to Hollywood Studios, which took about 10 minutes or so. After entering the park, we followed the crowd and got in the massive line for Rise of the Resistance. Once the park officially opened, the line started moving, and we only waited about 60 minutes; the wait time was 180 minutes when we got off.
Then we spent time exploring Galaxy’s Edge, but because everyone was riding Rise of Resistance, it was super crowded, so we headed to Toy Story Land. We rode Alien Swirling Saucers and then Toy Story Midway Mania. Everyone was a little hungry, so we grabbed some lunchbox tarts from Woody’s Lunchbox.
Next, we headed back into Galaxy’s Edge to ride Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. We crashed the Falcon!
It was lunchtime, so we grabbed lunch at Backlot Express. Then we stopped in to watch An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie before riding Star Tours. My parents joined us later this day, and we headed over to the Hollywood Brown Derby, where they had lunch to meet up with them.
We then got in line to ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Then we watched A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration.
The kids were excited to take Grandma and Grandpa to see Galaxy’s Edge; we looked in shops and explored the land. Then we had dinner at Docking Bay 7.
Smuggler’s Run had a low wait time, so we hopped in line and rode it again. We crashed again.
Somehow the line for Rise of the Resistance wasn’t absurdly long, so we did it twice in one day. Then we tried the blue and green milk. We were not fans of either.
We ended the night watching the Wonderful World of Animation show.
Day 6 – Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom opens and closes early. We were exhausted from our packed day at Hollywood Studios, so we didn’t spend as much time in this park as we had planned, but we did everything we wanted to do.
We ate a quick breakfast in our room and got on the bus to Animal Kingdom. We got to the park and immediately headed for the Kilimanjaro Safari. The wait time was super low, and we saw so many animals up and about. We even got to hear the lions roaring.
After our safari, we ate delicious cinnamon rolls and pastries from Tamu Tamu Refreshments before heading over to walk the Maharaja Jungle Trek to see Komodo dragons and tigers.
Then we explored the Tree of Life and watched It’s Tough to Be A Bug.
Next, we made our way over to Dinoland, USA. We rode Triceratops Spin, Dinosaur, and the kids played in the Boneyard. Our dino-loving kid was in heaven.
We then headed over to catch the Festival of the Lion King show before eating lunch at Tusker House. Our meal at Tusker House was probably our favorite meal of the trip. (Yes, better than ‘Ohana)
After lunch, my parents returned to the resort, and we headed to Pandora. We rode Flight of Passage, and almost everyone loved it. Then we rode Navi River Journey; we got stuck but immensely enjoyed the AC. Then we tried the Night Blossom from Pongu Pongu. Some of us liked it more than others.
We planned to stay until the park close and eat dinner at Satu’li Canteen, but we were tired. So we did a little souvenir shopping and headed to the bus. The buses took forever, so we hopped on the bus to the Riviera and decided to take the Skyliner back to our hotel.
We grabbed some dinner at Primo Piatto when we got to the Riviera. We explored the resort before riding the Skyliner back to EPCOT’s International Gateway and walking to the Beach Club Resort.
Day 7 – Hollywood Studios
Because we wanted to do all things Star Wars, we planned for two days at Hollywood Studios. Day 2 was our Star Wars Day. Our last park day was Saturday, so we had all our reservations and plans for Star Wars. My parents spend the day at EPCOT and hanging by the pool.
We ate breakfast at the hotel and hopped on the boat to Hollywood Studios. Because most of our activities were reservations, we started the day on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
Then we did Toy Story Mania again before returning to Galaxy’s Edge.
We rode Smuggler’s Run again. We crashed again! And, of course, we did a little shopping in Galaxy’s Edge. Then we got some Kettle Corn at Kat Saka’s.
Galaxy’s Edge was getting busy again, so we headed to see the Muppet-Vision 3D. We tried to see it on our first Hollywood Studios day, but it broke right after the show started. We decided to check out more shows and headed to Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy.
We grabbed lunch at the Commissary and rode Star Tours again. Next, we watched the parade and waved at all our favorite characters on our way to Oga’s Cantina reservation.
We hopped over the Toy Story Land to ride Alien Swirling Saucers again. Then we rode Star Tours again.
It was then time to build a droid at the Droid Depot. We played with the droids a little before it was time for Joe and Jude to build lightsabers in Savi’s Workshop. While they made fancy lightsabers, I took the younger boys to build lightsabers the kids could play with at Tatooine Traders.
We ate dinner at Docking Bay 7 again. Once again, we rode Smuggler’s Run. We got some cool pictures with lightsabers outside of the Millennium Falcon. And ended our night riding Rise of the Resistance one last time.
Day 8 – Heading Home
We planned a later flight out of Orlando to squeeze in a little bit of last-minute Disney Magic. After we checked out of our hotel room, the front desk held our bags until the Magical Express came later.
We ate the last of our remaining breakfast foods that we stocked in our hotel room. The kids got captain hats from Captain Neil, greeting guests in the hotel lobby.
The boys wanted to check out the arcade, so we played games.
We had our final Disney meal at Beaches and Cream Soda Shop. We booked the earliest time and were fortunate to be the family of the day. After we ate lunch, the kids attempted to finish the Kitchen Sink, but we fell drastically short.
After lunch, we said goodbye to The Beach Club Resort and rode the not-so Magical Express back to the airport.
Everything about our trip was magical. There were a few moments of exhaustion and meltdowns from tired kids, but overall we had a wonderful time. Our plan ensured we got to accomplish everything we wanted but with the flexibility to change our plans as needed.
Free Disney World Planning Spreadsheet
*To use this Spreadsheet, if you have a Gmail account, click File > Make a Copy. If you don’t have a Gmail account, click File > Download as > Microsoft Excel.*
DOWNLOAD DISNEY WORLD PLANNING SPREADSHEET
*To use this Spreadsheet: if you have a Gmail account, click File > Make a Copy. If you don’t have a Gmail account, click File > Download as > Microsoft Excel.*
Book Your Disney Vacation
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