Fastpass. Advanced Dining Reservations. 180 day mark. Hopper Pass. Monorail loop. What does it all mean? Whether you’re going to Disney for your first time or your one hundredth time, it can be incredibly overwhelming and confusing to plan a trip. Going to Disney certainly isn’t cheap- and the last thing you want to do is spend thousands of dollars to wander around a crowded theme park in one hundred degree heat and humidity in a confused haze wondering if you’ll ever find a place to eat that isn’t already full and why some people are getting to go in a faster line! Walt Disney World’s Website and Disneyland’s Website, though awesome resources, aren’t always the most first-timer friendly sites, and one may find him or herself needing a more plain English explanation of what’s going on!

That’s why I’m here!

From ages four to fourteen, I went to Walt Disney World four times. At ages thirteen and fourteen, I was given the great honor of performing on a Disney stage as a participant with dance in Magic Music Days, a program that brings some of the most talented young performers from across the country to perform at the most magical place on earth. This experience became especially precious to me after a career ending injury took me off the stage for good at age 15. The last stage I ever performed on was a Disney one, and I can’t think of a better way to end a career.

At fifteen, I got to go to Disneyland for the first time- wow! What an experience! To see Walt’s light on and to see the original Sleeping Beauty Castle is a breathtaking experience for any Disney fan. To talk where he walked- to see what he saw… there’s nothing like it!

My next Disney experience didn’t come until I was twenty years old. I took my then boyfriend (now fiancé!) to Walt Disney World for the first time. I knew he was the one when he started crying when he saw Main Street USA and Cinderella’s Castle for the First time. He’s not an emotional guy, but he was just blown away in that moment. That time, we stayed at my mom’s timeshare, and though it was beautiful, I think it was the last time we will ever stay offsite.

And now here I am at almost twenty two, just weeks away from my next Disney Trip to Walt Disney World! This one’s a little different for multiple reasons. 1) We are getting our Engagement Photos taken in Epcot. 2) This is the first time Kevin (my fiancé) and I will be doing the entire vacation alone and 3) Drumroll please…. WE WILL BECOME ANNUAL PASS HOLDERS! We are moving to Atlanta in May. Since we will be barely 6 hours from WDW, we decided it was time to take the plunge and buy some APs!

Plans for the future: Our Annual Passes will surely afford us to become experts very quickly on everything related to Walt Disney World, and we plan to make an effort to visit Disneyland at least every other year as well (including a possibly, our honeymoon). Oh, and did I mention we’re planning a wedding on Disney’s private island Castaway Cay during a cruise on the Disney Magic in 2016? Yep. So… lots of future plans are on the way there as well! If you have a question that I haven’t answered on my blog, you can contact me via my twitter (embedded in the home page) or you can also check out Chip and Co, a professional Disney fan site.

Disney is a wonderful place, and with the proper planning, it can be a truly carefree vacation. Trust me when I tell you, with every passing year it becomes less and less possible to “just wing it” at Disney World! Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing a little girl all excited to meet her favorite character or dine at Cinderella’s Castle, only to be disappointed because her parents didn’t know you need to have VERY advanced reservations to eat at the castle or check the times for character meet and greets. It can be disappointing for all-adult parties, too.  There are great resources one can use to ask real people for help, such as The Dis Boards, but even these can be full of acronyms or terms like ADR and 180 day mark that can confuse those who aren’t seasoned veterans. And if you are one of those seasoned veterans, you may still want to get your Disney fix in a way other than watching your vacation planning video on repeat (Don’t lie, we all know you do it!) No matter whether you’re a first timer or a pro, I hope to be able to provide you with some useful info and interesting material that will help you from the magical moment you decide to plan your trip to the final “See ya real soon!” As you pull out of Lake Buena Vista Drive or Disneyland Drive. Let’s get started!