Planning a Walt Disney World trip
A Walt Disney World trip takes more planning than a European park, from the long flight to the date-based tickets. These guides cover the parts a UK family has to sort out: tickets and passes, getting there and what there is to do beyond the four theme parks once you're on the ground.
On this page
Before you go
Tickets, the journey over and getting around once you're on the ground.
Walt Disney World prices its tickets by date, so a term-time week costs less than a school holiday, and the ticket type you buy sets which parks you can visit and when. Getting there means a transatlantic flight into Orlando, with the last stretch to the resort now yours to arrange since Disney stopped its free airport coach. Around the resort, four kinds of free Disney transport get you between the parks and hotels without a car.
Crowd calendar
Daily Crowd Index forecasts with Light, Moderate, Busy or Very busy labels for each of the four Walt Disney World parks.
Tickets and passes
How Walt Disney World tickets work for British families: date-based pricing, Park Hopper, the water-park add-on and where to book from the UK.
Getting there from the UK
The transatlantic flight to Orlando and the last stretch to the resort: the airports, car hire and the transfer now that Disney's coach has gone.
Getting around the resort
The four kinds of free Disney transport, your own car and parking, and which modes let a sleeping toddler stay in the pushchair.
Once you’re there
What to do on the days you’re not in a theme park.
A Walt Disney World trip is usually long enough that you'll want some days out of the parks. There are two water parks, mini-golf, boat hire and a working stable, plus Disney Springs, a shopping and dining district you can walk into without a ticket.
Disney Vacation Club
Disney’s points-based villa scheme, and how UK families rent a stay without buying in.
Disney Vacation Club is Disney's holiday-ownership scheme. Members buy points and spend them on nights at a group of Deluxe villa resorts, which come with more space and a kitchen than a standard hotel room. You don't have to be a member to stay in one, since members can rent their points out, and that's how many UK families end up in a DVC villa for a single trip.
Disney Vacation Club
Disney's points-based ownership scheme and the Deluxe villa resorts it covers, plus how UK families rent points for a single trip.
Confirmed reservations
Villa stays the rental brokers have already booked and are reselling at a fixed price, tied to set dates.
Availability checker
Search which DVC villas are free to rent for your dates, across Walt Disney World and the other DVC resorts.
Last updated 8 August 2026.
