Disney World March 2023 Planning

Disney World March 2023 Planning

Brittany Payne
Vacations

It has been over a month since our return from Disney, but I am finally getting to posting all about our fun trip! Brad does not entirely agree, but I must say that this was one of my least tiring trips to Disney World in quite some time. I did get to sleep in one day while he got up early to take Melody to Magic Kingdom (more on that soon), but the trip overall went so smooth.

Before I dive into the details of our trip, let me explain how we got here. So as you know, we are huge Disney fans. Before COVID, I was an annual pass holder for two years. Melody and I would go on frequent trips with my mom for her work, we would go as a family of 3, go with friends, and we even went several times pre-Melody. After COVID we had been twice. One with my parents and once just the 3 of us but we met up with family and friends during certain points of our trip.

Well we really wanted to take a trip with Brad’s parents. I know his mom had been itching to go. We went to Epcot with her back in 2013, and she just looked so happy even though she only rode maybe 2 rides. And getting to go with her granddaughter we knew would be priceless. But just like with my family, it is all about selling it to the dads. Both of our dads have been to Disney, but are of the opinion it is a one and done kind of place. Rides are fun, but all the walking and waiting not so much.

We planted the idea of going to Disney late 2021, early 2022. We discussed a resort we wanted to try that was also a golf resort. With much talking (and my epic PowerPoints), we were able to convince him to go! So the trip ended up being the 3 of us, and Brad’s parents! Now for all the details:

Dates

So our dates were part of that original discussion with his parents. With Brad’s travel schedule and the resort we wanted to stay at, we knew the only real option for us was Spring Break. It worked out perfectly with his parents’ schedule too. So our official travel dates were March 11, 2023 - March 18, 2023. (His parents did not arrive until March 12 however. We opted to add a day which I will speak on shortly.)

Resort

We decided to try Shades of Green this trip. We visited here to buy tickets back in October 2021. It was such a cute place, and we knew Brad’s dad, Bob, would love it. It is also a golf resort and within walking distance to the Polynesian (however that will be changing soon). There are a list of requirements you have to meet to stay here. While the list on their website is more specific, we qualified because Brad works for the Department of Defense, and Bob is a Veteran. The resort gets a lot of Disney perks too.

Transportation

Brad’s parents knew they were going to fly right away. The only reason they wouldn’t would be if prices were insane. But they were able to get tickets that worked for them and our dates. Brad was able to drive and get them on their arrival day, and they took a car service to the airport when they departed since it was so early. The three of us decided to drive. It just did not make sense money wise to fly for us. So we actually started our drive on Friday and stayed overnight in Lake City, FL. Then drove the rest of the way Saturday morning. We added Saturday onto our trip last minute to have a little more time to relax from our drive.

Tickets

We knew when planning the trip that Brad’s parents would be purchasing Disney Military Tickets as long as our dates were not blocked out once they were released. However, Brad and I were torn on our tickets. His parents could buy our tickets too since they were allowed to purchase up to 6. But we were really holding out hope of annual passes. So we waited. Mid-November the Salute Tickets were announced. Since annual passes were not being sold yet, we decided to just get the Salute Tickets as well. So we all 5 ended up with a 5 Day Park Hopper ticket.

Park Days

I made lots of spreadsheets, as usual, to help decide what parks to do what days. We knew we wanted 2 Magic Kingdom days and 2 Hollywood Studio days. We only really needed 1 Animal Kingdom day, so we fit in Epcot within all the others. Bob also wanted to play golf (I mean that is how we sold him on this trip). He decided to play two of the days and opted for Tuesday and Thursday. So I did have to factor this when making our park reservations. He would not start at the same park as we were going to. This is what I came up with:

  • Monday, March 13: Epcot morning; Animal Kingdom evening

  • Tuesday, March 14: Magic Kingdom morning; Hollywood Studios evening

  • Wednesday, March 15: Epcot morning (rest that evening)

  • Thursday, March 16: Magic Kingdom morning, Epcot evening

  • Friday, March 17: Hollywood Studios morning, Epcot evening

Dining

Dining at Disney World is always one of our favorite parts. It is also one of the hardest parts since we would love to eat at so many places. Like always, I booked what I could, I didn’t get everything, and I adjusted as we went. Here were our goals and some backups to go with said goals. I also rank by priority to make sure I am going after what is most important first.

And this is everything we ended up getting. I get as much as I can so I can edit later.

And this is what we ended up keeping or going with.

Flexibility is key at Disney!

Memory Maker

We knew Memory Maker was a must. We don’t know if we can convince Bob to go back to Disney for a while, so we wanted to capture all the memories we could! After some research, I discovered that Disney sells a Military Memory Maker. It is only $99, but you do have to buy it in person so that they can verify your military status. On Sunday, we went to Disney Springs for a few hours. While Brad, his mom, and Melody shopped, Bob and I went to guest services and got the Memory Maker. So much cheaper than the normal one for sure!

Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes

This was tough. For our trip, the price of Genie+ was the highest seen up until that point at $25/day. It has sense gotten higher, but it was still rough having to pay so much more. We opted to only use it on three of our days: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. It wasn’t worth it for Epcot/Animal Kingdom for us because most of what we wanted to do didn’t have long waits, we bought a Lightning Lane for, or we were ok waiting if needed. Lightning Lane wise we purchased Flight of Passage and Rise of the Resistance. We were able to get a Virtual Queue to ride Guardians of the Galaxy.

The hardest part was deciding what Genie+ to truly book when. Luckily they were editable, but if you booked the wrong one, you might miss out on getting one for another ride you want because it sells out or has times that do not work. A lot of rides did sell out. We usually got to ride at least 3 rides with our Genie+ each day. I suppose it was worth it, but it is also not the best. Again, flexibility was key.

Touring Plans

As usual, I made touring plans. But we didn’t entirely stick with them (as usual, ha). But the thought was there, but sometimes you have to be flexible. They were a good starting point for making Genie+ and Lightning Lane reservations though.

I did also make this general plan for us too.

Outfits

You know we had to have coordinating and even matching outfits during our trip. I made us all shirts with everyone’s favorite things and turning them into Mickey heads. Aside from that day, we went to coordinate. The weather did end up being colder some days, so I had to adjust. And we also brought tons of ears to make sure they matched all the outfits. I always coordinate mine and Melody’s outfits, then I can easily throw in polos and shorts for Brad.

Groceries

I made a list of all the groceries I thought we would need for each day. I bought as much as I could before the trip and as much as was logical. All the cold stuff I was sure to wait on. On Saturday night, we went to Publix and grabbed the cold stuff and anything his parents needed.

Packing

Lastly was packing everything. This is another reason we drive. We pack SO much stuff. I use all of my packing list to make sure we have all we need plus extra things. Organizing the food and outfits ahead of time really helps too. What didn’t help was Brad traveled for work right before this trip. He returned Thursday afternoon, and we left Friday afternoon. So I had to wash some of his clothes Thursday night and back his stuff then!

Easter 2023

Easter 2023
March 2023 Fun

March 2023 Fun