Booking a Disney World trip is super fun, but it also comes with lots of planning.

Planning what dining reservations to get, what rides are on the top of your must-ride list, and everything in between. We’re here to help with all of your planning needs, which means we also need to warn you that there are some reasons you need to be extra careful when planning your next Disney World trip.

Journey of Water, EPCOT Festivals, and More in Fall 2023

If you’re planning a trip for the fall of 2023, there are a few different things we need to warn you about. The first is that Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana opens on October 16th (along with a new Moana meet and greet). We’ve already seen Annual Passholder and DVC previews attract LONG lines for the virtual queue wait, so we’re assuming this attraction will be very popular when it opens — you may want to wait a few months for the hype to die down!

And don’t underestimate the Halloween hype all around Disney World, especially in Magic Kingdom. Speaking of holidays, Thanksgiving week will also be a busy one for the resort, and the last two weeks of December (to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s) are also very crowded in the parks.

And don’t forget that when EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival ends, EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays follows right after. This is one of the park’s most popular festivals, so you can expect extra heavy holiday crowds in EPCOT as well as Magic Kingdom.

Bottom line, if you’re visiting Disney later this year, prepare for those crowds!

Luminous in EPCOT Opens in December

If you’re really looking forward to seeing EPCOT’s new show, Luminous, you may want to hold off your trip until the middle-to-end of December, or 2024 as a whole.

This new show is set to debut on December 5th. It’s to celebrate Disney’s 100th Anniversary, and we know it’ll feature fireworks, fountains, lasers, and lighting effects paired with iconic Disney music.

If experiencing Journey of Water, meeting Moana, and the new show are all on your to-do list, you may want to hold off on your trip to ensure you don’t miss anything. 

Park Pass Rules Change and DDP Returns in January 2024

The changes continue when January hits. Park passes are finally going away for date-based tickets in Disney World, AND the Disney Dining Plan is returning in January! BUT it’s NOT January 1st.

These changes will take effect starting on January 9th, 2024. So if you plan a trip for the very start of January, you WILL still need to make a park pass reservation, and the Disney Dining Plan will not be available.

If these two changes are important to your trip, we suggest taking your trip on or after January 9th!

runDisney Marathon Weekend in January

January is usually a slow month in Disney World. However, you’ll need to be on the lookout for one weekend — Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.

This race will take place January 3rd-7th, 2024. You may think that only traffic patterns will be affected during this race weekend, but that is NOT the case. After the runners finish racing, they head into the parks with their families, causing the parks to be immensely crowded.

Now we’re not saying don’t go during this time, but it very likely may be the most crowded weekend of January.

2024 Hotel Pool Closures

If you plan to stay at a Disney World hotel, make sure you know what hotel pools will be undergoing refurbishment during the year.

More pool closures may be announced, but for now, the following pools will all have closures from January through April:

• Fantasia Pool, All-Star Movies Resort
• Cozy Cone Pool, Art of Animation Resort
• Fuentes del Morro Pool, Caribbean Beach Resort
• Doubloon Lagoon Pool, Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter

Now, these resorts all have alternate pools, but it means the other pools will be more crowded. Disney tries to schedule the necessary maintenance during the cooler months in Florida, but if you’re still planning a pool day, make sure you know what to expect!

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Lastly, we have the highly anticipated Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride. This ride is replacing Splash Mountain and using the same ride track for a different story.

This ride is set to open in mid to late 2024, but we don’t have any idea of what month or day just yet. Therefore, if riding this ride is a big part of your next Disney World vacation, we suggest holding off on booking a trip entirely until we know more information.

Yes, you could book your trip for late 2024, but Disney has delayed projects before, and there’s no saying they won’t do it again. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the latest news about this new ride, as well as all the other changes Disney World announces, so stay tuned to DFB!

Here’s why Disney World will cost THOUSANDS more in 2024