I started writing this as an email, and then realized this is way too much information for that.
tl:dr- Disney Deciphered and Touring Plans
Ch- ch- changes: If you want help with logistics, don’t bother with anything older than 2022. Older sources will have good information about resorts and attractions, but restaurant and logistics info is very outdated. Even since last year.
Mouse Savers has the best introduction to the Disney and Florida parks.
If you're not sure what parks are part of WDW, this is where to start.
Disney Deciphered is my favorite basic planning podcast. Pre-pandemic every episode was great for a newbie. Now they're a little more in-depth, but still great.
Some of this episode is outdated, but the bit about researching attractions to decide your priorities is still good.
 | Visiting Disney World can be very overwhelming, especially for first time visitors. If you’re visiting Disney World for the first time and haven’t had too much time to plan and research, don’t worry! disneydeciphered.com |
Touring Plans is hands down the best planning tool. In fact, the term “touring plan” is synonymous with “what to do when you get to the park”.
-I love the blog, and recommend searching for anything you might be interested in. They have normal reviews, and then really specific reviews, like “which resort works best for big families” or “which rooms are best for a RunDisney weekend”.
-Their book is the The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Any version will have information about attractions, which is generally very good. They'll tell you an overall rating, and then ratings broken down by age groups. They'll tell you if it's "not to be missed" or "good but not worth a 40-minute plus wait".
-You can do all kinds of fun stuff on their website, like look at the view out of every single room on property.
-I'm a big fan of their paid subscription, but if you're ok with trusting your agent, they're going to do most of the stuff TP tells you.
2022 changes:
-Check the WDW website before you go for current masking and covid protocols. They've changed and relaxed and then back to more stringent. Check a few days before you go so that you are prepared.
-Back in the olden days of 2014, Magic Bands were awesome and fun and completely necessary. I am told that you can now do with a phone anything you might want to do with a Magic Band. We are planning to use bands, because I don't want to deal with my phone that much during my day. You can buy $10 bands through your reservation or $40 bands on Shop Disney. They used to come free with a reservation, and I'm a big fan of dressing them up with skins from Magic Your Band.
-I believe you must order ahead quick service meals with your MyDisneyExperience (MDE) app. We should have all been doing that years ago. It's awesome.
-If you see references to Fast Pass, those are gone. The new iteration is Genie+. Which brings us to
Genie+
-There is free Genie (not Genie+) on your MDE app. It's stupid, ignore it.
-To be very confusing there is Genie+ and paid Individual Lightning Lanes. Physically, they go into the same line, but they are different things.
-Genie+ is $15/day for each person in your group. G+ gives you access to a limited number of passes to skip the lines. There is an art and a science to booking your G+ passes. If you're interested, there is a Disney Deciphered episode.
-ILL lets you pay $7-$15 to get a pass for a headliner attraction.
-I am told that G+ is not particularly helpful for Epcot or AK, but I haven't been since G+ started so...
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