How to plan a theme park trip with kids
A theme park trip is the one holiday where planning the day itself pays off. Tickets are bought two months ahead and the good restaurants soon after, and the difference between a great day and a long queue is knowing which rides you're heading for when the gates open.
The countdown
60 days before
- Buy park tickets and link them in the park's app
45 days before
- Book restaurants that take reservations
6 weeks before
- Confirm who's coming and agree the budget
- Book the travel there and back
5 weeks before
- Book where you're staying
4 weeks before
- Collect deposits or agree who pays for what
3 weeks before
- Check everyone's ID and documents
2 weeks before
- Plan the days and share the itinerary
7 days before
- Share the packing list and who brings what
- Make a ride plan and check height limits for the kids
3 days before
- Reconfirm travel and stay bookings
1 day before
- Send the meeting point, time and emergency contact
- Pack, charge phones and download offline maps
2 days after
- Settle up who owes what
3 days after
- Share the photos
Add your dates, destination and who's coming and get this checklist with real due dates, a day-by-day itinerary and a link everyone replies on.
Plan mine freeHow the budget splits
Shown for 6 people over 4 nights on $6,600. The percentages hold at any size.
| Category | Share | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Park tickets | 30% | $1,980 |
| Stay | 30% | $1,980 |
| Food | 20% | $1,320 |
| Travel | 10% | $660 |
| Souvenirs & buffer | 10% | $660 |
A sample itinerary
The first 3 days of a 4-night trip to Orlando. Every time is a starting point.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Each person packs
- Comfortable shoes
- Blister plasters
- Sunscreen
- Hat
- Cooling towel
- ID
- Phone charger
One of you brings
- First-aid kit and everyone's medicines
- Power banks
- Ponchos
- Snacks and refillable bottles
- Stroller
- Zip bags for phones
Tips from the plan
- Buy tickets two months out and link them in the app
- The park's app is how you check queue times and hold your tickets. Set it up at home, on everyone's phone, not at the turnstile.
- Make a ride plan around height limits
- A week before, list the rides each child is tall enough for. It saves the worst moment of the day: a forty-minute queue that ends at a measuring stick.
- Do the big rides at opening
- Queues are shortest in the first hour. Head for the headline rides at opening, eat an early lunch, and keep shows and shade for the afternoon.
Questions
How far in advance should I plan a theme park trip?
Two months for tickets, six weeks for the travel and any restaurants that take reservations, five weeks for the stay, and a week before for the ride plan and the packing list.
What should I pack for a theme park?
Comfortable shoes, blister plasters, sunscreen, a hat, a cooling towel, ID and a charger. For the group: power banks, ponchos, snacks and refillable bottles, a stroller, zip bags for phones and a first-aid kit.
How much does a theme park trip cost?
Park tickets and the stay are each about 30% of the budget. Food is around 20%, travel 10%, and souvenirs and a buffer the last 10%.