A checklist for your first Disney World trip
The Disney mechanics no one warns you about - Lightning Lane, dining reservations, transportation, rope drop - in the order you actually need them.
Disney doesn't hand you a manual...
So I built one.
For the person who needs to plan the whole thing, but doesn't know what they don't know yet.
Planning your first Disney trip should feel exciting. Right now it probably feels like a second job.
Every Disney "expert" online has a different system. Some say rope-drop, some say sleep in. Some say park-hopper, some say definitely not. Some swear by Lightning Lane Multi Pass, some say only Single Pass is worth it.
And somewhere underneath all of it, your family is asking you what's actually happening on day three - and you don't have a real answer yet.
That's why I made this
The First Timer Checklist is the version I wish I'd had on my first trip. It's split into two parts: first you'll understand the Disney system (the mechanics most first timers learn the hard way), then you'll work through the checklist (the actions, in order, from booking to walking in).
Decode Disney
The Checklist
The whole thing lives in a Notion page you copy to your workspace. Check things off, leave notes, share with the family. It's yours forever.
By the end of this checklist, you'll know Exactly:
Where to stay & why it matters
Whether on-property is worth it for your trip, which resort tier unlocks which perks, and how the resort math actually shakes out against off-site.
What to do the moment you book
The steps nobody tells you about (park reservations are a separate booking - yes, really), so you don't realize you missed something critical the week before your trip.
How the Disney systems really work
Lightning Lane, dining reservations, transportation, rope drop - when each window opens, how to use it, and what most first timers get wrong.
How to walk into day one prepared
A real plan for your first park morning - what to pack, when to arrive, where to get free ice water (it's everywhere if you know where to go) - so the trip starts on the right note instead of in a 90-minute standby line.
The asked-and-answered
Yes - completely. No credit card, no upsell to a paid version. You give your email, I send you the Notion link. That's the whole transaction.
A free Notion account works perfectly. When you open the checklist, you'll click "Duplicate" in the top right to save it to your own Notion - then you can check things off, take notes, and customize it.
It's designed for first timers, but it can definitely be used by second and third timers. If you're planning the trip and feeling overwhelmed, you're the right person for this.
Every section covers both on-property and off-site guests. The system rules are different for each, and the checklist makes those distinctions explicit so you know exactly what applies to you.
About 30-45 minutes to read through the first time. After that, you'll come back to it as your trip gets closer and you hit each phase.
Ready to walk in actually prepared?
Grab the checklist and start planning the trip where everyone gets exactly what they came for.