Disney World Testing New Disney AI Vacation Planning Tool: How the New Vacation Planner Works

Planning a Walt Disney World vacation could soon get a whole lot easier. Walt Disney World is preparing to test a new vacation planning experience on DisneyWorld.com. This has been developed in collaboration with Google Cloud and featuring AI-powered tool. It’s goal is designed to help guests find the right resort, dates and vacation package without quite so much searching.

The new Disney AI Vacation Planning Tool introduces flexible date searches, personalized resort recommendations, a new pricing and availability calendar, side-by-side resort comparisons, interactive maps, shareable trip-planning links and AI-powered answers based on official Disney information.

Best of all…instead of searching one set of vacation dates at a time or jumping between multiple resort pages, guests will be able to describe what they’re looking for and let the new tools help narrow down their options.

The beta will launch soon for a very limited number of randomly selected guests in the United States and Canada. It is expected to expand in phases based on guest feedback.

Let’s break down how it all works!

Search Walt Disney World Vacations by Month or Season

One of our favorite changes might also be one of the simplest!

Instead of repeatedly entering individual dates to find resort availability and pricing, Disney’s new vacation planner will allow guests to search more flexible time periods, including by month or season. This could be particularly useful if your travel dates aren’t set in stone.

Rather than deciding exactly when you want to visit and then checking prices, you could start with a broader period and see which dates offer the best combination of availability, resort options and pricing.

Disney will also provide information about the different seasons. This could help guests planning around things like EPCOT festivals, holidays and other seasonal events.

New Disney World Pricing and Availability Calendar

A new pricing and availability calendar is also designed to make comparing vacation dates easier.

Guests will be able to get a broader look at prices and availability instead of repeatedly performing separate searches.

That means if moving your trip by a few days could save money, provide access to a different resort or unlock a better offer, it should be much easier to spot.

The system can also alert guests when a better available offer applies during the booking process.

For anyone who has spent way too much time changing Disney World dates one at a time just to see what happens to the price, this could be a very welcome change.

AI-Powered Search Can Help Find the Right Disney World Resort

Here’s where AI becomes a bigger part of the experience.

Rather than requiring guests to already know which Disney Resort hotel they want, the new search experience can help narrow down choices based on what actually matters to them!

Guests will be able to search for things like specific Disney characters, preferred room styles, pool features, transportation preferences and other interests. The AI-powered tool can then match those requests with resort features and recommend options.

For example, say a family is taking their first Walt Disney World trip. They are celebrating their son’s birthday and he loves The Lion King. Oh and the family wanted easy access to the parks, a nice pool and available offers.

The new planning experience is then able to use those preferences to suggest resorts including Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, highlighting its Lion King Family Suites and other relevant resort features.

That’s considerably different from simply choosing “Value,” “Moderate” or “Deluxe” and scrolling through a list of hotels.

You can essentially describe the type of Disney vacation you’re imagining and receive suggestions based on those priorities!

Compare Disney World Resorts Side by Side

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, Disney’s new planning experience can help you compare them.

Guests will be able to place resorts side by side and see differences in areas such as:

• Transportation
• Dining
• Nearby theme parks
• Resort amenities and benefits
• Room options
• Pricing

This could make choosing between completely different resort categories much easier.

For example, one family might value having access to the Disney Skyliner, while another might prioritize table-service restaurants or proximity to a particular theme park.

Ask Follow-Up Questions About Disney Resorts

The new experience isn’t limited to giving you one set of recommendations.

Guests can ask additional questions based on the resorts they’re considering.

You might want to know which resort allows you to walk to EPCOT, what dining options are available, how transportation differs or which hotel has the better pool.

The goal is to reduce the amount of jumping between resort pages and FAQs required to answer all those little questions that ultimately determine which hotel works best for your family.

AI Answers Will Pull From Official Disney Sources

An important part of the new system is where its answers come from.

The AI-powered summaries are designed to pull information from official Disney sources, helping guests find relevant information without having to dig through multiple Disney webpages and FAQs themselves.

Disney says AI is being applied selectively rather than powering every part of the planning and booking process.

The primary use is helping the system understand more detailed searches and connect guests with Disney vacation options that match what they’re actually asking for.

New Disney World Resort Pricing Map

Visual planners are getting another useful tool.

The new vacation planning experience includes a map that displays Walt Disney World Resort hotel locations alongside pricing information.

Instead of looking at resort prices without much geographic context, you’ll be able to see where different hotels are located across Walt Disney World while comparing their rates.

That could be particularly helpful for first-time visitors who don’t yet understand just how large Walt Disney World is or how much a resort’s location can influence transportation during a vacation.

Share Your Disney World Vacation Plans With Friends and Family

Anyone who has ever planned a Disney vacation with a group knows how quickly the text messages can get out of control. And with Disney’s new system it will help with that by introducing shareable vacation planning links.

Guests can price out a potential vacation and then send a link to family or friends so everyone can review the same trip.

That should make it easier to say, “Here’s the resort, dates and package I’m looking at,” rather than sending everyone a collection of screenshots.

The Disney AI Vacation Planning Tool Can Help Guests Find Better Disney World Offers

Disney also wants to make available discounts easier to find.

As guests explore dates, resorts and packages, the new experience can indicate when a better available offer could apply. Everyone likes to save money, right?

Combined with the new flexible date search and pricing calendar, the Disney AI Vacation Planning Tool could help guests see whether changing their travel dates or selecting another option might reduce the cost of their vacation.

Rather than expecting guests to know which Walt Disney World discounts exist before beginning their search, the new experience is designed to surface relevant opportunities during the planning process.

What Can You Book With Disney World’s New Vacation Planner?

The initial beta will focus on three major parts of Walt Disney World vacation planning:

Disney Resort hotels, theme park tickets and vacation packages.

There are also a couple of notable things that won’t be included, at least initially.

The new vacation planning experience will not include Lightning Lane planning or dining reservations during the beta.

Is Disney World’s Current Booking System Going Away?

Plain and simple. No.

If you’re perfectly happy planning your Walt Disney World vacation the traditional way, Disney’s existing booking tools aren’t going anywhere.

Guests will still be able to use the regular tools on DisneyWorld.com, work with travel advisors or receive assistance from Cast Members through Disney’s Call Center.

The AI-powered experience is another planning option rather than a replacement for the existing ways guests book Walt Disney World vacations.

Disney Is Continuing to Simplify Its Vacation Planning Technology

The upcoming vacation planner is part of a larger effort to make Disney’s digital experience easier to navigate.

Disney has already been making changes to its websites and apps, and the new Google Cloud collaboration takes that effort further by trying to eliminate some of the repetitive searching that can make planning a Walt Disney World vacation overwhelming.

And there are some genuinely useful ideas here.

We’ll be watching closely as the beta rolls out to see how well the new tools work in practice.

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Book Your Next Trip!

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