You don't need "influencers" to plan you Disney World trip, save the money

When it comes to taking a trip to Disney World, you have a lot of planning options but a new option is sprouting up and should be pulled like a weed in your yard.

For us older folks, hearing the word "influencer" makes us laugh. No one "influences" anyone else and when you go to a Disney World park, you tend to have to deal with their attitudes when you mistakingly get in the way of them taking pictures of themselves or recording a video. Now some want to offer you a way to navigate the parks by paying them to design an itinerary for you.

Some are asking anywhere from $40.00 to $100.00 to plan your "perfect" vacation at Disney World. You are better off dealing with a vacation planner or travel agent. You can even pay more on the Disney website to have a cast member work with you.

Of course, the best way is to deal with it yourself. This has become an issue for me. If you have never been to a Disney World park you need to know one thing. No matter what your plans are, they are liable to change in the middle of the day. Whether it is because your desires change or an attraction shuts down, a storm comes out of nowhere, or the crowd levels become unexpectedly high. There is no "perfect" day at Disney and no one but Disney can sell you anything close.

It simply doesn't exist and it never will. Using a travel agent will help you with your hotel stays, park passes, and can sort out the daily decisions for "Genie+" and "Lightning Lane" options but they can't solve downed attractions or the weather. Yes, travel agents can save you money and make your life at Disney a little less stressful.

There is another option. It isn't perfect, nothing is, but it is extremely cheap because it costs you nothing. You can do this on your own. Plan it on your own. The benefit is you are in control and frankly, planning ahead gives you the joy of building excitement for your trip.

Sit down with your family at the dinner table with your laptop out and pull up the Disney website. You have your tickets, now talk through the options with your family and see where they want to stay. Book right there online or make a call to Disney who can help you. They have castmembers for that and it's free.

Plan your own itinerary. Decide what attractions are the most important to you. Decide what food options you want and what restaurants you have checked off as must-do's. Then book them online. Plan your day around those dining reservations.

Wake up the day of your visit to a park and check the weather, try and get your pass to a queue-restricted ride and then make your Genie+ and Lightning Lane purchases once you get to the park.

The best thing for your family, is you. No one is going to help you on park day. No one but you. Once things start to go off the plan, you have to improvise and if you haven't researched it all yourself, you will be lost trying to figure out how to change on the fly.

Your best friend when visiting Disney World is your phone. The Disney app is incredibly useful. From showtimes to wait times, to making dining reservations or even ordering mobile takeout from a counter service restaurant, everything can be done from the app. It will show you attractions that are not running and will show you attractions that suddenly drop to no wait times.

When the trip is over and you are heading home you will be exhausted but you will also know you did it yourself. The most fun you can have at Disney and really get a full experience is to prepare for it on your own.

There are plenty of websites out there that will give you advice. Read that advice. Use that advice. In the end, take it all into consideration and then make your own decisions. Don't be influenced by others telling you what you need to do. Do what you want to do and enjoy every part of that journey because Disney is a lot more fun when you make the decisions.