I still think you need to have an idea before discounts are announced if you can stay with a room only ( definitely not getting dining plan or tickets through Disney), or if you want to add the DP. Once discounts come out if you are changing/canceling that RO they can claim there are no rooms available for the re-book. At the very least you have a new deposit to pay and a wait for a refund.
Edited to add: of course I say this because I booked a bounce back/ split stay and then realized for the first time in my life the dining plans plus my TiW would save me money. That meant I changed to a package. Of course I then applied an AP discount two weeks later. Changing from the RO to a package was painful ( dealing with Disney).
I can’t believe you forgot “Create a touringplans.com account and get online to ask questions of knowledgeable, friendly people on the forums or chat to help you plan” at 12 months out.
Not really kidding, as liners are a great resource.
maybe add in look at flights/pricing if air travel? Not sure what the timing is there but international flights come out about 11 months before, I think domestic 8 months?
cost of flights will affect overall budget for other things.
Any chance one of the smart folks on your staff could build a newer calculator to help people decide on this? It’s a question that comes up over and over and I feel like a lot of people just assume it’s the better deal and end up losing money over it. I know the one Joe and Ashley made get’s referenced a lot but it’s out of date. I think it would make an excellent tool in the TP bag of tips and tricks.
I know that there are different cancellation policies for “room-only” reservations & “vacation packages”.
These deadlines (while noting they could change at any time) should probably be noted in the time line?
(I know, this is so debbie-downer, but did you mention travel/trip insurance?)
It might be useful to note that the 45 day mark is a good time to check for ADRs and FPPs that you wanted but were unable to get, as they may be freed up when people cancel their vacation packages.
Also, you might want to mention the 11-month and 7-month windows for DVC.
Small thing but maybe add check online liner packing lists for liner must have items and suggestions for extra special items for families with kids - jewel, golf balls, trading pins, glow sticks, etc etc