Not much of a planner

[danpam1024]

We used to go to WDW for 10-14 day trips annually, but stopped when FP+ was introduced. The OVER PLANNING is such a turn off...especially since my son loves UOR and we get free express pass when staying at Hard Rock. That being said, my husband wants to do one more "mega trip" in 2020 before we move out of Florida- if nothing, for old times' sake (son will also be heading off to college too). So my question is-Is it remotely possible to do a WDW vacation WITHOUT planning every stinkin' detail of the trip months in advance? I don't know what I want to do tomorrow, let alone 6 months from now. Any slackers in the group, tell me your secrets. Do I just go for concierge?

 

[mousehockey37]

We used to go to WDW for 10-14 day trips annually, but stopped when FP+ was introduced. The OVER PLANNING is such a turn off...especially since my son loves UOR and we get free express pass when staying at Hard Rock. That being said, my husband wants to do one more "mega trip" in 2020 before we move out of Florida- if nothing, for old times' sake (son will also be heading off to college too). So my question is-Is it remotely possible to do a WDW vacation WITHOUT planning every stinkin' detail of the trip months in advance? I don't know what I want to do tomorrow, let alone 6 months from now. Any slackers in the group, tell me your secrets. Do I just go for concierge?

Yes. Just wing it. If you don't want to overplan, the basics would be... Pick your parks per day. Set up the must-do rides and ADR's. Wing the rest. You know the weather and crowds can change your plans, so just put the skeleton in place and go enjoy it.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

We do select the FP at 60 days but we have also changed them at the last minute as long as it isn’t for one of the high demand rides. The ADR we are more flexible sometimes we don’t make one until the day before. With so many restaurants in WDW we always find something we like

 

[eliza61nyc]

So some things you will always have to plan for. FOP, 7 dwarf mine and I suspect the new slinky dog will need to get fp's for. ADRs not so much.

 

[GVentola]

Some Epcot full service restaurants that I have been able to get into without reservations: San Angel Inn (Mexico), Nine Dragons (China), Tutto Gusto Wine Celler (Italy). Anyone had experiences with any others?

 

[DarthVader]

Why not use a travel agent like @Kingdom Konsultant. That way you leave the planning to professionals and you get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Disney is one of those places that you get out what you put in. The more planning that goes into disney the better the vacation imo. There's so many people going to WDW, the more you plan the better off you'll be imo

 

[Master Yoda]

Why not use a travel agent like @Kingdom Konsultant. That way you leave the planning to professionals and you get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Disney is one of those places that you get out what you put in. The more planning that goes into disney the better the vacation imo. There's so many people going to WDW, the more you plan the better off you'll be imo

This^^^

You can also wing it, but you have to temper your expectations. You are not going to be able to walk up to places like Ohana or Be Our Guest and fastpasses for some of the more popular attractions are going to be hard to come by day of.

We still make dining reservations on our wing it trips, but we do the morning/afternoon of. When we are waiting for a park to open or are in line for an an attraction we pull up the app and pick from what is available. If we don't like what we see, we do quick service.

 

[cdeev8690]

I second the travel agent suggestion. They're free and they LOVE planning your trips. Tell them your must do's and they'll try to make it happen. At the very least, the planning bit becomes someone else's headache.

If not, I've booked my fair share of heavily planned trips and I've also booked a handful of last minute trips (within 30-60 days of arrival). I've loved each in their own ways. I didn't think I could be so spontaneous with Disney, as I was accustomed to booking my dining 180 days in advance and then booking the FastPasses 60 days in advance. I was just under 30 days from my expected arrival date for a last minute trip to get away for my birthday last year. I took whatever fastpasses were available, two dinner reservations (one at Paddlefish in Disney Springs and another at Ohana at the Poly), and told myself that we'd rope drop every morning, do what we felt like doing, and not overextend ourselves. It was a really short trip, a long weekend, and we wanted to try to relax a bit and not get caught up in the Disney type of 'rate race'. I was worried that I had sabotaged our trip, that we would struggle, that it would be overwhelming because there was such little planning. It ended up being one of our favorite trips. I had some idea of an itinerary prior to our arrival and while we were waiting in line for a ride our first day, we decided that we didn't feel like starting at Epcot the following morning, as I had originally planned and reserved FP's for. We wanted to rope drop Magic Kingdom instead, so I cancelled all of our FastPasses and rebooked whatever was available the following morning in Magic Kingdom (pretty sure I got Space Mountain, Splash, and Pirates...not bad for less than 24 hours in advance!).

As long as you are flexible with your dining, I think you should be fine. Your trips are typically 10-14 days long, I think you can get away with minimal planning as time is on your side. If it were a short, weekender, like mine...I'd get some ADR's for the places you're dying to eat at and just book the fastpasses whether you're committed to them or not. You can always change them, but I think they're a good Plan B for any trip. If you're going during a busy season, they're even more important to grab while the time is ripe (I had another last minute trip this past April the week immediately following Easter...those FastPasses were lifesavers). Just rope drop as often as you can. You'll get so much done so quickly and have the rest of your day to relax and wander while everyone else is scrambling.

 

[cdeev8690]

Just want to add, if you aren't familiar already, just download the My Disney Experience app and play around with it. Even if you don't anticipate using it now while you're planning, you'll be using it while you're at the parks whether it's to check the wait times, make dining reservations, mobile order your food at quick service locations, look at the Photo Pass photos, make/change your Fast Passes. You don't want to be overwhelmed with the App and have to rely on Concierge or finding the Fast Pass help kiosk at the parks for assistance. It's a super simple app to get the hang of but you should start navigating through it before you arrive.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Sure you can go without excessively planning. But you do have to still plan for the major attractions and dining spots you have as "dont miss items." The intense crowds that are being encountered now will just grow more over the coming months as the newest things open up and will require some planning if you dont want to be disappointed. We just got back from a trip and even with lots of planning we probably did 1/2 of the things in a day that we used to normally be able to. At least with the 3 FP reservations, we got in the attractions we most wanted. After doing the 3 we got one more in but found very quickly others blocked out leaving us with choices we really werent thrilled with. .

 

[danpam1024]

Sure you can go without excessively planning. But you do have to still plan for the major attractions and dining spots you have as "dont miss items." The intense crowds that are being encountered now will just grow more over the coming months as the newest things open up and will require some planning if you dont want to be disappointed. We just got back from a trip and even with lots of planning we probably did 1/2 of the things in a day that we used to normally be able to. At least with the 3 FP reservations, we got in the attractions we most wanted. After doing the 3 we got one more in but found very quickly others blocked out leaving us with choices we really werent thrilled with. .

This is why I don't want to go. My WDW memories are of great times and little waits. I fear the 90's and early 2000's WDW has ruined me

 

[DarthVader]

This is why I don't want to go. My WDW memories are of great times and little waits. I fear the 90's and early 2000's WDW has ruined me

There are large crowds and long waits, there's no way to dance around that fact but that doesn't mean you cannot have a great vacation. I'm not affiliate with @Kingdom Konsultant but seem to know what they're doing. I truely beleive you'll have a great time but you canno compare it to what life was like in the 1990s. Its just too different.

 

[danpam1024]

There are large crowds and long waits, there's no way to dance around that fact but that doesn't mean you cannot have a great vacation. I'm not affiliate with @Kingdom Konsultant but seem to know what they're doing. I truely beleive you'll have a great time but you canno compare it to what life was like in the 1990s. Its just too different.

the 1990's and 2000's more vacation for less money and crowds- we'll NEVER see those days again AND The Adventurer's Club

 

[Gainesvillain]

We wing it most of the time, but we have APs, so if we miss something, there is always next time. If you are going for 2 weeks, the same philosophy should work. Be sure to take advantage of EMHs if you are staying on property and hit those biggies (FOP, 7D, Slinky Dog, etc.) @ ropedrop!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I know for the dining, we've seen a lot of last minute availability over the course of our last few trips. On our most recent trip, we used it to our advantage. We had a handful of ADRs that didn't sound as appealing come trip time, so I dropped things a day or two out and picked up something we liked better. It was right before Christmas and there were still lots of last minute openings for all kinds of popular things. I would imagine this would work just as well if you opened up the app while you were there and booked something same day or next day.

FPs would be where I'd focus my efforts IF you want to ride any of the new stuff. We had FoP FPs, but even with morning EMH, the standby line right at 8am was over 3 hours. And if you don't want to deal with it, maybe work with a travel agent who can relieve you of that burden. I realize it still means planning things out, but if it's a last big blow out and it's 2020...I'd probably want to be able to ride the new stuff.

 

[danpam1024]

All of the ropedrop comments make me smile- I barely make it to work on time every day LOL- mornings aren't my forte! Think I will either go with a travel agent, or talk him into Paris ( there's a Disney there

 

[Monty]

Certainly, you can.

People arrive at the gate with zero plans and have a great time. As long as you manage your expectations, there's lots of fun to be had at WDW. You're not necessarily going to get all the first-choice rides without waits or walk up to the best restaurants for dinner, but you can still enjoy yourselves.

For some of the longer wait rides like FoP or 7DMT, wait until park closing and jump in line just before they cut off entry. The wait time might show as long, but once the park's closed, there won't be FP+ entering and the wait time drops significantly. For example, a group I was with entered FoP standby two minutes before closing, the wait time was 210 minutes. We were through the line and off the ride in ~45.

For meals, there are always good QS restaurant options available, but the app can find you available TS options on short notice and you can experience some restaurants you might not normally think of.

 

[cdeev8690]

I feel you. I didn't start 'rope-dropping' until last year, for the exact reason you stated! It's my vacation and I want to roll out of bed when I feel good and ready. But it is honestly a game changer. It was the weekend before Easter and I had walked into an empty Hollywood Studios. I didn't plan my own WDW trip until the the early 2010's but off-seasons still existed in those years and I remember them fondly. That empty park reminded me of those simpler times Being able to walk onto 4 rides within the first hour of park opening was enough to convert me to the dark side of. Rope drop is addicting and, for now, it's the best and most efficient way to plan your park day.

But Paris is nice too

 

[Master Yoda]

I feel you. I didn't start 'rope-dropping' until last year, for the exact reason you stated! It's my vacation and I want to roll out of bed when I feel good and ready. But it is honestly a game changer. It was the weekend before Easter and I had walked into an empty Hollywood Studios. I didn't plan my own WDW trip until the the early 2010's but off-seasons still existed in those years and I remember them fondly. That empty park reminded me of those simpler times Being able to walk onto 4 rides within the first hour of park opening was enough to convert me to the dark side of. Rope drop is addicting and, for now, it's the best and most efficient way to plan your park day.

But Paris is nice too

I always tell people there is a difference between a vacation and a "Disney" vacation.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I feel your "pain", OP. I hate all the planning too. I sort of rebel, in a way. We usually stay 8 or 9 days, so I only get must do fp's for the first 4 days, when I loosely plan a park each day. Then if we want to go to that park, we have our favorite attractions all set. After the "set" 4 days, I have repeats of only our few favorites for fp's, and we only use them if and when we want to. We go where we want on those days, and honestly don't use many fp's that we scheduled at all. We do rope drop, but we are early birds anyway, so no problem getting up early. As far as adr's. We have a total of 4 ts meals we like, so we book those and enjoy them. Other than that, we QS our meals. We really enjoy being able to eat when we want and where we want, and as much as we want.
So, I guess we kind of follow a few loose adr's and fp's, but we are not locked into them at all. For us, that helps keep us somewhat spontaneous. Hope this helps.