Short notice trip???

[DisneyDreams09]

I know most of us plan our trips way in advance; months even years. I was wondering though, how many of you (not FL residents) go to WDW without having planned your trip way in advance. That is what I'm hoping to do on our next trip. We don't have a future trip date in the plans at this time, but I am hoping if everything would work out with our schedules, that maybe we could take a last minute trip. Have any of you taken a trip with little advance notice?

 

[jewils]

Yes, we took a last minute trip in December of 2007. Since that's a good time of year, we were able to get several of the ARD reservations we wanted. It was actually a refreshing trip to book one week and show up the next. I'm an uber-dooper planner and let go of it all and just had fun. I think dining reservations would be your hardest task. Have fun!

 

[mickey7879]

Last April, my husband came home from work and said he was tired of all the snow and wanted to go to Disney. I got busy buying plane tickets, finding a place to stay, etc. A week later we were in Disney! We weren't planning on going until Nov when we were planning on driving down. It was a little tricky since our son was 6 months old at the time and had to figure out what to pack for him, etc. We stayed off property in a 1 bedroom condo we got for only $99 a night, went to Disney a few days, Sea World one day and then went to the beach in Melbourne for a few nights in a beautiful place right on the ocean. I think we were gone like 11 or 12 nights total. I'm a stay at home mom and my husband can get time off when he wants it just by getting someone to cover his shifts (he's a paramedic). It was one of our best trips! I love being spontaneous!

 

[goofykt]

Last year my DH and I booked a trip only a week in advance. We were both about to take new jobs and it was a long weekend (Labor Day), so we decided to go to WDW while the stars were aligned and we didn't have to use any vacation time. Then hurricane Gustav hit and we were "trapped" at Disney for an entire week. Our new places of employ were shut down just like 99% of the city, but they honored our start dates and we both got paid for spending a week in WDW w/o having to use vacation time.

We didn't make any ADR's because we booked our long weekend on such short notice, plus we didn't anticipate spending an entire week there. We were able to get into 90% of the table service restaurants we wanted, without much of a wait (we never waited more than 30 minutes).

One of our best memories together as a couple!!!

 

[Susan Savia]

I think that would be so much fun, a spur of the moment thing, but with the distance, our jobs and the fact we would want to stay longer then just a weekend, I doubt we'd ever do it.

 

[foreverbelle]

We did it, though it was more like a month out. We just said lets go to Disney! And we even lucky enough to get a lot of the reservations that we wanted. Just remember, you may have to be flexible with where you stay and times available. But if your willing to do so, its a great way to be spur of the moment.

 

[WDW Monorail]

On our last trip, this past June, we purchased plane tickets, rented a car and reserved a hotel room on Wednesday, and we were in Orlando the very next day.

 

[bgraham34]

The shortest unplanned trip was I think 3 days but I drove down from NJ to drop a trailer off by Cocoa Beach. I stopped at the Studios for the day.

The shortest planned trip was about 2 months ahead of time.

 

[Ilovewishes]

We planned a trip from the UK two weeks in advance. Well, I say planned. We booked it, bought our tickets and went! There wasn't really much planning involved at all! We stayed at CSR for two weeks and we didn't actually leave WDW grounds the entire time we were there!

It was my fave trip of them all!

 

[fosse76]

We planned a trip from the UK two weeks in advance. Well, I say planned. We booked it, bought our tickets and went! There wasn't really much planning involved at all!

I essentially did the same thing at the beginning of March. Except I was only coming from New York. I probably wouldn't be able to plan a trip any closer...airfare seems to double the closer you get to your travel date!

 

[corey154]

I have alot of relatives that live out of state that do it.

 

[toystorymaniacs]

9:00 am - on phone with friend "it's never going to stop raining what an awful spring break, we shoudl have gone to WDW"
9:30- on phone with WDW reservations
9:45- have an AP rate for Coranado Springs
10:00 Call sister ask if I can take my 5 year old niece who's never been
10:30 Pack
1:00 Pick up niece
2:00 arrive at friends house and leave
10:00 pm Check into Coranado Springs

about 13 hours from thought to arrival, man I can't wait to get an AP again in September!

 

[smk]

9:00 am - on phone with friend "it's never going to stop raining what an awful spring break, we shoudl have gone to WDW"
9:30- on phone with WDW reservations
9:45- have an AP rate for Coranado Springs
10:00 Call sister ask if I can take my 5 year old niece who's never been
10:30 Pack
1:00 Pick up niece
2:00 arrive at friends house and leave
10:00 pm Check into Coranado Springs

about 13 hours from thought to arrival, man I can't wait to get an AP again in September!

That trip must have been so much fun!