The "Take it easy" challenge!

[Reccyman]

My family and I often, (all the time ), sit around and plan our next trip to "The World".

Which park do we hit first? (Always The Magic kingdom).
What will we ride first?
Where will we eat?

Who, What, Why, When!!!!

I've often read the chat about planning your holiday (sorry, vacation). We all enjoy the pre-Disney build up of table reservations, etc.

Well, today my watch broke! I hate not having a watch! However, this got me thinking (not a good idea)!

Do you think you could manage a day at at the parks and just relax? No running around for fast passes. No pre-booked table reservations. No Watching the clock! ETC!!

So, when we next fly the 4500 miles or so to enjoy the best of American hospitality, I've set my family a challenge. A day with "NO PLANNING"!

What do you think? Can it be done? Could you go to one of the parks, not worry about the time? Just relax, go with the flow and enjoy yourself? (That includes not picking up a timetable of the days parades and shows)!

 

[ChrisQ]

What do you think? Can it be done? Could you go to one of the parks, not worry about the time? Just relax, go with the flow and enjoy yourself? (That includes not picking up a timetable of the days parades and shows)!

We at least try to. Sometimes it doesn't go the way we plan...

Edit: I just realized how lame what I said sounds... What I mean is, we try to "go with the flow," but it doesn't always work out that way.

 

[yankspy]

I often do that. You might find that it is quite enjoyable. There is nothing wrong with planning, but there is also nothing wrong with winging it occasionally. Be crazy, give it a try.

 

[DisneyLeo18]

you guys plan everyday?!?! lol.. i think it may be because im younger but pretty much everyday is no planning, which is why its a vacation = ).. no rules or plans just let it alllllll happen

 

[Pongo]

Before I went to college, I lived an hour from WDW and would REGULARLY visit the parks without planning -- fortunately, being a local resident allows it. Often, I would be with a friend who also had an AP and if we got bored, we would decide to go to dinner somewhere in the parks on a whim, making the reservation as we drove there.

Unplanned trips are often the most enjoyable, but I would only attempt it if I could afford to attempt it without missing anything. Being a local resident, I've already done it all, so I don't have to worry about that.

 

[Disneykidder]

On my 06' trip, we left a day where we did nothing...went shopping, visited resorts...just relax. We always had our reservations, due to needing to make them in advance, but took a chill day. On my trip this summer, we have nothing planned for our last day...just whatever we feel like doing!

 

[ELopez]

There's no way I could do that. For us, a great deal of the fun is in the planning. We leave for our next trip 6 months from today - not a day goes by that we aren't planning. We know what parks we will do on what day, even our first several rides! (Don't worry, there's still 6 more months to plan the rest of the attractions!)

I don't know, may be one day, when the kids are grown, we'll try "winging it"!

 

[Wilt Dasney]

I think a happy medium is best.

If you're going to ride more than one or two popular attractions, you really need Fastpasses. If you want to see any live entertainment, parades or fireworks, it helps to show up on time.

Beyond that, though, I say go where the spirit moves you. I'm not a big fan of Disney's sit-down meals (you can get plenty of just as mediocre food at the counter service places for a lot cheaper), so I can't really relate to feeling the need for dinner reservations all the time.

 

[Laura]

I think a happy medium is best.

If you're going to ride more than one or two popular attractions, you really need Fastpasses. If you want to see any live entertainment, parades or fireworks, it helps to show up on time.

Beyond that, though, I say go where the spirit moves you. I'm not a big fan of Disney's sit-down meals (you can get plenty of just as mediocre food at the counter service places for a lot cheaper), so I can't really relate to feeling the need for dinner reservations all the time.

You can only have so many burgers and pizza before it gets old. :shrug:

Also, stand in a 30 minute line with grumpy people and the hunt for 20 minutes for a table and then clean up after yourself....or sit down in a nice atmosphere and be served? After 8 hours of theme parking in the hot sun, I know which option I prefer.

 

[scorp111]

You can only have so many burgers and pizza before it gets old. :shrug:

Also, stand in a 30 minute line with grumpy people and the hunt for 20 minutes for a table and then clean up after yourself....or sit down in a nice atmosphere and be served? After 8 hours of theme parking in the hot sun, I know which option I prefer.

I agree with Laura on this point. Our sit-down meals are a break, and often an easy way to meet/greet characters. We normally do several character meals each trip, and almost always at least one-sit down meal per day, so we know we will have some sort of break.

To the original question, I would definitely struggle. I am pretty much a type A personality all the way. Over the last 3 1/2 years (10 visits) I have slowly forced myself to slow down and really enjoy the parks, but there still is some sort of a plan. (I just don't plan the whole day every day anymore). But not knowing what time it was, or knowing the parade or show schedule, probably isn't going to happen in this lifetime.:shrug:

 

[daliseurat]

I've done this. But only on a trip where I had multiple days that were planned so I as already accomplished everything I wanted to.

It was on Christmas days several years ago. My wife and i decided to just go with the flow. We grabbed food when we saw no lines and we just went on whatever had no lines. It was really nice. True we'd didn't get on a lot things we wanted to, but we tried lots of new stuff and didn't really have to wait much. And this was on one of the busiest days of the year.

I've also taken what I call a STROLLING day, where I mostly just walk around and really look at the parks, take my time taking pictures. I go on the occaisional ride, but mostly stroll and chat. It's really nice.

But If I only had a couple days, I'd never be able to do that. I miss out on too much. I wish I could afford an extra day every trip to just relax.

 

[Bug715]

I agree that its easier to not planning every second of a disney vacation when you are there a lot. While on my CP I regularly went into the park for dinner and fireworks or just to ride one ride. When my friend and I went for Spring Break we couldn't make up our mind of where to go and what to do because we'd done everything recently. It was nice to just hang out in our favorite place in the world without being rushed.

 

[sar1980sweetie]

Personally, we hate the idea of planning anything about our vacation ahead of time. Up until this trip the only thing we ever planned (besides tickets, resort, and airfare of course) was that we would continue our tradition which is to go straight to the Haunted Mansion as soon as we get there, after that we go where we feel like. It's so much nicer to just follow how and what you feel, not what the list we made months ago says. It's much less stress that way.

The only thing that has changed for this trip is that because of the popularity of the dining plan we have to make reservations to actually EAT at the parks (which is insane, I've never had to "guess" what type of food I want to eat 6 months in advance...lol)

 

[H20Babie]

How ironic ... I'm "planning" one of those days next trip :ROFLOL:

 

[daringstoic]

I'm a compulsive planner, so there's pretty much no way I could do that. I'm the one sitting down and making itineraries for trips based on EMH schedules, my experiences with crowd levels at different times of the day/week for each park, and how long I think it will take us to do everything we want to do in the park so we make sure we don't miss out on our traditions of mini golf, Beaches'n'Cream, and the Orlando Ale House. 90% of my planning, except for the general "we'll go to this park on Tuesday, and that park on Wednesday" stuff goes right out the window the second we land in Orlando. I can't help it though. It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something even though I'm so far away. I'm an organizer/list maker/planner. It's just what I do. Fortunately, I'm also pretty flexible and don't really have a problem adapting to changes in my schedule.

 

[Jenna]

I LOVE planning however for wdw it only extends as far as what park each day (we usually decide the night before although the first few days we plan at home!), what shows we want to see and the rides we want to fastpass! We come all the way from Ireland so not planning could make us miss out on a whole lot however we don't make a ride by ride plan-thats just not enjoyable! Just walk around enjoy the place and decide what you want to go on based on whats close and what mood you're in! I enjoy the small things at Disney...spending time with my family, walking around ( i think i prefer this to the rides!) and just having fun!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Fail to plan, plan to fail, especially if visiting at busier times. We plan our meals for the very simple reason in that it is an enforced break and a chance to recharge during long park days.

No plan is written in stone and can easily amended, but it does ensure that your "must do's" are accounted for and that nay tickets and reservations can be made to avoid disappointment.

Its a plan after all not a binding contract.

 

[scorp111]

I LOVE planning however for wdw it only extends as far as what park each day (we usually decide the night before although the first few days we plan at home!), what shows we want to see and the rides we want to fastpass! We come all the way from Ireland so not planning could make us miss out on a whole lot however we don't make a ride by ride plan-thats just not enjoyable! Just walk around enjoy the place and decide what you want to go on based on whats close and what mood you're in! I enjoy the small things at Disney...spending time with my family, walking around ( i think i prefer this to the rides!) and just having fun!

Just to clarify my earlier post, I don't plan ride by ride either. Generally a starting point (IE Dumbo/Fantasyland at MK) but after that, it just happens.

 

[urbanvegan]

I think it may be tough to "go off the clock" at a place as schedule-obsessed as WDW. Perhaps you could strike a balance, though.

Maybe you could just go to the resort bus stop in the morning and get on the first bus that arrives, for instance. Then getting to the park and picking a dinner time and selecting whatever restaurant has the closest seating time available while at Guest Services.

Then choose rides, restaurants and shows at random (like by rolling a die or choosing labeled scraps of paper from a bag). Then it isn't a "planned" day of events, so you could still keep times in mind for events, parades and meals; but with a lot more spontaneity.

Well, planned spontaneity.