Unable to plan very far ahead

[Fat Paul]

Due to my wifes employment we are unable to plan very far in advance. However we usually find ourselves with 6 to 7 days off with a month and a half notice. What time of year (if any) is it possible to do a Disney world vacation on short notice. We would prefer a deluxe resort and enjoy dinning out. We have in the past enjoyed Le Celliar, The restaurant in France and Coral reef. A few restaurants that we must be able to do are the Biergarten and the Sci fi (reliving the past). So what say you forum, is a trip like this even possible or must we wait until we can plan further in advance?

 

[JohnD]

You can plan trips on short time frames. You may not be able to get the most popular ADRs, though. If you're within that bubble, start looking now. Directly on the MDE site, you can book and cancel within 5 days for a full refund. Look for the offers that best fit your situation. Can't speak to travel sites (Orbitz, Hotels, Expedia, etc.). They have their own policies.

I've booked a trip for farther out (less than 3 months) but my situation is similar in that I don't know if I can do the week I want to go or not. But I booked anyway.

 

[rob0519]

We decided to go to the World this past July 25-30. One July 7, I was able to book two rooms in an outside building at the Grand Floridian. We had breakfast at Chef Mickeys and Be Our Guest. We had dinners at Via Napoli, Mama Melrose, Crystal Palace and 1900 Park Faire. Would we have preferred some other harder to get ADRs? Sure, but with only 3 weeks of planning, still not all that bad. If you start saying you MUST dine at certain restaurants with such short notice, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. Hopefully, you can get the hotel and ADRs you want.

 

[LowesChevy]

January is definitely a lower crowd time period. It is cooler, there can be rainy chilly days and ride several refurbishments may be going on due to the low crowds and weather.
This time end of August through the first couple of weeks of September have lower crowds because kids are back in school in many areas as well. It is normally hot, but there will be rain, but because it is so hot it feel nice lol

Similar to what others have said--My first plan of action would be to get the resort booked. Get plane tickets if applicable. Then pick a few restaurants you really want and check for availability. Have a few places as backups and there are always lots of good places at Disney Springs (Sorry I still call it Downtown Disney) As you find restaurant availability fill in your day to day schedule to coincide with the parks.

Remember that some restaurants offer an all day menu as opposed to separate lunch and dinner menus. You many have to play around with times and maybe take off meal ADR times. I think it is possible to score some last minute ADRs much of the time, perhaps with the exception of peak and holidays.

Flexibility is key

 

[Fat Paul]

Thank you all for your help. Off peak hours at places like Sci fi and Biergarten would be great. I am going to try to put this vacation together.

 

[Mukta]

Due to my wifes employment we are unable to plan very far in advance. However we usually find ourselves with 6 to 7 days off with a month and a half notice. What time of year (if any) is it possible to do a Disney world vacation on short notice?

The first 2-3 weeks of September, the end of Jan (excluding MLK weekend), last week of Feb-early March.