anybody just wing it, and plan nothing...

[RJD]

I guess we pretty much "wing it". We are a family of 4 with 2 boys. We do make ADRs for the few meals that are musts for us (Chef Mickey's our first morning there). But we don't really make a "touring plan". We pretty much decide day to day what park we want to hit and what we want to do there. I would definitely do research (if you've never been) about the 4 parks and what rides you definitely want to do. Get to the park and get your fast passes, but again, we've been there during busy times, school vacation weeks, and we've managed just fine without having a big plan in place. Have fun!

 

[teach22180]

My family arrives in Florida every year with our car, hotel reservations, theme park tickets, and that's it.

However, my parents have been making Disney trips since the mid-seventies.

If this is your first trip, I'd probably read a couple of good tour books, learn the lay of the lands, and maybe book a few ADRs at parks you know you'll be in for one reason or another. But the ride by ride planning and so on that I see some people doing is unnecessary.

I was thinking this same thing; if you have never been, it might be worth it to feel comfortable with the park layout. However, plan whatever YOU want to plan! Personally, I don't do TS restaurants, so ADRs are not important, but I like to know the hours and EMH's at each of the parks beforehand. I would hate to miss the only late EMH at the MK during my trip or something like that.

 

[Mickey and PSU]

I am amazed at how much planning some pople do fro their vacation. On all of our trips, we have looked at the maps and decided what things wer our "must dos" and the would decide on which parks we were going to each day. We always ake time to go back to the resort to relax in the afternoon. One evening is a guarantee for Disney Quest and we set aside one morning for Blizzard Beach. This trip, I have made my ADRs and have an idea of what we want to do. If rain or illness hinders what we wanted to do (and we have had both situations), we have been there enough times that we don't get upset. We work thru those things and plan on spending family time that we don;t always get at home because we are always going in different directions each week.

 

[AKBAFB]

My husband and I have always winged it, but now that we are going for the first time with our two daughters, I am doing a lot more planning ahead. We always had fun doing whatever we wanted and not having to stick to a plan. (But, that was back when you could still pretty easily get a table service meal with no ADR....and long before the dining plans!) Now I feel with the kids, I want to be prepared for anything and be able to provide some direction for each day. Good luck to the OP whatever you decide to do!

 

[mamaLori05]

I forgot to add that we are a family of four. One 3yr old Dd, one 8month old ds, and me and my husband. Again, we tried a combo this last trip, and found we prefered the days with no ADR's or plan.

Personally I think it depends on your personality. We are more of a laid back family, so going with the flow works best for us.

 

[TinkRBel_In_Training]

I guess it depends if this is your first trip or not and if you have kids. If this is your first time at the World, it might be helpful to know the basic layout of the parks, what time they open and close on the days you'll be there, if you want to do the evening entertainment or not, how to rent/manage strollers in the parks, if you want to eat dinners or other sit-down meals on WDW property. That might make things go a little smoother if you at least know how late the parks are open and if you want to eat at any of them while you're there. Otherwise winging it is perfectly fine!

My family and I always wing it. This is how we do it. My dad orders our tickets in advance and books our villa (we always stay off-property) and plane tickets if we're flying and those are the only things we plan. We stay in a timeshare villa so we don't have to fuss with ADRs. Once we get there, we decide which days we want to go to the parks and which ones we want to have off for pool time and relaxation. We also decide which nights we want to eat out and which ones we'll cook ourselves. We arrive at the parks whenever time we feel like and we use theTimes guides they have at the entrances to decide how/if to work in the afternoon or evening parades and nighttime entertainment. Then we enjoy the parks to our liking following a very loose schedule. Sometimes we don't get to see everything we may have wanted to, but we are fine with this. We enjoy the parks in a calm and relaxed manner, not with a strict itinerary to follow every day. We go with the flow and thats how we like it. Some people are planners and need to follow a schedule. Its really up to you to decide what would work best for you and your family

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

This is our family's first trip. I was planning on going to the parks at opening and following the Unofficial Guides plan for the rides we wanted to go on. Returning to one of the parks after a break and doing a more relaxed evening. Do you think this will work out alright?

Well, I hope that you see this dwdreamer! I didn't think that anyone else answered you but I'll just answer again just in case. It sounds like a good plan to me. We went over Spring Break this year. It was very very busy. We used the UG touring plans and we got to do everything we wanted. We also successfully switched out attractions we weren't interested in for a second ride or another attraction.

We do semi-planning. We plan what park what day in advance. We use the UG for touring, take a list of likely CS places for that park and we utilitze the FP system. We just make sure that everyone gets to do what they want!

 

[exwdwcm]

lol- never have, even as kids, my parents bought us the birnbaum's guide and my planning obsession started then as a kid and has only gotten worse!

a good friend of mine just went on her first trip with her two kiddos and DH. I created a sample schedule (what parks to avoid or go to based on crowds, EMH etc.) and a whole list of tips/must sees, including what rides to head to FIRST thing at which park to avoid lines. She said the second day, her DH said- hey let's just wing it and try it out on our own. she said it was miserable and they got nothing done and immediately went back to the tips and schedule i gave her. she said it made a world of difference in what they were able to see and do and ENJOY. so no, i haven't really winged it, except when it is a one day trip just by myself if i am there on business or something. i enjoy the planning and anticipation almost as much as the trip itself!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Every 2 or 3 years we have a family reunion, so for that type of vacation we plot, plan, configure everything. THis allows for every one to do or see something that is special to them. When I go in middle August just before school starts up, we just wing it. There usually 4 of us, no small children, every one is flexible so we don't even worry about ADR's etc. I like it both ways. In June 7 page itenerary w/ ADR's, special events, conf. #'s etc., August, just get in the car and go!

P.S. I do love to plan & organize

 

[justplaingoofy]

I usually plan which park we are going to on each day, and if we do the dining plan I do plan our adr's.

In Jan. I went down to Disney by myself to stay with my sister, brother in law and her kids...she is not a planner.. which I knew considering she's my sister....

They had the dining plan and only planned 2 meals(out of 7) while we were there and there were many a nights when we could not get into a restaurant and ended up using sit down credits for table service.

Then she complained that the dining plan was too hard because having to plan and make adr's.. and wasn't a good value because they had to use them for counter service

 

[honeybee30]

Although we've certainly been to WDW enough times to wing it, I just love to plan! I think planning accounts for over half of my Disney addiction.

But even though I make a detailed plan ahead of time, we are flexible once we get there and often change the plan according to our mood, the weather, etc. Eating at certain restaurants is important to us though, so we always make ADRs and almost always stick to those.

Our next trip is in the summer, so I will come up with a pretty comprehensive touring plan. I want to avoid the biggest crowds and worst heat as much as possible. I don't think winging it is wise during the busy season unless you really know what you're doing and what to expect!

 

[dwdreamer]

Thanx DexLabDeeDee! I've read the UG almost cover to cover and then I discovered Disboards and check it whenever I can. Sooo addicting!!

 

[srwarden1928]

We did a semi wing it trip the week before Easter. I reserved the hotel five weeks before. We bought our tickets through AAA to save money. I DID have good touring plans to use and we did use them to our advantage. I made ADRs the morning for dinner that night on three of our park days--the other two we just ate CS. We felt like we saw everything we wanted to.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We wing it all the time...I pick my resort and TS dinners but for the most part we never know what we are going to do and when we are going to do it

 

[ReadingMama]

Definately need a plan! We go in the summer and during free Dining so we
(1) Plan which park on which day
(2) Plan ADR's - almost all character meals
(3) print out the UG plans and follow them loosely. We don't rush from one ride to the other, i.e are more than willing to ride again if everyone wants or stop to get autographs. We do take mid-day breaks and try to arrive close to rope drop.

 

[disfan07]

we always wing it unless there is a TS meal that we really want to do but we never do more than 2 a trip
our last trip in december, we didnt plan anything...we knew what hotel we were at, our flights adn how many days....thats it adn we had a great time

 

[LAFTEF]

I usually wing it except for the regular hotel and food.

Not this time I have out done my self with watching all the boards,TGM (the best), maps etc.....
I can't wait
I can't wait to see if Planning is better than winging it!

 

[Dallas_Lady]

For me, planning is half the fun! But it can be overwhelming when you first start. I suggest getting a guidebook and reading that first so you have an idea of what to expect. Then jump on the Disboards to fill in any gaps you may have.

I would only wing it if I had been before and I didn't mind not seeing and doing everything. And if I didn't mind eating counter service the entire trip.

Now, something I have never done is plan which rides to go on in which order. I know the parks well enough to know that certain popular rides like Mission Space, Soarin' and EE should be hit first thing in the morning, but other than that we go with the flow. I don't like detailed touring plans because I feel too scheduled. But, I also don't mind missing something because I know I will be back in a few years. We plan which park to go to on which day based on EMH, hours and crowds. Then I make dining reservations based on where we will be, and that's about it.

 

[LimeGreenEd]

Just back and made minimal plans- only 2 ADR's. Most mornings we just walked to the bus stop and got on the first bus that came along. That was our park for the day. P.S.- With only 2 ADR's we did not eat hotdogs and chicken nuggets every night. There are many C.S. locations that serve wonderful food.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I am going crazy over here because I am neurotic about knowing everything before I go on vacation. Before Disney, it was cruise critic online when we used to do cruises for our big vacation. Now this year is the first Disney trip and I am VERY overwhelmed! But like I said, I am neurotic and I am too nervous not to know anything before I go. I know which days we are going to which park, ADRs every night for dinner, and for a couple of character breakfasts, have my customized maps, worked out some of the strategy of getting around each park with DH while looking at the maps, etc. I even got directions from Pop Century where we are staying to each park, each resort hotel we are eating dinner or breakfast at, etc. I have a separate folder in my email for "Florida 2008". Yes, I am pathetic and do not get that much sleep some nights because I just have to check in on these boards, search through to find an answer to my question or ask some more myself if I can't find the answer here (and I still end up asking a ton of questions!).

I wish I had the guts to just say "fuhgeddaboutit" and wing it! After all, when my parents took me and my sister to Disney back in the 1980s, there was no internet and no disboards and they just had the AAA books and knew which hotel we were staying at, and we got tickets for Magic Kingdom and Epcot the first trip (the only 2 theme parks at the time) and MK, Epcot and MGM the second time (it was the summer after MGM opened and before Universal even existed). And you know what? We had a wonderful time and got to do a lot! Those are some of my best childhood memories and there was not all of this strategic planning and I am going back to the days when fastpass didn't exist and neither did Animal Kingdom!

Go and have a great time, no matter how much or how little planning you do! Me, I'm neurotic...gotta plan everything!

-Bonnie