A different way to do Disney… should I?

[glocon]

Tickets are so crazy expensive now (I remember when they hit $100 and thought that was nuts!) that I can see why you’d want to make the most of your day.

With such young children who have a hard time waiting in long lines you almost have to have a plan to minimize those waits.

I’ve done go-go-go days with my DS and laid back easy days with my sister, and both are fun.

Maybe try doing rope drop but skipping late nights some, then try sleeping in and closing down the park some (stay late for the parks with fireworks you want to see).

Or do early days every day then only do your last day late to see the fireworks at MK as your send off!

 

[Selket]

I have a DD10, DS7, DS5, DS2

Part of your answer is right here - your kids are young and you have 4 of them. I'm an older lady with older kids and the relaxed approach is great for me but when my kids were young....nope. I think you should feel free to take more breaks or do more QS. I personally appreciate the TS meals because it framed our day and gave us a place to sit for a good bit and relax. Maybe a no park day. This is YMMV but your friend's solo trip vs. a family trip with 4 young kids...vastly different kind of trip.

 

[TikiRob]

Our issue tends to be this- we say "oh, we aren't going to totally exhaust ourselves, go nonstop etc" but....then we arrive and can't help ourselves.

I went on my first solo trip last month with the idea that I'd slow down to enjoy all the details that others might not be interested in. The first day I did every attraction at least once (40+) at Magic Kingdom from 8am-1am... mission failed. It just compounded the issue because nobody was there to "slow me down"!

 

[Marek Zyskowski]

There is a lot to see. I think visiting the park early and late each day is the way to go. Having to many planned activities is often a burden. It is nice to accidentally find something. Personally I like the food and the shopping just as much as the attractions. So maybe I look at my experience in WDW a little different.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

My friend recently took a solo trip to WDW and was kind enough to text me some pics and details so that I could get my Disney fix vicariously for a few days. I was very struck by our different approaches to the parks. The past few trips, I have been a rope drop and stay till close, glued to my phone, hurry we can’t be late for our ADR kind of person. I spend a lot of time planning and it is very expensive for my family of 6, so we go hard to make the most of our trip.

My friend’s strategy (or lack thereof) blew my mind. I don’t think he rode more than a handful of rides. He wandered around! When he got hot and tired, he went back to the hotel. He didn’t even stay for the fireworks! But he loved it. He even mentioned he’s thinking about buying DVC. Which has me curious- could his approach to the parks be fun for my family to try?

Are there any others out there who have done it both ways- overplanned and under planned? Which do you prefer? Which will you do in the future?

I hadn’t really considered this seriously until now, but with the right mindset, maybe on our next trip we will:

-not ride the rides we don’t love (looking at you, Tomorrowland Speedway)

-sleep in and hit the parks later. I’m guessing we’ll still stay to close, maybe we don’t have to do both rope drop AND close

-not eat at TS restaurants. I never think the food is remotely worth the price, so we always just select restaurants for the theming and a chance to sit and relax. But what if we didn’t have to plan our day around ADR times?

-walk around without a destination in mind. We are always walking to the next attraction, often times hurrying so we won’t be late for whatever I have set up (ADR, VQ, LL, experience, etc)

Curious to hear the thoughts of others! For what it’s worth, I have a DD10, DS7, DS5, DS2. DH goes along with whatever I plan

I've AGED into RELAX MORE mode. I've been to WDW enough to be satisfied with doing and seeing what I love the most and all else is a bonus. That said, that are some A+ rides I'm not going out of my way to do. I've also cut out a lot of ADRs because of cost. The last few trips have had 2 or 3 ADRS and that's it! I like not having to think of my park presence so I'm able to make my ADR on time. Now, it's spontaneous or it's let's ride or see this show first and then eat here since it's so close!

 

[Nancyg56]

I think that with a family of 6, some planning is necessary for your own peace of mind. I have gone with another adult and we tended to wing it. Yes I booked FP, (it was a long time ago) but we really did not care it we made it to the attraction or not. We made some dining ADR's but that was because we knew we wanted specific TS restaurants.

With a family I would not do that. I would make a loose plan with regards to the park we were going to, as well as the area we would start in, and if there were attractions I knew my family wanted to visit, I would head in that direction. I would also be sure I had specific ideas where we would eat.

This nice thing about a plan is that you can throw it out.

Winging it is fine if you either are not really winging it because you have been enough times to know your touring schedule and preferences, or if no one in your family really cares if they stand in long lines, misses a character or attraction they want and can all agree quickly on food. Mine cannot. We woudl be that family who spent all day trying to make a decision.

 

[brockash]

My friend recently took a solo trip to WDW and was kind enough to text me some pics and details so that I could get my Disney fix vicariously for a few days. I was very struck by our different approaches to the parks. The past few trips, I have been a rope drop and stay till close, glued to my phone, hurry we can’t be late for our ADR kind of person. I spend a lot of time planning and it is very expensive for my family of 6, so we go hard to make the most of our trip.

My friend’s strategy (or lack thereof) blew my mind. I don’t think he rode more than a handful of rides. He wandered around! When he got hot and tired, he went back to the hotel. He didn’t even stay for the fireworks! But he loved it. He even mentioned he’s thinking about buying DVC. Which has me curious- could his approach to the parks be fun for my family to try?

Are there any others out there who have done it both ways- overplanned and under planned? Which do you prefer? Which will you do in the future?

I hadn’t really considered this seriously until now, but with the right mindset, maybe on our next trip we will:

-not ride the rides we don’t love (looking at you, Tomorrowland Speedway)

-sleep in and hit the parks later. I’m guessing we’ll still stay to close, maybe we don’t have to do both rope drop AND close

-not eat at TS restaurants. I never think the food is remotely worth the price, so we always just select restaurants for the theming and a chance to sit and relax. But what if we didn’t have to plan our day around ADR times?

-walk around without a destination in mind. We are always walking to the next attraction, often times hurrying so we won’t be late for whatever I have set up (ADR, VQ, LL, experience, etc)

Curious to hear the thoughts of others! For what it’s worth, I have a DD10, DS7, DS5, DS2. DH goes along with whatever I plan

What if you kinda split the trip with some days your old. ways and some the new. We are definitely more. of the over planners but like you really think we'd enjoy a more relaxed approach. We've started trying to do a bit of both ad I'll e honest I really have to be conscience and stay on top of myself to fight the urge to go go go lol, but it is more pleasant

 

[pinkxray]

We joined dvc a few years ago and since we know we are coming back again, we take it very slow. Usually a resort/no plans do every other day. It’s fantastic. There is so much to see and do at the resorts and Disney Springs. My kids are 7 and 9 and they haven’t complained. They love waking up and knowing we don’t have anything to do until the pool opens.

We were just in WDW for spring break at Easter time. We had 7 nights and went to parks 3 times. We were scheduled to do an after hours event but DS got sick so we skipped it.

Here was our week

Friday- arrival, pool, skyliner ride (kids had never been on it). Checked out Easter eggs at YC/BC

Sat- resort day, breakfast at resort, pool, arcade, more pool. Chill out time in the room after lunch. More pool, resorts games, etc

Sun- Easter resort activities which our kids enjoyed, Easter brunch, pool, dinner at Artist Point

Monday- Park day

Tues - Park Day

Wed- saw a movie at Disney springs, lunch at Disney springs. Weather sucked so we hung out in the arcade and did some shopping around the monorail (stayed at BLT)

Thursday- Park day did rope drop, left at lunch, stacked lightening lanes for after dinner. Returned for the evening after dinner. Stayed until the kids were done

We haven’t been buying park hoppers while the kids are little but that will change soon. The biggest park that stinks is that tickets get cheaper the more days you get. So it always feels like a waste to get 3/4 day passes but that’s what works for us. On park days we get genie plus, lightening lanes to get the most out of the day.

I don’t think I would love this relaxed approach if we didn’t go every year though. In that case I would want more park time since I knew I wasn’t coming for awhile. My husband is not a Disney fan and would be fine with never returning. He actually said our trips have been much better since we’ve been doing it this way.


I also only made 3 adrs. 2 on Easter and Chef Mickeys. The rest of the days we did add a few table service meals once we knew where we would be. I did have storybook dining and Chef Mickey booked and ended up switching them around so it’s really not hard to grab an adr the night before or day of. People are constantly cancelling as their plans change.

 

[DisneyDillyDally]

Genie+ and $ILL really make it possible to relax and still get all the "good" rides.

But it is expensive.

And you do have to do the "7am rush" on your phone.

I found the same! With Genie plus you can be more relaxed.

 

[MomDoc_99]

Our last trip, we did mainly what I call "walk-in rope drop" - instead of trying to be at the front of the line and madly rushing to the top ride, we planned our arrival so we would be walking in as rope drop started and hit the 2nd tier rides. Much calmer! (Did the top rides through Genie+/ILL). Since we stay offsite, we also planned in-park down time mid day (picnic at Tom Sawyer island at MK, shows at HS, World Showcase at EPCOT. Worked well for the most part. We did do one non-park day.

 

[Hezzy04]

I have done both ways and love either! I tend to be a lot More relaxed on solo trips. When I go with one or more person I basically make a list of “must dos” for everyone. The more people, the busier we tend to be! This is partly why instead of a family trip, over the next year I will be doing a trip separately with my husband and each one of my daughters! I’m the only one with an annual pass, so it works perfectly!

 

[Mouse Tracker]

My friend recently took a solo trip to WDW and was kind enough to text me some pics and details so that I could get my Disney fix vicariously for a few days. I was very struck by our different approaches to the parks. The past few trips, I have been a rope drop and stay till close, glued to my phone, hurry we can’t be late for our ADR kind of person. I spend a lot of time planning and it is very expensive for my family of 6, so we go hard to make the most of our trip.

My friend’s strategy (or lack thereof) blew my mind. I don’t think he rode more than a handful of rides. He wandered around! When he got hot and tired, he went back to the hotel. He didn’t even stay for the fireworks! But he loved it. He even mentioned he’s thinking about buying DVC. Which has me curious- could his approach to the parks be fun for my family to try?

Are there any others out there who have done it both ways- overplanned and under planned? Which do you prefer? Which will you do in the future?

I hadn’t really considered this seriously until now, but with the right mindset, maybe on our next trip we will:

-not ride the rides we don’t love (looking at you, Tomorrowland Speedway)

-sleep in and hit the parks later. I’m guessing we’ll still stay to close, maybe we don’t have to do both rope drop AND close

-not eat at TS restaurants. I never think the food is remotely worth the price, so we always just select restaurants for the theming and a chance to sit and relax. But what if we didn’t have to plan our day around ADR times?

-walk around without a destination in mind. We are always walking to the next attraction, often times hurrying so we won’t be late for whatever I have set up (ADR, VQ, LL, experience, etc)

Curious to hear the thoughts of others! For what it’s worth, I have a DD10, DS7, DS5, DS2. DH goes along with whatever I plan

Definitely believe in some level of plan. It is expensive but your kids don't "think" value while there - that part is inside you. Approach it from the perspective of their fun and what pace to achieve that. G+ helps in MK and HS, others are doable without it.

Where you stay can influence it, the hassle with strollers for buses vs skyliner.

You and DH are troopers to wrangle that age bracket. Maybe splitting up part of the time? Our group is typically QS eaters, sometimes splintering off to satisfy tastes. There are spots to kinda "picnic" in the parks.

 

[BeachMouse1]

We used to run day to night but when we bought DVC things changed for us mainly because of our attitude just knowing we would be back. We also bought APs so that made us want to go more.
Now we don’t worry about getting up early and rushing to the park to stand in an entrance line. When we stay at VGF we walk the path to MK and walk into the park and do a walk around the perimeter then onto the contemporary and back. Then to the pool to cool off and relax and then a shower and whatever park we chose for the day. If we stay at Boardwalk we do the same walk thru Epcot and then whatever park.
Almost always an afternoon back at the pool. When we walk the parks we ride what we want get virtual queues when we want. If something has an exceptional long line we think “next time”.
We always do a few nice sit down dinners but have also learned to appreciate all the lounges for appetizers as “meals” it also gives us an excuse to go to all the hotels. We might go to Victoria Falls lounge have a burger and walk the savannahs.
We have found new things to do, rent a pontoon boat and have picnic on the water. Last time we were at Disney springs and hopped on the boat to Port Orleans for beignets. We have learned to sit on a bench in a park and people watch and truly look at all the park details
We found in slowing down that there is so much more to Disney than running on rides. Yes we still love rides but since we are more relaxed we may do them on extended evenings or just later at night.
Disney really is so much more than rides but if that’s your thing do it!
DVC and annual pass really just changed our point of view and the way we Disney.
May not be for everyone but we have really learned to enjoy the resorts, parks, all the events and restaurants

 

[GPC0321]

My favorite schedule is park in the AM, back to resort at lunchtime for swim and rest, then TS dinner at resort or Springs, then back out to a park for a nighttime spectacular and some late night attractions. If we don't feel like getting up early, we don't. If we want to take our time eating breakfast, we do. If we want to wander through shops or stop and watch some entertainment, we do.

If we're really feeling like throwing caution to the wind, we go to the bus stop with no plan, and whichever park's bus shows up first, that's where we go! That's kind of fun.

As long as I ride Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Small World, People Mover, Kilimanjaro Safari, and the Gran Fiesta boat ride in Mexico, I'm good. LOL. I can spend the rest of the time wandering and watching and browsing and of course...eating.

 

[Bound4DisneyWorld]

My friend recently took a solo trip to WDW and was kind enough to text me some pics and details so that I could get my Disney fix vicariously for a few days. I was very struck by our different approaches to the parks. The past few trips, I have been a rope drop and stay till close, glued to my phone, hurry we can’t be late for our ADR kind of person. I spend a lot of time planning and it is very expensive for my family of 6, so we go hard to make the most of our trip.

My friend’s strategy (or lack thereof) blew my mind. I don’t think he rode more than a handful of rides. He wandered around! When he got hot and tired, he went back to the hotel. He didn’t even stay for the fireworks! But he loved it. He even mentioned he’s thinking about buying DVC. Which has me curious- could his approach to the parks be fun for my family to try?

Are there any others out there who have done it both ways- overplanned and under planned? Which do you prefer? Which will you do in the future?

I hadn’t really considered this seriously until now, but with the right mindset, maybe on our next trip we will:

-not ride the rides we don’t love (looking at you, Tomorrowland Speedway)

-sleep in and hit the parks later. I’m guessing we’ll still stay to close, maybe we don’t have to do both rope drop AND close

-not eat at TS restaurants. I never think the food is remotely worth the price, so we always just select restaurants for the theming and a chance to sit and relax. But what if we didn’t have to plan our day around ADR times?

-walk around without a destination in mind. We are always walking to the next attraction, often times hurrying so we won’t be late for whatever I have set up (ADR, VQ, LL, experience, etc)

Curious to hear the thoughts of others! For what it’s worth, I have a DD10, DS7, DS5, DS2. DH goes along with whatever I plan

I wouldn’t say what your friend did is underplanning. It is planning to take things as they come. My wife has some autoimmune issues, and so the fatigue is real. We go often enough that we’re not afraid of missing anything. We also know that if we push it too hard, she WILL pay.

We go and do what we can. If she needs to leave, sometimes I’ll stay in the parks with my daughter and sometimes we’ll all be ready to go back to the resort and relax.

Planning that kind of laid back trip may not work for everyone - but if you pay more attention to how your body is feeling and less when your next Lightning Lane or dining reservation is, you may have a better time experiencing fewer things than if you’re tired and/or hangry while experiencing lots of things.

Heck, I told my family I would be perfectly fine going to Disney and just relaxing and enjoying the resort and not even going to the parks. I was immediately downvoted.

It’s all about managing your expectations, IMO. If you go in expecting to do less (or having no expectations at all), you won’t be disappointed if you don’t get to do something.

 

[buzlite]

I think the mindsets are completely different. I think too many folks let FOMO run their vacation. The idea of seeing everything at the park is a flawed idea because while you may say a lot by rushing it’s much more difficult to take it in.

On a recent trip my wife and I spent our evening in Hollywood studios exploring Batuu. We spent a whole evening looking at every little detail, walking around with blue milk, chatting with the cast members and looking for Vi and Chewie. It was honestly one of my favourite days at Disney. We had friends that used the time to ride a bunch of rides but they had fun too. They rode Millenian Falcon 2 or 3 times. But they weren’t focused on riding every ride just doing what looked fun.

I now refuse to go to Disney with anyone who wants to “see everything”. It’s not possible unless you go for 3 weeks minimum. I prefer to pick 1-2 areas/lands to focus on then get some rides in. ALWAYS go back to the hotel in the afternoon. Full days are miserable for more then 1 day.

I enjoy Ts restaurants because it forces you to slow down. But rushing to make a ressie isn’t fun. I always try to leave lots of time before the reservation. Like minimum 60 mins. If you arrive early it’s a great time to chat and catch up on your day with everyone.

I’ve lead an extended family group of 20 using this approach now. I’ve learned the importance of being patient, taking lots of bathroom breaks, mid day breaks, sit down for meals, naps are great, fireworks from the hotel and that Disney World is more then just 4 theme parks. It’s a resort and when you treat it like one it completely changes your vacation.
Treating WDW like a thing to be done and completed is flawed logic because 1) you won’t and 2) they’re gonna add new stuff anyways so you’ll still be missing out unless you go back.

 

[_19disnA]

Everyone has their own way to enjoy Disney. There is no right/wrong way. Disney for us is a vacation so we don't want to turn it into another 'job' planning everything we are going to do. We NEVER get up early to race off to a park but that works for some. No amount of advance planning is going to make the park any less crowded. We generally do the rides/shows we enjoy in one part of the park and then move to the next. Zig-zagging all over the park isn't for us and with the miles you are already walking, you are likely wasting a lot of time/effort for little extra benefit.

The most popular rides have the longest lines. Paying for those extra Genie options is a matter of personal preference/budget. Disney parks are a LOT more crowded than in the past. Therefore, it takes more time to do the various rides/shows regardless of whatever 'method' you use.

We go less often to Disney since the value isn't what it used to be, crowds are way larger and there are many other vacation destinations we like as much or more that cost far less then Disney.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

My friend recently took a solo trip to WDW and was kind enough to text me some pics and details so that I could get my Disney fix vicariously for a few days. I was very struck by our different approaches to the parks. The past few trips, I have been a rope drop and stay till close, glued to my phone, hurry we can’t be late for our ADR kind of person. I spend a lot of time planning and it is very expensive for my family of 6, so we go hard to make the most of our trip.

My friend’s strategy (or lack thereof) blew my mind. I don’t think he rode more than a handful of rides. He wandered around! When he got hot and tired, he went back to the hotel. He didn’t even stay for the fireworks! But he loved it. He even mentioned he’s thinking about buying DVC. Which has me curious- could his approach to the parks be fun for my family to try?

Are there any others out there who have done it both ways- overplanned and under planned? Which do you prefer? Which will you do in the future?

I hadn’t really considered this seriously until now, but with the right mindset, maybe on our next trip we will:

-not ride the rides we don’t love (looking at you, Tomorrowland Speedway)

-sleep in and hit the parks later. I’m guessing we’ll still stay to close, maybe we don’t have to do both rope drop AND close

-not eat at TS restaurants. I never think the food is remotely worth the price, so we always just select restaurants for the theming and a chance to sit and relax. But what if we didn’t have to plan our day around ADR times?

-walk around without a destination in mind. We are always walking to the next attraction, often times hurrying so we won’t be late for whatever I have set up (ADR, VQ, LL, experience, etc)

Curious to hear the thoughts of others! For what it’s worth, I have a DD10, DS7, DS5, DS2. DH goes along with whatever I plan

We are DVC but even with that, usually go to WDW once a year. We've taken breaks and went on cruises and now prefer that because it's just more relaxing for us. That said, we have a WDW trip around the corner and we've been discussing this. It will be our first time with Genie+ if we should decide to use it. But it really does bug me to pay all that extra money for it. We've been with DVC over 20 years, got married at WDW before DVC and this will be our first trip with non park hopper tickets. We don't see the value in it anymore. One park per day is fine with us now. Go back to the same park later that day if we want or go to DS or hotel. This is also the first trip without a ADR in a park. All our ADR's are at hotels or DS. We are not rope drop people but may give it a try. None of us want to be glued to our phones. We were very big on the planning and all the comes with that. Now definitely changed course. If we don't get on a ride, oh well. Probably just going to take this next trip one day at a time.

 

[CVG]

From the UK. We did commando first 2 trips because we didn't know if we would come back. 25 years later, we're DVC. We get tickets for 14 days that cost us around $50 a day.

I don't like being taken advantage of, so the more Disney try to take advantage (Genie+, ILL, White Card Membership, Price increases) - the more I'll hold back from them. I cook in my DVC villa - Disney food is expensive and over-rated. Folks can do their own thing in the morning - rope drop, swim, resort tours, shop, etc - then come back to the villa for a full lunch. Hang out till around 4pm then go and hit the parks till close. No food purchases. No souvenirs (we have enough already). If we get to ride then fine. If not then fine.

I can't think of anything more bizarre and harmful than being forced to get up by 7am on my holiday for a daily lottery draw. Just plain daft. We know we can make Disney work for us but I would never recommend WDW to anyone else for the reasons mentioned.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Our approach has always been more strategy oriented than specifics oriented. Like, we always try to hit a big ride in the morning when the waits are short. I also always try to avoid the lunch rush.

But we also always tweak our approach. Some trips we do low budget, some we do more higher budget, longer/shorter visits, different times of year, different hotels, different split-stay options, etc.

If a small change = better, we adopt it.

One rule we have is that if what we are doing isn't working, we try something else. If everyone is tired, we take a break.

In current WDW, TS dining takes a lot of time, and the food quality isn't what it once was. So now we do some offsite, or more QS.