Can you be spontaneous at WDW?

[mom2rtk]

Of course. Why wouldn't you be able to do that?

But you're going to be revisiting the days pre-FP, when the only option was to wait in line. At least now there are apps to track wait times unlike having to walk to the ride to find out. And you can do same-day FP+s if you wish.

I guess the question should be can you be spontaneous and still do what you want without spending all day in really long lines.

 

[mom2rtk]

Come to the DIS and complain?

Much easier to do now that they have upgraded the wifi in the parks.

 

[DrivenByDisney]

Absolutely you can. Even with booking Fast Passes for the day and on the day you are spontaneously going. I do this all the time on the weekends. I book Fast Passes either the night before or the morning I wake up and have an awesome day. I just went on MDE and booked Fast Passes for today at the Studios and here is what I was able to get booking them right now.

So yeah ... It can easily be done and have a lot of fun, even if only in one park. I say go for it and enjoy!!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Yes. You can. If you want to do rides, get there EARLY and expect to be waiting in lines. But that time of year, pretty much everybody has to wait in lines. Eat at counter service and choose off-peak times. I am guessing you don't want to book any fastpasses but you should consider at the very least booking some the day before (if you will have tickets).

 

[wisblue]

On our trip last week (Thursday), I was eating lunch at the Poly at about noon and was able to get FPs for BTMRR and 7DMT for 7:20-8:20 and 8:20-9:20 which was perfect because we were planning to return to the MK for Wishes after having an early dinner at Epcot.

Obviously, you can't plan on getting things like that, but if you really want to be spontaneous you have to be willing to accept what's available when you are ready to decide what you want to do. Then again, I really question whether trips to WDW were ever truly spontaneous. 20 and 30 years ago there were guidebooks that were a couple hundred pages long and they seemed to say a lot more than "show up whenever you want at any time of day and any time of year because you will be able to ride anything in the park with a short wait."

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

You can be spontaneous at WDW... I just don't recommend it for Christmastime.

I'd always recommend FP+ because it works for me. I like knowing that I have my rides picked out already - but that's the "Type A" in me talking.
What's to stop you from heading to the park at Rope Drop and jumping on the ride with the lowest wait time? And then finding the next ride, and the one after that? I guess the room for spontaneity depends on the crowd. I wouldn't recommend it at all for your Xmas trip... but if June isn't that crowded, then have at it!

 

[Texas Mickey]

Come to the DIS and complain?

LOL, Not Me! What happened was I was referring to the first reply of "Personally, I think it's all about the planning nowadays. Disney has taken away all spontaneity..." but it showed up after a few others. I should have clarified. I was just thinking to myself that, yes there is planning but there's so much else to do there. This is what happens when I get in a rush, Sorry.

 

[ExBellhop]

LOL, Not Me! What happened was I was referring to the first reply of "Personally, I think it's all about the planning nowadays. Disney has taken away all spontaneity..." but it showed up after a few others. I should have clarified. I was just thinking to myself that, yes there is planning but there's so much else to do there. This is what happens when I get in a rush, Sorry.

Sorry, didn't mean to call you out in the quote. It was more of a general, and tongue-in-cheek, commentary about the overall reaction of the DIS population to just about anything. I failed at humor, plain and simple

 

[larryz]

Does it really matter if you only get on 5 attractions not 6 anyway?

So, at $105 per person, that's only $21.00 per attraction.

 

[larryz]

Absolutely you can. Even with booking Fast Passes for the day and on the day you are spontaneously going. I do this all the time on the weekends. I book Fast Passes either the night before or the morning I wake up and have an awesome day. I just went on MDE and booked Fast Passes for today at the Studios and here is what I was able to get booking them right now.

So yeah ... It can easily be done and have a lot of fun, even if only in one park. I say go for it and enjoy!!

So, I'm thinking I park hop -- hit rope drop in MK and then head on over to DHS about 1130...

 

[mare1203]

I think it depends on your definition of spontaneity. Does that mean jumping on the first bus you see and going to that park, and then seeing what FP is available? Does that mean just doing things at your whim? Or do you just want things to go your way when you want them? The latter is not going to happen. The parks are too busy. I was at Disneyland this past weekend, which doesn't have FP+, and which people still wax nostalgic about. Wait times were, on average, 60 minutes for attractions. Even Small World was at a 40 minute wait. We had some constraints on us that didn't necessarily allow for the getting of unlimited FP's, nor was it possible. Rides like Space Mountain and Indiana Jones were at 5:00 p.m. returns by 11:00 in the morning. Nothing spontaneous about that, either. Again, the parks are just more crowded.

I've had experiences of waking up in the morning and then deciding to go to a different park from the one we had originally planned. We still had a great time! I think the way spontaneity happens has changed. You need to be willing to use the tools Disney gives you. If you're hungry, and want to do a TS, use the app to schedule an ADR 20-30 minutes later. If you want to get a FP, grab the app or hit up a kiosk. Or, heaven forbid, wait in line. Download the Head's Up app (waiting in line for Space Mountain, I saw about 20 groups playing this game) and have some fun while you wait.