Could you be totally spontaneous at Disney?

[kvogel11202]

Couldn't do it. Not with me being obsessive compulsive, my three kids having totally different interests, and my DH not willing to split up. We'd be breaking up fighting kids all week! And we need that sit down face time of T/S, so why not know we have a table instead of hanging around for 30-45 minutes IF we can get a seat?

Best of luck to you though!

 

[01Sweetpea]

Not a chance I could do it. I am a planning FREAK!!! I research, type notes, made spreadsheets, label my park maps, research some more, and start all over again.

I am a planner plain and simple.

 

[bleeps]

As I compulsive planner, the "wing-it" mode is an important element of my "when we win the lottery" fantasy.

My dream: we win a big lottery (lots of millions). I call WDW and find out what concierge level rooms are available (ah, we're so flexible! what week (ah, what the heck -- two weeks!) are available? what resort? doesn't matter, just tell me what you've got and we'll take it! Then my list to the concierge desk is very casual -- here are the signature restaurants we'd love to eat at, and we like to eat early -- we'll take any day or whatever you've got.

Then, we see how our ADRs (and really, not too many) line up, we arrange our park days from there, and just go with the flow!

Well, I can dream, can't I?

 

[tazhughes]

We planned for about 150 days. Pouring over guide books, online trip reports, google earth images, and about 80 messages on these boards before leaving. Oh and the pod casts. 'Mustn't forget the podcasts. Our 6 day trip to WDW was better planned than Desert Storm.

Been there done that.

 

[Lora]

I tried going without a tour plan ONCE. I hated it. I felt like I was missing something - talk about stress - nothing went well the first night, so I ditched my spontaneity and made a plan. I know what attractions to do what times of day, etc. but the thing that I alway need to plan around is the entertainment schedule. I don't want to end up at BB on a non-"4 for a Dollar" day! That would be tragic! Also, I've got to know which nights Spectromagic is running and which days are EMH, etc. to do my best planning. So, I usually know what park we're going to on what morning/evening and have a list of the attractions we'd like to do (sometimes in a rough order.) I don't stress out if we miss something or if we decide to be flexible and go a completely different direction.

I don't make many ADR's -(right now I have 3 for a 2-week trip) - those aren't a big deal to me. We don't do the dining plan, so we just eat CS when we're in the parks at meal time.

 

[luke6417]

Every once and a while I will make dinner reservations for Chef Mickey's but that's it. We wake up in the morning look at each other and say, "so, what do you wanna do today?" It's very relaxing. There are many days where we might not ride anything. We will just walk around the parks or hang out at FW. We are pretty easy-going. We don't go to Disneyworld to follow a strict schedule. We go because it is the only place that I have ever been that makes me forget about reality. It is the only place that I have ever been that completely blocks out the outside world.

 

[DonnaL]

Yes you can do it......but, definitely NOT Christmas week. We did 12/29 thru 1/5 one year and never again. However, we rarely make a definite plan for our trips these days (we did when the kids were small). Never make ADR's (tip: we always have a later lunch/early dinner around 2:30/3:00 p.m.) and usually don't have much of a wait, if at all. I usually just check what days are EMH days at each park and avoid those parks on that day and if during the off season I also check which nights Wishes is playing since I MUST make sure I see Wishes at least once. But, that's really the extent of any planning I do when going with our kids or by ourselves. However, we are taking friends with us in a few*weeks to F & W Festival and I have done a bit more planning for this trip since they haven't been to WDW since 1991 and there are things they don't want to miss.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

That's pretty much what I do! Well, I am weird about where I stay, but as far as what park on what day, I either go with whatever sounds good when I wake up, or whichever bus shows up at the stop first. Of course, I go solo, so that makes the whole doing whatever sounds good at the time a lot easier!

I've found that if you're traveling with other people, if you don't have *some* kind of plan (even if you totally chuck it out the window), you spend a lot of time standing around saying "What do you want to do?" "I dunno, what do you want to do?" (Actually, I occasionally have that conversation with myself while solo! )

 

[phisigprincess]

Nope! I think I would implode or something. Knowing me I'd probably get down there and start compulsively planning when we reach Disney property.

But that being said if the offer was Disney and no planning or no Disney at all, obviously I would jump on Disney!!!

 

[poohspals]

yes you can, we did it twice before i found out about forums like this!

 

[Disney Doll]

We do it all the time, and have a grand time to boot.

We make an ADR when we get there, the day we want to eat, and if where we want to eat is booked, then we wing it.

All I pre-book for WDW is a room, a car and a flight.

 

[beck0321]

Last time we went for our honeymoon in Dec 2005. I was so preoccupied planning the wedding, I didn't plan a thing for Disney. So it is actually possible to go and not plan and still have fun. There were some pros and cons to that, but this year I'm definately planning out more stuff.

1. We didn't stay on Disney last time so we couldn't take advantage of EMH, so I didn't even worry about that.
2. Every restaurant we went to eat at on Disney was booked or had long waits. I definately didn't forsee this and hadn't made any ADRs. We ended up eating offsite for all of the trip and one place gave me food poisoning the second day out.
3. Because I was SO sick I'm glad we didn't have any strictly set plans because they would have been ruined anyway.
4. This year is different, we're staying on Disney and have the Dining Plan so we have to make ADRs. I am planning on taking advantage of the EMHs too. I'm counting on NOT getting sick this time around. Two times in a row would suck!

 

[Simba's Mom]

So here's the scenerio, We just return from a great 11 day disney vacation a few weeks ago so we are still on a Disney "High". I asked my teenage sons what they thought they might want as Christmas gifts and my youngest ds (12) made a suggestion that instead of exchanging gifts why don't we save the money and take another trip to Disney. Did I mention he's my favorite. I stressed to my kids that if we considered this it would mean absolutely no gifts. No playstations, no Ipods, no cell phones NADA!
Since I'm a complusive planner, my husband gave me a challenge. No planning stress. Can I simply call Disney, take whatever room that is available (only request I can make is that it be moderate or deluxe due to the fact my sons are fast approaching 6 ft tall and the value beds are too small)?

No specifying specific views, no ADR's, no day by day park touring.

Could you do it? Any bets that I will end up in a closet with my laptop underneath some coats to hide the glow from the screen?

Eliza

Oh, boy! Do you sound like me-Compulsive planner! Just remember, we have to learn to be spontaneous in baby steps. On my last solo trip, I decided to go out to the bus stop of my resort and just get on the first bus that showed up. Then go wherever it was going and wander around there for a while. DH was sure I couldn't do it, so I took on the challenge! I brought my cell phone and called him from the bus. It was a very strange experience for me, but I'm very proud!

 

[kwnancy]

"Oh, boy! Do you sound like me-Compulsive planner! Just remember, we have to learn to be spontaneous in baby steps. On my last solo trip, I decided to go out to the bus stop of my resort and just get on the first bus that showed up. Then go wherever it was going and wander around there for a while. DH was sure I couldn't do it, so I took on the challenge! I brought my cell phone and called him from the bus. It was a very strange experience for me, but I'm very proud!"

I'm a total planner. Already sketching a rough plan for my B-day trip (over a year away). I think I will plan a 'wild card' day. I like the idea of jumping on the first bus. Can I plan to be spontaneous????

 

[palmtreegirl]

Before we moved down to Florida, that how we always did Disney. I don't feel like I'm on vacation if there's a daily plan, we're spontaneous, go with the flow type of people.

 

[Becky521]

You can do it

We went Christmas 2004 with no ADRs and were able to get Prime Time 50's, Sci-fi diner and Donald's breakfastasaurus and plenty of CS.

have fun not planning Hey, what if we just all plan for you. Then technically YOU wouldn't be planning!!

 

[Dina]

I hate having to stick to a plan. I make the plans, but we rarely follow them. I usually cancel and make a few new ADRs when we get there-- I don't know why I bother making them. I wish it was easier to just walk in to Table Service Restaurants.

 

[aztecgoods]

I'm a dis nut but I don't really "plan" that much. I would suggest doing the basics, just booking the room/resort and getting ticket packages. Thats about all I do, I don't do an iteneary of what we're going to do each hour or whatever. Just do the basics and you'll be fine. Thats pretty much what I do everytime.