Could you be totally spontaneous at Disney?

[eliza61]

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

 

[whogirl'smom]

I couldn't! Have you been to Disney enough, to have all the plans in your head? Then maybe you could wing it! Here's a thought, tell your husband you'll agree to YOU not planning, if HE does the planning!

 

[minkydog]

Yes, I could do it IF the plan is to go in first week of December or in January, not Christmas week. I would never do it at Christmas. DH & I don't make many ADRs as it is--most of the time we just walk up and ask to be seated. If you go at odd times you're more likely to get in. We even got into GFtea when it was fully booked, just by waiting around for 30 min--the ADR-maker didn't show and we got their table. It was great!

 

[Skatermom23]

I couldn't do it! Not to mention if you plan to go over the holidays you will need a plan. Everything will be so crowded, if you don't have ADR's you will be eating a lot of counter service.... I think I would just agree to his conditions and then take the laptop under my desk and plan away....they'll never know!

 

[JzeroT1437]

When my friend and I went in December last year, we booked a stay at Coronado Springs 3 weeks before we went, and didn't bother worrying about anything until we got there. All I did was search some sites to see what had been built since the last time I'd gone (about 11 years ago.)

It's not only possible, but it's also more relaxed. The only thing we MADE ourselves get to was Fantasmic, and it was well worth the forced effort. I'd say don't make plans this time. Your trip will be a lot better, because you'll get a lot of unexpected delights.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yes, we did it two years ago.

 

[alicenwonder99]

OMG! Is your dh nuts!!! lol.

I could never do that. This last trip, per request from my dh, I didn't plan on everything. Of course, those things that I didn't plan and we tried to be "spontaneous" was a total disaster!

Like, I didn't plan the CS lunches for most of the days. Well, you guessed it. We were walking all over the park, the kids hungry, the baby crying because no one could agree on what to eat...and not to mention the kids could not eat another bite of Mac n Cheese.

We also missed doing alot of rides because we didn't follow a touring plan.

I stopped myself from saying "I told you so..."

 

[patsal]

I could but I'm not sure I'd want to be without ADR's for more than a 3-4 day mini getaway. BUT if I could call for an ADR on the day I wanted it or in the AM when I entered the park than no problem! I am sort of doing this next week. I booked on a whim, took whatever and figured that I would wing it with food. Worse case we eat all CS, no biggie I'm not there long enough for liesurely meals and doubt how much I'd want on F&W day anyway. The only thing I messed with for about an hour was park hours so I could figure out what day for what park so I could fit in all four parks and the MNSSHP in three touring days. I think you should go for it within reason--remember one of the things your family most likely enjoyed was that the trip went off without a hitch because of your planning. I'd suggest you wean yourself gradually by booking a room whereever first, then maybe cut your ADR's in half, then just wing it unless your going at a busy time then forget it and plan with a cordless phone, calander and flashlight in the closet!

 

[eliza61]

We're definitely not going Christmas week, probably couldn't get a room. I'm going to try the 2nd or 3rd weekend in January a Thursday-Sun. We always rent a small car, so my DH's arguement is that even if we can't get ADR's we know our way around the Disney area well enough to find quite a few restaurants.

 

[AKLRULZ]

Other than ADRs and hard ticketed events (like MVMCP and CP at Christmas) we always tour like this - it's a blast!

Sometimes we'll wake up and say what park are we going to today - majority rules.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm going to try the 2nd or 3rd weekend in January a Thursday-Sun.

That's exactly what we did and it was great! The only issue was the air was a bit cool at night, but the kids still enjoyed the heated pools. Good luck planning your trip!

 

[mousebit]

I think I could do it. In fact, I may have to. Well, sort of. Due to an accident resulting in a nasty injury to my leg I had to cancel my last Disney trip and reschedule in December, which wasn't so bad since I've never been during the holidays. But now, I'm not recovering from the surgery the way I expected and may need more surgery before I can walk any distance unassisted.

Sooo...do I cancel December now and just plan a later trip? Naw, I'm gonna keep my ressies and my ADRs and just forget about any kind of a touring plan since I don't know what kind of shape my leg will be in.

I figure I can always just enjoy the holiday decorations and the dining. Anything else I can do will just be icing on the cake!

Who knows? It might be a blessing in disguise - a relaxing trip to WDW would be a first for me! The way I figure, any trip to the world is better than none.

See if hubby will compromise and let you make hotel & ticket ressies, ADRs and any special events you might want to do - like MVMCP or CP. Other than that, just take it a day at a time and HAVE FUN!

 

[Jackmonkey]

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.

And just like most plans, with the exception of our ADRs (I like to eat) it disolved into complete spontanaity in the 10 minutes between our hotel check in and the point where we got on the bus for AK. We discovered that with our easy going personalities, and low crowd levels of mid-September, that were free to wander as we pleased.

So in an uncrowded time, and realistic expectations, I think I would rather not plan to in depth.

 

[MartDM]

We're definitely not going Christmas week, probably couldn't get a room. I'm going to try the 2nd or 3rd weekend in January a Thursday-Sun. We always rent a small car, so my DH's arguement is that even if we can't get ADR's we know our way around the Disney area well enough to find quite a few restaurants.

You shouldn't have any problems. We've been there during that time frame and have always found things to be very quiet. The only times we encountered crowds was when there was a major event, such as Fantasmic or parades, that caused everyone to converge on the same area at once.

 

[Quinn222]

I did it once, but not Christmas week. It was the first week in Dec. I let the CM choose the resort and we ended up at CSR. We loved it.

 

[reelmom]

If no planning = Disney, go for it. You will be in Disney. Have fun.

 

[UP Disney]

If it was the only way that my DH would agree to me going on a trip to Disney, you're darn right I could be totally spontaneous! Any trip to Disney would be magical. It would also be kind of neat to see if all the tips and tricks that I've learned, could be applied on a trip like this. There are many CS places that I'd like to try so if I couldn't get a TS restaurant because of no ADR's, we'd still be able to eat some great food.

 

[monorailsilver]

You can do it.

The only thing I do is plan my plane reservations, the date (we have to take off work, ya know) & the resort.

When I get there I figure out which park is open early that day & we go to that one. We start walking & which ever direction we go to is the ride we hit first.

We plan our evening park by what we want for dinner. If we want a burger from Peco's Bills then we go to the MK, if we want a salad then we go to Epcot.

The past 2 trips I did make 1 ADR on 1 trip & 3 on another but that was because I had (OK have) small kids. But prior to that we just walked until we got hungry & ate where ever we ended up.

It is nice to be stress free then: I have to be at the MK by 4:50 for my 5pm ADR's, how am I going to get there from AK

We rode the monorail back one day (this was when I only had 1 child in 2002, now I have 3) with a family. The mom had her list out & was constantly turning around to see if we made it to the TTC yet since they had to quickly transfer to the resort line to get their alloted pool time in prior to going back to the MK for a certain time. My dh & I just laughed & leisurely walked back to the Poly for our mid-day break.

 

[LBelle]

After micro-managing our trips for the last 3 years, I think I'm going to go with the flow next Sept.!! Maybe make ADRs at fave places...Kona, Le Cellier and O'Hana!!!! Would be awful not being able to eat at those!!

 

[helenabear]

I've done it before... planned a trip in less than 3 weeks actually. It came out quite well too

You would be shocked what ADRs you can get at such short notice. We only did that to coinside with another friend who had an ADR at 50s Prime Time (we called and made it that day for a couple hours later).

You can do it and you can have a blast