Does anyone just "wing it"

[margot31]

So I have 173 days till my disney trip. I have not planned anything really. I know what I want to do but have not made ADR's. I have yet to buy my party tickets. Sure I'll plan by an idea of what park we want to go into but no meal plans just yet. Now granted I am also waiting for the military deals to come out.

Does anyone else take their time or just wing it for the most part when it comes to their trips?

 

[ErinsMommy]

If you have your heart set on certain restaurants, I would book them sooner than later. Same with FPs. For me and my family, the closest we've ever gotten to just 'winging it', is waking up really tired or worn out earlier than expected, and deciding we're not going to make an ADR we booked and we just take the $10 penalty for sake of our sanity.

 

[MataHari22]

If you're 173 days out, that puts your trip in December. I know if I was going at such an busy extraordinarily time, I wouldn't be winging it. Especially if you would like a table service meal.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

So I have 173 days till my disney trip. I have not planned anything really. I know what I want to do but have not made ADR's. I have yet to buy my party tickets. Sure I'll plan by an idea of what park we want to go into but no meal plans just yet. Now granted I am also waiting for the military deals to come out.

Does anyone else take their time or just wing it for the most part when it comes to their trips?

I more wing it than plan. I do my fast passes but that's it. I have never done a meal ADR. I would rather grab something fast as even the better places I've eaten better near home. So I would rather limit my eating time and do more rides.

 

[MrInfinity]

Hi,
On our first trip to WDW in 2010, we planned almost nothing, had a blast. We found TS restaurants that were open day-of, or ate wherever.

Since then we plan a little more each trip. You just get more done w a little effort ahead of time, particularly if you want to do anything harder to get into. I think this comes w 2nd and 3rd trips... First trips are always easy to do w/ less planning cuz you don't need to do the top attractions. I remember we showed up and wanted to go eat at CRT, thought it was just a walk-up like the Blue Bayou in Disneyland. Of course we couldn't get in, but we made a mental note and next trip we booked it in advance.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

If you're 173 days out, that puts your trip in December. I know if I was going at such an extrodinarily busy time, I wouldn't be winging it. Especially if you would like a table service meal.

First two weeks in December are not that busy. Once you get around the 17th or 18th though it builds and if they want a certain one it is always a good idea to get a reservation.

 

[skippyman111]

The wife and I are doing a "wing it" trip next September. The crowds won't be anything to worry about, but I'm still going to plan ADR's just to be safe. As for FP+, well it's the bane of my existence and I probably won't be using it. The wife said she would only go if we didn't do commando touring. I've been 13 times, so I guess I can do one non-commando trip...

 

[BrianL]

Despite all the planning that I actually do, I really wing it more than many around here. I plan for what parks I'll be in, make FP+ and ADRs, but outside of that, anything is fair game. I don't have a specific order for attractions, I just go where I feel. Sometimes I am at a FP window right when it opens, sometimes toward the end of the hour. I am actually a meticulous planner, but on vacation I want to have some flexibility and freedom.

 

[ols386]

I make my ADRs first, and then go from there.

I usually only make a hand full of ADRs. I'll go to the specific park on the specific day where I have an ADR made.

I don't get the park hoppers. Just do one park per day.

Last trip didn't do FPs. Didn't go on very many rides because crowd level was high. Ok though. I don't have to go on a bunch of rides to have a nice trip.

I also like visiting some of the resorts, especially during the holidays, to see the Christmas decorations.

One visit we went to Cirque du Soli. Really enjoyed that.

Didn't go to DTD this last trip due to the construction, and reports that traffic in DTD area was bad. Will visit next time.

Enjoy spending a bit of time at the pool relaxing, weather permitting.

 

[disneyseniors]

We are in the "kinda wing it" crowd! I have decided not to do free dining this November. I just got tired of making all those adr's and then getting there, even if we were tired or sore or just didn't want to go to that particular park just for dinner! So this year, as far as dining goes, we are wining it. I have 3 adr's made for 10 days, but only on arrival day and 2 MK days; all the other meals will be QS when we want to eat and where we want to eat. I can't tell you how excited I am about Not having set adr's every single day. We also do our fp's But we never use them all. We really have one or two must do's each trip, and then it's hit and miss and that's alright with us. If we had only a few days I'm sure we would be more commando, but we manage to get all our favorites in with fp's and with standby too. So, I guess we kinda wing it. I guess I am trying to say that the fp's and adr's don't hold us down, we go where we want and change our minds like before fp!

 

[MataHari22]

First two weeks in December are not that busy. Once you get around the 17th or 18th though it builds and if they want a certain one it is always a good idea to get a reservation.

Sorry, apparently my math was off, I was thinking it'd be later in December.

I still say that ADRs are needed if you want TS meals.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We are going to WDW in Sept during free dining. We have not booked anything, though we will likely book a few ADRs soon. Really can't be bothered. When we have to hyper plan out trips to WDW, it will be time to move on to something else.

 

[circus4u]

We don't make any plans, ADRs, or fast passes. Don't know what park we are going to visit until we get out to the bus stops and then pick either the shortest bus line or first bus that shows up. If waiting time is over 20 mins for an attraction, we skip it. So, guess you can say that we wing it.

 

[RoadTrip72]

I'll be there a week from tomorrow. I haven't booked any ADRs. Preparing to wing it.

 

[mrsjoannh13]

Depends on travel companions. DH and I went solo a couple of times and played everything by ear. Going again in November with DD (3) and my parents so we are planning everything - rides, schedule, dining, you name it.

 

[DisneyFive]

We value those hard to get, prime time, FP+ reservations too much to wing it anymore. In the past, all we needed were ADR's (which was bad enough 180 days out). It was so much easier to change park days on the fly, and still have the same chance at FP-'s as everyone else. Now, change a day and all your FP+'s are gone, not knowing what you'll get instead.

Dan

 

[itchin2go]

The most "winging" it I ever did was our first trip. Only planned 2 ADRs. Otherwise, we called evening of each day to see what was available wherever we were at the time. It was actually pretty fun. We didn't know what FP was, so we didn't pull a single one. And it was a magical trip.

I just can't keep myself from planning these days though. It's part of my fun. We will make changes to my plans. Some ADRs will be cancelled. We may opt for a pool day based on the weather. But I will plan the crap out of the trip nonetheless!

 

[LizardQueen8]

I will make a couple of ADRs and book some fast passes for my trip next year, but I refuse to plan out my days down to the attraction the way some people on the boards do . I'm glad that works for them, but I can't vacation that way. So...sort of winging it!

 

[BarbieGal457]

We do! I do make a few ADRs if there's a place I really want to eat it, but we're not big eaters and tend to do QS or CS whenever the mood strikes. We did plan our FP for this trip, but if we didn't feel like doing them, we just skipped it. The ones I planned were all attractions or shows we really wanted to do, so it was nice having a guarantee to do them with a shorter wait, and then we just went wherever the wind took us at other times.

 

[maltdizzy]

Honestly, the DDP and FP+ has made it really hard to just "wing it" and enjoy the trip...not impossible, especially if traveling out of peak season.

With the DDP, and especially free dining, it's become really hard to get a table for dinner...especially if you have your heart set on something. If not, there are always restaurants available (how do you like Moroccan food?). And FP+ has increased stand-by wait times for the rides that use it (just as FP did originally as well). I find it's far better to plan ahead, set up multiple options and then keep cancellation deadlines in mind right before and during the trip to avoid penalties. Thankfully, my family and I aren't the kind that have "must do" lists and can adapt and enjoy a trip with only an occasional TS meal or skipping a ride.

This is why I still prefer Disneyland, it's far more what WDW was like in the '70's and '80's, with a lot less structure and hassle.