Funny planning tip-Had to share!

[momto3gr8boys]

Part of the fun of Disney for me is the planning. We love talking about everything again and again beforehand. It makes the trip last longer than just the week we are actually there

This is us too! Yes, some things do need to be planned, but there's no real reason to obsess daily for nearly a year except that it extends the magic and is so much a part of the FUN for us!!

 

[lynypixie]

The thing is, not everyone knows one year in advance when they can get their vacation week. Over here, it's about 4 months in advance, and I am not the highest on the list, so I can't plan that much in advance.

I'd love to make a road trip and surprise ourselves with a trip to Disney. Don't have to stay onsite to have fun!

 

[travelbug24]

I did that for Spring Break in '01. Called the day before we left to get a rental car and a motel and headed down!

You can't leave us hanging......how did that work out for you? I know I can go any other time of the year without obsessive planning but SPRING BREAK??? I'm going in 30 days without much planning but I have been to Disney 30 times and 6 Disney cruises so I kinda know my way around.

 

[katt789]

Oh man, some of the stuff I have heard! I could understand if someone was thinking of Disney LAND instead, where say, Ariel's grotto, you can walk up first thing in the morning to make a lunch ressie!

When I was planning my first trip, one of my friends tried to tell me that they remembered walking from their hotel into the park....their hotel was the Marriot....I think ya got the wrong side of the States there friend!

 

[skater]

Believe it or not, this is still possible. I sometimes book rooms and ADRs a few weeks out, and often am able to get what I want. It may not be during Christmas or Easter, but it's not that hard most times of the year.

I just booked an end of Feb. trip a few days ago. I got the spring discount and lots of adrs are still available. Granted, its not a super busy time, but it is possible.

I will say though that sometimes the non-planners are the disney haters. I have heard the same complaints repeatedly from them - too crowded, can't get in the restaurants, etc. Lots of problems that could be avoided.

 

[angelmichelle]

I just booked an end of Feb. trip a few days ago. I got the spring discount and lots of adrs are still available. Granted, its not a super busy time, but it is possible.

I will say though that sometimes the non-planners are the disney haters. I have heard the same complaints repeatedly from them - too crowded, can't get in the restaurants, etc. Lots of problems that could be avoided.

Yup, I agree. Even a little research - book one or two restaurants and then see a few crowd calendars and adhere to them could go a long way.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I just booked an end of Feb. trip a few days ago. I got the spring discount and lots of adrs are still available. Granted, its not a super busy time, but it is possible.

I will say though that sometimes the non-planners are the disney haters. I have heard the same complaints repeatedly from them - too crowded, can't get in the restaurants, etc. Lots of problems that could be avoided.

I agree with this. I have yet to hear about someone who carefully planned and took the time to read these boards or a good guide book having a bad time. As with a lot in life, you get out what you put in.

 

[Love Tink]

I agree with this. I have yet to hear about someone who carefully planned and took the time to read these boards or a good guide book having a bad time. As with a lot in life, you get out what you put in.

Just as a counterpoint - I think it would ruin my vacation for me if I had to stick to some spreadsheet, and if in February I had to plan where I wanted to spend the day and where I wanted to eat in August. We never make reservations more than 6 or 8 weeks in advance and we've never had any trouble getting a hotel room. (As others have said, we don't go during peak times.)

I find it funny that so many comments on the Dis chastise others for trying to do too much each day or move too quickly because "it's supposed to be a vacation." But, on the next thread down, there will be people who question how anyone could go on a trip to Disney without planning it like a military campaign. Um...it's supposed to be a vacation!

 

[BearcatsFan]

I was told recently that the reason MK gets so crowded the day after Christmas is because Florida residents get in for free. I said, "Just the day after Christmas, or every day?" and they said, "No, just the day after Christmas. I know because I was there a few years ago and I heard someone say it on the torpedo train." I'm guessing they meant monorail.

 

[joanchris]

You CAN book late and still get a room (ok, probably not onsite) and ADRs, even during Christmas week.....We had booked in the Spring for our Christmas trip this year, 2 days before we were to leave DD came home from her last day of school before break with a temp of 104...it was the Flu. We were told we'd have to delay our trip by a week, leaving after Christmas instead of before. I re-booked everything for us arriving the Sat After Christmas instead of the Sat before, Got all the ADRs we wanted, on the days we wanted! Got a room at our same offsite location. We ended up leaving just a couple of days late and not needing much of the newly planned arrangements, but did use some!
Not that I would recommend this type of planning, especially for that week, but it could work, as long as you're not too picky (we didn't have ADRs for many big name locations, no Le Cellier types, those would have been harder to reschedule).

 

[harleys mom]

Lol... My husband actually surprized me with a weekend trip a few years ago. He booked the trip THE NIGHT BEFORE WE LEFT! He thought I would be so excited to come home from work and find out we were leaving the next morning. It was a fun weekend with no planning. They did help him with some special dinner reservations. I did miss the planning, but the surprize was worth it.

 

[LSUDis]

About three years ago, we were off work, and I got an email for Disney Destinations (that magic sender line!) with a pin code. It was like 40% off or something. I told my husband, and we decided that if a room were available, that we would go--a super cheapie trip, no frills, no sitdowns, no souvenirs. Lo and behold, a room was available, so we told the kids that we were going to Disneyworld....When?

....as soon as we packed! We were there in less than 24 hrs (a 13 hour drive.)

(Sorry to hijack the thread.)

Okay, incorrect thing that I heard--
"Oh, we'll just come later in the morning and avoid that morning rush."

 

[cajmom]

This. It is unreal how many people think you have to pay for this.

Granted if they do go forward with FP- then we will end up paying for it in the future somehow.

I guess I would be one of those people because I would have thought they would charge extra for it. I've never been to DW so I didn't know it is free. I live in Ohio by Cedar Point and they have FP but they charge for it. Thanks for the great tip. Any other info about FP is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[mfd25wife]

I was talking to a co-worker who is going during Spring Break this year. I asked where are you staying. "don't know yet, haven't booked anything". She hasn't booked a hotel, they want to stay onsite. She hasn't booked flights. My tip was if you want to go during Spring Break you need to get started. She said, no, I fly by the seat of my pants, no worries. Thought to myself okie dokie little pokie you are in for a rude awakening!

I can't believe how many people I talk to who tell me they are going in a few months but haven't booked it yet. My head nearly explodes and I have to review my color-coded spreadsheet to calm myself.

oops!

Back in 2008, We had a two week vacation. I scheduled a one week WDW trip staying at CSR We decided to just "wing it" for the second week and didn't have any hotel reservations anywhere. We decided we would probably go to the beach for a couple of days since we had a favorite condo at PCB and due to it's size, we can always get a room. We were so excited for our very 1st on-site stay at WDW and were having a blast. It was DH, DD, DD's best friend, and me. On Wed., a cast member asked if we every heard of DVC. We said, "Nope" and weren't real excited to talk about a time share CM said if we wanted to go hear about DVC including DD and her best friend, we would get a gift card, and 4 instant fast passes for each of us. That even got the teens interested

Anyway, fast forward to the next day, Thursday. We got picked up in a van and met our guide, David. Can I just say that our new best friend and CM guide, David, planned our 2nd week at WDW Yes, that's right. We bought into DVC that day, and they told us we had bonus points to use that use year so we used them for the second week of our vacation. David and some sweet female CM went to work to find us a DVC home for the week We even did the DDP and made some very last minute reservations. So, while I prefer to plan well, not all WDW vacations require a lot of planning in advance.

 

[tony609]

Some enjoy things this way....