Going to Disney without any reservations or fast passes

[figment13]

Well , I'm a dis member,have been for many years and I enjoy the laid back vacation. I didn't asl the question to get snotty remarks. I was just curious. I never said the planners were any better or worse than the non-planners, just different ways of vacationing. Please be polite.
thank you

 

[macsandy1957]

Our last trip, 3 years ago, I had this great touring plan all figured out (one I paid for), then realized that I was making my son miserable. He just wanted to look at everything and experience it, I wanted to rush from attraction to attraction. After a couple of hours, we switched to his way. Did we get to see and do everything? No. But we had a wonderful memorable time doing the things we did do. And he remembers the trip as the two of us having a terrific time, not as 'Mom was a control freak and ruined my vacation'!

I believe some planning is necessary but for us, we just have to be flexible in case something magical is happening and we need to just experience it.

That said, I was trying to do a couple of character meals this year, which I've never done before. I wanted a Chef Mickey meal around 5 or 6 p.m. and cannot get a reservation till after 9 p.m. which just won't work for us, we don't eat that late at night. We are there October 28 through November 2. Is there ever a chance of just showing up and getting in????

 

[seelyt2]

Haven't gone yet with the new system, but when we go in November I'm planning to plan. Dinner reservations already set, just waiting on FP+ to open up.

 

[Beer Me]

The penalty for not making ADRs is a limited selection of restaurants and long waits at some available restaurants. But if you're flexible enough there will always be somewhere to eat without a huge wait.
The penalty for no FP is more time waiting in lines. Possibly 90-120 minutes for a handful of top attractions. With even a tiny amount of strategy you won't encounter too many of these long waits.
You can definitely still have a good vacation with these limitations.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We've never done dinner reservations - always just do counter service and the food has been fine. We will probably do some FP+ this next trip though - at least for the more popular rides/attractions.

That'll be our approach next time. ADR's mean nothing to me as we bring in our own food and/or do CS meals. Will probably pre-book Fast passes though.

 

[insectreflection]

I'm planning to go the week of Christmas - if I don't plan my ADR's & FP+'s, we'll probably be stuck wandering through the crowds all day and eating from the hotel cafeteria 3x's a day. I actually like the crowds & bustle of Christmas - seems somehow more "Christmas-y" to me - and the peace of mind knowing I'll get 2 or 3 guaranteed meals where & when I want, and at least 3 top attractions per day is invaluable.

 

[kbelle8995]

Not completely without plans no. We always have made adrs and picked parks but that's about it.. I tried FP+ and didn't like it at all. So I guess I'm in trouble.

There used to be certain times of year that you could do it with out too much fuss. Christmas was never a part of this time. Too many people to do it. Now it's a heck of a lot harder anytime a year. It's a shame really.

 

[mellyf]

We go ~ every 2-3 years...occasionally there's a little less time in between trips, occasionally a little more. We've been going since 1996. The first few times, we were definitely commandos. I used the Unofficial Guide touring plans, etc. Definitely we were planners. Not for meals though (and maybe they didn't have ADRs that long ago? I don't even remember.)

The past few times we've gone, (not since Magic Bands, Fast Pass +, etc), we're a little more laid back. We definitely are rope drop people, and in the past have been to get so much done those first few hours in the morning even though we have to go during busy times (I'm a teacher). We'd grab a FP or two, but we usually went back to our (Disney) resort by around lunch time to chill a little, then hit a different park later in the day. There are usually 1-2 restaurants that I make reservations for (per trip), but that's it. I don't like knowing that I HAVE to be somewhere, when I'm on vacation. Except for rope drop, obviously.

Maybe that's why we're doing a Universal only trip this Christmas. I just don't want to plan my rides out, and I know I would have to do that, because I wouldn't want to wait in stand-by lines all day. The only thing I'm making reservations for currently is Sanaa one day for lunch (yes, hitting up Disney for one restaurant), and I am making ADRs for that, for the day that we arrive. I'll still be planning our days out, to a certain extent. We're not familiar enough with Universal to NOT do that, but I've been reading about how Universal is a pretty relaxing vacation, so I hope that holds true even for the week between Christmas and New Year's.

 

[2manypets]

My family's on the non-planning team. I have no idea where I want to be 2 months in advance or what type of food I'll be in the mood for 6 months in advance. We only eat at TS as we don't do fast food at home either. Never had a problem getting into a restaurant, just have to be a little flexible. Also we can just snag a ADR the morning of once we determine which parks we'll be in.

As for fastpass+ , we'll also check MDE in the morning and if we get a good one, great. If not, we'll wait in line like everyone else.

 

[kelsma03]

No one on DIS would be, but I'm sure there are lots of people who don't know any better that just book a trip and show up. We'll never know how it worked out because they won't report here.

That's a ridiculous statement.

I don't overly plan our vacations, I do the FP+ but just because it's easy, but I've been known to switch them around during the vacation as we change plans. I have made one or two dining reservations, but I'm not doing that for our next trip. I'd much rather just wing it. I DO come to DIS just because I like to read about Disney and other people's suggestions, although more often than not it's just people complaining. Which is why I don't come here often, or overly plan my trips... setting yourself up to complain about something.

Our last trip in March was completely last minute (we left on a Sunday and decided the previous Wednesday to go... and I'm talking driving from PA to Florida). Nothing was planned and it was our best trip ever. I didn't come to DIS and talk about it, because I didn't want to.

 

[photo_chick]

Actually we DO know how it works out. Ever go on a yahoo comments section about ANY sort of disney anything???....Nothing but a bunch of people who complain about the cost being too high, the lines being 2 hours or more, how they couldn't get into any restaurants to eat blah blah blah.

I know several people who have gone recently with no FP+ or ADR's and they came back saying they had a great vacation. So this bad experience does not hold true for everyone.

 

[luvmy2babies]

For a short trip I think I could if it were in like September or October which are known to be less crowded. In October 2011, we were in Orlando to visit other attractions and on our final day I decided we would go to MK. We had an amazing day there. If we are there a week, I always plan which park which day; and I think I will always schedule the fast passes as long as they are set up the way they are now. Plus Pirate’s League for the kids.

For our next trip though, I am thinking of going without an advance dining reservation for each day. In 2013, we didn’t have the dining plan for a couple of reasons, so we just ate 3 Table Service meals in the 8 days and I have to say, it was really nice having several days that were completely go with the flow as far as when we ate. It added some flexibility we really enjoyed. I don’t think I’ll do a week long trip with counter service only, but I liked just having just a few ADRs during a week. So I’m thinking perhaps next time either going without the plan or doing the QS plan and making 1 to 3 ADRs.

 

[mare1203]

Honestly, I never go anywhere, Disney or otherwise, without doing some research and a little pre-planning. Not to the extent of making reservations, but understanding what might need reservations goes a long way.

As long as you are aware of the limitations that go with this decision and then genuinely going with the flow would make for an entirely doable trip. You can still have a great time by visiting the QS locations and making your FP+ in the park when you get there. It's the people that say they want spontaneity and then turn around and get upset that they had to wait an hour for space mountain or tried to get a TS reservation and couldn't day-of that annoy me.

 

[jmcdonnell04]

Under the old fastpass system, we had our ADR for dinner but other than that we went with the flow. We would even play the game of just getting on the first bus that came along to decide the park for the morning. We went to WDW in April with only the 3 fastpass restriction. We are going again soon and looking forward to getting the additional fastpasses like the good old days.

You have to do some research and planning at WDW period. After many trips I come to the Disboards to try to get more tips & tricks. Knowledge equals power. Now that our children are older and we have to travel during peak crowd times, we don't mind because we know the formula for success/enjoyment.

Even under the old FP-system, we would run into so many people who did not know how it worked or thought that it cost extra money. Good more Fastpasses for me.

As we wait to be seated for dinner in any restaurant in WDW, just watch and count how many families come up to the hostess desk trying to walk in for dinner. Sorry we are booked -- " Access Denied" to those who don' research and plan ahead.