Have you done a spur of the moment WDW trip?

[DisFanJen]

Does two days in advance count?

We were in Florida on our usual WDW vacation and to see the shuttle go up (STS-122) but it was scrubbed due to winds and not re-scheduled during what was left of our trip.

We were disappointed but we knew it could happen so didn't get too stressed over it.

However a little while later we saw it was scheduled to go up again and then we had a totally mad moment and said "let's go!".

So with zero time to plan we booked flights from the UK and Rooms through DVC (and with it being so last minute we had to blow points on the grand & the poly which was before they became DVC resorts). Luckily we still had APs so no tickets needed and the tickets for the launch.

Anyway, we ended up with three Disney days and got to see the shuttle go up, which was probably one of the most amazing things that I've ever seen.

 

[Poohbug]

Last September my husband suddenly had no work for a couple of weeks and we decided to go to WDW. I made the reservations Monday night at 9 PM and we were in the car on our way by Saturday. Arrived Sunday morning and checked into Pop. Our room was not ready so we got in line for the bus to HS. I am standing in the bus line wondering why the line is so long. I had lost all sense of time after driving all night and thought it was 10-11 AM. It was actually before 9 and the park was not even open yet. We ended up watching the Frozen fireworks(which were great) that night then heading over to TSMM because we could not get FP+ for any popular rides with only 6 days to plan. It was not a long trip because the kids still had school. We checked out Friday and headed back home after visiting Epcot for the first day of Food and Wine. Would I do it again, ummm Yeah! The worst thing about the trip was getting the kids caught up with the school work missed. Back before we had kids, we used to take spur of the moment trips all the time. Now it is harder to do with school and the fact that kids take most of your extra cash.

 

[GAN]

Does two days in advance count?

We were in Florida on our usual WDW vacation and to see the shuttle go up (STS-122) but it was scrubbed due to winds and not re-scheduled during what was left of our trip.

We were disappointed but we knew it could happen so didn't get too stressed over it.

However a little while later we saw it was scheduled to go up again and then we had a totally mad moment and said "let's go!".

So with zero time to plan we booked flights from the UK and Rooms through DVC (and with it being so last minute we had to blow points on the grand & the poly which was before they became DVC resorts). Luckily we still had APs so no tickets needed and the tickets for the launch.

Anyway, we ended up with three Disney days and got to see the shuttle go up, which was probably one of the most amazing things that I've ever seen.

Wow -that's awesome! Glad to see you caught the launch. It is quite a sight.

 

[disneysteve]

So with zero time to plan we booked flights from the UK

Wow! Last minute from the UK is impressive. Great story!

 

[DisFanJen]

Wow! Last minute from the UK is impressive. Great story!

If you follow the link in my sig you can even see the launch.

 

[Tissa]

Last March my ds had his heart broken for the first time and he told me he had no reason to live. I got online and bought us both one day tickets for the MK and booked our fp+. We got in the car and left the next day from Houston which was a Friday, made a 2 night reservation at POP at a rest stop on I-10 and arrived on Saturday. We spent all of Sunday at the MK then drove straight back home on Monday. As we were leaving property and waving goodbye at Mickey he told me "thanks, I can't even remember her name now". Totally worth it!!!!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

The closet I've ever come to a spur of the moment trip was my first solo one. I was working at a local Hockey area and there was a period of time due to the Olympics that we had no events on so I took advantage of it by scheduling a trip a couple of months in advance.

 

[DisMom829]

June 2011, I had planned for over a year to go to Yellowstone. I called to book some things and come to find out 7 days before we left my DD was too little to do several of the things we wanted to (white water rafting, horse back riding with an overnight stay, zip line). I cried and cried, motor home was reserved, prime camping spot at Fish Hook bridge was booked. We both had 2 weeks off work. I called and cancelled everything. The day we were supposed to leave arrived and we couldn't think of what to do. At around 7 AM I mentioned Disney & he said if it's open, book it. I called, booked a room, we started packing and were out the door by noon. Never told the kids where we were going. Arrived at Disney 2 days later. Spent 7 days there, drove down to Key West, then headed back to Texas. That's the vacation my two kids remember the most.

 

[kmb584]

Yes. In late March 2011 I was between jobs and set to start my new one on April 9th. My aunt had just moved to Florida a couple of months before and called one afternoon to ask what my plans were for the following week. I had none. "Here's my credit card info, book us a trip to Disney!" I really didn't believe her at first (I had taken my daughter solo 9 months prior as no one had any interest in coming with us) but she saw how excited my daughter had been on her 2nd birthday (the month before) when she opened Disney related gifts and wanted to not only treat us to a trip, but to experience it with us too.

 

[Greenfield1984]

I've done a spur of the moment trip whereby from the time we decided to go and the time we actually left was 4 hours.

I just happened to have a couple of weeks off of work that was unexpected and we called Disney to see if there was availability as part of their free dining promo. There was and we booked and started packing.

It was late in the evening and it was a 25 hour drive but I'm a night owl so no problem.

Brought the kids in the car with no explanation and they went back to sleep.

In the morning when they woke we just told them we were going to McDonald's to play at the oak. Then every time we got to the McDonald's and played I said there must be a better one and we would look for it.

We did this the whole way down till we arrived at all star movies. The kids were sleeping and I carried her into our room where she woke up.

I told her where we were and she said I was lying.

My attempts at convincing her just made her upset to the point of tears.
Until I actually brought her outside and showed her

Couple things I learned from this:

Young children don't respond very well to big surprises. It's just too overwhelming. Better to let then know ahead of time so their excitement builds IMO.

Secondly adults don't respond we'll to spur of the moment trips.


While initially exciting I found I remembered less from this trip then others.

I now realize that the planning and anticipation is a large part of makin the trip memorable.

So while it may seem exciting I personally find the long term planning better.

 

[disneysteve]

I now realize that the planning and anticipation is a large part of makin the trip memorable.

So while it may seem exciting I personally find the long term planning better.

That's a great realization to have so that you know better going forward. We're not like that at all, so it's important to know yourself. Heck, our regular annual trips usually get planned less than 90 days out.