How planned does this have to be???1!!?

[pbrim]

I've been doing Disney since the 60's but for various reasons my last DisneyLand trip was 2018 and my last DisneyWorld was 2013. Now I'm retired and just started looking at planning a trip and getting totally overwhelmed! From what I understand, you now have to have every single detail planned out beforehand, what rides you want to do, in what order, on what days, at precisely what time, where and when you will eat, all set in stone months in advance. Used to be, I got 10 day park hoppers and 14 day hotel, and played it by ear, how I felt each day, but that seems to be impossible anymore. I have medical issues where I don't always know until the day of whether I am going to be able to go to the park that day, but I'm afraid those days are past. Am I over-reacting or do I need to give up on Disney altogether?

Also, am I in the wrong forum? Is there a better one for this kind of thing?

 

[coasternut22]

Your trip can be as planned or unplanned as much as you want. I am a planner by nature, so I love the planning aspect, and go completely overboard. My wife, on the other hand thinks I'm crazy, and has a more laid-back travel style. There is no one correct way to do things, but there are some things you need to keep in mind.

You need to have park reservations. This is why some planning is essential. Park reservations start to fill up a few weeks before and up to two months for busier times. MK and HS fill up fastest. You can no longer make a day of decision on which park you feel like going to in the morning. You can certainly book something and hop to another park at 2pm, but you need to have at least one reservation to a park that day. It is what it is. With your medical issue, it really is going to be a personal decision how you handle this.

Dining reservations open at 60 days. If you are onsite, you can book your entire trip starting at 60 days. This is what we refer to as 60+1, 60+2, etc. If you are offsite, you have to book each day, one day at a time, at 60 days. If you plan to dine in a park, you will need a park reservation. You can always book dining reservations closer to your trip, but you may not get the restaurants or times you want. Good advice is to book the day before because a lot of people are cancelling their reservations around that time. So, dining and park reservations go somewhat hand in hand. This is probably the minimum amount of planning you must do. It's not much different than it was before and isn't really complex. You should be good up to this point.

G+ makes things more complicated. Before, you still could plan your day, rides, shows, etc. There has always been ride strategies, which to go on first, which to book a G+/Fastpass, etc. This has not changed. What you see in the last 5-10 years are the YouTube vloggers, message boards like these, and millions of other pieces of information on ride strategy. This isn't a G+ thing, it's a social media thing. People spend their life savings on trips to WDW and want to maximize their time and money, and social media has found a way to capitalize on this. Since there is so much information on strategy, it gets overwhelming. Ride strategy has always been around, G+ just made it more complex and harder to plan. If you want good G+ tutorials, check out the Earscouts and Mammoth Club YouTube channels. They are the best.

To answer your overall question:
You have to make park reservations in advance, no getting around it.
If you want to get the best dining reservations, your best bet is to book at 60 days.
If you want to maximize your time in the park, ride strategy is your friend. If you want to leisurely stroll around, that's fine too. It's just not as efficient.
If you plan to purchase G+, it's best to know how to use it for maximum effectiveness, otherwise you will be bitter paying for it and not getting what you expected.

 

[RoseGold]

You left out the part where you get up at 7AM, pay more money, and hope you can click fast enough to make all of that happen. WDW is not really a spontaneous thing anymore, unless you just want to go to Philharmagic and ride the carousel.

 

[MICKIMINI]

As to ADR's, now that you can cancel at 2 hours prior it makes it much easier to get reservations or cancel on the fly.

We just got home Friday after three weeks and especially once our son and DIL showed up we were just winging it. They grabbed Space 220, Story Book Dining at Artist Point, Topolino's (breakfast), La Hacienda and a few others on the fly. Some days we were just tapped out and cancelled existing and other days found ourselves with time wanting a cool dining experience. We spent a small fortune as we got some bucket list experiences (they got Monsieur Paul) when we would have had pizza or chicken.

The two hour window is a game changer IMO and making it much easier to snag a reservation same day at the park you are in or a resort.

Good luck!

We have AP's and just make reservations for each day. You will have to guess which days to *take off*. I understand as I have issues with fatigue and mobility and some days just can't do it. Be kind to yourself when laying out your plans. You'll be a happier companion if you space out the energetic days...

 

[loves to dive]

I'm an older woman, going solo and I just booked at trip for mid-April. The only thing I've done so far is make my resort reservations and bought my tickets. When I get my ticket confirmation I'll go ahead and make park reservations but I have PHs and (fingers crossed) they might change it some time next year where you don't have to wait until 2pm to hop.

For now, I'll just make reservations for parks sort of willy nilly. Well not really will nilly. I will be there for 7 nights so I bought a 6 day hopper, since I drive down I usually don't go to a park on the day I leave since I get up and get on the road (7 1/2 hour drive). I'm doing a split stay - 3 nights at ASMus and 4 nights at Dolphin (money reasons). Since the Dolphin buses drop off at MK at the TTC I'll go ahead and make a park reservation for MK for one of the days I'm at ASMus. I always go to Epcot the day I arrive. Then, I'll just make whatever for the rest of the days since I know I will hop (2 pm or not). You do have to check in to the park you have reservations at, no getting around that but you could always just tap in, turn around and leave and go to whatever park you want to (after 2 right now).

I don't make ADRs in advance, just day of either when I'm back at my room for an afternoon rest or while walking around the parks. I have never not been able to make an ADR somewhere the day of. It helps that I'm an adult and don't really have to eat at the "must do" place and the time doesn't really matter. Since I'm a smallish woman, I usually tend to eat at least one meal a day just snacking around the Epcot festivals. I've been twice since Genie+ started and haven't bought it either time and rode everything I wanted to. Park hopping helps with that. One trip it was very crowded, another just about every ride was a walk on.

What I do for rides. Let's pretend I have a reservation at Epcot the day I arrive and I arrive around 2 pm. I'll go to Epcot, get something to eat, maybe ride a ride or two and hop over to whatever park I have reservations for the next day. In our pretend trip I'm going to say MK. In April MK is probably going to close around 8 or 9. I get there around 6 or so. Walk around and hop on a ride or two, later in the day the lines aren't too bad. So far I've ridden a few rides at Epcot and a few rides at MK. Next day I get up whenever and head to MK. Maybe I grab some breakfast, just depends on when I get up and get over there. I ride whatever I want to that I didn't ride the night before until around noon or 1 then go back to the room to rest/swim/explore/whatever. Some time later - could be 3 or could be 5 who knows, I head over Epcot to get something to eat. Maybe I ride a ride or two, maybe I just eat then head over to whatever park I have reservations for the next day. Rinse and repeat. Doing it this way, I'm never pushed to get rides in all in one day, I don't mind waiting in line since I don't need to ride every ride and I'm really there just to enjoy the place and not rush from ride to ride to ADR.

No plans except the park reservation for the first park of the day. I eat when I want to, or I just snack all day. If I want to stop and sit on a bench and just watch the people, I do. If I want to ride a ride, I do.

 

[pbrim]

Thanks for everyone;s advice -- I am feeling much less stressed about this. I have a friend who sometimes comes with me but her health is more fragile and more likely to be a reason not to go to the parks. I think I will go solo this time and see how it all works now. And hey, it will be nearly a year before I go, so maybe things will be even better then.

Thanks again!

 

[Frozen2014]

As others have mentioned, you need to plan in terms of park reservations as these are now required. And if you want any popular ADRs, then these need to be booked when you booking window opens.

I'm a huge planner too. We book way in advance and this helps make the wait fun and exciting. If you are planning on purchasing Genie+ (which I recommend if it's in your budget), then it's harder to come up with a park plan. We used it and got on every ride we wanted (but last week in August so wasn't busy). On the down side, we did a lot of zig zagging the parks as we would book based on 'hard to get' rides that sell out for our priority choices. So for planning, it mostly came down to getting familiar with the park maps of what was near each other and learning the wait times/sell out rides.

 

[elaine amj]

If I recall, 2013 had FP+. That was even more regimented as you had to book your fastpasses 60 days out. Genie+ allows more flexibility as you don’t book your rides until the day of. Park reservations take some of that flexibility away but between the two, I’d say the new style is more flexible than the old style (even though I loathe and detest park reservations lol!)

So if you did just fine with not planning and winging it with FP+, you’ll do even better now.

Hoppers will help the most (did I mention I loathe park reservations?)

 

[pbrim]

If I recall, 2013 had FP+. That was even more regimented as you had to book your fastpasses 60 days out. Genie+ allows more flexibility as you don’t book your rides until the day of. Park reservations take some of that flexibility away but between the two, I’d say the new style is more flexible than the old style (even though I loathe and detest park reservations lol!)

So if you did just fine with not planning and winging it with FP+, you’ll do even better now.

Hoppers will help the most (did I mention I loathe park reservations?)

Actually FP+ was why I switched from WDW to DL in 2013, it just took more commitment that I was able to make. However, in those days, I could only go for a week at a time and was going with a more medically fragile friend. Now I'm retired, in better health, and I really miss WDW. I will be going solo, for 2 weeks, and I am really hoping I can make it work. Genie+ may be a big help -- I thought at first you had to plan it months out, but now I understand it is done the day of I have more hopes.

 

[elaine amj]

With a solo 2 week trip, you can cover a lot of ground and still be very relaxed.

My DH is currently battling cancer so we take things pretty slow. Often later mornings, a long afternoon nap, and then chill evenings. Most days, we only spend a few hours in the parks and we have a great time.

I’d suggest looking into the UK 14 day Magic tickets. They are usually comparable in price to 7/8 day base tickets and include hoppers and waterparks and minigolf. Hoppers give the most flexibility.

If you don’t want to do Genie+ every day, I found I could do a few major rides for the first hour of each morning on standby and have reasonably short waits. Then the rest of the time would be shows or rides with short lines. We go for 2-3 weeks now and it’s super manageable when you have multiple mornings. And the last hour of the day is pretty good too. I always do rides like 7Dwarves, Rise of the Resistance, and Flight of Passage 5 mins before close as standby lines are the shortest at that time.

My challenge is DH has a harder time getting ready until 9ish every morning as he has a rather long morning routine. So he often stays behind for the morning craziness and we pick him up later. That said, he has little interest in most of the major rides so is just fine skipping them. He loves the minor rides and shows best.

 

[pbrim]

Thanks, tickets is what I have to figure out next. in 2013, I had been going to WDW every other year for a while, and I intended to continue. I came into a hefty bonus and decided to invest in some never-expire Disney tickets. But then came FP+, and I switched to DL "just for a couple trips until they work out the kinks", then came Covid, then, then .....

So now I have 5 5-day park hoppers from 2013 I have to figure out how to make work. Its going to be a mess, but I can't just write off all that money.

BTW, I am in the US, can I even get UK 14 day tickets? because I would love 14 day tickets, but in the US you can't get longer than 10 day.

 

[elaine amj]

Thanks, tickets is what I have to figure out next. in 2013, I had been going to WDW every other year for a while, and I intended to continue. I came into a hefty bonus and decided to invest in some never-expire Disney tickets. But then came FP+, and I switched to DL "just for a couple trips until they work out the kinks", then came Covid, then, then .....

So now I have 5 5-day park hoppers from 2013 I have to figure out how to make work. Its going to be a mess, but I can't just write off all that money.

BTW, I am in the US, can I even get UK 14 day tickets? because I would love 14 day tickets, but in the US you can't get longer than 10 day.

I would hang on to those 5 day hoppers as they're not the right fit for this trip and would be a bit of a waste. If necessary you can always attempt to sell them to a friend as they are fully transferable until they are used.

You can buy UK 14 day tickets with a US address and US billing address. In fact, right now, attractiontickets.co.uk (my preferred vendor) is having a sale on 2023 tickets (yes - they have sales and different agencies offers different sales at different times. Huge difference from the US). They are an incredible value for longer trips and I have been buying them for my kids lately (I have APs). The UK tickets include waterparks fun and more (so minigolf and golf too) along with hoppers.

 

[GinnyB23]

I'm an older woman, going solo and I just booked at trip for mid-April. The only thing I've done so far is make my resort reservations and bought my tickets. When I get my ticket confirmation I'll go ahead and make park reservations but I have PHs and (fingers crossed) they might change it some time next year where you don't have to wait until 2pm to hop.

For now, I'll just make reservations for parks sort of willy nilly. Well not really will nilly. I will be there for 7 nights so I bought a 6 day hopper, since I drive down I usually don't go to a park on the day I leave since I get up and get on the road (7 1/2 hour drive). I'm doing a split stay - 3 nights at ASMus and 4 nights at Dolphin (money reasons). Since the Dolphin buses drop off at MK at the TTC I'll go ahead and make a park reservation for MK for one of the days I'm at ASMus. I always go to Epcot the day I arrive. Then, I'll just make whatever for the rest of the days since I know I will hop (2 pm or not). You do have to check in to the park you have reservations at, no getting around that but you could always just tap in, turn around and leave and go to whatever park you want to (after 2 right now).

I don't make ADRs in advance, just day of either when I'm back at my room for an afternoon rest or while walking around the parks. I have never not been able to make an ADR somewhere the day of. It helps that I'm an adult and don't really have to eat at the "must do" place and the time doesn't really matter. Since I'm a smallish woman, I usually tend to eat at least one meal a day just snacking around the Epcot festivals. I've been twice since Genie+ started and haven't bought it either time and rode everything I wanted to. Park hopping helps with that. One trip it was very crowded, another just about every ride was a walk on.

What I do for rides. Let's pretend I have a reservation at Epcot the day I arrive and I arrive around 2 pm. I'll go to Epcot, get something to eat, maybe ride a ride or two and hop over to whatever park I have reservations for the next day. In our pretend trip I'm going to say MK. In April MK is probably going to close around 8 or 9. I get there around 6 or so. Walk around and hop on a ride or two, later in the day the lines aren't too bad. So far I've ridden a few rides at Epcot and a few rides at MK. Next day I get up whenever and head to MK. Maybe I grab some breakfast, just depends on when I get up and get over there. I ride whatever I want to that I didn't ride the night before until around noon or 1 then go back to the room to rest/swim/explore/whatever. Some time later - could be 3 or could be 5 who knows, I head over Epcot to get something to eat. Maybe I ride a ride or two, maybe I just eat then head over to whatever park I have reservations for the next day. Rinse and repeat. Doing it this way, I'm never pushed to get rides in all in one day, I don't mind waiting in line since I don't need to ride every ride and I'm really there just to enjoy the place and not rush from ride to ride to ADR.

No plans except the park reservation for the first park of the day. I eat when I want to, or I just snack all day. If I want to stop and sit on a bench and just watch the people, I do. If I want to ride a ride, I do.

As someone who has visited Disney many times over the years, I have learned that "packing it all in" in a single trip just isn't worth it. I love your leisurely view to enjoying the "experience" the food, the atmosphere, some rides and not making yourself crazy. That's the only way I will do it going forward.