I have a sense of impending doom.

[Turn the Page]

A friend of my from high school posted a message on facebook last night saying she was planning a trip to WDW for herself, her three young (and by young I mean all 5 and under) kids, and her parents for THIS weekend and asked for tips.

I don't see this going very well.

 

[ToddyLu]

Sometimes you just have to let them go. My brother and his wife have 5 children. They planned a trip a week before Easter two years ago. She asked me for tips and my left eye started twitching in aggravation. She wanted them to eat at the castle. My brother walked up and of course they were booked but told him to come back around 1:00. They got in...

They never made to AK that trip but they did eat in the castle. It is like a train wreck....but somehow they made it through and had a great vacation staying off site.

Their second the third child always ask ME to take them...of the five they are the two most organized and see the need for a plan.

 

[Dawna]

Oh my! I can't imagine not planning for 180 days+! I hope she is able to get a hotel room. If so, even though she may not get into certain restaurants at good times or have the "best" FP+, they can still have a wonderful time!! I would tell her about this wonderful website and about FP+ and let the planning begin!

 

[Disneylover99]

Tell your friend to get to the parks early and have a great trip. That's it. Any more at this point will just stress her out. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Tons of people have a wonderful time at Disney without knowing a thing about it.

 

[Turn the Page]

I did direct her here, to easywdw.com and mentioned scheduling fastpasses. At this point, unless she flat out asks me what to do in which case I would tell her if it were me there would be no way I would go at this point, that's about all I can do.

I have no idea where they are planning to stay or anything she just posted on facebook about planning a trip for this weekend and asking for tips.

I hope it works out for her.

 

[fla4fun]

I've booked trips with as little as three days between booking and check in (once since FP+ began) and it's totally doable. Nearly all of my trips are less than 180 days because they aren't always releasing the discounts that early (and I refuse to pay rack rate). You just have to be a little more flexible. You plan as much as you can (or want to) and then pack your patience for dealing with everything else. Some people vacation differently than others - not everyone feels the need to have every moment scheduled, or to even spend every moment in the parks. Some people are OK with QS most of the time, and don't care about making ADRs. You made some good suggestions as far as information, so I would step back and let them go and enjoy.

Sometimes half the fun is just getting up and deciding to go away for the weekend - even if the getaway is a last minute WDW trip.

 

[SillySallySews]

The title of this definitely made me LOL! Our first family trip to Disney was on a total whim. My husband had less than two weeks notice he was able to take leave and I think I booked the resort at about eight or nine days out, and made ADRs while we were in the car driving there. This was a trip in July, so obviously a very busy time. We also had three littles with us, including a seven month old. It was still one of our most enjoyable trips to date. But then again, this was before FP+ and magic bands so that might have made all the difference. I think the new system does make it a bit harder to be spontaneous. Good luck to your friend!

 

[Jewel3k]

I'm not a wing it type of person, but some people are. My tips would be, get there early, don't be afraid to hit the pool with the little ones in the afternoon to cool off and head back in and I'd hand them a m&m container filled with money for pressed pennies. I can't imagine going with no planning, but I have a friend who does and they enjoy themselves.

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

Spontaneity can be awesome, fun, and freeing. Or be chaotic and exhausting.
Over planning can suck the joy right out of anything. Or be wonderfully efficient and exciting.

In both cases...really in any case...what matters is an attitude of enjoying where you are and rolling with whatever. Encourage your friend to have a great time and don't bother panicking on her behalf. Unless you are a spectacularly blessed person, you likely have your own worries.

I learned a saying recently, supposedly a Polish aphorism, that seems relevant here:
Not My Circus
Not My Monkeys

 

[kay1864]

A friend of my from high school posted a message on facebook last night saying she was planning a trip to WDW for herself, her three young (and by young I mean all 5 and under) kids, and her parents for THIS weekend and asked for tips.

I don't see this going very well.

As I posted in another thread, I had some friends who also did last-minute planning. It IS doable (assuming you don't need a castle ADR or an A&E FP).
Here's what I posted:

Some friends of mine are at WDW this week. Like many typical guests, they:
- had not bought tickets
- had not made ADRs
- had not made FP selections
- are staying offsite
- but they did have an MDE account

So the day before they left, I sat down with them and we selected their rides on RideMax. They're going for 5 days, so I suggested 1 day for each park, except allow 2 days for MK.

- For which days/which parks, we used the RideMax recommendations (which also matched easywdw)
- We selected FP attractions (but not times) based on the mesaboy list. (RideMax has tiering built in)
- After plugging in the rides for each park, RideMax generated their touring plans, including FP+ times

Then they got on MDE to buy their tickets, to select their FPs based on the FP times in the RideMax schedule, and a few ADRs.

Total planning time:
Time on RideMax planning a 5-day trip: 45 minutes
Time on MDE getting 5 days of FPs: 15 minutes
Time on MDE getting ADRs: 10 minutes

True, by waiting to the last minute, my friends did not get FPs for 7DMT or A&E, but they got all their other FPs, and they got the ADRs they wanted (including Fantasmic). And no running around the park for paper FPs.

Moral of the story: you don't HAVE to plan your trip 60 days in advance. But it does help to plan in advance, even if it's only 1 day .

I mean, geez, at some point you have to choose which park/which day. Might as well do it before you go, instead of on the morning of your first day. Plus you don't have to wait in line for the FP kiosk behind all the people who haven't decided which rides they want to go on.

So at a minimum, your friends should set up an MDE account, get their tickets (if they haven't already), and spend some time planning. As the above shows, a little over an hour should do it, and will save them hours standing in line.

 

[kaylasmom07]

Tell your friend to get to the parks early and have a great trip. That's it. Any more at this point will just stress her out. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Tons of people have a wonderful time at Disney without knowing a thing about it.

Not everybody has the same expectations we might. Some people don't care if they ride the biggest rides twice, or whatever. And if you don't know about a certain attraction or restaurant then you don't miss it.

I'd tell her to get there early, use FP+, and to have fun!

 

[kay1864]

Also, you didn't say how many days your friend is going for, but as I mentioned above, they should budget 1 day for each park, but allow 2 days for MK. Trying to do all of MK in one day (esp if it includes MSEP and fireworks) is courting disaster with little ones.

 

[FelineVintage]

As someone who booked two weeks out and not a natural holiday planner I don't see the issue. I think people on this forum have their bubble of how they like to do things but don't judge others and doom them to a horrible holiday because they're not as militant.

I think this especially goes for first timers. They likely have few expectations or must do's, therefore it's all just a fun adventure and with a little guidance will have a great time.

I think those that book two years in advance are bonkers but they likely think the same of me, we shouldn't judge people so quickly for being different.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I learned a saying recently, supposedly a Polish aphorism, that seems relevant here:
Not My Circus
Not My Monkeys

Love this.

 

[GillianP1301]

As someone who booked two weeks out and not a natural holiday planner I don't see the issue. I think people on this forum have their bubble of how they like to do things but don't judge others and doom them to a horrible holiday because they're not as militant.

I think this especially goes for first timers. They likely have few expectations or must do's, therefore it's all just a fun adventure and with a little guidance will have a great time.

I think those that book two years in advance are bonkers but they likely think the same of me, we shouldn't judge people so quickly for being different.

ITA with the bolded. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss. Most of us on this board are uber planners and the thoughts of not planning a WDW vacation to the T months in advance causes hyperventilation, but to a newbie who doesn't know any different, they will just book the trip and go with little to no planning. Many of those people will still have an awesome time and will have no idea of what they may have missed.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

Hopefully she doesn't go with high expectations of getting EVERYTHING done.

I have never gone (in the past 3 years) with more than a month of planning (Thanks Navy..), and have had no issues with ADR's and whatnot... but I am also approaching 30 trips and have figured this whole disney thing out (;

If she is dedicated on spending time adr stalking and whatnot, I'm sure she can do some of what she wants. If not, she can do disney old school and just go, walk around, and enjoy the magic of being there!

 

[photo_chick]

I know quite a few people who didn't plan last minute WDW trips and came back reporting that they had a great time and did everything they wanted to. Just because we're uber planners doesn't mean you have to be to have fun. Different people have different ways of approaching things.

One friend even got BOG dinner reservations while they were there. So you just never know how it's going to go down.

 

[ShannonMB]

I learned a saying recently, supposedly a Polish aphorism, that seems relevant here:
Not My Circus
Not My Monkeys

I will be using this one..!

 

[lions1995]

assuming you don't need a castle ADR or an A&E FP).

Since they just added A&E to 30 minutes prior to park close, there are some FPs available for the next few days (though they are late in the day).

So who knows.

I hope she has a great time and like PPs stated, if she does not know what to expect, I am sure it will still be magical.

 

[1stvisit0909]

Spontaneity can be awesome, fun, and freeing. Or be chaotic and exhausting.
Over planning can suck the joy right out of anything. Or be wonderfully efficient and exciting.

In both cases...really in any case...what matters is an attitude of enjoying where you are and rolling with whatever. Encourage your friend to have a great time and don't bother panicking on her behalf. Unless you are a spectacularly blessed person, you likely have your own worries.

I learned a saying recently, supposedly a Polish aphorism, that seems relevant here:
Not My Circus
Not My Monkeys

I LOVE IT! I am going to start using that!!!

agreed - I think in this case, silence is the best. Not everyong digs planning. My hubby would rather just go and wing it, but I cant. I want to plan!