Is it even possible anymore...?

[rt2dz]

With all of Disney's changes over the last few years, we've kind of fell out of love with Disney. It just seemed like we were paying more and more and getting less, less, less. We went from going 1-2x a year for 10 days each trip to not having been since fall 2014.

And while we've been on a lot of fantastic trips elsewhere, we're now missing Disney. Quite a bit all of a sudden. A trip seems necessary. So...

Is it possibly to even plan a last minute trip anymore? Sure, you can get a place to stay and tickets, but are fast passes and dining reservations possible? I don't want to spend the time looking if it just can't be done. I'm thinking Halloween week specifically, but anytime in October would be on the table, or sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

[mrzrich]

Yes I book last minute trips all the time. ADR's are a breeze if you are willing to try new places or if you are persistent.

My best ADR advice is to check The night before, because people cancel that last day to avoid a $10 fee. It takes faith and flexibility

As for FP, I have never had a problem getting anything other then 7dmt and Frozen

 

[BaseballMoM2007]

Your still more than 30 days out on fast passes so off site guest haven't got to book them yet. On dining reservations sign up for the touring plans reservation finder. I was able to find everything I wanted a lot the week of. Found one day before ressies for be our guest pre park breakfast and many other popular ones. Just make reservations now for what you can then when something better comes up replace the other ones that's what we did.

 

[lovethattink]

We go last minute all the time. We are flexible. The only FP+ I've been having trouble getting is FEA.

 

[rt2dz]

I guess what I'm concerned about is FP has to line up with dining. Won't do me any good if we are at a far different park. I've just been out of the Disney loop for so long, what are the odds of making it work? And I should mention, we are a larger family (6).

 

[rt2dz]

And when is the better time to go these days? As in lower crowds

 

[goofyintoronto]

Yes I book last minute trips all the time. ADR's are a breeze if you are willing to try new places or if you are persistent.

My best ADR advice is to check The night before, because people cancel that last day to avoid a $10 fee. It takes faith and flexibility

As for FP, I have never had a problem getting anything other then 7dmt and Frozen

I agree, last minute trips are possible as long as you're flexible and willing to try new restaurants. If you have a picky family or if there are only certain places you'd be willing to eat, then yes you might have a hard time. But i agree with trying for an ADR the night before. I've always had luck by being persistent and not giving up. Many people cancel their ADRs the night before to avoid the $10 pp fee.

As for FP, i agree with the others that Frozen and 7DMT are the two hardest to get. Never had trouble getting the others though. But again, keep checking as something might pop up. I couldnt get a frozen FP (even with planning 8 months out!) but i double checked today and got one! Definitely dont give up.

Having said that, if you were disappointed with your trip in 2014, im not sure how you'd feel about it now. With all the refurb going on at the parks, there's a lot of changes happening.... HS has limited rides right now.....at AK, ROL isnt ready yet.....and MSEP is being axed.

 

[DAKL101]

It depends on when your coming. FP are usually avail for most things 24-36 hrs in advance. Do your adrs (if they are super important to you) then fp. If FP is more important, then do those first and plan around. Again, it really depends on what you are looking for and when.

 

[anniemae]

And when is the better time to go these days? As in lower crowds

lower crowds are right now. Most kids back in school. F&W is coming up so that will increase Epcot crowds. Not sure how soon you want to go, but Sept and Oct are good. As is May.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We do last minute trips all the time, but we usually only have a few "must-do's" in mind when we plan the trips and do the rest on the fly. For example, we did a two night trip in August and our only "must-do's" were riding the new Soarin', FEA and eating at Flying Fish. We had zero expectations of getting ADR's for things like BOG, CRT or BBB. We had a fantastic trip.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes you can plan a last minute trip and have fun! But if eating at specific restaurants is important to you I think you might have some issues. I considered a mid-November trip this year but gave up. Nothing I wanted was available. I signed up for the Dining reservation finder on Undercover Tourist and logged on the minute I got the notice time after time but someone has beat me to the punch every time.

I gave up and stuck with DLR. Dining reservations haven't even opened for our dates yet.

 

[miamimi]

Yes you can plan a last minute trip and have fun! But if eating at specific restaurants is important to you I think you might have some issues. I considered a mid-November trip this year but gave up. Nothing I wanted was available. I signed up for the Dining reservation finder on Undercover Tourist and logged on the minute I got the notice time after time but someone has beat me to the punch every time.

I gave up and stuck with DLR. Dining reservations haven't even opened for our dates yet.

I think a spontaneous trip is a lot easier if you aren't trying to make any ADR's. If you keep you control expectations, you'll have a great time.

 

[MommaBerd]

Since you are flexible as to when you go, I would check out the refurb schedule to see if and when any of your favorites will be down...

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/rehab.htm

 

[mom2rtk]

I think a spontaneous trip is a lot easier if you aren't trying to make any ADR's. If you keep you control expectations, you'll have a great time.

I think that's right. And we don't go often enough to just catch what we miss on our next trip. I want to do what I want to do on each trip. I guess I'm just not willing to settle for less for what it costs there.

 

[Scar1199]

Go on to MDE and play around with the dining dates to see what comes up. I just put in 6 people for November 1 and there were a lot of great options left. Then once you get your dining figured out you can look at FP. Like others have mentioned, if you're looking for a certain restaurant it could be tough but keep trying.

 

[Accident]

Is it possibly to even plan a last minute trip anymore? Sure, you can get a place to stay and tickets, but are fast passes and dining reservations possible? I don't want to spend the time looking if it just can't be done. I'm thinking Halloween week specifically, but anytime in October would be on the table, or sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I've done long trips with as little as 48 hours notice, and generally book about a month before I actually arrive. Now i'm a local as of this year so I'm even seeing the day visitor no time to plan side of things.. Absolutely possible to not only do a short notice trip but get everythign you want. They've really tightened up the system so fastpass+ and adrs can't overlap which also means you can't hoard as many adrs.. so it's just easy to get some things.. Not saying you'll get them all and some you'll get the night before (adrs) or the same day (fastpass+, check in the afternoons).

Also don't forget just walking up and asking if they have room. You never know how many no shows they have for tables service that meal. Also ask if there is room at a later time, sometimes you just need to come back in 30-60 minutes and they will pencil you a in for a reservation.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Also, on the everything fastpass board, there is a fastpass cancellation thread, just like the ADR cancellation threads, for the hard to get fps.

ETA: there are always quite a few ADR cancellations 1 or 2 days before the date you want, where, like someone said, people drop them to avoid the late fee, or they just change their plans. This trip, I have very few restaurants booked. We may just wait until day of and see what's available. Do try the Skippers Canteen. We love it and it's now a must do. I don't even have BOG or any of the other hard to get restaurants booked and I'm happy with my choices.

 

[rt2dz]

Thanks everyone! It's just been so long, I feel like a newbie again.

 

[HopperFan]

Have AP, 8 hours away, we have no issues with booking last minute, sometimes within a week ............

BUT, you will have to go in being flexible on FP+ and ADRs. If you have your heart set on certain places at certain times it could be problematic. Staying on top of constant checking will usually pan out but we are always prepared that unless it's a long trip we might not go on top rides or eat at our favorite spots.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

As others have said, yes it totally is possible! We just came back from five days at Coronado Springs, we had no problem with booking FP+ or ADRs. And we booked our trip about three weeks in advance. just be flexible, and know that other people's last-minute FP+ and ADR cancellations rule the world!