Is spontaneity dead?

[Babywearingmama]

We are going to WDW in February. My DD is going to be 6, DS is going to be 3. I don't want to plan out my whole trip to the last second. I want the ability to let the kids have some choices and such. However, everything I read says, plan, plan, plan. Will I miss out on a bunch if I don't plan our whole day down to each minute?

 

[KimBean]

We are going to WDW in February. My DD is going to be 6, DS is going to be 3. I don't want to plan out my whole trip to the last second. I want the ability to let the kids have some choices and such. However, everything I read says, plan, plan, plan. Will I miss out on a bunch if I don't plan our whole day down to each minute?

Nope. Just don't do it. You can either plan nothing or you can plan your dining, 3 FPs a day, and then leave all else to spontaneity.

But you can also book nothing.

You probably won't get FP for headliners and will have to wait or not see them.

You won't get the most requested ADRs but you can always get something day of.

It's your vacation do it how you want to.

 

[Jays2013]

I plan a lot (because I like to), but I don't have everything planned down to the minute. If you want table service meals (especially specific ones), yes, you need to make ADRs. And Fastpasses help with waits in line. But every minute? Nah. There's a lot of room between "plan nothing" and "plan every minute."

I'd plan those aforementioned things and sketch a general itinerary. Then go with the flow around it. If you plan nothing, you risk missing out on things you really want to do.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Plan now or wait in line later.
You will regret not planning, when your 3 and 6 year olds hit their limit and you have an hour wait to get food.

 

[Jays2013]

For example: Our first full day, we're going to Animal Kingdom at rope drop. The plan is to do that, head to Expedition Everest, then do our three planned FP, slotting in lunch and other attractions as time permits.

Then we're going back to our hotel a while to swim and rest, hitting our ADR at Grand Floridian Cafe, and heading to the Magic Kingdom. The only plan there is to go on whatever we want that has a decent wait. Maybe I'll make later FP there, maybe I won't. We decide when we see what's available after the first three. If DS9 really wants to do Space Mountain, we'll check it out. If DS12 has his heart set on It's a Small World, we'll do that. Or maybe my parents will make a plea for Pirates!

There's room for both in a Disney trip.

 

[melanielll]

Or - you can plan, but be willing to ditch the plans for anything spontaneous that looks good and comes up. Also planning doesn't need to structure your entire day. Three fast passes can take less than an hour to use (actual ride and walk time). Run free the rest of the day.

 

[jaceraden]

There is a difference between planning and preparing. I notice a lot of people on the DIS don't separate the two.

With young kids, I read TONS in advance. I learn about tips and tricks to take advantage of shortcuts, slow times, etc. I make a few reservations and I make FPP selections. BUT, I know how to change them without penalty and how to add new things on the fly. These tricks help me to follow my kids' lead in WDW. And that's huge. Many of those meltdowns you see in the World are caused by children and adults butting heads over the schedule. Kids don't give a hoot about the hours and hours of planning you do. If they decide that Philharmagic is the coolest thing ever and want to go over and over again, there's going to be heck to pay if you try to drag them away to X, Y, Z.

Knowledge and flexibility are key to success when touring with young kids. I don't regret the times I wandered around behind my toddlers while they took pictures of flowers and ponds or we sat and people watched at that splash area near Dumbo instead of doing a ADR at BOG or whatever.

Just my opinion after 3 trips with kids 6 and under. YMMV.

 

[melanielll]

I remember the days of little kid driven itineraries. We went to Country Bears at rope drop one day (gah!),

 

[Dakota731]

Things seem to always work out for the non planners. Friends went spring break week with no fastpasses or ADRs and rode everything and ate at nice places getting reservations planners cancelled at the last minute!

 

[Jays2013]

Vivid Disney memory: I was 13, my brother was 6. He decided he ADORED Country Bears. My mom took him in it again, but my dad and I balked. We walked around Frontierland, then got a churro to share and sat and people-watched until they emerged.

Funny, that's one of my favorite memories. I'm going to buy Dad a churro in Frontierland this trip (their first time at WDW with their grandkids) and see if he remembers.

 

[bravenyc]

I went last year when my two were that age - we had a blast. I planned the backbone - which days at which park, planned a mid-day break most days, made only a few ADR's, and made FP+ reservations. The remainder of the time we went with the flow - depending on what the kids wanted and also using the Lines app from Touring Plans (highly recommend) to see which ride had little wait. You will be able to have more spontaneity in February as it won't be as crowded. I definitely recommend an attitude of pacing based on your kids and knowing that you won't get to everything - but there is plenty of time for spontaneity.

 

[Dakota731]

How do you cancel without penalty?

 

[NikkiDP]

As weird as it sounds, schedule in time for spontaneity! Do a rough outline of your day and leave parts open that will allow you to choose on the go what you want to do. The last time my DIF and I went down we had planned to do Epcot all day but thanks to good crowds we were able to do everything we wanted at Epcot then hop over to AK and then back to Epcot. The times when you decide of the fly can be so much fun!!

 

[ArwenMarie]

With a 6 and 3 year old, I would plan your mornings out. Make rope drop, then use your FPs. Get your must-dos done early!

Then if everyone is still up for more, do the second-tier stuff or use the rolling 4th FP. That way you will have a mix of getting your must-dos done and going with the flow.

I would also just eat QS if you want more spontaneity. Honestly, a lot of the food is the same quality anyway. That way you aren't running around for ADRs every day, minus any special ones you want to do

 

[jaceraden]

How do you cancel without penalty?

You reschedule it up to 20 minutes before the actual reservation. I believe BoM calls it Bump and Run because they then later cancel the reservation all together.

 

[ZoZo]

How do you cancel without penalty?

For most dining reservations, you can cancel an ADR without penalty the day before the reservation. Otherwise, you will have a $10 per person cancellation fee if you cancel the same day or are a no-show.

Exceptions are things that are prepaid, like CRT or the Luau show at the Polynesian. If you cancel on the same day for one of these prepaid adrs, you would lose the entire amount, not just a $10 per person cancellation penalty.

 

[nco91590]

With a 6 and 3 year old, I would plan your mornings out. Make rope drop, then use your FPs. Get your must-dos done early!

Then if everyone is still up for more, do the second-tier stuff or use the rolling 4th FP. That way you will have a mix of getting your must-dos done and going with the flow.

I would also just eat QS if you want more spontaneity. Honestly, a lot of the food is the same quality anyway. That way you aren't running around for ADRs every day, minus any special ones you want to do

I completely agree with this approach. I've been with kids that age and apart from booking the priority FPs we just kinda wing it. We didn't schedule a ton of ADR's either. So we weren't planning our day around dinner reservations. There are so many great QS options now and depending on when you go in Feb, your chances of scoring walk ups or same day reservations will probably be pretty good. Especially resort restaurants.

 

[Harambe]

Sadly, you do have to plan somewhat. Especially with the little ones, you want to do a few FP+'s. And I would make at least one ADR for a character breakfast. Other than that, you can kind of wing it, but if things don't work out (crowds are crazy, or lines are long at QS) accept that, and be willing to change your plans without getting angry.

 

[bluezy]

With a 6 and 3 year old, I would plan your mornings out. Make rope drop, then use your FPs. Get your must-dos done early!

Then if everyone is still up for more, do the second-tier stuff or use the rolling 4th FP. That way you will have a mix of getting your must-dos done and going with the flow.

I would also just eat QS if you want more spontaneity. Honestly, a lot of the food is the same quality anyway. That way you aren't running around for ADRs every day, minus any special ones you want to do

This is exactly what we do (even though our youngest child is now 12). We also make sure to schedule 2 "sleep in" days during our stay. We'll do rope drop 2 days in a row, and then a sleep-in day. On our sleep-in days, we still schedule FPs for a park, but not until early afternoon. This is also the day that we'll pre-schedule a TS lunch or dinner if we want to. We usually do something "special" that evening (fireworks cruise, CRT, etc.) but it's usually a very relaxed day. On our rope drop days, we don't pre-schedule a TS meal, but if we decide we want to do one we'll just check the app to see what's available for that evening. Even with a party of 5 traveling in late June, there has always been at least 15-20 restaurant options available for dinner. Some of them are even character meals. If something appeals to us, we'll book it. If not, we just eat QS. We're not really food oriented when we're at Disney as we have much better dining options at home.

 

[Micca]

Hi @Babywearingmama hope you're enjoying hangin' out with us on the Dis! Please understand that for many of us here (including me) planning is part of the fun of the trip. It gets you into a Disney state of mind without actually leaving your couch. My hunch is that even people who do plan to the last minute probably vary from the plan due to unforeseen circumstances. I'll also go out on a limb and say that spontaneity can lead to a lot of time standing in line and/or criss-crossing parks which will limit the things you get to do on your trip(and wear down everybody in your group.)

Your kids can be involved in the planning, show them some ride videos on YouTube and talk to them to see if they have any interest in shows, character meet & greets, or if they care where they eat. Book some FP and some ADRs, and figure out which days to set aside for each park. Beyond that, plan as much or as little as you like. Maybe you'll be bitten by the planning bug that so many of us here have succumbed to.