Just back....broke many "rules" and had a blast

[danceteachermom]

We just got back from WDW yesterday and this was a new kind of trip for us. We broke many of the rules we had set based on the unofficial guide, DIS, and past trips. Yet....we had an amazing time!

Here are the rules we ignored:
1. We did not make a park opening.
2. We did not make many ADRs.
3. We never wore sneakers.
4. We did not order from Garden Grocer or pack any food other than cereal.
5. Other than checking in and out we had no plan.

Here are some facts that help you understand why we approached the trip this way:
1. I have been to WDW every other year for the last 11 years - always as a chaperone in charge of 30-50 HS students. I was last there in Jan. and will be again in Jan. 13 so I there was not much I had to do. I'll get many chances to be at Disney.
2. Our daughter stayed with her dad so it was just me, my DH, and my DS who is 3 and a 1/2.
3. We stayed at the Coronado on a room only discount.
4. Our main objectives were to relax, enjoy the warm weather, and enjoy eachother.
5. I have former students who are cast members so both days that we went into the parks we got in FREE. That made it so much easier to not over-park to "get our monies worth."

We had a great trip. I am hoping to try and write my first trip report.

Here are some obsevations:
-I was surprised the parks we went to MK, DHS, and Epcot were not as crowded as I expected.
-Our longest wait was TSM at about 40 minutes when the sign read 60. We knew this would be "long" and it was fine.
-We made and kept two ADRS. One was for the Myan Grill at CSR. It was delicious and relaxing. The other was for the newer Italian restaurant in Epcot Via Napolli (I think.) We had eaten there in January. It was as amazing as we remembered.
-We had a good meal at Captain Jacks in DTD. This kids meals there were awesome (steak, salmon, soup, smoothie, etc.)

I have never seen Mickey's Phillharmagic (SP?) in the MK. We loved it.

The new Disney Junior show is a perfect fit for the pre-school set. Our son had an absolute blast and participated with every song.

I saw a bunch of families that looked tired, stressed, hot, and overwhelmed. It made me really appreciate the way we were able to do the parks at a relaxed pace. When one of us was ready to leave....we did. Being in the parks for free took the pressure off. I am so thanksful that two wonderful young men that I used to teach still keep in touch with me and each graciously got up early on a day, met us at the park of our choice, and got us in for free.

I loved the Coronado. I think you get many of the amenities of a deluxe resort for a moderate price. It is the best value on Disney property.

I tried my first Dole Whip. It was OK. I probably will never have another but it was good.

The smoothies in Tomorrowland at MK are the best. There is a pineapple, organge, mango blend that is perfect.

There was a drink at our hotel pool bar called a Frozen Banana Daquiari...it was yummy.

I wish that everyone could have the type of trip we enjoyed if they so desire. We relaxed a lot, had a ton of pool time, leisurely meals, hit our son's favorites in the parks, and generally enjoyed every moment.

 

[jking6]

Coronado Springs is my favorite resort. We have stayed at several deluxw Poly, bay lake towers etc. but I love coronado springs. The price is great the atmosphere is amazing. It is a very relaxing resort.
I always break rules too. (aren't they meant to be broke)
Glad you had a great trip.....

 

[EPCOT is a verb]

Sounds like a wonderful vacation. We break more "rules" each year as we relax more.

 

[stmize]

we plan to do this same thing in May. We are staying at Old Key West (dvc members on points) and are looking forward to the pool and just relaxing
We do however plan on taking cereal and buying some things to eat in the studio (also trying to be budget friendly since we are going for a longer stay in Nov for our annual trip)

 

[justskip70003]

we never follow a plan other than just go and let the magic happen. but we always make adr's for sci fi, coral reef and yak and yeti. we park hop like theres no tomorrow!

 

[JLS]

This was a nice post. A lot of families at Disney end up miserable because they either did not plan at all or enough (and thus have no idea what to expect and are miserable in crowds or other situations that could have been avoided) or families overplan and everyone is stressed out trying to stick to an itinerary that was likely overly ambitious to begin with. I made this mistake during our first trip (before we had kids). I was obsessed with trying to see and do "everything" and if something happened that got us off track I had a lot of trouble dealing.

I have changed a lot. Kids and years of experience have made me realize that a successful vacation is not measured by how much you do/accomplish, but whether you enjoy doing it and enjoy each other. Going commando with young children through hot/crowded parks is rarely enjoyable. Relaxing and enjoying your family, taking breaks and living in the moment usually leads to a better experience. I still plan 1 ADR per day so we have it, and generally what park we will visit (but that could be subject to change). That's it.

 

[kappyfamily]

Great review and so nice to read a positive one! Like the saying goes "if you go looking for negative you'll find it every time!".

Glad you had a great time!

 

[mmforme2009]

I've found over the years the more rules we break, the more relaxing fun trip we have......go figure

 

[Lyndria]

Wow! Your post is exactly how we go every time! Except we camp instead of staying at a resort and of course we buy food and bring it since we are camping.

I have family that works there, so we go free as well. It really does make a difference. It's nice to leave when you want to leave and not worry about the cost of the ticket.

Glad you had a great time!

 

[Aroura]

Last time we went, we went complete commando for 12 days!!! I am trying to remember how I could even walk at the end of it.. lol. This trip instead of having my boys being 4 and 6, they are 11 and 13!! It is our daughters first trip, but for some reason it feels different for us. We are NOT going to kill ourselves this trip. We have two days on property that we are not even going to the parks!! I am going to relax, not push my 4 year old daughter to GO GO GO, and as Bob as my Whitless, I am going to have the best dang vacation EVER!

 

[carrie1626]

Thanks for sharing.
Now that I've been as many times, I'm a believer in relaxing at WDW, too.
It's the best

 

[Disneywedding2010]

I make an ADR dinner for each night and pick out what parks to do on whatever days. However, we don't do fastpasses and we just take our time. We also incorporate resort days into our trip as well. I can't wait for our next trip in 40 days .

 

[mattsdragon]

But did you break any of the BIG rules?

Did you bring a refillable mug from a past visit?

Did you return after your FP expired?

Did you "gasp" allow your child to wear heelies while you snuck him/her into a ride where they were .00001 millimeter (I'm going metric for our Canadian friends) after pool hopping?

Live on the wild side.

(p.s. great post. . .we don't over plan either)

 

[bellenbuzz]

We don't get to WDW too often, last trip 5 years ago, so I am doing the ADR's, but on the FREE Dining Plan !!!
How Awesome is That?!?!?

However, we added 2 extra days to our trip so we can have some more free time to Do Whatever !! And enjoy the Resort more and shopping and water parks and stuff !!!

 

[Bullseye]

We just got back from WDW yesterday and this was a new kind of trip for us. We broke many of the rules we had set based on the unofficial guide, DIS, and past trips. Yet....we had an amazing time!

Here are the rules we ignored:
1. We did not make a park opening. This does not compute?

2. We did not make many ADRs. This does not compute?

3. We never wore sneakers. This does not compute?

4. We did not order from Garden Grocer or pack any food other than cereal. This does not compute?

5. Other than checking in and out we had no plan. Sensory Overload!!

That's great OP, we're going on year seven in a row and while I haven't thrown all planning to the wind, we have definitely loosened up our agenda quite a bit!! Sounds like it worked for you!!

 

[pjhootch]

We always break all those rules too. We have never had a bad time. We've gone when it was super crowded (Christmas, summer and spring break) and have yet to find something to complain about.

We travel light and go with the flow. I never make ADRs. I've been going to Disney (california first) since 1967 and I'm still irritated that I can't just walk into a restaurant and sit down, like in the old days. Even a few years ago we managed a same day reservation at Cinderella's castle on Christmas eve. Those days are gone so I just wing it. I've found a few really good places in Epcot that you can walk in even during really crowded days, if you just eat at an odd hour.

Since we aren't tied to any particular food reservations it makes it really simple to wander as we please and just float from place to place. One crowded day a couple of years ago my husband and I just threw in the towel and planted ourselves at the Rose and Crown and told the teenagers to make their own way back to the hotel when they finished whatever they wanted to do. I think we had been at the Princess and Pirates party at MK until midnight the night before and after a round of test track and a nice meal in Morocco, all we wanted was a few pints of beer and a comfy chair.

I know the lack of planning would drive some people crazy, but I just don't enjoy commando anymore. We haven't opened a park in years and to be honest I don't miss it one bit.

 

[mlittig]

It sounds like your vacation was perfect for you and I am glad you enjoyed it

 

[weheartdisney]

Glad your family had a wonderful, relaxed Disney vacation. Sounds like our style.

We always plan a ADR per day and plan which parks we'll go to that day, but no commando style - or extreme plans beyond that. Last August, on my birthday we stayed at the Poly the whole day....and ended it watching WISHES on the beach. We cancelled our ADR for that day and had one of the best days of our whole vacation. There are still things we've not seen and/or done at every park, but we feel like we will....one day.

 

[katoot]

My wife and I went for 8 days (6 at the park) at the end of January. Her first time there, and my first time in over 20 years. The only plans we really had were which parks on which days. We were never at any parks for rope drop. Only had three ADRs (one of which I cancelled). Only used Fast Pass once or twice (longest wait we had without was 30 minutes at Test Track on a Saturday). And in the end, we were able to see/do almost everything we wanted. Planning can be overrated (granted, we did go in January, not exactly a peak time). I thought the trip went better than I had imagined (of course, we did have some problems...but that's for another topic).

ETA: Oops, my mistake. We went to one rope drop at DHS. However, we didn't rush to TSM or any other ride. Just casually entered, got our pics taken with Stitch, then went to TSM and got Fast Passes for about two hours later.

 

[lllGurulll]

This year will be our first year of doing back to back at DW since we went last year. We won't be as worried about getting from one ride to another. WE will still RD and do the early morning thing but come lunchtime we will go into relaxed mode and whatever happens happens.