Last minute trip a month out…

[CdnWDWfan]

It has been 6 years since I was last at WDW and a return trip is overdue! My DD, 21, and I are considering a trip Oct 30-Nov 6 and debating whether we should go for it or not. With all the changes and the lateness of the booking, we know we are going to miss some favourites (e.g. no rez. left for O’hana’s, no Fantasmic….) and will not be able to experience all the new things. She wants to visit universal as well as she is a Harry Potter fan, so realistically we have 3 days for WDW plus a half day on arrival. We’ve never been at this time of year, and get the sense that the parks are super crowded now compared to when we used to go more often. I am a big planner, and in previous trips have all the days sorted out with where to go , what to see, and and reservations/passes booked in advance .

My question is - has anyone who is a detailed planner done a last minute trip around this time and still managed to enjoy a “wing it” kind of trip? Should we just really lower expectations, know that we won’t see much of the big items, and will have super long waits? Is it really an absolute zoo now ? (Will not be staying on site , so no 7am genie bookings) . Any tips?

We have the further complications of needing to keep things refundable as she hasn’t received her passport yet, and it will still be hurricane season, so I am not rushing to buy park tickets just yet.

Not a total newbie as my log in appears, I can’t get into my original account after several years absence from the boards…

FW 2005, 2006, WL 2006, offsite 2016

 

[jaceraden]

I'm a serial planner so I feel you. But we did a super last minute Christmas trip to Universal last year and it was great!

I think managing your expectations and having a background knowledge of the parks and must dos will help tremendously. Plus the crowd levels have gotten bigger than in years past but October/early November will be better than Christmas and I have no regrets about going then.

 

[CdnWDWfan]

I'm a serial planner so I feel you. But we did a super last minute Christmas trip to Universal last year and it was great!

I think managing your expectations and having a background knowledge of the parks and must dos will help tremendously. Plus the crowd levels have gotten bigger than in years past but October/early November will be better than Christmas and I have no regrets about going then.

Thanks! Yes, I am comfortable navigating our way around the parks and knowing our must-do’s. I’ve just never done a trip without months to plan out each detail and haven’t experienced the challenges of the newer crowd levels and genie/lightning lanes. I’d hate to finally get back and miss all the new stuff because it is impossible to see them without spending a lot of extra money on G+ etc

 

[mort1331]

By the sounds of it you know your way around, so you know the best plan always needs some flex.
We had 11 days booked in March 2020,,yup we were there when it crashed down. We arrived the thursday night, and 1 hour after checking in they announced the closing on Sunday. Now we had planned many new things, new dinning, down days, and waterpark days that we have never done before. Had the fastpasses booked exactly how we wanted to make the best of all. And then had to wipe it all out and start with a fresh slate within hours. Had 3 days to get 11 days in.
My advice and the one we worked with then. Prioritize what you want, and then make sure you get it. If that means paying the $15 each for LL for Guardians or ROTR then do it if you cant get the virtual que. Then enjoy the parks as you would,,enjoy the freedom and not being tied down. Especially if you know your coming back, as we did. We ate at places we never did before, took in HDDMR,,great time,,,and not tied down to fasspass times.
Truly opened our eyes to a new way.
Now we are going back this March,,and yes I have booked the parks,,because we have to ,,,but not sure if I will book anything else.

 

[hdrolfe]

I'd go. If you are certain you want to ride those with ILL, make sure you budget for that and plan to get up early enough to book them. Take advantage of the pre park opening time, and of course book which park you want to go to each day.

We went late last October and booked about 6 weeks in advance, I think? I was only sad I'd missed out on being able to get MNSSHP tickets. But we also don't really do sit down meals any more, sticking to quick service since then we can eat when hungry and not have to plan meals out. It was the first week of genie+ and while we booked a couple of the individual paid rides, the rest we just did without a plan. It was different from previous trips for sure, we missed fastpasses, but we got to do everything we wanted.

 

[CdnWDWfan]

By the sounds of it you know your way around, so you know the best plan always needs some flex.
We had 11 days booked in March 2020,,yup we were there when it crashed down. We arrived the thursday night, and 1 hour after checking in they announced the closing on Sunday. Now we had planned many new things, new dinning, down days, and waterpark days that we have never done before. Had the fastpasses booked exactly how we wanted to make the best of all. And then had to wipe it all out and start with a fresh slate within hours. Had 3 days to get 11 days in.
My advice and the one we worked with then. Prioritize what you want, and then make sure you get it. If that means paying the $15 each for LL for Guardians or ROTR then do it if you cant get the virtual que. Then enjoy the parks as you would,,enjoy the freedom and not being tied down. Especially if you know your coming back, as we did. We ate at places we never did before, took in HDDMR,,great time,,,and not tied down to fasspass times.
Truly opened our eyes to a new way.
Now we are going back this March,,and yes I have booked the parks,,because we have to ,,,but not sure if I will book anything else.

Thanks for the tips - what an experience, condensing 11 days down to 3! I’m used to 7-10 days trips, so I will definitely need to use your ideas!

 

[CdnWDWfan]

I'd go. If you are certain you want to ride those with ILL, make sure you budget for that and plan to get up early enough to book them. Take advantage of the pre park opening time, and of course book which park you want to go to each day.

We went late last October and booked about 6 weeks in advance, I think? I was only sad I'd missed out on being able to get MNSSHP tickets. But we also don't really do sit down meals any more, sticking to quick service since then we can eat when hungry and not have to plan meals out. It was the first week of genie+ and while we booked a couple of the individual paid rides, the rest we just did without a plan. It was different from previous trips for sure, we missed fastpasses, but we got to do everything we wanted.

Thank you - I think that is exactly what I have to get my head around…it will be a different trip than in the past and we just have to make the best of it. We aren’t able to get down so much anymore, so we should go while we can.

 

[CanucksRock]

I have done trips less than 2 months out (last being for Guardians AP preview) I highly recommend using the reservation finder (I use the free one on Touring Plans) if there are places you’d like to eat. I have been fairly successful when only booking for 2 people.

I use G+ simply because my body can’t handle standing in lines. (I can walk for days, not simply standing and major pain in my hip)

For my last trip, we really maximized early entry & going to MK on party days meant short lines.

 

[isabellea]

When staying offsite, you CAN book your first G+ at 7am. It’s the extra paid ILL$ (ROTR, FOP, 7DMT and Guardians) that you cannot book at 7am, for those you have to wait until park opening.

 

[sheilafri]

Go! Are you going to have a better time if you stay home? I decided the day before to go to an AP preview that I had. All I had was the preview ticket and a hotel ressie when I hit the road (20 minutes after houseguests left). It was a different trip from what I usually take but found out I loved it. Sounds like you’ve been there before and are likely to return so don’t feel like you have to do everything. Open your mind to new ways to do and appreciate WDW and have a great time.

 

[White Cat]

The Disney you were last at is no more. Things have changed so much. Just go with the flow.

 

[kuhltiffany]

I would go! Just check and make sure you can still get park reservations, they limit the number of people per day (if they are still doing that?).

 

[White Cat]

I would go! Just check and make sure you can still get park reservations, they limit the number of people per day (if they are still doing that?).

That’s right.