Last Minute Trip - Yay or Nay?

[wmjeffer]

Hi everyone!

I'm considering a last minute trip to Disney in mid-May. Hubby is going to be working crazy hours all month and the trip was suggested to have a little fun (he goes on this schedule 1-2 times a year and it tends to be a little overwhelming and stressful for the family, since I'm a SAHM without any family nearby!). It would be myself, my mom, and my three year old daughter (she has been to DW twice - November 2015 and November 2016).

But I'm having the worst time making this decision! All other Disney trips I've taken have been planned months in advance, so it's crazy to me to think we could be leaving in less than a month.

Have you ever done a last minute trip? Any advice or pros/cons I might not have considered? Is May about average, crowd-wise?

More info:
-We just went in November 2016 (myself, my mom, family friend and my almost 3 year old - we had a blast!)
-We were also planning another November trip this year, though we haven't booked anything yet. Hubby is a little concerned that it wouldn't be as special for our daughter having just gone 6 months before.
-Since we just went, we're not as stressed out about riding the "big name" rides that might be difficult to fastpass at this point. Honestly, we let my daughter call the shots most of the time last trip, which meant that we rode IASW and the Little Mermaid ride about 1678 times
-We're also ambivalent about dining - we would probably try to snag a few last minute ressies, but we're also fine with CS dining.
-We would probably road trip down, from VA, but that also gives me pause. Never done that kind of drive with my daughter before! We would spilt the driving over two days. I do think this may be my biggest hang-up, even though I HATE flying.
-I can't say that cost isn't a consideration, doing two trips in one year (I never saw us a big Disney family, even though we enjoy it!). But between his bonus and other things, we currently have enough for both trips already, but I'm mindful of what else we could do with that money as well, though nothing pressing and/or significant.
-Probably staying off-site, if we do go

I feel a little crazy considering it, but when I tried to brainstorm ideas for other vacations we could take that my daughter would enjoy, I really couldn't come up with anything that I thought she would love more than Disney. She still asks to go about once a week, lol.

What say you, DIS?

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I personally could never do a last minute trip. I have to start planning at least a year out. However, it sounds like you have the right mindset to make a trip like this successful. I've never been in May, so I can't speak to crowd levels, but I know the weather isn't too unbearable yet at that point in the year. Driving with a toddler won't be the most fun, but it's definitely doable. Less is more. Snacks, pipe cleaners, fidget toys, etc, to keep her occupied. Plan out potential bathroom stops along the route so you know what your options are for when you need to stop.

 

[caliope]

I'd say definitely go! We were kicking around the idea of a May trip but I'm now leaning against it because my son is finishing up PreK and I don't want him missing any more school days (we've gone on three vacations this year so he's already missed quite a few). If I didn't have that issue, I'd go on short notice with no question. Our last two trips were three months apart and there was no loss of magic for DS. We've also driven before, from MA, with a 2 year old, and survived that with lots of games, iPad, snacks, and breaks. If it's within your means, do it!

 

[ErinsMommy]

DH came home 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving said "lets go to Disney for Thanksgiving". I'm a planner, and not having the time to plan threw me way off. But it was honestly one of the best times we had - we just 'winged' it, actually got most of the ADRs I wanted, plus bonus was we were able to book a bounceback for our anticipated September trip that saved us a good deal of $$. Go for it!

 

[cubed]

I think a last minute trip will be fun. We planned our spring break trip in the 60 day window and was able to snag a lot of character meal reservations and some coveted BOG reservations.

With that said, I think a beach trip would also be awesome with your toddler. It's easy and laid back, especially since you only need to drive to OBX to find some nice areas for a family vacation. I also hate driving long distances and try to avoid them, especially when my boys are with me (5 and 2). We fly to most places b/c it's easier for me to get up with one of them during a flight vs making a million stops on the road.

 

[Hootch]

I would go. You could shorten it somewhat if you wanted to save for next November. The cognitive difference in six months for a three year old is pretty impressive. She will find new things to enjoy along with what she already knows. Your two questions are 1) will your husband feel like he is missing out and will she expect to go all of the time twice a year. (unlikely at that age.)

If you are looking at character meals, some of the resort offerings (not Chef Mickey's) may have openings around 10:00 AM. Ohana and 1900 Park Fare had openings when I looked recently for our trip. Cape May is another possibility.

 

[wmjeffer]

Driving with a toddler won't be the most fun, but it's definitely doable. Less is more. Snacks, pipe cleaners, fidget toys, etc, to keep her occupied. Plan out potential bathroom stops along the route so you know what your options are for when you need to stop.

Yes, I am quite nervous about the drive. But we would be doing about 5.5 hours of actual driving each day, plus breaks, so I'm hoping it won't be too horrible. You're definitely right about the bathroom situation - frequent potty breaks will be a must!

Our last two trips were three months apart and there was no loss of magic for DS. We've also driven before, from MA, with a 2 year old, and survived that with lots of games, iPad, snacks, and breaks. If it's within your means, do it!

Yeah, I really don't think she would "lose the magic" just because we would go again in 6 months! Plus, as I've told my husband, it's not like we're going to go to Disney every year as she gets older - this just seems like the best fit for her age at the moment!

DH came home 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving said "lets go to Disney for Thanksgiving". I'm a planner, and not having the time to plan threw me way off. But it was honestly one of the best times we had - we just 'winged' it, actually got most of the ADRs I wanted, plus bonus was we were able to book a bounceback for our anticipated September trip that saved us a good deal of $$. Go for it!

That's awesome! I love to plan, but there's something freeing about a last minute trip too - it feels like since our expectations won't be as high, we can slow down a bit and savor it more.

I think a last minute trip will be fun. We planned our spring break trip in the 60 day window and was able to snag a lot of character meal reservations and some coveted BOG reservations.

With that said, I think a beach trip would also be awesome with your toddler. It's easy and laid back, especially since you only need to drive to OBX to find some nice areas for a family vacation. I also hate driving long distances and try to avoid them, especially when my boys are with me (5 and 2). We fly to most places b/c it's easier for me to get up with one of them during a flight vs making a million stops on the road.

We definitely looked into beach-type trips too, but honestly, we're just not big beach people! I think we're the only people in VA who have no interest in the OBX lol.

I don't mind driving, just nervous to do it with a three year old! I really dislike flying (get motion sickness, even with meds), but we've flown the last two years and I deal with it when I have to!

 

[wmjeffer]

I would go. You could shorten it somewhat if you wanted to save for next November. The cognitive difference in six months for a three year old is pretty impressive. She will find new things to enjoy along with what she already knows. Your two questions are 1) will your husband feel like he is missing out and will she expect to go all of the time twice a year. (unlikely at that age.)

If you are looking at character meals, some of the resort offerings (not Chef Mickey's) may have openings around 10:00 AM. Ohana and 1900 Park Fare had openings when I looked recently for our trip. Cape May is another possibility.

Ha, hubby is definitely not worried about missing out. He likes to have time to himself when he's working these hours, and sometimes feels a little stressed about traveling with our daughter because of her age.

Thank you for the info about the character meals! When we started considering this, I actually did book a couple TS meals here and there for the time frame we're considering, just to have a little something We did a TON of character dining this time, so probably not quite as many this trip! lol

 

[Thing 1]

A few years ago, we did a last minute trip, planning less than a month out. We got the hotel we wanted and most restaurants. I say go for it! A girls trip will be great. We will actually be arriving mid-May too!

 

[Tink_83]

Totally do it, I've never planed a trip more then like 90 days out! The trick is to make what dining reservations you can and then keep checking up to and including the week of the trip. Especially if there is a must do for you, but honestly last year we did cape may for breakfast and I thought that was better then chef Mickey. So the less well known character meals can still be fun even if you wouldn't normally try it. It may get you to look outside what you typically do and try new Disney experiences!

And don't forget to look at garden grill in Epcot they always seem to have openings! Last year I kept hunting and got Akershus for 6 people and chef Mickey for all 7 of us. This year we decided on garden grill (but I've seen akershus come up a few times). My mom is going this time and requested fewer character meals to save money.

 

[wmjeffer]

Totally do it, I've never planed a trip more then like 90 days out! The trick is to make what dining reservations you can and then keep checking up to and including the week of the trip. Especially if there is a must do for you, but honestly last year we did cape may for breakfast and I thought that was better then chef Mickey. So the less well known character meals can still be fun even if you wouldn't normally try it. It may get you to look outside what you typically do and try new Disney experiences!

You're so right about getting dining reservations! Our last trip was planned within 6 months and we did have trouble securing ressies when we booked, but I kept checking, even during our trip, and we got some great ones, including Akershus for the next day! We will be doing that, plus saving a little money with CS meals. Other than BOG, I don't think we did a single CS meal! (we ate dinner in town or at our condo)

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I planned a trip a week in advance last year. I was able to get all of my dining reservations + the fastpasses I wanted. It is possible to do a last minute trip if you don't want the "popular" dining options (Be Our Guest) or the big name attractions. If you were to book now, you should still have plenty of availability for fastpasses depending on when you go in May since off-site guests can only book 30 days in advance. I say go for it if you want to do it.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I've been on two trips planned within the week. You don't actually have less fun if you plan last minute. You still get good reservations because people cancel as they firm up plans. Fast passes get moved around and such too.

I've lost NOTHING by going on last minute trips other than the fun of anticipating.

 

[skuttle]

Do it! We did it last year. We were scheduled to go to WDW for a long weekend for MNSSHP, but that was the weekend Hurricane Matthew hit so we cancelled the day we were supposed to check in and rebooked for Thanksgiving. We ended up extending our trip from just a long weekend to an entire week. We were able to snag FPs for everything we wanted, although some not at ideal times, but we still go them. We even made a few dining ADRs thanks to persistence, including Chef Mickey's (we were staying at CR).

 

[Liljo22]

Do not get discouraged by a last minute trip. I only have the luxury of planning a few days ahead of time. My in-laws live in Orlando and our WDW trips are pretty much "Hey we have a free day tomorrow let's squeeze a park day in." Throw on top of it we are only usually in town during Christmas break or the summer and you would think it would be a disaster. Not so. We get pretty much get what we want for FP minus the really hard ones and have a great time. Even can pull a SDMT or TSM at the parks if someone drops theirs. A month out is plenty of time to work in a well planned trip.

 

[leebee]

One of the best trips we ever took was planned 5 days in advance (traveling from Maine). Just don't get hung up on what you "have" to do. You recently were at the World and you'll be back again this year, so you won't miss out on anything; you either just did it, or you're going to have another opportunity to do it! Find things to do, places to eat, and someplace to sleep that fit your budget and then JUST DO IT!! You can book dining up until the last minute, or take the opportunity to branch out and try new places! Trust me, your DD won't be burned out on WDW at her age- you're gonna have a blast!

 

[loves to dive]

If you can swing it, I'd do it. We decided about two weeks before the week before Christmas to go down. I found us a room at Dolphin and my son and I drove down. I'm not a planner, we don't do FPs in advance or ADRs, it's all done the day before or the day of. We just don't even know what park we want to go to until we get out of bed.

 

[Disneylover99]

Last minute trips are the best!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

DO IT! Took my 3 year old three times over the last year, each time was magical. DO IT!

 

[Branflakes]

Do it if you can! Why not? You have time for good fast passes and some dining. We tend to be a little last minute too. We are going May 9, and just planned it mid February. And I have 3 BOG ressors. Just saying. We were also just at WDW late sept/early oct.
fly by the seat of your pants is a fun stress free trip for us! I know some are meticulous planners, and this way may actually be stressful, but for us it works and we always have such a great time! Do it!