Most Spontaneous/Last Minute DVC Trip You've Ever Taken?

[Nennie]

We took my son when he was 6 months old. (This was after years of infertility and the loss of his older brother at birth, so it was a huge dream come true for us!) I did my "victory lap" of walking down main street pushing that stroller, and probably cried no less than 20 times that trip, b/c I was so happy.

On the flight home, DH just looked at me and said "Lets do it again next week!" So we came home, unpacked did laundry and re-packed the same clothes, and 4 days later we were on a flight heading back to WDW!!!

Such great memories of those back-to-back trips!!!!

 

[scottashackleton]

I saw this in the Trip Planning boards and thought it'd be a fun topic here.

What is the most last minute/spontaneous Disney (or DVC) trip you've ever taken?

Here's ours:

On the Friday of a Memorial day weekend in 2011, we decided at 2pm we were going to fly out to Orlando that same night. We're from LA.

Got on the phone w/AA at 4pm and booked a 10pm flight out of LAX to MCO, red eye. Got off work at 6pm, packed for an hour, left at 7pm and got to the airport at 8pm. Took my then 2 year old with me.

DVC had no availability, so we Hotwired and got the Peabody Orlando for $125, booked a rental car and stayed for 2 nights and flew back on Monday, Memorial Day.

We are from CA and we literally had just been at VWL 3 weeks prior on May 5th.

DH was super supportive and it was actually really fun (the red eye sucked, though, and it ate up all of our frequent flyer miles).

It was hilarious b/c my brother (who was in the process of becoming a DVC member through resale) had texted me earlier that morning to double check availability for him at Saratoga Springs for different dates. On takeoff I get a text that said, "I asked you to check availability w/Disney over the phone and NOT IN PERSON." Hehe.

It's really his fault. He had me call DVC to check availability...and while I was on the phone we decided to go ourselves

ummm 7 months?? Haha I don't think that is considered spontaneous but we're always looking out to the next possible time we can go!

 

[ddoconnell]

Decided on Tuesday to go to WDW on Thursday. Called and got a 2 BR at AKL and celebrated my birthday in style! Fantastic weekend!!!

 

[edk35]

My most spontaneous was many years ago before I was married. The guy I was dating at the time and I booked our flight the same day we flew down. It was a Sat. and we called in sick from work for that Monday. It was crazy!! We literally left within a couple of hours of booking!! We stayed off site right outside the main gate.

 

[sweetdana]

We took my son when he was 6 months old. (This was after years of infertility and the loss of his older brother at birth, so it was a huge dream come true for us!) I did my "victory lap" of walking down main street pushing that stroller, and probably cried no less than 20 times that trip, b/c I was so happy.

On the flight home, DH just looked at me and said "Lets do it again next week!" So we came home, unpacked did laundry and re-packed the same clothes, and 4 days later we were on a flight heading back to WDW!!!

Such great memories of those back-to-back trips!!!!

OMG HOW AWWWWWWWWWESOME !

Mine is not this good; however a Frid in Dec, I was surfing Dis as usual at work, and randomly went to the rent/trade board. I saw a 5 day trip leaving sund for 600 $ ish.. (AP holder), I priced air and found 2 tickets reasonably priced, and a few emailes later, and a few $$ off the asking price, my and my DD5ish at the time went. DH stayed home to work, he has way less vacation, and a way less understanding boss than I It was fantastic.

 

[disneybirds]

Our most spontaneous trip was when we first signed up for DVC. I kept calling to see if we were in the system. The day we were in the system, I booked a room for the next week. We were able to celebrate my daughter's 7th birthday at DW. My BIL flew in from Oregon and we drove down. Had a great time and stayed at OKW. Now, we tend to book at 11 mos out. Always thinking of the next vacation!

 

[Pig Pen]

A few weeks ago we were driving from VB to our home near Lakeland. It was a Saturday and we had just spent 2 wonderful nights at VB and weren't ready to go home yet - so I called to see if there was any availability at WDW. Yep, SSR had studios available, so we booked one and went to F&W on Sat and MK on Sunday!

 

[WRWDisney]

Our spontaneous trip was due to weather. We were scheduled to fly out on a Wednesday for a 3 day cruise. There was a forecast for a big snowstorm in Chicago and by Monday afternoon they had cancelled all of Wednesday's flights! Within 2 hours, I had OKW booked, flights changed, rental car and the dog dropped off at the kennel. Ended up having 2 bonus days at the parks prior to our cruise!

Yep, did one like that when we lived in the UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) back in 2000. We were going down on a Tuesday the week before Thanksgiving (business trip- taking the whole family down early, staying late). When we got to work on Monday, they were calling for the first real snowstorm of the winter. I called the little airport we flew out of (much better choice than the 800 number) and told them that we both knew they would end up having to rebook everyone flying out tomorrow, how would they lake to take care of four seats today. They said no problem, would have to charge me a $100change fee, but since the other three tickets were on miles, no charge there. Left work at 10am to head home. Rescheduled the animals kennel arrival dates, packed, added a hotel night and a rental car day, picked the kids up from school/daycare and were flying out by 12:30. Hectic, but we got an extra 24 hours rather than loosing multiple days due to the snow delay.

Also, we once planned a trip on a Wednesday and arrived on Saturday at 6 a.m.

Both of these were pre-DVC for us. Now, we plan at lease 11 months out (even if we cannot book then).

 

[athenna]

A couple of years ago, we had gone for a drive...We live close to BOS Logan, so we hear plans all the time, but as one was flying overhead, I made a joke to my fiance about ''wouldn't it be nice to just take off when ever you want'' we were on the first flight the next morn to SSR

Another time, we called JetBlue & MS from the Beach Club pool bar and changed flights and added a night.


We've done stuff like that a few times since....But those days are gone for the moment...Less money than we used to have...And now we have a dog so we cant just drop everything and go.

 

[MomofStitchandLewis]

We had just completed our purchase of DVC and as a teacher, the following week was my Spring Break. On the Friday fo my Spring Break, I called DVC to see if we could stay that very night and the next night at our new home - AKV.

The cast member was dumbfounded and said "Tonight?" I said "Yes" and she said again "Tonight?" and I said "Yes." She had to put me on hold because she said she'd have to call AKV directly! We were able to book it and it turned out to be a fantastic first trip home.

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

My wife and I have been slowly loading up an old (like-new retro Samsonite carry-on suitcase that we found at an antique store) just for the two of us, with three days or so of varied clothing and supplies.

It's always in the trunk of the car that we would take to leave at the airport, so we're always "set to go!"

The key we need to crack is how to land a cheap flight on Southwest Airlines. In my mind, a last-minute call to SWA to check for seats they'd like to fill would be ideal, but from everything I've seen they don't operate in that manner. Anyone have tips on that element?

If we can only maintain a "reserve" fund of DVC points that we DON'T have planned already, we'd just call from the airport or once we arrive at Orlando. We're somewhat experienced (as so many of you are as well) at thinking on our feet while at WDW, so a room via points or cash wouldn't be a huge challenge to arrange. Perhaps alsoma quick call to the good folks at Owner's Locker. After all, it's supposed to be a "last minute trip," right?

Annual Passes? Always with us. Disney gift cards? Every so often we'll pick up a couple and file them away in the last-minute suitcase.

The only trick is a supply of those items that wouldn't do well either roasting or freezing in the trunk. Most liquids and pastes, medications... Those would require a quick stop at Conch Flats...or wherever else we might elect to stay (oops, almost pre-planned that destination!)

There's our plan - always ready to bug-out to Lake Buena Vista!

 

[emmababy]

Last year we decided to go to WDW for Christmas 2 WEEKS BEFORE and we got a room!! Was so amazed. We did our Christmas the week before, Mickey wrote the kids a letter inviting them down!

We packed up presents in the floorboards of the Van. We drove all night and got there at 7:00 AM. Couldn't get in our room, so we made it to DHS by rope drop lol! We had a great time! Saw all the wonderful things that WDW did at Christmas. We stayed until Dec 26 and then came home. It was 80 degrees everyday!

I am a planner maximus, so this last minute was awesome! And we got into Ohana!