Plan Not to Plan???

[mom2rtk]

Park Hoppers probably make things easiest. Or have a plan B if you know something could change and then know your priorities. In May Disney went from having had Star Wars fireworks every night to suddenly only 4 nights a week with only 2 weeks notice. We don't do park hoppers and of course our DHS day suddenly had no fireworks. Switching would have meant losing CRT and BBB which was our priority so no fireworks. We also try not to talk up things that could change to the kids so they aren't disappointed. For our next trip I'm going to assume that last years schedule holds. If not, I've arranged to have an Epcot day without a tough to get ADR and will try not to put a FEA FP that day so we can pull a last minute switcheroo if need be. Annoying but what're ya gonna do. You go to Disney, you're stuck with their rules.

What you are describing is exactly what my friend went through with lots of last minute curve balls coming at their schedule. She doesn't have hoppers, nor does she feel like rewarding Disney with $300 additional (the cost of upgrading their family to hoppers) for complicating things last minute. Besides, they stay offsite and tend not to take afternoon breaks and don't want to spend time traveling between parks just because Disney swapped things around on them.

 

[miamimi]

Really? Even for the top tier rides in Epcot and DHS?

My friend is going later this week and she couldn't even find the times she wanted 30 days out. She lucked into 7DMT one of her MK days, but had to make due with late at night, which blocks her from scheduling any additional FPs all day. Thankfully she didn't have hopes up for FEA, as that was definitely a no go.

I think you need to be careful telling people things are easy to move around. I'm sure some are, but if they are looking for any of the top tier rides, it's very much hit or miss.

I had a friend who went during F & W, but she wouldn't listen to me regarding advanced planning because she had read somewhere that FP+'s were easy to obtain same day. Well, she was very disappointed that they couldn't get FP's for FEA and 7DMT. I wasn't surprised.

I think it's misleading to say that people can get same day FP's or switch things up on the fly...unless you're happy with FP's for Spaceship Earth and Haunted Mansion.

 

[thelittlemermaid2]

We still plan, plan, plan, but now I have to prepare myself and go with the mindset that the plan needs to be flexible and if we deviate from the plan it really is okay!

 

[Klayfish]

Really? Even for the top tier rides in Epcot and DHS?

My friend is going later this week and she couldn't even find the times she wanted 30 days out. She lucked into 7DMT one of her MK days, but had to make due with late at night, which blocks her from scheduling any additional FPs all day. Thankfully she didn't have hopes up for FEA, as that was definitely a no go.

I think you need to be careful telling people things are easy to move around. I'm sure some are, but if they are looking for any of the top tier rides, it's very much hit or miss.

I think you need to be careful in how you quote people. You conveniently left out the first part of my statement. I said with limited exception, FP+ is relatively easy to change, even on the fly. FEA and 7DMT would certainly qualify as those limited exceptions. No doubt about it. But the rest of the top tier rides, no I don't think it's impossible, or even all that difficult, to get them and/or make changes. We've done it many, many times for TT, ToT, RnR, Soarin', TSMM, just to name a few. I'm not implying you get your pick of the litter at any time with those rides, so please don't misquote me, but changing them is very much possible. We've had FP+ for those rides, which we grabbed 30 days out, but changed the times the morning we walked into the park. We've also grabbed them as a 4th FP+. Again, not complete pick of the litter, but not impossible by any stretch. Yes, if you expect to walk in one morning and just get 7DMT and FEA, then that's crazy, never going to happen. But those two rides are in a different zip code than the others when it comes to FP+.

I just don't fall into the mentality of needing to plan endlessly or the trip will be a disappointment. I don't see it that way and don't think anything I said is bad advice. It's all perspective and how you like to plan. If someone were to give me magical time off work, buy me a ticket to WDW and said "You must leave today", I'd hop in my car and leave right now, no advanced plans. I can assure you I'd have a wonderful time, and with limited exceptions, get on the rides I want to.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think you need to be careful in how you quote people. You conveniently left out the first part of my statement. I said with limited exception, FP+ is relatively easy to change, even on the fly. FEA and 7DMT would certainly qualify as those limited exceptions. No doubt about it. But the rest of the top tier rides, no I don't think it's impossible, or even all that difficult, to get them and/or make changes. We've done it many, many times for TT, ToT, RnR, Soarin', TSMM, just to name a few. I'm not implying you get your pick of the litter at any time with those rides, so please don't misquote me, but changing them is very much possible. We've had FP+ for those rides, which we grabbed 30 days out, but changed the times the morning we walked into the park. We've also grabbed them as a 4th FP+. Again, not complete pick of the litter, but not impossible by any stretch. Yes, if you expect to walk in one morning and just get 7DMT and FEA, then that's crazy, never going to happen. But those two rides are in a different zip code than the others when it comes to FP+.

I just don't fall into the mentality of needing to plan endlessly or the trip will be a disappointment. I don't see it that way and don't think anything I said is bad advice. It's all perspective and how you like to plan. If someone were to give me magical time off work, buy me a ticket to WDW and said "You must leave today", I'd hop in my car and leave right now, no advanced plans. I can assure you I'd have a wonderful time, and with limited exceptions, get on the rides I want to.

Sorry for the misquote. I did not intend to misrepresent you and will go back and edit my post.

The fact is that my point stands. I would never classify it as easy to move things around, even with "limited exception". I think that really creates a false expectation.

 

[Klayfish]

Tell ya what, we'll have a stare down, first one to blink looses....here goes...

No harm, no foul. This is more a subjective conversation than objective. Your views on it will depend on personal feelings, beliefs, etc... Just like you, it's not my intent to mislead either or give a false expectation. At the same time, I honestly feel so bad for people who seem to get quite worried or anxious over what they may perceive as an overwhelming amount of planning they feel they have to do. It's a shame, I'd hate for someone to get so stressed over it all that they don't enjoy their trip. My perspective is that planning isn't an absolute must, and you can do things on the fly. Certainly not trying to give the expectation or impression that you can just walk into WDW and do what you want, when you want. At the same time, I don't believe that you must set all plans really far in advance and once you do they are set in stone. For example, because of WDW FP+ rules, we could only set FP+ for the first 7 days of our 17 day trip (we were AP holders staying off property). So that meant we couldn't make FP+ reservations for day 8 of our trip until we finished day 1...so that meant we could only book FP+ 7 days ahead. No, we didn't get FEA or 7DMT, but we pretty much got every other ride we were looking for. Maybe not at the optimal time we'd have liked, but still during reasonable hours. And honestly, I'd guess that about 20-30% of the FP+ plans we make wind up getting changed on the fly that day because of various reasons.

The ADRs I've heard are an entirely different story. Those I've heard are a real pain to get and even more of a pain to change.

 

[Corbinator]

Even one day of 'wing it' is too much time wasted for us. Our best days were the most planned out. When we didn't have a plan for even ONE thing (lunch Friday at Epcot), we walked aimlessly for an hour and weren't really that pleased with what we ended up eating. So we learned that planning and having a backup plan for time changes/transportation issues/etc is better for us than no plan at all. If you want to be somewhat on the fly, just master the app on your phone for fp+ and see what pops up for your 4th or 5th. We got an extra Mine Train one day and crossing the park to get on it wasn't bad at all! That's the only element of spontaneity I can deal with!

 

[Johndubbya]

Even one day of 'wing it' is too much time wasted for us. Our best days were the most planned out. When we didn't have a plan for even ONE thing (lunch Friday at Epcot), we walked aimlessly for an hour and weren't really that pleased with what we ended up eating. So we learned that planning and having a backup plan for time changes/transportation issues/etc is better for us than no plan at all. If you want to be somewhat on the fly, just master the app on your phone for fp+ and see what pops up for your 4th or 5th. We got an extra Mine Train one day and crossing the park to get on it wasn't bad at all! That's the only element of spontaneity I can deal with!

No kidding... I have driven my wife crazy with talking about the details of this trip so much in fact she refers to Florida as the F - Word... I finally made her sit down and look at menu's so that we could have atleast our dinners planned. I will start bothering her about 75 days out to look at rides so that I can plan the FP+. So much work for 4 days of our 6 day trip..

 

[dkrauss]

No kidding... I have driven my wife crazy with talking about the details of this trip so much in fact she refers to Florida as the F - Word...

LOL!

Doug

 

[Monki]

I agree, Disney planning is extremely time consuming. I have spent hours planning our family trip in December, and still feel ill prepared. You have got to remember there HAVE to be people who still show up without ADR's, FP, or a plan and still have a great time. That being said, we are planners, and that will never do! I think your strategy is good, and matches mine. I compared many of the crowd calendars (none matched exactly, and have changed as we get closer) Do the best you can to select what suits your needs, make yourself a spreadsheet or whatever works for you, and change as needed. I felt much better once I had a "skeleton" schedule on board. We only have 3 ADR's, and plan to do the rest counter service or whatever we are near when we are hungry. If you are more food centered, let your ADR "wants" drive where you go and what you do, and plan the rest accordingly. Good luck and happy planning!

 

[GillianP1301]

I haven't really changed how I plan over the last several years. I find that a good plan allows for flexibility, more so than winging it. So I lay my plan out and then as changes get announced or new things introduced closer to my trip date, I adjust accordingly.

 

[Kae]

I think it's important to set priorities. I usually tell people to pick only 3 things per park that are priorities , and the rest would be bonus. Having a flexible plan and being open to change is key

Yup, then I say the rest is just gravy on the day. I will say with the app, our trip in April I made FP+ changes the day of quite a few times.

I will say we have eaten at some great places last minute in the past

 

[Canooknic]

We have the advantage of going often but even when we went only every other year, we were more of the seat of the pants type people. It's just more relaxing for us to go with the flow. With FP, if we book any in advance (which we rarely do since we don't normally know until the night before what park we want to go to the next day) we will book them starting around 10. I'm an early riser so I might get up, go for my morning walk, eat breakfast then head to the park we decided on and get in stand by for a few rides. My son is not an early riser, so he tends to sleep until around 9, get up, eat breakfast and make that 10 FP. We have been known to be walking by a ride we have FPs for later in the day and the line be short enough that we can do standby, rearrange our FPs while in line and still make whatever FP we had next. We are not the type of family that worries if we have to stand in a line, if we want to ride the ride bad enough, we'll stand in a line. We don't book ADRs in advance. We've always had fun going to guest services and asking them to find us something in x park that night or at x time in any place that night. We've really found some good restaurants that way. Or we will just be walking around a park and decide we want a sit down meal that night and hop on MDE and find something. We always have PHs so if we find it too crowded in one park, we just head over to another one. Our vacations are very stress free, we pretty much know what we want to ride but if we miss it, it's no big deal. There is so much to see and do at the parks and resorts that frankly, even after going for over 33 years, we still find new things.

We would be great vacation buddies!! This is exactly how my hubby and I have always done our trips