Planning by not planning...

[kitayama]

I have never been to a Disney World before, but I go to Disneyland quite often. When I go to Disneyland, I just go and do whatever I have the patience to do. I never use fast passes and I always gave a great time. I have an annual pass and I go there to relax and have fun in a great environment.

We purchased Premier passes this year (instead of Premium Disneyland passes) and we are planning our first trip to Disney World. My wife made the executive decision that we needed a dining plan, and she made all sorts of reservations. I didn't disagree too much because we need to eat and I know how expensive food at Disney is. Now we are discussing fast pass plus reservations, and I am having an extremely difficult time with this. I have never planned while at a Disneyland and have always had a lot of fun. I have never used a fast pass. If my kids want to do something, we wait. This gives us time to play while waiting in line, and long Disney queues are usually interesting. I am wondering what my experience will be like if I plan to not plan everything. Are the lines much worse at Disney World then they are at Disneyland???

I am not worried about maximizing my time at Disney World because I will be in Orlando for 15 days (7 days In a timeshare near Disney World, and 8 days in a family suite at the Art of Animation) and I am sure that I will return to Disney World on another trip (we are already thinking about a Christmas visit). I just want to relax and have fun with my kids, and I was wondering if I could do that without planning down to every last fast pass. I don't want to suck the fun out of the trip by over planning, I don't want to turn on alarms to remind me to get to an appointment (this is a vacation), but I do want to have fun and I am not sure if I need to do more planning and set alarms to get to places on time to have fun. Phew, I need a vacation to relax from thinking about this vacation, this is exhausting...

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

Don't think of it as appointments. Think of it as an insurance policy. It makes it so that your top three rides are available to you even if you have a leisurely morning. I would say plan them and if you don't feel like using them then don't or if you change your mind then change your selection. I'm pretty sure I've never heard of a stampede to a ride at DLC. It happens at WDW.

 

[TinaRN]

How exciting to get to go to WDW for 15 days! With that much time, you probably don't have to do too much extra planning. The time of year you are going to WDW will make a difference in how much you have to plan. The main thing is to just enjoy the planning process! Don't look at it as work. Make it fun and include your family. It will only be stressful and unenjoyable if you make it that way. Unfortuanately I've never been to Disneyland, but from what I have heard of it, it is similar to Magic Kingdom which is only ONE of WDW's parks! I would think it would involve more planning just based on that. I wish you a "Magical" vacation to The World!

 

[Novakm]

I had kind of the same discussion with my Wife, with the roles reversed. I figured we needed a plan, she did not. We ended up doing both. I planned out each day. In great detail. She did not participate in the planning because it would stress her out. In the end, we had the best of both worlds. She went in with no plan. When she said, so what should we do next, I had an answer. I think the key was for me to let her be herself, not planning, and for me to not get upset if my plan was not followed.

We did not follow my plan exactly, but pretty close. From her perspective, it was like everything was spontaneous, but with no bad surprises. Our conversations went something like this:

Her "What should we do next?"
Me "I don't know, but there is no waiting at ETWB, I have a fastpass."
Her "Great, lets do that"

At a different time it was:
Her "lets do the treehouse next, it's right here"
Me "ok"

This was right after rope drop. Of course, i wanted to say lets come back to this lame attraction when the good ones are more crowded, but I held my tongue.

I got my way with the plan about 75% of the time. She toured with no plan at all. Worked out great for both of us.

 

[crostorfer]

I love Disneyland. I love how laid back and relaxed it is, I love that you don't HAVE to stay onsite, I love that I don't need reservations for dining, and I love paper fastpasses. Disneyland is magical, it's a great three-four day trip.

Disney World, however, is a completely different beast. You can't even compare the two, they are polar opposite experience. Still great, but very, very, VERY different. Like, apples and oranges different. The food, the crowds, the attitude, the logistics, the size, nothing is even close other than they have several of the same rides and the Disney name.

You can do whatever you want, it's your vacation. However, going to WDW with no plan, ESPECIALLY around Christmas time is like rolling over and saying, "Thank you sir, may I have another", if you know what I mean. Don't shoot yourself in the foot. Like another poster said, think of all the advanced planning as an insurance policy. If you end up cancelling everything because you don't need it, or not using your fastpasses, so be it. It's better to have them in place though, just in case.

 

[dougsmom98]

We have been to Disneyland (loved it and can't wait to go back) and WDW I think you need to at least get your fast pass reservations for each day. Some days the stand by lines at WDW are insane. This is particularly important if you are not going to be at the parks at rope drop. If your wife made dining reservations, you will at least have an idea what park you will be in on what day and that should make fast pass reservations a little easier.

 

[JimmyV]

Keep in mind that planning is a strategy, not a requirement. You absolutely can "free form" your trip with nothing plotted out except where you will rest your head at night. Just know going in that you will wait upwards of 45-90 minutes for rides that others are walking right on to, and that many restaurants will turn you away or make you wait an hour or more for a table if you did not make an ADR. If all of this is OK with you, then enjoy WDW in your usual manner. If this is not OK, then there is only one option and that is to do some planning.

For me, my vacation time is too valuable to waste. The way I look at it, advanced planning results in relaxed vacations. I don't have to decide three times where I want to eat (if the first and second places I chose can't accommodate me). I only choose once. One decision is easier to make than three. As the poster above pointed out, planning can be transparent when done right. When my wife wants to know what we are doing next, I have a pretty good idea, but can still be flexible. I just need to remember to build in bathroom breaks and espresso stops!

 

[BigCheese]

We too are DLR vets planning a WDW trip for this fall (rather than start a new thread I thought it easier to add here). I've been reading a lot of threads on the WDW forum and everything is just so overwhelming. We just got back from DLR so I'm in a planning mood but the MBs and FP+ scare me a bit, but everyone has given their thoughts and experiences here so it helps a ton. But I have a question about ADR. If you haven't booked your stay yet with MDE and don't have hotel reservations yet, can you still book ADRs? And on a totally different topic, do many people feel that rope drop for an AM EMH is worth it in terms of getting a lot done? At DLR EMH is amazing, but I know a lot of people avoid the EMH parks at WDW. But we are early risers and would love to avoid crowds in the AM and take advantage of that time in the mornings.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We too are DLR vets planning a WDW trip for this fall (rather than start a new thread I thought it easier to add here). I've been reading a lot of threads on the WDW forum and everything is just so overwhelming. We just got back from DLR so I'm in a planning mood but the MBs and FP+ scare me a bit, but everyone has given their thoughts and experiences here so it helps a ton. But I have a question about ADR. If you haven't booked your stay yet with MDE and don't have hotel reservations yet, can you still book ADRs? And on a totally different topic, do many people feel that rope drop for an AM EMH is worth it in terms of getting a lot done? At DLR EMH is amazing, but I know a lot of people avoid the EMH parks at WDW. But we are early risers and would love to avoid crowds in the AM and take advantage of that time in the mornings.

Anyone can book ADRs online with an MDE account (and a credit card) at 180 days out.

 

[JimmyV]

And on a totally different topic, do many people feel that rope drop for an AM EMH is worth it in terms of getting a lot done? At DLR EMH is amazing, but I know a lot of people avoid the EMH parks at WDW. But we are early risers and would love to avoid crowds in the AM and take advantage of that time in the mornings.

Rope Drop for EMH can be a bit of overkill. But since they usually (always?) last only an hour, it makes sense to use as much of that hour as possible. If regular park hours at the MK start at 8:00, that means Disney is expecting a busy day so I do RD and arrive around 7:40-7:45. If EMHs at the MK start at 8:00, I might arrive anywhere from 7:55-8:10.

 

[BigCheese]

Are AM EMHs packed at WDW parks? I just ask because it seems that it's 50/50 in terms of people going to a park with EMH (whether AM or PM) and avoiding it. If a park has AM EMH and it's not too crowded, why would one choose to avoid this park? After the first hour, there isnt any additional benefit since the EMH is over, is there?

 

[BigCheese]

Thanks ArwenMarie and JimmyV. Very helpful input!!

 

[themommy]

We have been to Disneyland (loved it and can't wait to go back) and WDW I think you need to at least get your fast pass reservations for each day. Some days the stand by lines at WDW are insane. This is particularly important if you are not going to be at the parks at rope drop. If your wife made dining reservations, you will at least have an idea what park you will be in on what day and that should make fast pass reservations a little easier.

Totally agree! Don't forget that you can change the fast passes at any time. While we were there at Christmas I did this a few times. If you see something you want to do...do it and just change the fast pass time or skip it all together. I am sure you will have a blast!

 

[PinkBudgie]

DLR vets and DLR AP holders here too. (we let them expire and are just getting 10 day parkhoppers though). DH and I grew up going to DL. Unless it is Blue Bayou, we can pretty much walk up to any place we want to eat in the summer.

We are going for our first ever trip to WDW this June. I'm so excited to see new rides and attractions. But it sure is crazy! We are not doing the dining plan. Looked in to it and realized we just don't eat that much food! We might have an ice cream cone and call it lunch.

For our 13 night stay I made 6 ADRs, one fireworks dessert (that's dinner!) and one tour (with lunch). The rest of the time we will find counter service. I sort of planned out our parks for the day because you have to when you make ADRs but we can park hop for the evening so it is a little open. Since I haven't been, I don't know what we will want to do. And when FP+ choices open up for us I don't even know which rides have long lines.

We have two days at the end where I don't have any park ADRs and I don't know where we are going. I was hoping to leave those open so we could go back and visit what we like best. The upshot is, I'm trying to plan enough so we are not disappointed at not getting in to anything, but still leave some room to be flexible.

 

[seus-mouse]

Loved the thread title. It appealed to my zen sensitivities! lol

And it's kinda how we do half our planning. When our daughters were little ones the planning was more intense, now that they're grown we are much more flexable with what we do in relation to what we have pre-planned.

DH likes to plan and research all year long, he gets that kid look in his eyes when he plans and lets us know some new fun tidbit of fun info. The same look we get when we first arrive at one of the parks. So we have a pretty good idea of what's happening THAT day with regards to restaurants, parades, lightshows, rides...etc When planning meets weather sometimes the backup plans kick in.
However we have had the most fun being' accidental tourists' too. Heck, we got lost driving around the Magic Kingdom and ended up on a service road only to find a really cool bridge that allows the boats to travel across it from Downtown Disney and going to the resorts. An engineering marvel that our youngest DD was thrilled to take pics of as she has engineering interests.
We also got to see the trains turn around and hook/unhook cars at the end of the line.

There is so much excellent info here and I guess my point is have fun doing things your way and maybe a combination of planning info and no-planning spur of the moment adventure is the best way to approach The World. It's been quite some time since we have been to Disney Land so I don't remmebr much other than it was smaller with fewer folks.

Hope this helps,
have fun,
Holly

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

Don't think of it as appointments. Think of it as an insurance policy. It makes it so that your top three rides are available to you even if you have a leisurely morning. I would say plan them and if you don't feel like using them then don't or if you change your mind then change your selection. I'm pretty sure I've never heard of a stampede to a ride at DLC. It happens at WDW.

This poster verbalized our thoughts. We make a plan so that we have a course of action in mind. If the fast passes are not going to work then - change the selection or don't use them.

 

[kitayama]

You were all helpful!!!
We will probably book fast passes in the parks where we have dining reservations and use them or not. I will stop stressing over everything.
I came to the DIS boards to try to get a feel for the parks, and I must say you people are great here!

 

[Planogirl]

Your style of touring is exactly what we are about. I would however stick to the plan to schedule those hard to get fastpasses and then just enjoy. If your trip was shorter I might feel differently but you should be fine with more than 2 weeks.