Planning vs. Flexibility - How do you balance them?

[Accident]

Is there a penalty for canceling an ADR after a certain time? I see a lot of people mention booking ahead of time and then rearranging as needed later.

it says 24 hours, the truth is day before is fine and if you happen to miss it, I've called and they've removed it after the fact.

 

[Westcoastwild]

So, is it mostly recommended to use the EMH's? I was wondering if maybe the opposite might be true, making it so the parks were even more crowded on EMH days. I wasn't sure if I should be trying to avoid EMH parks or make sure I do them!

The ADR thing is really confusing me. It's hard to predict what kind of schedule will end up being "our style" when we aren't Disney vets yet! It encouraging to hear that ADR's might not be as necessary as I'd feared. I would prefer to have greater flexibility to choose that week or even that day! I don't mind picking one or two special places but the thought of planning out every meal was scaring me.

You can really just guesstimate ADRs based on your daily lives. I've just learned to match ADRs with what we're doing that day and schedule them based on how I need to eat at home. So even if we're feeling lazy, or tired, it's still possible to make it and what it comes down to is that even the people who say they aren't hungry still need to eat.


I mean I definitely have cancelled a few and I'm okay with that. But I prefer to have them in place so there's no last minute scramble. If someone wants to suggest something that works better or something they are craving, I'll roll with that. But I hate the "I'm hungry. What do you want? I don't know..." conversations.

Last minute ADRs work great if you aren't picky about what time you eat. I'll eat any time, but some family members have to eat between 6-7 or they become cranky. So who is with you matters as well. Those same people don't like to plan so I plan for them out of self defense.

I agree that Park hoppers are a big help.

I don't know how much travelling you do otherwise but eating out in most major cities requires advance reservations, at least on weekends, so Disney is actually less stressful to me. Less space, less choice, more high volume restaurants with long hours.

 

[HydroGuy]

So, is it mostly recommended to use the EMH's? I was wondering if maybe the opposite might be true, making it so the parks were even more crowded on EMH days. I wasn't sure if I should be trying to avoid EMH parks or make sure I do them!

The ADR thing is really confusing me. It's hard to predict what kind of schedule will end up being "our style" when we aren't Disney vets yet! It encouraging to hear that ADR's might not be as necessary as I'd feared. I would prefer to have greater flexibility to choose that week or even that day! I don't mind picking one or two special places but the thought of planning out every meal was scaring me.

I almost always skip EMH parks. There is a difference of opinion on this. The school I go with says skip EMH parks because they are more crowded with Disney hotel guests.

I never plan every meal. I know the walk-up (counter service) places I like and try to get there before it gets too crowded. As for ADR's I usually average about one per day - either lunch or dinner. You can get decent options even 2 months ahead - about the time you are choosing your FP if you are staying onsite.

If there is an ADR you want and cannot get, TP has a cool, free utility that will check 2 options for you and let you know if something comes open:

https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/reservation-finder

 

[SDFgirl]

I always have a plan formed, but am okay with cancelling and/or adjusting. The only non-negotiables are ADRs that we'll get charged for. We highly value down time at WDW so if people are cranky or weather is iffy, we just go with the flow.

 

[Juliet0778]

Planning makes me happy. Truly. Winging it just makes me anxious, (I grew up with a Dad who liked "spontaneous" vacations which werefrequently disastrous) and that's why I adore Disney planning. I don't freak out if we need to adjust, but it's SO nice to have a rough guideline for me.

 

[daae3]

Everyone has a different vacation style. I am a planner but my family are go with the flow people. Unfortunately a Disney vacation does not always allow for go with the flow travel. Our first Disney vacation- way back in 2007, before the cancellation fees...I had made best guesstimates as to what park which day and made reservations. I was right for all the reservations. The only one I let go was Fantasmic pre dining package, because it was pre pay and I could not prepay for everyone..as we went through our trip, each night it turned out I had chosen correctly and we used our reservations. Except, the night we were in the studios and going to Fantasmic, at which point my brother told me he could not believe I had not made a reservation for Sci Fi dine in as it was his favorite. So make your best guess and as the vacation goes along, let it flow and see what happens...

 

[ChristineOH]

Researching and planning is what allows you to be flexible. Knowing what you're doing allows you to make changes on the fly... when a ride is down, when you need a break, when you get behind or ahead of schedule...

 

[Westcoastwild]

Planning makes me happy. Truly. Winging it just makes me anxious, (I grew up with a Dad who liked "spontaneous" vacations which werefrequently disastrous) and that's why I adore Disney planning. I don't freak out if we need to adjust, but it's SO nice to have a rough guideline for me.

Yep. I've never been sure whether my parents thought they were being spontaneous or were just really horrible planners but as a result, I'm kind of obsessive. And I have much better trips as an adult than as a kid. Way less stress even though it's all on me.

Disney is actually my low planning trip. I mean I still plan but I can show up and not worry about transit or food quality or schedules. I'm always wondering about the people who think Disney is high stress or a ton of planning. What do they do for a major city or foreign country?

 

[HydroGuy]

Disney is actually my low planning trip. I mean I still plan but I can show up and not worry about transit or food quality or schedules. I'm always wondering about the people who think Disney is high stress or a ton of planning. What do they do for a major city or foreign country?

They wing it and like Disney they miss many of the cool things and wait in longer lines to get into places.

 

[AngiTN]

Is there a penalty for canceling an ADR after a certain time? I see a lot of people mention booking ahead of time and then rearranging as needed later.

You get charged if you are a no show
A year or so back Disney added the ability to change an ADR to MDE. With this you can now change up to a few hours before your ADR (I do not know the exact cut off, I have not pushed it more than a couple hours) so all you have to do is move the ADR to either a time you can make or a time well out in the future and cancel. This will eliminate any no show fee

 

[KimBean]

Your questions basically comes down to the advice of don't overplan.. Sure many plan to the hour but I'll guarantee you that don't do a lot of their plans..

The secret is to leave room for the unknown.. What adrs have to be gotten as soon as you can book them that your interested in? get those right away.. Do you know if your taking breaks? are you rope droppers? how much rest and relaxation do you want on your vacation? You've been so you ahv ea rough idea of when you start to slow down or wished you did it slower that day. for me it's day 3, I need to have day 3 be relaxed. That doesn't mean no park, it just means I'm sleeping in, I'll deal with food on that day where I can get in and am flexible with the schedule. It's also a day that if rain really ruined a previous day I can shift and try again..

I personally only book 1 and sometimes 2 adrs for this I know I want to do. then maybe I'll get 1 more for something new.. The rest I do on the fly,I find near midnight the night before is fruitful for hard adrs so I'll wait til the night before to book the next day as I'm there, I' know how we're feeling and I know what we are going to try to do the next day...

I so agree. I am a planner and while at home I will have my touring plans down to the minute. However when we get to the park that turns into more of a broad stroke plan. Instead of saying we are doing this order in adventureland.... it just becomes watch welcome show, go to AL, work way around to FL, eat lunch, use FPs, rest some, go to tomorrowland, eat dinner, watch night shows.

I think I just use the minute by minute plans to get an idea of what is possible but when we are in there we like to call the shots more based on what we can see and feel like.

 

[Westcoastwild]

They wing it and like Disney they miss many of the cool things and wait in longer lines to get into places.

Fair point. I enjoy sleeping in on vacation so the single occasion of standing in line for 2 hours at 6 am in the freezing wind for day of tickets taught me the value of buying tickets ahead of time...

Also to bring a blanket and lawn chair and that there will always be someone who is crazier (and earlier) than me

 

[Surgie2]

Lots of good advice has already been given. I have struggled with the same issue. I think a lot depends on whether you go to WDW frequently or if this is your "big trip"...at least for awhile. If we were frequent park goers, then I probably wouldn't book any ADRs until we arrived unless I had my heart set on something. But I am planning for a multi-generation trip for next May - the only WDW trip nana and papa are treating the family to - so I've been more intentional in my planning for ADRs with input from the family and I'm fine with deciding 6 months in advance that we want to go to CRT on a certain morning

FP+ is a different thing. Whether a frequent visitor or "once in a lifetime" I would definitely plan FP+ for each day. And then if we miss one or two because a different opportunity came along, oh well. I do use Touring Plans for a basic plan each day, but if we don't follow it to the minute, that is just fine. One hint that I received on this forum if you use the Touring Plans site is to "minimize walking" and choose "relaxed walking speed" when you create the plan. This helps eliminate criss crossing the park.

Last hint...buy park tickets for each day of your visit. In the past I did not do this and we figured out in advance which days were for the park and which days for the resort or water park. I really hadn't realized how (relatively) cheap it is to add a day or two once you've paid for 4 or 5. Getting a ticket for each day means you can go to a water park one day and then head to MK at night just to watch fireworks, rather than staying late at the park on a full MK day. Or you might have a resort day and then head to Epcot for dinner and Illuminations. Have fun planning!

 

[ZebraDomeCrazy]

As far as cancelling ADR's same day, and not being charged, we have found that going to your Concierge counter at your resort is very helpful. Once we had a signature (2ts), and I got sick that day. My husband went down to the desk and explained that I was sick in our room. They cancelled the ADR for us, and made sure we didn't get charged. Disney understands that things happen, and want to give you excellent customer service. Unfortunately, in years past, people who didn't want to decide where to eat in advance, would "trick" the system by making multiple ADR's for the same day, and just didn't show up for the ones that didn't work for them that day. That's why Disney had to change their system and add those charges. It is more of a deterrent, than a punishment.

 

[christmasmagic]

This has been a big struggle for me as well. I love to overplan and do a lot of a research. One thing I've been trying to think about while planning is how day trips typically go for us and basing it on that. I know the kids will need a nap; I know I'll need some quiet time; etc.

I love the idea of having goals. For us, it's to enjoy as many Christmas things as possible. Also knowing your group. DD loves characters but is shy so she does better in character meals.

 

[North of Mouse]

Just got back from 10 nights from one of the best stays we've ever spent at Disney. The weather was excellent (hot a few days) but very dry. Feel for the locals - they desperately want/need rain. When it does start - have a feeling it won't hardly stop, usually the way it goes!

We plan very little - a few ADR's which we shuffled a couple, added a couple - FP's for mainliners, SB's on the same when the line was short, caught a few extra FP's on day of, etc. We nearly totally wing it, have for years, and are not stressed there, nor do we come home stressed. No rope dropping - short lines 30-60 min. after park opening.

Our vacations are meant to be relaxing, and that's always been the way they are for us. We will not go during summer (to Disney - 'will' other destinations) or on holidays. Taking our children out of school was never an issue - all three graduated with honors.

 

[loves to dive]

We never book ADR in advance (well, never say never but it's very rare)
We book what looks good about an hour out from when we want to eat. Never gone hungry and never eat QS either.
We wake up in the morning and want to change parks, we do. We just hop on MDE, look for FP at the park we opt to hit that day and change them. Never found it to be a big issue at all. Other than FEA, we can get FP for what we want without issue. If we have FEA booked, that's the one time we stick to our plan.
I think people put way more emphasis on planning than it really takes. Especially the ADR part. We've not planned at 180 days period, much less worried with ADR then. And we've eaten at over 80% of the TS locations at Disney.

Yep, us too. Planning is booking a room for us and that's it. Now if you must plan, and I understand that is just how some people roll, my best advice would be to be open with it. Don't plan down to the minute and know your plans are going to have a kink thrown in them so be ready to roll with it. It's vacation, it's supposed to be fun and it is entirely possible to go with the flow at WDW and still enjoy it. Remember, one person's must do might not be yours and if you've never done it, you won't know what you are missing anyway. It won't ruin your vacation if you don't eat at that must do restaurant or if you don't ride that must do ride.

 

[Juliet0778]

Just got back from 10 nights from one of the best stays we've ever spent at Disney. The weather was excellent (hot a few days) but very dry. Feel for the locals - they desperately want/need rain. When it does start - have a feeling it won't hardly stop, usually the way it goes!

We plan very little - a few ADR's which we shuffled a couple, added a couple - FP's for mainliners, SB's on the same when the line was short, caught a few extra FP's on day of, etc. We nearly totally wing it, have for years, and are not stressed there, nor do we come home stressed. No rope dropping - skhort lines 30-60 min. after park opening.

Our vacations are meant to be relaxing, and that's always been the way they are for us. We will not go during summer (to Disney - 'will' other destinations) or on holidays. Taking our children out of school was never an issue - all three graduated with honors.

So far, I don't find a vacation with a child "relaxing". It's fun, and I enjoy myself immensely, but it's sure as hell not relaxing because I still have to organize and well, parent. An all-inclusive adults only resort in Mexico is my idea of relaxing.

But for us, ADR's are important because we're all big foodies (even my 6 year old!) and want to make sure we don't get stuck eating burgers and chicken strips the whole trip.

 

[North of Mouse]

So far, I don't find a vacation with a child "relaxing". It's fun, and I enjoy myself immensely, but it's sure as hell not relaxing because I still have to organize and well, parent. An all-inclusive adults only resort in Mexico is my idea of relaxing.

But for us, ADR's are important because we're all big foodies (even my 6 year old!) and want to make sure we don't get stuck eating burgers and chicken strips the whole trip.

Well, we're all different, for sure! We actually did relax with our children as the same rules applied away from home as at home and they were sooo excited on our trips that they helped make it relaxing.

As for getting stuck eating only burgers and chicken strips. DH ate one burger as that was what he wanted at Pecos Bill (was delicious, by the way!!) Otherwise, we had quite the variety - Sunshine Seasons at Epcot, Flame Tree at AK, and other CS that we had plated meals - no issues about that with us at all!

 

[rontu78]

In arranging our schedule, we check crowd calendars online when available and tend to avoid EMH and days when parks are traditionally busy. For us, that means no MK on Saturday, Sunday or Monday, no EP on Tuesday and tend to plan AK or HS early in the week. We make our ADRs at 180 days, FPs at 60 days and plan a sleep in day but have tickets for it just in case in the middle of our vacation. If the weather gets reallllllly bad, we can abandon plans and do them on that day instead. If it's just the usual afternoon rainstorm, we throw on ponchos and keep going. We stay on site so the bus system provides flexibility, although we drive and also have a car when needed. We plan afternoon breaks most days, but not all days. We begin at rope drop daily. Some days we stay until fireworks, and some days we don't go back in the parks after our breaks and have a leisurely dinner at a resort, swimming and an early bedtime.