Please ease my fears!

[AnnieBearJamboree]

My suggestion would be make Fast Passes for new stuff that you don't want to miss (stuff that's come out recently will be very busy and hard to ride otherwise!) and use general savvy to ride other "old favorites." If you've been before, you probably know tips like getting to the park early, saving high-capacity rides for the busier parts of the day, etc. I don't think you need to do a ton of planning, beyond picking some must-see newer attractions, grabbing Fast Passes for them, and making a general plan for the other attractions. Ex. In Magic Kingdom, getting a Fast Pass for Mine Train and some of your own favorites, then getting to the park early to knock out some other stuff before hitting those.

 

[PrincessVi]

I do love to plan but I read about having to constantly look for FPs on your phone all day long, etc., and that sounds stressful to me. Maybe I'm just out of practice! LOL I'm sure I'll find a lot to do even if the lines are too long.

I know what you mean. I tried looking for FPs on my phone at the beginning of my last trip. It wasn't for me either. It took me out of the moment. You don't need to do that. The first couple of hours the park opens is more manageable. I just get there early and book my fast passes in the afternoon. There are a lot of great options at food carts and counter service as well. More variety than there use to be. It sounds like you have reasonable expectations, you'll have a great time.

 

[PrincessVi]

I do love to plan but I read about having to constantly look for FPs on your phone all day long, etc., and that sounds stressful to me. Maybe I'm just out of practice! LOL I'm sure I'll find a lot to do even if the lines are too long.

I know what you mean. I tried looking for FPs on my phone at the beginning of my last trip. It wasn't for me either. It took me out of the moment. You don't need to do that. The first couple of hours the park opens is more manageable. I just get there early and book my fast passes in the afternoon. There are a lot of great options at food carts and counter service as well. More variety than there use to be. It sounds like you have reasonable expectations, you'll have a great time.

 

[scionchigirl]

Our very first trip as a family (that we scrimped and saved for) was 9/2005 10 days after Hurricane Katrina. I hadnt been to wdw since Easter 1992 and was SHOCKED how empty it was. We went for 7 days and walked on EVERYTHING, it only started to get somewhat busy our last day, which was a Saturday. Castmembers said there were cancellations due to Katrina, all of our pics from the trip show empty parks. We've been on 5 trips since then and one w/just me and the hubby (during Hurricane Hermine)...the #1 change Ive noticed is the pixie dust seems to be fading. Iger's budgetary ways and less training of cast members seems to be taking its toll. Also the drinking at Epcot has gotten too much for my taste...we saw so many drunk guests in 2016 AND dads yelling at/hitting their kids, I swore that was IT.But I lost my beloved father last year and we are about to be empty nesters, so Im taking my now-adult kids in November for my 50th bday. We are staying at ASMo (Pop,FQ,ASMo,ASMo,WL,POR were our stays)which we love and doing MVMCP.Im a PLANNER for EVERYTHING,but we are not stressing...our ADRs are booked and I have my FP plans, but we just go early and hit the biggies while lines are short,then do our FP around 11am. You will have fun! Dont stress!!! Not going to lie,though...I did take Xanax 2x on the last trip after 2 bad EPCOT "bad dads" experiences.

 

[mco65]

It always helps to have a master planner in your party... my wife typically does that and i will admit i took most of that for granted until our recent trip... my wife could not go so my daughter took over the duties as master planner. She booked the ADRs (just a few) and all the fast passes.. those went well, no complaints but like many its the in between FPs that you have to really plan for. Our first day was fine, but our 2nd day and beyond did no work well. She had us running from one side to the other which might work for them but not for me.. On the 4th day, i took over and slowed us down a bit... but also allowed them (15 year old twins and 18 year old) some time to do what they wanted while i relaxed in the shade. In the end, the majority of our planning was done at the last moment and it worked out fine.

My advice would be to book your FPs close together, either morning or evening (if possible) that will allow you more flexibility when your far from your FP window. Also, i would book my ADRs far from my FPs.. i hate having to rush from a FP to a ADR or vice versa.. sometimes it can't be helped but if the option is there, i always book these with lots of time in between. This allows for those last second (lets pop into this show) cool off and relax a bit... Also allows for those longer 45 min to 1 hour ques like Toy Story... nothing better than popping into Toy Story que for 45 min on a HOT day...

 

[chelseabun76]

I didn't spend the day looking at FP's on my phone, I had booked our 3 that we absolutely wanted, and we worked around those. If we were at a table service lunch and we had used our fp's already, I would take a minute and check to see if any further ones we wanted were available, but otherwise nope we just did our thing and enjoyed what we could and if a line had over 45 minutes wait time we'd just pass on by and check out how it was later on. I did plan a rough touring plan just so we weren't zig zagging across the parks, because that is tiring and eats up time. But, you can still very much enjoy the parks without having every single second planned out.

 

[Cinderella822]

You can have a GREAT time with minimal planning. Even if you don't get your FP 60 days out, check your phone here and there and see what opens up. If you wanted dining reservations, check the day before and day of as people cancel a lot. But most importantly, keep a positive attitude. We faced crazy spring break crowds last time we went and still had an awesome time b/c we told ourselves we weren't going to get stressed about not getting on any particular ride or not getting into a certain restaurant to eat. We were very casual and it helped. Ease back your expectations, take a minute to stop and look at the details and just relax and you'll have a great trip. Hope you enjoy it!

Great attitude! I'm going to try that on my trip. I just have to remember I won't be able to do it all and take it as it comes. You can only plan so much.

 

[slpeters]

I really look at the planning as what makes a WDW trip so relaxing--you can figure it out all in advance and then you're just kind of along for the ride. Our last big trip (we did Universal and MVMCP last year) we were there for 7 park days, did pretty much everything and never waited longer than 30 minutes for anything (and frankly only waited more than 15 minutes four or five times). We did EMHs each day and did one park at open, another one to close and took a nap at the hotel in between. We arrived at rope drop each day, but never before because we weren't going where everyone else was any way--we had FPs for those rides. I didn't spend a lot of time refreshing to get FPs--

most rides don't require FPs if you arrive at the right time and those that do we got in advance. Most days we used four or five FPs, often we only used the three we pre-booked because we didn't need others.​

A really good touring plan that keeps you zagging when others zig is really powerful and (at least for me) always knowing where you're going next (even if it is because you agonized about it for months) is really relaxing.

I was a little concerned about my husband following along with such a detailed plan (most days our touring plans would have 25-35 items) but he quickly saw how well it was all working. He was always exclaiming in wonder at how long the wait times were and how they compared to ours. I remember the particularly grim looks we got as we sailed past the Columbia Harbor House line (which stretched well back into Fantasyland) to pick up our mobile order as my husband exclaimed in genuine wonder "you're kidding! We have a fastpass for lunch!?" The night after our first full day in the parks as we got back to the hotel he asked what time we had to leave in the morning and I kind of thought the gig was up so I sort of hemmed and hawed and asked what time he wanted to leave in the morning. He said he wanted to know what time we were supposed to get up. I said we're on vacation we can get up whenever we want. Finally he just looked frustrated and said "I want to get up when the little plan says we're supposed to get up because I would like to have another day like today. I'm not interested in having the day all those other people were having." I never even thought about apologizing for the plan from there on out...

 

[Cinderella822]

I really look at the planning as what makes a WDW trip so relaxing--you can figure it out all in advance and then you're just kind of along for the ride. Our last big trip (we did Universal and MVMCP last year) we were there for 7 park days, did pretty much everything and never waited longer than 30 minutes for anything (and frankly only waited more than 15 minutes four or five times). We did EMHs each day and did one park at open, another one to close and took a nap at the hotel in between. We arrived at rope drop each day, but never before because we weren't going where everyone else was any way--we had FPs for those rides. I didn't spend a lot of time refreshing to get FPs--
most rides don't require FPs if you arrive at the right time and those that do we got in advance. Most days we used four or five FPs, often we only used the three we pre-booked because we didn't need others.
A really good touring plan that keeps you zagging when others zig is really powerful and (at least for me) always knowing where you're going next (even if it is because you agonized about it for months) is really relaxing.

I was a little concerned about my husband following along with such a detailed plan (most days our touring plans would have 25-35 items) but he quickly saw how well it was all working. He was always exclaiming in wonder at how long the wait times were and how they compared to ours. I remember the particularly grim looks we got as we sailed past the Columbia Harbor House line (which stretched well back into Fantasyland) to pick up our mobile order as my husband exclaimed in genuine wonder "you're kidding! We have a fastpass for lunch!?" The night after our first full day in the parks as we got back to the hotel he asked what time we had to leave in the morning and I kind of thought the gig was up so I sort of hemmed and hawed and asked what time he wanted to leave in the morning. He said he wanted to know what time we were supposed to get up. I said we're on vacation we can get up whenever we want. Finally he just looked frustrated and said "I want to get up when the little plan says we're supposed to get up because I would like to have another day like today. I'm not interested in having the day all those other people were having." I never even thought about apologizing for the plan from there on out...

I usually am that organized, especially when it comes to Disney, but I guess I've forgotten how to make a good touring plan. I finally have the FP situation under control. I have a couple of weeks until I make mine but have my list ready. Plan to take advantage of the EMH. We made no ADR as we don't want to spend too much time sitting and eating. I found out about the mobile ordering at quick service and definitely plan to use that wherever possible. Columbia Harbor House is high on my list! Other than that, any other tips on how to avoid the lines? Do you have a certain order you follow?

 

[YawningDodo]

I didn't spend the day looking at FP's on my phone, I had booked our 3 that we absolutely wanted, and we worked around those. If we were at a table service lunch and we had used our fp's already, I would take a minute and check to see if any further ones we wanted were available, but otherwise nope we just did our thing and enjoyed what we could and if a line had over 45 minutes wait time we'd just pass on by and check out how it was later on. I did plan a rough touring plan just so we weren't zig zagging across the parks, because that is tiring and eats up time. But, you can still very much enjoy the parks without having every single second planned out.

Yeah, that's going to be a big consideration on my mind as I'm booking FP+ this time. The first time I went after the FP+ system was put in place, I just booked three headliners midmorning each day without any real consideration for their physical locations. Waaay too much extra walking as a result. On my upcoming trip I want to either cluster FP+ or string them along a reasonable route with enough time in between that I'm not rushing from one area to another (a third option would be to book them all over the place, but spread them out throughout the day so there's more time in between for moseying from one area to the next). I think I'm not capable of sticking to a detailed plan on a Disney vacation, but if you have a little bit of structure that simplifies choices and leads to a more natural route through the parks, that can be helpful. For example, if I cluster my MK FP+ in Fantasyland and Liberty Square and schedule them for midday, I know I'm good to spend the first part of the morning in Tomorrowland, Adventureland, or Frontierland and just knock out all the attractions in a single land before my first FP+ window, no crisscrossing needed or wanted.

 

[Satchmo128]

You can absolutely have a good time! We usually do a general outline of which parks on which days (based on crowd calendars and EMH) and then books some FP+ for park days. We also usually book at least one table service meal each day and then as we get closer to the trip, move things around as our plans solidify. You will have a great time!

 

[disneyseniors]

I used to be a master planner when I went annually! My family thought I was nuts. I was on this board constantly reading over posts and planning. But it seems to be even more intense now. Bigger crowds to manage or something. I do love to plan but I read about having to constantly look for FPs on your phone all day long, etc., and that sounds stressful to me. Maybe I'm just out of practice! LOL I'm sure I'll find a lot to do even if the lines are too long.

You don't have to constantly look for fp's on your phone! I don't even take my old flipphone into the parks with me. If I need to check out a fp, I go to a kiosk and do it. Easy peasy! You don't have to do all the things you read about. Good grief, if I tried to do all that I'd be stressed out too.
We also are morning people, so we get to the park at rope drop each day and the crowds are smaller up until 10am or so. This really helps.
We book our 3 fp;s the first 4 days, 3 at each park per day. Then we make a few that we must have again on the other days (usually stay for 9 days), and if we decide to go that park that day, we use the fp's. I found out that we don't even use them most of the time. Our first 4 park days are set up with those fp's, but we never even need more fp's. I also only make a few must do adr's and do what we want for the rest of the meals!
Please try to not to stress out. Even the most regimented plans never go that way, so just be flexible. You are at Disney and it's a wonderful place to be Have fun!

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I just booked my first trip in over 10 years. Used to go almost annually. Things have certainly changed, especially this new booking fast passes 60 days out! Some of the things I'm reading make me wonder if I made a mistake booking this. Is it possible to get on rides and actually have a good time with minimal strategizing? I will book my FPs when my date comes around and take advantage of EMH, but how much do I really need to do beyond that? I want to enjoy my vacation not stress over it the whole time! I'm going in October.

I tried to plan, my family hates it. So, we sort of plan. I get the 3 fps, don't really care if they are early or not, We just kind of do what we want. I had planned dinners and lunches, ended up canceling. If you look at the Disney website, look for what's available tomorrow or the next day. Practically everything is available. Last year, we lucked out with some rain and were able to get all of Toy Story done with minimal or no waits. We had scheduled an Early Morning Magic Toy Story Land reservation for the next morning. Since we had just done everything we were paying almost 600.00 for, we canceled and decided to go to MK instead. While I was waiting for them to ride Alien, I booked 6 fps for SDMT and 5 for Peter Pan for the next morning. I found a couple more like Space Mtn, but we had little ones so I grabbed Pooh and Dumbo. I could never get the 6th Peter Pan that day, so I checked the next morning and got an overlapping fp for 10 minutes after their start time. For the Pooh and Dumbo fps, we get 3 each so 1 parent can ride with the kids.
I'd say getting creative with pre park opening dining reservations and rope drop, then come back later (dinner or after) works best for us. We usually take an afternoon break. For instance: I got us 8 am reservations for Garden Grill, and paid a little while before we were finished. We walked downstairs to Soarin and they let us on around 15 minutes before park opening. Finished around 9 or so and headed over to Test Track. Done and over at Mission Space before 9:30. Had a fast pass for Frozen at 11:30 - 12:30 so we headed there after doing (oops, my mistake - Ellen was already closed, we had done that the year before - we did the meet and greets with Big Hero and Joy & Sadness) and then Imagination. Before and after Frozen, we got a few autographs then left. Came back late afternoon/early evening for Coral Reef dinner, the aquarium and Illuminations.

 

[Nomad70]

I just booked my first trip in over 10 years. Used to go almost annually. Things have certainly changed, especially this new booking fast passes 60 days out! Some of the things I'm reading make me wonder if I made a mistake booking this. Is it possible to get on rides and actually have a good time with minimal strategizing? I will book my FPs when my date comes around and take advantage of EMH, but how much do I really need to do beyond that? I want to enjoy my vacation not stress over it the whole time! I'm going in October.

We do not overly plan our DW vacations for just this reason, I want to relax and have a good time. While I am a planner by nature, this is one event/vacation I leave to our whim. If you want to call it a "strategy", we do most often go at the beginning of September when it is typically fewer crowds. Otherwise, we like to wake up and see where our plans take us for the day. During our last few visits we have not had any issue getting into TS restaurants or getting on rides. We also don't mind doing the single rider line if the regular one is too long. (for those rides that have them)Single rider lines in our experience have had less than 5 min wait times. Example, last year we had our fastpass for Expedition Everest for all of us, after that, we all went back in the SR line and rode another 3 or 4 times, by that time the regular line was around an hour. The way I look at it, do what you can and feel like doing. DW has so much to do and experience and honestly unless you stayed a month, you are not going to be able to do everything. We stayed 12 days last year and I am sure there was something we would have liked to do but didn't fit it in. I would rather not be disappointed if I planned something and couldn't do it. If you have small children you will definitely need break times at their convenience, maybe several times a day. So planning to rigid may disappoint. If it's you and older teens or adults it is easier, but again, pick a couple of things you would like to see or do, not necessarily plan a specific time or day, and go with it. Even when we went at Christmas time several years ago we still had a fantastic 10 day vacation with our kids who were 13, 10 and 4. Crowds didn't bother us. I do plan ahead for the halloween party and one TS at Chrystal Palace, just in case because these are our two must do's. You will have those who don't plan like me or make a who daily schedule, everyone is different, you decide what is important. Have a great time! October is a nice time of year to go!!