Post your best last-minute, no planning trip story

[jjsmom]

Humor me! DD & DH have informed me that they aren't in the mood for a summer WDW trip, they want to rent our friend's beach house instead .
Ok, I'll go along, but I need a fix. I've enjoyed the spring break reports, but I'd love to hear from people who've just "up 'n decided" to pack up the family, hop in plane/train/auto and go to Disney.

 

[LYNSUE]

I'm no help either. The type of people who hang out on these boards are big time planners. Maybe even obsessive.

I am very curious to hear of last minute trips also as I cannot imagine doing one myself.

 

[kab407]

Actually, I'm doing this next week. I need to get away from the office for a few days before I lose it. Got the okay from the boss to take a few days off just over a week ago. In the matter of two hours I had a plane ticket and AP with my DVC discount, a room at POR with an AP discount, reservation for the Segway Tour in Epcot. Since this is a short trip, I booked a towncar to take me to and from the airport. Other then that, I am winging it. No PS, no reservations for anything else. Just four days of a reality escape.

Not a real "up and leave" trip, but for me it's pretty spur of the moment.

 

[cocowum]

Does a last minute trip to Universal count? Last year while poking around these boards, I found a really great deal on tickets (buy one 3 day ticket, get one 3 day ticket free) free night at PBH (with a 2 night stay w/Loews card) I discovered the deals on thursday and on Sunday DD (I didn't tell her where we were going) and I hopped in the car (22 hour drive from VT) and went I was planning on stopping in NC overnight but I was sooo excited that I kept going, telling myself that I'd stop in GA. Well when I finally decided to stop the first 2 hotels I checked were full. I took it as a sign and drove straight down got to orlando at about 3:00am checked into a holiday Inn and crashed. I was so excited I couldn't sleep so we were up and out by 10:00am. Went to sea world and the Florida mall. The next day we checked into PBH and had a great trip!!


ETA: we would have went to Disney but DH has forbid us to go without him!

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

Last year my friend and I started talking on Monday about wouldn't it be great just to run away to Disney. She was having marital problems and her kids needed a break and DH and I weren't planning on going last year. Anyway, by Friday, Aug. 13th what started out as "talk" grew legs and so in the middle of a hurricaine (Charlie I think. It was Aug. 16th-20th) I was on the phone with Old Key West making reservations for a studio. After that was completed we headed to our local Disney store and bought our 4 day park hopper tickets. Saturday was a busy day of cleaning and packing and making sure DH would be well taken care of. Everyone thought we were CRAZTY but on Sunday at 3 AM we left Delaware for WDW. We got to Orlando at around 11pm Sunday night and we drove around the perimeter of WDW and by DTD. My friend, who had never been before was crying. I had made ressies for an off site hotel our first night boy was that a nightmare and a half!!!!!!!! The first place where our ressies were for told me that they had NO more non-smoking rooms. So, we left there and went next door to another hotel. The place was a dive. It didn't look it from the outside but when we got our room we drove to the back and lugged our stuff upstairs. Our suitcases, a 1 year old and an 8 year old. We get to the room and it STINKS!! It stinks like dirt, mold I don't know but it was unbearable!! There was no way we could have slept in the room. Blech!! So we lug everything back down into the van and I go back to the front counter. We get a new room and this time Dfriend stays in car w/ 1 year old and 8 year old and I go check out the room. We get to the room and the door won't open. We tried several times to no avail. So we head back downstairs to the car and this time Dfriend and 8 year old go back to see if she can't get in the room. Nope, they couldn't either so I go back to the front desk and this time they say it's fixed and they're going to send security up there to make sure we get in. So, 8 year old and I go back up and we were there for at least 20 mins. and no security EVER came. I know we were there that long because we were having a conversation w/ other hotel guests while listening to unruly, unsupervisded kids jumping in the pool fully clothed and screaming and also having college kids walk past us w/ bags of liquor. I just didn't have a good feeling about the place, I was tired and irratable and I was out of here!! After wasting time around there for about an hour I decided I was calling the All Stars and getting us a room there and I didn't care if it was $500 I was going on Disney property!!! They had a room and it wasn't $500 only $111.00 w/the tax. Not any great deal but after all we had been through it was WELL worth the price and heaven! Oh, and just to mention that junky place where we were was like $79.99 not including the tax so it really wasn't bad.
We made our way to the All Stars and the 8 year old's reaction was priceless!! Heck our reactions were priceless. I've never stayed at the All Star's before but it was so charming and I the Disney level of service was so welcome after the 19 hour drive and the whole other hotel(s) ordeal. By this time it's like 2am and we're so glad to get some sleep.
The next morning we were up fairly early given how late we went to bed and we headed for the MK. I just want to say it is priceless when you are with children who are old enough to understand what's going on and to see their expressions and reactions to WDW. We had a great day at the park and around 3 we left to go to OKW. We had a great room and we took some downtime before heading back into the park to use our fast pass for Splash Mt. which had a 2 hour wait and to see Wishes.
Tuesday we went to Animal Kingdom and had a great day. This was by far our best. No crowds and we rode all the rides. Child swap is fabulous and allowed my friend who's never been to WDW the chance to experience it all. We went to MGM that night and 8 year old and I rode ToT. Boy was he a brave one. We also got to do the Great Movie Ride, which was a favorite of DF and we saw Fantasmic which was a favorite to the 1 year old.
On Wednesday we did Epcot and 8 year old loved MS but his mom WOULD NOT ride! DF did like Spaceship Earth and TestTrack and Imagination. We didn't get to see too much of the WS because we had the children and they don't seem too interested in that kind of stuff.
On Thursday we did early entry at MK and were able to ride all the rides in Fantasyland and some of the rides we hadn't been able to do on Monday in Tomorrowland. We headed over to MGM after that and ate a Dole whip while the baby slept in the stroller and we also did One Man's Dream which DF thoroughly enjoyed. Thursday evening we were at DTD buying souvies and seeing the sites.
On Friday we were packing up and on our way back home.

We did this trip on a budget so no PS were necessary. We ate breakfast in our studio everymorning and we ate mainly counter service in the day. Usually we made lunch meat sandwiches at night. I know a few of the tricks for avoiding lines (even in the August crowds) so we didn't miss too much. DF said there were a few rides she would like to have been able to do twice but that'll have to wait until next time.

The worst part of the trip was not having DH and the drive. But I would love to do an impromtu trip w/ DH sometime. He's a Disney expert like me and because we own DVC we know we'll be back and if we miss something that's ok. DF thought she'd never go back and not to mention it was her first trip and who can blame her for wanting to see everything.

So, there's the story of my impromptu trip.

ETA: We are planning a trip in Nov. into Dec. for a group of 6 adults and I am definately planning every little detail out. So, I've done it both ways and both are great in different ways.

 

[kab407]

I'm also panning my first trip Home as a DVC member. Six of us, 5 adults and 1 child are heading to SSR in October. You think we were planning an invasion on a small country with all the discussions and e-mails going back and forth. Add on explaining the new MYW, PS, FP and EMH and the concept of DVC.

Lots to be said for a last minute trip. Get on the plane and just go!

 

[jjsmom]

FortheLoveofDisney,
I absolutely loved your report. What a special person you must be to do something so nice for your friend. That's what the WORLD is all about. So sorry about your bad lodging experience. I'm a loud cheerleader for on site properties.
DD & I just finished cleaning out her closets. Now I really want to run away to Disney!
kab407, I wish my DH would see WDW as an escape from work stress. We'd be in the car driving south tonight!
Lynsue,
I'm a compulsive planner too and if I just got up and left for a trip to WDW my family would have me committed (they think I go too much anyway!!).

Thanks to all for cheering me up!

 

[OhMari]

I decided in April of 2000, we were going to leave the day after the kids got out of school.

We drove from WI to FL. Stayed at my Godmothers house in Bowling Green Kentucky after 12 hours of driving. Left the next morning and got swayed to stop at Charlie Daniels Distillery. They should tell you it is 50 miles off the interstate. We rented a home-2 miles away from the MK. I could not find anything in our price range to accommodate 6 people. My family loved it.
Each kid picked a Park
Youngest-Magic Kingdom
dd-Universal
ds-Epcot-Animal Kingdom
Oldest-Kennedy Space Center
Husband-Daytona with the boys, me and the girls went to the beach.
On our way home we took a different route, up I95 and stopped in Savannah Georgia for the day.
Great vacation!

Another time, me and my husband were suppose to go to Germany with my son while he played soccer. He went, but we opted out because it cost a lot more than his coach said it would. Anyway, we had scheduled our vacation that same 2 weeks. After we dropped our son off to catch his plane, we turned the weather channel on and saw it was raining out East and it was suppose to be nice in the West. We hopped in our Tahoe and went out west to South Dakota and Colorado.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

FortheLoveofDisney,
I absolutely loved your report. What a special person you must be to do something so nice for your friend. That's what the WORLD is all about. So sorry about your bad lodging experience. I'm a loud cheerleader for on site properties.
DD & I just finished cleaning out her closets. Now I really want to run away to Disney!

You're not kidding, let's go!!

 

[jjsmom]

After 5 days of rain I'll go right now! SWA just advertised $49 e/w from Balt. from 3/29 til 6/16!!! It would be so cool to go for my BD on 4/6!! (It's not going to happen, DH, a realtor, has too much going on and not all of it is good). Anyway, I hate to babble but I just wanted to share another "off site" horror story. This happened a few years ago to a former co-worker. She is a fellow WDW freak who works just to afford to take her DD, SInlaw, and GDD to Disney TWICE a year. They usually stay on site either in a value or moderate resort. This particular time they found an internet deal on a well known chain in the downtown area. She told me they knew right away they made a mistake. The "magic" feeling just wasn't there. They got to the room and she said it was covered floor to ceiling with mold! Keep in mind, being experts, they're used to just dumping their luggage, hopping a bus and heading to the parks. They wasted the entire 1st day arguing with management, trying to convince them that there was a problem, having to wait for supervisors, managers, etc.. Finally that night they were allowed to change rooms. She said never, ever again. They will always stay on property.

 

[WhatsaPooh]

That's one of my dreams........

Wake up one morning and decide then and there to head to WDW!!! Yeah right, like that will happen in this lifetime. Too many schedules to work around here to not need a year to plan it out. (Although I did plan the Dec. 2001 trip in about 6 months.)

I will say that I wouldn't mind trying a solo trip. I think it would be easier to leave the Dh at home than the Ds though Hmmmm, when did my boss say she was taking time off this summer????

 

[minmate]

We're going on our 3rd trip with 2 months or less of planning time. Two of the trips were within 4 months of each other. The third one is next week! I know that's not TOTALLY last minute, but when you consider that each trip involved 6 or more people and 2-3 rooms, well, that's kind of spontaneous!

AND... considering our First trip of this "series" -- 12 days before the trip dh broke his ankle (thanks to the DISabilities Board) I secured a nice sleek scooter for him to use that turned out fantastic. But here's the total kicker.... the 1st trip was planned -- we were going to stay at the Marriott Int'l Drive by Sea World in a suite when I got a postcard code in the mail and changed our ressies to Pop Century so we could be on-site... thank goodness b/c it would have been a major PIA to get that scooter broken down and into a rental car to get to the parks each day. It was much nicer to get to use WDW transp. the whole time. We did try once to break down the scooter when we drove from Pop to WL and it was no picnic.

The second trip was totally spontaneous... mid-May my dad called and said he'd be going to a conference at the GF and did we want to go. He could get rooms for $199/night... What!? Heck yeah! So after convincing dh, we were off for a trip in mid-June. My dd5's first tooth fell out the night before the trip too, so we had a visit from the Tooth Fairy delivering Disney Dollars and telling us to say hi to her cousin, "Tinkerbell!" Of course, pouncing on the opportunity, I didn't realize we would be getting back 10 p.m. the night before dd5's preschool graduation. Dd4 was in the same preschool and was also in the Grad Day performance! All was well though as everything went off without a hitch... only thing, I'm usually a homemade baked goods kind of contributor but for this day's refreshments the teacher and I decide it was best if I just brought soda! lol...

Now this next trip stemmed from waking up two weekends ago to yet another New England Snow Dump... Cripes! I can't take it anymore! I fantasized all weekend about getting outta here... then lo and behold... SWA airfares dropped to the $49 e/w and I got an email pin code ... that's all it took to convince me... can you say, "She's Sucker for Marketing Ploys!" Now here we sit, with an impending trip, planned for 4/5-4/12 that just got put "on te books" about 15 days ago... for our family of 6. My dad and his wife plan to join us, but that will truly be spontaneous as he will be on a bus. trip in CA until 4/6 returning to Minn. He plans to maybe fly out to Fl for the weekend we're there to give us "adult time" in the parks and PI, etc. as it is our anniversary celebration (Anniv. is today -- 8 years!)...

Anyway, after reading these boards for awhile (which have helped tons), it is still easy to get lulled into the notion that a trip to WDW HAS to be planned out meticulously.... and while I believe any plan is better than no plan b/c getting the most magic and bang for your buck doesn't usually happen on a wing at WDW, you CAN get pixie dust sometimes!

For our March 04 trip, we did the re-hitching ceremony @ Garden Grill, ate at Crystal Palace and Breakfastasaurus (which turned out to be delicious!). We had great character interaction and saw SO much. My dd5 got picked to lead our group (the Giraffes) at Festival of the Lion King... both dd's were asked to join the "parade" part of this (dd4 was too shy), but my older dd was thrilled. We had very waits and NO rain... in mid-March! It never even occured to us that these things (during spring break) might be an issue and they weren't!

For our June trip, it was tricky as we were all coming and going at diff. times (9 of us in 3 rooms at the GF). But as it turned out some of the places we enjoyed included Chef Mickey's twice, the Coral Reef, Rainforest Cafe, 1900 Park Fare Cindy's Gala, Alice in Wonderland Tea Party and a neat view of the monorail over a pond from our balconies. The third room had a good enough balcony view of the castle to watch the fireworks every nite over the castle. We also had e-nights 2x when we were there. We DID have rain and a thunderstorm 2 afternoons though. BUT, we also got free passes to Sea World through a family member that works there! What a trip!

This trip, although planned in less time than the other two... has on the agenda: staying at Pop. PS's at Akershus Storybook Breakfast, Breakfastasaurus, Crystal Palace, Le Cellier, Fantasmic Dinner Pkg, Chef Mickey's Dinner, O'hanas Char Breakfast, the Pirate Cruise for the three older kids (wow... that was lucky!), AND... we were able to link up with a fellow Dis'er and family to get a Grand Gathering for the Wishes Magical Fireworks Voyage.... SO... although it is probably smarter, easier and wiser to plan farther in advance, you can certainly line up an eventful trip in 3 weeks or less! We were even able to create a fun way to surprise the kids on Easter which I posted about yesterday!

Of course no trip is w/o its snafus... from the ECV showing up late to missing packages, missing confirm numbers to p/u park tickets, to rain, to TOO hot, to kids obsessed with sitting in the hot tub when they shouldn't!, to coming down with colds, to a kid that decided one day she didn't like anything loud, dark, scary, fast or wet (incl. the spray from Philharmagic)... but LOVED Disney and wanted to find something to do FUN RIGHT NOW! (Incidentally we found she LOVED COP and TTA)... but that's just part of life with my family anyway! It is all water under the bridge and the trips were fun and that's why we've got this one in the works! I swear, someday I'll plan a trip out farther in advance and "more sensibly) but in the meantime, let's just see how all that turns out! I hope, wonderful!

 

[sarahsmom73]

Mine sort of is! I am leaving next Tuesday... I had innocently downloaded Ding! (about 2 weeks ago)when my computer dinged and I saw I could get $49 fares ALB to MCO!!! Thought my parents were on board so I bought DD and my plane ticket and reserved POP at AAA discount... My parents wimped out but DD and I are going anyhow!!! We have FL tours booked to pick us up and take us abck to the airport.. Our flights are nonstop! We are going to do 3 days of MK and do all the things DD wants to do!!!! I did get a PS for CP on 4/8 dinner, but that is it!!!!!!!!!!!! The sky is the limit!!!

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

After 5 days of rain I'll go right now! SWA just advertised $49 e/w from Balt. from 3/29 til 6/16!!! It would be so cool to go for my BD on 4/6!!. . . . .

jjsmom, what a coincidence! My friend's, that I took to WDW for the first time, birthday is April 6th.

Anyway, I wanted to pass on two great last minute Disney trips that prompted us to do the trip we did. These two stories, both by GADISNEYGIRL are two of my favorite trip reports. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

GADISNEYGIRL's "Yes! You CAN plan a WDW Trip in less than an hour! aka-are we crazy?? andGADISNEYGIRL's "WDW-2 weekends in a row! (Actually planned this one about 10 hours in advance"

 

[sarahsmom73]

Love it!

 

[aphasia83]

You guys are so funny! Here I thought that planning 2 months ahead of time was far in advance (and I am a BIG planner too!) and here are people saying that 6 months in advance was "last minute" to them! I can't imagine planning a trip and having to wait 6 months to enjoy it!

 

[jjsmom]

I loved GADISNEYGAL'S story. I wish I lived that close! Actually last summer, we planned our stay within about 6 weeks. It started in May when some friends of ours with a daughter the same age asked if we wanted to go with them and stay at their timeshare (free!). It sounded like a good idea but nothing beats staying on site especially since DH has respiratory issues and he can take advantage of the transportation when he's tired. So the wheels start turning. We decided to drive and pack coolers, food for breakfast, cases of water/soda. I can't remember where I found the deal, but I booked CSR for $89/night. Boy were we glad we booked on site! By the time our friends arrived at the parks, lots of fp's were sold out for the day! Their daughter ended up staying with us in a couple of nights so she could see more. Anyway, thanks everyone for the stories . I still haven't been able to convince the family to do a summer trip, but there's still time!

 

[sarahsmom73]

I am so excited for this trip!!! Myabe it is because it happened with about 12 days or so before we are about to leave!!!

I am crawling out of my skin!!! I can't stand it!

 

[WhatsaPooh]

You guys are so funny! Here I thought that planning 2 months ahead of time was far in advance (and I am a BIG planner too!) and here are people saying that 6 months in advance was "last minute" to them! I can't imagine planning a trip and having to wait 6 months to enjoy it!

I need the 6 months to save the $$$ and with Dh's job, he has to request vacation time 6 months out. With my job (I'm the Office Mgr. for an orthodontist) I have 7 assistants and the Dr. that I have to work my vacation around. We take smaller vacations, long weekends during the year, that are spontaneous to places nearby........ but WDW - that's the BIG vacation.

 

[areno79]

My first trip to the World was a spur of the moment. DH and I were laid off from our jobs back in September 2002 within a week of each other. After almost 6 months of both of us looking for jobs (and trying to plan our wedding as we were still engaged), I finally hit a breaking point. It was February, it had been a nasty winter, and I just had enough.
I was checking my email on a Friday morning, when I got a thing from Expedia. Went to Expedia poking around, and found a great deal at the Courtyard Marriott in Downtown Disney for the week...only $59 a night! I told DH I was going with or without him, and before I knew it we were packing to leave the next morning We got the oil changed at Walmart, bought some disposable cameras and sunscreen, and we were ready to go.
Left NH at 4am Saturday morning, drove all day and stopped in Florence, SC for the night. Luckily I had bought a couple of Disney guidebooks way before the trip, so that provided some insight on the drive down. Sunday morning we left SC around 7 am, and arrived at our hotel at around 4pm. It was wonderful!! We bought 4 day UPH's at the hotel, and we were all set from there.
DH had been to the world when he was a kid, but I had never been. I'll never forget the feeling when I saw the castle for the first time. I cried
We had such an incredible time for such a spontaneous trip. We never made PS's, and we ate at Garden Grille, Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe, and Hollywood & Vine all without a wait. We also were able to drive around Orlando since we had our own car, which was nice too.
We ended up leaving Saturday morning and heading home. We were sad to leave the nice sunny weather, but when we got back we were both refreshed. Coincidentally we both found jobs within the month, so maybe all we needed was some Disney magic.

All in all it was one of the best trips I've ever taken. Of course we were totally unprepared for all the walking and heat so by the end of the week we were arguing alot, but now I'm packing extra foot care stuff for our next trip so hopefully we can avoid that