Trips: Relaxed, Commando, or Somewhere In Between?

[AJA]

Relaxed! We were in between on our first trip and I was pretty much commando on our second and I really regretted it. Now we are totally relaxed nothing at all planned on most days.

 

[Cin]

Last trip I had a touring plan and it was broken down to individual attractions and the order we would be doing them. I only followed it until lunchtime gathering fastpasses as I went. At noon-noonthirty we broke for lunch and some out of park time (either our resort or another or Downtown Disney) and we rested and did non park things until about 5 pm then we headed back to the park and rode the things we had previously gotten fastpasses for. We never stayed for any park closing. We did make rope drop and opening ceremonies several mornings, but certainly not all of them.
This trip I will be traveling with Mom (who had back surgery a couple of years ago and still has mobility issues so her speed is turtle), meaning I had to toss that plan aside for this trip and devise a new plan that Mom can keep up with. So this time all I have planned out is which park which day and we'll tour section by section over 2 or 3 days. I have 8 park days to see all 4 parks so I hope that will be enough time for us. Really she does move at turtle speed and she refuses to consider ECV rental. Maybe I should call this my "stop and paint the roses red tour". My poor type AAA personality was stumped at first on how to devise a plan to "tour" with a turtle, but on this tour we are going to see every nook and cranny and show and shop and not run from big ride to big ride, so it will be a bit of WDW I was too busy doing the commando thing to even notice my last trips. Things like stopping to actually listen to and talk to Jim, the guy who plays the piano at Casey's, and see the memorabilia at the firehouse on Main Street, and dine in lots of sit down restaurants, and take the hour long tour in Morrocco (it's free!) and other things. Of course, we will be queing up for Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion and Soarin' just like everyone else, but yeah this will be the most laid back tour I have ever had at WDW. Since it isn't my first visit or my last, I am okay with that. LOL, I can't believe my AAA brain actually let my fingers type that. I think though, knowing it won't be my last trip makes a big difference in being okay with not seeing it all (or killing myself trying to).

 

[fla4fun]

Totally relaxed winger here! Most days I just go out to the bus stop and get on whatever bus comes first. I don't make ADR's, and don't even look at park hours until I get to the park I end up in (if then). I tend to spend a lot of time at Epcot, because it's my favorite park, and not so much time at AK because it's my least favorite. In fact, the last time I got on an AK bus, when it dropped me off at AK, there was a CR bus right across from me, and I got on it and went to MK instead!

About the only planning I do is making the hotel reservation .

I will say that I travel during the less crowded times, so it's not unusual for me to walk in to a TS restaurant and be seated. I might do this a couple times per trip. With an AP, and living close enough for day trips, I don't stress over what I get to see and what I don't. I just go with the flow. I've had some really great experiences that way.

I can certainly understand that people who don't get to go very often would need to do a bit more planning to maximize their vacation. I am just fortunate that I have the option of being more laid back on my trips.

Cin - has your mom ever tried an ECV? I had trouble getting my mom to try one the first time - until we got stuck in MK for three hours because she was too tired, and in pain, to move because she overdid it. She had to have a lie down in the park just so we could get back to the resort. The next day we were going to Epcot, and I just rented the ECV. I told her (nicely, of course) that I got it for her, but if she didn't want to use it, I would. She decided to give it a try, and we never looked back. They can be intimidating for someone who hasn't used one before, but a few minutes of practice out of the way of everyone else, and she was a pro. The biggest thing is learning to turn and stop - once you have that mastered, it's no big deal. She didn't ride it all the time. We would park it outside of shops and restaurants, and at the exit of some attractions, and she would walk in. But it really helped a lot. I actually had trouble keeping up with her!

 

[PoohsFan1]

We are more of an in between family. We make our ADRs (especially for the hard to get ones) but we do take breaks in the middle of the day (we are a 1 park per day kind of people too). We like to go to RD and do a couple of the EMH (especially MK) but if and when we get tired at night, we will decide if we want to head back to the room to either swim or just relax there or tough it out at the park to enjoy the lights and nighttime activites. We also like to start at one point in a park and then go around hitting the attractions, if the line is way too long for our taste (more than 20 minutes), we will grab a FP for later and then go onto the next attraction. If we don't grab a FP, we know we can always come back to the other ride later. We have gone to Disney 7 times in the past 6 years (January will be my kid's 8th time) therefore we feel that we don't need to go commando anymore, the only thing that we do like is to have ADRs just so we know where we are going to be at at that time of day.

 

[macraven]

i have been going to the motherland yearly since 1992 and always stay onsite.
have been going solo since '04.


the first four days i am there, i hop on the first bus that is boarding at the resort and go to that park.


for the last four days, i have those days planned out with adr's and a schedule.

 

[madthemouse]

The first four years we were somewhere in between, with leaning towards commando. The last 17 trips or so, are relaxed and IMO, more enjoyable. We do discuss which favorite restaurants we would like to make it too. But nothing set in stone, with the exception of HDDR. That is booked when there is an evening EMH at MK. Dinner and some rides. Other then that, just booking La Nouba. We do some evening EMH. We discuss at night, as a group back at the villa, what and where we plan on going and doing the next day.

No worries, mate!

 

[Cin]

Cin - has your mom ever tried an ECV? I had trouble getting my mom to try one the first time - until we got stuck in MK for three hours because she was too tired, and in pain, to move because she overdid it. She had to have a lie down in the park just so we could get back to the resort. The next day we were going to Epcot, and I just rented the ECV. I told her (nicely, of course) that I got it for her, but if she didn't want to use it, I would. She decided to give it a try, and we never looked back. They can be intimidating for someone who hasn't used one before, but a few minutes of practice out of the way of everyone else, and she was a pro. The biggest thing is learning to turn and stop - once you have that mastered, it's no big deal. She didn't ride it all the time. We would park it outside of shops and restaurants, and at the exit of some attractions, and she would walk in. But it really helped a lot. I actually had trouble keeping up with her!

No, she hasn't yet, I've asked her a few times to think it over reminding her of the park size. I am still taking the phone number with me in case by day two she has decided we should rent one for a week. For now though she assured me she has been out walking to get ready and her doctor scolded her so she is out walking now and will be fine... we'll see. I still think she underestimates the sheer size of WDW since it's been over 20 years since she was there last. Thanks for the tips and info.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I was going to say commando, but I'm thinking you mean something slightly different than I mean.

I don't plan any kind of ride order - in that sense I'm totally laid back. We're opportunistic. We try to see a little of everything - but we'll focus on the things that have relative short lines.

I am commando inthe snese that I liek to be onthe go.

I often go in a large family group; they slow me down, even though were all goers. It's a challenge to keep everyone happy, cooperative, and focused on the collective good. But mostly it's lots of fun. Tolerating the slow pace is a challenge for everyone. The trade-off is great family memories.

MK after dark is my favorite! We get giddy after midnight!

We go to WDW partly for the workout! To us, that IS relaxing.There's always SO much to see and do, you can never quite do it all.

It also depends where we are staying. When we stay at the nicer resorts, we take a little time to enjoy them. So those trips are more of what I think you mean by 'relaxed pace.'

All that said, we do take breaks when necessary.

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

I am commando inthe snese that I liek to be onthe go.

What happened there?

MK after dark is my favorite! We get giddy after midnight!

Ha ha! We'll have to try this so called 'giddyness', LOL!

 

[KJay]

Commando- I treat any/every day at WDW like it might be my last visit ever- which may be true!! I've been fortunate to return a few times, but every time might be the last- so I like to wring every last drop out of it! There are some vacations that are for relaxing...but for me, WDW is NOT one of those vacations...

 

[NLD]

In between.

I check park hours to see which day we'll visit each park.

I make a few ADRs (less than one per day...) based on those park hours.

No dining plan. No plans for the meals that we don't have ADRs, we'll eat wherever we are at the time.

Haven't made a rope drop yet.

Once at a park, though, we do hit a lot of attractions. No touring plan, just use knowledge of the parks to hit the popular attractions at the right times.

Open to allowing the things to change based on needs at the time.