What is the shortest length of time you have planned a trip in?

[4disneybound]

Hello fellow vacationers!

Am I crazy to be planning a trip to Universal/Disney only a month and a half before going? With all of the extensive trip planning posts, Genie +, ADR's etc. I'm wondering if my laid-back, last minute approach to this trip will work?

Some background info: family of 4 with two teenage boys planning to vacation from August 27 - Sept. 4th. Been to Disney twice for 6/7 day trips (2011 POP Century and 2014 Port Orleans Riverside) and Universal once (2018 - 3 days Royal Pacific with EP). All 3 trips were in May, and I planned extensively at least 6 months or more in advance.....had the whole trip planning binders and made sure we got to fit in EVERYTHING! I think maybe the pandemic, getting older, and the relaxed pace of working from home changed me because I just don't want to do that now. Lol

My original plan was to do Universal only, (more cost-effective, and the kids are more into thrill rides now) and stay on property at CB (no EPs) for 7 days with lots of pool/downtime - maybe 4 or 5-day park-to-park tickets including a day at VB and attending opening night at HHN with EP. Book flight, hotel, park tickets, some meal rv’s……DONE.

I am now considering 2 Disney days at the start of the trip. We would visit AK and HS and hit the new things that the boys and hubby want to see - Pandora, Star Wars etc. with an onsite stay at S&D.

Should I stick to my original plan or is 7 days at Universal too much? Is there still time to build in Disney time? Would love to get any and all feedback!!

Here is how the schedule looks in my mind:

Fri Aug 26 - Drive from TO to Buffalo and stay overnight - no way am I going near Pearson airport!
Sat Aug 27 - mid-morning flight to Orlando. We would arrive at Disney around 12:30/1:00. Not sure if this would be enough time to do AK or if just chill. Probably spend the day relaxing, pool, dinner at Disney Springs or check out the Boardwalk area.
Sun Aug 28 - HS Day, rope drop, mid-day break, back to park in the evening.
Mon Aug 29 - AK day and either spend another night at Disney boardwalk area and hotel, or check out and head to Universal
Tues Aug 30 - first Universal day break from parks after Disney days. Dinner at City Walk.
Aug 31 - Sept 1st - Early entry IOA and US days with mid-day break and evenings back at parks
Fri Sept 2 - lazy morning, pool/relaxing, later park day and HHN with EP. Sat Sept 3 - Either VB or parks for last day.
Sun Sept 4 - Early AM flight home

I know that Aug. is going to be much hotter than May, and that's why I want to spend more downtime at Universal. I just hate to be in Florida and not spend a bit of time at Disney if it is doable. Are EP’s at Universal needed at this time of year? Is HHN worth it (my kids are 15/17)?

Am I nuts for planning this all in my head with nothing yet booked? I have checked out flights and just trying to decide what to do before diving in.

 

[Fely the 1st]

Sounds good to me! Maybe you can not do everything you would like to do but in my experience there are always other things to do instead and sometimes they are even more fun. You have enough time to focus one the headliners in US and IOA in the morning. And it is so amazing to have a short planned trip, for me it always feels like a special treat.
So go and have fun!

 

[lockets]

I vote to do the two days at Disney.

Did you check hotel availability and Disney park reservations? I would at least book hotel w a free canx if possible and make sure park reservations are available for HS and AK on days you want to go.

 

[4disneybound]

I vote to do the two days at Disney.

Did you check hotel availability and Disney park reservations? I would at least book hotel w a free canx if possible and make sure park reservations are available for HS and AK on days you want to go.

I did check both last week, but will have to take another look!

 

[RamblingMad]

I planned a Universal trip out one week. And it worked out fine. But I didn't get the best prices on hotel stays. I also extended a trip and booked a Universal hotel a day out.

You'll be fine. It's not Disney.

 

[lisam70]

Last year I booked 11/26 and went on 12/5. That was still when hotel prices were reasonable too! was one of our best trips.

 

[zillayen]

We’ve often booked trips to WDW or Universal less than two weeks in advance. It’s actually kind of nice because your options for hotel, whatever are more limited, we just book what’s available and plan to be happy with what we can get.

For Spring Break this year we did a split trip and booked it 13 days in advance. Get park hoppers for WDW if the parks you want aren’t available to reserve and hop after 2. The new Genie+ is actually better than FP was for these last minute trips because you can’t reserve anything until the day you’re going to the park anyway. Check the day before for the ADRs you want if you can’t get them now - things often pop up as people hit the cancellation deadline, even the super popular stuff like Oga’s.

Universal requires almost no planning compared to WDW. If you can stay at a premier resort with Express you can really just show up at the parks and do whatever seems like fun. Do Velocicoaster at Early Entry and Hagrids near the end of the day. Even without EP it’s more than doable if you have 5 days, but it’s going to be awfully hot in August so go early (parks start to get pretty crowded by 10 am), take a pool break, and go back after 5-6. We were just back at Universal in June and the heat was brutal. Have fun!

 

[Skywalker3]

Hello fellow vacationers!

Am I crazy to be planning a trip to Universal/Disney only a month and a half before going? With all of the extensive trip planning posts, Genie +, ADR's etc. I'm wondering if my laid-back, last minute approach to this trip will work?

Some background info: family of 4 with two teenage boys planning to vacation from August 27 - Sept. 4th. Been to Disney twice for 6/7 day trips (2011 POP Century and 2014 Port Orleans Riverside) and Universal once (2018 - 3 days Royal Pacific with EP). All 3 trips were in May, and I planned extensively at least 6 months or more in advance.....had the whole trip planning binders and made sure we got to fit in EVERYTHING! I think maybe the pandemic, getting older, and the relaxed pace of working from home changed me because I just don't want to do that now. Lol

My original plan was to do Universal only, (more cost-effective, and the kids are more into thrill rides now) and stay on property at CB (no EPs) for 7 days with lots of pool/downtime - maybe 4 or 5-day park-to-park tickets including a day at VB and attending opening night at HHN with EP. Book flight, hotel, park tickets, some meal rv’s……DONE.

I am now considering 2 Disney days at the start of the trip. We would visit AK and HS and hit the new things that the boys and hubby want to see - Pandora, Star Wars etc. with an onsite stay at S&D.

Should I stick to my original plan or is 7 days at Universal too much? Is there still time to build in Disney time? Would love to get any and all feedback!!

Here is how the schedule looks in my mind:

Fri Aug 26 - Drive from TO to Buffalo and stay overnight - no way am I going near Pearson airport!
Sat Aug 27 - mid-morning flight to Orlando. We would arrive at Disney around 12:30/1:00. Not sure if this would be enough time to do AK or if just chill. Probably spend the day relaxing, pool, dinner at Disney Springs or check out the Boardwalk area.
Sun Aug 28 - HS Day, rope drop, mid-day break, back to park in the evening.
Mon Aug 29 - AK day and either spend another night at Disney boardwalk area and hotel, or check out and head to Universal
Tues Aug 30 - first Universal day break from parks after Disney days. Dinner at City Walk.
Aug 31 - Sept 1st - Early entry IOA and US days with mid-day break and evenings back at parks
Fri Sept 2 - lazy morning, pool/relaxing, later park day and HHN with EP. Sat Sept 3 - Either VB or parks for last day.
Sun Sept 4 - Early AM flight home

I know that Aug. is going to be much hotter than May, and that's why I want to spend more downtime at Universal. I just hate to be in Florida and not spend a bit of time at Disney if it is doable. Are EP’s at Universal needed at this time of year? Is HHN worth it (my kids are 15/17)?

Am I nuts for planning this all in my head with nothing yet booked? I have checked out flights and just trying to decide what to do before diving in.

Sounds like a super fun trip!! Glad you've built in LOTS of rest time midday, it'll be needed in August for sure. We are just back from a June trip, and it was HOT. And rained a couple days, not for long on either, but enough to drench. We've planned 2 Universal trips w/in 2 weeks of going , so can totally be done. Disney, a bit more planning required, but mostly related to making sure you have reservations. We didn't use Genie+ at all, so no suggestions there, but we had 6 days, so wasn't really needed. I think Swan/Dolphin get the extra early entry??? not sure, but if so, try and take advantage of them. We rope dropped AK and HS, and got most big things done. HS is going to be the park that wil have LONG lines early at multiple rides. (AK mostly FoP will have the insane lines, ALL day, but it's SO worth it, Navi, not worth it for us. Rode in 2017, and good for a long ;while) We did choose Rise/resistance at rope drop, and at night's end, and FoP right at rope drop. Also. love Satuli Canteen at AK, and Docking bay 7 (or Ronto Roasters,) at HS.
ETA: Oga's is a fun experience. I didn't get a reservation before the trip, but kept checking availability day before, and one popped up. Not a convenient time, midday, but fun enough.
Not sure if you're considering droid building or light sabers, but those reservations are generally booked up at 60 days, and not sure if that can be found last min.
Mobile order is VERY easy at Disney parks. Both Pandora and Galaxy's Edge are really cool to see at night.
we used Mobile order at Univeral a few weeks ago, and was pleasantly surprised how well it worked.
There are lots of good threads here on rope dropping Hagrids vs VC, and good to read over all of that. We've done both, but we all prefer VC. I'd say about 85 % of folks go to Hagrids at rope drop, and it keeps a steady line ALL day. but it's still a fun experience. We got multiple rides on VC at rope drop, and went back later during the day. Also, after VC, was so easy to ride FJ, then be near Hulk at its opening, and do other Marvel stuff, then head to Universal, before crowds got there.
Get the apps for both Disney and universal and start reviewing wait times if you can, even if not specific to your days, you'll get ideas of trends.
Happy planning!! Last minute trips are so, so fun! lots and lots of great info here on these boards.

 

[4disneybound]

Thanks everyone for your feedback! So helpful to get opinions and thoughts of others!
UPDATE: I have booked our flights from Aug 27 - Sept 4! Flying down on JetBlue and back to Buffalo on Southwest. Now just to book a night before hotel in Buffalo and make the final park decisions and book hotel stays and tickets!

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks everyone for your feedback! So helpful to get opinions and thoughts of others!
UPDATE: I have booked our flights from Aug 27 - Sept 4! Flying down on JetBlue and back to Buffalo on Southwest. Now just to book a night before hotel in Buffalo and make the final park decisions and book hotel stays and tickets!

Congratulations!!

Glad to hear you got your flights booked.......

 

[AngieInOH]

Disney is a different beast than 2011/2014. I wouldn't just wing it. Do at least a little research.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Hello fellow vacationers!

Am I crazy to be planning a trip to Universal/Disney only a month and a half before going? With all of the extensive trip planning posts, Genie +, ADR's etc. I'm wondering if my laid-back, last minute approach to this trip will work?

I just booked a Universal trip last night. We leave in 10 days so no, you are not crazy, or we both are.

 

[4disneybound]

I just booked a Universal trip last night. We leave in 10 days so no, you are not crazy, or we both are.

I hope you have an amazing time!

 

[4disneybound]

Now just to sort out the rest of the itinerary!

Thinking about doing a 3rd night at Disney as Epcot has Extended evening hours until 11PM on August 29th. We would probably do rope drop at AK that day and head to FoP and Na'vi River, and then try to get in Safari, EE, Dinosaur and Lion King. Head back to the hotel for a few hours and then hop into Epcot for EEH.

I really don't want to add on more cost with Genie+ but think it might be beneficial at HS on Aug. 28 with so many headliner rides. I'm also wondering if it's worth a 3rd day ticket price to go into a park (MK or Epcot) on our arrival day? Would that mean adding hoppers to 3 days instead of 2 though when we would only really need to hop on the 29th? Is it possible to buy 2 (or even 1) single day base tickets and then 1 single day with hoppers, or is it cheaper to just get hoppers for the 2 or 3 days?

Why does it have to be so complicated? I think the problem with Disney is that it's just TOO EASY to keep adding on days, and 2 days becomes 3, becomes added park hoppers etc etc.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

I'm no newbie to Disney or Universal so maybe it doesn't count but I booked our July 4 trip on June 15 to be exact. Left on July 1. Booked flights, hotels at both parks, all of it. Did BWI at Disney, Portofino at Universal. Found AP rates with both.
I don't plan Universal at all. We use EP for everything but the 2 rides that don't have it
Only used Genie at HS 1 day at Disney, I'm still not good at it quite honestly. Did use VQ for Guardians (that I am good at) and $ILL
Brought DGD (14) with us and let her direct both parks planning. She doesn't like to repeat rides so one and done for her. Except we rode Guardians 6 times. DH and I had already been down twice to ride.
We did 6 days at Disney, with a pool day and 4 days at Universal, with a pool day.
Anyway, maybe it was easy for us because we don't try to do a lot? DGD has been to Disney a lot, Universal several times and we don't try to repeat a lot of rides but we did do all rides so nothing got left out.

 

[DizKids2]

Now just to sort out the rest of the itinerary!

Thinking about doing a 3rd night at Disney as Epcot has Extended evening hours until 11PM on August 29th. We would probably do rope drop at AK that day and head to FoP and Na'vi River, and then try to get in Safari, EE, Dinosaur and Lion King. Head back to the hotel for a few hours and then hop into Epcot for EEH.

I really don't want to add on more cost with Genie+ but think it might be beneficial at HS on Aug. 28 with so many headliner rides. I'm also wondering if it's worth a 3rd day ticket price to go into a park (MK or Epcot) on our arrival day? Would that mean adding hoppers to 3 days instead of 2 though when we would only really need to hop on the 29th? Is it possible to buy 2 (or even 1) single day base tickets and then 1 single day with hoppers, or is it cheaper to just get hoppers for the 2 or 3 days?

Why does it have to be so complicated? I think the problem with Disney is that it's just TOO EASY to keep adding on days, and 2 days becomes 3, becomes added park hoppers etc etc.

Normally I would say to add the 1/2 day on at Disney, but with all of the delays and flight cancelations going on, it could also be a risk if you end up arriving later than planned.
For our last Disney trip we flew out just after 7 AM. I actually purchased Genie+ and was able to book a more popular ride later in the day, then get another once we landed and yet another before we got to the park, so we had some lightning lanes available for us once we arrived at the park and were able to get more done in the half day. That would be a lot of $ between Genie + and the extra ticket day, but could be worth it if you go to MK that day.

I don't think you are crazy at all for planning last minute. The real pain is park reservation availability at Disney, but that week it hopefully won't be too bad.

I believe it will still be cheaper to buy the multi day ticket with hoppers than to buy multiple single day and only one single day with hoppers.

 

[AJA]

At Disney you have to stay at a Deluxe hotel to get Extra/Extended Evening hours-they are not available to all guests anymore.

 

[Jabroniville]

Doesn't seem so bad to plan that early- I had to last year after the borders FINALLY opened up between Canada and the US- you seem to be closer so the travel isn't as huge a pain.

 

[mco65]

Going back at least 6 or 7 years, a couple days after Christmas, while eating dinner at Olive Garden on a Friday, DW mentioned something about having to go to Orlando the next week for a UT Football (bowl) game. I mentioned that i was off work that week and perhaps we could all (5 of us) go down for the week to either Daytona or Clearwater.. she then said, why don't we go to Disney.. that Sunday we were on a plane bound for Orlando. As i recall, it was not my favorite trip and we had to change resorts a couple different times with the last couple days off site.. to top it off the parks were more crowded than at any time i had ever been... I wouldn't do it again but even a crazy busy week at Disney is better than any week any place else. IMO.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

The same day. I planned the trip as we were driving to the airport. Life of a wife to a pilot and you get use to doing things on the "fly"