Didn't Plan Our Trip

[ww52]

Whoops - I replied to this - after seeing it on the bottom of the screen - and didn't realize it's almost a year old.

An it would not let me delete my post - so I edited it to say "never mind".

 

[all*4*love]

Just keep checking the Disney World app for wait times and to see if any FastPasses open up. Last trip, we just grabbed them as soon as they can up and walked right over and got right in. Lots of people cancel their passes to do something else, so times open up...maybe not for the most popular rides, but keep looking. Same thing with meals. I was able to get an 8:00am reservation at 6:00am the same day. Cancellations happen. One tip, don't make too many character meal reservations. The first time we went we had free dining, so we had 6 character meals planned. Well, we had to cancel most of them, because my 5 year old was scared of the characters with hard heads. The plush ones were okay, but he would hide under the table if a hard head came near. We showed him pictures before we left, but you never know how they will react until they meet face to face.

 

[all*4*love]

Whoops - I replied to this - after seeing it on the bottom of the screen - and didn't realize it's almost a year old.

An it would not let me delete my post - so I edited it to say "never mind".

LOL!!! Me too. Oh well, maybe it'll help someone else.

 

[MikeNamez]

Hello,

We are leaving on May 17 for WDW for the first time and I am just now planning. I have reserved some fast pass selections and some dinner reservations however I noticed that most reservations are gone. Any suggestions for enjoying our trip without reservations and ideal fast pass selections? I had no idea how much time and energy needs to go into planning a WDW vacation. Next trip, I will plan well in advance, however this is my kids first trip so I still want it to be enjoyable. They are 7,6, and 22 months, so the 6 and 7 year old should remember the trip.

Any pointers or suggestions for a mom that did very little for the WDW trip. I thought this was to be a vacation and semi-relaxing but I am becoming overwhelmed.

Eat at the bar, if there is one. As long as there are seats available you would never need a reservation for that.

Keep checking fast passes, those are something you want to get for sure, even if you don't really plan much else.

 

[strike4]

We're non-planners. The only advantage we have over you is experience so we have a general idea of what will be busy when ie. Magic Kingdom on Saturdays are quite busy or eat at off times to avoid major rushes etc.

Just go where the wind takes you. If you end up waiting in line for something so be it. You'll be with your fam at Disney World. And in my opinion you'll have a much better time not tied to a schedule with small kids in tow.

You can consider this trip a "research trip" and you'll be better prepared for your next visit.

The first trip I took with my family was our favorite and we didn't plan anything. It is much more fun to do what you feel like in the moment and not be ruled by a clock.
I am trying to recreate that somewhat on our next trip.

 

[Antaniasmom]

I think sometimes people overthink the trip and it can turn your vacation into...work, ugh... I've done it both ways..our first trip I only had FP booked and not everyday. We had a blast! The last trip we went with SIL and she had ADR (2 meals)everyday, memory maker and had us going to all these shows. We missed out on Toy story Mania 3rd year in a row because of ADR ...it was a good trip don't get me wrong, but it always felt like we were getting pulled in all different directions. Our next trip will def be more relaxed. Just make sure you are having fun and don't sweat the small stuff!! Can't do it all, but you can always go back ☺

 

[Nancy O]

I would say maybe to get a Touring Plans subscription just for access to the Lines app to use while within the parks; it'll help you maximize your time while minimizing wait times. But it's certainly not a requirement, and toddlers will throw off schedules all the time!

Can you tell me more about the benefits of this app?

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

Can you tell me more about the benefits of this app?

Sure! The app will give you "real time" waits and you can rearrange plans on the fly if you hit a snag. For example, my kids went crazy for characters while we were there on our first big trip, which held us up on a couple of things. I hit "optimize" on the day's plan and it changed some things around and gave us a good idea of what to hit when. My personal limit on wait times is 30 minutes, and since using the app I don't think I've waited longer than that for anything except FOP.

My middle kid also likes being the one in charge of submitting wait times, so it keeps him occupied if we're doing a standby line!