My parents are so naive.

[nighttowll]

May I suggest you look into the dark side. It wouldn’t require any preplanning at all. You could sleep in or not as you desire. No dining reservations needed, no ride reservations needed. Super easy and would fit your parents expectations of just showing up without a real plan or any prior commitment. Plus very easy to go to and from the resorts for pool time, afternoon breaks, or to catch up with the group later or leave early.

If you guys are set on Disney, I still wouldn’t panic too much. I planned a last minute trip for January this year. I think it was about 75 days out, so just before FP window opened. I was able to get us all the ADR we wanted at the times we wanted including CRT and a 8:00 PPO BOG. I was also able to get us all the FP we wanted as well. We used refresh to get more while in the park and never waited for anything. This was during a very crowded time of the year. You can definitely do a last minute trip. There are also a lot of non-waiting no need to schedule attractions people don’t think about that you guys can enjoy: The animal trails at AK, shows and movies, stage shows, parades, street performers, the scavenger hunt games at MK and Epcot, touring the country pavilions, the small aquarium at Epcot, touring the resorts, visiting Disney Springs, pin trading, the innovations pavilions, window shopping, snack and meal breaks, and of course the nightly shows each park offers. One of our favorite things to do is to sit down with a snack and watch the Jedi training. Those little kids are so cute and funny fighting the evil Sith. It’s completely line free anytime entertainment. No advance planning needed.

In the end, if you think it’s too much. Be honest with your parents. Tell them you don’t want to go or don’t want to plan it under these conditions. Let them plan or not plan it as they see fit. It isn’t worth trying to force something if you are going to end up completely stressed out. Maybe you can show them new maps of all 4 parks, so they can understand better how many attractions there are now. You could also download the app and show them the current wait times, so they see that you aren’t being over dramatic about the need to make plans or show them all the non existent dinner options on the app. These things may help them understand better. Hopefully, with a little work, you guys can come to some kind of compromise. If not, you have to decide if it is worth it to go or not under their conditions. Personally, if they are paying, I’d take the free trip and whatever we do we do, and I wouldn’t worry about the rest. Like I said before there are plenty of non waiting things to do, and you can use refresh to grab same day FP as long as you aren’t picky about what you ride. You’ve got to look at this as a family vacation with a little Disney on the side. The point being to enjoy spending time with your family no matter what or how much you are doing. Instead of looking at it as a Disney vacation I’m taking with my family. If that makes sense. Because unless you change their minds, that’s what you will be getting.

 

[RedSox68]

May I suggest you look into the dark side. It wouldn’t require any preplanning at all. You could sleep in or not as you desire. No dining reservations needed, no ride reservations needed. Super easy and would fit your parents expectations of just showing up without a real plan or any prior commitment. Plus very easy to go to and from the resorts for pool time, afternoon breaks, or to catch up with the group later or leave early.

(is this in reference to the park that should not be named?). If so, I 100% agree with your post. Sooo much easier, no panic, hassles or mind-blowing pre-trip planning -- and way less crowded. Plus you can walk everywhere instead of spending part of your day waiting for buses. And instead of fast passes, you just stay onsite and show your room key to "cut the line". Just a thought.

 

[heart goes boOm]

i am such a disney planner like everyone here and we've driven down to florida and did ONE day of Disney in AUGUST and it was still super MAGICAL. trust us, it's freaking doable. sure you may not ride on FoP or TSM without waiting for like 2hrs, but do they care? maybe they just wanna eat a mickey waffle in front of the castle with you.

 

[StageTek]

And it doesn't help when it's going to be a short trip. They can't do a whole week. And add on top of that is that they insist on driving again. (All the way from Indianapolis aaaaand there goes two days out of the trip). So all in all, I can't see us doing more than 3 days on their schedule. My mom even said one time that we can just go down there for a weekend. WDW? A 2-day experience???

I know this will fall of deaf ears...

Go for a weekend with your parents. Do what you can and don't think about everything you cant do. Enjoy your time with them. You can't possibly understand this now, but there will come a time when they are not around and will will wish for one, short weekend trip to Disney world with them.

So what if it's busy? Do what you can. If you get on two rides, enjoy those two rides!
So what if you can't get the best out of each park? Enjoy one day at Animal Kingdom which they have never seen and one day at the Magic Kingdom reliving old memories of when you were younger.
So what if they want to spend a good part of the day relaxing in the room? They're getting up in age, they will love being with you even if it's sitting by the pool or in the room. It will be a wonderful memory for them.

 

[slpeters]

We went to WDW for the first time ever this last November--long after both my parents passed, incidentally. We went for a week and planned it for four months. We flew, we stayed onsite. We opened a park each day and closed a park each day. We had touring plans that were like 25-35 steps each day. We did pretty much every freakin' thing--and when we do it again we'll probably do pretty much the same thing. It was amazing, but I never would have done it that way with my parents (who actually were wonderful to travel with)--I was positively relieved that my husband enjoyed it. If you have two days pick two parks, six fast passes, four other rides you want to do standby, four nice restaurants (it's not like your parents will just die if they don't go to CRT) a handful of shows to see and two nighttime spectacles. If you're really concerned about crowds for the nighttime show maybe blow some of that money you're saving by not flying and do a nice dessert party. And then absolutely put all thought about how it could have been done differently out of your head and enjoy the experience of Disney with your parents. If you're in Animal Kingdom and they ask if you're going to do that thing everyone is lined up for don't say "well, we could have if we stayed onsite for a week and I'd had at least three month's notice" just say "we could, but you have to wait like three hours for it, I didn't figure we wanted to do that--I hear it makes people nauseous any way" and just move on to what you are going to do.

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

I have went twice with my parents in their 60’s and dh, ds and did. We drive from Ohio. On arrival day, if you are getting there late, go to Disney springs. They stayed 4 nights, arriving in the evening the first night, went to Disney Springs. Did 3 park days. Checked out early the next day to drive home.

Then depending on if they are willing to do 2 or 3 day tickets, book fast passes in the afternoon. This way if they get up late or want to sleep in you won’t miss them. Get a park hopper and pick out 3 fast passes for each day you have park tickets on which rides they would like the most. My dad loved the fastpass and skipping the line. Lol.

Make adr’s around the times they normally eat at restaurants you think they would like.

We had to walk a lot slower than we were used to, but it was about being there with them, not hurrying from ride to ride. We tried to do rides close together instead of cross crossing the park, due to my mom having a bad knee. And used dining and shows as built in breaks to sit and rest. You will have a great time, just different.

 

[toonaspie]

There's too much to respond to so let me respond here:

I was able to convince my mother that 2 days is not doable, so we agreed on 3 days tops. I can not get her to budge on driving because she hates flying (and far too late to find affordable nonstop flights to FL). My parents can not do a week because they are full-time babysitters to my sister's kids. It's a ridiculous situation with my sister but that is how it is. My dad did offer to let me stay longer solo and to fly me back at a later date. I've decided against this cause of the many complications that would be involved. My compromise instead will be that if we're driving and doing a short time there then we have to stay on-property, since there's already some silly talk by my mom about doing some airBnB or something. Maybe if we were going somewhere out in the country that would work, but not if we're going to central Florida!

Not going to even bother with ADRs on this trip. Aside from the prices and time consumption, my parents have a thing against wasting food and I know that nearly every time we go out, we end up with leftovers we take home to eat later. Not something that can be done on vacation, so I have no issue with doing just QSRs/kiosks for the whole thing. The most I plan to aim for is a BOG breakfast or lunch ADR and that's pretty much it.

I'm indecisive atm on parkhopping. If it comes down to doing one park each day, I could cut out DHS no problem. It's all dependent on what the crowd situation will be like which I can work around.

My biggest problem right now, and one that has me VERY FRUSTRATED is that we have no dates set in stone yet as to when we're going. I'm getting more anxious with every thread I see pop up about certain resort dates not being available and I've completely underestimated how bad/crowded it's going to be in October. (They won't enjoy crowds anymore than I will.) I can't even contact a travel agent to help me out with anything unless we know for sure about this. I have an idea for some dates but I don't know if it will work for them and that really what it all comes down to.

 

[Mome Rath]

I know this will fall of deaf ears...

Go for a weekend with your parents. Do what you can and don't think about everything you cant do. Enjoy your time with them. You can't possibly understand this now, but there will come a time when they are not around and will will wish for one, short weekend trip to Disney world with them.

So what if it's busy? Do what you can. If you get on two rides, enjoy those two rides!
So what if you can't get the best out of each park? Enjoy one day at Animal Kingdom which they have never seen and one day at the Magic Kingdom reliving old memories of when you were younger.
So what if they want to spend a good part of the day relaxing in the room? They're getting up in age, they will love being with you even if it's sitting by the pool or in the room. It will be a wonderful memory for them.

This.

 

[10CJ]

Why have you ruled out Feb/Mar? I think that seems like a much better option instead of trying to cram in a last minute trip this fall. This could also potentially give them more time to alert your sister that she needs to find other care for her children.

Fall can be busy. Fall also adds to complication of working around the party schedule. Something you might not want to deal with on such a short trip.

 

[Allison]

You can no longer just drive down and show up. You have to plan everything ahead of time.

Sure you can and you can have a good time doing it.

 

[toonaspie]

Why have you ruled out Feb/Mar? I think that seems like a much better option instead of trying to cram in a last minute trip this fall. This could also potentially give them more time to alert your sister that she needs to find other care for her children.

Fall can be busy. Fall also adds to complication of working around the party schedule. Something you might not want to deal with on such a short trip.

When the topic of going to WDW was first discussed with the fam almost a year back, my sister said she would have a harder time getting time off of work in the Feb/Mar season to stay at home with her kids and said that the fall would be easier.

We can do parkhoppers if the Halloween party does become a major interference. Depends on our yet TBD dates though.

 

[StageTek]

Maybe try being a little more open minded about options. It's clear you cannot do Disney exactly the way you want to, the way you know is best, but if you open up a little and accept different possibilities you may have a really good time.

My compromise instead will be that if we're driving and doing a short time there then we have to stay on-property, since there's already some silly talk by my mom about doing some airBnB or something. Maybe if we were going somewhere out in the country that would work, but not if we're going to central Florida!

There are some wonderful AirB&B's near WDW. Separate bedrooms, kitchen for morning coffee, free parking, a little more space. Outside the "bubble" yes, but perhaps a little more comfortable and homey for your getting up there in age parents. I've been researching for my January trip which may include a couple of friends. On site is great not a little more space and privacy is really nice. If you'd like some suggestions I'd be happy to. That could reduce your frustration about on-site availability. AND you might actually enjoy having a private bedroom to get away from your parents for a little bit in the evening.

You seem to be a big planner and I understand that anxiety not planning can cause. It might not be so terrible to give it a once-in-a-lifetime try. I suspect you'll have a great time but if you don't and this little trip is horrible and stressful, then you'll now for sure to never try it again.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I know this will fall of deaf ears...

Go for a weekend with your parents. Do what you can and don't think about everything you cant do. Enjoy your time with them. You can't possibly understand this now, but there will come a time when they are not around and will will wish for one, short weekend trip to Disney world with them.

So what if it's busy? Do what you can. If you get on two rides, enjoy those two rides!
So what if you can't get the best out of each park? Enjoy one day at Animal Kingdom which they have never seen and one day at the Magic Kingdom reliving old memories of when you were younger.
So what if they want to spend a good part of the day relaxing in the room? They're getting up in age, they will love being with you even if it's sitting by the pool or in the room. It will be a wonderful memory for them.

Very well said. These are the memories that will be cherished long after her parents are gone. The crowds will not be remembered. I have great memories with my mom and children. I couldn't tell you the crowd numbers for those days.

 

[TAPMD]

It's been more than 20 years since my parents last went to WDW (this was before Animal Kingdom opened). They last drove to Florida to drop me off and pick me up for the WDW College Program around 2007-2008. We didn't visit parks during that time.

Now my parents want us to do a (short) last-minute trip.

This is frustrating for a number of reasons but the biggest being is that they don't get how much WDW has changed since they last went there. You can no longer just drive down and show up. You have to plan everything ahead of time.

And it doesn't help when it's going to be a short trip. They can't do a whole week. And add on top of that is that they insist on driving again. (All the way from Indianapolis aaaaand there goes two days out of the trip). So all in all, I can't see us doing more than 3 days on their schedule. My mom even said one time that we can just go down there for a weekend. WDW? A 2-day experience???

They don't even know when to go yet. The most I was able to convince them was that our previous visits of Feb/March were no longer a good time to go (crowd wise). This will likely be something in late Sept/Oct but even that time period is going to have their busy (unpredictable) spots and chances are very likely that we'll miss our FP+ res window by the time we've settled on dates. Not to mention potential storms that could occur.

It's all frustrating to say the least and I'm likely gonna be in charge of planning because of all the tech involved. I'm past the point we're I've accepted that we're not gonna do everything I want to do there obviously. But how we can get the most/best out of 4 parks AND Disney Springs in only 3 days is the real trick question here. My parents are up there in age so there's not much they'll be able to do anyway and if it's too hot when we go then that creates more problems. And then there's the dreaded crowds and the pricing of well...everything! I feel like there's no relief to be found to even things out here.

I've written this to mostly vent but any additional advice is always appreciated. This is still the planning stages and everything's subjected to change.

Please define “up there in age?”

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This is just my take.

My in-laws who haven't been in something like 17 years maybe longer---they don't care about getting in all the rides and stuff like I do.

My mom who hasn't been in something like 27 years also doesn't care about getting in all the rides and stuff like I do.

Most important question to me is what do they hope to achieve? Is it that they want a low key go on some rides, watch some shows, maybe eat some slower paced meals? Or do they want to go comando and go go go?

If it's the former then open yourself up to vacationing their way, it's quite possible that they don't even concern themselves with what they won't be able to do time and planning-wise and are much more concerned with just being there and enjoying the time there even if limited. One thing I could advise is if they want to get to the parks much later than you want talk with them about comfortability with possibly meeting you at the parks so that you can go earlier on--that one def. depends on how comfortable they are with navigating to actually get to the parks.

If it's the latter then yes I would say it's going to be harder as that requires more upfront work (FPs, ADRs if you want TS places, etc) and def. if they want to actually explore all 4 parks but I'd still lean towards a more compromise for this option--do things your way combined with their way so some pre-planning but leaving it up for a more leisurely pace. That actually brings up another point--what parks are they interested in.

 

[TAPMD]

My trouble isn't so much their age or their limited-ness. My trouble is not being able to predict what they can or can not do thus making it harder to plan where and when we'll be at a certain place. We could end up sleeping in one morning or end up leaving the parks early another for unpredictable reasons. There's no way to see what could happen in advance.

We rarely vacation and even rarer do overnight stays outside of staying over with relatives so who knows what it could be like for them outside of home. They might be able to get up early but that really depends on them. I'm optimistic though that it won't take them the entire morning to get ready like it was going to Florida with my friend last year.

Also I don't think they have any major attraction preferences so I will be stuck with planning all that stuff out. I know my mom and I are not thrill ride people so that should make things somewhat easier.

If it's anything like our past drives, we're probably gonna leave early morning before and spend the whole day driving till we get there. I'm worried how much energy that will take out of us. Plus it's a longer drive than we're normally used to so we might have to stay overnight at a hotel somewhere there and back maybe. I'm more worried now about not having our dates figured out cause if we don't do it soon, our best resort options will be sold out.

You could try surprising them with airline tickets.

 

[TAPMD]

Maybe try being a little more open minded about options. It's clear you cannot do Disney exactly the way you want to, the way you know is best, but if you open up a little and accept different possibilities you may have a really good time.

There are some wonderful AirB&B's near WDW. Separate bedrooms, kitchen for morning coffee, free parking, a little more space. Outside the "bubble" yes, but perhaps a little more comfortable and homey for your getting up there in age parents. I've been researching for my January trip which may include a couple of friends. On site is great not a little more space and privacy is really nice. If you'd like some suggestions I'd be happy to. That could reduce your frustration about on-site availability. AND you might actually enjoy having a private bedroom to get away from your parents for a little bit in the evening.

You seem to be a big planner and I understand that anxiety not planning can cause. It might not be so terrible to give it a once-in-a-lifetime try. I suspect you'll have a great time but if you don't and this little trip is horrible and stressful, then you'll now for sure to never try it again.

I’ve also rented a house in Orlando during a visit and loved it! We even had our own pool!

 

[disneyworldsk]

i guess i'm opposite from everyone . i wouldn't go at all. you sound very stressed very anxious and very unhappy and frustrated. there are other local things to enjoy not disney in your neck of the woods i'm sure. it's just too much for you and sometimes trying to please everyone causes more harm then good. if you have one bit of stress or anger it will flow into the trip and so not worth that. just doesn't sound like fun really it sounds like you're trying to force memories. it's ok to not do this and actually say no, no this isn't in my best interest we can do something else close by.

 

[crazylady]

Honestly, it's going to be way more crowded than your used to, no matter when you go. I don't think Feb is a bad time to go.

As far as the length of the trip, there is no reason why you can only be there the same time as your parents. Tack on a few days before or after them if you'd like a longer trip.

 

[bpesch]

But how we can get the most/best out of 4 parks AND Disney Springs in only 3 days is the real trick question here.

You can't. Period. You have to plan this trip with the idea that you can only do so much and accept the time limitations. Definitely not worth stressing over. Do what they can handle and plan a more extensive trip for another time.