Disney UNplanned

[cy1229]

One of my best friends is at WDW right now. She and her family and mother-in-law went down (7 people in total) for the week. Staying off-site. Bought tickets through a discount broker. Probably no ADR's (ate at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner last night!!). Doubtful they downloaded any apps. 4 days in the parks. You get the idea.

Anyway, I'm wondering if she doesn't know something the rest of us don't. I've been reading the posts about the magic bands, and the FP+ system, and the angst in getting everything linked, thinking that a Disney vacation is now more stressful than ever. Maybe those who "don't know better" or "aren't in the know" actually do know more than us?

Thoughts?

[Alacrity]

I think it depends on what you just have to do on your trip. And how much into planning you are. For some that seems to be good fun. If you absolutely have to go to a specific restaurant or ride, it's definitely wise to plan ahead. If you're more flexible and can just eat whatever or ride what you can (with potentially long waits), OK. Though, I believe a little planning ahead avoids wasted time and disappointment. I think your friends may run into a bit of that. For ourselves (wife and I), we usually plan what Park we'll go to each day, make one ADR somewhere we want to try and use fast pass whenever possible. We don't wait in lines more than 20-30 minutes long. But, we've been enough and we know we'll return so that we don't have to do everything. We also don't do meal plans (we have Tables In Wonderland instead) or the FP+ as that does seem a bit like work to us.

[Amy]

I can't imagine taking such a large group to WDW with absolutely nothing planned ahead I hope they at least read the park maps and understand the FP system so they can utilize that. Otherwise I suppose they will be fine as long as they don't want to eat at any of the table service restaurants. It will be interesting to see what they think of the trip though. It seems to me that those are the kind of people that come back and say what a waste of money WDW was, couldn't ride anything, couldn't get in anywhere to eat, etc...
Will you check back in and let us know how they thought the trip went please??
P.S. Did they ask you anything about WDW before they went?!

[Wizzard419]

I think many people way over-plan their trip to begin with. If you're fretting over vacation, you are kind of missing the point. That being said Disney isn't considered a relaxing vacation since you are perpetually trying to cram as much stuff into your stay as possible. It is very possible to just go and do things without a plan though some people here would probably have a stroke.

The ADR system is pretty much broken since it requires you to plan and commit to what, where, and when you will be eating up to six months out. With a few exceptions, there are no places that serve anything that merits such a commitment. At the same time, I am sure it would also be a mess if they had same day reservations only since people would run to places and jam up the resort lines the moment they could start taking reservations.

[boilerbabe]

Disney doesn't have to be stressful. DH and I make an itinerary and we kinda follow it. You're on vacation!! You're supposed to enjoy! We only make a few ADR's per trip since we don't like being tied down. For us, it's fun to plan and anticipate, but once we get there, the itinerary is more like what you call guidelines!

When we went in '12 for the marathon, we had people on the trip that complained b/c they planned absolutely nothing and then expected to be able to do everything! Just depends what kind of vaca you're looking for!

I do hope they have fun, and let us know how it all turned out!

[Wizzard419]

Is that an unreasonable expectation though? I mean you are at a place where it is designed to get you everywhere with ease, they don't really push the ADR system to you when booking, etc. Is there a prompt when you book your trip online or wherever that says "Don't forget to make your dinner reservations"?

[laurie5658]

Planning a Disney trip is all part of the fun IMHO including the ADR's. It doesn't have to be stressful at all. I just linked our MB's very easily and I had an AP to link and hubby had a RunDisney park ticket I linked. Easy peasey with no problems. I also linked our resort room only reservation and FP's. I am sorry to those having difficulties but for me it was so easy.

[cy1229]

I got a text from Julie yesterday that said she thought two days at WDW was plenty. I told her she was way off base. But she also said she's more of a beach person. She and her BF haven't gotten any time without the kids around - her daughter is 15 and his kids are 12, 10, and 7. I told her a stroll through World Showcase, just the two of them, or even at the Boardwalk, would be nice. I don't know if they did it. I was mostly asking her questions about her (very needy) dog and what it is she wanted from me. Julie and her daughter have been to WDW before, just for a couple of days, with Julie's parents and sister and b.i.l. and I don't think they did a whole lot of planning ahead of time.

Julie did ask Jeff and I a bunch of questions because they know how much we love Disney, but I think they decided to just do their own thing. They ate at Rainforest Cafe last night, which is always fun, and since we don't have one here in Indy it was a treat for the kids. I'll find out if her BF and his mother thought it was a worthwhile trip. For me, 4 days (2 down, 2 back) in the car with 4 kids would NOT be worth it.

[Amy]

I got a text from Julie yesterday that said she thought two days at WDW was plenty. I told her she was way off base. But she also said she's more of a beach person. She and her BF haven't gotten any time without the kids around - her daughter is 15 and his kids are 12, 10, and 7. I told her a stroll through World Showcase, just the two of them, or even at the Boardwalk, would be nice. I don't know if they did it. I was mostly asking her questions about her (very needy) dog and what it is she wanted from me. Julie and her daughter have been to WDW before, just for a couple of days, with Julie's parents and sister and b.i.l. and I don't think they did a whole lot of planning ahead of time.

Julie did ask Jeff and I a bunch of questions because they know how much we love Disney, but I think they decided to just do their own thing. They ate at Rainforest Cafe last night, which is always fun, and since we don't have one here in Indy it was a treat for the kids. I'll find out if her BF and his mother thought it was a worthwhile trip. For me, 4 days (2 down, 2 back) in the car with 4 kids would NOT be worth it.

Hmmm, doesn't sound like the perfect vacation for them for sure. If they are beach people, why didn't they just go there instead? I spend a lot of time in the car now but I don't think I would handle the 17 hours in the car...even to get to one of my favorite vacation spots! And with 4 kids to boot?! No thanks!

[Wizzard419]

I would imagine they went because their kids wanted to go. Since they sound like the relaxation vacation type, they probably would have been even more happy on a cruise.

[cy1229]

This was all the BF's mother's idea. The kids are good kids, and the oldest is Ellie's age (15) and her best friend, so we have her around quite a bit and enjoy her company. But when you get all the kids together, the energy and noise and busy-ness factors are all synergistic and it becomes overwhelming. I think if Julie had planned a get-away, she and the BF would have gone to Cancun ... alone. Or maybe with just her daughter and another friend along that's the same age and level of independence.

[boilerbabe]

My cousin just went last year for the first time in her life (so sad she's 26) her and her hubby are newly weds, he's totally not a Disney person, she talked to me prior to their trip, and they thought 2 days would be enuf! The horror!!! Anyway, they both ended up loving it, her more than him, and they were sorry they didn't have more days! See, if the non-Disney people would just listen to the Disney people, we do know what we're talking about!!!

Are they liking Disney at all?

[cy1229]

My cousin just went last year for the first time in her life (so sad she's 26) her and her hubby are newly weds, he's totally not a Disney person, she talked to me prior to their trip, and they thought 2 days would be enuf! The horror!!! Anyway, they both ended up loving it, her more than him, and they were sorry they didn't have more days! See, if the non-Disney people would just listen to the Disney people, we do know what we're talking about!!!

Are they liking Disney at all?

Don't know. They're on their way back today, and will be home tomorrow. I hope they didn't have *too* much fun, though, their cute little doggie misses them in spite of the new toy hubby bought her today.