Disney World without planning? Go for it!

Do I really have to schedule every minute of my Disney World trip? Is it necessary to book my Walt Disney World restaurants 180 DAYS (gasp!) before I show up to eat? What if I don’t feel like eating Italian food when I’m there?

Maybe you’ve had these thoughts. Or, maybe just the first two. Take heart. I’m here to tell you that you can truly enjoy a trip to Walt Disney World with very little planning. Yes. You heard me right. You can still have fun at Walt Disney World even if you don’t plan.

I present my reasons.

• There are numerous ways to be entertained beyond rides. The street shows throughout Epcot’s international showplace, for example, are fun, frequent and easy to “stumble upon” with no planning whatsoever. We were delighted to walk by China as the acrobat show was beginning or to stroll through Morocco in time for some belly-dancing. Many of the seated shows in Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are also easy to enjoy on a whim. Most of these shows take place numerous times a day in gigantic venues, which makes catching a performance fairly easy.  Examples include NEMO the Musical and the Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom or the Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage! and the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular at Hollywood Studios. The animatronic shows, such as the American Experience at Epcot or the Carousel of Progress at the Magic Kingdom are also frequent and easy to sneak in at the last moment if you happen to be in the area. Parades are a good idea too.  Disney World offers many forms of entertainment that don’t have a “start” time, so you can enjoy them whenever you want. Examples include: watching the animals at Animal Kingdom, exploring the exhibits in the International Showplace in Epcot, viewing the Star Wars movie props at Hollywood Studios, shopping just about everywhere or eating something Mickey-shaped. Seriously, just walking around the parks and taking in all of the details is fun.

• There are attractions that have relatively short wait times even when the parks are crowded. You’ve probably heard about FastPass+ and how it can save you time in line for popular attractions. It’s true. A FastPass+ for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train could save you an hour in line, maybe more. But, the reality is, there are many attractions that aren’t FastPass-worthy. In other words, the lines are short enough or the capacity of the attraction is large enough that you won’t have to wait long anyway. Many of these attractions are “classic” Disney World rides, such as the Mad Hatter’s Tea party (spinning teacups) or the People Mover at the Magic Kingdom. There are also newer, high-capacity rides that can have short waits on a regular basis such as The Seas with Nemo and Friends or Mission Space at Epcot.

• You can find somewhere to eat without a reservation. There are well over 100 places to eat throughout Walt Disney World.  Odds are you’ll go broke before you go hungry. Some table-service restaurants are fully booked 180 days in advance, which is when the reservation window opens. I can think of four or five reservations that can be very difficult to get even far in advance. Even if these are fully booked, that leaves plenty of options for you to enjoy. If you’re not picky, you should still be able to reserve a table-service restaurant within a week of your trip. If you decide where to eat the day of your visit, you will most likely end up at a quick-service or a snack cart location. Giant turkey leg, anyone?  This is 100% okay, because it will leave you with more time for other adventures. I should mention it is not unheard of, however, to find some walk-up availability.  Your best bets are within the International Showcase at Epcot or Disney Springs. If you’re still worried about it, Disney also lets you bring in your own food.

• What you don’t know you won’t miss! Yeah. This one gets tricky because the more I share with you the less it applies. But it’s absolutely true. Disney World is awesome. Dare I say, magical? If you can keep a sense of humor, you will have fun no matter what you do. Planning your trip down to every detail can add more variety to your entertainment and reduce the time in which you cover it, but you will still have fun either way. Maybe there was a detail you missed at the Haunted Mansion or a treat with a cult-like following that you skipped in Adventureland. Sure, it could add something extra to your trip, but it’s not like it wasn’t fun without these things.

Convinced yet? Don’t just take my word for it. Here’s a quote from The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2017 written by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa: “For the record, if you love theme parks, Disney World is as good as it gets-absolute Nirvana.  If you arrive without knowing a thing about the place and make every possible mistake, chances are about 90% that you’ll have a wonderful vacation anyway.” Feel better?

Hopefully this serves as encouragement to those of you that hate to plan and relief to those (like me!) who tend to plan every detail and worry about missing something.  Just so I’m clear, I’m not saying “don’t plan.”  I’m saying don’t let your dislike of planning keep you from visiting Disney World if you want to go. I have friends who have skipped Disney World because they think it’s too much work or requires some complicated itinerary. It can, but it doesn’t have to. You can always tag along with a friend that loves planning stuff or find a helpful travel agent. Or, you can just wing it and see what happens. Add a little magic to your world!