This will be my third time going to Disney. It’s just me and my husband. We’re not booking any dining because we don’t know when we’ll want to eat so we just do QS as we go. I bought the Unofficial Guide book this time and it’s making me feel guilty about not having a touring plan. I hate the idea of consulting a list instead of just meandering around. Does anyone else on here just “wing it”?
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I rarely “wing it” at WDW. That being said, if it is just the two of you adults, and you have an idea of what your expectations are, then there is no reason why you couldn’t.
There are certain realities:
- There are plenty of dining reservations to be had on a “wing it” basis. But, certain high demand restaurants will not be available at the last minute;
- Lines form at the major attractions. If you show up 2 hours after park opening, there are likely to be long waits at the headliner attractions. However, if you have less desire to see headliners, or are ok missing one or two, you may be able to find last minute FPP for some (maybe all) of the headliners.
Winging it at WDW just means you need to have extreme flexibility and know what you are getting into. The Unofficial Guide will help lay out those expectations.
Just get familiar with the way the parks work, adjust your expectations, and you can have a great time.
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Probably not; we all seem to be super planners. I think I love the planning almost as much as the trip itself. Liners hate lines at Disney, hate waiting for anything, including deciding what to do next while we are in the parks. We almost all consider time spent deciding where to eat, a waste of precious park time. But we are ready to acknowledge that we are all a bit weird, and will gladly give you permission to do Disney your own way.
We won’t judge you if you don’t judge us, but we are here to help you if you should want our type of help.
Seriously, we all hope you have a great time doing it your own way. And we love to read after-trip reports. So let us know how it all goes, if you want to.
Above all have a great time
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Well, you’re probably asking a bunch of people who plan trips 4722 days in advance, count down day by day meanwhile reading a 2000 page book cover to cover so they know everything knowable and get up at the crack of dawn to decide where and what they’ll be eating six months from then. So no, we’re not really wing it kinda people. 
I find great joy in the planning and do touring plans for fun sometimes.
That being said, you can have a fantastic trip without obsesively checking off a list!
Just check your expectations frequently… you probably won’t get to see FoP or BoG without big waits if at all. Will that break your heart? If you can live with that then waltz along and have a great time!
Maybe for your fourth trip we’ll manage to brain wash you and you’ll join us of your own accord… bwahahahaha!
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I am going to do fast passes and I’ve been reading on here about modifying them and then getting more once I use them. And I bought the guide book… So I really am trying! But the touring plan might just be one step too far for me! I have about five months left so maybe I’ll change my mind before then. 
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We book fastpasses, maybe one dining reservation a day, but otherwise wing it. I’m a project manager professionally so I don’t really like to have to stick to a schedule while on vacation. Trying to get everyone to stick to a schedule is what I do for a living and not something I’m doing on vacation. Also, I have two kids and I don’t want to have to force them to do things in a certain order if they are suddenly really interested in something near by.
I’ll use the lines app if we are debating between rides or if the line is long to look at the lines going up / down notes for the rides. We normally won’t get in a line if it’s more than 30 min
We also don’t rope drop (it’s vacation and we are normally on central time) except Epcot and Hollywood and only because we stay at BCV.
I’m realizing I don’t really fit in with this group 
But I really like y’all and appreciate your advice.
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Ok, good to know there are others like me! Lol. I ended up with a subscription to touring plans because it was free through my Disney travel agent. This chat has been immensely helpful but a tad bit overwhelming. During our second Disney trip, we didn’t realize until the last day that we could get more fast passes after we used our three. I was standing in line for Haunted Mansion messing with the MDE app and accidentally got a fast pass. So we ran out of the regular line and right into the fast pass lane. Best day ever!! So I’m trying to make sure I’m not missing anything huge like that for this trip.
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I think I’m a rope drop gal, but realized while planning that my hubby and stepson are not. They are night owls. It would be a recipe for disaster to plan rope drops we can never meet.
So, I have a loose plan, starting late. I did get a touring plan to give us a great gameplan, but I’m going to keep it flexible and super adaptable. The touring plan at least gives an idea where to start. It’s our first trip, so I’m lookig forward to trying it.
I DID tell my hubby that any FOP fastpasses really should be adhered to though.
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I am all for going to RD on my own. I did that last time. My BIL and sister did not want to RD, we wanted. We met at the first morning FPP. That was a great plan; I got to ride a million rides early, they got to sleep-in but still experience rides together.
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Depends on when you go. But other than obtaining our obligatory fast passes, we generally do very little planning other than deciding what day we plan to go to what park (which is needed to plan the fast passes anyhow). It always works out just fine for us. BUT, we are experienced and go during times when crowds are quite low (first week of September, etc).
If we were going during times with larger crowds, I would find planning more necessary. But spontaneity is part of the fun. Hyper-planning a trip, for us, cuts into the joy of Disney. (Obviously, others feel differently.)
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I would say just study up on the maps, so you know basic locations of things and the park layouts. Know what rides are going to have long waits, so you can zig while everyone else zags. I do think without kids and the pressure of hitting everything, Disney would be an awesome place to people watch and just hang out.
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I’d plan your morning with your FPP, but after that you can play it by ear. Keep checking your app for extra FPP, and eat at the less popular times.
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