For everyone intimidated by planning a Disney trip....

It's not that bad. We leave for Florida on Saturday and we are planning on going to Epcot next Wednesday. We're not huge planners and we don't stay on Disney property. There is no 180 days out for us. Lol And in full disclosure, I did book fast pass times a few weeks ago, I think it was a couple days after my window opened.
But I called today and changed my fast passes all around. There were PLENTY of openings even for the big things like Test Track and Soarin. I could have easily waited. I also scored dinner reservations at La Hacienda at 8:15 so we will be able to watch the fireworks from our table. I called and booked discounted tickets to La Nouba. And dinner reservations right after at House of Blues.
My point is, you don't have to spend a year planning and booking. You can do it at the last minute, or even just wing it once your there. Any way you decide on will still be fun. You don't need a degree to plan a trip to Disney.

Re: For everyone intimidated by planning a Disney trip....

I say this all the time.

It's really not that bad.

I think the people who make it seem like it is - and I could be an unwitting contributor to this - are the people who really enjoy the planning itself. But if you don't enjoy it, you don't HAVE to do that much.

Also some of the hype about the restaurants can make it look daunting. That I am NOT part of. I don't get hyped up over the restaurants. They're not worth it.

FPs are easy because there are only so many logical choices at each park and it's all easy to find the info by googling or looking on here.

Re: For everyone intimidated by planning a Disney trip....

I agree, last summer was MY first time going and I planned the whole trip myself online and we had a great time, going again this summer and again so easy- I do everything online-book the trip, dining reservations, fast passes.

Re: For everyone intimidated by planning a Disney trip....

I agree with this, EXCEPT if you are going at Christmas time. And by that I mean the week of Christmas/New Year's. You need a good plan for that!

We did a trip this year in late Feb and didn't even book the package until just before Christmas. I literally booked the hotel at 10pm and our FP window opened at midnight that night so I stayed up and grabbed some. But I was able to easily change them once we really decided what we wanted to do.

The only thing we had trouble with on short notice was Be Our Guest for lunch. However, I just happen to really like the place and wanted it for our trip. It's not like your trip is ruined if you don't go there or any other restaurant for that matter. I mean, Disney is not exactly world-class food And I did end up getting a reservation while we were in Florida from the app.

Re: For everyone intimidated by planning a Disney trip....

I agree. The max I have ever booked a Disney trip is 2 mos out. We wing it and everything always works out. I have no bid for all of the craziness and thought I would hate Disney because of it and now I LOVE it.

For everyone intimidated by planning a Disney trip....

yup! I've told a bunch of people this i'm one of the nutty planners.... but thats only because i enjoy that part of it. i like thinking about where we're gonna eat, the "thrill" of trying to get reservations to the popular restaurants 6 months ahead LOL, i like the idea of doing fast passes 2 months ahead and knowing theres at least a couple rides your won't have to wait in line for. i like reading all the blogs and youtube videos about new things that are coming out, changes to parades, shows, whatever... BUT if somebodys not into all of that, i don't think they're totally out of luck.... you make the trip what you want it to be.

Re: For everyone intimidated by planning a Disney trip....

I totally agree with you... I wonder if it is related to staying offsite (you don't HAVE to go to the parks every day & don't need dining reservations as food I'd much better outside of the parks).

We like it much better relaxed!

Re: For everyone intimidated by planning a Disney trip....

For everyone intimidated by planning a Disney trip....

We too are staying off site at my Inlaws timeshare when we go at the end of the month and the only thing I planned months in advance were our flights and dinner at cinderella's castle. My SIL booked chef Mickey for us months ago because we are going with them. We are going to Florida for a week and only doing two days at the magic kingdom. Planning this trip was not as bad as I thought it would be. The toughest part for Disney was figuring out which two days we were going to the park. One day we had figured out because of the dinner. The other day I wanted to get set so I could book fast passes. We leave on the 25th and I booked my fast passes two days ago and there were still plenty of time slots available. We are going with family and the most stressful part for me of this whole trip was figuring out which day we could all go to dinner together and t-Rex cafe. There are 18 of us going total and we won't be doing everything together so seeing which day we all had free together was hard. And now I'm just stressing because we leave in 16 days and I don't have one list put together or anything packed. I planned on having the kids plane bags packed with their activities by now! But planning this trip was a flipping breeze!