Changes to your touring style?

tinkerbelletreasure

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Background on me, my ex was a Disney Store castmember for about 5 years, so we went every year because of his discounts. We have a 12 y/o son with Autism so we’ve almost always utilized the GAC and DAS passes. The ex was very much ride centric and would cross the park to get to a shorter line. He was all quantity over quality. We’ve been divorced 2.5 years now and I’m with someone new who’s still a Disney Novice. We’ve been to Disneyland together twice without the kids for weekend trips when I had to go to LA for business and we did one long (8day) big family trip to WDW last Spring Break where tried to do as much as possible, hit all the rides that weren’t bring refurbed, saw all the shows, ect because my fiancé had never been before and we were already planning our upcoming trip back then.
So, in June we are taking just my 18 year old daughter to WDW for 5 days as a graduation gift the first week of June. It’s my first time doing an all adult trip to WDW in over 25 years! We got hoppers which we do t do with my younger sons because changing parks is hard on the autistic one. We got the dining plan which I’ve never done before because the cast members got a better discount paying out of pocket. And without young kids to keep up with, we are planning to take advantage of the alcohol entitlements. It’s going to be a completely different type of trip for me. I’ve really noticed over the last couple weeks how much I am changing my touring plan style. It’s hard to let go of that old drive to do as many rides as possible and I would have never contemplated not doing all the headline rides, but I’m finding that SDD, TOT, and some others aren’t high priority for me in this trip if I don’t manage to get 4th and beyond Fastpasses this trip. Obviously, we’ll be skipping a lot of the little kid rides like dumbo, magic carpet, teacups, dinoland. I’m just wondering how everyone else’s touring plans change when you are doing an adult only trip vs one with younger kids.
 
YES. This December is our first adult-only trip. We have 2 girls that are still elementary-aged, so our touring style has been princesses, character meals, dessert parties, ride ride ride, rope drop to close. We agreed to a more chill approach this time. We want to grab a drink and a snack and people watch, just walk around and notice the different flowers, hidden Mickeys, maybe find all the cool walls people take pictures in front of. Actually shop at all the stores instead of just the Emporium. Take in the Christmas decor, etc.

My husband actually said last week "I don't care if we even ride anything other than ROTR, we've done it all" o_O Now I'm a ride person and while we've done everything several times, I still like them. We just won't be boom boom boom, running from ride to ride. We may even use the resort pool more than once, who knows! IIt's our 10 year anniversary and his 40th birthday, so I told him he can sleep in at least 2 days, too. That is NOT the norm for us!

We always do Deluxe dining with the girls and are doing it again, but with better restaurants we've skipped in the past - Flying Fish, Yachtsman, Topollino's, etc. We can't wait for this new touring style!
 
We have certainly toned down our touring plans. I am fortunate enough to visit many times throughout the year so if something is 30-40 minutes it better be something really good for me to wait. I find myself using my FP+ selections and then heading back to the resort for some pool time or off to a dining location for some drinks/eats more often than waiting 30+min for a ride. It's just not my speed anymore.
 
And without young kids to keep up with, we are planning to take advantage of the alcohol entitlements. It’s going to be a completely different type of trip for me. I’ve really noticed over the last couple weeks how much I am changing my touring plan style.

This. There's so much more magic in Disney World when you stop and smell the roses. Dine at nicer restaurants (even if they're two dining plan credits, you'll make it up on days when you're not as hungry), sit on a bench for 10 minutes and people watch (its fascinating), see something your younger kids would thing was "boring", take a tour of something, do a wine tasting. Just take your time. Relax. It's your vacation.
 


This. There's so much more magic in Disney World when you stop and smell the roses. Dine at nicer restaurants (even if they're two dining plan credits, you'll make it up on days when you're not as hungry), sit on a bench for 10 minutes and people watch (its fascinating), see something your younger kids would thing was "boring", take a tour of something, do a wine tasting. Just take your time. Relax. It's your vacation.
The big must do this trip is the World Showcase. I don’t feel like I’ve ever properly explored it since it doesn’t have many rides. My boys get bored in the shops and shows. And it rained all day long when we were there last year during Spring Break, so we really just hit the highlights and then tried to stay dry. We’ve even talked about if all we do ride in Epcot is Soaring, we’d be fine with that. I’ll probably get a FP for Test Track since it was down because of the rain last time. And if Ratatouille opens before we get there, we’ll ride that. Otherwise, we are looking forward to a pretty chill evening walking around the World!
 
We’re planning our first trip in 10 years, and our kids are now 22, 24, & 29 (gf is 23 and has never been). So many things have changed! But mostly we are planning on relaxing and enjoying the time together, instead of running from ride to ride. Not having to use fast passes for character meetings is beneficial, although I’m sad nobody wants to do a character meal, lol. And we are looking forward to Epcot and drinking around the world!
 
The big must do this trip is the World Showcase. I don’t feel like I’ve ever properly explored it since it doesn’t have many rides. My boys get bored in the shops and shows. And it rained all day long when we were there last year during Spring Break, so we really just hit the highlights and then tried to stay dry. We’ve even talked about if all we do ride in Epcot is Soaring, we’d be fine with that. I’ll probably get a FP for Test Track since it was down because of the rain last time. And if Ratatouille opens before we get there, we’ll ride that. Otherwise, we are looking forward to a pretty chill evening walking around the World!

Morocco is my favorite pavilion for this reason, most guests skim right past it but there’s so much to see and explore and it’s breathtakingly beautiful, especially at night.

We also love wandering around AK for the same reasons, looking at all the little Imagineering details most people miss when they are just hustling from FP to FP.
 


We've been going since our girls were 2&5 now 27 & 30!! Touring has become much more relaxed, low-key and fun. When they were young it was all about reaction, joy and surprise. Part of the fun now is staying very late in the park, strolling through... and drinking around the world! :drinking1
 
Now that my son is 19 or if it is just my hubby and myself, we take advantage of special tours/dining opportunities. A favorite is Highway in the Sky. I also enjoy Wanyama Safari with dinner in Jiko.
 
Always been one to plan any vacation down to the hour. I know that schedules are tossed out the window when you have kids or unwilling group members but it helps me to organize what we wanna do most and have backups in place.
 
I’ve reach the point where I’m happy to ride a few select rides, using an early FP if I can get it, browse the shops, have a snack or two, and then do whatever else I‘m in the mood for, before heading to another park at some point. No touring plan at all beyond that. I like the freedom and flexibility To go and do what I want. I don’t need to do every ride, see every show, or watch the parades every time I’m at WDW. Doing W&D in Nov and “my plan” is to visit one park in the morning, then visit Epcot in late afternoon to enjoy W&D over several days.
 
For adults only trips, our style has drastically changed over 25 yrs! We started with the intense, every day RD until park closing style. Now, we plan meticulously, with FP+ and a few choice ADRs. We generally make all our ADRs, although we might change them slightly, but getting to FP+ Windows is very hit or miss. Frankly, I find them a royal PITA And after a few trips of using them, they no longer dominate my days.

We start out when we feel like it, and go until we feel like stopping. Our parks days may be long or short, but our goal is to enjoy the time, not exhaust ourselves or be tied to a schedule.

Yes, I do still make spreadsheets. Old habits die hard. I map out how I would like to see our trip go, and then we follow, or stray, from the plan as our energy - and whims - take us.

When our group includes young family members, now in their teens, the schedule is more set, however, us older folk can set meeting points, where we can ride or dine together as desired. Attaching ourselves to super athletic teens would either kill us, or frustrate them. Neither are the vacation experience we want!
 
What a great gift to yourselves and your daughter for graduation. Would you consider (can you afford the 2 rooms, etc.) to take one of her BFFs so she and her friend can go off on their own ... and so can you and Dear Hubby? THAT will change your approach to touring the World. Create Magical Memories!!!
 
With adults only I take the trip at a slower pace. Part of that is in part to my husband who is a stop and smell the flower person who opened my eyes to that actually being a really nice way to spend our days in the parks.

We like to start and end the trip with Magic Kingdom, we do make Fast Passes but for after 11a for our 1st one. ( This allows for some sleeping in ). We also use Disney transportation ( in the past I always drove ) . I have always refused to criss cross across the parks so we just pick a direction and make our way around the hubs ( Epcot, AK and MK ). We do get park hoppers and will sometimes hop from one park that is closing to one that is open later, especially if we got a start after noon.
 

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