Last Minute Disney Tips

The theme of this trip was - change it up, do not be afraid to try and get last minute reservations - and really, you do not need to book everything 180 days in advance at midnight in order to have fun.  You can have fun booking the day of, too.  (please note, there are still some awesome things that you will only likely get to do with advanced booking, it is just the way it is, but this post is for all of you last minute people who are booking a month out and want to make it memorable and fun).

You may not get on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and you may not eat in the Beast's Castle - but what you can do in a day's notice is pretty awesome. (please note, this does not count for peak times like holidays, but for all other times of the year). Here are some tips:

1. Show up to the Park early, at opening.  Have your goals for rides mapped out ahead of time.  I would forget 7 Dwarfs as it seems to be a 90 minute wait the second they open the park - but Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain - they are 5 minute waits from park open until about 20-30 minutes in.  Then they are really long waits - and you should stay away.  Other advantages of being there park open, no matter what park - is there are really cool things that happen, like in Animal Kingdom a fly over of 20+ macaws; or at Magic Kingdom all the characters come out and do a little dance.  Then, you walk into the Magic Kingdom, and HUGE TIP - wait in town square and within 5 minutes Pluto will come out and you get to meet him.  We do this every time and we love it.  Take advantage of the lesser and more dispersed crowds in the park and get there early and no lines will happen.
2. Get the app.  You can get fast passes at the last minute.  People drop them all the time, in favor of something else, or the park releases more depending on the day, I'm not sure - but we noticed that you can change things around and sometimes get really lucky.
3. This is the same for dining reservations. People cancel those all the time and you will be surprised what opens up.  Just keep checking on your phone.  We could have had some great reservations while we were there as I was just testing it out all weekend just to see what would open up.  If you are a newbie, too - this is a nice way to have the restaurant self-selected for you.  Go with the flow.  Choose which park you are in, what time you want to eat, and see what comes up.  Say you want to eat there and you are done.  Simple and awesome.
4. One great thing about being last minute is going with the flow is just what you do.  Happen upon a show or a ride that doesn't have a wait, go on it - it will be a new and fun experience for you no matter what.  Sometimes when you get so caught up on having to do this ride or needing to be here for this dining reservation at this time, the joy of just seeing where the day takes you is gone.  Don't be frustrated by the long wait lines at the "must do rides" and instead focus your attention on having fun as a family and seeing what crosses your path.  Joel Andrew and I had a blast doing the pirate hunt at MK this last trip, and I would have never known about it had we not had time to kill, and just decided to try it out.  
5. Final tip - for last minute Disney, is to not book up your whole stay in the parks and enjoy some hotel time too.  Ask your hotel what is happening on grounds during your stay and enjoy some of these things - a band in the lobby, a movie at night, trivia at the bar, its vacation people!  Enjoy it!