I raw-dogged a Disney World trip with no planning at all — here’s why it’s not for everyone

For some theme park goers, protecting your peace is paramount — while this guest chose to “raw dog” her day at Disney.

“Raw dogging” became the buzziest travel trend of the summer when people on TikTok were “raw dogging” flights with no entertainment whatsoever — no music, no streaming, no sleep — just staring at the map on the seatback screen, or nothing at all, in silence.

Now, a Reddit user has brought the trend to a different trip, saying they raw dogged Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

“I went to Disney World with zero planning,” the user wrote in the r/WaltDisneyWorld subreddit page. “No app. No lightning lanes. No virtual queue. Just raw dogged it and lived my life.”

They claimed that the first day at Magic Kingdom was still “great” and they rode 14 rides — one ride they rode 4 times, so 17 total rides if that’s included.

After taking a mid-day break at the hotel for three hours, they returned for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and got to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure without waiting in a virtual queue.

According to Disney, for the Halloween Party, regular park hours at Magic Kingdom close at 6 p.m. and reopen at 7 p.m. for partygoers, though those with a Halloween Party ticket can enter at 4 p.m. and get a wristband. Tickets for the event are limited.

The Reddit poster continued to say that Disney’s Hollywood Studios had long lines and they “didn’t get to ride as much there,” but Animal Kingdom had “hardly any wait at all.”

They claimed that Flight of Passage, within Pandora – The World of “Avatar,” had a less than 20-minute wait both times they rode it. However, they noted that they “rope dropped” the ride, meaning they arrived as soon as the park first opened because they were “nervous of longer waits later.”

Expedition Everest apparently had 15-minute waits all day long and Animal Kingdom’s Dinosaur attraction was just 5 minutes.

“The point of this post is I think I had just as much fun or more than if I were a super planner,” the user explained. “Props to those who can handle the anxiety of schedules but if you’re worried you can’t do Disney because of all the planning involved, you still can! No plan required!”

In the comments, many people expressed that their “stress level went up just reading that,” adding that the user is “simply built different.”

“I have the opposite. I am not driving 9 hrs and spending thousands for a trip and not planning and knowing I can do the stuff I want to. Props to you for being willing to wait in lines. I can’t do it,” another wrote.

“Okay lol – so your experience is not typical. By any stretch of the imagination,” one pointed out. “Expecting to just show up at DAK and do FOP with a 20 minute wait (twice) and EE at 15 mins all day, is going to set yourself up for a bad time.”

A few felt different, responding that their “stress goes up with lighting lanes and virtual queues. If I don’t get to ride something with a long wait oh well. Maybe I’ll ride it next time. I’d rather enjoy my life.”

Some shared that the original poster would have a different experience at a different time of year.

“Crowd levels are definitely down right now. That really helps. We went in September the week after Labor Day one year. Talk about no crowds,” one said. “OP trying this the week of Christmas would have very different results.”

“There is a stark difference in experience between no planning + rope dropping/park closing versus just no planning,” another pointed out. “Depending on the time of year, no planning can certainly yield decent results if you are there from opening to close. But for families that cannot handle the all-day grind and the early wake-up, planning is mandatory.”

The comment also pointed out that planning is not necessary for those who live locally or go to Disney often.

“This of course does not count folks who visit often and do not necessarily have a ‘must do’ list.”

Another local agreed, “I’m a local so I never plan. Most days I don’t even know I’m gonna be at the parks till day of when I wake up and feel like going for an hour or two.”

Others chalked the user’s experience up to pure luck.

“That’s great! I feel like some of that is luck of course though. I’ve been there when even the low-demand rides get up to an hour. On really busy days, and a ride or two down for a bit, suddenly the entire park has long lines, and there’s simply no way to hit all that many.”