It really depends on where in the world you are in, in Scandinavia they'll already know what your planning before you even talk to the first class D / C and generally clear you on track they may also hand you over to the respective controller with all details and clearances already agreed and obtained, in France they'll ask you to remain at a certain height and generally clear you through everything. I was cleared from Nantes (France) to Sabadell (Barcelona) direct through all restricted zones, several class D transits etc... despite training exercises happening in the restricted zones at the time without talking to anyone else.
In the U.K. However.... it could be anybody's guess! I've had good controllers, bad controllers, controllers under training ( you know because when you ask something non standard a new voice comes on comms) some will hand you over, some will clear you through airspace (farnborough radar west is a particularly good example to cross MATZ & their overhead - they'll clear you without needing to be handed over but occasionally they're overstretched (thank you cuts to ATC!) and cannot deal with the request, and you may need to negotiate it yourself as described above.