What is the longest "out" you've planned a trip to WDW?

[tinkie]

I know once I get home from our trip in March I will want to begin planning again...especially because 2 of my boys and my dh won't be joining me and my ds on this trip.....I have leftover days on some park hoppers, etc... but still it may be at least a year if not more before we get back.....are there advantages to planning so far in advance or disadvantages????? Where do I begin?

ps I want to make it a surprise and save "on the sly"!!!! Any of you sleuths with good advice??

[kilee]

I've never planned for longer than 10 months out-- that was almost painful. I like last minute trips better, the kind in under 30 days. I don't think I could handle waiting for more than a year knowing I was going!!!

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

We usually go every year, but the family reunion trip that I'm planning has been in the works for about 3 years....

[Kaycee]

We started planning our upcoming June trip before we even left WDW last June! Then again, I'm always planning a trip. So the length of planning depends on how long I have to wait between trips! ;)

[Aisling]

We've started planning our family reunion trip on the Disney Magic for 2007. At this point, it's basically checking out stateroom options and general information, but as soon as we get back from this summer's WDW trip, I'm going to open the vacation club account and start saving for 2007.

[aladdinsgirl]

We began planning our Dec. 2003 trip in July 2002, but our circumstances were a little different. I consider DH and myself Disney veterans, we've been numerous times and there's very little we don't know about WDW. But on the Dec trip, we went with my parents and sister. My family had never stayed on-site before, only took day trips to the Magic Kingdom, they had not been to Epcot and MGM since 1989 and never been to Animal Kingdom--rookies!! :D So it was necessary for us to begin planning a year and a half out, it gave everyone time to save money, time to watch for good air fares, time for my family to go through different planning materials to decide what they wanted to do (what attractions at each park, what park on which day, where to eat, etc.), and it gave us time to book a 2-bedroom villa through DVC points that we rented.

Now, if it's just DH and I going (like in May), we normally begin planning 3-6 months out. It gives us plenty of time to plan, but it isn't overwhelming. To me half of the fun of the WDW vacation is the planning and looking forward to the trip!! :D

Krista princess:

[HeadintoWDW]

By the time DH and I go in May, we will have been planning it for 2 years. We began planning in May 2002 for a May 2003 trip. However, in December 2002, I lost my job and we had to cancel our trip. I was very, very disappointed, but we began to reschedule and agreed that May was really the time we wanted to go. So we rebooked in the summer of 2003 for our May 2004 trip.

I have filled the time by reading up on boards, in books, and talking to others. I guess people who are Disney veterans would not need to do this, but DH has never been to WDW and by the time I get there it will be almost a decade since my last trip. We had a lot of learning to do!! :D

[Tiggerlover91]

Just check out my counter! At one time, it read something like 1000+ days!!!!!!! :headache: :faint:
I've been planning our 2006 trip since October of 2003. DH and I talked about renewing our vows on our 15th wedding anniversary somewhere around March or April I believe, and then I hinted about "honeymooning" in Disney sometime in September. He just grinned at me.
Well finally I told him I really wanted to go if our finances permitted and he said why not! :jumping1: :cool1: :jumping1:
So if you look at it, by the time we get there, it will 2 years and 8 months on trip planning for Disney!

[kaylajr]

if a trip on disney cruise counts then
check out my 2nd counter

over 1200 to go but DH said anywhere i want to cruise on our 15th anniversary
i said where else with the mouse

:earsboy: :earsgirl: :earsboy: :earsgirl: :earsboy:

[vfb2girls]

As you can see by my countdown we only have a few days left but I have already started making our plans for next years trip. I honestly think that half the fun of a trip goes into the planning.

[Kteacher]

planned or actually booked:D I usually book 11 months out, but We already have another trip planned for late July, 2005! As for surprises..... My current trip is a surprise for my DD11. It will just be me , my sister (I'm treating her-my thanks for being such a great sister and aunt:earsgirl: ) and DD. I've had the trip booked since last July, and I've been able to keep it a secret from her all this time! I'm hoping to keep it a secret till we leave for the airport:Pinkbounc How did I keep it a secret? I didn't tell my MIL:rolleyes: Have fun with your planning!!!

[Ducky4Disney]

Being that I am a new DVC member I planned our trip 11 months out (as soon as I could). So now I must wait until December! It's nice to know in the meantime that my ressie's are made and I can worry about the other stuff - airfare, rental car, passes....

D4D

[HunnyPots]

Well, I first started planning in '99 and finally got there in 2003!
That included three cancelled trips due to my father's illness and death, 2 moves, and a major reduction in income. When we first stepped into MK last year my 12 year old ds, with tears in his eyes, kept saying, "I can't believe we're really here!":lovestruc
As soon as we got back we started planning for this year so, with any luck, this trip will be 12 months in the planning stages.

:hyper:

[MelessaG]

I started planning our next trip about 11 mos. out, but mostly because I'll be having a baby in late May and will have a few sleep-deprived months in there where I won't feel like looking into it. Usually, I start planning about 6 mos. out. Our most impromptu trip was when OU made it to the Orange Bowl in 2001. I think we only had a few weeks to pull that one off-consequently it was our worst off-site hotel stay and our least enjoyable park visits. BUT, we also had ten in our party and several of them weren't very accomodating. (See my post to the "Family Trips, Share Your Experiences" thread). Still, I think a good trip requires some advanced planning and, because I started early this time, we actually got ressies on-site and have the time to save the $$ to pay for it instead of relying on credit cards.

[Rneighh]

We leave February 6, 2005. I am usually a 3-month planner. But this next trip is going to be a "no holds barred trip". WL with the Silver Plan and AKL conceirge so I wanted to stretch out the pain of paying a little longer. :p

Also we did not go this year (went to Denver instead and also are buying a new stallion) so I had an extra long time to plan. It is fun but also driving me crazy. I already have my itinerary planned and know where we are going eat. :crazy: :crazy:

Renee

[strawberryblonde]

For our two family trip in '99 and our three family trip in 2003, I reserved the rooms at 12 months out and made our Hoop-de-doo ressies at the same time. Our group of 11 people had the center table and the performers danced in a circle around us :grouphug: , the kids still talk about this :happy1: !

[wdarling]

we always end our vacation by making our reservations for the next year. my dad wakes up before the rest of us and visits the front desk of the GF. while we load up our luggage and a CM asks about our stay my dad will always say "keeps getting better and we will see ya real soon,......(fills in the date of our next trip).

[dizagain]

Well, I started planning for March "05 recently and discovered our Spring Break was joining Easter Break next year. So I quickly changed my mind and I'm now having fun reading the boards and looking forward to May '05. I am excited, and when my husband caught me at it last weekend, he just rolled his eyes and grinned at me! I won't actually book anything until November, but I LOVE THINKING ABOUT IT!!!

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :earsgirl: :earsgirl:

[airhead]

I started making reservations for different activities as soon as I could! Hotels-1 year out; Discovery Cove-1 year out; airfare-7 months out;car rental-6 months out. I'm getting my PS list ready and I'll be making my reservations this week to ride the Segway at Epcot . Got all our tickets and passes and we're ready to go!!!!
Too bad we have 130 days to wait!!!!



airhead(c'mon June!!!)

[Harambe]

I just added my counter for our next trip - yuck! We tend to go about every 18 months. I will call soon to make ressies for HDDR - front and center!

But I think I might win the prize for long planning! In 1994 I made ressies for New Year's Eve 2000! I was pregnant with DS and when I had to give the list of family for the resort, the CM put me, DH, DD, and "unknown"! Glad I had them - when I went to my travel agent to get air fare, she said - Oh, you'll never get a room! I told her I got a room at All Stars before they built it!

[loriandmatt]

a year and i will never plan that far ahead again. the antisipation and knowledge that that blessed event was out there waiting for me killed me.

We now try to plan 6 months or much less in advance. it makes it much easier on my work performance. (i can actually concentrate on my job as opposed to the upcoming bliss of my WDW vacation.)

- lori

[Deemarch]

Way back in the 80s when my kids were about 7 & 10 we planned a "Magical Gatherings" trip with my brother, SIL, niece, mom, dad, another brother, myself, DH (now ex) DD10 & DS7. We made reservations 2 years and 1 month before our trip at the Polynesian (that was when most people could afford to stay there). It was the most memorable trip we ever had.

::MickeyMo ::MinnieMo

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

As far as saving on the sly:
I have a internet savings account account that automatically takes out a set amount of money from my checking account every month and the APR is 2% (pretty good for a savings). My husband never misses the money and I have a nice hunk o'cash come trip time for souvies.:teeth:

[faeflora]

I just started planning our August 2005 trip. I graduate that summer, my hubby has his bithday in August and we have a 14 year wedding celebration one week earlier.
So we are heading to WDW, I am using the trip planning as my study break reward...
We have narrowed the resorts down to three choices and are now working on which park we want to do when...
I love the planning part:bounce:

[WhispyPixie]

Started planning a Family Reunion Trip 2 years in advance......most of the family members bailed on us and..we ended up going with our best friends....Best trips we ever had..princess:

[AZKathy]

We started planning for our trip this Thanksgiving last September. We could not make any reservations until the 11 month window with DVC, though.

We are already planning our big multi-family trip for 2007; we all travelled together in June 2003 and had a great time vacationing together, so we want to go together again!

[crazywig]

usually about a year out.

but now we own DVC and i am planning a Sept. '05 trip and we are taking my sister and her kids.

[Spartan]

We did our last trip this past Dec., and I'm not quite sure when we'll make it back. We've been trying for kid #2 for a couple of months now, so that kind of sets the tone for when we'll be able to go back. We don't usually make reservations until 6-8 months out because we go during slow season, but it's nice to at least have a time frame in mind for the next trip. I'm hoping I can convince my wife to let me take our son on a quick "father-son" trip depending upon how her pregnancy (if if happens) goes. He's 3.5 now, and asks daily about when we're going back. We're also coming up on a 10-yr anniversary, and we'd like to go someplace tropical w/o any kids, so we need to factor that in as well.

[frndofpooh]

My wife and her family started planning our trip for the Millennium in 1986. They booked rooms at the Contemporary 14 years in advance and faithfully kept the reservation. It was well worth it because we ended up with three rooms in the Tower, all with a spectacular view of the MK. I joke with my wife that I only married her to get in on the reservation!

[frndofpooh]

Sorry for double post.

[BrerRabbit_fan]

About six weeks. I would never be able to last longer than that. We make no ps and go with the flow. I've been seven times since 97 and am a reformed commando.