Laid back planners.... where ya at?! *DESPERADOS UNITE!*

[luckyprincess]

Originally Posted by KellyNY

I plan to bring my family, my money and plan to have lots of fun. I will check late EMH for MK and Epcot but that is all. If I want to eat at TS place, I will check this very day and if no reservation is available I will show up to see if anything available, I always have a back up plan. We do not do rope drops or midday breaks. We come to parks in afternoon as we sleep late and enjoy resort every day. I used to plan but no plan is much more relaxing for us.

Yes!!! That is us exactly!!

[Pineapple Whip]

Originally Posted by KellyNY

I plan to bring my family, my money and plan to have lots of fun. I will check late EMH for MK and Epcot but that is all. If I want to eat at TS place, I will check this very day and if no reservation is available I will show up to see if anything available, I always have a back up plan. We do not do rope drops or midday breaks. We come to parks in afternoon as we sleep late and enjoy resort every day. I used to plan but no plan is much more relaxing for us.

I fully agree with the above definition. I want to say I am a commando, but not in the sense that they define it on this board. I am type A/B all the time but B when I'm on vacation or in a park. When I'm in the park, there is a good chance I do not like many of the commando families, and usually it is one member that is commando and forcing the others to have a borderline un-enjoyable time at disney.

They are the rushers, the pushers, the move up to the front of the parade line, ram my stroller in front of you, "My Disney vacation is more important than yours" people.

I PROPOSE THE RISE OF THE "DESPERADOS". They have a name, we should have a cooler name because we are laid back and having a better, unscripted, relaxed time where we can laugh and not worry that the country bear jamboree starts in 5 minutes.

If you enjoy taking the park as it comes along.

If you enjoy saying, hey look the line is short there, let's do that now instead.

If you like showing up with your AP just to ride [insert favorite ride here] get an ice cream cone and leave.

If you're willing to skip the parade and/or fireworks and catch it next time.

If you feel that there will be an awful war for leadership between various commando factions.

If you're willing to defend a CM's honor when they are being berated by a commando.

If you feel psycho dad needs a frozen coke over his head to cool off.

I submit that you are a DESPERADO.

I also propose an Alien Green Home Depot Mickey with an eyepatch for our flag.


All in favor say ARRRRRRRRRRRR

[centurythree]

ARRRRRR


I schedule ADRs. However, I schedule them for maximum flexibility . . . so usually breakfast and a late-ish dinner.

I know which park or park to avoid for the day.

I might have a general idea of which parks I might want to go to if the weather holds.

That's it.

Sorry, I just don't see the need to know what ride I'm going to be on at 9:37 am or when any show except Fantasmic or a night parade will be months ahead of my trip.

When my family goes we don't even do that much. We just have the hotel reservation and figure out which park we want to visit each morning when we get up.

[jaci-h]

Originally Posted by Pineapple Whip

I fully agree with the above definition. I want to say I am a commando, but not in the sense that they define it on this board. I am type A/B all the time but B when I'm on vacation or in a park. When I'm in the park, there is a good chance I do not like many of the commando families, and usually it is one member that is commando and forcing the others to have a borderline un-enjoyable time at disney.

They are the rushers, the pushers, the move up to the front of the parade line, ram my stroller in front of you, "My Disney vacation is more important than yours" people.

I PROPOSE THE RISE OF THE "DESPERADOS". They have a name, we should have a cooler name because we are laid back and having a better, unscripted, relaxed time where we can laugh and not worry that the country bear jamboree starts in 5 minutes.

If you enjoy taking the park as it comes along.

If you enjoy saying, hey look the line is short there, let's do that now instead.

If you like showing up with your AP just to ride [insert favorite ride here] get an ice cream cone and leave.

If you're willing to skip the parade and/or fireworks and catch it next time.

If you feel that there will be an awful war for leadership between various commando factions.

If you're willing to defend a CM's honor when they are being berated by a commando.

If you feel psycho dad needs a frozen coke over his head to cool off.

I submit that you are a DESPERADO.

I also propose an Alien Green Home Depot Mickey with an eyepatch for our flag.


All in favor say ARRRRRRRRRRRR

*changes title under name*

I think I might have just peed my pants.

[luckyprincess]

Lol!!
Arrrrrrrrr! Count me in, matey!

[mickeysaver]

I used to be far more commando than I am now. I guess after 10 trips since 2001, it's about time. This trip will be seriously laid back. We know what parks we are going to hit for each of our days. We have ADR's set, but will cancel the ones that we won't be using well in advance, so that others may benefit. Basically, we will see what we can see, do what we can do, leave when we are hot and/or it's too crowded for our comfort, leave for a middle of the day break for a nap and/or pool time, and finally will return to a park for the evening to enjoy the fireworks and/or parades. I am really looking forward to this trip.

I can't wait until this time next week, because I will be in the pixie dust bubble at POFQ with my partner without any other family and without her work blackberry and that my friends will be a beautiful thing indeed.

ARRRRRRRRR! I be a Desperado too my fine Mickey matey.

ETA: If my partner wasn't a very picky eater with multiple food allergies, I would not make any ADR's at this point, but she is so I do.

[smileycrissy]

ARRRRRR! So love it!

Tomorrow, I'm off to Home Depot to get my Alien Green Mickey, put a patch on him, and see how many people notice him when I'm in the park.

Growing up my dad never made a schedule of us having to be at this park for this item at such time. We had fun doing whatever we wanted whenever. And if we didn't get a chance to ride it that day, well there was always the next day of the trip or next year to try it again.

[disneydiva1313]

Laid back planner...laid back vacation. Obviously, I plan as far as airfare and resort reservations...but, that's it. Once in a great while, I will get an ADR somewhere we really want to eat...only because you can't get in otherwise. We usually go with the flow...do what we feel like doing...no worries...no rushing around. Really, the most planning we do is packing our suitcases.

[CleveRocks]

Originally Posted by jaci-h

I've noticed these boards are filled with type A personalities, and people who plan every step. and I say KUDOS to each and every one of you for your planning skill (that I've noticed from TRs result in FANTASTIC vacations). Disney vaca planning is really an art, as I've learned.

I, however much I'd love to, do not fit into that category. Anyone else? It makes me feel somewhat like a freak on these boards

Any other non-planning laid back planners out there?!

We never plan. We find out every little thing we can find out. We find out the facts, the strategies, the contingencies, the bargains, the times, the hidden fun, the opinions, and so on. Well, I find it out, and the wife trusts me. :-)

That way, no matter where or when we find ourselves, we can make the best of it.

We NEVER plan what parks to go to on what days. I mean, I make a chart of park hours, parade/fireworks times, Extra Magic Hours times, and so on, but it's an INFORMATIONAL chart, not a list of what we must do. It informs us. If we want to see Fantasmic, for example, we know the two or three days during our week that we can choose from, and so on.

We make one or two ADRs, and no more. And we HATE those days. We HATE the idea of having to be somewhere at a certain time during vacation ... too much like every other day of the year to us.

The way we pretty much decide which parks on which days is to ask the kids either the night before or the morning of. We did this even when the kids were 5 and 2 (they were almost 9 and 6 on our most recent trip last year). THAT usually makes the uber-planners' heads explode.

Because we know all the information and all the strategies and smart moves and stuff like that, we always have a great time, we always do everything we want to do, and we never have any regrets, just fun!

[Pineapple Whip]

We make one or two ADRs, and no more. And we HATE those days. We HATE the idea of having to be somewhere at a certain time during vacation ... too much like every other day of the year to us.

I agree. I don't count ADR's and other reservations for limited seating as commando, however they are of limited convenience. Yes, if you want to do a particular thing, you may have to make a reservation, and that's life.

You are right, it makes those days more frustrating for us because at that moment that I have to head to my "appointment" Mickey Mouse and the gang will appear right next to me to do something cool.

Depending on what I was reserving... I may blow it off if something cool enough happens.

[Planogirl]

Yay, planners more like me!

All I did was find parks without EMH and I made two ADR's in two of those parks. Now I'm done.

We do get to parks at rope drop though and we do know which attractions to hit first. We have several days with no specific plans and we love it like that!

[TillyMarigold]

I'm totally type A before I go, not at all once I get there. I like to be informed--I don't want to waste time dithering, but I also don't want to plan. So when I say "I'm hungry, where can I eat?" I like to know what options are nearby or farther away, etc., but I don't decide QS in advance.

I do book ADRs (love to eat!) and for most days I plan which park it would be easiest for us to start at, with the understanding that we could decide to do something else at any minute.

I am a committed park hopper.

[Pakey]

My planning barely goes beyond buying the plane ticket. I used to make ADRs and plan which day at what park, etc. Now we often get up and never even make it to a park. With the exception of our dinners at V&A, we don't really care enough to plan. If we can get in somewhere, fine, if not, that's okay too.

[Fantasmic23]

Originally Posted by centurythree

When my family goes we don't even do that much. We just have the hotel reservation and figure out which park we want to visit each morning when we get up.

[Poohbug]

Well Arrrrrrr me in.

I will kind of plan out what park on what day. I don't make many ADR's anymore-they have gotten to be too much of a pain. When we get to the park, we just go with the flow-no plans whatsoever. If we decide we want to change things up when we get there-no problem.

All the planning some people do makes my head hurt. Agonizing over what resort to stay at, when/where/what times for ADRs, getting up in the middle of the night to make ADRs or reservations, following a touring plan every minute-its just to much work for me. I'm on vacation, if I wanted to work, I would just stay home.