All This Pre Planning Almost Putting Me Off

[BadPinkTink]

For the last number of years I have been visiting Disneyland California regularly, and been to Disneyland Paris twice. This year one of my friends started talking about the new Avatar Land in Florida and that maybe in 2017 we might visit Disney in Florida. I visited Disney in Florida over 20 years ago with my family and its always been on my mind to return some day. Now I'm not so sure though. The more I read the more I just dont know about all the pre planning involved. Dont get me wrong, I plan my USA trips like the best DIS planners, but the more I read about the Fast Pass Plus system and the advance dining reservations, and magic bands, and having to be online at midnight (and in whose timezone, mine here in Europe, or Florida??? ) AS WELL as having to book my flights at 6 months out and arrange a multi state USA vacation, Florida and California, hotels, transfers, co co-ordinating schedules with USA friends and so much more, geeze Im exhausted just even thinking about it.

I like at California and Paris that I can go on rides multiple times in a row if I want or go to a ride, see the wait time is too long and then decide to get a fast pass instead and come back later. Some days I might not even bother getting fast passes for anything and just wander and have no plan for the day. The same with restaurants, I usually only get 1 advance dining reservation and usually only do that at maybe 40 days out.

I know my friend really wants to see Avatar Land and this might be my only chance to go back to Florida but it just seems like far too much work has to go into it compared to going to California or Paris

 

[PlutoFan10]

I can't speak to all the non-park reservations you need to make, but with a little fun planning (understanding it's not fun for everyone), you can have a fantastic and memorable trip -- especially if you haven't been there in over 20 years. Just ahead of the 180 day window (for advanced dining reservations ADRs), I jot down park hours for each day of my trip. Then, I select the days to visit each park and make some dining reservations. At booking time for fast pass (FP+), I make ride selections. This becomes my tentative plan and gives me assurance that at least I have these things booked. Since many ADRs require credit card to secure, people do cancel the ones they don't want as the date nears, so there is a chance to change reservations a bit. FP+ will likely have openings for some rides on the "day of". Standby wait times can be quite long, so it pays to book FP+. You can do it!

 

[Lynne M]

Moving to the Theme Parks board.

 

[JennyDrake]

The only planning you *have* to do is book a hotel, and I would highly recommend FP+. Most of my trips are counter service only due to cost and the inconvenience of ADRs. I schedule my FP+ for late morning, so I am free to rest or swim at the resort that afternoon and then hop to a different park (if desired) that evening.

On disBoards you are going to find LOTS of people that obsessively plan.....I do not. And you do not have to either.

I don't get up at weird hours to make FP+ or ADR; if what I want isn't available, I simply choose something else or check back again later.

 

[loves to dive]

Nope, no planning here either. I made one ADR, GF tea because that puppy is hard to get otherwise, if I'm in a TS sort of mood, I go to GS at whatever park I'm at in the morning and let them find me something. I always have park hoppers so going to another park or resort is not a problem and we are 3 adults so the hour doesn't matter either. I might make my 3 fastpasses about a week before I go, I might make them the night before I go to the park, again with no ADRs the time of the FP isn't a big deal and we waited in line before FP so it's no big deal to wait now if we have to. Now I do book my resort about 90 days out since they tend to fill up but I don't stress if I can't get in my favorite, I just try out a new one.

 

[GPC0321]

OP, as someone whose last WDW trip was almost 17 years ago during the off season (January), I was rather amazed at what seems to be almost "required" levels of planning. I fell right into it too, and was driving myself nuts. My trip isn't until March, and I've been so obsessed with figuring out what ADRs to make already because my 180 days is fast approaching (later this month).
Here's how I finally regained sanity:
1. Ditched the freaking dining plan.
2. Stopped giving a rip about eating at Be Our Guest
3. Stopped giving a rip about eating anywhere in particular. It'll be Flower & Garden Festival time, we'll graze at the Outdoor Kitchens at Epcot for $5-6 a pop. We'll eat at our resort's TS, and we'll grab whatever whenever. No biggie.
4. Ignored Fastpass+ advice that said not to use them on fireworks and parades.
5. Thanked my stars that I don't care about riding the blessed Seven Dwarves Mine Train
6. Added an extra night to our stay (with the money that we save by ditching the dining plan) so we can feel less rushed.

Your trip will not suffer if you fail to book a half-dozen ADRs 6-months out, and exactly what rides on which days at what times 2 months out. There will still be plenty to eat and you'll be able to ride the rides you want. And you won't be a slave to an itinerary that might not even appeal to you at all by the time you arrive at WDW.

Book your hotel and anything else you WANT to book, and bring yourself on over! It'll all be fine.

 

[avic77]

I have 1 main dining reservation and a couple "maybe keep maybe cancel" just in case. Fast pass was so easy to set up even 7dmt. i felt like all in all it was simple and easier then the old fast pass runner deal.
Unfortunatly the one thing that is a HUGE must do for our trip is a Keys to the Kingdom tour for my daughters 16th birthday. I never read anything about booking it at 180 and i waited till about 60 days out. Come to find out it is booked solid for the entire month of Oct
So sometimes planning can be really important. Had i known i would have booked. Now I hope for someone to cancel.

 

[GaryDis]

I've been starting to think that there are a lot of people claiming the sky is falling, giving a distorted view. So I just checked for a BOG breakfast this Tuesday, for 2 people, and it came back with 8:30AM.

So I'm gonna relax.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

If you are coming when Avatar opens, you have a while. My advice is to relax and see what things are like in a few years.

 

[BadPinkTink]

thanks everyone, I guess the more spontaneous way of California and Paris have spoiled me. I guess I didnt take much notice of the frantic planning for Florida before but now that my friends wants to see Avatar Land, I notice it more. For now, I'll just continue with my saving and see what happens in the next few years

 

[crostorfer]

I think that if you are used to the spontaneity of Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, and you love them for that flexibility, that you will hate Disney World. I'm just laying that out there. I'm not saying it isn't worth seeing, I'm saying that you won't enjoy it nearly as much as the other two for a multitude of reasons.

I love Disneyland, and obviously I love WDW because I keep going back, but they are totally different animals. Completely different experiences. I'm a west coast gal at heart and DL is all about laid back west coast vibe. WDW is much more go-go-go.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I think that if you are used to the spontaneity of Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, and you love them for that flexibility, that you will hate Disney World. I'm just laying that out there. I'm not saying it isn't worth seeing, I'm saying that you won't enjoy it nearly as much as the other two for a multitude of reasons.

I love Disneyland, and obviously I love WDW because I keep going back, but they are totally different animals. Completely different experiences. I'm a west coast gal at heart and DL is all about laid back west coast vibe. WDW is much more go-go-go.

Thanks, I appreciate the honesty My friend hasn't been to Florida in the last 10 years either and she is not part of DIS so I think she will be even more out of her depth. We are really only going to see Avatar land and going with my friend and having someone share costs is really my only way of going back there. In the next few years we are really going to have to figure this out. We will get there, but we just need to get our heads around that the park experience will be very different to what we are used to.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I've been starting to think that there are a lot of people claiming the sky is falling, giving a distorted view. So I just checked for a BOG breakfast this Tuesday, for 2 people, and it came back with 8:30AM.

So I'm gonna relax.

happy to see that availability. wish we had found that last November. bog was totally gone at 180, and the only way we got a reservation was the adr cancellation thread here (and that came through in October for a November trip..there was lots of checking for availability between 180 days and then). that isn't "the sky is falling" or a distorted view- it is merely what our experience was. I'm happy when others have an easier time of it.

Dh and I had been to BOG previously, and if it had just been us we wouldn't have bothered. The friend who joined us, though, hadn't been there in over 15 years. She had heard about BOG from commercials and really wanted to go.