What it use to be like

[Mouse_Geek]

Well i know alot of you today think the same as others do but maybe not. Is it me or do we have to plan our Disney vacation down to a T to see almost everything. You know i could remember when i was a child going with my parents to Disney we didn't plan. You just went and that's it. But in today's age we have to sit down and plan this out...

How do alot of you feel about this? Not saying it's Disney fault or is it?? I mean i know alot will say we don't rush. Yes i understand that but truly we all do. I guess times have changed and it always will.

Tell me your thoughts on this.

 

[Andrew78]

I went as a kid dozens of times. Now I will soon go with my babies and as a parent for the first time and I swear I have booked reservations for everything. Maybe people years ago would have done the same if they had internet, iphones. I think thats a huge reason why, because we now have the ability to.

The other thing is that when you go as parents you want things to be perfect, so by planning every detail you feel some sense of control,

 

[nchulka]

Your parents probably did plan things, you just didn't know it. I put a lot of planning into our trip, but I'm sure the kids just thought we were going around doing whatever we wanted. When we walked in a restaurant they didn't know I had made the reservation 6 months earlier, they just thought it was time to eat

 

[tinkerbell81]

My parents also never planned out our disney trips when we were younger. We went only 2 times when i was a kid. After i got married, we decided to go to disney world and i chose to really do alot of research- especially with the resturants! We never ate at any disney resturant as kids- we would bring in food. Well im so glad i planned everything before hand because it was like i experienced disney in a new way! Thats when i got bit by the "disney bug" as my friends say! Plus - half the fun of a disney trip is the planning!!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I went twice as a child and stayed in stupid long lines for stuff that wasn't worth the wait. Hasn't been a problem since I've had a say in to what we do and when.

 

[Kren]

Good topic!

I've been going to WDW since very soon after the park opened. I don't remember it requiring a ton of planning in the olden days - I don't think there were nearly as many add-on options to consider.

Plus, parents back in the dinosaur era -- at least my parents -- considered it reward enough that their kids were actually in the park. They didn't plan every last detail once they were there.

We spend a lot of time today obsessing over perfection -- are we trying to match the Disney magic in our own vacation? -- when I think our kids would be just as happy randomly wandering around, maybe spending an hour eating a PB&J and playing hide and seek on Tom Sawyer's Island.

I know I've done the Bataan Death March as a tourist as Disney with my own family, and there's a lot of stress associated with that, especially as I'm the master planner.

 

[homedad]

when we went as kids there was less planning but we also went with another family and at 12 we were able to go off by ourselves and check in every 4 hours, now that would be crazy now!

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

I went with my parents in the 80's as a family of four and then again 2008 as an extended family taking my kids, my dad said time and time again about how huge it all is now- he pointed out even just MK has so much more to it now and you also have AK, and Hollywood Studios too, he also couldn't remember so many special extras being available- he spoke alot about how when we went as kids we just did what we saw and if we didn't see it, we missed it and didn't actually feel we missed anything as we were unaware.

Now there's so much on offer as little extras and with the internet and so many great books you begin to convince yourself you'll be missing out without those things because you do know they are there.

 

[NYEmomma]

I think we plan more now just because we have the resources to do so (i.e. the internet & a gazillion published tour books) that just weren't as readily or widely available back when I was a kid (the 80s).

We went every 5-ish years when I was younger so I've been about 5 times. My dad is a planner (and I am the EXACT same way) so the first thing we did anytime we went to any attraction was to get a park map and sit on the nearest bench while he planned out what order we were going to see everything. I'm the same way now... we just have the internet and all these fancy crowd ratings and recommended touring plans which enable me to take the planning to a ridiculous level that my dad in the 1980s never would've been able to imagine!

ETA: I had my honeymoon at WDW in 2002 and we didn't really plan anything then except for what park we were doing on which day. But now that we have a kid (one that NEEDS the structure), I feel like I HAVE to have a plan in order to get anything accomplished. She has to eat more regularly than DH & I would, she needs a nap in the middle of the day, she can't wait in line after line after line or sit through 3 shows in a row, etc.

 

[dznystar]

I found the opposite to be true with our family. I remember my mom ready the Birnbaum books and planning which days we would go to each of the parks. There was ride strategy and dinner plans, both in the parks and outside. There was always a day for Typhoon Lagoon or River Country...no BB then. But I guess those were the early years (in the 80s) because my parents bought into DVC right after OKW opened and then vacations were much more leisure. My view is a little different than most I suppose because DH and I were both CMs and now we're DVC members so we've been 100s of times. Our trip this June will be the first time that I am planning activities, making ADRs, and getting the DP, rather than doing things on a whim. I think the planning is definitely adding to the excitement....well at least for me DS7 and DS2 have no idea what I've got up my sleeve. Although I'm not sure either of them really knows that we're even going because it is an "expected" trip.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I went when I was younger when there were really only 2 options as to where to stay.. Contemporary or the Poly.. My parents did a great job of booking some of the shows (we saw spirit of Aloha and Hoop Dee Do) But, I know for sure it was NEVER like it is now.. Don't get my wrong part of why I love going to Disney is the planning.. Yet, I only really started to do so after I had my son.. I had been 8 times before with friends/boyfriends and never planned.. We just showed up and did our thing..
Now, with my son, I just don't want him to miss anything..

 

[mjkacmom]

when we went as kids there was less planning but we also went with another family and at 12 we were able to go off by ourselves and check in every 4 hours, now that would be crazy now!

Because? I'd let my ds12 go off with a friend. Are 12 year olds different today? Heck, we were recently on a cruise, and he was off with a friend, and checked in about every 4 hour, and we didn't have our cellphones on.

I started going to WDW soon after it opened, and I think it just wasn't as crowded. Even when I was in my early 20's, I don't remember it being as busy as it is now.

 

[icicle]

I remember my mom doing a lot of planning in the eighties to the early nineties. She too used to read the Birnbaum books. We were doing the Dumbo Dash back then.

I think the ADRs require excessive planning now. My mom said it was tough to get ressies at Cinderella's castle back when we were little but that was the only one "in demand". My best friend never got to eat at Cinderella's when she was little because her mom was not into planning. I think she's still bitter, lol.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I think 50% of it is Disney hype and the rest has to do with personality. I love to have food booked so ADR's really appeal to me BUT my mom could care less where she eats. Disney has made it so that you feel like you MUST get those reservations in ASAP. Truth is you could walk up and wait just like you would at a regular restaurant might be a long wait but you can do it.

The internet heck these boards have changed a LOT of the laid back/ fun vacation planning. You can find out so much information about specific rooms (yeah there is an app for that now too), servers on cruises, it's almost too much information. Don't get me wrong I LOVE PLANNING! I just wish some things were still a surprise.

 

[HS3kids]

Well surely there was *some* planning-lol... but when we went as kids back in the day... (late 70s-early 90s) we drove down and camped at FW, the only thing I remember needing reservations for was the Aloha dinner show at the Poylnesian and the Hoope Dee Doo Revue. The rest, as far as I know -we just winged it.....Back then the characters kind of wandered about, rather than having set places for photo ops. And if there was any kind of character dining back then, I never knew about it. So things have changed a lot.

That being said, I planned and micro managed our October trip within an inch of its life and it was very stressful. I over planned. Bottom line. It was our first time on the dining plan and our youngests first trip so I was frantic to get in every experience we could. (still never got Chef Mickeys or Cindys Castle though) I do tend to be a tad bit of a control freak though

Next trip I will make ADR's again (but later dinners) and not manage every second of every day (or attempt to) It just made me crazy.

 

[jkc0325]

The first time I went to Disney I went with some older friends and cousins. They took the lead and I just blindly followed along. It was not well planned out and no ADR's were made, mostly because the ringleader could only afford to eat at TS places. But for every meal, she had us walking all over the parks in search of the perfect TS meal. I remember finally refusing to walk one more step and demanding to just eat where we were. I had NO idea of all the wonderful things Disney has to offer.

The next time I went was on my honeymoon and again, we didn't plan too much out and didn't really know much. We were only there for a couple days prior to taking a cruise.

Then I had kids...and we went in 2005...and I am a planner by nature. So, I bought a book and planned out lots of great things to do to maximize the kids' fun (which in turn maximizes mine and dh's.) I plan, but keep things flexible. It's all about having fun so I have no problem changing plans around if that's what we think will make for a better day.

The key for me is knowing what is out there and deciding what we will all enjoy the most!