Why dont people plan?

[lelder]

I'm not sure the "how was I supposed to know?" defense is a good one. My family has never been to WDW before and I haven't been to DL in 15 years. A quick google search last November (when we started thinking about it) told me that advance planning and research were critical. We decided to book a Christmas 2016 trip instead of March 2016, as we were already inside the 180 day window. Since booking, I have spent countless hours learning what I need to know. I can't imagine how people even booked a trip without realizing they might need to know more!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

My family has never been to WDW before and I haven't been to DL in 15 years. A quick google search last November (when we started thinking about it) told me that advance planning and research were critical.

 

[Barbanellie]

Have not booked times to visit the various attractions in the area (there are certainly lots of attractions at Disney).

I love planning my vacations, and yes Disney is different, but I disagree with the idea expressed here (and by many others, sorry I'm only quoting this one post) that only at Disney is there a marked advantage to those who plan a lot and far in advance. A few examples off the top of my head: When we went to Germany for our honeymoon, the fact that I had planned meant that I had reserved our train tickets between Munich and Berlin for 30 Euros each instead of 100, because when you book specific trains and times up to three months in advance you can get these high discounts. I also knew that I wanted to visit the Parliament in Berlin, and to do that I had to request a tour, choosing dates and times, supplying our passport information; you don't just show up and expect to join the next tour group. When we wanted to have a camping spot on the beach in Prince Edward Island, and we really wanted that particular spot, I booked as soon as Canada Parks allowed bookings, namely in April for an August vacation. I could go on, but you see what I mean?

Yes, these vacations were not all planned to the detail like some people plan their Disney vacations. I think we need to remember that at WDW you are in a kind of enclosed environment. If you're in NYC and want a sit-down dinner and the first place you go to is full, you'll go to the next place, then the next, until you get to one that can seat you. If you're in MK, you have I believe a total of 6 sit-down restaurants. You cannot fit every single MK visitor into those 6 restaurants each night. That's OK, because some people are happy with QS, others will go to a resort restaurant, etc. But let's face it, most people will either not have a car and/or won't want/be able to leave the park for dinner, and will want to eat at one of those 6. And a lot more people want to eat at BOG or CRT each night than those restaurants can seat. Because people want to be sure to eat there, most of you planners here are doing exactly that: securing that ADR as soon as you can because you don't want to not eat at this restaurant (or any other WDW restaurant).

As I see it, for all the complaining that Disney is forcing people to plan to have a good time, it seems to me they are just trying to provide tools to make their guests happy. Granted, I haven't been to WDW during peak-crowd-season. But 2 years ago, there was ONE thing on our can't-miss list: CRT. I booked that one at 180 days. We booked everything else day before or day of, based on what had availability for our groupe. This year, I had my heart set on BOG dinner on EMH night, and PPO at Crystal Palace. I booked those two (without any problem) around 170-days before our trip, and the rest of our meals were booked, again day before and day of. Did it happen that we looked up a restaurant we wanted to eat at but couldn't? Yes. Did it ruin our vacation? No, because those restaurants weren't important to us, we've just added them to our "next time" list. And if we had not planned to return to WDW in a few years, I probably would've booked them earlier. And the same happens to restaurants where I live. A very popular restaurant here has a wait list of about a month if you want to go on a Friday or Saturday night, so if we want to go there, we call a few weeks ahead, and if we want to be there for a special event at a specific date, I call a few weeks before that to be sure.

This is how I see Disney planning. If something is important to you, Disney is providing tools (ADRs and FP+) to help you plan and make sure you get to do those important things. For visitors (like me) who have a few things on their important list and are happy with wherever after that, this works very well. But I can see how it would be nerve-wracking to those who have a longer list of important things, or for whom everything is important. Do whatever will make you happy on your vacation, but don't think that people who don't plan that way will have a miserable time. Because that's the other thing: we hear about the people who didn't plan and were miserable, but how many of us only plan a little and have a wonderful time? I think this is a case of a very visible minority (who don't plan, don't listen to any advice, and then complain that Disney sucks), but out of the thousands of people visiting WDW each day, I can't believe that all those who had a good time had a by-the-hour plan, and that everyone who didn't have one will vow never to return. Mostly because I don't fit into either categories, and I have family and friends who also don't.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

were you charged for your same day cancellations?

No, I was not charged. The first time I did it (we weren't hungry) I told the manager that was the problem but I would honor the reservation so as to not get charged the $10.00 pp, but she said that was for no shows. I think the truth was, it was very busy (around Christmas season) and they had groups of people trying to get a reservation. The next time was BOG and as I said, I walked up as another party was being turned away, and they switched the reservation from me to her. As I stood there, they turned away several people. Had it not been so busy I may not have been so lucky, but most are happy to work with you. Same with Tusker House though we did not cancel, we just changed the time at the last minute. I think showing up in person and showing good faith goes a long way. As bad as the DGD meltdown was, I think I would have gladly paid the late cancellation fee just to be able to leave the park. We had stood in the hub in the hot sun for FoF and they were just done in.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Some say... I don't think people realize how far in advance you have to plan a trip to Disney

When really, this should be I don't think people realize how far in advance I plan a trip to Disney.

There is no requirement to plan in advance except for the small subset of people that consider themselves planners. The rest of the world would consider the planning that I or most people out here do... ridiculous, tedious, or something they're just not interested in. Yet they all go to WDW and have as magical of times as us who planned.

I am a planner, it's just how I am. I plan for things. I plan at work, I plan at home, I plan for vacations both Disney and non. But that is a unique character trait of mine which happens to be shared with many of the people out here on the Dis who also like to plan. It's what brings us together. That does not mean the general public likes to plan. In general, the general public does not. This makes me valuable in many ways. Appreciate it. Don't ask why everyone else doesn't plan as much as you... but be glad they don't! Everyone else not planning as much is what allows us to plan and be ahead of them. If they all planned as much as you or I, we would not get on as many rides or do as much with as little waiting as we do.

To wish everyone be as good a planner as yourself is to wish away your own advantage in life. Disney and otherwise.

True. A coworker went (horrors!) during Spring Break for the first time with her grandson, DDIL and her mother. I offered but they said they were good. They had a great time and enjoyed whatever they did. Some of us are just so used to doing it all, that it's easy to forget that there are those who are just happy to be there.

 

[Gracie09]

Maybe I'm just a planner by nature but planning adrs and fp doesn't bother me and actually makes my day easier in May ways. No more running to get tsmm first thing in the morning. We can sleep in we have a reservation for 2pm. If we don't want to stop and see the princesses no worry we have reservations to eat with them later. When we travelled with my in laws we told them they should get up early, get to the parks to enjoy the short lines. They never got there before 11. And complained we went on rides without them and the lines were now long. At the end of the week mil said they should have listened to us because everything we said was right.
Anyway, i just bought polar express tickets for December this morning and may trains were already sold out. (They went on sale at midnight). Last month I got my niece Hamilton tickets also for December. There is a restaurant in my town owned by one of the top chef people. Reservations are four months ahead and you can't just eat at the bar. Some things in life take planning, some don't. It's the nature of things

 

[JimmyV]

But surely those vacations planned around culinary exploration don't include WDW. Restaurants there can be good, and they can be fun, but none of them are excellent in a culinary sense.

Ahhh. But excellence is not the determining factor. "Best" or "favorite" is. If a place has 10 restaurants and 8 of them rate "one star" out of five, and the other two rate "three stars", then it might very well be your strong preference to go to the two higher rated places irrespective of the fact that they are not "excellent". And I definitely find that to be the case at WDW. Indeed, it might be more important to plan this way. If you go to some place where every restaurant is "very good to excellent" then it might not matter where you go. You can close your eyes and point and end up with a great meal. But if you go some place where 80% of the places are horrid, your selection process becomes oh so much more meaningful. I find it to be far more important to plan my meals at WDW than I do in, say, New Orleans.

 

[Acedink]

We just got back from our 4th year in a row trip, and our 'year 1' trip was planned/booked about 45 days out. We pretty much didn't know what to expect (it had been 23 years since I was last there). I would hope that if these people book again next year, they would do some research.

By planning it out (and sometimes I wish I didn't have to since it can be draining), we can fit SOOOOO much more into our trip. Every year we get more and more planning. I like to relax on vacations, but sadly Disney isn't a relaxing vacation for me, but it is still so worth it!

 

[whiporee]

Ahhh. But excellence is not the determining factor. "Best" or "favorite" is. If a place has 10 restaurants and 8 of them rate "one star" out of five, and the other two rate "three stars", then it might very well be your strong preference to go to the two higher rated places irrespective of the fact that they are not "excellent". And I definitely find that to be the case at WDW. Indeed, it might be more important to plan this way. If you go to some place where every restaurant is "very good to excellent" then it might not matter where you go. You can close your eyes and point and end up with a great meal. But if you go some place where 80% of the places are horrid, your selection process becomes oh so much more meaningful. I find it to be far more important to plan my meals at WDW than I do in, say, New Orleans.

That's a good point. Hadn't thought of it that way.

 

[Acedink]

I've never been, but I met a British couple on the shuttle that said the restaurant on top of the Contemporary (maybe the Garden Grill or California Grill) was the best restaurant in the world he had ever been to (and I have no clue how much he travels).

So just saying, to him, there are some really great restaurants at Disney. And yes, I will admit, some are just not very good.

 

[maltdizzy]

For all the planners...what do you do with teens? You don't schedule them to hang out with the parents and younger siblings for a whole trip?

At least in the paper FP days, they could secure their own FP at whatever park they felt like heading off to. I have no intention of seeing my DS between 7 AM and midnight once he and his friends are old enough to enter the parks on his own. That's the way it was for my brothers and me. Fortunately, for us, it predated all FP.

 

[NORMA MUNOZ]

That's exactly how I feel. My boss is going to take her family and she doesn't have no ADR's or fast passes. I told her that I plan 1 year in advance and she stares at me like I'm crazy. Everyone that I talk to thinks I'm crazy when I tell them that. Now my boss is trying to make ADR's 2 weeks from her trip and cant find no openings. I feel so bad for her. If she would have told me before I would have help her.

 

[hiroMYhero]

This thread received a "shout out" on the DIS Daily Fix!

For all the planners...what do you do with teens? You don't schedule them to hang out with the parents and younger siblings for a whole trip?

At least in the paper FP days, they could secure their own FP at whatever park they felt like heading off to. I have no intention of seeing my DS between 7 AM and midnight once he and his friends are old enough to enter the parks on his own. That's the way it was for my brothers and me. Fortunately, for us, it predated all FP.

@maltdizzy ~ you'll need to post a new thread to pose your planning question. This thread remains as a discussion as to why people may not do much planning for their WDW trip.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

That's exactly how I feel. My boss is going to take her family and she doesn't have no ADR's or fast passes. I told her that I plan 1 year in advance and she stares at me like I'm crazy. Everyone that I talk to thinks I'm crazy when I tell them that. Now my boss is trying to make ADR's 2 weeks from her trip and cant find no openings. I feel so bad for her. If she would have told me before I would have help her.

Tell her to have hope. She can Che I her app every day as some people cancel at the last minute. Ordinarily, 1 or 2 days before you're going to be there, reservations open up. May not be your first choice but at least it's a choice.
ETA: there is always Skippers.

 

[maltdizzy]

This thread received a "shout out" on the DIS Daily Fix!

@maltdizzy ~ you'll need to post a new thread to pose your planning question. This thread remains as a discussion as to why people may not do much planning for their WDW trip.

No, I meant "in general," in the context of the thread. I always plan some, as noted...we have to...I even enjoy it to a degree. But it seems the die-hard, "love to plan" people are usually scheduling whole families for ADR's and FP's (I sure not all are). What do they do or plan to do when the kids get older and want more freedom and less structure?

For me, the rigid, structured scheduling of FP+ diminishes the fun of the trip. It would have been even worse when I was a teen enjoying the ability to go at my own pace.

 

[hiroMYhero]

No, I meant "in general," in the context of the thread. I always plan some, as noted...we have to. But it seems the die-hard, "love to plan" people are usually scheduling whole families for ADR's and FP's (I sure not all are). What do they do or plan to do when the kids get older and want more freedom and less structure?

I understand, but, if you do decide to post a new thread, you'll receive many more replies and specific suggestions.

 

[Roxyfire]

No, I meant "in general," in the context of the thread. I always plan some, as noted...we have to...I even enjoy it to a degree. But it seems the die-hard, "love to plan" people are usually scheduling whole families for ADR's and FP's (I sure not all are). What do they do or plan to do when the kids get older and want more freedom and less structure?

For me, the rigid, structured scheduling of FP+ diminishes the fun of the trip. It would have been even worse when I was a teen enjoying the ability to go at my own pace.

There is a Disney for Teens section of the board, I bet they could give you some insights on what teens in general would prefer to do.

 

[maltdizzy]

I understand, but, if you do decide to post a new thread, you'll receive many more replies and specific suggestions.

I have 5 more years before I have to worry about it. And I won't worry about it...I'll give the boy his magicband and allowance and tell him call me if he gets in trouble and that will be it for the day.

My question wasn't for or about me...think about it, it's hypothetical.

 

[Roobear77]

I love to plan. My husband says I am never happier than when I am planning a trip. We have a summer vacation out west planned, and three disney trips in the next 18 months, the first one being in December. I have notes made of where we want to eat (ADRs just 2 weeks away!) and basically what parks we will do on what days. I will pick our "must do" FPs for each park. And then we go, and I relax. If the kids want to play in the dumbo circus tent for an hour then I just pop out my phone and change what I can. Sometimes that means giving them an option "you can play here, but that means we can't ride SDMT" if I can't change something, but then it is their choice. Sometimes it means missing something. If they are having fun standing and waving at the splash mountain riders, then then we will stand and wave. Seeing them having a good time makes us happy. I have realized that rushing them from attraction to attraction means we miss out on the little things like the amazing encounters with CMs and talking to the ducks outside CP. The plans are there. We follow them loosely or change them up as necessary. And the last two trips we had (using this mentality) were amazing. No meltdowns, no arguing with my husband, no cranky kids...just Disney magic.

 

[JimmyV]

The rest of the world would consider the planning that I or most people out here do... ridiculous, tedious, or something they're just not interested in. Yet they all go to WDW and have as magical of times as us who planned.

But this really is the great unknown. Some yes. Many no. I definitely know people who fit the description presented in the OP who were very disappointed with their trips to WDW and have no intention of going back. Recall that in the OP, there were people who didn't know that they could get a FP for 7DMT and were limited to a 100 minute wait. And people who tried to get a same day FP for Soarin' and couldn't, so they too probably had a 70-100 minute wait. And there were people who thought that BoG looked like a really cool place to eat...but they didn't get to. All of these situations were the result of poor or no planning, and all of these situations resulted in long lines and/or missed experiences. And in all likelihood, these people faced the same issues at A&E, TSMM, RnR, ToT, Test Track, just to name a few. It's difficult to imagine that the people who didn't know that they could get a FP in advance for 7DMT got one for TSMM, or knew enough to get up at zero-dark-thirty to make RD. There are lots of different offshoots to this, including:

• That's OK. Our vacation was perfect despite these blips.
• That's OK. Next time we will know better and will plan ahead.
• WDW is a joke. We missed out on lots of the good stuff and we're never going back.

Your post concludes that "all go to WDW and have as magical of times as us who planned", but I don't think that it really is "all". Definitely some. But I know for a fact that there are people who don't find the magic due to long lines and missed opportunities that those of us who plan rarely encounter.