Advance planning blues

[pjhootch]

Hi everyone,

It is 6:00 a.m. 180 days from my trip, so naturally, I have my eyelids propped open with toothpicks and am siphoning coffee down my throat. Can I say, just between you and me, I really hate having to do things this way?

I DO like planning ahead at least a little bit, or I wouldn't be on the DISboards (and a member for quite a while). But when planning ahead reaches the level of detail where I am trying to figure out what time I will be riding a certain ride in a certain park months ahead of time... it ceases to be fun.

I totally understand that most DB members enjoy advance planning more than I do. I enjoy picking my hotel, and using strategy to figure out which day is best for which park. I like knowing which rides are closed for refurbishing and how to avoid crowds as much as possible.

But I absolutely DESPISE trying to figure out where I am going to eat dinner 6 months from now. And I hate even more that feeling that I am missing out on something if I didn't get exactly the reservation I wanted. What is the MATTER with me? I don't travel this way.

I think I have a little bit of an excuse. I am old. I started going to Disneyland in 1967. I remember E tickets for crying out loud. I am just having trouble adjusting to this FP+ madness and 180+10 for dining reservations. It can't be just me. I am cool with technology and have spent many years coming to terms with the competition between Disney and my Better Judgment when it comes to $$$.

But I really am over the advance planning I need to do to take full advantage of the money I am spending. Yikes.

 

[mrsgoose8]

i know there are some restaurants that this doesnt hold true for, but i have yet to wake at 6 to make my reservatiions at the 180 mark... I think the only thing i did at CLOSE to 180 days was BBB and CRT... but I even got a FP for A& E a few days after the FP window opened for me..on my last WDW trip i changed my plans while on my trip-- several times and got reservations that i wanted for the most part.

I'm just saying this to encourage you, it doesn't HAVE to be this way...

hugs! try to find the joy in the planning again, or "let it go" a bit!

 

[Alesia]

But I absolutely DESPISE trying to figure out where I am going to eat dinner 6 months from now.

Then don't do it. You can have a fantastic trip without preplanning your meals 6 months in advance.

Not getting the dining plan (if you normally get it) will help. You will probably spend less money, too.

You may not be able to get CRT or BOG, but there will still be plenty of choices left for you - even if you just wait and call that day. Think of it as an adventure.

 

[Jennasis]

On our 180 mark it happened to be the day we were driving from NC to NY. I had to use DH's ipad to make the reservations and we were driving through the mountains so I kept losing the signal and my phone wouldn't work either. Frustrating but I got what I wanted eventually.

 

[brielise]

Our trips are fairly spontaneous, at least in Disney terms. For instance, I was on my Disney bachelorette trip at the end of March when we decided to honeymooon in May. We didn't book the trip or get tickets until mid April. The only reservation I didn't get was CP at 8am, but we didn't really care about the food anyway - just getting into the park early. We also had zero interest in CRT or BOG. But we did get California Grill during Wishes.

Our previous trips, with 6 people, were usually only planned a month in advance and we've eaten at both CRT and BOG. My MIL claims it's because she's pushy (there's another word for that ) but it really doesn't matter how pushy you are ... there's either an ADR available or there's not. It's really just pure luck if people cancel.

So yea, I think you can definitely plan without the 180 days.

 

[wuzzy6]

I was born in 1971 and grew up an hour away from WDW. Until recently, I never even knew what it meant to "plan" anything related to visiting the parks - in my world, you just simply went! (I, too, remember the ticket books.) However, I have found that there are some fun aspects to planning everything in-advance... for now. I could easily arrive to a point in which I no longer appreciate everything involved in planning a quick weekend getaway 6 months in-advance. When that happens, I will stop. As much as I love visiting WDW, if I no longer find it worthwhile, for ANY reason, I know there are endless opportunities for fun to be had elsewhere.

If you no longer enjoy it, then stop doing it and throw your money at something you DO enjoy! Nobody should have to "work" to justify spending their hard-earned money.

 

[pjhootch]

I haven't bothered with this before, to be honest. I don't ever buy the dining plan, but I did get "free" dining this time around. The last time we had FD the kids (our kids are between 22 and 32 now) really enjoyed the restaurants and the food. I did that almost last minute and made reservations about a month ahead of time and we did great.

The funny part is that I am sucked up into all this silliness, even though there isn't much of anything that we just "need" to do anymore. We did CRT when the youngest kids were about 10.

I really don't know why I was up at 5 a.m. Yes I do. I was hoping (with everyone else) to get a reservation to BOG since it is the "new" thing that our family hasn't done. It isn't going to make or break anything and we can just stand in line at lunch time or whatever. We are actually all SO easygoing about our Disney trips that I feel like I might have contracted a contagious virus that is making me try to sort everything out months ahead of time.

 

[ALD85]

I feel you 100% and for me my 180 days is in July but I'm not booking until Oct (waiting for a promo) so I won't have the 180+10. I'll have to make my reservations day by day. Its frustrating because not that long ago ADRs weren't even needed.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I didn't mind ADRs...we never got that many of them anyway because we have never had the dining plan (and I think most of the TS food tastes like the QS food)

Planning the rides pushes it to a whole new level.

Not to make this a Uni debate, but our onsite stay there this past Feb was so nice....no planning required. Hotel, flights, go. Made me realize how WDW planning is kind of crazy!

 

[GillianP1301]

If the ADR 180+10 situation is not enjoyable to you or stressful, then I would suggest just not doing it, or cutting it down dramatically. I think it's very doable to book last minute ADRs if you are open to location. If you want BOG, for example, then you may end up disappointed.

Personally, I really enjoy the planning and booking things early, so much so that I tend to change my mind several times in the months leading up to my trip and most of those changes are just for the heck of it and not because there was really anything that wrong with what I had previously. So, I'm the opposite end of the spectrum, I guess.

To each their own though. If the planning stressed me out or wasn't fun for me, then I would for sure just do less of it. Either way, will likely end up with a similar result of a fabulous WDW vacation!

 

[Vivianne]

Op I agree with you I've reduced my trips to 2 parks and yes I stop and smell the roses. My commando days are long gone but all this preplanning for a halfway decent trip to justify the cost is for the birds This is just my opinion.

 

[bluwater]

Don't do it. Some people love it. Others, like me, can't stand. My life is too busy to make Disney a part time job. You'll be fine if you don't do it.

 

[SpringSprite]

The funny part is that I am sucked up into all this silliness, even though there isn't much of anything that we just "need" to do anymore. We did CRT when the youngest kids were about 10.

I really don't know why I was up at 5 a.m. Yes I do. I was hoping (with everyone else) to get a reservation to BOG since it is the "new" thing that our family hasn't done. It isn't going to make or break anything and we can just stand in line at lunch time or whatever. We are actually all SO easygoing about our Disney trips that I feel like I might have contracted a contagious virus that is making me try to sort everything out months ahead of time.

this!!! I think part of it (for me) is my overuse of the DISboards! I am so grateful to have gotten the info I have, but we are planning our FIRST trip, the boys are gonna love it no matter what...it's almost like a mob mentality thing for me. I "had" to have BOG too, even though we've eaten barely anywhere, and everything is new.

 

[LoverDisney]

I don't mind planning the ADR's. Planning the rides in my opinion is too much. However we will make the best of it!

 

[DopeyDame]

Unless you want one of the a very small handful of reservations, there's no reason in the universe to be making reservations 190 days before your trip, and certainly no need to set an alarm clock that day. RELAX! Don't let it make you crazy.

 

[kmv]

I completely understand feeling this way, because I felt the same way at the 60 day mark making my FP+ reservations.

I will say that we planned this trip only 63 days in advance and I was worried about dining. From looking online a few times a day the last few weeks I have gotten reservations for:
BOG, Akershus pre-opening breakfast, Chef Mickey's and H&V Starwars dinner. So, there is hope, even if you don't get the exact reservations at 180 days you can always check when your trip is closer.

 

[Leader of the Pack]

I am past the 180 day mark. Only reservation I tried for was BOG. No luck for entire trip. I too love planning and have been at it quite a while for our November visit, as well as many trips in the past. I'll make flight ressies now that I can, also look into booking a tour (may be too soon for that) don't remember time frame plus will have to pick a day...! Anyway agree with you that it's a bit much! We do love WDW in spite of it all.

 

[melissamacpherson78]

While I do enjoy knowing that all my meals are planned well before I get to WDW (so there's no trying to figure out where we'll eat each day), having to preplan our rides 60 days in advance is causing me a great deal of unnecessary stress. At this point, the only FP+ that I'm planning are for princess meet and greets for my daughter. Other than that, we'll play it by ear. I like to have at least SOME flexibility while on vacation!

 

[GeneralTso]

For me, this isn't fun. I don't do it.
I don't understand the mentality, but understand there are many on this board who swear by it.

Drinking tons of coffee, half asleep to get a dinner reservation? Nah.

 

[bshawcrew]

Hi everyone,

It is 6:00 a.m. 180 days from my trip, so naturally, I have my eyelids propped open with toothpicks and am siphoning coffee down my throat. Can I say, just between you and me, I really hate having to do things this way?

I DO like planning ahead at least a little bit, or I wouldn't be on the DISboards (and a member for quite a while). But when planning ahead reaches the level of detail where I am trying to figure out what time I will be riding a certain ride in a certain park months ahead of time... it ceases to be fun.

I totally understand that most DB members enjoy advance planning more than I do. I enjoy picking my hotel, and using strategy to figure out which day is best for which park. I like knowing which rides are closed for refurbishing and how to avoid crowds as much as possible.

But I absolutely DESPISE trying to figure out where I am going to eat dinner 6 months from now. And I hate even more that feeling that I am missing out on something if I didn't get exactly the reservation I wanted. What is the MATTER with me? I don't travel this way.

I think I have a little bit of an excuse. I am old. I started going to Disneyland in 1967. I remember E tickets for crying out loud. I am just having trouble adjusting to this FP+ madness and 180+10 for dining reservations. It can't be just me. I am cool with technology and have spent many years coming to terms with the competition between Disney and my Better Judgment when it comes to $$$.

But I really am over the advance planning I need to do to take full advantage of the money I am spending. Yikes.

It's not just you. That is me to a t. I like "planning" my next trip, but by that I mean booking it and making payments, and choosing our resort. If there is a specific meal we know we want, I will do that. But all my meals 6 months in advance. No. The planning my rides just pushed me over the edge. Needless to say, we are now looking at DL and other options. Not gonna say we've given up on WDW, or I wouldn't be on this board. But they definitely killed the magic for us. Just crossing my fingers it gets better.