Advice needed on how to get husband to follow an itinerary

[Tinkmom75]

So, we are going to Disney. My Sister, her family, my Dad and Stepmom, me and my family and maybe some others. My sister and I are planners. As you can see a little obsessive or you could say excited since we are going in Nov. 2009.

My Husband keeps telling my sister if he sees a plan he will throw it out Now he is partially serious and partially kidding. As you all know you can't get the most out of Disney without a plan. So what are your ideas on how to get him to follow an itinerary without him even knowing.

 

[imthatgirl]

you absolutly can see all of disney without a plan. ive been going for 14 years and because my husband would never commit to a plan either we never had one. i have never missed anything because of lack of a touring plan, ever!
that being said, we have gone with a large party before and for us there was no breaking off, it drove me nuts, but my husbands family just couldnt do thngs alone. becuase of the amount of people you do need a loose plan. like when we enter mk we are all going to tomorrow land and working our way through. and then do rides as they come up. its unrealistic to think you can get that many people to cross the park for a touring plan. but you should have a starting ride decided and then a direction you plan to go in.

 

[Bell30012]

All right this is a tough one because men are very difficult to train. Are you sure you wouldn't rather bring a pit bull on vacation, we can train one of those. Okay, being a man and one that plans everything, I can tell you it will take salesmanship. You are going to have to sell it to him as his idea. "Honey, which park should we go to on Tuesday, etc."

My five-year-old assists me with the planning. I have a magnetic white board. I told you I was an obsessive planner. There are icons for each park; a hat for HS, tree for AK, you get the idea. Then there are icons for the character meals. We then put the park hours at the bottom of each day. Noted which parks were having extra magic hours and such... Then we began selecting where to put each icon.

She did get a bit of guidance and picked the right one. Maybe I an icon moved over a day when Daddy sneezed but you get the idea. The key is to make your husband part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. Explain to him that with planning you can hit each parade, fireworks show and not be as worn out from walking so much.

"Yoooooooou can dooooooooooooo it." - The bum on one of Adam Sandlers movies

 

[Tinkmom75]

imthatgirl, I agree you don't have to plan every detail. We went in 2006 just my hubby and myself and were very unplanned and lesiurely. He also get's upset if I tell him I don't know what we are doing next so there's a catch 22 in there. It was great, but this time my 3 kids will be in tow along with other family members. My husband kids my sister that she schedules bathroom stops. What I do want to be clear is that it would be very beneficial to get to Magic Kingdom at opening and do fantasy land for my little guy who will be 4 then. I also want to have a plan of attack for doing the big rides at each park and I do think there are better days to visit each park etc. We are also pretty good at splitting up when needed. We all went in 2003. This is why my husband has the fear of a plan. I honestly think he will be better this time. In 2003 he just quit smoking and was a bit of a grump.

Bell30012
A pit bull I like your idea of getting him to think it's his idea.
"Explain to him that with planning you can hit each parade, fireworks show and not be as worn out from walking so much." Does he get this logic? Not so much. He thinks a vacations is for resting The white board is a great idea. I may have to get me one of those.

Thanks to you both for your input. I thought this might be a fun subject.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Tell him he needs to get with the Disney program LOL
You need a plan it makes for a smoother vacation. Anybody going to Disney knows that!

 

[msmayor]

Tell him he needs to get with the Disney program LOL
You need a plan it makes for a smoother vacation. Anybody going to Disney knows that!

I disagree. While detailed plans may work for some families, its not necessary to have a wonderful time.

The only real planning I do is to decide three or four restaurants we don't want to miss...and I make ADR's for them. Then, each person in the family gets to choose 3 "can't miss" items. We make sure we do those things.

Other than that, we decide which park to go to the night before. If we get there and decide "meh...we want to go somewhere else"...we do.

I'm a slave to a calendar and to-do list at home on a normal day. No way I'm doing that on vacation.

The greatest moments of our past Disney vacations have been the spontaneous.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

I disagree. While detailed plans may work for some families, its not necessary to have a wonderful time.

The only real planning I do is to decide three or four restaurants we don't want to miss...and I make ADR's for them. Then, each person in the family gets to choose 3 "can't miss" items. We make sure we do those things.

Other than that, we decide which park to go to the night before. If we get there and decide "meh...we want to go somewhere else"...we do.

I'm a slave to a calendar and to-do list at home on a normal day. No way I'm doing that on vacation.

The greatest moments of our past Disney vacations have been the spontaneous.

JUST MY OPINION. IT WORKS PERFECT FOR ME!

 

[Snow Shoe]

We've been going as a family since 1986, and we have never used a touring plan of any sort. The only plan we have is making ADR's for the evening meals. You might be surprised if you ask all involved, there might be others who don't want to do a plan either. Also, since there's going to be a possible large group going, it might be good for smaller groups to go and do what they want to, and then join back up later. The one thing I think that could ruin a Disney vacation quicker is to force someone into doing something they didn't want to do. Remember this is should be a fun vacation for all.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

We've been going as a family since 1986, and we have never used a touring plan of any sort. The only plan we have is making ADR's for the evening meals. You might be surprised if you ask all involved, there might be others who don't want to do a plan either. Also, since there's going to be a possible large group going, it might be good for smaller groups to go and do what they want to, and then join back up later. The one thing I think that could ruin a Disney vacation quicker is to force someone into doing something they didn't want to do. Remember this is should be a fun vacation for all.

Been going to DL since 1965 & DW since 71! I have been there with as many as 26 and as few as my own family of 7. Never had a problem.
I have never ever forced anybody to do anything! We plan it all out together. Every trip. We always had a fun vacation. You can see my videos .
Also everybody that I have come in contact plans it out.
Again that my opinion that's the way I DO IT!

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

I am an overplanner; hubby is not. On our next trip, I am going to plan the mornings (from rope drop to right after lunch), and we will wing it in the afternoon. We may have a few ADRs for the evenings, but not every day. This will make both of us happy!

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Nothing wriiten in stone. But I do beleive you have to have some kind of guide. And you dinner ress.

 

[imthatgirl]

Been going to DL since 1965 & DW since 71! I have been there with as many as 26 and as few as my own family of 7. Never had a problem.
I have never ever forced anybody to do anything! We plan it all out together. Every trip. We always had a fun vacation. You can see my videos .
Also everybody that I have come in contact plans it out.
Again that my opinion that's the way I DO IT!

roedisney, we all dont do things the way you do. do you really feels its necessary to correct every single person who doenst like to plan everything?

 

[ROEDISNEY]

roedisney, we all dont do things the way you do. do you really feels its necessary to correct every single person who doenst like to plan everything?

Yes I do! And I'm not correcting every single person . When somebody quotes me and everything I say. I am right back at ya! I said it was just my opinion and then I get quoted again. I never ever said that everybody feels that way. So if your comming at me on my opinion which I am entitled to. I don't back down.

 

[imthatgirl]

Yes I do! And I'm not correcting every single person . When somebody quotes me and everything I say. I am right back at ya! I said it was just my opinion and then I get quoted again. I never ever said that everybody feels that way. So if your comming at me on my opinion which I am entitled to. I don't back down.

apparently

 

[msmayor]

Yes I do! And I'm not correcting every single person . When somebody quotes me and everything I say. I am right back at ya! I said it was just my opinion and then I get quoted again. I never ever said that everybody feels that way. So if your comming at me on my opinion which I am entitled to. I don't back down.

You stated "You need a plan it makes for a smoother vacation"

I realized you were stating your opinion. All I did was state MY opinion...very respectfully...and said in my post that "detailed plans may work for some families". My point was that not everyone NEEDS to have a plan to have fun.

I don't really think it was necessary to 'shout' back at me with this:

JUST MY OPINION. IT WORKS PERFECT FOR ME!

 

[ROEDISNEY]

You stated "You need a plan it makes for a smoother vacation"

I realized you were stating your opinion. All I did was state MY opinion...very respectfully...and said in my post that "detailed plans may work for some families". My point was that not everyone NEEDS to have a plan to have fun.

I don't really think it was necessary to 'shout' back at me with this:

Sorry! Didnt mean it at all to shout at you.

 

[Tinkmom75]

Wow, I have to say I intended this thread for fun. I was not asking on advice as to whether or not to get a touring plan or have one like tourguide Mike and do not want to plan down to the minute. I've already decided for me personally I would like some kind of plan. My intention was ideas on how to make sure everyone gets along and have some sort of plan that my husband will like. Especially for morning which I think are important.

I don't know how to do the quote thing like you guys do, but I really like this idea.

MickeyMomTo2 "I am an overplanner; hubby is not. On our next trip, I am going to plan the mornings (from rope drop to right after lunch), and we will wing it in the afternoon. We may have a few ADRs for the evenings, but not every day. This will make both of us happy!"

 

[swimlib]

I would recommend this for you: Instead of planning everyday, have a couple days that your husband can decide what to do in exchange for having a general plan for the rest of the vacation. We did this at Christmas time and it worked for us because the days that my boyfriend planned were a lot more relaxed, with a day off from the parks and a sleep in! I know it can be unheard of, but this is a vacation, so let him rest a little.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I am the sister and the "evil planner" for the trip. Yes I always have a plan printed out in my backpack each time my family goes. The last time we went without one we seemed to miss a lot. I use my experience and my families must see attracations to plan our days for vacation. With a plan I can at least let our larger group of my parents and my sister's family know where we will be each day and there is no wasted time discussing what to do next. No one has to follow me around all day if they don't want to, but they are more than welcome to. I don't expect our large group to be together at all times. We usually meet back together for meals after getting seperated. I know it is a vacation, but we don't go to relax. We go to have fun. We have the beach at home to relax. If we are at Disney then we must see all we can!!!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I forgot to say that we do have some down time planned. Yes I even plan that. Just time to relax by the pool or whatever everyone wants to do. My disney touring is exhausting. We all need a vacations when we get home from our vacation.

My nephew is sitting on my lap and he loves the smilies!