Am I Crazy not to Micro-Plan my itinerary?

[sorchamac]

I'm going to Disney World! We'll arrive Sat Nov 27th (Sat after Thanksgivingh). I have a PS for Whisp. Canyon that night.

After that, I only have a general itinerary planned. It looks something like this:

Sunday :
8:00 if EE day still
MK - Fantasyland in the morning, starting with Peter Pan (I don't reallly want to go on Dumbo, and will try to steer the kids away from it...).
10:20 CRT breakfast (yes I have my PS)
11:30 or after CRT, Adventureland or Liberty Square

then see if the kids or us need a nap, and play it by ear.

Monday
morning:Epcot Future World
12:00 Garden grill PS
afternoon: Epcot World Showcase

Tuesday

morning Animal Kingdom
12:00 Rainforest Cafe PS
afternoon more AK or MGM

Wednesday

Kennedy Space Center (sorry, DH insisted!)

Thursday

late morning, take it easy, see what we feel like no parks until

MVMCP that evening

Friday

completely unplanned Park day

Saturday

unplanned until we have to be at the airport by 2:30


So am I crazy to be this unplanned? I subscribe to Tour Guide Mike, but his itinerary drives me CRAZY! It is NOT my goal to see as many attractions as possible! It's my goal to have FUN! I'm hoping that this week after Thanksgiving won't be too crowded, and we won't have to worry about line strategy! But that's what Fast Pass is for anyway! I've been to WDW during Feb and April vacation weeks (back in the early 80s), so I think anything will be better than that!!

Any ideas will be appreciated. I am going with DH and DS 6.5 and DD 4.5

Sorcha

 

[shelleyrb]

The first few times we went, we planned a lot. Usually those plans had to be adjusted anyway, so now we just have kind a broad outline, much like you have. It provides flexibility (sometimes the ol' feet are just too tired to make it back to Fantasyland one more time!), and you don't feel so much like you "have" to do something. It's much more relaxing that way. And like you said, much more fun. Who wants to be on an hour-by-hour schedule their whole vacation? Well, ok, maybe some people do, but I'm not one of them.

Your plan sounds great to me.

Shelley

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I plan absolutely nothing. I might head to Universal or Seaworld one day, but I'm not even sure about that. The only thing I know is that I'm going to The Magic Kingdom on Tuesday and heading straight to Fantasyland (for dd). Other than that, I play it by ear. I prefer it that way.

 

[MsMulan]

I think your schedule sounds great! In fact when I go in August I am purposely strecthing out our vaction so we do not feel like when have to go to the parks every single day. My dd really enjoys playing in the hotel pool. I really like to shop. So, I am planning to squeeze a couple of pool/shopping/dinner days in with this vacation.

I just always make sure I keep up with our hopper passes once we get home. Would not want to lose any days because I misplaced the passes.

Have a wonderful trip.

 

[jmclester]

I subscribe to your way of thinking. Decide which park on which day and maybe pre-plan where to dine and let Disney and family take it's course!! Have a great time. Crowds should be at a minimum. Have a look at the shortened park hours and that should tell the story.

 

[3for Me]

My DH has declared that he will not go with me any more if we go commando. So I have had to adjust my mindset, but at the end of the week, I think it makes for a better vacation.

I think you have enough things planned to do what you really want - that is what a vacation is all about!

Have a great trip!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

I've been on three trips with my kids -
1st trip - 1 DD age 18 months
2nd trip - 2 DD's - 2 1/2 and 8 months
3rd trip - 2 DD's 2 and 4, DS 10 months
This trip they'll be 6, 4, and 2 .5.

Here's what I've found helpful, particulary with young kids --

You should have a list of what attractions you might be interested in that are appropriate for their ages. Then when you head to Adventureland, for example, you'll know what you *might* want to do. It doesn't mean you have to do these attractions, and it doesn't mean you have to do them in a certain order, but it does mean that you are not wandering around aimlessly with little children in tow (what fun is that!?)

Also, once you have your list of attractions that would be good for your family, you might want to star the ones that you consider "must sees.' That's a good place to start, then if you have time and energy, you can see the others, but at least after a few hours in the park, you will have seen the attractions that you would enjoy the most without wandering around wondering where to go and what to do.

Lastly, Tour Guide Mike actually has awesome info. And he doesn't put together a "Go from point A to point B to point C" type of crazy itinerary. He does tell you good times to visit attractions you are interested in. Once you have your list, you might want to check the recommended times, just to see if there is a better time to visit one or two of your "must sees." WHy stand in line for 40 minutes with a 4 year old and a 6 year old, when you can stand in line for only 10 minutes?

Basically, in the end, you don't need a very detailed plan, but a general idea and some planning is well worth it with small children! I walk into a park, say Magic Kingdom, and know that we are going to ride Dumbo first and Winnie the Pooh second, and I know which 5 or 6 other things we are interested in seeing in Fantasyland -- from there we go with the flow. picking and choosing as we go along...and have fun!!

Hope that helps!

 

[MickeyisanNDfan]

We don't plan at all. We are going Thanksgiving week and other than 4 PS we got nothing. We find this way works great and it would never occur to us to plan days in advance. Another way to look at it also is if it isn't planned it can't go wrong. There are many more pleasant surprises and stumbling upon things too I think.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Well, I plan like a commando and tour like a beach bum! I ADORE the planning to the last detail. This builds the trip for me and I love doing it. But, what happens when we get there is a MUCH more generalized plan. We know what park and when and have a general idea of the 1st thing we will head to but from there it is a leisurely pace with lots of time to smell the roses, hug the characters and observe my children in the greatest enviroment ever created.

My dh says I waste time planning all that detail then not using it but what the heck, I do it in my spare time and it's fun! Lately, my obsessive planning has lead to me planning trips for other people which is just as fun for me.

Sick, isn't it

 

[dirkus]

sorchamac,

We are arriving a day before you and leaving a day before you. The only plans we have are a PS to Chef Mickey's, reservations for the Candlelight Processional dinner package, a night at Pleasure Island (had to arrange for babysitting), and tickets for MVMCP. Other than that, just a general plan of what park on which day. I like to stay flexible and there should be no problem doing it this way because of the time of year.

Maybe we'll see you there!

 

[Luigi's Girl]

Disney_1derland you must be my clone. i am the same way and do the same thing.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Originally posted by Luigi's Girl
Disney_1derland you must be my clone. i am the same way and do the same thing.

I knew I wasn't alone out here! We'll be there in just 3 more weeks! This is our first time traveling with others (my mom, dad and aunt) and I'm so happy that they are only going to experience it with the kids. They have no interest in anything in particular and are happy to go with the flow.

 

[Dave Dizney]

Well, here I am, the icon of over planning (as I've been accused of from the Travel Channel show), and yes, after years of trips we still do make a schedule every time we go. Though accusations of fun spoiling have been lobbed my way, I have never missed a PS and have always managed to do everything we wanted in a day (including taking in diversions to our schedule).

Everyone has to plan their trip according to their own personalities and expectations. When I help others plan their trips, I always ask them to list their favorite vacation experience and try to discover (on a sliding scale) if their idea of fun is from “seeing everything” to “doing nothing.” I help them base their trip on their family's personality.

So yes, there are those who do just fine with very little details of a plan, and those who go with a minute-by-minute plan -- but the best advice is to HAVE a plan.

 

[Mortlives]

I planned the first time, and my family revolted. Since then, my plans run something along the lines of "When do we want to do 'Ohana?" or "Do we want an Illuminations cruise?", and that's pretty much it.

As an aside, KSC rocks! Your DH knows what he's doing, although it took us 2 days to do it (we had to see every last thing, including the rides and simulators at the Astronauts Hall of Fame).

Kungaloosh!
Morticia.

 

[thotfulspot]

Disney_1derland and Luigi's Girl, we must have been separated at birth! My all-time absolute favorite acitivity ever is to plan Disney trips. I get all fuzzy inside picturing myself there, and feel enormous satisfaction at putting together a plan that takes into account projected crowds, everyone's wishes and stamina, a balance between excitement and down time, etc.

But if something comes up to throw off the plan, it's no big whoop. The plan exists to allow us to consider the possibilities, but reality trumps the plan every time.

Gotta love Disney!!

 

[jmclester]

Well put, thotfulspot!



18 days and counting!!

 

[ErinInCT]

Sorcha,
I was a huge micro manager for our 1st trip. Now that I have been with kids, I think I can plan better next time. While we did stick to our plan for the most part, I found that it is not necessary to plan out every detail. Now I will do an am & pm plan of what parks to do & then plan what to do in each park (must see's, or what "lands" in MK we'll do, etc). I think it helps to have some type of plan. But we (dh & I) would discuss our strategy for the next day after the kids went to bed & this was also a good idea b/c you know what you did the day b4 & how tired you may be, etc! You did great by getting your ps's!! Congrats on CRT! I think your plan looks great & you can fill in some of the blanks when you get there!
Have fun!
Erin

 

[DisLUV]

Planning, Planning, We DONT NEED NO STINKING PLANNING!!

Actually I think you need a general plan just an idea of what you want to do that day. That means if you get up and say "HEY magic kingdom sounds good today" THAT IS A PLAN

Micromanaging is something reserved for Disney Management not for the typical Disney Guest!!! Kidding, to each his (or her) Own!!

 

[Dreamin' Disney]

There is no sense planning every little thing and then obsess when you're not on schedule.

If the lines are short, you may ride something twice or decide to do something else if the lines are long. Having a general plan but being flexible is a good strategy.

I would suggest having a PS for dinner on your last day, in case you want to try something special. If it doesn't work out, you can always cancel it and spread some Disney magic to someone else trying to get into that restaurant.

It's just that without a PS, you may not get into a restaurant for a sit down meal. You can either have a late dinner after the parks close, or an earlier dinner with time to catch a few rides and watch some fireworks at one of the parks.