Am I the only one who doesn't plan out thier day?

[marksor]

Planning your days at Disney has its purpose- it helps you get along while you wait for your vacation. It helps you with the anticipation and gives you something to do until the trip. Most folks need to plan a WDW trip well in advance so there are months that go by from the time of the decision to go to WDW and the actual trip. These web sites and planning the "perfect" vacation helps us fill the gap.

Having said (written) that, when you finally arrive at WDW, take out your itinerary/plan that you've worked on and revised several times and throw it in the garbage can as soon as you get in your hotel room. It ceases to be helpful at that point. You have to go and move around the parks and such as feels right at the time. That's partially what makes it a vacation.

I've done this on all four of my trips and I can't imagine doing it any other way. The only thing that gets in the way are dining arrangements that you want- if you want a few specific sit-down meals you really need to have that planned in advance due to the availability and demand. I try to keep these "appointment" meals to a minimum during a week's stay. My wife must have had seven or eight PSs during our recent trip and I told her in advance that if I was having a good time around these meal times I was not going to interrupt myself to make it to a meal. I ended up meeting the rest of the family about four of those meals- two were breakfasts which are easier to make.

 

[BillSears]

I feel alot better knowing there are others out there like me.

I'd never buy one of those tour books, that tell you to do this, then that, then this ride etc. WDW all done in 4 whilrwind days!!!

Maybe it's because the rides are secondary for me. I'm into the atmosphere of WDW, the shows, the shops and the restaurants. I guess that's why EPCOT is my favorite park.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Well, I plan, but I don't. My two little ones (4 and 2) like to eat close to the same times everyday, just like at home. I make at least one, occasionally 2, ADR(s) for each day, at our regular mealtimes, and that is how we know which park we'll be in when.

I have a mental list of what attractions we want to do at each park, and we do try to hit Fantasyland first thing in the morning, but other than that, we don't stick to a plan or schedule. On the morning we're going to eat at Crystal Palace, we'll start out at MK; after the nap/swim break in the afternoon, if we don't have an ADR, we'll go to whatever park we want to, doesn't have to be MK.

We're at the park at opening, sometimes before for a breakfast, but that's because of the kids, and we take a break in the afternoon for a couple of hours. Just something my little guys need right now. When we go back, usually around 4 or so, we stay until closing/after fireworks.

Does that make any sense?

 

[Amyrlin]

I do a bit of both. I work out which parks we are going to so we can avoid the crowds, also make some ADR's, e.g. got one for Ohana so we can eat and then watch fireworks on beach with a cocktail. In addition to this I might make some notes on the tips to use, so it is partly planned.

However, going in september it is less crowded.

 

[Ilovestitch]

I ususally make a couple adr's and figure out what we want to do on the day we arrive. And I look at the park hours before we go.

But a lot of times we just hop on the first bus that pulls up. And sometimes when leaving a park, we hop on the first resort bus that pulls up- even if its not ours- so we can check out a new resort. I have also called to make a adr and when the CM asks what date and time I say "Now!"

 

[ktflisa]

The first few times we went, I complained some that my DH was "dragging me like a ragdoll" through the parks. He got tired of hearing it, so on one trip we just went with the flow. Well, that didn't work out so well either. So now we compromise... At least 2 days we "sleep in" (to 8:00am ) I found that if we don't get up at the crack of dawn and hit the parks when they open, the day seems too short. Plus we go in off times, and the park hours are shorter. Now, as for actual plans, no we don't make those. I usually make only one ADR (for BOMA) and the rest of the time we wing it. We loosely plan enough that we'll get to do everything we want to do.

56 more days!

 

[nluvwithmickey]

I could NEVER plan what rides I will be doing in which order..... But we do know which park on which days we will be doing, and, if we have ADR'S what time we will be eating at and where.

The plan for us is, once we get there, usually for park opening, is to ALWAYS have at least one FP in hand. I am the official FP runner.

We want to see as much as we can but we also have our limits too. So when the kids are hot and cranky, we take a break or go back to the resort.

I tried planning the ride order before leaving, gave me a huge headache so I gave up. We were fine a couple of weeks back and we got to do many rides more than once. Soarin' 4x, Buzz 3x, Space mountain 2x..... all without a plan.

So I say, do what makes you comfortable, it IS your vacation !

 

[goofyernmost]

You are not alone. I never plan my days. In fact I rarely plan anything. I usually don't even make hotel reservations. I don't stay on site and I rent a car or drive, so when I get there I drive around (usually route 197) and look for a place that, 1) has a good price and 2) looks good to me. Plane reservations and car rental reservations, I do make.

I get up in the morning and after I have had breakfast I decide if I am going to WDW, which park or Universal or Sea World or if I am just going to explore other parts of Florida.

I don't put down anyone that does plan but it just doesn't work for me. I know I will not stick to it because I tend to plan too extensively, and I always have to worry about unforseen events preventing me from following the plan, so it just isn't worth it.

I usually travel alone so PS's aren't usually necessary. I can normally get in anyplace with a minimum of wait and if I can't, then I move on to another place. Unless I die, there is always tomorrow. I know that this type of "laid backness" is way more than some can handle but it works for me.

 

[homer424]

I am this way, too. To me-and not directed at anyone else-it is not a vacation if I have everything planned down to the minute. And it is not worth it to get all in a twist because my plans had to be changed. That may be great for others, but I can't handle it. The most we plan is which park we will be in for the day and which rides we want to try to go on. We eat when we're hungry and leave when we are ready. Sometimes we make a PS but not often. We never have long waits for rides and we always have a wonderful time!

Also, I have to be this way because of my DD. Not so much anymore but when she was younger(she is 5.5 now), we needed to be very flexible for her sake. She is much more flexible now but when she was 1, 2.5 and 3.5, her comfort ruled. Because walking around a park with a cranky toddler is no fun! lol

 

[Bouncing4Tigger]

No, your not an oddball. I don't plan my days out either. I sometimes have an idea of which parks on which days, but mostly do it day by day. I have been trying to make a plan on which parks which days for my trip next month so I can make ADR's. I know, a little late now lol but I just can't decide which park which day. Only reason why I want to make ADR's now is I heard they are getting difficult to get due to the free dining that is going on. Oh, well I will just have to do counter service if I can't get any sit downs. No big deal, I love the counter service too lol.

 

[Amyality]

Planning your days at Disney has its purpose- it helps you get along while you wait for your vacation. It helps you with the anticipation and gives you something to do until the trip. Most folks need to plan a WDW trip well in advance so there are months that go by from the time of the decision to go to WDW and the actual trip. These web sites and planning the "perfect" vacation helps us fill the gap.

Having said (written) that, when you finally arrive at WDW, take out your itinerary/plan that you've worked on and revised several times and throw it in the garbage can as soon as you get in your hotel room. It ceases to be helpful at that point. You have to go and move around the parks and such as feels right at the time. That's partially what makes it a vacation.

I've done this on all four of my trips and I can't imagine doing it any other way. The only thing that gets in the way are dining arrangements that you want- if you want a few specific sit-down meals you really need to have that planned in advance due to the availability and demand. I try to keep these "appointment" meals to a minimum during a week's stay. My wife must have had seven or eight PSs during our recent trip and I told her in advance that if I was having a good time around these meal times I was not going to interrupt myself to make it to a meal. I ended up meeting the rest of the family about four of those meals- two were breakfasts which are easier to make.

I totally agree with what marksor is getting at but, throwing away the plan isn't quite the best idea. Mine has all the PS and other confirmation numbers, flight info, important phone numbers. As far as the park plans he is probably right! Though, as I said earlier. We like to plan the first two or three rides to hit in the am when the lines have not built up yet. Fast Passes are so awesome, its always great to have those lined up! A non-planners savior!

 

[kneemeister]

I too ues the "decide at the bus stop method". Im on vacation, schedules and deadlines are for work. Only real planing is deciding which days to visit those other parks

Im a disney fan and a coaster fan so a trip to florida is not complete with out those Other two "Animal Kingdoms, and USF/IOA. We get there on the 3rd, will probably set up camp at then take a boat ride to MK, or hit World Showcase. BGT on Sunday, then the next 6 days we will just go with the flow, I want to avoidl all the parks on the EMH days except the evening one at AK just 'cause I want to see what the place looks like in the evening.

Both Josh and myself have slight to moderate Anxiety/Panic Attacks so, we need to be flexable to avoid large crowds and caos. Both of us get along better when we do not have a group all trying do decide what to do, meanwhile nothing gets decided.

 

[goodeats]

I live in Southern California, so for me to justify a WDW trip it has to be a little more sporadic than most of your trips. By the time I actually get to WDW it will have been more than 3 years since my last trip. So for me planning is part of the trip itself. Not to mention that I want to maximize my time there.

So yes I have planned out this trip. Not to the minute mind you. But I know which parks on which days, what time we must arrive, and where we will most likely go first. We also have a list of which attractions we MUST see. Of course we also have laid back days where we can sleep in and do what we feel like.

If we had the luxury of going more often we'd probably plan less.

 

[VWLMember]

No plans for us, we are on VACATION! We go to the parks and do whatever we want whenever we want. We know we will be back again within the next year so why rush! We love not being at the mercy of a "schedule".

 

[sPaRkLeSpAz]

We don't plan either. We just go with the flow

 

[DisneyObsessive]

the last time i went with my own family on '04, we didnt even plan waht parks to go to! we just planned to get to whatever park by opening. so we'd wake up and be out the door and waiting for the buses... my mother decided, the first bus to arrive that day that was going to a park we didnt go to yet, we'd get on! it was so much fun being spontaneous!

When i went with my friend family last year, we just had what parks we'd go to on each day planned and that was it.

 

[LoveWDW]

Our stays are fairly short, so I feel the need to go to the parks that will be least crowded on each day. And if there is a special event, I like to plan it. Otherwise we might not be able to attend the event, or we might end up in an uncomfortably crowded park, whereas if we had done planning we would be more comfortable. We have a limited amount of time to see the attractions and ride the rides that we are interested in. It makes me happier to plan ahead of time to attempt to ensure that we will be able to include what most interests us. After the first couple days, we go over what we'd like to do again or what we missed that we want to go back to. The planning isn't too strict, but there are at most a half dozen things we want to do in each park. So I try to arrange the visit so we can do them. We don't go to WDW every year, it has been almost 5 years. So we like to fit in what we can, as long as we enjoy it and don't get too tired or anxious.

This time, DIS has me intrigued by several restaurants, so I plan to make ressies for those.

 

[sames1]

For me it kind of depends on who I'm with. Alone or with my good friend, we wing it and have a blast. With people I don't know or larger groups we have to plan or we have chaos and no one is happy.

 

[Dizneydaz]

We too have ADR for almost every night of our trip-for the first time. I figured we needed it due to free dining. I made some in the parks, and some out of the parks. I know of a few we will definitely make (Princess lunch-brithday, and Ca. Grill-another birthday). I don't overplan our day. With a 6 yr. old-it's just not possible to stick to a rigid plan-we go with the flow. I don't plan any Early Magic a.m. (due to 3 hr. time change). So, that being said, our plans a sort of fluid, with a few meals being definite, and choice of which park depending on weather (water parks are very important to DD), park hours, and degree of tiredness.

Plus, we have to squeeze in some non-Disney things, like visiting relatives (DM insists) and shopping at Super Walmart.

25 days and counting!

 

[slk537]

I plan, plan, plan. And I make ADR's. And then we get down there and scrap about 50% them...go with the flow and whatever we want to do I get to obsess and plan, and we all get to relax and do what we want. It's the best of both worlds.