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

[BillSears]

I've been reading threads about all of this commando stuff, getting to the parks at opening, and sticking to a plan. But I just don't get it.

I just don't plan my day out ahead of time. I arrive at the park and just wander around riding what I want when I want. I sometimes don't really know what park I'm headed to till the morning when we wake up. I'm almost never at a park before 11:00. I'm just not a commando type of guy.

I do make some priority seatings for dinner though and on rare occaisions make a character breakfast one. Those reservations do tend to have me hit that park on that day but other then that my days are free to do what I want.

Does anyone else take this laid back approach to the parks? What am I missing by doing this? Is it really worth it to rush around? Are there any other people out there who are perfectly happy to visit a park and just see some shows and ride a couple of rides without having to do everything?

Am I really that strange about my visits?

 

[MonkeyPants]

I've tried making plans, but I never end up sticking to them Often the people I go with arent early risers so getting to a park before it opens or even around the time it opens never seems to happedn then even if we have 'game plan' we'll get side tracked by one this or the other, so we end up wandering around, last time we were down there with my nephew (2 yrs old) and you really cant plan with a 2 yr old I will however be asing people advice on how to attack AK this fall as I will be going solo and will definitely be at the parks before they open this time as I am an early riser.

Everyone enjoys there own things, some people (those type A's) love plans and get tons of satisfaction from executing their plans. You (and I) just arent that type of person

 

[meeko_33785]

Usually insteed of comando plans, I have looser plans that allow for more flexibility. I may have one PS and maybe five or so attractions or shows that I know I want to see. Once those are done, I usually just play it by ear and do whatever, whether it's going on other attractions, shopping, or going back to the resort. It's kind of a nice blend of comando and stopping to smell the roses that works for me.

 

[pennst8r]

YEAH!!! I thought I was the oddball! Geesh--I can't imagine following a schedule on a vacation! But don't flame me, because I know some people can't imagine not having one! We pushed our kids too hard the first year we took them (they were 2 and 3)--tried to spend alot of time in the parks and ended up with tired cranky kids....who wants that?

We do make ADRs, but basically we ask the kids which park for tomorrow? We start there, and when we're ready we hop over to another, or go back for a swim. Most of the ADRs are TS dinners, so we head to that park in the evenings.

Maybe we've been there enough times to just enjoy and not try to see everything? But I still think we do everything at least once! ( I'm too old to ride Space Mountain over and over again, but it has happened!) By the end of the week we're trying to find new things on the rides...hidden mickeys, etc. I think this year I'l try to do more shows in Epcot, and get the boys onto the Hall of Presidents and the American showcase....they're old enough to get something out of it. But that is the extent of my planning!!

 

[Maloy]

I have to agree, the full itinerary idea was a joke to me. I also made my PS's and that directed what park we were at but other than that we enjoyed what WDW had to offer. I typed up a mock itinerary that listed the main attractions and our PS's, but we did what we wanted and had fun.

 

[taheenee]

I've loosly planned. We have adr's set and i've planned the 1st few days which parks but not down to which rides etc. after a day at each park the schedule is wide open. so i guess we're 1/2 planned, 1/2 off the cuff!

 

[peter11435]

I've been reading threads about all of this commando stuff, getting to the parks at opening, and sticking to a plan. But I just don't get it.

I just don't plan my day out ahead of time. I arrive at the park and just wander around riding what I want when I want. I sometimes don't really know what park I'm headed to till the morning when we wake up. I'm almost never at a park before 11:00. I'm just not a commando type of guy.

I do make some priority seatings for dinner though and on rare occaisions make a character breakfast one. Those reservations do tend to have me hit that park on that day but other then that my days are free to do what I want.

Does anyone else take this laid back approach to the parks? What am I missing by doing this? Is it really worth it to rush around? Are there any other people out there who are perfectly happy to visit a park and just see some shows and ride a couple of rides without having to do everything?

Am I really that strange about my visits?

I only plan what park or parks I will go to each day. This to me is needed to best avoid crowds and to use park hours to your advantage. IMHO the only thing wrong with your plan is arriving at the parks so late. I just love the early mornings in the parks. Not to mention you can get a ton in the first few hours. Even on a Saturday at MK if I get there at opening I can hit Splash, Thunder, Pirates, Mansion, Peter Pan, and Small World all before 10:30. That is so much better than the afternoon when it starts to get hot and those rides have 25-60 minute lines.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I'm not big on the plans either. We are on vacation to just enjoy ourselves. We usually have a basic idea of what we are doing while there. We actually decide on what places to eat before we get there and have the PS's made and then decide on the parks from there. We know that WDW will always be there and even if it's not for 2 or 3 years we will be back. We just take it easy and enjoy being with each other and on vacation soaking up the magic.

 

[newchic99]

This trip I made ADR's for every night. The only other thing that is definate is our being at MGM for early morning entry on Tuesday. MGM is my fav park and I WILL be there first hing to ride RnR and ToT.

 

[paladin]

Am I really that strange about my visits?

Not strange at all. That is pretty much the way we do things (except we tend to get to the parks earlier because we are early risers). I have done trips when I decide which park I am going to by seeing which bus comes next.

We make note of the EMH days and avoid those and make a few ADRs.
We do use Fastpass, but we don't rush over to get them - if we are strolling by and the return time fits our plans, we will get one. We don't wait in any lines over 20 minutes (and, frankly, even 20 minutes is stretching it).

We sit down alot to people-watch and just go with the flow. I love to take the time to look at the details instead of rushing from one ride to the next (I think there is so much more to the whole WDW experience than the rides).

I enjoy reading about other people's commando plans, but just don't enjoy doing it myself. One trip a few year's back, I did try doing more planning - I had planned which park on which day with ADRs for everyday. My husband and I both hated it - it was just too much work to check the schedule everyday and the meals just didn't work out - we didn't feel like a big meal or we weren't in the mood for that particular restaurant or we just felt like being lazy.

The important thing is for people to go with what works for them so that they can enjoy their trip.

 

[singingpixie]

I tend to be one who plans but then only sticks to the bare bones of it. Ie. we'll have ADRs this trip (dining plan!) and I'll figure out what EMHs we want to try to do, and that will basically govern the trip. I do have the first couple days more planned, but that's because DBF has never been so until he gets an idea of what his options are, asking him what he wants to do isn't gonna work. We do plan to get there at/before opening most mornings (well I do... and I don't think he will completely veto that) because that actually makes me feel more relaxed about the trip. If we're there early, we'll see most of what I don't want to miss and then I don't have to worry about going home without seeing something I had my heart set on (or really wanted to show steve!). So yeah, I guess we're somewhere in the middle. As for you, I'd say try an early morning a couple times next trip, that way you know what you're "missing out on" and you can decide what works best for you.

 

[Amyality]

I like to show up early and plan the first few rides, then we just loll around and do whatever, to me this is the best of both worlds. I do make PS way in advance. But, unless you really are on a limited time schedule or really need to know what is happening and when, I agree going full on comando is maybe a bit much. Want to hear something funny: I keep a spead sheet of the general plan (this is a pretty fluid plan) and I'll pick one day which says "be spontaious". I realize planning to be spontanious kinda defeats the purpose!

 

[dzneprincess]

I've been reading threads about all of this commando stuff, getting to the parks at opening, and sticking to a plan. But I just don't get it.

I just don't plan my day out ahead of time. I arrive at the park and just wander around riding what I want when I want. I sometimes don't really know what park I'm headed to till the morning when we wake up. I'm almost never at a park before 11:00. I'm just not a commando type of guy.

I do make some priority seatings for dinner though and on rare occaisions make a character breakfast one. Those reservations do tend to have me hit that park on that day but other then that my days are free to do what I want.

Does anyone else take this laid back approach to the parks? What am I missing by doing this? Is it really worth it to rush around? Are there any other people out there who are perfectly happy to visit a park and just see some shows and ride a couple of rides without having to do everything?

Am I really that strange about my visits?

I think I could have written your post myself.......That is my exact touring style.....it is nice, isn't it?

 

[k5thbeatle]

...Does anyone else take this laid back approach to the parks? What am I missing by doing this? Is it really worth it to rush around? Are there any other people out there who are perfectly happy to visit a park and just see some shows and ride a couple of rides without having to do everything?

Am I really that strange about my visits?

No. we do the same thing. Yes we also make some dinner reservations and maybe some golf & spa too but otherwise we just see what we feel like doing each day. Sure we have an idea of things we want to do and see even before we leave but no set plan.

I think it helps that we mostly go during slower times but even when the crowds are big we still take this approach.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

We don't and we usually wind up not waiting in long lines either. We use FPs or come back to rides when the line dies down. We rarely plan at all.

 

[grinningghost]

I go with the flow, with the exception of scheduled parades or firework shows. Sometimes I have to pre-plan when I'm going to see them, or I miss it altogether.

Which is why I loved the old length of stay/Ultimate Park Hopper passes - do what you want, when you want, no worries about adding pluses and expiration options and all that jazz.

I like to be FREE!

 

[dzneprincess]

I like to be FREE!

That makes me think of the Genie in ALadin for some odd reason

 

[goofie4goofy]

I thought we were the only ones

The only thing we plan is dinner and that's only because we like certain restaurants.

I hate being tied down with a plan. We never know what we want to do, so we discuss over breakfast as to how we want to spend the next 3 hours...till lunch and a cocktail

 

[lulugirl]

We never have a plan! Usually we decide where we want to go that morning. I have never even made a dinner reservation.
We usually go during the off season, so that makes it easier to "go w/ the flow".

 

[*Fantasia*]

I plan as to what park we're doing on what day and we make PSs. We have a general idea what rides to hit and what shows to see. But other than that, we are laid back in the parks. And we try to make use of the FP.