Am I "under" planned?

[eileen2664]

I'm a serious overplanner when it comes to vacations (everything else in my life is chaotic, but vacations are always the exact opposite ). Dh asked me not to overplan, so I'm trying real hard not to. I've planned out which days we'll go to each park, and we have an ADR for almost everyday. I plan on choosing a few things I'd really like to see each day. But that's it. Have I "underplanned" by not writing down the times to be at every attraction and which order to travel the parks in? This is basically our first trip to DW (I went once as a teen) so I don't want to regret not planning enough but I don't want to be deadset on a schedule either.
BTW: it's me, dh, and ds4
TIA

 

[dbenlee]

In my personal opinion (and I may get flamed by some of the serious planners for this), but I think you have planned enough. We plan the same way you do and always have many exciting and fun filled days. We just make sure to plan when to see certain shows and try to get to certain rides before the Fast Passes run out or the lines get to long. Have a great time!!

 

[Aptor]

Sounds good to me unless you are going at a very very busy time.

 

[challada]

You are more planned than most folks who go to Disney....they show up late in the morning w/NO plan, no ADRs and start thinking about what they want to see when they look at the map. Then they tend to grumble about the crowds, the lack of dining options and the whole experience....LOL.

 

[Minerva]

That's exactly how we did our trip. Get to the parks at opening should be added to your plan and you'll be good to go. You can get the really popular things done that way without crowds and be able to relax and take things as they come the rest of the day. Have a great trip!

 

[jann1033]

we have been to wdw many times but since you haven't, i'd add at least amental list of what you really want to not miss in each park. our planning is about like yours with that "list". of course it's hard to know what will be not misses since you haven't seen them but maybe read the ug and see what sounds really great or boriing so you can do the great things first and fill in with the others as you can. the only caveat is if you are going during a busy time. we go off season and so can pretty much see what we want in a day. summer would be different and i probably would have a little more planned( like what popular things to do first or fast pass etc). anyway we get there early and always see what we want and usually the few things we can take or leave too! Have fun and you can always read guides and not write it down...that doesn't count as a "plan".

 

[mhingher]

I am very big on planning, and I think you planned enough! You really should leave some room for flexibility, b/c you never know what could change your plans, i.e. weather, being tired, etc. I've been to WDW several times and I never planned out what rides/attractions I'll go on... I usually find out when the EMH hours will be, and build my plan around that. I usually always include meals at our favorite restaurants. Just do your research and have ideas of what you want to do, nothing has to be set in stone!

 

[eileen2664]

Thanks everyone
I forgot to mention that we're going Feb 11-18, so it should be relatively slow, so that should help.

 

[Wendy1953]

sounds like a good plan, however, I would definitely make sure you arrive at the more popular rides early in the such as Soarin....then at least you can get a fast pass and be assured you get on the really important ones for your family.....fast passes are great, but on popular rides they run out fast ( in Oct. we went to get a fp to Soarin at 12:35, and they were gone for the day)

 

[Wendy1953]

sounds like a good plan, however, I would definitely make sure you arrive at the more popular rides early in the day...such as Soarin....then at least you can get a fast pass and be assured you get on the really important ones for your family.....fast passes are great, but on popular rides they run out fast ( in Oct. we went to get a fp to Soarin at 12:35, and they were gone for the day)

 

[The Sweetness]

I think you may want to try to get everyones favorites, or most desirable rides/ shows done first. That way, if you miss Space MTN, and it wasnt anyone's top (or second) pick, then it wont seem so bad. Some rides and attractions have fast pass, which can help you fit things in (pos. getting a 1pm fast pass for Soarin' , therefore waiting a few mins in the fast pass line, rather than 1 or 2 hours in the stand by line.

 

[babar41]

I have done every way on the planning thing. First couple of times no plan, bad mistake but at the time I was too dumb to know it. Then I went into overplan mode. I could tell you where we would be at any given moment any given day. My schedule had everything, how long it would take to walk to the ride, how long the ride was, about how long we would be in line, where and when we would take breaks, heck I not only planned where and when we would eat but what we would eat, and the cost including tax and tip! Although I was pretty good at changing the schedule as needed with a smile, it did seem like either we were at a forced march at times or I was constantly having to shift the schedule.

This year I think I've found the happy middle ground. I scheduled our meals, but if we decided to do something else we did. I scheduled our parks, but if we decided to do something else we did. I had a list of must do's that we would do at openings... the rest was as we felt like. No forced marches.

For us, this was probably the best and most relaxing vacation we have ever had. No, we didn't see EVERYTHING, but what we saw we actually took time to enjoy, like the Osborne Lights. We tried new things, like the Segway Tour, and weren't thinking about where we had to run off to as soon as the wheels stopped. We actually RELAXED! Didn't come home from vacation needing a vacation.

Having said all of this I do want to say I did spend months working on this loose schedule, but I love the planning. I investigated which days had the smallest crowds per park. Which rides were the best and when to ride them. Which shows were the best and when to see them. Which restaurants we wanted to eat at... But when it came time to board the plane my husband said "This is the most planned, least scheduled trip we've ever done!"

So, after this extremely long post, my advise to you, do what makes you happy. Remember you are on vacation. If knowing where you are going to be any given moment is what brings you joy, go for it. If you want to stop and smell the roses, go for it! Just remember, with you DS4, no matter what you think you are going to do, all it takes is one glimpse of Mickey and all bets are off. You might think you are going to Adventureland, but if Cinderrella is hanging out near the castle all bets are off!

Enjoy, you will have a magical trip!

 

[kelleigh1]

You're more planned than we are and we're heading down in just over two weeks. But I refuse to stress over it. We're not totally unplanned, but there are some details we'll still need to work out. And for the most part, I plan on following the same pattern as my first ever trip - plan the day the night before. I don't want to spend my whole trip following a schedule. I want to be able to relax and enjoy it. Since it is just hubby and I and we're going during value season, we have more flexibility than a family.

 

[debbie in Seattle]

Relax, enjoy! To me, WDW can be stressful enough with the crowds, heat and so much to see and do. I think it'd be misreable to be on such a 'tight' schedule. Let what happens, happens. Sometimes some of my favorite moments are just sitting and people watching.

 

[Crazy Kanga]

The National High School Cheerleading Championships are there during that time, so be prepared for that. It will mean a lot of squealing teenaged girls running rampant for a few days, but most of the time they are in their competitions and won't affect the parks too much, but just good to have a heads up about that kind of stuff. Don't need to be blind sided on you first family trip.

 

[SusanD]

At the risk of sounding like a fortune cookie...I have over-planned and done the commando-style touring and I have done the just take it as it comes. What I've discovered is that it is good to have enough information to make it possible to do what you want to without getting bogged down in the crowds. (It is never fun to stand in long lines with leave the park without doing what you wanted to most.)

My family has asked me to refrain from planning every minute. I now just do the basics. I schedule on character meal per trip, make reservations at our two park restaurants and have a calandar with opening times and the rest us just decisions as we go.

 

[Disney Doll]

I usually go with an "idea" of what parks we'll do what days, which is always open to change if something great is happening somewhere that we find out about when we get there.

Having one dining reservation per day and a general idea of what park what day sounds like enough planning to me. A lot of stuff happens spontaneously at WDW, so you don't want to be so overplanned that you miss something fun because it doesn't fit your schedule!!!