Anyone have a "planning hating family member"?? - How to deal...

[Tootles]

My DH and I planned nothing 12 years ago on our Disneymoon (the one and only time I've ever been to WDW). But, I think times were different. We were on the DDP which was new back then, and we didn't need reservations anywhere. Heck, we even had dinner at the castle! So he has a hard time believing we couldn't just walk up now (family of 4) and get a seat like we did before. He thought I was nuts when I was loosing sleep the night before I had to set my alarm to call on my 180 mark to book CRT. He thinks the time I spend on the Dis is wasted eek: shocking...I know.) and that the months and months and MONTHS I've spent reading, and reserching is insane. But I realize, I missed so much on our honeymoon (I was young and foolish-heck, we didn't even use a park map! ). I am so thankful for everything I've read on the Disboards and thanks to some great people, I've learned so much. DH's biggest concern is that I will disappoint myself. That perhaps, this vacation I've perfectly planned in my mind, will not turn out as good as I have "planned" that it will. Completley resonable. This is my 2nd trip ever, and our first trip as a family-and I'm ready for it!

 

[Twitterpated Dad]

Plan but don't overplan or obsess.

And you don't necessarily have to clear EVERYTHING with your fiance. Make it a surprise carriage ride or surprise massage.

Keep a cheat sheet with you regarding your confirmation numbers and a number to call to cancel in case you are having a wonderful time doing something else. Remember, it's okay to cancel, unless of course, you have already paid for it and won't be refunded. Then you might want to try to show up for the reservation.

I'm taking my boyfriend for the first time this December and he doesn't understand why I'm planning either. He also doesn't understand why I won't promise that we will ride and see everything. (I've been five times and there is still stuff I haven't seen or done).

Relax, have fun and enjoy your wedding and honeymoon!

Well looks like my planning just paid off a little. By using the January discount code I just got upgraded to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and upgraded to park hopper and water park & more option tickets and STILL saved $60....

Wow! Great job!

I don't think that you can over-plan. It's FUN! But Julie's right. Don't obsess.

Information is good. Options are good. ADRs are good. But, if you're already having fun, don't let a schedule, to do list, or ADR get in the way!

Go ahead and plan. I'm sure there will be a dozen times when your new husband looks at you and says "OK, what's next?"

 

[Jenniww]

I by no means plan out our whole day- BUT I did plan which parks we were going to on which day- make note of parades and fireworks and planned ADR around all that. My husband thought I was crazy spending so much time planning. But when we got there he thanked me several times.

 

[believen]

I by no means plan out our whole day- BUT I did plan which parks we were going to on which day- make note of parades and fireworks and planned ADR around all that. My husband thought I was crazy spending so much time planning. But when we got there he thanked me several times.

This is exactly what I was going to say! My husband is very spontanious, but he likes to eat when he is hungry, avoid long lines if possible, and have a good spot for parades and fireworks. He realized a lot of that happened because I had planned and researched. We've been married 22 years! Have a great trip!

 

[Forever a Princess]

Hi there! Enjoy your Disneymoon!

IMO there is a select group of people that are dead set against making Advanced Dining Reservations because they have done little or no research regarding Disney World and and are usually first timers. These individuals have no idea of how busy the Disney Restaurants are.

I was in this category on my first trip to the world. My friend's travel agent told her that we needed to do ADR's. We ended up scheduling a character breakfast but no others. We didn't think that we would need them. We were suprised to find out that we could not get a ressie at Cinderella's castle when we walked up. What was I thinking?

You're way ahead of the game here. You are right on!!! Keep those ressies!

We recently went on a trip with close friends. My friend's husband was a little irked that I was booking dining ressies so early. Even at the six months window our large party size would often get the last ressie of the time period that we were requesting. When we got to Disney World my friend kept pointing out to her husband those people who left the podium because they did not care to do the standby wait. He was amazed at how many people there were that came into the restaurants to eat.

That being said here a couple of helpful hints for making the Advanced Dinining Ressies.
1. We book max of 2 a day. We find it really hard to make it to three a day.
2. Do not let your ADRs run your schedule. If you are too tired that day or if you're off in another part of the park goofing off and having a good time cancel the ressie (I have Disney Dining speed dial on my cell phone.) It makes no sense to be a slave to the ressies.

Have a great time and Congratulations!

 

[DISNEYmooner2008]

As far as ADR's go, all I made was ADR's for dinner each night, an ADR for a lunch on day, and one ADR for breakfast one day. I booked a Wishes Cruise and decided which parks to do on which day. That is the extent of my planning... DF is slowly understand WDW is busy no matter when you go and this is necessary. I know he will understand once we are there!! He's just never been and doesn't know what to expect. I also have never been to WDW, but spend HOURS on the DIS, so i know what has to be done in advance!

 

[maddhatir]

I'm never going back to plans or schedules, about the only thing I know is the park hours.

WARNING TO OP!!!!
Overplanning MAY make your spouse DISpise (< ) Disney!!!​

Sorry this is a long one!

DH and I have been to Disney 13 times. (we are DINKS) I found the DIS in 2005. That is when my obsession with planning started. Before that- we would "wing it" and had some of the most fun, romantic and relaxing times in Disney.

We have been back to Disney 3 times since our 2005 trip- and all 3 I "planned" with lists, etc.

Guess what!?- DH refuses to go back anytime soon b/c he said I took the fun out of it! I MUST admit- I feel the same way. I tell him now that I totally messed up and would never plan again!

I would be crazy about where we had to be and what time we had to be there- what show started at this time, the best place to watch fireworks. I got out of control.

Now I do understand people with kids probably need to do a bit of planning b/c the kids need to take a rest during the day.

99% of the time we go we do the DDP- this makes it even harder NOT to plan b/c the ADRs have now gotten so out of control, if you want to have a TS dinner during your vacation- you need to make a ressie.

However- this is what I have been thinking (yes! I have a plan to talk DH BACK into Disney- wish me luck! I have been hinting around about next Sept- my favorite time to go!) anyway- He likes the DDP but not the planning, so- I said how about we skip breakfast, we are later risers anyway, do our TS meal as a very early lunch and save the CS and snacks for the evenings. This way- we can get the big meal out of the way early in the day and we have all day to walk it off and not feel overly stuffed! BLAH! They offer pretty much the same food for lunch as they do for dinner anyway- so you still get to enjoy a good meal.

Let me tell you what I really hated about making dinner ressies, I did not get to enjoy the parks at night. By the time you run to your ADR usually about 6 or 7pm, wait just a bit b/c they rarely seat you right away, dinner takes about 1 1/2 hours- you are too full and too tired to get on any good rides. And the parks are closing. We go during off peak times and the parks close earlier.

Another thing I would change- I do not want to rush right to the parks early in the morning- as I said, we do not like to get up too early- DH hates alarm clocks- especially on vacation! I would like to wake up- have some coffee, then go and have lunch, maybe walk alittle, go back to the resort and so the pool for a while, take a nap, shower and then hit the parks in the early evening.

hmmm- I should read my plan to DH and see what he says!

So- if you have a spouse that is already telling you they hate planning- heed the warning!- or the outcome may not be a happy one!

Good luck!

 

[Dawn68PA]

Sounds like a plan but a much lesser and relaxed plan. If you miss the relaxing of not planning - Go For It! You've nothing to lose. And you could gain back WDW the way you both like it.

I drive my family crazy because I plan so far in advance. Habit. I do it with everything. I'm so excited about going to WDW in Nov 08 and no one wants to talk about it with me anymore.

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

My DH is an anti-planner. Me, well, I like to obsess over everything when it comes to Disney. I spend hours, days even, pouring over all kinds of info. I have my guide books, I have my old park maps, the layout for the resort we're staying at, my "handy guide to all the magic" booklet, the website, the DIS boards, etc. etc. etc.!!

We own a seafood business, and we're always on some kind of schedule (trucks arriving, delivery to be made by, boats should be in by, and all that), so when we go on vacation, he doesn't want any part of a schedule at all.

The last time we went, I looked up the EMH, and planned which parks we were going to according to that. Nope, no go. He didn't care if Animal Kingdom opened early that day, he was going to Blizzard Beach.

He only let me make one ADR, and that was at the castle. But he moaned and groaned about it the whole time.

We even had a fight (imagine that! At Disney!!) about using the fast pass. His theory was, how will I know where I'll be in an hour? I could be on the other side of the park by then, and I'm not rushing back to ride that ride!

He's totally anti-planning. As a matter of fact, when I was trying to plan for our last vacation, I was trying to get him, my MIL, and myself all on the same page. When should we go? How many days? What hotel? I had no help. His response was, I dunno, it's three months away (we knew the month we wanted to go, but nothing else).

Yes, he's grumpy when it comes to planning, but he's not an ogre. As a matter of fact, he decided last minute that he was tired of waiting, why not leave now? So, off I went to the computer, trying to find a place to stay at the last minute (no easy task). I booked a vacation home for the night, and off we went to Florida. We toured St. Augustine, and Kennedy Space Center, since our Disney ressies didn't start for another day.

Then he decided he didn't want to go home, so we made a pit stop in North Carolina for a couple of days.

You cannot plan around that man.

 

[LSK]

My husband and I have completely different personalities. I am a planner...planning our vacations is a big part of the fun for me. I love researching where we are going, what we are going to see, etc. DH just wants to show up and discover everything once he's there. It was our first Disney trip together that helped us learn to accept and appreciate this huge personality difference in each other.

I planned every minute of the trip...I knew what time we would arrive at each park and the order we would ride each ride, have each meal, etc. I LOVED planning that trip and I scheduled some time for us to be spontaneous (and didn't tell DH that was part of the plan).

He absolutely loved the plan by the end of the first day. He had never been to Disney and not waited in long lines, he never rode that many rides in a day, and he never ate at any of the restaurants because there was always a line. He also didn't feel like I was ordering him around all day because there was time where we could discover certain areas (of course, that was part of my plan, I just didn't tell him).

This time, he has taken a giant step back and just smiles when he sees me planning our trip at night. He is so appreciative that I enjoy researching our vacations because he knows he won't miss out on anything and he knows that the WHOLE trip won't be on a schedule...and after years of marriage, he knows that I schedule time for us to be "off the schedule" just for him. Admittedly, some of our best vacation memories are during the times we aren't on the schedule...but he admits that we'd miss out on many things without planning in advance.