Are you OBSESSIVE about pre vacation planning? I am...

[Papa Deuce]

I drive my wife nuts. I research EVERYTHING about my destination. I don't really "PLAN" anything, though. I just need to know all options available so that when we get there we have a clue about what we will be doing.

Quick story. DW planned the whole wedding, while I planned the honeymoon. I chose Belize. Well, I actually knew SO MUCH about one of our destinations --- a little fishing village called Placencia --- that I actually knew the name of a woman who walked up to greet us when we wondered into town. TOTALLY freaked my wife out! Granted, there were probably less than 150 people in the whole town, but I recognized "Brenda" from my research!

EDIT: My obsession in planning is how I found these boards.

 

[SherryNC]

I enjoy the planning, plus I'm the only one that will do it. Don't think I'm obsessed though, but some might think I am.

 

[DWhittles]

Guilty! I can't go ANYWHERE without serious reseach first. I must know EVERYTHING. I drive people nuts. When planning a trip to Disney with my best friend a few years ago, she said I was a bit overboard in the planning. I asked her why she didn't say something or stop me. She said she was afraid that if she did, they would find me naked in a corner rocking chewing on a vein muttering "reservations, must make reservations"

 

[sunni]

I drive my wife nuts. I research EVERYTHING about my destination. I don't really "PLAN" anything, though. I just need to know all options available so that when we get there we have a clue about what we will be doing.

Quick story. DW planned the whole wedding, while I planned the honeymoon. I chose Belize. Well, I actually knew SO MUCH about one of our destinations --- a little fishing village called Placencia --- that I actually knew the name of a woman who walked up to greet us when we wondered into town. TOTALLY freaked my wife out! Granted, there were probably less than 150 people in the whole town, but I recognized "Brenda" from my research!

EDIT: My obsession in planning is how I found these boards.

You have described me to a T. I knew I liked you!

 

[MamaLema]

I would call myself an obsessive researcher

I research EVERYTHING about a destination before we leave. I figure if we're going to spend a lot of money, we might as well do the things that appeal to us the most. I have a rough plan, but I'm not obsessive about sticking to it.

 

[sweet angel]

I don't know if I'm obsessive, but my DBF and DS would probably say I am.

I was on the Royal Caribbean site a little while ago. We leave in less than 4 months so I thought it would be a good idea to start looking at shore excursions. They're having problems with that portion of their site so I wasn't able to print anything out to go over. I was pretty upset.

I think all the info I got on Disney from these boards really helped us on our last vacation though, so even if it's obsessive, it's worth it.

 

[KelNottAt]

Yes, I am. I think it drives DH crazy. So I have to be careful when and how I bring him into the process and start talking "Disney/vacation."

We have a Grand Gathering planned for Aug 06. My mom, stepdad, DSis and her family, plus my family. 10 of us. Three BWV one-bedrooms. I've already mapped out a tentative plan for when we'll go to which park, when we'll have nice sit-down dinners, when we'll have "down time," etc. I'm sure it will be a shock to everyone else's system when I share it all. They can use it as a guide to join us, or as a guide to avoid us. Their choice.

A bit of irony: Yesterday we celebrated DD's 11th birthday. All she wanted was a trip to HersheyPark with 2 friends. So that's what we did. I did no pre-planning. What happened? We were the proverbial park newbies all huddled around a map while everyone else zoomed their way to primo rides.

Kelley

 

[Beth76]

Me me me!!!! I'm obsessive!!

For me, it's part of the fun. It keeps me busy for MONTHS!!! Plus, I feel it only wise to research so you don't end up staying in some dump or someplace that you won't fit in.

For my upcoming trip to Mexico, I'm doing a ton of research, but I'm not making any plans. This trip is for relaxing. When we get to our resort, we'll decide what excursions we'll do, if any.

When I was planning our Disney trip, I got so bogged down with "fitting everything in". Then we had the free dining plan and I was so concerned about making all my reservations ahead of time and which parks/resorts to make them in. It was way too stressful, so I cancelled that trip. That was waaaaay too much planning for me.

What's funny about me though is that I'll research trips that we're not even taking!!! Like, I'm already looking at information for Tahiti which we are considering for our 10th anniversary in four years. I really should be a travel agent.

 

[dopeys biggest fan]

I have a three ring binder for every vacation I take! At first DH made fun of me but every time he has a question about something I have an answer for it! I guess you could say I'm like "Radio Shack", You've got questions, I've got answers!

 

[Papa Deuce]

Me me me!!!! I'm obsessive!!

For me, it's part of the fun. It keeps me busy for MONTHS!!! Plus, I feel it only wise to research so you don't end up staying in some dump or someplace that you won't fit in.

For my upcoming trip to Mexico, I'm doing a ton of research, but I'm not making any plans. This trip is for relaxing. When we get to our resort, we'll decide what excursions we'll do, if any.

When I was planning our Disney trip, I got so bogged down with "fitting everything in". Then we had the free dining plan and I was so concerned about making all my reservations ahead of time and which parks/resorts to make them in. It was way too stressful, so I cancelled that trip. That was waaaaay too much planning for me.

What's funny about me though is that I'll research trips that we're not even taking!!! Like, I'm already looking at information for Tahiti which we are considering for our 10th anniversary in four years. I really should be a travel agent.

Um... so am I, same destination, same time frame... Share info?

BTW, I was a business travel agent for 2 weeks in 1986ish.... hated it. Nobody cared about the cool stuff, just the lowest price!

 

[Laurajean1014]

ob·ses·sion (b-sshn, b-) noun.

1. Compulsive preoccupation with an idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety.
2. A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.

I plan for clothing and shoes (to make sure we look our best all the time).

I have a spread sheet on what clothes to pack, what goodies to pack and what food we need to purchase.

I have a spreadsheet of all PS and print it out in very small print so it fits in wallet.

So , what do you think? Obessive or planned conscience?

 

[Beth76]

Um... so am I, same destination, same time frame... Share info?

Hee hee. I'm currently thinking about a cruise--most likely Princess with a pre-cruise stay in the over-the-water huts for a few days. I haven't done enough research yet to decide if a land-based vacation would be better. But, I'm dying to stay in one of those huts. Just don't know if I can do it for 10 days or even a week. I also don't know when the best time to visit Tahiti is. Our anniversary is in June, but we will go whenever is best.

 

[Beth76]

I have a spread sheet on what clothes to pack, what goodies to pack and what food we need to purchase.

I have a spreadsheet of all PS and print it out in very small print so it fits in wallet.

Hmmm. Maybe I need to use spread sheets. I usually just have a dozen or so scraps of paper scribbled with partially illegible notes. You way sounds much better.

 

[Kitty 34]

I research EVERYthing about a trip so I guess you can call me obsessive!

 

[Laurajean1014]

Oh, yeah.

You use one file for an entire trip, with different workbooks or sheets in it.

One for dining, park planning, PS's, clothing and food (bringing and another list for needing to purchase).

5 sheets in all.

 

[tevagirl]

I love planning and researching for our vacations. I think that's almost as exciting as going on them.

 

[olena]

I am. That's my favorite part of vacation is planning and anticipating it. I also like to do a budget and plan accordingly. It's never rigid and there's room for some spontaneity. It makes for enjoyable trips.

 

[minniecarousel]

I am currently planning a cruise for DH & I and have had to caution myself to not "over-plan". I have the time, however, to research the fact that if we want to do certain excursions, we will need to plan. Having an unplanned day or two will be fine! (I have to keep telling myself that! DH really needs a low-key relaxing vacation. Good thing we're NOT doing WDW!)

 

[pearlieq]

I will spend hours at it! But then again, I'm just a planner by nature. I'll do just about the same thing for anything.

I put in a couple of hours this afternoon on our DC trip. I always feel so bad for people who go places without doing a bit of research. They're the same miserable souls who wind up eating the hotel cafe every night before going back upstairs for a pay-per-view movie. We'll think of them as we're watching former congressional staffers do comedy, watching my favorite movie for free at the National Theater, seeing a local comedy showcase, and enjoying a summer night with the Boston Pops!

 

[va32h]

YES! I love to plan. I think most of the people on this board are planners, or they wouldn't have found the DIS.

Once, my husband talked me into taking a "spontaneous" vacation. We literally hopped in the van and drove to San Antonio. Well guess what...

It was back to school orientation week at the university there, and every hotel room in the city was booked. We finally found a hotel that would bend the rules and let the four of us stay in a single room.

We went to Sea World the next day, and it was so crowded that it was closed for being at maximum capacity.

We wandered around the River Walk and got completely lost. We did find one nice restaurant though.

All in all, it was an expensive, crowded, difficult, near disaster of a weekend.

And yes, from that date, DH has let me "overplan" to my heart's content.