Arguments FOR planning?

[befuddledlife]

A previous post asked about "winging it" and the majority of the responses were for that. I was wondering if there were many people who think the planning - like the touring plans - are a good deal. This will be our 2nd trip, and admittedly last time we missed a lot, not realizing the importance of getting there early, not knowing which rides get the longest lines the quickest, etc. DH thinks that I'm nuts for planning, but I think it just makes more sense. Anyone able to help me convince him?

BTW, we'll be going in just a week and a half - March 19-26 (Spring Break ).

 

[MomofKatie]

I am a firm believer in planning. I don't go crazy scheduling hour-to-hour or anything, but I like to decide in advance which parks we will visit which days. I divide the day into two parts- AM and PM. An afternoon break is built in to the plan. I definitely make PSs for each day, even if I go during the slower times of the year.

We have always gone for just a few days, and before I started learning how to get the most out of our trips by planning and getting tips from guidebooks and websites, we didn't have great trips. But now that I know about all that stuff, we see and do so much more and with so much less headache and hassle!

Usually the "wing-it" types have spouses who plan for them- I know my DH thinks we just HAPPENED to luck into short wait times, nice meals, and a more relaxing time than we usually have... I know better!

Besides, planning is half the fun!

 

[erinstar]

I haven't actually been to WDW however I have been to theme parks, like WDW... i am of the opinion this is isn't exactly necessary to plan days, but more about doing research. i.e. find out which rides you should do early in order to avoid lines, and learn about EMH, and opening and closing times etc etc. I think the most planning that is necessary is a general idea of which parks to visit on which day, with maybe two or three options for each day... and knowing when the major shows are on, i.e. parades and fireworks....
I say this because plans can change by the minute if the ride next on your list has a line longer than expected and you decide to skip it and go for another. It can be so hard to veer off the plan if you've spent hours planning it.

Having said all of that, the trip I am planning/researching for is for 4 22year olds (currently, will be 24 year olds on actual trip), and we are more likely to enter the park at opening and not leave until closing (prolly not park hopping much) or as late as our bodies will allow, we like to spend a little extra time sitting and relaxing while having lunch or a snack in the arvo, than making the trek back to the resort. So I can see the need to plan if you are with young children and they need to nap in the afternoon.

These are just my thoughts, am interested to see what others think...

Erin

 

[disney queen]

i read years ago two the biggest time wasters are "what/where do you want to go first?" and "where do you want to eat?" i agree w/MomofKatie. know which park,etc. wdw is a huge place and some type of plan is needed. even after all the times we have visited, i still make a plan.

 

[gabbygrennell]

Our motto is: FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL!!!

I think you need to at least have some type of rough idea/plan! Otherwise, you go home and think to yourself, man i wish we had done... this that and the other. Now it is tooo late!
Why beat yourself up!
Besides, this is your vacation, why not enjoy the things you want too!

Seriously, there is no way you can do it "ALL". In one vacation, but if there are things you really want to do, you should plan it out!

How many times do we hear from people on the boards that say Oh, I didnt even know that was there! Wish we would have done that!

 

[DrTomorrow]

IMHO, the fewer times you've been to WDW, the more important planning becomes. On your first few trips, you will be overwhelmed - there's no way to describe the effect that WDW has on you - both good and bad. Depending on the time of year, newbies will benefit from Touring Plans quite a bit - to make sure that you don't miss anything you want to see, and to help you realize what there is to do. There's nothing like 2-hour waits for almost everything to make a first trip to WDW a bummer experience. The more prepared you are, the better off you'll be.

However, once you've done it a few times, you'll start to not only get a good feel for the place, but you'll develop more personal "gotta see" & "pass it by" lists - I can't remember the last time that DW and I hit the "Treehouse" in MK.... Still, knowing park hours, am/pm EMH days, parade/show times and any special events is always a good idea.

IMHO - YMMV

 

[disneycake]

I like to wing a lot of it but I also set out to plan which parks we will be going to and once I see what the weather is plan a rough sketch of which parks on which days (not going to TL if it is supposed to rain that day and gorgeous the next day). A little planning definitely helps in the long run especially if you like to be organized and are normally a planner, you'll feel more calm. But do make sure that you enjoy yourself and let go a bit (don't schedule hour by hour - unless it's opening time, parade/fireworks time, or food time - because that won't be any fun).

 

[nluvwithmickey]

I am totally for planning!!!! With experience comes knowledge....I think it's good to know which park has the EMH and whether you are planning on being to that park or not.....especially without the hopper option(first year without it) I will probably avoid them so I need to know which park which day so i can plan my PS...I am also on th e dining plan. I will be travelling in July and have before so I know to expect big crowds....especially with all the festivities and the new dining plan.

Funny thing about this post....I was just on a french canadian disney board and There was a post wondering if all this planning was ACTUALLY necessary....I responded that it depended on the time of year....That I am an obsessive planner,and I thought that planinng was half the fun...

Well, the guy who put this site up, ( a travel agent ) said that all of this was not necessary!!!!! I was wondering if he had been to WDW at Easter,during the 4th of july,thanksgiving,and labor day....

I responded and stated that it was up to him but it would be sad for the newbies going this year tp wait in line for a restaurant on the dining plan when everything is booked solid!!! Hope he doesn't have any kids. ii also told him that I will try my best to have the most worthwhile trip for my family,and that this way of doing has proven effective in the past. I am not pushing this on anyone, i just think people should be aware of a couple of facts espeially the first timers,before going to WDW.

 

[sarahandhannahsmom]

The first trip we took (before children) we just winged it. We had fun, but missed a lot and had to wait in a lot of long lines.

We have been there two times since then and both times I have done extensive planning. I really feel like we have gotten more bang for our buck by planning. I only use one book which is the Unofficial Guide. I also use this site as well as Mouse Ears. Planning has helped us to enjoy shorter lines, great meals and well timed breaks during the day.

If I didn't plan I'm afraid that I wouldn't get my money's worth for all the standing around and saying, "What now"

It's Disney World, so you'll have a marvelous time whether you plan or not. I'd suggest making some PSes and at least deciding on what days to tour what parks. The UG is available at most public libraries if you don't want the expense of purchasing a book.

Spring break week will be very crowded, so a touring plan may help with the long lines.

Good luck and have a wonderful trip.

Allie

 

[newholidayx2]

they say in summer go with a plan

 

[karemore]

If we hadn't "planned" our trip last April we would have been disappointed many times over.

The MK closed early two of the nights we were there, for a MCDonald's party and for a grad night. If we hadn't planned to go to MK ealier in the week we would have missed the fireworks and evening parade.

We were able to see and do so much more due to careful planning. We went on all our favorite attractions twice with little or no wait time.

I didn't over plan, and we did have plenty of flex time scheduled in to "wing it" but in general I knew which park we were going to on which day, which section of the park we would start with and which direction we would head in....we never stood around and said what do you want to do next......which is a horrible waste of precious Disney time.

Karen

 

[goofy4tink]

I didn't plan too much for our first trip and we missed a lot and wasted a ton of time trying to figure out where to go next!! While I don't plan for each hour, I do make a daily plan based on park hours, time of year and anything special going on. I do make one PS meal for each day so I can have one good sit-down and be served meal a day. We try to decide what attractions are 'must do's' so that we get to them early. But now, after about 6 trips in the past 6 years, we try to be more laid back in our touring style. WDW is going nowhere and at this point we are most obviously going back many more times. And still....we do something new on every trip. That's what really amazes me.

 

[Disney Fool]

It depends on when you go. If you're going during the summer months, planning is not only advisable, it's mandatory!!! Unless you want to wait up to an hour for a meal, or stand in wait lines forever because you haven't figured out which days you should have visited which park. If you're going during less busy times, "winging it" could be done--but I'd say only for the seasoned traveller. I prefer "winging it" if I'm going for the Food and Wine Festival, or the Flower and Garden Show at Epcot. I'm not a fanatic when it comes to planning BUT--all you need is one nightmare day at Disney when you can't get a priority seating, or the fastpasses have all been distributed, and you can't get into the park because it's overcrowded, or it's raining cats and dogs and you can't figure out what else you can do. After experiencing that just once, I decided to prepare for:

1. rainy day scenario
2. priority seating for at least 3 sit-down meals for the week
3. a weekly schedule (where to go on which days to avoid crowds)
4. fastpass plan of attack!

 

[bleeps]

I'm a big fan of planning, and I believe that the more you plan, the more you can "pivot" (that is, change plans if you need to but still do everything you want to). Like most of the other respondents, I make daily plans (which parks, which restaurants), I leave at least one if not two days "open" so that we can make adjustments because of weather or moods, and always can fall back on "Plan B" -- ok, this line is too long so let's switch over to (fill in the blank here) and get in everything we want to do. I make all our PS arrangements on the first possible date to do so, based on the 60 or 90 day or whatever requirement. I do it all because I find it fun to plan, it helps make the vacation more "real" even if it's months away, and we don't get frustrated in the parks trying to figure out what to do next.

 

[magicaddict]

To me planning is half the fun. Before we left WDW two years ago i was already starting to plan the next trip. My DH thinks I'm a bit crazy but by the end of our last trip he told me what a good job I'd done planning so we could have a good time. I did have a daily plan of parks/rides and PS but there were a few times we cancelled the PS because something else came along and we didn't feel like we missed out on anything. I do think that you don't have to plan as much when going during a slow season since lines usually aren't too much of an issue but I would still try and decide what park I was doing on what day and where I'd be eating.
The worst trip I ever had was with my ex-BF and we decided to grab a bite to eat when we arrived (late of course) and the lines for food were probably as long as the line for SM. I don't remember much about that trip except how horribly it started. If we'd only looked at the map and travelled off Main St. we probably could have found something with a shorter line just to hold us over. Oh well! Live and learn.

 

[Tinkim]

I too am a fan of planning. On our first trip in 1999 I hadn't been to WDW since 1986 and at that time only MK and Epcot existed. We went without a plan and didn't even buy park tickets until we arrived. Our next trip was in 2004 and I felt I needed more of a plan because there were 11 of us total and wanted to avoid chaos; however, I had Birnbaum's and hadn't yet discovered the DIS. Our last trip was last week and I planned which park for which day and had a couple of PS's. We also knew what rides were must do and which ones we wanted to see if time allowed. We had a much better time than we would have without a plan. We saw Wishes, Fantasmic, Illuminations, SpectroMagic, parades, and a lot of the rides we had missed in the past. We went to EMH and had time to swim in the resort pool. We saw so much more than on any of the other trips this time that the planning paid off. We aren't so rigid that we can't change our plans but in order to maximize the time there I think you need to have a general plan and fit in the things that you have to see/do. I can't tell you how many people I see wandering around and they didn't do any research. There were times when we told people what we knew in the hopes of making their day a little brighter. I also know people who went down and did no research and come back saying they hate WDW. Lines were too long, didn't ride all the rides, missed parades, didn't use FP, etc. I know you can have a nice trip by winging it (more for repeat visitors IMO) but I think general planning is essential if you want to come back feeling like you accomplished what you wanted to. It also helps that I enjoy planning. If I hated the planning part then I probably would wing it but that could lead to disappointment and I feel better having a plan. To each his own but I am the planning kind and I feel it does pay off and it made our last vacation magical instead of a nightmare.

 

[henrylovespooh]

I am a planning fanatic and I think it works well for our family. DH hates to wait in lines, so I plan to be at the parks before they open and to have a plan for where we're going to go and where we can eat. I don't always stick to it - I think one of the rules of planning is understanding that you might go off the plan. I'm not a lunatic about sticking to the plan, but it always helps me.

When I was single and childless, I didn't have a plan and it worked fine for me. It is important to note that I do not like any thrill rides. But with an impatient DH and a 2 and 3 year old, I now want to have a plan to avoid lines and crowded parks and have a nice place to have dinner at the end of the day.

DH laughs at my constant planning, but he is the one who points out people in the park standing around trying to figure out what ride to go on or complaining to a CM because they didn't make a PS at Crystal Palace and there's no tables available.

What I usually do is look at the best days to visit each park in the Unofficial Guide and then put together a chart for our visit with a row for each day and columns for breakfast, morning, lunch, afternoon, dinner and evening. I plot out days to visit parks and then try to plan where we will have lunch and dinner around which park or parks I decide for each day. (We usually eat breakfast in the room.) Since we usually go for 7 or 8 days, I sometimes map out what sections of a park we will focus on on a given day. This way, we don't go to Fantasyland first each time we go to MK or the safari each time we go to AK.

This method has always served me well. It's just one or two pages and I take a couple copies with me. If for some reason we decide to go off the plan for a day (it rains, DS has to go to AK AGAIN, etc.) I can call Disney Dining to try to change PS's or make new ones. The plan/itinerary also helps me put photos together and do scrapbooking when I return.

So if it makes you feel better to plan, then definitely do so.