Boston Globe Article: WDW trip planning

[Jennytoon]

Okay. I think I've digested this, but using so many words to explain how some might feel more spontaneous with FP+ is not a good sign.

OK, I admit to a personal flaw here because I type really fast so there's no need to trim things to get them put down rapidly. Often I look at what I've written and I feel it ought to be shorter, but I can't figure out what to cut that won't affect the perception of what I am trying to express.

I've bolded some portions of your post pertaining to, I think, the people you suggest who would consider FP+ spontaneous. Aren't these people innately unspontaneous? And if so, is that not a poor sample group to judge what spontaneity is? (Please don't these take the questions negatively, I don't mean them that way.)

No negativity taken, but clarity never hurts so thank you.

I would say no. If we consider spontaneity in this context to be not making a decision until the time when a decision needs to be made or else no action will occur, then I think there are two factors behind my response.

First, nobody ever succeeds in planning absolutely everything more than 10 minutes in advance, so I think it would be inaccurate to say that "planners" do not regularly make spontaneous decisions. Example: it makes my husband nuts that I have vacations planned for the next year and a half and finish all my holiday shopping before Thanksgiving, but roughly 40% of the time have no answer to "what are we doing for dinner tonight?". I admit this is frequently because I had some sort of plan and it went out of the window, but that supports my contention that I don't believe daily life permits the complete absence of spontaneity for anybody.

Second, I think for many planners (including myself), in certain circumstances like when you are on vacation the feeling of spontaneity is a *prize*. I love planning. I also love taking a break from planning, under the right circumstances. I have three kids, a dog, and four cats. It's not only that I love planning, it's that I must. Again as an example -- I love to cook. That is not the same thing as enjoying having to find something to make for dinner every day, no matter how tired I am or what else has happened. The joy of being spontaneous while on vacation is similar to the relief of having your mother show up for a week and take over responsibility for dinner. I don't want to be spontaneous all the time any more than I want my mother to live with me all the time, but that doesn't mean I don't truly enjoy and place a high value on a limited-time experience.

I don't believe that I am alone in feeling this way, although for certain I could be wrong about that. And I would say that the fact that even planners like myself can feel constrained to plan by circumstances, as opposed to desire, makes us just as qualified to judge spontaneity as those who prefer to avoid planning in advance whenever possible.

I'm a planner by nature, in some ways at least like you. I'm not a very spontaneous person most of the time--people who know me personally would be shouting "Amen!" right now if they read this. I often play the long game. But I can be spontaneous--just last month at Universal I asked the family "which park?" while on the bus to...the parks. Granted Universal is a different animal in important ways affecting spontaneity (the two parks are literally next to each other), but my point remains the same. Because of FP+, it is harder to do that at WDW these days without losing something, maybe it's the chance to ride Splash without waiting 90 minutes in July. FP+ reduces spontaneity ipso facto by planning out more of your days--and I don't think the point of view of a group of hard-wired planners changes that. I have nothing against that point of view, I just don't understand it and certainly don't share it.

OK, going back to the original question ... I think one thing I perhaps didn't clarify enough in the original post (despite all my words ) is that I think that for planners, the 10 spontaneous decisions they make as part of Group 1 *are* actually more spontaneous than the decisions they make as part of Group 3. It's possible that Shaden is right and us compulsive-planning-brained people just need to find a better word, but try this on for size:

I argued to Shaden that no decision about what to do next is free of any constraints -- if everybody but me agrees that decisions about what to do next if are only truly spontaneous if they are made by writing the name of each attraction of a folded slip of paper and drawing them from a hat then I will concede that no scenario involving FP+ can possibly be more spontaneous than one without.

I think though, one might reasonably argue if more constraints on a decision at the point when you make it, there is less opportunity for spontaneity as options have been removed. In my scenario, when the FP- planners are making one of their decisions, they will not only be trying to make it work with the known FP- that they have, but they will also prioritize the fit of any individual option with the backup plans, and the backup plans for the backup plans. This equals more constraints and, if you accept the first statement, less spontaneity.

Having compulsively fixed my original point, I'm going to make another one inspired exactly by what you wrote:

Which would you say was more spontaneous, someone who has a touring plan for every single park in hand but doesn't decide what park they're going to until they drive onto Disney property, or someone who decides the park and makes three FP+ in advance but plans absolutely nothing else about their day?

There are a lot of people that FP- didn't work for, and they got around it with touring plans which most people would consider to be a very unspontaneous way to go through the parks. FP+ works better for a lot of these people, so if they can get the same or better experience than they had before in terms of what they accomplish by going in only with their 3 FP+ and making the rest of the decisions on the fly, maybe they are actually having a more spontaneous day?

FP+ is many things good, bad, and indifferent. I completely agree it works great for many and not so well for many others. In certain circumstances it works great, in others not so much. But I still cannot fathom how it enables spontaneity. I do appreciate the attempt though.

Agreed!

 

[vinotinto]

Whoever wrote that Boston Globe article, IMHO, totally nailed it.

 

[Cormoran]

Whoever wrote that Boston Globe article, IMHO, totally nailed it.

That's what I thought. The article was well-balanced. It was obvious that the author spent a lot of time researching the topic.

 

[mesaboy2]

Been processing this for a while, I wanted to give it all the thought and attention it deserves. I appreciate an intelligent discussion far more than a "more room for me" or "good riddance" response to the valid concerns of a new system and you clearly have given this a lot of thought yourself.

OK, I admit to a personal flaw here because I type really fast so there's no need to trim things to get them put down rapidly. Often I look at what I've written and I feel it ought to be shorter, but I can't figure out what to cut that won't affect the perception of what I am trying to express.

Ditto. I can be pretty wordy myself.

No negativity taken, but clarity never hurts so thank you.

I would say no. If we consider spontaneity in this context to be not making a decision until the time when a decision needs to be made or else no action will occur, then I think there are two factors behind my response.

First, nobody ever succeeds in planning absolutely everything more than 10 minutes in advance, so I think it would be inaccurate to say that "planners" do not regularly make spontaneous decisions. Example: it makes my husband nuts that I have vacations planned for the next year and a half and finish all my holiday shopping before Thanksgiving, but roughly 40% of the time have no answer to "what are we doing for dinner tonight?". I admit this is frequently because I had some sort of plan and it went out of the window, but that supports my contention that I don't believe daily life permits the complete absence of spontaneity for anybody.

I agree, even planners make spontaneous decisions regularly. I include myself in this category, see my previous response. Different things (vacation plans or dinner plans) require different levels of advance planning--vacations at least for budgetary and time-off concerns involve more planning than dinner tonight for sure. WDW has a 180-day reservation system for sought-after dining experiences, that's pretty silly if you ask me but it is what it is, and that does not mean it's spontaneous. Now it has a 60-day ride reservation system called FP+, unprecedented in the industry, and introduces additional planning for sought-after attraction experiences. This is, by definition, less spontaneous.

Second, I think for many planners (including myself), in certain circumstances like when you are on vacation the feeling of spontaneity is a *prize*. I love planning. I also love taking a break from planning, under the right circumstances. I have three kids, a dog, and four cats. It's not only that I love planning, it's that I must. Again as an example -- I love to cook. That is not the same thing as enjoying having to find something to make for dinner every day, no matter how tired I am or what else has happened. The joy of being spontaneous while on vacation is similar to the relief of having your mother show up for a week and take over responsibility for dinner. I don't want to be spontaneous all the time any more than I want my mother to live with me all the time, but that doesn't mean I don't truly enjoy and place a high value on a limited-time experience.

You seem to be addressing the feeling of spontaneity in this text, and I can't dispute your feelings. I'll just accept them for what they are and be content with that.

I don't believe that I am alone in feeling this way, although for certain I could be wrong about that. And I would say that the fact that even planners like myself can feel constrained to plan by circumstances, as opposed to desire, makes us just as qualified to judge spontaneity as those who prefer to avoid planning in advance whenever possible.

I am confident you are not alone in your feelings, but I don't share it. I will concede your point on how qualified you are to judge spontaneity, but I think your judgement may be clouded a bit too much by the feeling of it rather than the reality. Again, that is not intended to sound as harsh as it might come across.

OK, going back to the original question ... I think one thing I perhaps didn't clarify enough in the original post (despite all my words ) is that I think that for planners, the 10 spontaneous decisions they make as part of Group 1 *are* actually more spontaneous than the decisions they make as part of Group 3. It's possible that Shaden is right and us compulsive-planning-brained people just need to find a better word, but try this on for size:

I'm not sure how to compare the spontaneity of the two circumstances and sample groups.

I argued to Shaden that no decision about what to do next is free of any constraints -- if everybody but me agrees that decisions about what to do next if are only truly spontaneous if they are made by writing the name of each attraction of a folded slip of paper and drawing them from a hat then I will concede that no scenario involving FP+ can possibly be more spontaneous than one without.

I'm not getting what you're saying here. My only thought is I wouldn't equate a random drawing to a spontaneous decision.

I think though, one might reasonably argue if more constraints on a decision at the point when you make it, there is less opportunity for spontaneity as options have been removed. In my scenario, when the FP- planners are making one of their decisions, they will not only be trying to make it work with the known FP- that they have, but they will also prioritize the fit of any individual option with the backup plans, and the backup plans for the backup plans. This equals more constraints and, if you accept the first statement, less spontaneity.

Sorry if I'm dense, but I'm not getting your line of thought. It sounds as if you're saying that some planners over-analyze all the potential permutations of subsequent FP selections and freeze themselves into...well, I don't know what. Less spontaneity? I am so totally missing this one!

Having compulsively fixed my original point, I'm going to make another one inspired exactly by what you wrote:

Which would you say was more spontaneous, someone who has a touring plan for every single park in hand but doesn't decide what park they're going to until they drive onto Disney property, or someone who decides the park and makes three FP+ in advance but plans absolutely nothing else about their day?

Probably the second one is more spontaneous, so you win there! But do the first category of people actually exist? Are there people who plan out every part of their day but not the day they plan it for?

There are a lot of people that FP- didn't work for, and they got around it with touring plans which most people would consider to be a very unspontaneous way to go through the parks. FP+ works better for a lot of these people, so if they can get the same or better experience than they had before in terms of what they accomplish by going in only with their 3 FP+ and making the rest of the decisions on the fly, maybe they are actually having a more spontaneous day?

Agreed!

I kinda see what you're saying here, and maybe this is your big point. By having certain high-value experiences already selected, it contributes to the feeling of spontaneity for everything else. Is that it? If so, we're back to the feeling versus reality of spontaneity. I'm usually a cold-hearted, no-nonsense Vulcan. Logic trumps feeling to me most of the time, including now. With FP+, more is planned in advance, so it is less spontaneous.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain your point of view and I do appreciate the honest perspective you have added here.

As an aside, I hope I never type the word spontaneous and its variants this much again for a long, long time.

 

[SmithSmith]

What a semantic conundrum. FP+ allows guests to schedule rides in advance, thereby freeing up time for spontaneity to occur (whether it does or not). FP- allowed guests to schedule rides day of, thereby allowing spontaneous decisions to be made like "What park do I want to visit today?". Both have elements of spontaneity, but are either truly spontaneous?

In my mind, both iterations of FP require scheduling rides. Adhering to a schedule is the antithesis of spontaneity. So, to me, neither can be considered truly spontaneous.

 

[Jennytoon]

Been processing this for a while, I wanted to give it all the thought and attention it deserves. I appreciate an intelligent discussion far more than a "more room for me" or "good riddance" response to the valid concerns of a new system and you clearly have given this a lot of thought yourself.

Appreciated and agreed. I feel similarly, with all the appropriate pronouns re-directed.

I'm not getting what you're saying here. My only thought is I wouldn't equate a random drawing to a spontaneous decision.

Sorry if I'm dense, but I'm not getting your line of thought. It sounds as if you're saying that some planners over-analyze all the potential permutations of subsequent FP selections and freeze themselves into...well, I don't know what. Less spontaneity? I am so totally missing this one!

I'm sure you're not dense. Actually that first was exactly my point. Most definitions of spontaneous include words like sudden and impulse, but that's not really what we're discussing here. That leads to the second bit -- if we agree there are constraints on a "spontaneous" what-to-do-next decision then yes, planners who are trying to maintain the maximum number of possibilities going forward for FP- etc., have more constraints to consider when making their choices, even if those constraints are imposed only by their inability to relax with the planning already. (And again, that is not a swipe at anyone, as I can be that person on any given day).

It's worth noting here that I have placed my own interpretation on other people's posts (where there was not enough context to remove ambiguity) and am therefore looking through the lens of how I would be feeling in what I imagine to be a similar situation as the poster. I don't truly know why these people reported having more spontaneity.

Probably the second one is more spontaneous, so you win there! But do the first category of people actually exist? Are there people who plan out every part of their day but not the day they plan it for?

Unless I mis-remember I have seen posts on touring plan threads from people who write that they have up to four or more touring plans for a single day, so that they can have some flexibility in case of weather / whim / how late they got home from Wishes etc. So I am going to say definitely yes.

I kinda see what you're saying here, and maybe this is your big point. By having certain high-value experiences already selected, it contributes to the feeling of spontaneity for everything else. Is that it? If so, we're back to the feeling versus reality of spontaneity. I'm usually a cold-hearted, no-nonsense Vulcan. Logic trumps feeling to me most of the time, including now. With FP+, more is planned in advance, so it is less spontaneous.

Yes, the big point you reference is pretty much where I started in my first post yesterday. I'll agree very many (including you ) would consider there's still a significant element of feeling the spontaneity versus actually having it there.

Actually though, I'm still gonna propose there is a situation where the increase is real, which was today's example. I see a repeated theme about the vacation / park style that people choose in terms of lines etc. and what they are willing to do to get it. I think it's not outrageous to say that in the FP- era there was a subgroup of the people not served well by FP- that countered that by use of touring plans. You asked above if those multi-plan but no commitment people really existed -- I still see them posting even now, but in the FP- era, there was no downside to having a TP for each park and deciding the night before or morning of which one you would use. Now think about the statements made by people who have written that they like FP+, things like

-- "I love being able to sleep in"
-- "It's great to be able to hop to a different park in the afternoon, instead of having to go back to the park where we had picked up evening FP- when we were there in the morning"​

These statements and others speak to me of people who clearly made concessions away from their ideal vacation in order to achieve the parks experience they wanted in terms of attractions. IMO it's not such a stretch to imagine that some people who went the touring plans route considered that a similar kind of concession and are happy to ditch both the plan and the spontaneity of picking the night before in favor of going into the park without being so constrained to a schedule. For these people, the increase in spontaneity is real, not perceived.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain your point of view and I do appreciate the honest perspective you have added here.

As an aside, I hope I never type the word spontaneous and its variants this much again for a long, long time.

YES! YES! YES!

Thank you as well for a really interesting discussion, and also for your FP+ tips thread which I have gleaned several subtleties out of.

 

[twinkie567]

IMO, FP+ increased our level of spontaneity on our last trip. On past FP- trips we were uber scheduled commando type planners. Park days planned based on crowd calendars the moment they were available. ADRs secured at 180 days. In the parks from rope drop to close, armed with a Ridemax to-the-minute schedule. We toured with precision, crisscrossing the parks and picking up FP- by the handfuls. While not the least bit spontaneous, we were people on a mission! However, on our last trip we had to retire this method and confront the new reality of FP+. On this trip my daughter desperately wanted to meet Anna and Elsa. My son's request was to ride the Mine Train after dark. Mom wanted to see The Festival of Fantasy parade. So at midnight 60 days out I secured the coveted trifecta of FP+. And then I was done. No additional planning. No schedule other than the 3 FPs. We let the day unfold based on our whims. No mad dashes. No fast pass runners leaving the group and missing the fun. When we felt like a churro we stopped to snack. When we happened upon Chip and Dale we stopped for autographs and pictures. For OUR family FP+ completely opened up the window to spontaneity.

 

[Planogirl]

We just returned from a trip and I'll be honest and say that I was happier each day that we did NOT go to WDW! I still love many things about the parks but touring them made me feel tired and overly scheduled. I realize that others might feel differently of course. I'm just giving my own perspective.

 

[Luckybee]

IMO, FP+ increased our level of spontaneity on our last trip. On past FP- trips we were uber scheduled commando type planners. Park days planned based on crowd calendars the moment they were available. ADRs secured at 180 days. In the parks from rope drop to close, armed with a Ridemax to-the-minute schedule. We toured with precision, crisscrossing the parks and picking up FP- by the handfuls. While not the least bit spontaneous, we were people on a mission! However, on our last trip we had to retire this method and confront the new reality of FP+. On this trip my daughter desperately wanted to meet Anna and Elsa. My son's request was to ride the Mine Train after dark. Mom wanted to see The Festival of Fantasy parade. So at midnight 60 days out I secured the coveted trifecta of FP+. And then I was done. No additional planning. No schedule other than the 3 FPs. We let the day unfold based on our whims. No mad dashes. No fast pass runners leaving the group and missing the fun. When we felt like a churro we stopped to snack. When we happened upon Chip and Dale we stopped for autographs and pictures. For OUR family FP+ completely opened up the window to spontaneity.

I have to be honest that I don't get this at all but I think it is perhaps because we were never commando type visitors. In the pre fp+ days our typical day consisted of " do you feel like going to Disney today", if the answer was yes the only thing we then planned was which park and that was 30 minutes or so before we left our room. We'd arrive, then we'd tour around as we walked. Never used a touring plan(the idea to me was outrageous), went where we saw short lines. We had adr's but they were only for dinners and if they conflicted with our touring we'd cancel. We did what we wanted when we felt like it. If we came upon a ride that had more than a 15 minute wait we didn't do it and on to the next. We used fp, when and only if it fit in with where we were at a given time, and we sure didn't need fp for anything other than headliners. But they were easy to get even when we arrived late at the parks. This was spontaneity at its finest by pure definition(which btw is "performed or occurring as a result of a sudden inner impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus" since there seems to be some confusion about what it means). Compared to now where we had x at 1pm, y at 2pm, and z at 3pm and gawd forbid we wanted to do anything in between. And we're planned up the ying yang and omg Im using touringplans....lol. We chose to be spontaneous before. For us it is impossible to be spontaneous now if for no reason other than we must book 3 rides if we want to avoid lines(which we do, since I will not wait in 30 minute+ lines). Because we must book 3, we then have to work around those 3 for everything else, which means we have to be somewhere at a particular time which is the antithesis of spontaneous. Far as I am concerned if one is preplanning a time for a ride, just 1 even, then they are not being spontaneous.

 

[Cormoran]

IMO, FP+ increased our level of spontaneity on our last trip. On past FP- trips we were uber scheduled commando type planners. Park days planned based on crowd calendars the moment they were available. ADRs secured at 180 days. In the parks from rope drop to close, armed with a Ridemax to-the-minute schedule. We toured with precision, crisscrossing the parks and picking up FP- by the handfuls. While not the least bit spontaneous, we were people on a mission! However, on our last trip we had to retire this method and confront the new reality of FP+. On this trip my daughter desperately wanted to meet Anna and Elsa. My son's request was to ride the Mine Train after dark. Mom wanted to see The Festival of Fantasy parade. So at midnight 60 days out I secured the coveted trifecta of FP+. And then I was done. No additional planning. No schedule other than the 3 FPs. We let the day unfold based on our whims. No mad dashes. No fast pass runners leaving the group and missing the fun. When we felt like a churro we stopped to snack. When we happened upon Chip and Dale we stopped for autographs and pictures. For OUR family FP+ completely opened up the window to spontaneity.

From what I'm reading, you chose commando on rips prior to FP+ implementation. Your pre FP+ trips could have been more spontaneous, but that's not how you wanted to visit the parks. It sounds like FP+ acted as a governor on your park visits.

 

[Cormoran]

We were thinking of a trip in early May, we've been many times before but not in the past few years. Given we are inside of two months I think we will pass seeing we already lost out on the 60 window for Fast Pass Plus.

This is one of the comments from the original article. How many people are like them? They arrive at WDW thinking that it is a typical amusement park and not realizing that they should have made FP+ reservations ahead of time. Most likely there is still availability for FP+ in the MK for the evening, but what about the other parks? Yes, we are all Disney nerds on these boards, but we make up a very small percentage of WDW's daily attendance. I'll bet it's the off-site guests who are the losers in this scenario.

I've seen a lot of posts that say FP+ was implemented because people complain about long lines. But FP+ is only going to help people who have done there research, not for the people who arrive at the gates with no prior knowledge. This group of guests may not be satisfied with their WDW visit and I can't picture the CMs telling these guests that it's their own fault for not doing the research.

 

[Jennytoon]

IMO, FP+ increased our level of spontaneity on our last trip. On past FP- trips we were uber scheduled commando type planners. Park days planned based on crowd calendars the moment they were available. ADRs secured at 180 days. In the parks from rope drop to close, armed with a Ridemax to-the-minute schedule. We toured with precision, crisscrossing the parks and picking up FP- by the handfuls. While not the least bit spontaneous, we were people on a mission! However, on our last trip we had to retire this method and confront the new reality of FP+. On this trip my daughter desperately wanted to meet Anna and Elsa. My son's request was to ride the Mine Train after dark. Mom wanted to see The Festival of Fantasy parade. So at midnight 60 days out I secured the coveted trifecta of FP+. And then I was done. No additional planning. No schedule other than the 3 FPs. We let the day unfold based on our whims. No mad dashes. No fast pass runners leaving the group and missing the fun. When we felt like a churro we stopped to snack. When we happened upon Chip and Dale we stopped for autographs and pictures. For OUR family FP+ completely opened up the window to spontaneity.

I don't know whether you saw it or not, but elsewhere in a lengthy conversation on this thread I hypothesized the existence of a family whose style changed in exactly the manner yours has. Thank you for confirming this was not just an empty thought experiment on my part and there was at least one real life example.

 

[lustergirl]

I thought the article was very interesting and the author totally nailed it! His description of the planning is spot on. People ask me all the time about Disney and I think "oh you poor fools." I am just thinking of all the planning that is required. Going to Disney is no way near going to a local amusement park here in Buffalo. The planning alone would be enough to scare any rookie away. I want to take my new grandson next year and was talking to his mother about it. She said that she will not fly and my response was "Well we will meet you there with baby and all."

 

[goofy4tink]

For the past 15 years I have been telling people that WDW is no place for spontaneity.....period. It's too massive, there is too much to see and do. But, people will still say that the 'lack of spontaneity has killed WDW'. Piffle (as my grandmother used to say!). Being able to schedule meals and attractions before going allows you to plan the rest of your day. I spend about a two hours, total, planning meals and FP+. My mind is always boggled by those that say they can't possibly schedule their ADRs until they get the exact park hours...you are aware that Disney changes those hours all the time, right? I know, pretty much, what parks I'll be in on any given day. I can schedule FP+s for late in the day now, allowing me to go to, say, MK, first thing in the morning, do what I want, even with some waits in lines, and then head to DHS later on, knowing that I'll be able to ride the things I want to, without huge lines...or worrying that FPs will be all gone for the times I want.
Trips to WDW have always meant planning. I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone has gone to WDW in the past 10 years, with no meals scheduled and still managed to eat where and when they wanted to. Even with the old FP system, you had to run around like a nut, collecting FPs to use later in the day. But, I guess those that used the system that way, and had a designated FP runner, lament the lack of that ability now.

I guess I'm just a more relaxed Disney traveler. I make my ADRs and FP+ choices way out....I get there and pretty much do exactly what I want to do.

 

[sharona]

I have a close friend who is thinking of finally taking her kids to WDW (they are DS14 and DD12). They did go to WDW for their honeymoon 15+ years ago but they are not familiar at all with "how it works" now and, knowing that we have been several times, they asked me if there was anything they needed to know. I gave them a very brief, very neutral description of resort options, packages and planning timelines for ADRs and FP+ then I recommended a few websites where they can read more about it. I purposefully didn't let my personal opinions on the current planning requirements into the conversation. They were more than a little surprised that people plan so much so far in advance. Not sure if I scared them off or not, lol. I hope they decide to go so I can get their reaction once they get into all the planning or if they decide to "wing it" to see if they enjoyed the trip.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Even with the old FP system, you had to run around like a nut, collecting FPs to use later in the day. But, I guess those that used the system that way, and had a designated FP runner, lament the lack of that ability now.

This is pretty much the antithesis of how we toured with legacy. We probably averaged 6 fp/day in MK, but never did anything like the above.

I do agree that wdw has always required some planning..we have always done park/day and ADRs. But we never did any kind of ride to ride touring plan. Fp+ feels, to us, more like that, and that's just a level of.planning we have never done or enjoyed. We will do it, we will and are adapting. It just isn't fun, for us, to plan to that detail.

 

[goofy4tink]

The really funny thing is that for every person who thinks this is just far too much planning, there is another person who thinks it's just fine! There are many people who enjoy the planning process......who go in and make changes to their plans several times before they get to WDW. For many of us, we love having a trip in the process of being planned. But, there are just as many out there that who hate all the pre-planning.

 

[twinkie567]

I don't know whether you saw it or not, but elsewhere in a lengthy conversation on this thread I hypothesized the existence of a family whose style changed in exactly the manner yours has. Thank you for confirming this was not just an empty thought experiment on my part and there was at least one real life example.

I did see you post....that's what prompted me to tell my story. With FP- for MY FAMILY it was all about getting the next "ticket to ride". He who had the most FP- at the end of the day won! Just as you had hypothesized, my mind was always racing with where do we go next? How can I "optimize" our day? Rather than just enjoying the moment, part of my brain was always thinking about our next move. With FP+, at least in our particular example, we couldn't collect 4th and 5th FP+. The parade was at 3:00. The Mine Train had to be at night (per request of my son). Elsa and Anna (which happened to be in the am) was not moveable. So our entire mindset changed. We couldn't "collect" any more FP, so there wasn't the self-imposed "pressure" to do so. I could just fully be in the moment. Before going into the day I knew that everyone in our group was going to get to do the 1 thing they really wanted to do and that everyone would be satisfied, no matter what else we did. That opened the rest of our day up to one spontaneous move after another.

 

[Shaden]

The really funny thing is that for every person who thinks this is just far too much planning, there is another person who thinks it's just fine! There are many people who enjoy the planning process......who go in and make changes to their plans several times before they get to WDW. For many of us, we love having a trip in the process of being planned. But, there are just as many out there that who hate all the pre-planning.

See I don't think this is true. I think on the BOARDS this is closer to the truth, but that's just here, on a site, for planning/discussing trips, so clearly you are going to have more planners here. In the real world, people aren't planners like this. This is why so many people here when they talk about how they plan their trips also talk about how no one they know understands it, or says they are crazy. People constantly come to these boards because no one else "gets" them. They openly talk about how they come here for support because no one else they know wants to plan or talk about planning a trip the way they do.

There are obviously a LOT of people who like planning, I mean even if only 10% of people did that's hundreds of millions globally and about 40 million in North America alone. But I don't think I am going out on too flimsy a limb here in saying the ratio of people who like to plan the detail that is suggested around here for a WDW vacation and those that don't want to put that planning effort into a trip is closer to 1:10 than 1:1

 

[sharona]

The really funny thing is that for every person who thinks this is just far too much planning, there is another person who thinks it's just fine! There are many people who enjoy the planning process......who go in and make changes to their plans several times before they get to WDW. For many of us, we love having a trip in the process of being planned. But, there are just as many out there that who hate all the pre-planning.

I enjoy the planning. My only issue with the new system is that (speculating since I haven't been yet with FP+) we won't get nearly as many rides as before. 3 FPs is not enough for a full day at the park. We worked the system with the old FP for 10+ per day and rarely waited in any lines. It was a lot of work though so I am looking forward to a more relaxing, "in the moment" visit next time. We'll soon find out...