Can you Plan Too MUCH????

[libinatorsmom]

I think we are right on track... I am super excited... now if I could only pick out a resort...

We have planned which park which day and thats it... we are just going to go and have a good time... and NOT kill ourselves... if we dont get to every show or ride its ok... its a vacation!!!!

 

[mmessler]

I think too much planning kind of takes all the fun out of the vacation. I do a lot of research so I know what things are my "must sees", and if there's a restaurant we think we just can't live without dining in, we'll make an ADR, but that's about it. We prefer to just go about things leisurely. On our first couple of trips we did more planning to make sure we fit everything in. Most of our "planning" now is done one or two days ahead while we're there. If I had kids or was travelling with a larger group, I might do more planning for obvious reasons, like needing to make sure kids got afternoon naps, or we had ADRs to make sure we could get in to certain restaurants with a larger family.

 

[Poohsmom]

It is just part of the fun. Keep me sane until I can get there.

 

[MeetingMickeyin2006]

I don't think you're planning too much! We're going March '08, and I already know everywhere we are going to eat! I agree that if we don't plan, we'll be lost and just roaming around, trying to figure out what to do next!

Have fun!

 

[kimberh]

I think we are right on track... I am super excited... now if I could only pick out a resort...

We have planned which park which day and thats it... we are just going to go and have a good time... and NOT kill ourselves... if we dont get to every show or ride its ok... its a vacation!!!!

I have skimmed this entire thread. We have been to Disney so many times, that I can't count all of them. I agree with the preparing yourself and be flexible with the schedule. Three trips ago, I planned all the Counter Service meals along with the Table Service meals. As you would know, we would be on the other side of the park, when it was time to eat lunch. We just ate CS with what was the closest. We did keep our ADR's, that is a must in my planning... To your Resort choice, I just want to say, that the most expensive is not always the best. What are your tastes, colors that you like, WL, AKL, are two of the best priced deluxes. These are two of our favorites. We eat at some of the others, to get the feel fo them, while we are there.

 

[Baghdad Bob]

I am the one who has done all the planning for our June trip. Looking at videos on Youtbe.com and yahoo to see what rides the kids will like etc. i don't want them to see them so they will be very surprized!! As for me , I have been the Disneyland and Disney World so I know what coming. For my kids it's there 1 st time.

 

[Cee]

I plan my transportation and lodging, period. Once I get there, it's improvisation
all the way. So far I've never had a problem calling WDW-Dining from my resort
phone and getting an ADR for that evening. We even saw Hoop-dee-doo and
La Nouba "on the fly"(no pun intended). You have to be willing to say, "Whatcha got for this evening?" and run with it. I love it. I don't think I'd "Do
Disney" any other way now. But we don't have little kids anymore so that has
ALOT to do with it. The most important thing is to relax, enjoy and give yourself
enough time to "smell the roses".

 

[eliza61]

Ok - we are planning a May 2008 WDW trip... and I am planning and replanning - can you plan too much???? It is our 1st WDW trip... Hubby is worried I wont be excited as I know what everything will look like etc... I disagree and told him I just want to be prepared so we are not lost ducks... so do you think you can plan too much.... HECK I CANT EVEN PICK A RESORT OUT!!!!

For a 1st trip, no way. I make a plan, then make a back up plan, then make a backup to the backup... .

 

[libinatorsmom]

Thanks.... we are excited... my husband wants me to print off menus - LOL - so he can see where I picked to eat... and I hope he will like it... we really cant wait... I just cant decide on a resort...

 

[Weeziblu]

IMHO, you can. In 2004 was going to be the Disney Vacation to die for. We stayed 10 days in the Orlando (both on and off site stays). I planned everything down to the last second. I read books, set a schedule, watch countless Vacation Channel Disney shows, make Reservations, and off to Orlando we went. Then it was time to put all my hard work to the test. Most planned items were great, like my character ice cream social (too bad Disney discontinued this), our character breakfast, etc. But I read and watched so much, NOTHING was left to the imagination. NOT one ride had an element of surprise to it. I felt like I'd done it all. In some cases I found myself disappointed because of all the 'hype' of a ride or show – was below par. I just planned too much. This summer will be my first time really back to WDW for a full vacation (in 05 went to DL, in 06 went to US and one day in MK) so I'm looking forward to this vacation. A whole week onsite. I'm not reading one book, I'm not watching one Disney special, and I'm only on these boards for news and entertainment - not trying to find out which line is best to in at Tower of Terror. Now I understand why the books were vague on the ride description. They gave just enough to get you excited about something. All my opinion.
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This sounds like GREAT advice to me. I, too, am planning our first trip (have been planning since September) for June. While I feel the need to be informed and organized as far as ADRs and knowing where things are located, approximate travel times, etc., I did not want the "magic" ruined by too much research. At first, I was ticked that my guidebooks didn't reveal too much about the attractions and then I made the mistake of reading all about a particular attraction online and realized that if I continued to do that, I'd loose a good portion of the experience.

So I do believe a person can overplan. And trust me, I am an information junkie. I would never go into WDW blind to everything. I think that it is important to know what's out there, how to manage a day as far as ADRs and transportation is concerned. We have friends who went a couple of years ago and missed SO much because they never researched at all.

Have fun making and changing your ADRs a zillion times (like I did), read up on the parks, WDW history, look into transportation options, explore your hotel's website, find out about xtras like fireworks cruises, etc. if you're interested but don't go so far as to read spoiler threads about rides and attractions.

I know how excited you must be. I can hardly stand to wait another 2+ months for my trip. I booked it so long ago and the fact that it is almost here has me so excited.. it is indescribable!

And lastly, I don't know aobut you, but I find the planning to be part of the fun of a WDW vacation!

 

[Kriii]

I do think you can plan too much but some planning does make it easier. Obviously, since I am reading these boards at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday five months before my trip I can get as excited about WDW world as anyone else! (and this is my 4th trip!) I found it extremely helpful to watch the video and read the Unofficial Guide to WDW before we went the first time. We thought it would be a trip we only took once for the sake of dd (I had never been to WDW and dh had not been there in over 30 years so we had no clue how great it is!) The video and books made it possible to pick our hotel and we truly loved the AKL. By reading the books, we were able to have adrs set up and knew which day to go to which park, went to Circe de Soleil and DD etc. I don't think we would have even known about Circe and DD if we hadn't planned ahead. My dd would have been crushed to not go to CRT and if we hadn't planned ahead no way could we have gotten in (back in the old 60 reservation window) Now we just plan which park which day and make ADRs - we usually leave a day or two open for whatever park we want to go to also. I will follow the suggested iterary from Unofficial guide for the first few hours if the park is crowded but we really haven't had to do this too much. I know we haven't seen everything in our total three weeks at WDW but we've had fun and can always go back!

 

[islandmum]

in terms of planning with 11 days or so we have flexibility. I've scheduled all the TS meals and breakfasts and put in suggestions for each days CS lunches depending on where we are.

From the TGM guide I've marked the days for which particular park, and made a map and note of all the rides and what times they should be done for us.

with 4 rest days in our schedule it means we can go and revisit parks where we want to do some more stuff that we might have seen and also do a day devoted just to character photos and meetings.

I want to make sure we get everything done - but without having to race round the parks in 5 days flat ..... with a 5 and 3 year old that would be hell for us!

I cant wait! DH thinks I'm a loony constantly updating, confirming, checking all our details ..... but he's going to waltz in, have a great trip, and itll be down to me and my organising! little does he appreciate that yet!

 

[mmessler]

I plan my transportation and lodging, period. Once I get there, it's improvisation
all the way. So far I've never had a problem calling WDW-Dining from my resort
phone and getting an ADR for that evening. We even saw Hoop-dee-doo and
La Nouba "on the fly"(no pun intended). You have to be willing to say, "Whatcha got for this evening?" and run with it. I love it. I don't think I'd "Do
Disney" any other way now. But we don't have little kids anymore so that has
ALOT to do with it. The most important thing is to relax, enjoy and give yourself
enough time to "smell the roses".

I was beginning to think I was the only person who felt this way. Other than "big stuff", we don't usually make ADRs beforehand for dining. I made one for HDDR, because we definitely wanted it a certain day. Other than that, I do the same, call the night before or morning of. Being two adults traveling with no children, I guess that makes us pretty flexible in the timing department. If we end up with a late ADR for dinner, we eat lunch late or just make sure have a snack. If we end up with an early one, we eat a bigger breakfast (CS) and skip lunch.

I guess I just spend so much time adhering to schedules and timing, and having to plan one thing around another when at home, I prefer to do as little of it as possible while on vacation. We just have an idea of things we might like to try and go from there once we're on property. (Also a big reason we prefer to rent a car, sometimes this helps with the spontaneity thing.)

 

[KatGarcia]

Planning is part of the fun! You will go thru different plans over and over because thats just how it goes. To me, the best way to plan is to read Trip REports because its gets you good ideas on how to do things. PLanning is fun, IMO!

 

[shazmart]

I don't think you can plan too much, as long as it's general planning/ investigation and not every minute of the day as that can take some of the excitement out of it. Once it comes to a time to book ADR's etc then its all systems go!

We have been planning since my daughter was born & she we will be celebrating her 5th birthday when we go in July 2008 (booked last weekend)

 

[savannah2l]

You can never plan too much. That's half the fun.
I have already started planning our 1st trip to WDW for June 2008.
Too early to plan? Not for me------I love it. My DH just thinks I'm crazy.

 

[rentayenta]

Considering my first trip to WDW is in May 2009 and some 768 days away, I would say no you cannot plan too much or too early. But really, planning is part of the fun for me and the excitement spills over to the kids and DH. Plan away, I just try to remain flexible in case the plans change.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Of course you can overplan...Some of the best WDW moments are unexpected. Catching music in Epcot and unexpected character popping out a beautiful shop window, bird watching, people watching. Take a moment and try not to keep the trip on a minute by minute schedule.

 

[USC_Gamecocks]

When it comes to WDW you cant plan enough.