Decided Against an Itinerary!

[BettyBoo29]

I've been looking through people's threads to have a neb at their itinerarys because I feel like I should really have one but I just can't bring myself to sit and plan? I feel as though how can I plan when I don't know what to expect?!

I feel as though I should just see how we feel when we get there rather than live by an itinerary.

We are a young couple and plan on doing everything!

Anyone for or against itin's?

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[Elise79]

We don't plan however we know there is always 'next time' so if we miss something then it doesn't matter

I personally don't put much weight in busy day guides but rather on the strategy of get to the park for rope drop and hit the headliners first

This works for us even in peak times like July

 

[PJB71]

We never plan these days

We used to do and after about 5 days the itinerary went out of the window

We just decide the night before now depending on the weather, how tired everyone is, etc, etc

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Why not just write down which parks you want to do, how much time at the malls etc and make sure you have enough days to fit it all in

Shopping will need to be a priority if you aren't taking many clothes

As already mentioned, aim to get there early to make the most of the day and hopefully shorter lines for the rides.

 

[dixonsontour]

I use touring plans busy day guide.

Costs about $10 a year but well worth it.

Gives a crowd calendar of how busy out of 10.

Why fight the crowds on a 7/10 day when the day after is 2/10.

Crowds do fluctuate a lot eg food and wine in Epcot can scew the crowds in September October or if the halloween party is on etc.

Personally I'd have a rough plan. You wont believe how tiring it is and a plan can be very welcome.

 

[Tink2312]

We've done it both ways - went as far as to use Ridemax a few times to plan out exactly what to do to the minute. As we are lucky to go at least once a year and stay onsite, we don't bother to plan too much. I subscribe to a touring plan website which gives me access to a crowd calendar and I pick one/ two EMH to attend. When we're there I decide the night before if it's an early start the next day and if so, I plan which park to hit. Other than that, we just decide in the morning whether we want to visit a park or do something offsite. Having said all that, if you're going at a busy time and you don't plan on coming back again/ anytime soon, I would definitely plan what parks would be best on what days and set out a flexible plan of what to do in order to maximise your time and make sure you see as much as you can. To start you off, check the official calendar and what's going off when you're there and if you are staying offsite/ don't intend to attend any EMH, make sure to avoid those parks on their EMH days. I would also recommend checking out the crowd calendar/ busy days guide just to avoid the crowds as much as possible.

 

[queendisney]

We have never planned a day by day guide, even from the 1st trip. I just know we would never keep to it. Most days we just wait to see what bus turns up (on resort) and catch that one, then park hop about. This isn't the best thing to do if you've never been before though but we love to get into a park first thing, spend a couple of hours then go to another via a different resort hotel for a drink/snack, well a cupcake to be honest!!
Like a PP said write down what you want to do the most and make sure it just fits in to the number of days you have. Remembering that on day one and your last day you may not be able to do to much. Because you aren't staying on resort and are not driving, you will prob stay all day in a park and as long as you get there for opening you will be able to do a lot per day, but you may need some rest days built in. Our rest days involve going shopping

TIP...get comfy shoes and I stress again, get comfy shoes. Make sure they are worn in before you go. There is A LOT of walking..get comfy shoes!!

Oh and one more thing, you want be able to do everything on your first trip, you'll do a lot but not everything.

 

[Claire Bear]

I decided to do a plan this time. I go on Friday but the last time I went was 8 years ago and from reading everything on here I missed so much without even realising. I did have a good holiday but I feel better prepared this time. My plan is definitely going to be flexible though in terms of if we don't feel like going somewhere we'll just pick another park, I've written down which parks are bed for each day so I can deviate off the plan.

 

[queendisney]

I decided to do a plan this time. I go on Friday but the last time I went was 8 years ago and from reading everything on here I missed so much without even realising. I did have a good holiday but I feel better prepared this time. My plan is definitely going to be flexible though in terms of if we don't feel like going somewhere we'll just pick another park, I've written down which parks are bed for each day so I can deviate off the plan.

Yes with you on that one. Its a plan but not a plan as such. Forearmed with busy days but open minded to change. Some times we go to bed with the intention on getting up early and heading for rope drop at MK then wake up a little later then expected and go to SeaWorld or something. But I think that first timers generally do miss a few/lot of things because they just do not realise how HUGE the orlando area is and even the vastness of WDW itself. But that's the joy of going the first time.

 

[zavandor]

You don't have to plan to the second, but you should have a general idea of the basic principles,
Being at a park 30 minutes before rope drop, know which attractions to prioritize, know which park is less crowded each day, do an afternoon break, plan for rest days.
These things can make the difference between a nice and a wonderful vacation.

I strongly advice for easywdw.com
You can find there the cheatsheets, that give you all the basic info for each park. And a free crowd calendar to choose a park each day.

 

[floridaforever]

We have been going to Florida for 23 years - mostly in August, first as a couple- now we are a family of 5. We have never had an itinery....we go where we fancy and eat where we want (not overly fussed for disney table service especially now we are 5 - too expensive). At most we go to a park every other day and inbetween swim and shop etc. We do this whether we are staying on or off-site. We also always have a 3 or 4 night stay at the beach either siesta key or sanibel. (Like a holiday within a holiday). Universal has the edge for our style of holiday- stay on-site and go to the parks any time of day and use express....

You will never do it all ......but you will enjoy all you do

 

[irenep]

I've been looking through people's threads to have a neb at their itinerarys because I feel like I should really have one but I just can't bring myself to sit and plan? I feel as though how can I plan when I don't know what to expect?!

I feel as though I should just see how we feel when we get there rather than live by an itinerary.

We are a young couple and plan on doing everything!

Anyone for or against itin's?

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

If you want to do everything then you need a plan even if it is just a rough plan or you will miss so much.

I agree with the others who have said arrive early (pre rope-drop) and take it from there but at least make a note of your must-do attractions for each park for a basic outline.

 

[BettyBoo29]

Thanks to everyone who's replied, we have made a list of everything we want to do so we will make sure we try our best to get all our list checked off I will also check out the website where is says the crowdiest days etc etc..

We also plan on doing wet n wild, blizzard beach and typhoon lagoon, do these require a full day or could you do a water park in the morning the park in the afternoon / night?

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[Zeebs]

We did a half day at the water park, but we didn't ride many of the slides as we have young children.

Our first trip we went for 7 days and missed heaps out but also felt we did so much at the same time. We never ventured into the World Showcase.

I think if you go expecting to do everything you will be disappointed. But it is good you have a list of things you "must" do.

The only plan we go with is the best park list for the day, with young kids we are up early so we get their for opening. But we only do one late night as otherwise we wear out the kids and then it all goes wrong.

Have a fab time,

Kirsten

 

[Linda67]

Some people love to plan, others seem to find it stressful!
You just need to remember it's your holiday and if going with the flow a little more is something that makes you happy - go for it
Either way you will have a brilliant time

 

[BettyBoo29]

Some people love to plan, others seem to find it stressful!
You just need to remember it's your holiday and if going with the flow a little more is something that makes you happy - go for it
Either way you will have a brilliant time

Aaw thank you!

There's nothing more I would love than to plan plan plan but what stresses me is that I feel like I don't know how to plan?!

When I say I want to do everything, I mean that I want todo everything that we want to do which is shopping, all Disney parks and universal and defiantly discovery cove.

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[WiganTony]

Our planning tends to be limited to working out which days each of the parks is least busy from the various busy day's guides, and earmarking that particular park/day combination, plus trying to avoid parks with Extra Magic Hours.

As mentioned above, if you do list out all the parks and other things you want to do, then it may be worth checking out which parks are least busy. As it is your first time, I would suggest planning visiting each of the Disney Parks on a "non-busy" day so that you can get more done. Then if you have spare days, use these to revisit those parks you like.

 

[pampat]

You know what they say about the best laid plans???! We have never planned, never arrived at rope drop, but we tend to go out of mad season and accept that we may have to stand in line.

We also accept that we will NEVER see/do it all. We've been going for over 30 years and not seen it all, they keep adding to the damned place!!! Oh, well, it's incentive to keep going, as long as we are able bodied.

Pam

 

[flortlebap]

I use touring plans busy day guide.

Costs about $10 a year but well worth it.

Gives a crowd calendar of how busy out of 10.

Why fight the crowds on a 7/10 day when the day after is 2/10.

Crowds do fluctuate a lot eg food and wine in Epcot can scew the crowds in September October or if the halloween party is on etc.

Personally I'd have a rough plan. You wont believe how tiring it is and a plan can be very welcome.

Agree with this entirely!

Our itinerary is a breakdown of morning, afternoon and evening and I put a full day for each park in on the quietest crowd days according to TP. I either leave evenings free when lines are longer or schedule dinner.

Then I add ADRs which usually fills up a few more evenings, then fireworks etc. Then if I know we have a late night, I usually fill up the next day with a water park or a lie in with breakfast and leave the rest open.

The result is my itinerary is about half to two thirds planned for the week - the rest is free time to plan when we get there what we want to do

TP worked great for us on our last trip (late July/early Aug) as crowd levels generally were around 9, but I hit their recommended parks (EARLY!) and used FP, never waited more than 15 mins for anything and still had half a day per day free

Of course our itinerary wasn't rigidly stuck to - we cancelled two of our ADRs in favour of something different and added in loads of extra bits.

Worked great for us!

 

[tinks_1989]

I plan but my plans are just knowing what park is least recommended and avoiding those parks. I don't really like being restricted but the DDP doesn't help as we normally eat in the park and again that has been booked to be in the recommended park for the day.