Disney Stress

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Amyone else really stressed out by all the changes right now? Our first week of May trip planning has been so difficult this year.

1. BTMRR on again / off again,
2. Don't know if Star Wars fireworks will be new / old / none
3. Star Wars show will be open but there are no times yet,
4. ROL announced but no dining plan or FP info yet,
5. I thought I had my FP plan in place but it included plans to get 2nd tiers we love as 4th FPs but with MDE changes, Barnstormer will be impossible to get since I don't have all FPs done by 1:00 each day.
6. I thought Epcot Norway changes were off my worry list when they were moved to "summer" but now they're in MDE which I'd be thrilled for the ride, but anguished over the M&G since I have an FP for MK.

Lots of good things in that mix, no doubt, but I wish they weren't happening the way they are with the Disney Brand Vague Announcements and Late Breaking Details. I know we'll go and have fun but it's really stressing me out. I feel like my whole life right now is watching and waiting for Disney announcements. It's feeling a lot like work and my "work" life balance is way out of whack right now.

 

[jaceraden]

In a word: no.

 

[ArwenMarie]

It's a weird year or part of the year for planning. The uncertainty is very annoying especially with the amount of pre-planning that may be required for some of the new things. I sympathize! Hang in there and try to make the best of it

 

[ArielSRL]

Yes! The planner in me needs to know what to expect. I'm really glad BTMRR is going to be open but I had to kind of get used to the idea because I had to re-do my MK touring plans! I don't do well with change, if you haven't figured that out yet! I'm trying, though!

 

[soniam]

Try having planned for Star Wars Weekends that didn't happen I had two trips planned in case it got canceled. I am also planning a trip during the Podcast anniversary in July. The only thing we know is the dates and that it's at WDW but nothing about events, days, or locations. So you just do the best you can, don't worry, and be happy. If it's stressing you out, then it doesn't sound like fun or a vacation to me, and I am an uber planner.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

Don't let it get to you. All the planning can create a level of expectation that is impossible to meet. Remember why you're going on vacation - to enjoy spending time with the people who are close to you and do some fun things together. That will happen. The planning just helps to ensure that you won't be completely overwhelmed. You will have a wonderful time.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I planned like crazy for my November trip. Then the hours changed, then my daughter decided she wanted to mostly do characters, then she decided she wanted different meals. Instead of it stressing me out I realized it didn't matter, we had a blast. Try not to focus too much on the trip being perfect because you will be at Disney World, it will be okay.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Barnstormer? Don't stress as that's a walk-on in the evenings after fireworks. Use your additional FPs for the mountains in MK.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Barnstormer? Don't stress as that's a walk-on in the evenings after fireworks. Use your additional FPs for the mountains in MK.

My point there was not that I want a Barmstormer FP (although we would certainly be happy with it) but that even it won't be available. With the changes I don't think there will be any 4th FPs to be had beyond 1:00 or 2:00, not even Barnstormer. Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but I feel like having to find a kiosk significantly reduced the number of people getting 4th FPs. Now everyone will do it.

Try having planned for Star Wars Weekends that didn't happen I had two trips planned in case it got canceled. I am also planning a trip during the Podcast anniversary in July. The only thing we know is the dates and that it's at WDW but nothing about events, days, or locations. So you just do the best you can, don't worry, and be happy. If it's stressing you out, then it doesn't sound like fun or a vacation to me, and I am an uber planner.

Sorry about your Star Wars weekend. And yes, planning like crazy is not my idea of fun. Being at Disney will be, but I'm not an über planner and don't enjoy it, but I feel like you have to at Disney or you will miss out on lots of the fun things.

In a word: no.

So enlighten me. Is it that you really enjoy planning or don't mind change or love Disney so much that it's all fun, or are just planning on winging it? I'm curious.

 

[GaryDis]

Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but I feel like having to find a kiosk significantly reduced the number of people getting 4th FPs. Now everyone will do it.

That's the same logic as "No one goes to Disney World anymore, because it's too crowded." You have the same opportunity as everyone else to get that 4th FP.

So enlighten me. Is it that you really enjoy planning or don't mind change or love Disney so much that it's all fun, or are just planning on winging it? I'm curious.

I can't speak for the person who first answered no, but my answer is that I don't mind change. You're letting it create stress by fixating on things too much. It's not a matter of loving Disney so much, but rather that there's such a smorgasbord of fun, you can't see everything there is to see, but everything you do see will be fun.

 

[seacruise]

Nah, we are going last week of April after our cruise and are done stressing over it. We're only going to do MK and Epcot though, so that simplifies things. Our Fast Passes and dining reservations be what they be at this point. Sick of looking at them and worrying about making changes. I do hate all the advanced planning that has to go into WDW now. Our DLR trips are so much easier.

 

[bfost87]

Nope. I've got some stuff booked, but I'll just show up and enjoy the ride. If things change, we'll roll with it. Why stress before even leaving for your vacation?

 

[Travis B]

Let me help - I'll go on your trip for you and you can stay home and relax!

 

[DVCcurious]

We're going Easter week. My family wanted to get up early and be a Rope Drop so I did all the FP+s from 11-2. Then a week ago they decided they wanted to sleep in and instead be there for park close (we only do one or the other, not both). So I had to change all the FP's!!

Of course there were no A&E's available so we'll have to get in line for them at 11:50 each night.

I wouldn't call it "stress" because I AM trying to have a relaxing vacation. I'd more call it annoyance at my family for flip-flopping on the original plan.

 

[Dug720]

My point there was not that I want a Barmstormer FP (although we would certainly be happy with it) but that even it won't be available. With the changes I don't think there will be any 4th FPs to be had beyond 1:00 or 2:00, not even Barnstormer. Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but I feel like having to find a kiosk significantly reduced the number of people getting 4th FPs. Now everyone will do it.



Sorry about your Star Wars weekend. And yes, planning like crazy is not my idea of fun. Being at Disney will be, but I'm not an über planner and don't enjoy it, but I feel like you have to at Disney or you will miss out on lots of the fun things.


So enlighten me. Is it that you really enjoy planning or don't mind change or love Disney so much that it's all fun, or are just planning on winging it? I'm curious.

As someone who has gone relatively frequently but not yearly by any stretch of the imagination (other than 4 years for Marathon Weekend) with family, with friends, and solo since the days of just MK and EPCOT up through FP+ when I was on a CM pass that could not be linked to MDE until converted to a ticket while there, I have never understood this obsessive need to plan every moment. For me and the people I travel with, the "fun things" and the magic is in the spontaneity of the whole experience.

I'm not saying I don't make ADRs - I do, but I don't get overly stressed about them - or FP+ - again, I will, but if I don't get "ideal" times or whatever, I adapt. If I don't have a FP+ I will wait in the line if *I* feel like it's worth it (times may vary) and just enjoy life.

I agree with the poster who said that all this obsessive planning is really setting up for disappointment. There is no such thing as a "perfect" vacation, but planning for every second is pretty much guaranteeing that it won't be "perfect".

Leave yourself open to some magic and pixie dust!

 

[soniam]

We're going Easter week. My family wanted to get up early and be a Rope Drop so I did all the FP+s from 11-2. Then a week ago they decided they wanted to sleep in and instead be there for park close (we only do one or the other, not both). So I had to change all the FP's!!

Of course there were no A&E's available so we'll have to get in line for them at 11:50 each night.

I wouldn't call it "stress" because I AM trying to have a relaxing vacation. I'd more call it annoyance at my family for flip-flopping on the original plan.

Since I am the planner, it's my way or the highway Luckily, my family is good with it and goes along. For DS, he knows that if we get there at RD, which none of us are morning people, then he usually gets to swim in the afternoon.

 

[DisneyOma]

I'd be stressed planning a trip right now - but would mainly be worried that with all the cutbacks my trip would suck. Our last trip in August was OK, but so much stuff was closed, so many walls were up, it got a bit depressing.

I had been thinking about another August trip this year, but after this last round of cuts, so many things still not done, I've decided to wait until 2017 at the earliest to return. I'm actually glad I'm not trying to plan a trip right now!

 

[ChloesDaddy]

My point there was not that I want a Barmstormer FP (although we would certainly be happy with it) but that even it won't be available. With the changes I don't think there will be any 4th FPs to be had beyond 1:00 or 2:00, not even Barnstormer. Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but I feel like having to find a kiosk significantly reduced the number of people getting 4th FPs. Now everyone will do it.



Sorry about your Star Wars weekend. And yes, planning like crazy is not my idea of fun. Being at Disney will be, but I'm not an über planner and don't enjoy it, but I feel like you have to at Disney or you will miss out on lots of the fun things.


So enlighten me. Is it that you really enjoy planning or don't mind change or love Disney so much that it's all fun, or are just planning on winging it? I'm curious.

It's easy to get caught up in the notion that you have to plan everything when you read these boards. Planning certainly helps, but it's only useful to a point. I like to plan, but for me it's about understanding options. It's not about doing everything on our wish list and having it perfectly timed. Disney World is huge, and nobody can do it all in one trip.

Does anyone really think there is any way that Ferris, Cameron and Sloan could drive into Chicago and back with stops at the Sears Tower, the art museum, a fancy restaurant, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a Cubs game, a German parade, and even a stop off for a dip in the pool and hot tub in a single 7-hour school day? (not even a full day since they had to pick up Sloan after classes had already started) No -- I don't care how fast that 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder was.

Besides, if you could do it all, if you simply ran out of things you think you'd like to do, well... that would be pretty darned boring and depressing. Planning is not going to guarantee you get to do everything you want this trip. It will help you mitigate some of the things that can be challenging. I think if you accept that there is plenty to do to have fun, consider some possibilities that you know about, and leave yourself open to some you don't, you will feel better about the trip now and when you go.

 

[alliecat523]

No stress. I plan general park days, ADRs, and FPs. Whatever happens, happens. You can think you have the perfect plan and a ride has an unexpected shutdown while you're there. A park reaches capacity on a day you slept in. Cinderella called in sick (ok, probably not). There are so many things out of your control so it's no use trying to control it.

You're also going in the beginning of May which is a lower crowd time (vs. Spring Break). You'll be able to do a ton without FP. I've never, in all my visits, done a 4th FP. I've thrown away FP due to plans changing. I travel during peak times and have always had an amazing time.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

By the way, I've been planning all along to only be able to get the 3 pre-scheduled FPs each day, and if more are available it's a bonus. I also think there's a good possibility that the addition of SDFP booking in MDE won't have much of an impact initially. People who frequent these boards and others like it know about it, but it could take some time for it to become widely known and used. In that respect, a May trip could turn out to be perfect timing.