Do you always have a plan?

[TeresaG]

Or do you wing it?
Or do you have a general idea what you want to do see but leave the rest up in the air?

We've been to Disney 3x in the last 2yrs and are going again in Dec. What I've noticed is since we always 'wing it' I feel like we waste a lot of time. My DS doesn't seem to care, but I tend to look back at those days thinking if I had just planned things out a little better we might have been able to spend less time aimlessly walking and more time riding rides or getting the most out of fastpasses.

I don't want to be a strict commander, but I think this time I want to make the most of our time.

If you have a plan, how do you figure it out? What do you base it on? Is something like TGM or Touring Plans really helpful?

Thanks!

 

[mjp12831]

We have a plan as to what parks we are visiting and general hop times. Mostly planned around am and pm emh (both must do's for us) and our adr for the day.

We do not plan the rides/attractions out. We know what we want to hit and based on wait times and fp availability we work through our must do's.

 

[LMO429]

I go to disneyworld 1 to 2x a year. Generally I make a plan as far as dining reservations and tours. And I know in advance what parks I will hit for rope drop to ensure I get on the more popular attractions without waiting. But other than that I usually wing it.

 

[Bradsdadg]

We don't normally have a plan. We have our ADRs and a general path in which we walk around the parks. But if we skip stuff? No biggie, there will always be next time.

 

[FigNewton]

We have a general plan that we always stick to - nothing written down. We get there for (or soon after) rope drop, hit the big ones first, and then fastpass them in between hitting smaller things the rest of the day. I don't worry about maximizing fast passes or anything. If I only get to ride Space Mountain four times instead of five I don't consider that to be a loss worth getting commando over.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I plan what parks to hit on which days so that I can make tour reservations, ADRs and to ensure that I see fireworks in MK (going in December I have to plan my MK day around the MVMCP - I did that once and that was enough since it is a separate ticket event). But I don't plan what rides to hit when, or even a general schedule of rides/shows, etc.

Also, I always have hoppers and I allow myself to deviate from the plan if the mood strikes.

 

[PoohsFan1]

The only things we plan out are our ADRs and which parks we are going to on which days. As for everything else, we just wing it. We like to give both our DDs the park maps and let them decide what rides we are going on first, we could be running around the parks going to different rides, but as long as they are happy, and I am getting good exercise doing it, it doesn't bother DH or I

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

We sort of have a plan, but not a specific one. We usually arrive at 8 for breakfast before the park opens. At rope drop, we hit the headliners and grab some fastpasses to ride them again later. Then, if we are at MK, we make our way around each land hitting the less busy attractions until lunch. At Epcot, we hit the less busy pavilions next. DHs we usually do what we feel like because we can get mostly everything done even when we wing it. AK we usually leave by lunch. At about noon, we have a sit down lunch to cool down and decide what we want to do in the afternoon. Usually it involves using the fastpasses we got earlier and hitting some more less busy attractions. Also, when we do have to wait in line, we use that time to discuss what we should do next rather than waiting until we get off the ride and hemming and hawing for the next ten minutes about what to do next.

 

[mousireid]

I like to have a rough idea. We already know which atrractions/rides/shows we REALLY want to do/see. I always choose which days to do which parks (I check hours/crowds) and see how they can fit together. I also like to make ADRs (although sometimes minor emergencies come up but we DO always call to cancel if we CANNOT make it). These things are 'rough draft' material for me. I DO go with the flow - I have kids! If they have had enough for whatever reason we can leave, swim/nap and return if need be. I usually make a brunch or lunch ADR OR an early evening Dinner ADR so not too tied down. Also maybe we want to spend an hour chilling out or maybe waiting in line for a special character greeting, if we miss a show there wil always be another one.
I admit I took relatives to DL during Christmas, added their GREAT tour(nice parade seats by the way and lovely tour) but I nearly KILLED them thinking they had come all the way from UK, we MUST see and do it all, we MUST be there at rope drop no sleeping for you! THIS is what we are doing, keep up... I think I over did it and they were too polite to refute! (Now they rib me about my TripNazi ways and it DID help me see the light!)
Now, I must be one with the group, we WILL find out what everyone REALLY wants to do and everything else is about SLOWING down and ENJOYING. You know, smellin the roses

 

[lblume91]

We usually know which park we want to do each day & where our ADRs are. When I make our ADRs, I make sure to switch off between eating in the parks & eating in the resorts, ensuring we aren't in the same park two nights in a row. I don't pay any attention to EMH hours when selecting ADRs. We avoid AM EMH hours so that's my only plan when selecting the park for any given day. We always go back to POR for a mid-day break & then back out to wherever for our ADR. We know which attractions are our faves & hit those first. Anything after that is bonus. So, short answer is we plan but not obsessively.

 

[LizEN]

I have a Plan for our Sept trip and got Ridemax, however, we had a perfectly fine time on a loose plan the first time we went--just MK that trip. We used the Unofficial Guide for our second trip but only for MK. I did feel like we wasted time at AK and DHS because I didn't know the parks well, didn't have a plan and didn't know how to navigate EMH.

For a laid back plan, I would print out which rides are open during EMH and then use the Unofficial Guide touring plans, which I find very flexible, for the rest of the day. I also like that those guides tell you how to get to the next stop so we didn't hover over the park map so much.

 

[Pembo]

We have a general plan and wing the rest. For example our latest trip in June...we stayed offsite, I picked out the park to go to based on EMH. At that park we went to the "big" rides first and got fp or rode early. After that, we just have fun. We only had one ADR the whole trip.

 

[ciera321]

I'm a planner, so I ALWAYS go with a plan. I know I'd be wasting time if I didn't....

 

[seelyt2]

We plan out about 50% of our time in Disney. I do our ADR's (only 2 to 3 per trip since we're DVC members and I cook in our suite) and plan out which days and parks we'll do rope drops at, and then plan our first 3 to 4 rides. If there's an evening performance we want to see that is planned out in advance too. Other than that we just kinda wander and go where the moment takes us. I don't want to be tied down to a minute by minute list because that will just create stress for me and I get miserable. It may work for others, but not me.

 

[vicki_c]

Always have a plan from RD through lunchtime or 1 or 2 PM.

Then we take a break and we rarely have any defined plan in the evenings.

 

[TeresaG]

I have a Plan for our Sept trip and got Ridemax, however, we had a perfectly fine time on a loose plan the first time we went--just MK that trip. We used the Unofficial Guide for our second trip but only for MK. I did feel like we wasted time at AK and DHS because I didn't know the parks well, didn't have a plan and didn't know how to navigate EMH.

For a laid back plan, I would print out which rides are open during EMH and then use the Unofficial Guide touring plans, which I find very flexible, for the rest of the day. I also like that those guides tell you how to get to the next stop so we didn't hover over the park map so much.

Dumb question, but are not all rides open during EMH? Especially at MK? I've also heard some mention of Adventureland not being open until 10am -is this true?

See, dumb newbie questions. You'd think after how many times we've been to Disney I'd know this stuff by now

 

[vicki_c]

Adventureland opens w/the rest of the park - quite a while ago it used to open later.

But not all attractions are open for the EMHs, AM or PM. There is a list on the Disney site showing which attractions are currently open for EMH at each park.

 

[seals]

and I feel that opens us to be able to do less planning than someone with ADRs. We plan which parks which days and then know which attractions we want to make sure to hit and know which are most popular for fastpasses. But we don't do "at this time we need to be here" type planning.

 

[TeresaG]

Adventureland opens w/the rest of the park - quite a while ago it used to open later.

But not all attractions are open for the EMHs, AM or PM. There is a list on the Disney site showing which attractions are currently open for EMH at each park.

Thank you!

I guess the 'old' information is what I get for trying to research things based on search results... {blush}

 

[Stitchnut]

My family starts planning as early as possible. I think more people are catching on to pre-planning and it's getting harder to just walk into a place for dinner or BBB. We find it a fun thing to do and it builds the excitement. We plan as much as possible from the hotel and what they offer, dining reservations, extra activities, shopping, where to head first in each park, etc. I map out each day and most of the time it goes very smooth. We don't feel like we are stuck with the "plan" though and will deviate from it whenever we want. Planning for us is a great tool to maximize our time and resources. Enjoy your trip.