Do you strategize? Or do you 'wing it'?

[peterpanandwendy]

I've always just winged Disneyland trips, showing up at rope drop, grabbing a fast pass for something big, like space mountain or big thunder, and then just going randomly from there, enjoying rides as I see them, and exploring the shops and restaurants of each land when we need a break, and hitting up shows, often randomly, when we happen to be close to a theatre at show time... Often we will just explore random areas, and that is when we find something really special, like the beasts library in DCA....

Yet I'm reading here about very detailed touring plans and strategies... I'm just wondering what everyone's preference is.... Wing it, or strategize to the nuts?

Does strategizing take away from the magic a bit? Because you are always racing around on a schedule?

Just wondering....

 

[krispin41]

I pretty much wing-it for my trips. I may plan like a character breakfast, and main meal, but work around those. I don't have it planned down to the minute.

 

[rootbeer]

If you're wanting to get a lot done in a short amount of time, then strategizing is a must with today's crowds. Especially if you are on a first or second visit and don't know the "Lay of the land". Those who have been there many times probably have our strategies memorized and don't even think about it LOL.

Our kids are grown, and we sometimes are there without them, although we took DD and three DGDs last trip. So we planned our days. When DW and I are on our own we take it slow. We love to have breakfast at an outdoor terrace restaurant right at rope drop. We then stroll each land usually FL first, and ride, sightsee, and shop as we please.

Depends on what type of person you are too, some folks will spend weeks, or even months planning and strategizing while looking forward to the trip, and I'm sure that's half the fun.

We've done that too, and every trip has been magical

 

[ClaraOswald]

We've always just "winged it." But we also used to go once a week so that makes it a bit easier to do it that way.

 

[HydroGuy]

I am at DLR once or year or so for a big 3-4 day trip. And at WDW every couple years for a bigger trip. Anyways, my strategy is what I call informed spontaneity. I come with an idea in my head honed by many trips over the years and what possibly happened on the previous day of our trip. I know which rides to hit early, which to grab FPs for, and which rides in general we want to focus on that day.

On most days we get to the parks at rope drop and focus on rides for a few hours. We take minimal breaks and minimal detours. Then as crowds build we slow down, smell the roses, and wing it - not randomly but with an informed spontaneity. We never "spontaneously" ride PP in the afternoon, for example. But we may spontaneously ride BTMRR in the afternoon without a FP if the SB line is reasonable (< 30 minutes).

Detailed touring plans are better for folks who A) have never been to DLR and need structure or a plan to feel better about their day or B) visit during very busy times of year (like Christmas or Thanksgiving weeks) or C) those with a large group where it can be hard to make a decision so they make a plan to keep everyone moving.

 

[peterpanandwendy]

Ahhhh, thanks for the responses everyone! yes, that makes sense. I can see now, if I were talking to a first timer I might give suggestions on how they might want to frame their day… since DL can be a bit overwhelming… that does make sense. I guess I fall into the category of 'done it enough times' that we sort of have a pattern, without even knowing it.

I can see too, how if you have a large group you may want to structure things a bit more… and come to think of it, while we are there I do sometimes sit in the hotel room and hash out a loose plan, like "ok, GK for breakfast, we want to catch the parade at 4:30, so we will need to have dinner at xyz… etc."

And yeah, we do tend to wing it more during the busy time of day…

It makes more sense now…

 

[millie0312]

This is our 1st DLR trip, we are traveling with 5 including an infant and I am VERY type A personality, so we are going to have every detail planned out. However, I think that once we get there as my DD7 sees something she has to do or has to do again (since although we all will enjoy this trip is about HER enjoyment) we will deviate from the plan. I think we also will have to see how the young kids do (as well as me lol) and take breaks, naps, swimming breaks as needed. The weather, crowds, etc may also change things for us. I like to plan though, so that will give me a basic budget to have ready, prepare my family for the rides (no scared kiddos after millions of youtube videos haha) as well as pack adequately and quell most arguments or "discussions" about where to go and what to do- I'd rather waste my time taking in the sights then deciding what to ride next

 

[superlarz]

I feel like it would be wise to plan out what you want to do for maybe the first 2 hours of the day and decided what shows you need to see. After that, let the crowds dictate what you do. If something is busy, do something else. Rarely is everything crowded.

 

[8lovesmickey]

We always have a touring plan just "in case." We follow our plan for the first few hours of the day, then we usually wing it after that, depending on crowds. I think the biggest thing has already been mentioned -- go early. If you get there when things open, you can get many rides done before the place gets crowded.

Sometimes we have accidentally stumbled upon a good strategy, too -- when Cars Land first opened (early July 2012) we were staying at the DLH and had early entry to DCA. Our original plan was to go straight to Radiator Springs Racers, but as we were going into the park, we realized that Soarin' was wide open. We walked on (and were two of only about 10 people on the ride). Then we decided to go to Tower of Terror 'on the way' to Cars Land and were again virtually alone in the elevator. THEN we went to Cars Land and by then the big rush had cleared and we were able to walk on the single rider line. We got all that done before the park even opened -- it was a good day! We plan to repeat that strategy in a few weeks when we're there again.

 

[rentayenta]

I've always just winged Disneyland trips, showing up at rope drop, grabbing a fast pass for something big, like space mountain or big thunder, and then just going randomly from there, enjoying rides as I see them, and exploring the shops and restaurants of each land when we need a break, and hitting up shows, often randomly, when we happen to be close to a theatre at show time... Often we will just explore random areas, and that is when we find something really special, like the beasts library in DCA....

Yet I'm reading here about very detailed touring plans and strategies... I'm just wondering what everyone's preference is.... Wing it, or strategize to the nuts?

Does strategizing take away from the magic a bit? Because you are always racing around on a schedule?

Just wondering....

We do a mix of strategizing and winging it. I think being prepared but not rigid adds to having a great and magical trip. If we planned nothing, we wouldn't know park hours or ride closures. It would be shame to not prepare for a favorite ride being closed, ya know?

But to have everything down to the minute, like I've seen, wouldn't be a hoot either.

Not preparing would mean not knowing which FP machines were disconnected or not knowing how many times WoC is showing in a night. I can't plan when I arrive; I need basic info and details before then.

Our mornings are more planned than our afternoons for sure. We always plan for at least one decent rest day and some DTD too. It wouldn't be a trip to Disneyland without a soak in the hut tub at the GCH followed by cocktail at the Hearthstone Lounge. I don't know exactly which night it will happen but it's in the general plan.

To each his own and there's no right or wrong way to enjoy Disney.

 

[bakerudall]

Anyways, my strategy is what I call informed spontaneity...

Detailed touring plans are better for folks...with a large group where it can be hard to make a decision so they make a plan to keep everyone moving.

Well said!

Nothing better than "informed spontaneity."

Nothing worse than being in a large group of people who all want to "wing it" in different ways.

 

[roflclaw]

Our plan is to have a few things DBF and I want to do FOR SURE and then base the rest of the day around that. On our last trip I really wanted to see the princess shows and the parade, so we made sure to be in the right places at the times and then the rest of the day we winged it as far as rides and characters.

 

[zanzibar138]

We don't really 'strategize', but we do go in with a general plan for the day, taking into account EMH/MM, ride popularity/FP status, any ADRs we might have, and show times. If we have rides with a potentially long wait on our must-do list, we'll strategize just that section (usually the first hour or so), then revert back to our general basic plan.

I really enjoy the spontaneity of DLR, and I feel planning down to the minute would ruin it for me. It's what puts me off going to WDW.

 

[superme80]

We never plan anything. DH and I are super lazy. We get up and get to the parks...eventually. The only thing planned is some sort of over priced iced beverage and a ride on Alice in Wonderland. Everything else is free game. It is super relaxed and we love it. My parents are a little...different. My mom is at rope drop, knows what direction to head in and where she is eating. DH has been a welcomed change for me.

 

[KeKy4]

I usually have a list of things I would specifically like to do (certain shows, snacks to try, placeless to eat, etc.) and usually try to make sure we get to them during the trip. Otherwise, we just walk around and see what we see!

 

[Liltx]

I plan which park and whether or not we will stay for evening entertainment but thats all. We dont even plan meals anymore. We go either to wdw or dl every year so its not like if we miss something we'll never do it again. Plus, I like that we get a year or two between some rides, makes them more fun. I know that would drive some people nuts. I am super excited to ride alice this year and matterhorne.
I will say that I think that it is all in your personality. If you like to plan you will enjoy the park much more that way, some people dont enjoy having a plan and it would stress them out. Its hard for the types to understand each other and thats ok. There's not a right way to do disney as long as you're having fun!

 

[rydersmommy]

We had some "strategies" planned before hand mostly for the morning hours. Then we winged it a lot. If there was a show we wanted to see, we made sure to be in that general area before show time. We had just a couple of dining reservations planned in advance and then tried to hit up the counter service places we were interested in the rest of the time. Our best "strategy" was nap time for my DS back at the hotel in the afternoon. We were all much more pleasant after a rest break!

 

[LizzyS]

We mostly "wing it", but before we even went to the parks for the first time, I'd spent a couple of months on this forum and learned a LOT about how things at the park work, what rides are the most popular, etc.

We try to ride the most popular rides early in the morning (especially if we have MM/EMH)- Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, etc. Then we start doing other rides. The ones that appear to have long lines, but are fast loaders (Pirates & HM), we just do whenever the line doesn't seem too bad.

The first time we went, it was a day trip and I had a short list of "must dos" and even with the Christmas Parade taping, we hit them all.

I think knowledge in general is more useful than planning down to the very last detail.

 

[GenGen22]

We wing it most of our trip. The only planning I do besides looking up the best rates on things & budgeting & looking into stuff we wanna do is maybe planning out a few sit down meals so I can make a reservation or two & shows so we can get a good spot for WOC or F! But other than that we just go with the flow & do what everone wants to do. We have 5 in our family.

 

[hyperminimalism]

We strategize as far as getting FPs for the rides we most definitely need to get on. Then we sort of wing it after we've got our passes, and alternate between checking out shows, taking in the sights, eating, or standing in line for rides that don't have very long wait times. It helps when you stay longer than one or two days, too. Makes it easier to wing it since you have more time to spend as opposed to rushing around the parks trying to get everything done in a certain amount of hours.