Do you think it's possible to over-plan for a Disney trip?

[Eandbmom]

I love planning! It's part of the vacation for me. But I don't overbook us. I know our ADRs and FP but the rest I just have a general idea and let everyone go with the flow. My daughter loves the planning as much as I do

 

[patches07]

I love to plan our Disney World Vacation, For me, planning is definitely half the fun of our vacation.

 

[han22735]

I also love the planning and researching part of a Disney vacation. It certainly helps to pass the time. I'll plan the ADR's for dinners only(which usually picks the park we will be in following easywdw calendars), then usually the FP's for the mid morning time range. We will wing it to a certain extent in the afternoons. I think I'm most excited for our MNSSHP day where we have nothing planned until the party.

 

[loves to dive]

I think there is a difference in research and planning. I don't go anywhere without research, whether its a dive trip, a beach vacation or disney. It's nice to know the little secrets of a place or the don't bothers. I don't plan though, not beyond the obvious of booking air if needed, hotel reservations and special events - maybe. Sometimes I make FP before I go to Disney more often than not, I just do them the night before. I don't make ADRs until the day of, I get to try out new places that way. The only exception is I book my afternoon tea at GF early because those suckers are hard to come by.

 

[helenm29]

I agree with a lot of people, what goes for one family doesn't mean it's the same for every family! I LOVE to plan but as my family and I get older we like to make a general plan that isn't totally nailed down...if we don't want to do something, it's no big deal! now on THIS trip it's just the hubby and I...he's planning EVERYTHING! we'll have to see how THAT works out! lol

 

[andiraye]

I loooove the planning. To me, it's half the fun. I also think it helps make things extra special. Scheduling a breakfast at Chef Mickey's on a non-park day is easy for anyone to do, but blocking out a plan to ride the monorail and take a boat ride after makes it all the more special. Ditto with plotting where to stand for fireworks. But once there we need to roll with the punches!

 

[Accident]

There's no survey answer that fits me but I don't plan. I do however check what is happening and what's going on with some would hate to miss if it closes for renovation before I get on it rides.

We have a basic idea of the couple places we want to eat at, the couple things we want to do, and maybe an interesting tour. Other than that, it's what we feel like doing when we wake up and don't mind changing our mind if we hate the weather or crowds for what we did pick that day. we'll randomly pick some fastpasses for where we think we might be each day but other than that, our planning is generally done in a couple minutes.

 

[Minniesgal]

Absolutely. I really do not understand this trend of over planning every trip and I don't get why people feel it is necessary. The more trips we do the less we plan. Next trip will be 3 or 4 must do ADRs and a few (3-4) must do FP+s and the rest will be go with the flow.

I'd rather have the ability to sleep in if I feel like it or get up early if I feel like it, than ride certain rides the maximum amount of times. For us a trip to Disney os so much more than how many time we ride this or meet these characters.

 

[Lee Matthews]

Ive been to WDW twice (2006 and 2007) then went back to work at Epcot on the International Program in 2009 for a year. I haven't been back since and can't wait to go back next year. My boyfriend has never been before and I'm not telling him too much on what to expect.

Me on the other hand, i want it organise it like it's the last time I'm going to visit. Im planning daily meals, best use of the DDP and everything else in between. Planning events that i have never done before either so that aspects of it is new to me.

Ive got over a year before going and while I'm still early stages of looking into it, I'm looking at the feasibility of doing DVC

 

[Sytrace]

Once I book a room, I get FP and any dining reservations right then and there. Anything else that we want to do is planned loosely around FP and dining and we go from there. For example we recently went on July 2nd thru 4th and though I had a plan, the weather did not cooperate.
We got a great rate at Yacht Club at club level and had Disneyquest vouchers and Mini golf vouchers as well as some stuff for Planet Hollywood and arcade games. We also have annual waterpark after 2 passes that were an option, but we never used those this time because the pool at Yacht Club is like a miniwater park.
Everything went according to schedule on the first day but after that we had to adjust because Mother Nature was having some fun with us.
We used our FP on the first day because we went after we checked in and hung out by the pool (okay, I hung out at the pool with a book while everyone went in) Then we went to MK and stayed until closing using all FP.

The next day we went to EPCOT to see the Boston Tribute band in the evening after going to shop and have lunch at DTD.
The show got called off after 4 songs (but they were AWESOME songs) due to severe lightning in the area within a 5 mile radius so we left and walked back to Yacht club where we hung out at the lounge for a few hours with the desserts, cordials and board games (and my book of course) I am pretty sure the later shows got called off too and the fireworks in all parks were delayed by at least an hour.

On 4th of July, it was hot and very steamy by 10:00 AM so our FP to AK got pushed out and we went to Disneyquest instead. We pondered playing minigolf in the evening before we left, but by then we had some more lightning coming closer so we just headed home. It was not a big deal because we have played minigolf at both courses and knew we could get passholder rates if we wanted to come back some other time.

Bottom line for us is that we have a plan and make FP arrangements, but to stay loose and flexible as needed. I guess it is a non plan type of plan.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I think the answer is there is a continuum and different people will land in different places on it, as few people are 100% planners or 100% spontaneous. I'm more toward the planning side and I'm in tune with the thought that you may miss something good if you don't put it on the plan... but you may also miss something spontaneous if you don't leave room to see what the moment brings. I do find with FP+ it is much harder to leave room for spontaneity. I think the go-with-the-flow people are on to something good and I'd like to be a little more that way. Even when you have a plan, it helps to be ready and willing to adjust the plan if something unexpected happens.

 

[DisneyMommyx3]

I absolutely love the planning part of it! We are surprising the kids with our upcoming trip so I can't include them in the planning this time, BUT our next trip they will definitely be involved. I think that will be the best!!

 

[figmentedfollies]

I am still trying to find that happy medium. When I go with my mom we used to be the sort that woke up when we woke up, figured out what park to go to and then made ADRs when we got there. (It also helped that it was just the two of us and January.) We might have planned one or two meals ahead of time. With the advent of MB and MDE the last time we went I had a few more things planned, including FP+ for most days and some additional ADRs, but since that was my 9th and her 10th time going I didn't feel like I had to plan EVERYTHING 6 months in advance.

For my next trip, however, I'm going with friends (and one friend's son). Two of them have never been to WDW before and I want to make their experience memorable and happy the best I can. I want to give them surprises and dump pixie dust all over them. So I am obsessively reading and pricing things out far beyond I normally do.

 

[andiraye]

It's all about managing your own expectations.

I think there is no such thing as planning too much, as long as you are not so married to your plans that your vacation is ruined or somehow lessened because things do not go according to your plans. You have to be ok with going with the flow.

Similarly, I think it is possible, if you are already a somewhat well-versed Disney goer, not to plan at all provided you are ok taking the risk that you won't get on certain rides or eat in certain restaurants. You have to be ok with going with the flow.

The one place I think failure to plan can really sink a vacation is for the total WDW neophyte who doesn't know what to expect in terms of lines, FP's, ADR's, etc. if you just walk through the gate and wander around aimlessly you are likely to get stuck on endless line after endless line. But that hardly applies to anyone on the DIS!

 

[MadisonMouse13]

For me personally, I love planning, so there's no such thing as over-planning for me. I think it's better to be safe than sorry, and the more you know, the better. I'd say feel free to over-plan unless you're drinking six cups of coffee a day and going to bed at 5:00am

 

[jelly22697]

I like the planning but I hate that the parks are planned now in advance....We used to decide which parks which days depending on weather that week but we can't really do that now with the ADR and FP.

 

[junebugs]

Oh, I definitely love the planning. It's what keeps me going back to WDW. When I'm having a bad day I sit down at my computer and get lost in the planning, scheming and dreaming about next WDW vacation. It might ALMOST be the best part!

 

[buzznina]

We(I) use to plan everything, including a park touring plan. Then years ago, we did a last minute trip, where I was able get a ressie 6 days out So needless to say, the only planning we did was what parks we will do on each given day. FP were still done by kiosks back then and we did 1 ADR. Ended up being one of our best trips ever, it felt so much more relaxing, knowing that we did not have to go from point A to point B etc. Do we cover everything, sometimes not, but we get in all our favorite rides usually a couple of times and we are having more fun and come back home without feeling like we need a vacation from our vacation. I still research stuff and am always on the DIS to keep up with information but we threw out the park touring plans and have not regretted it.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

My husband thinks I way over plan when we go to Disney. He likes to be somewhat spontaneous. For me, though, you need to plan out every detail and where you are going to be at every moment of the day to avoid the crowds and get the most out of your disney vacation. I have "overplanned" the past 2 years and we have had the best vacations ever. We were able to ride big time mainstream rides multiple times, to the point where we were tired of them, lol. I don't think you can ever over plan Disney, lol

 

[Minniesgal]

I like planning but if I over-plan I turn into a drill sergeant and my family hate that.

Next trip we have 13 nights, I think I am going to plan 5 park days with 3 FP+ each and 7 ADRs for places we really want to go. I like FP+ as we are 3 and done people so we will be able to avoid rope drop and go later.