Does anybody's family realize how much planning goes into the trip?

[panfan]

Okay , just by being on the Dis and in the Disney Tips section, I am assuming a lot of you are much like myself and spend endless hours reading these boards and going over each and every detail about the trip. ( not only which park per day, adrs , checking to see if someone posted a new picture of their "Mickey toes"...you get the idea!)

Do the other members of your household even realize what you do? Do they appreciate it? Do they think you are CRAZY?

Just wanted to hear some other people's opinions on the whole subject for fun ( and curiosity).

Me, I got our suitcases out about 2 weeks ago and have them set up and ready to go. Toiletry bag is packed, lists are made and being filled and double checked etc.

My husband and boys are super excited to see it all out and "happening" but I don't think they really have any idea what I am actually doing.

DH always appreciates all the planning and the boys are old enough now to thank me and appreciate the band aid I might whip out on a moments notice or the chaffing powder!

Okay, sorry so long , just curious to see what goes on in other Disney planning households as none of my real life friends really "get it"!

Thanks!

 

[thebeesknees]

I have also spent hours upon hours on the Disboards reading all the advice, asking questions, etc. My husband thinks I'm crazy and wasting time doing it, but I want to know that I did everything possible to plan for this trip and get the best bang for our buck. We probably won't be back for awhile and I want to make sure we get to do all the things we want to! I think he'll probably appreciate my planning more when we get there and have dining reservations in the A/C, shorter wait times, etc. Besides, whether or not he appreciates it, I love checking the boards to see what new tips I can pick up. Oh, and even though we don't leave for over a month, I've been putting stuff aside for weeks now for the trip.

 

[PebblesMK]

I will admit, I think I'm a bit obsessed. This is the first time I've ever planned a "real" trip, and want everything to be great. I'm going down with just my daughter (not that there is anybody else in our family, except maybe the dog) and want to make this trip amazing since she is almost 9 and will no longer have the innocence of childhood on our next trip. I have ADRs that I check up on all the time, I have our list ready and I am on the lookout for things I could use on my trip (florescent colored clothing so I can easily spot my child in a crowd if need be...EEK!), and also all the fantabulous tips that I'm jotting down constantly. Especially the ones I still don't understand, like fastpass issues. Only 58 days left!

As a side note, I just painted my and my daughter's toes all Mickey-ish!!! I thought about posting pics. Sooo cute.

 

[copperbrick]

Yes, they think I am crazy . . . but they LOVE IT. When vacation time comes, all the time really pays off. They have a ball . . . and I have a ball watching them have a ball. Fun.

Plus, truth be told, I adore doing all the prep work. It is like having a vacation before the vacation -- when you figure in how much the vacation costs divided by the time I spend obsessing over every detail . . . it is the cheapest vacation in the world -- hours upon hours . . . upon weeks upon weeks of planning.

But again, this is only because I love every single minute of planning, planning, planning.

Here's how I look at it: For every ten days we book, I get about 6 months worth of entertainment.

Such a deal!

 

[copperbrick]

I will admit, I think I'm a bit obsessed. This is the first time I've ever planned a "real" trip, and want everything to be great. I'm going down with just my daughter (not that there is anybody else in our family, except maybe the dog) and want to make this trip amazing since she is almost 9 and will no longer have the innocence of childhood on our next trip. I have ADRs that I check up on all the time, I have our list ready and I am on the lookout for things I could use on my trip (florescent colored clothing so I can easily spot my child in a crowd if need be...EEK!), and also all the fantabulous tips that I'm jotting down constantly. Especially the ones I still don't understand, like fastpass issues. Only 58 days left!

As a side note, I just painted my and my daughter's toes all Mickey-ish!!! I thought about posting pics. Sooo cute.

Post 'em!!!!

 

[anewmac]

Do the other members of your household even realize what you do? Do they appreciate it? Do they think you are CRAZY?

My husband and boys are super excited to see it all out and "happening" but I don't think they really have any idea what I am actually doing.

Okay, sorry so long , just curious to see what goes on in other Disney planning households as none of my real life friends really "get it"!

Thanks!

HA... Was just thinking about this to myself actually. My friends think im crazy with all the planning but I do that for any vacation/trip. But DH has to buy the tix cuz we are getting the military special they are doing and he is pitching a fit that he has to do that.. HELLO Ive got the hotel, airfar, set up the ME, figured out the park hours and our ADR's, made some tshirts (LOL) packed for the boys and myself your only job is the tickets and to pack yourself..... LOL. Now dont get me wrong I do get the thanks but I too dont think he understands how much planning goes into a long stay/vacation. Part of it is also I cant let go and allow someone else to plan anything I like being in charge LOL

 

[verygfy]

DH jokes all the time about how much time I spend planning out the details of our trips. He laughs at my itenaries, but thankfully at the end of every trip he says he doesn't know what he would do without all the planning, we would only eat CS because you can never get a ressie anymore and he wouldn't get his round of golf. My FIL always tags along on the trips and he is always joking with me as to what is are the plans and where is his pocket version. I have told them both that this trip I have loaded up on new tips thanks to the DIS. I wouldn't have it any other way though for me it is the start of the vacation for me. And at the end of the day I think they really appreciate it.

 

[Lil Bo Peep]

right there with you, now I have to go, I have planning to do, I only have just over 3 months left before we leave.

 

[antsss]

Before we went on our first WDW trip DH thought I was CRAZY to plan so much. But as soon as we arrived he really "got" it and realized how a good plan and some solid advice can really go a long way! Now I'm planning our second trip and DH has actually been chiming in with lots of good ideas of his own...another obsessed planner in the making!!

 

[flipflopmom]

Exactly. They might tease you now, but DH said over and over and over again how much he appreciated all my hard work. He was amazed at what I knew, constantly wowed at how smoothly it all went. And even more important, HE GOT IT. You know what I mean . So much so, that we are in the process of becoming DVC members. Now that had to be some pixie dust

 

[yasuern]

Do the other members of your household even realize what you do?
NO

Do they appreciate it?
YES

Do they think you are CRAZY?
YES
Thanks!

Glad I'm not the only one who goes over(and over again) every detail of their WDW vacation - BUT when we get there I tend to just go with the flow and use all my planning as a guideline

Sue

 

[lnh'smom]

Yes, everyone thinks I am crazy but yet they all come and ask me for advice. Just yesterday at work, one of the other girls I work with said she heard I was the one to go to for Disney questions and could she "pick my brain?" I laughed and told her of course I would help her. I have already helped 5 girls plan trips for this year. So go ahead and make fun of me but you know you need
me!

As far as DH goes, yes I drive him crazy sitting at the computer but the closer we get, the more I talk about it and he will admit he is getting excited too.

 

[debbiedana]

My husband doesn't realize how much time I spend planning and that's a good thing

My DD9, however, has started to partake in the madness. She's nearly as obsessed as I am. We constantly review our plans, looking for holes, looking for improvements, tweaking ADR's. We have so much fun doing it! And I know she appreciates it!!!

Everyone in my family and in my husband's family, and also the majority of my friends think I'm a big bag of crazy when it comes to Disney. But then again, those are the people who stand in line for 90 minutes for RnRC, and say, OMG, did you know there's a restaurant in Disneyland rolleyes where you can eat with Winnie the Pooh? We couldn't get a table though... And they say that it's just too expensive to stay on Disney property, though they got a great deal at the Stink-O Hotel for $135 a night. They also asked me if they should have just paid for those fast pass thingies so they didn't have to wait in lines.

So, I say, let them say I'm crazy, I will be the one who gets to all four parks and two waterparks in five days, never stand in line for more than 20 minutes, not rushed, and well fed and transported for free. Oh yes, I'm so crazy.

 

[sjbarnet]

My first trip to Disney is this month. My husband and son both think I'm obsessed. Every time I say the word Disney they roll their eyes. Both of them have been before and keep saying I am making too big of a deal by all of the planning. Then when I do tell or ask them something they know/knew nothing about it. Which tells me all of the planning will be worth it!

 

[JerseyMamaBear]

hubby and my son are not the planners in the family but do appreciate it when I take the time make all of the plans. We still leave a large amount to plan as we go but at least understanding and having a heads ups really helps

 

[LovinRafiki]

My first trip to Disney is this month. My husband and son both think I'm obsessed. Every time I say the word Disney they roll their eyes. Both of them have been before and keep saying I am making too big of a deal by all of the planning. Then when I do tell or ask them something they know/knew nothing about it. Which tells me all of the planning will be worth it!

That was me 5 months ago when we went for the first time! Believe me, they will thank you after! My family laughs at me. We have 2 months left and I have kicked it into high gear now. Feeling prepared is the greatest thing when going to Disney. And a GIANT thanks to all on the DIS who help everyone out!!!!

 

[btcrane]

Great thread!

Our first trip I planned and planned, everyone thought I'd gone nuts, until we arrived and they saw how the planning paid off. Next few trips I planned well and we all started taking for granted that we "knew" what we were doing and didn't need to plan so much. Last trip (in March) I hardly planned at all--working on my PhD, working, teenage kids, hubby in military stationed out-of-state, just didn't have time. And EVERYONE missed my planning. So this trip, I've planned appropriately, and while they all like to tease me and say I'm obsessed (and I am) they really appreciate what I'm doing.

Now if I could just get my boys to pack...

 

[DT83097]

I like to think I'm a planner by nature and our first three trips I planned for, and then I found the DIS and TGM - now I REALLY plan!! As someone else said that's half the fun. My DH does kid and tease me, but he knows it pays off in the end. The itinerary is a guideline because we all know you have to be willing to be flexible at Disney (especially with kids), but having the guideline and all the other hints, tips, what not to do, etc. information in our back pockets allows us to zig when they are zagging and have a great trip. Plus I feel like for the amount of money we are paying for the vacation, I want to get the most for my money and months of planning allows us to do that, besides it's entertainment for me prior to the trip and I get to meet lots of great people who completely understand

 

[DVCGeek]

I'm the family planner and DW knows roughly how much time I spend doing it. She likes that I "make vacation happen" and she doesn't have to worry about any of it! I enjoy the planning because it helps pass the time waiting for the trip to come, and usually helps us get in everything I (we?) want to each time.

 

[ckdsnynt]

Nope. All they do is show up and take advantage of my hard work and frankly, I like it that way. No one to argue with me about what we are going to do next!
The last time we went (in May) our 90 + 10 mark came while I was at my DS's in MS visiting my DGDs. I had a huge spreadsheet on posterboard with all the park hours (tentative) and what ADRs I wanted with back up places and times listed. My DIL thought I was nuts. But you know what, it only took me 15 minutes to make a weeks worth of ADRS! Planning ahead prevents major headaches when the vacation rolls around. No one could predict or prevent the monsoonlike rain we had but at least we ate where we wanted to!