Does Anyone Else Do This?

[schnerk]

So, I think my wife and I have a problem. When we plan for WDW, we make a master schedule. On the front we have a schedule for our entire trip. On this schedule we have which park we are heading to in the morning, afternoon and evening and where we are going to eat... But that's not all...

Our restaurants are all color coded depending on if the are Table Service or Counter Service and shaded depending on if they are covered by the dining plan or not... But that's not all...

On the back we have 4 columns, one for each park, that include the park hours, Fireworks, parade, and show times and a detailed scheduled ride order. including which rides we fast pass and/or baby swap... But that's not all...

It is all laminated!

There is nothing else in the world that I plan like this for, and we do it EVERY TRIP!!!

Do we have a problem?

What do you do?

 

[Karmel96]

I can only say that I did some of what you do. For our last trip, I had a spreadsheet. One column listed the park hours (and was noted by either * or ** for AM EMH or PM EMH), another had all the parades and fireworks, a third had our confirmation numbers for meals and the last 3 were colored code by Good/Okay/Avoid parks for that day (and those then were divided by morning and evening). I brought that sheet with us everywhere! My BIL and SIL, who we met up with for 1 day w/their kids, even wish they had something like it, and they claim to be bigger fanatics than me!

So, I guess you're not alone!
(BTW, I LOVED planning all that out!)

 

[ireland_nicole]

Of course you laminated it-otherwise, what would be the point? It would never last the trip.... You are not alone, and personally, I like to think of it as being fully prepared as opposed to being completely obsessive. Although my DH would not agree. He has offered me $$ for every 24 hours I can last w/o talking to him about anything Disney. Maybe I should be concerned about the fact that I haven't managed to get any yet. hmmmm. At least now I can talk to people here who understand me and leave him alone a little.
I mean, I have to plan-there's only 191 days to go LOL
Nicole

 

[Luv4Disney]

I do some of that, not the color coding, but pretty much everything else. I take index cards, make them the size of a credit card, put a Disney picture from my Disney Days calendar on one side, and all our ADR on the other, then laminate. I didn't do it last year because I didn't have time but DH said I need to do it for May. He's getting as crazy as I am.

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

I would absolutely LOVE to do that. But if I did, my DH would just laugh at me and tell me I'm nuts. I haven't converted him yet...SOON though. I do make some planning spreadsheets for myself. That way I can see the park schedule, EMH, etc...

 

[wilde_oscar]

yeah, a lot of people do something similar... but then I got iPhone, so I can call that info up on wdwinfo and steve soars web sites live, etc. so I don't have to spread sheet the data.

 

[Benducci]

I do a spreadsheet - it keeps thing easy to see! I like having it color coded so I can see thing better.
I would love to see a copy of what yours looks like- if you could either post it here or send me a copy, that would be great! I am alwyas looking to improve mine!

 

[DizzDoll]

Hoo-boy - I started working out our agenda last night. Will make the few ADRs we'll be enjoying over the weekend. I, too, have everything planned down the the minute - even penciling in potty breaks! How's that for nuts???

 

[mickey&minniealways]

Yes you have a little problem. Please don't be so married to your plans that you don't have fun when something doesnt go according to "the plan". It would be a shame to miss out on some of those unscheduled things that pop up just becaose its not on the schedule. Maybe you don't feel like eating something thats planned. Sometimes you can get the best reservations at the last minute because someone else has canceled theirs. We rather enjoy this, it gets us to try new places. You might be to tired to spend the entire time in a park that you planned so maybe a trip to the resort pool or a boat ride are in order or a game of mini put. Its good to be prepared and have a plan of action but be flexible or you might miss out on some of the magic. I am not yelling, my DH can be like that too. We had one trip where he would not budge and my kids reaction was next time we go can we leave dad at home. We live in southern NH so this is not something to really consider. Fortunatly he got the message. Please don't forget to have fun and if you don't get everything done thats okay, save it for next time. Areason to go back.

 

[Minniemouse07]

I put most of that info into my Passporter. Between my Passpockets and the editable PDF forms I pull of the site I have all the info in my Deluxe binder and I'm good to go.

I do draw the line at ordering attractions though. I just know which parks what days and have our ADRs all lined up. The Passporter maps have a great list of the attractions on the back and we just check them off as we go. Leaves a bit more flexibility in the plans and I don't have to schedule in bathroom breaks!

 

[Silverbelle990]

In my family i do this big book and it has the hotel and info about that, days have wake up times and where we are eating when we are going what time parks are open to , we also have a dining menu for the night, and the book has filler pages that liken my family to a movie like robin Hood where DH is Little John, My son is robin hood, I (of Course) am Maid Marian, and my little DS is the little rabbit whit the hat too big for his head. I do a few pages like that for different movies, we also have rating scales for rides and resteraunts that e like as well as cover pages and alot others i forgot about. My book takes about 3-4 weeks to to as I also go to Michaels and get some scarp booking stuff to make the pages look nicer. The book is my fav souvinoer thought. If I could make it a businees and would think others would buy it if i made it to suit thier family i would be the happiest worker ever.

 

[winnapooh]

Not only do we do something similar and laminate it (we actually bought a small laminator just for that) but we also had it spiral bound into a small, 4x6 book!!! For us, planning is 1/2 of the fun! And we don't always stick to our touring plans; aside from which park which day and ADR's. However, as we are the types to say "What do you want to do now?" and get the response "I don't know..." we need to have a plan so we don't end up fighting about who chooses where we go!

 

[DisneyCatMom]

I have something very similar! I don't worry so much about the order of rides and fast passes though. MK I know to go to FantasyLand at rope frop and of course ROR and TOT first, but other than that once I'm in the park I do whatever until my schedule tells me it is time to leave! of course they are laminated.
My husband thought I was insane the first time I did all this. But by the end of 10 days he was thrilled that all he had had to do was show up and enjoy the ride. He didn't have to do anything.
Disney can be verrrry frustrating if you don't plan!

 

[schnerk]

Of course you laminated it-otherwise, what would be the point? It would never last the trip.... You are not alone, and personally, I like to think of it as being fully prepared as opposed to being completely obsessive. Although my DH would not agree. He has offered me $$ for every 24 hours I can last w/o talking to him about anything Disney. Maybe I should be concerned about the fact that I haven't managed to get any yet. hmmmm. At least now I can talk to people here who understand me and leave him alone a little.
I mean, I have to plan-there's only 191 days to go LOL
Nicole

See! That's what I thought! I am just making sure that we get the largest amount of enjoyment possible!

And as for 24 hours... forget about it!

 

[mickey&minniealways]

I almost forgot try writing things in pencil. Put it on a good piece of cardstock paper and put inside a plastic sleeve. That way it is still protected and you can actually change things when life doesn't go according to plan. As I stated before we had an instance when a family member planned to much, with 3 kids anthing can and will happen, regardless of the fact that 2 of them have some special needs. Also the passporter works great especially since it gives all those great reviews of everything and has places for you to write your own. It also has spots for all your papers and such.

 

[schnerk]

It would be a shame to miss out on some of those unscheduled things that pop up just becaose its not on the schedule. :

See, but I have time scheduled in for unscheduled suprises

 

[MrsSilvaStrat]

I am going to use index cards b/c my purse is too small for anything else!

 

[1313WEBFOOTWALK]

I make a little book that consists of my printed itinerary and my clip out touring plans from the Unofficial Guide. I also keep record of my reservation nubmers for our meals and -get this- little headless drawings of my OUTFITS for every day! Yes, that's right. I plan MONTHS in advance what I'm going to wear and make little drawings of myself wearing said outfits to include in my planning book.

SO don't you dare call yoruself obsessed!

 

[Tiggerkeeper]

Agh! Do you have my computer password???? I do exactly the same thing! LOL! I was thinking I needed some kind of therapy! Now that I find there are several of us I think therapy is not so necessary!

All of you planning a trip ENJOY! And have a great trip!

 

[Chellymouse]

I'm not that organized, but I do have a laminated spread sheet of all our ressies and plans and we keep a loose plan for our days and the parks. You have to!! If not, you'll be running around in circles!