Does anyone else not like to schedule?

[Stitch_lover_Sith]

I personally like to have some things schedualed and some things not. Meals are a great thing to schedaul but what park to go what day is something that I like to wing. One little point of advice, the park that has the extra magic hour is normally the busiest that day. If you want to avoid crwds avoid extra magic hours. Plus not all of the attractions are open durring that hour so crowds are created at the things that are open. Have a great time down there.

 

[Sandyincanada]

We decide which park we want to start our morning at and go from there. The first time I made some PS's and having to plan our day around them drove us crazy so I don't make them anymore. Now we are free to stay at the park or hop to another if we feel like it. We always start at opening time and do the biggest attractions first and then see what we all feel like doing after that. We find it alot more relaxing.

 

[HappyLawyer]

Last time we went i had everything schedules we were there for only 9 days, it worked out great we knew when and where we were going --well i actually did everything, next time we are going for the 8th -29th with a 4 day cruise, i think i will wing some of that, i do know that i will avoid all parks on Saturdays, as they are packed with local as well as visitors

 

[sunkissed212]

When I go to WDW I don't schedule my day. I mean, we decide what parks we want to go to and what rides we want to go on and kind of know how we want to spend our day but there is no "at 9 we will... and then at 11 we will...then we will ......"

No way...when I'm on vacation, I don't even like to wear a watch! I want to be able to relax and do as I please without a rigid schedule or routine that I have to follow.

We went in September and it was great...no schedule, just relaxation and fun!

 

[lsutigger2]

DH and I don't plan anything except the really important things like when DH will play golf!!! I will plan extra events like backstage tours but that's about it! Some mornings I've been known to go to the bus stop and take the first bus that comes along. Now that we are DVC members and have AP's (this year anyway!) trips are much more relaxing for us.

 

[Onceler]

I'm glad this thread was posted. After seeing all of the itineraries, I was beginning to think that I was the only one who did not have every single minute planned.

The best vacation I ever took was to New England many years ago. I started out by getting in my car and heading north. Once I got there I completely winged it. Not only did I not know what I was going to do at the start of each day, I never knew what I would be doing an hour later. I also never knew where I would end up sleeping each night until late in the day. It was the most enjoyable and relaxing trip that I've taken. Plus, I probably ended up doing more fun things than I would have if I planned everything ahead of time. Now when I go on trips, I might have a general idea of what I will end up doing. But mostly I just wing it.

On a related note, here's a true story:

A few years ago I was strolling around MK taking in the scenery. I ended up near a couple with three small children who were not having a good time. The kids were tired and crying, the wife looked completely worn out, and the husband was in a rage.

The wife asked, "Can't we just stop and rest for a while?"

The husband responded, "We don't have time to rest. We're already running more than 10 minutes behind schedule. At this rate we won't have any time to swim at the hotel before we go to dinner."

To this the wife asked, "why do we have to follow the schedule?"

The husband, starting to turn a little red, angrily replied, "because I paid a lot of money so that we could have a good time and dammit we're going to get our money's worth!"​

After that, one of my philosophies became: Sometimes the best way to get your money's worth is by not getting your money's worth.

 

[Gymbomom]

I think the main thing for our family is the PS since we are a family of 12.
But, otherwise, I think I do get a little stressed by planning too much. My laid back hubby is good for me, walking around with him makes me remember to look at the little things that he gets a kick out of.

 

[DoomBuggyBabe]

We like to plan our PS's ahead of time, and decide in advance which parks we'll begin in each day. Once we're in the gates, though, we wing it. And if we feel like going in a different direction, we hop to another park.
The exception to that rule is AK. We do like to take advantage of the morning EMH for that park. The first thing we do is hightail it to the safari. Usually it's a fairly short line, and the animals are more active at that time of morning. Then we head over to Kali, and wait in line until it opens -- usually we're among the first people on. After that, it's whatever, wherever. If we see something cool or diverting, we investigate.
I never really quite understood why people feel the need to plan their vacations down to the minute, and I especially don't understand why they get so downright nasty when their schedules veer off course, even a little. How can they not understand spontanaeity is such a huge part of the magic?
Example: A few years ago, in the pre-SkipperBubba era, I was down over Halloween with a girlfriend. We were doing MNSSHP, and it was nearly time for fireworks. We had wanted to go toward the castle to see the witch slide down Tink's wire, but naturally lost track of time while in line for BTMRR. Oops. Anyway, the fireworks went off while we were riding the coaster. They were going off 360 degrees around the ride. It was, quite possibly, THE COOLEST THING EVER. Best seat in the house. And you couldn't have planned it, not in a million years. We were pretty well drenched in the pixie dust.
Moral of the story: Go with the flow. You never know what's around the corner next. Take the time to enjoy it.
Cheers,
Q

 

[Dave Dizney]

Ooo! Ooo! Planning! It's so fun!

Really, we do plan out our trips to go counter to the parks flow and so we know where we're going next. But in reality, we use them only as a guide -- and veer off course if something better comes along.

We ALWAYS PS our dinner and some lunches and maybe one or two breakfasts. But planning helps take up the time between waiting and finally getting to the parks!

 

[rosamindy]

Wow, you're right...the best things in Disney are the little magical unplanned things. That being said...I see that your next trip to WDW is Christmas. If you don't at least get all the PS's and ressies for boats, shows, and such WAY ahead of time, fuhgeddaboudit. And if you don't have a game plan for those times when the crowds are too much to handle, you're gonna blow your vacation wrapped in a great big group hug of magic. Planning is not the be-all and end-all of a Disney vacation, but at the more crowded times of year, it'd be foolish to go without the basics taken care of.

 

[tifandjim]

I tend to be obsessed with lists. I start making a list of items to pack about 2 months in advance, and then I will lose it and then start another. LOL Can you say OCD? HAHA Anyway, I really like researching for several months on here, and I do make a list (yes, another one) of stuff I would like to do once I am there (this year: specialty desserts, watch fireworks and water parade). Other than "special" things, we just go and do as we wish. I guess this is a lot easier, since we don't have kids. But, my sister-in-law says "Children are portable!".

 

[my3princes]

We plan less and less each trip. If we want a character meal I will call ahead to get PS, but otherwise we do counter meals wherever we happen to be when the kids get hungry. I don't even think that I will get our MNSSHP tickets ahead of time. We are going mid month so I don't think that they will sell out. We can decide on a night once there. We know what days we are going, get airfare, hotel and rental car, otherwise we will go with the flow.

 

[cruiseonmagic]

Before moving here, a member of my extended family tried to plan everything on our trip. Having to be at a certain place at a certain time drove me nuts--it just wasn't fun. That lasted a day and a half for my brother and I, and our families. After that we planned the first 2-3 hrs of each morning then let the kids decide what they wanted to do--swimming, boat ride, miniature golf, more rides etc. We did 1 character dinner and had 1 or 2 PS for the week. The rest of the time we just winged it. Those were the best vacations that we've ever had.