Does over planning over shadow the Magic?

[mickeyluv'r]

I refuse to vote based on your qualifiers, but yes. Overplanning can ruin a trip. Getting too fixed of an idea of how your trip is going to go is never a healthy thing.

Getting excited about the posibilities of a trip is fun.

Coming up with some flexible ideas for a trip is smart.

However, I'm also a firm believer in letting a trip happen to you. Part of the thrill of WDW, which is now limited for me - was discovering parts of it for the first time. I'll never forget the first time I discovered the Boardwalk. Sure we had to wait over an hour to get a table at the Flying Fish that night....but while we were waiting we watched the 'street' performers and had a blast! Dinner was awesome! It was magic!
So okay, (it was a while ago, I'm not sure if you were offsite you could make ADR's back then...and we were very much offsite that trip!) maybe we could have made an ADR,,read up about hte performers....but chances are, if I read up about the performers, I would have dismissed them as something that wouldn't interest me.
Mostly I belong to the DIS is to keep current on the discounts, and to see if there will be something new for me to discover while I'm there, or to prepare me that a favorite will no longer be there when I return. Usually there is some small change. Mostly though on the DIS, I find myself trying to be the voice of reason and discouraging others from overplanning, or answering basic questions.

When you've gone as much as I have, you realize that you won't see every detail of WDW on every trip, and that is part of the fun of it. One trip you see dolphins being fed. Another you try out a new dining choice. The next you stay at a resort you have been to in years. Anyone who tells you they see everything on their trips in not telling the truth. At the very least, you will overhear some unique guest comments on each trip. That is part of why I keep going back, as much as I think I know WDW, I make new discoveries each time I go, and they are fun discoveries, even if they are often pretty small.

Here's hoping I'll find a new hidden Mickey!

 

[Holly&Joesmommy]

Planning makes the trip start sooner, and last longer!

I think for me, "planning" is more about KNOWLEDGE than anything else.
This is a LOT of $$$$ were talking about, you wouldnt go and spend that much money on say,...a tv or something and not do some research first. (at least I hope not)

I feel like I know what I'm doing when I get there, I dont have to do these things on my list, but at least I do know "who, what, when, where, why and how, if I want to!!

 

[DisneyDizzy]

For our first trip in 2006, I had never heard of the DIS or did any planning. As a matter of fact, we had free dining and Disney called US 2 weeks before and told us to make ADRs. Yup, we had nothing planned. (you know what, though, we ate really well on that rip anyway. Go figure.)

2 hours into our first day I was sitting on a bench by a fountain crying. Everyone else seemed to know where to go and what to do and we were wandering.

2 hours and 45 minutes into our first day, I yelled at my family and said let's just RIDE something, anything. We jumped on It's a Small World. Not only is it a small world, it's completely magical. By that evening I was crying for another reason altogether during Wishes. I was hooked on Disney. I stayed up that first night pouring over guide books and park hours and came up with a small plan.

That trip turned out to be magical. Amazing. And I'll tell you, if we'd have had an in depth plan it wouldn't have happened that way. We discovered things and we didn't ride much but we've never had such a good time.

Or second trip in December was much better planned. However, I found myself tossing the plan after the second day. What I needed was knowledge not a spreadsheet. I needed to know to grab certain fastpasses early and which day I wanted to go to which park. I needed to know to make my dining reservations earlier. I needed to know what and when Extra Magic Hours were. Beyond that, we just let the days happen and they were wonderful.

I think we spend more time than a lot of people there looking for the little things. Of course, we only have one child and he's an explorer at heart as well. We went with some other people and did a lot of the same things but their impressions and our impressions were completely different. And yes, they DID a lot more. But I think they missed a lot, too.

*Disclaimer* If this was my only and once in a lifetime trip, I'd plan or use one of those touring plans. We missed things we wanted to see but we knew we'd be coming back.

 

[christa112]

I voted NO. But having said that I am not an over planner either. I plan what days we are going to what park and have ADR's but that is as far as I go. I don't plan down to the hour on what we are doing.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

What I needed was knowledge not a spreadsheet. I needed to know to grab certain fastpasses early and which day I wanted to go to which park. I needed to know to make my dining reservations earlier. I needed to know what and when Extra Magic Hours were. Beyond that, we just let the days happen and they were wonderful.

In terms of a Disney vacation, knowledge gives you a tremendous amount of power. There are certain attractions that are best to experience at certain times. Some ways are better to see characters than others. Some places are better to view the fireworks from than others. If you know these things, you can set a general plan with the must sees scheduled in and let everything else flow from there.

And it is possible to know the layout of a park you haven't seen in years by checking out the maps online and studying them before you reach WDW.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I don't plan to the last detail. I make ADRs but we always get park hoppers so even that doesn't confine us too much.

I think some planning is a good thing..it's not enjoyable for me to be wandering aimlessly around the park. You find out about some of the neat things they offer if you do a little planning. Tha magic is still there for me.

Forgot to add...I use Youtube to get me excited about the trip and to preview any rides I'm nervous about riding..This is the reason I was able to get myself on EE in 2006!

 

[aubriee]

In terms of a Disney vacation, knowledge gives you a tremendous amount of power. There are certain attractions that are best to experience at certain times. Some ways are better to see characters than others. Some places are better to view the fireworks from than others. If you know these things, you can set a general plan with the must sees scheduled in and let everything else flow from there.

And it is possible to know the layout of a park you haven't seen in years by checking out the maps online and studying them before you reach WDW.

'Knowledge gives you power', about sums it up. I go to WDW 4-5 times a year, so don't need to do everything every trip. In fact, I am not fond of MGM, so frequently will spend 9 days or so down there and never even enter that park (although that has changed with the new Toy Story ride, lol). I usually change every trip up just to make each trip a little different. If it was a once in a lifetime trip, yes I'd probably use one of those spreadsheets and touring plans people are talking about, but going as frequently as I do I can pick and choose between all the options that I know are available on any given day. Yes, I prebook tours and make ADRs and I usually make all the rope drops just because I hate crowds and want to get the main rides out of the way before the crowds get there, so I can then slow down and smell the roses, but that's about all I plan now. Here at work for some reason I get teased alot about going to WDW so many times every year. I don't even mention my trips anymore, but as soon as the work schedules get posted and my coworkers see I have vacation days, the teasing about Disney starts. However, despite this, anytime anyone wants to know anything about Disney I am the one they come to. I refuse to tell people how to plan their trips, but do feel they should at least know their way around down there and also should be knowledgeable about what's available. How many people go to WDW and don't even know about Spectromagic, the Electrical Water Pageant, Fast Passes, Single Rider Lines, Magic Express, the World Showcase actors, Dole Whips, ADRs, riding in the front of the monorail, Hidden Mickey's, waking Tink, best places to view fireworks and parades, extra magic hours, etc. I may choose not to use extra magic hours, but at least know they're available. As the previous poster said Knowledge is power and the more you have the easier it is to plan on the fly and to get the most out of your vacation whether you follow a set schedule or not.

I may no longer follow a so called 'schedule' and haven't really since my first trip, but I do know how to plan on the fly. I don't show up an hour before a parade, but do know the best places in each park for getting a good view 30 minutes before. I know where to stand in Frontier Land and which side of the street to stand on, so that I can see the parade as soon as it starts, then make a rush and be among the first riding Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain, while most of the park is still waiting for the parade. Same thing with the AK parade. If I decide to watch it, I know where those big boxes are that I can sit on, eat a pineapple snack, and watch the parade where it begins, then walk the opposite direction of the parade and make it over to EE to ride it, while everyone else is still waiting for the parade. If I decide to watch the parade after it starts and it's too late to get a good view, I know to make my way back over to Africa to those same boxes and I can see the parade when it comes back through the second time (on it's way out), knowing that just about everybody will be gone by then, and I'll have the whole area almost to myself to get some great pictures. When I'm in a hurry to leave a park, I know the best route. I know which restaurants have great views and which seats to ask for, when I check in at those restaurants. It's just the little things that make a trip more enjpyable and relaxing. So yes, plan, plan, plan, know everything that's available, then when you get down there throw the schedule out the window and let the magic find you, knowing that you can pick that plan up anytime you want and also knowing that you have the knowledge to change and adapt that plan as needed. On a KTTK tour several years ago, our guide pulled us over to the side at the castle end of Main Street, just as the park opened. He told us to guess which way the majority of the people will turn at the castle. Sure enough, by far, the majority turned right toward Tomorrowland. He told us to always go left, because that side of the park is the least crowded every morning. He also showed us the old telephone with the gossiping operator in the store on Main Street. I loved watching my GD's face, when on our next trip I took her in there and handed her the phone, especially when the voice on the phone yelled at her for eavesdropping. Knowing those little things can make a trip special. You may or may not use them, but you have them at your disposal if you choose to.

 

[kimysbug]

I wish you had A third choice
Plan a little a couple of ADR's ask family what rides parks
Then enjoy

 

[dancin'girl]

I've been to Disney many times, but our last trip was the first with DD and we were staying at the Poly (my dream resort), so I think I over-planned! I read these boards every day and looked at tons of pics of the Poly, had the resort layout memorized, etc. By the time we got there, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had been there before (I had never visited). All my planning had taken some of the surprise/enjoyment out of our first Poly experience. It was somewhat of a let down. Not too much, though, because we're staying there again, and I cannot wait!!!

 

[roselark]

I did not vote because I am in the middle. You DEFINITELY need to plan and the boards are one of the best ways to get info and tips you need. On the other hand, if you plan every single detail, you will only be disappointed because no plan ever goes perfectly.

I suggest planning what park you will go to on each day, plan your ADRs and select a few rides that are must dos. Decide if you want to do any EMHs or other special events. Keep reading the boards to get tips and then leave it at that. Don't plan your days hour by hour...that is way too much IMO.

 

[Todd&Copper]

To me, over-planning DOES ruin the vacation. I like to have a few ARDs, and idea of which park on which day, and I know from experience which are the rides to hit first. I am not going to research every minute detail of every single activity, ride or show at the parks, and snack and bathroom breaks [e.g., DHS day: 9 am TSM, 9:20 get FP for TSM, 9:22 take 4 pics at TSM entrance, 9:40 ToT, 10 am RnRC, 10:20 potty break & take 2 pics at RnRC and 3 pics at ToT, 10:30 BatB, 11 am snacks, etc.] b/c too much knowledge can lead to disappointment. "I planned for the magic, so where the heck is it for crying out loud?!?"
My DH is not an obsessive schedule-keeper on vacation, and his most favorite day on our trip was relaxing at the beach at the resort (and going out on the lake in boat, sipping some beer & wine at the pool, then heading over for dinner at Epcot where we finagled a late walk-in at Le Cellier). It was a totally unplanned day, and he loved it so much more than racing to rides or shows, or stressing about getting to our dinner reservation on time.