Does over planning over shadow the Magic?

[NMAmy]

If I planned out every minute of every day of our trip, my family would dump me off a Friendship.

I plan one ADR per day. If we miss it, no big deal. We all have our priorities for the trip and we work to tick those off the list. After that, we do what we want, when we want. Even if it's hanging out in the room watching a 48 Hours marathon. We did that one rainy afternoon last year and we had a blast.

 

[TSMAMI]

to me planning is part of the fun....

 

[mef78]

I'm well known for "overplanning" but I think Disney World is one place where you can't be too prepared. As long as you know the ins and outs, you can make much better "spontaneous" decisions.

Nothing puts a damper on a fun vacation like being over run with crowds, not being able to get into a restaurant you want, or having a sobbing toddler or cranky husband because they haven't gotten enough sleep and are stuck at an EMH until 3:00am.

 

[Kimberly815]

I think planning is a lot of the fun about a WDW trip. I don't get to crazy with it. I make a basic outline, knowing what days we will go to which parks, and possibly where we will eat. I like to have the plan and then if we follow it- great! If not- no biggie! But the more information I have the better I can suggest what to do in those "what now?" moments!

 

[MickeyNicki]

sorry double post

 

[MickeyNicki]

Wow, I say yes and no.

No for DH and I, the more I learn the more fun we have.

Yes for when we went with the nieces...it was more fun to go with the flow, do whatever they wanted to do instead of being a drill sargeant and telling them hurry lets to this, come one we are going to miss that. Next time we take them we are going to have breakfast ressies only and wing it the rest of the trip and make sure to plan one day of pool time and nothing else.

It was sad when a six year old says, we cannot do this/that because Auntie Nicki will get mad if its not in her notebook

 

[missypriss19]

It is a must to do some planning. But I do know people whoe way over plan. Remember it suppose to be a vacation. Before we go we plan on how many days we will spend at each park. Like 2@MK, 2@EC, 1@HS, 1@AK, and 1 free day like DTD. But we may decide on what park on what day the night before. We have even waited until we got the busses the morning of. We keep it very flexible. We also make sure that we get the park hopper option on our tickets so we can move parks if the crowd it to high or we decide we want to eat at a certain resturant.
I believe to much planning can stress you out. I am one of those people that hate disney dining because it takes to much prep time. I am glad that they changed it where you can get just counter service and you do not have to make reservations.
You definitely need to make some plans concerning the park or you will spend half of your time trying to find things instead or riding.
Hope you have a great time.

 

[Matt71]

Yes, people do over plan. Over planning creates false expectations and can lead to frustrations and stress during an individual or family Disney vacation. People plan things they cannot even control or items that are subject to change. No different than people who over plan for weddings.

That's not "over planning", that's bad planning.

I "over planned" our trip last year and we were able to do 95% of the things we had scheduled. They weren't always at the exact time as I had planned, but they were pretty close. Had I not done all that planning, we would have missed a lot of what we wanted to do.

IMO the most important aspect of planning is knowing when, where and how long the shows are - especially at DHS. Things like rides you can do nearly any time, but shows are at set times with set durations and winging it, is just too risky.

It's also important to never be tied down by your plan. You HAVE to be flexible with it and willing to change things on the fly. If you're not good at that sort of thing, you need to have alternates lined up.

 

[MissionMouse]

That's not "over planning", that's bad planning.
...

It could also be both...and it is not hard to find cases of this on this site.

 

[cyndylou]

Going to WDW is like buying a new car for us: happens rarely and costs $$$. So, of course, we will spend time planning. Without preplanning, how would you even know what your options are? But, I realize there are those who hate to plan and won't care if they miss something as long as they have fun.

 

[eliza61]

Wow, I say yes and no.

No for DH and I, the more I learn the more fun we have.

Yes for when we went with the nieces...it was more fun to go with the flow, do whatever they wanted to do instead of being a drill sargeant and telling them hurry lets to this, come one we are going to miss that. Next time we take them we are going to have breakfast ressies only and wing it the rest of the trip and make sure to plan one day of pool time and nothing else.

It was sad when a six year old says, we cannot do this/that because Auntie Nicki will get mad if its not in her notebook

I actually saw this. A women was at the Haunted mansion screaming at her family because Dh and the kids wanted to skip it and get some ice cream and chill out. She kept yelling at him "We have to do it now, the tour book says it will be too busy later". I kept wanting him to shoot her with a tranquilizer gun. How is this possible fun? to be bullied onto a ride because of a stupid tour guide? I think I'd prefer getting the ice cream and then taking my chances with the lines.

 

[Matt71]

I try not to go as far as using youtube, but I have to admit I did look up pictures of Wishes taken from the Poly beach, so I knew how well you could see them before I set aside the time.

I admit, it is possible to set your expectations too high and to stuff too much stuff into your itinerary, but to me that's not over planning. To me, over planning is scheduling things like bathroom breaks.

My itinerary is broken down by the hour and I don't consider it over planned.

ON a side note, DW won't even look at our schedule until the day before we leave, because she knows I'll be making adjustments on a near daily basis. However, after our last trip, she has complete faith in my planning abilities.

 

[Matt71]

I actually saw this. A women was at the Haunted mansion screaming at her family because Dh and the kids wanted to skip it and get some ice cream and chill out. She kept yelling at him "We have to do it now, the tour book says it will be too busy later".

Another thing to keep in mind when planning is to "know your party". If you are not all on the same page, it's just not going to work. You can't force people to follow your plan.

 

[bytheblood]

I think there needs to be some middle ground. You'll want to have your ADRs and special events planned out, but I don't think it is a good idea to live, eat and breathe Disney - you can come back really let down if you under plan or over plan.

 

[Brian Noble]

Wow, I say yes and no.

Me too. I have a vague plan---it includes getting to rope drop, and visiting the bottleneck attractions earlier rather than later. But, we also have time to just "do stuff", wherever our noses point.

The best memories we have of our trips were mostly unplanned. For example, we were sitting on the curb on Main Street eating ice cream when the Dapper Dans walked up to us with "You folks look like you need a show with your food!" You couldn't plan that if you tried.

Others, though, happened because of plans that went well. Our first time watching Wishes from a great location, for example.

 

[donaldndaisy]

I voted no. I think it's great to plan, at least that way you don't miss out on the "magic", you wouldn't have known about. My family did an unplanned trip to the world, only one time- our first trip to Disneyworld- and eventhough, we had fun, we knew it could have been better (we never repeated this mistake, again). We, now, plan dining, resorts, and activities. Sure, there are tons of times when our plans change on the spur of the moment, but it's no big deal. Having a plan helps and builds excitement/anticipation, but having expectations and an unwillingness to change, is what makes a vacation suck.

Have fun planning!! Leave feelings of entitlement at home

 

[sandymandr]

I think it is important to know what is available, what you want to do, and best times / days for parks and atractions. Also, you can read about the general strategies for ride order and arriving early, etc and have a wonderful time without having to be a planning nazi! I carry several plans and some strategy info with me, and we decide what we want to do and what we don't want to do! And sometimes, we just chuck it all and wing it (but it is STILL educated winging it! ) I figure if the kids tell me they want to do X, Y, and Z, I may not tell then exactly when to do them, but I can have them in the general area at the best times without them even knowing. The other great thing about planning is that I can eliminate many things that we know we definitely do NOT want to do before we go!!

 

[daisy2jae]

I love to over plan and don't care if others give me a hard time for it. I read books, websites, and anything else I can find to get the most out of my trips. I find I plan everything what park to meals. I want to get as much out of this trip as I can. When I show family and friends everything we've done they can't beleive I found enough time for it all. Of course it doesn't always go perfect but that is the fun part. We have a plan but it can always change depending on the crowds and weather! I wouldn't want to waste time on my trip to sitting around trying to figure out what to do next. May not be the best choice for everyone but it works for us.

 

[twokids0204]

I try not to go as far as using youtube, but I have to admit I did look up pictures of Wishes taken from the Poly beach, so I knew how well you could see them before I set aside the time.

I admit, it is possible to set your expectations too high and to stuff too much stuff into your itinerary, but to me that's not over planning. To me, over planning is scheduling things like bathroom breaks.

My itinerary is broken down by the hour and I don't consider it over planned.

ON a side note, DW won't even look at our schedule until the day before we leave, because she knows I'll be making adjustments on a near daily basis. However, after our last trip, she has complete faith in my planning abilities.

And do you have time set aside for Kitchen Sink break with strangers? hahaha...

 

[Matt71]

And do you have time set aside for Kitchen Sink break with strangers? hahaha...

YES! I do
On Feb 11 at 8pm we head over to B&C from Epcot. We'll miss illuminations, but wanted to beat the crowds. We'll catch it on Friday.