Getting a bit worried now!!!

[kitcat1]

As I am the chief planner and as our holiday is getting really close I feel I am under too much stress!

Because I have been doing everything and telling others what we will be doing I am hoping that the family's expectations will be met and they won't be disapointed otherwise I will never hear the end of it. Do you know what I mean??
Aaaaah

Please re-assure me.

Cath

 

[Goofysmate]

Cath, relax it will be fine, and if the family don't enjoy the trip then there must be something wrong with them.

Is this your first trip ?

 

[Madjock]

Yes Cath I do know exactly what you mean I felt the same on our first trip but what I learnt is that you can make all the plans you can or want but the key is to remember they are not cast in stone so long as everyone is flexible and gets to have their say you should all enjoy yourselves. I'm sure disappointment won't come into it

 

[wideeyes]

yes, I completely understand, I have planned our entire holiday, from hotel, flights, ADR, parks so I am dreading people not enjoying them selfs, though I have been given lots of fab advice and kind words on this board. you can't expect everything to be completely perfect so chill and enjoy yourself.

 

[Haworthfamily]

YES I totally understand, we are taking a family friend this year, who hasn't been since he was 8 so I'm really hoping my itenary will be ok for him.

 

[lexie32]

Cath you are definatley not the only one, we leave in 4 weeks and it's only now my mum and her partner are saying to me they want to do this and that and can we fit so and so in, as we have 2 cars i have emailed them my itinery and told them they are more than welcome to join in with our activities as much or little as they want, but on our park days we will be aiming to get to the gates for opening( my mum is a nightmare to get moving in the morning!) this way i'm hoping there will be less stress for me to organise everything!

Relax i'm sure it will all sort it out in the end!

 

[wicket2005]

You will all have a fantastic time. I always plan before we go and I would just say one thing be flexible sometimes plans have to be changed.

 

[Graeme]

My sister and her family went last November and I was getting text message questions up to a dozen times a day as to what they should do next!

All the planning and none of the ice-cream!

 

[kitcat1]

Thanks for the encouragement, yes its our first time, I have read many times on the boards that when people don't plan well in advance, when they go back again they realize they had missed loads the first time! I have even penciled in toilet breaks, is this going a bit far? Only joking I am trying to be flexible and we are going to go through all the plans together and make sure everybody is happy. We are getting so excited, just sorted out our holiday money today, now to start packing!!

Thanks again.

Cath

 

[Boo Boo Too]

As I am the chief planner and as our holiday is getting really close I feel I am under too much stress!

Because I have been doing everything and telling others what we will be doing I am hoping that the family's expectations will be met and they won't be disapointed otherwise I will never hear the end of it. Do you know what I mean??
Aaaaah

Please re-assure me.

To be honest, I don't understand. If planning a holiday is stressful, then you may be booking the wrong holiday...

Having a parent die and arranging their funeral is stressful, going on holiday to WDW is not...

Maybe it is a symptom of over-planning, I don't know. Just go, enjoy yourselves and relax. If people moan and groan, then remind them how lucky they are to be in such a wonderful place for a holiday. If it all gets too much, go off by yourself (read a book by the pool or something) and enjoy some quiet time.

Boo

 

[kitcat1]

Thanks Boo, you have now made me feel like a real numpty and put me in my place! Maybe stressed was the wrong word to use, its just that after wanting to go on this holiday for about 10 years and planning it for the past year I just hope it meets with all our expectations. Being our first trip I also hope I haven't missed anything. I am positive we will have the time of our lives. These forums have been invaluable also for the tips and advise.

Cath

 

[carolfoy]

we took a family with us 2 years ago who had never even flown. let alone expected to go to the World, I spent about 8 months planning the first week down to every fine detail, thinking they would know their way arounf the second week and would be happy to go off and do their own thing no such luck, by the end of two weeks I was still having to get them up and ready in the mornings, show them where all the toilets/smoking spots/coffee shops were. it was very hard work - they did have a fab time but beware of over exerting yourself, you may end up not enjoying it
xx tour guide barbie xxbv

 

[wideeyes]

To be honest, I don't understand. If planning a holiday is stressful, then you may be booking the wrong holiday...

Having a parent die and arranging their funeral is stressful, going on holiday to WDW is not...

Maybe it is a symptom of over-planning, I don't know. Just go, enjoy yourselves and relax. If people moan and groan, then remind them how lucky they are to be in such a wonderful place for a holiday. If it all gets too much, go off by yourself (read a book by the pool or something) and enjoy some quiet time.

Boo

I think with WDW, it is a place where many people dreamt of going as a kid, and maybe it is the worry that the reality of it is not going to live up to your expectations .

 

[TraceyL]

Relax



Can't be as bad as the first time I organised a DIY trip for us & my parents..... when we got to Davenport - after a 4 hour drive up from Miami, we couldn't find the villa management office. We ended up in temporary accommodation for the night as they'd moved & hadn't told us

 

[Dis1978]

Don't worry, you will have a fantastic time.
We have been to disney about 15 times and I never plan too much. We like to do things on the spur of the moment and just relax and have a good time.
The only thing I am very organised about is an extremely comprehensive packing list cos I have kid with disabilities and we need loads of meds etc. I just have the list saved and update it each year.
Where are you staying, onsite?

 

[jen_uk]

To be honest, I don't understand. If planning a holiday is stressful, then you may be booking the wrong holiday...

Having a parent die and arranging their funeral is stressful, going on holiday to WDW is not...

Maybe it is a symptom of over-planning, I don't know. Just go, enjoy yourselves and relax. If people moan and groan, then remind them how lucky they are to be in such a wonderful place for a holiday. If it all gets too much, go off by yourself (read a book by the pool or something) and enjoy some quiet time.

Boo

That seems a little harsh!

I always get stressed before I go on holiday, trying to pack, clean, work, drop dog off at kennels etc is stressful!

Kitkat, you are off to the most wonderful place on earth and you are going to have an amazing time. Don't worry about sticking to your plan 100%, change it as you go to suit you. Have a great time!

 

[Boo Boo Too]

That seems a little harsh!

I always get stressed before I go on holiday, trying to pack, clean, work, drop dog off at kennels etc is stressful!

Kitkat, you are off to the most wonderful place on earth and you are going to have an amazing time. Don't worry about sticking to your plan 100%, change it as you go to suit you. Have a great time!

No, just a reality check... This is at least the second "I am really stressed/worried about my upcoming holiday" thread - want to stop an epidemic...

Yes holidays can require a "little hard work" before we go (I agree with you there), but it is not stressful as such...

The only REALLY (in all honesty) stressful run-up to a holiday I have ever had was straight after Xmas 2005. We were due to fly to Denver on 5th January to go skiing. On the 27th December my husband's Grandfather suddenly and unexpectedly died (he lived in LA). We didn't know until late the following day, then we had to get to LA for the funeral on the 3rd January. Thank God I managed to get our flights to Denver moved forward by two days (a virtual miracle - the tickets weren't fully flexible) and managed to book internal flights to get to California.

To add to the problem, British Airways didn't load our suitcase - the suitcase with ALL of our clothes in it - to Denver. Obviously the suitcase had our clothes, smart shoes etc for the funeral in it. We arrived in LA during the early hours of the day before the funeral (our internal flight was badly delayed) - with no clothes. Trying to find me a plain black suit in a normal size (US size 4) in the January sales was VIRTUALLY impossible... somehow we did it.

I can honestly say that my head almost exploded several times: it is an incredibly stressful time after someone in the family has just died and you are flying half way around the world to console family. You manage the impossible of getting the airline to bring existing flights forward. You travel for 26 hours DREADING your arrival into a grieving house. For the airline to loose your bags and to spend the next day trapsing up and down the length of a HUGE shopping mall trying to find an impossible "respectable" funeral outfit when the shops are just full of "sales rubbish"... Oh and then the funeral - very sad.

(the suitcase actually turned up a week later... but by then I could have coped with anything - at least BA covered our out of pocket expenses... ).

Somehow ANY holiday seems tame after that...

Boo

 

[Boo Boo Too]

Hi Cath

No, trying to get you to keep things in perspective... which will be good for you - if you get too caught up in the details, then you are bound to be stressed and possibly make mountains out of mole hills...

I think everyone needs to keep their holidays in perspective - it is a time for fun, enjoying yourselves and (most importantly, I think) spending quality time with your loved ones. As I mentioned in my last post, this isn't the first post about being stressed/worried about a holiday to WDW recently...

Nothing in this world is perfect - if people aim for the perfect holiday, they will probably always be disappointed. Planning is good and this forum is great for helping, just don't get "carried away"...

Everybody on here who is off to WDW is so lucky. You have done all the hard work, so just relax and enjoy... every time you think "stress/worry/whatever", just take a breath and think "I am so lucky, I will have so much fun "

Life is too short NOT to relax and just enjoy it

Boo

Thanks Boo, you have now made me feel like a real numpty and put me in my place! Maybe stressed was the wrong word to use, its just that after wanting to go on this holiday for about 10 years and planning it for the past year I just hope it meets with all our expectations. Being our first trip I also hope I haven't missed anything. I am positive we will have the time of our lives. These forums have been invaluable also for the tips and advise.

Cath

 

[crystalprincess]

Hey Cath I know exactly how youre feeling

I guess our holidays cross over each others as we are off in 3 weeks.
Its our 4th time, and like you Im chief planner, (some say to the point of obsession!)

Like you I too work so hard planning it all, you want everyone to have the most magical holiday and enjoy every aspect.
However I quickly learnt that you can please some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time!

So now I plan till my hearts content, but I know that somewhere within the two weeks one of our party are going to require me to be flexible with my itinerary. (I used to get soooo upset when it changed, that I realised it was only turning our magical holiday into a nightmare!)

Just make sure to include free days where people can choose what they want to do that day, and make sure YOU remember to RELAX its your holiday too dont forget!

As for the comment about parents dying and arranging the funeral, I think that was uncalled for, sadly both my parents died within 4 years of each other and I hadnt even got to 30, I didnt consider organising their funerals as stressful, more painful and heartrenching, but thats got absolutley nothing to do with vacation planning has it?? maybe housemoving would have been a better analogy

 

[PoppyAnna]

on our park days we will be aiming to get to the gates for opening( my mum is a nightmare to get moving in the morning!)
Relax i'm sure it will all sort it out in the end!

I feel your pain!
I am going with my DH, 2dd's (4 & 19months) and my Mum. My mum has never been before neither have my girls. As you can imagine my DD4 is princess mad and I have storybook lunch booked and bibbidi bobbidi as well as crystal palace lunch (more for youngest). We also have a couple of other lunch adrs. DH is a strongly against planning and would walk around like a zombie, I believe the little hints and tips I have learnt here and in my guidebooks will really enhance the holiday, and they'll thank me in the long run.
The way I see it is if we are going to do all four parks surely it doesn't matter if I've planned which order so we get good adrs and get the most from the holiday.
My mum is a night owl and also a nightmare to kick in am and I'm worried we'll end up getting to the parks around 11am which is just not on . I have planned quite a few rest days so I would like a bit of effort on the days we go to parks. We have told her we don't expect her to come out with us every day, she can chill be the pool.
DH is getting a bit worried that the holiday he works hard all year round for is going to be a bit stressful and my (minor) planning is making it worse....
ahhhhh the pressure.!