Help me calibrate my reasonableness meter

[Mickatie]

Admittedly, I live with a production mentality (my personality is a cross between Hermione Granger and Monica Geller, if that helps), but having a child has forced me to learn how to abandon the plan and go with the flow. ?

Ha! This is so me! I love the planning, though. Have you looked into subscribing to RideMax? I love being able to put in all the rides I might want to do in a day then editing it for what works for us.

 

[agamble]

This is really helpful, thank you! Do you just skip Peter Pan altogether?

We come back to Peter Pan later in the day when all lines have long waits. Sometimes the wait is actually shorter about 2 hours after the park opens. It's a good one to wait for at night when it isn't so hot out as the queue is mostly outside. We love Peter Pan as much as the next family, but I don't like to waste my morning hours waiting in long lines.

There's whole threads about that. It used to be "do PP first!" at rope drop, but lately the crowds racing for it, despite all the CMS saying, "Don't run, please" mean the wait can be 30 minutes or more within 5 minutes of opening. It all depends. If you get there on a day you have early entry, and you can get to the front of the turnstiles and/or front of rope drop, you might be able to be very close to the front (I was able to do this a couple years ago, and got on within 10 minutes). If you don't make it, just leave it for later in the day. Skyegirl has a whole strategy about it in her touring plans on Disneyland Daily (which I highly recommend, anyway-- great touring plans!).

We have seen the line at 40 mins within 2 mins of opening. And people just keep getting in line. I just don't understand why they do that.
Are you saying Skyegirl is Disneyland Daily? Learn something new every day...

 

[EmJ]

Ha! This is so me! I love the planning, though. Have you looked into subscribing to RideMax? I love being able to put in all the rides I might want to do in a day then editing it for what works for us.

I love planning so much, lol, even if the plan ends up not being used.

I haven’t ever even heard of RideMax. I asked here once about Touring Plans and a couple here commented that it’s probably not worth it for DL. Is RideMax better?

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

I'm a Touring Plans superfan for our WDW trips. We used to go just the two of us and were fine without, but recent trips have been with anywhere from 2-3 kids under 5 plus assorted adult siblings, grandparents with various degrees of mobility and interest. Touring Plans was totally invaluable for helping me see what was "do able" for fitting in everyone's top must-dos during our trips with leaving enough time for breaks, shops, stops for playing around fountains, etc. I am the super planner, I love planning, it gets me excited about the trip and its almost like being there in my head.

I started using the Touring Plans for DL and it was shocking how many rides it thought we could fit in - that really emphasized to me that DL is a totally different animal. I found it helpful for the sort of loose planning you're trying to do (like how many days at which park to fit in all the stuff I want to do, etc. That said, I am doing a lot more blog reading and post reading to prep! But if you're really interested in tinkering with doability of things, Touring Plans will satisfy that itch.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Are you saying Skyegirl is Disneyland Daily? Learn something new every day...

Nope, I’m not! That’d be too much work for me.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

I’m a big planner, too. I have two daughters, who are 2 years apart in age, and we have been going yearly in August, since the little one has still been a baby.

Here’s what worked for us, when the kids were little:

Having them be part of my prep work as to which rides to target, using first person YouTube videos, so they can decide what looks exciting and what looks scary. Also, have your kid help you prioritize rides into “absolute must-dos,” “ok to dos,” and “I’d rather nots.” My kids also love to be part of the prep work.

Bring lots of snacks (somewhere in the website it says to not bring in food, but they tend to be really lenient about this, unless you bring a huge icebox with stuff—that’s not allowed). I have my kids help me pick out snacks they like in the store.

If the kid is small enough (and not insists on being too old for that), an umbrella stroller can greatly increase your mileage and also be used for little rest periods.

My plans are usually precise to the minute (with several versions, depending on ride closures) in the early morning and then get subsequently more lenient throughout the day to account for unforeseen hiccups—as a result we do get a ton of stuff done while minimizing stressing out over it. In order to utilize that first “golden hour,” we actually “train” getting up early. I wake my kids and have them eat breakfast according to our Disney-schedule during the week leading up to the trip to get them used to getting up early.

Remember, you can still use your Maxpass to pull Fastpasses, while being in your hotel for the midday break. I predict that you and your family are in for a fantastic time. This is the perfect age for a first Disney visit: old enough to not get too overwhelmed but young enough to be fully swept away by the magic of it all.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

I do prefer touring plans over ridemax, though I usually use the “evaluate your plan” feature rather than the “make a plan for me” one. During some years I’ve also used both, just for the fun of it.

 

[Bossy22]

I'm hoping your experience is similar to mine. My wife and I use to superplan, and I mean superplan. We would draw out on paper maps our plans including fastpass running and snacks. Everything was on our map with detailed notes. We tried to plan similar for a slower time once we had kids but threw it out the window and just go with the flow! We have a rough plan (I can't help myself) but it is subject to the whims of children. We see a character they want to meet we go. They're getting tired in lines we go to the island and run, etc. It has turned into the best touring style ever and we get in all the rides etc that you could want!!!

 

[EmJ]

I’m a big planner, too. I have two daughters, who are 2 years apart in age, and we have been going yearly in August, since the little one has still been a baby.

Here’s what worked for us, when the kids were little:

Having them be part of my prep work as to which rides to target, using first person YouTube videos, so they can decide what looks exciting and what looks scary. Also, have your kid help you prioritize rides into “absolute must-dos,” “ok to dos,” and “I’d rather nots.” My kids also love to be part of the prep work.

Bring lots of snacks (somewhere in the website it says to not bring in food, but they tend to be really lenient about this, unless you bring a huge icebox with stuff—that’s not allowed). I have my kids help me pick out snacks they like in the store.

If the kid is small enough (and not insists on being too old for that), an umbrella stroller can greatly increase your mileage and also be used for little rest periods.

My plans are usually precise to the minute (with several versions, depending on ride closures) in the early morning and then get subsequently more lenient throughout the day to account for unforeseen hiccups—as a result we do get a ton of stuff done while minimizing stressing out over it. In order to utilize that first “golden hour,” we actually “train” getting up early. I wake my kids and have them eat breakfast according to our Disney-schedule during the week leading up to the trip to get them used to getting up early.

Remember, you can still use your Maxpass to pull Fastpasses, while being in your hotel for the midday break. I predict that you and your family are in for a fantastic time. This is the perfect age for a first Disney visit: old enough to not get too overwhelmed but young enough to be fully swept away by the magic of it all.

Thank you! My son walks very slowly, so we are definitely taking our umbrella! I really like the theme that’s emerged of front loading the day and then relaxing after lunch. Also, with gates not opening until 9:00, we should be able to sleep until 7:00, which is later by 30-60 minutes than we do at home! So I think we will feel energetic in the mornings!

 

[EmJ]

I do prefer touring plans over ridemax, though I usually use the “evaluate your plan” feature rather than the “make a plan for me” one. During some years I’ve also used both, just for the fun of it.

Yeah I think I’m going to get Touring Plans just to play with it. It’s $8 in a thousands of dollars vacation. I need to stop being Cheapy McPennypincher . Plus it’ll probably be more like a game to me, lol.

 

[EmJ]

I'm hoping your experience is similar to mine. My wife and I use to superplan, and I mean superplan. We would draw out on paper maps our plans including fastpass running and snacks. Everything was on our map with detailed notes. We tried to plan similar for a slower time once we had kids but threw it out the window and just go with the flow! We have a rough plan (I can't help myself) but it is subject to the whims of children. We see a character they want to meet we go. They're getting tired in lines we go to the island and run, etc. It has turned into the best touring style ever and we get in all the rides etc that you could want!!!

Love it! I laughed at the description of your maps - I think we might be related! Also, what is “the island”? It sounds like something I should have on my radar!

 

[az4boys]

So, after 5:00 pm there is only dinner and then 1-2 attractions. Do you mean change the 3:30-7:00 to two attractions total and dinner?

Regarding dinner, I'm not planning on making reservations at any sit down restaurant. I recognize that my planning may be in vain, and I want maximum flexibility if we need to go off script. We will do Goofy's Kitchen the night of our arrival, which is a nonpark day, and then I'm planning quickservice for lunch and dinner after that. Do the quickservice lines already start getting long at 5:00?

I didn't read the whole thread, so these points may have already been made:

• With Maxpass you will have access to more rides than you can handle. My advice is to keep collecting Fast Passes through Maxpass throughout the day (especially during hotel time), then relax and use the ones that are convenient for you. Don't stress about using every single one. You can cancel them if you realize you won't be able to use it. Go on rides that don't have FP earlier in the day before the lines get long. Focus on rides in the first 3 hours.
• Use mobile ordering for quick service restaurants as much as possible. It will be a huge time saver. For example, if you are at a ride and heading to a QS location. Order before you start walking.
• Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland and Redwood Creek at DCA are great for little ones to get out some energy and escape all the over stimulation.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

Yeah I think I’m going to get Touring Plans just to play with it. It’s $8 in a thousands of dollars vacation. I need to stop being Cheapy McPennypincher . Plus it’ll probably be more like a game to me, lol.

You can start with their suggested plans and then edit, or you can just start from scratch. Once you started editing, make sure you know the difference between Optimize and Evaluate And, with little kids, pull those sliders all the way to the sides (slow walkers, etc.) since that helps build in the buffers you need for little kid time too.

 

[Bossy22]

Yes, as az4boys mentions it is Tom Sawyers Island. In DCA we have our "play time" in Redwood Creek. The first time I kept looking at my watch but they did so much better after getting to run around and play that soon I was suggesting going there for a break lol. We'll miss the splash park in bugs land, that was our other go to. The last but not least of the "break places" is the animation building in DCA. My kids would dance away, talk to Crush and see what Disney character they are most like! Very good break spots!!!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses... toon town is so much fun to just wander around and step on manhole covers, and pull door knobs... you won’t be able to check off a ride so much as spend up to an hour or so just exploring... same with heading over to Tom Sawyers Island... and having a wander... little boy’s dream over there! Climbing all the steps to the tree house... which I find super sweet, if he’s seen Tarzan he will get a kick out of that too. We love Mickey’s Magical Map, and Turtle Talk with Crush and drawing academy... all those things aren’t rides but add to the magic!

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Yeah I think I’m going to get Touring Plans just to play with it. It’s $8 in a thousands of dollars vacation. I need to stop being Cheapy McPennypincher . Plus it’ll probably be more like a game to me, lol.

Yes. To me the whole prepping is one of my favorite parts of the vacation. Playing around with my touring software and printing out my various plans make me feel all high tech! Also, I love that those programs not only give wait times but also tell me the approximate length of each ride, which is great information when you’re trying to come up with the perfect time line (of course there are things such as ride breakdowns, so a bit of flexibility and backup plans are always great—keep in mind that you can adjust your touring plan in the park to account for changes if you are using it on your smart phone’s app)..

Another thing I forgot in my above comment: I recommend having a preliminary plan ready about two weeks before you leave and then “dry run” that plan, looking at the waits and FPs return times using the app (make sure to match the proper weekdays with those of your trip, since crowd patterns can vary throughout the week). Hopefully those two weeks have the same opening and closing times—if they don’t, that can throw things off. This helps you make further adjustments to hone and tweak your plan. Make sure you also factor in the occasional pee break (when we traveled with my mother-in-law one year, her bladder really threw my plan for a loop...).


Meals are a bit of an unknown in each of my plans, since their lines can vary quite a bit. What works for us is using mostly counter service places at odd times (right after they open or between their typical lunch or dinner crunch times). I haven’t used mobile ordering yet but figure that might be helpful, too. Breakfast we do either really early at the hotel, if they have it, or on the run—or speed walk—to the parks (granola bars, Odwalla juice, stuff like that—lately we have been staying at DLH, so no BF but refrigerator in the room, which increases BF choices). My own BF is my patented (not quite but ought to...) coffee shake: freshly made coffee from the machine in our hotel room, add some extra instant via coffee from Starbucks, a blub of heavy cream, some peanut butter, and vanilla protein drink—I usually bring my purée stick to whip it to the right level of creaminess and large cups/straws that I got from my friendly neighborhood Starbucks or Jamba Juice before the trip. That drink + my excitement for the parks = supercharged energizer-bunny type mommy!

So, as you can see, I got this down to a science!!

Again, I do involve my kids for my meal planning, too, using menus from the Disney website and photos people post on Yelp or here on the board. Our planning together has become a fun part of our trip (and at this point, my kids actually start asking a while before we leave when we will finally start planning!). Especially with kids, having an idea what to do helps a great deal, since decision making can be hard in the middle of all the intensity of a crowded park. In my opinion, a great plan is a wonderful foundation for a magical trip, with the many surprises and pixie dust moments that are likely to happen building on top of that!

 

[lcp9]

I am the same way, and my husband can't stand being bored, so in direct contrast to just about everyone else on this thread we have done commando style every visit for the last 5 years and our kids are 7, 5, 3 and 1. It's easier with maxpass, which dictates what we do. If we get there at rope drop, we can get 5-7 attractions done in the first couple hours. People nap in the stroller as they need to. We do usually have a grandparent with us to watch the baby - everyone else is 42"+. I will say sometimes our kids throw fits about "scary" rides the first time...even if they went on them 500 times the last visit...and then they love them again. So mostly we go on based on what they request and what is efficient, but sometimes it's non-negotiable and it hasn't blown up in our faces yet. We do a lot of parkhopping (little boys and cars land vs one daughter and princesses) so we just keep moving and we get a lot done. We usually use the afternoon parade as a break. As of the last visit the 3 smallest kids still regularly napped from 2pm-5pm, so we tried to get some sort of nap in for each of them around that time and it worked out. We aren't back-to-hotelers. Anyway, however you choose to do it will work out!

 

[avalon451]

Nope, I’m not! That’d be too much work for me.

Wait, how did I mess that up? Sorry!

 

[EmJ]

Thank you to everyone! I've gotten so many good strategy tips, and this has been incredibly helpful. Right now, I'm still rough, rough planning, but I do feel like I have a better idea of how to outline our day. I will wait until this fall to actually try to put anything to paper, since I know any planning done now is subject to complete SWGE overhaul. I am also excited for the play areas mentioned. I think my son will love that and I did not even know they existed!

 

[farmfresh]

We took a 5 year old and a 7 year old on our first trip. We had no issues with a full day, but we did have rest break (they did not sleep), and did not do evenings, just late afternoons.Mornings tended to be structured, pms more free flow. We did not use a stroller (no self respecting 5 year old would get in one as where we are from they are at school 9-3 by that age! )

Four things I found helpful were:

1. Explaining that we would ride everything they were interested in, but we would do it with a plan. I let them know that this meant they would not have to wait too long. (one look at the first morning queue sorted that - they were ready for every early start!) That meant no issues if in the interests of planning we walked past something they wanted to go on.They understood we'd come back to it.
2. Booking a character meal. This meant they would see characters if we had to walk past them because we had a FP etc.
3. Pin trading. We bought both kids a lanyard each with some pins. They had many great interactions with CMs around the park, and whilst waiting. Also a new pin makes a good reward if you need to encourage some kind of behavior.
4. Food! For my then 5 year old, food mattered more than rest. So we had plenty of refuelling stops. But we did mix in sit down shows etc .

It worked very well for us. We had the odd melt down (one place in TLAND is permanently labelled as her gloomy spot!) but that's to be expected. Food and a break settled that. We still recall that trip fondly. One of the highlights was multiple trips on Indy, which seemed to be the family favourite. It wasn't until a couple of year later that she confessed to having kept her eyes closed every time!