help with planning

erynsmom

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 27, 2008
Messages
439
I don't even know where to begin with planning a WDW vacation. Does anyone have any tips, tricks to share? How about lists, spreadsheets, etc that would help?
Any help would be appreciated.:)

Thanks,
Lost & Frazzled in ON
 
READ!!! Explore the Dis.....I spent waaaaaayyyyyyy to much time on the boards before our first trip last year but it was so worth it. I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much out of the trip if I hadn't. Especially read the trip reports and don't be afraid of reading the posts about people saying the had bad experiences.....that will help you prepare if something does go wrong.

Don't bother too much with a spreadsheet....just get scrap paper out and map out a week or however long your trip is...you will change it lots and lots! Don't let it stress you out...have fun with it!
 
I don't even know where to begin with planning a WDW vacation. Does anyone have any tips, tricks to share? How about lists, spreadsheets, etc that would help?
Any help would be appreciated.:)

Thanks,
Lost & Frazzled in ON

Lost and frazzled - oh, I can so relate to that! There really is just TOO MUCH information available on WDW :lmao: I found using a really WDW-experienced travel agent to be sooooooo much easier - after all, I don't have all day to plan and research answers to our gazillion questions, right? :rotfl:

That said, we are very much looking forward to our Grand Gathering (12 family members so far) in October. We're staying on-site and have the airfare, hotel and tickets already booked.

I found the "Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids" to be a wonderful source of information and highly recommend getting it to anyone going for the first time (like us!). The DIS is the best board for all things Disney IMO, so you've come to the right place :goodvibes

Have a wonderful vacation :wizard:
 
Welcome
When I first started planning I got alot of info from

Dis Forum check out budget board and resort board

All ears .com

*********** .com

mousesteps .com

familyfun .com

mousesaver .com

That should keep you going for atleast a year..lol...

Hugs and happy planning.
 

Check your local library for, or buy yourself a really good guide book. I, like a PP recommend the UG! Also, don't be afraid to ask any and all questions you might have! The folks round here are awesome at answering even the toughest of questions! Have fun and enjoy your planning! :)
 
I make an excel spread sheet that looks like a calendar.

Then I plot our departure/arrival days and every day at Disney etc. Look at WDW Disney site and click on the calendar to find out what's going on that day in each park.

I also plot opening park closing times and any EMH (in different colours for morning and evening) for all parks and our ADR forthe day. That way we know what to hop to for different hrs or planning to be a one park but then moving to another for our ADR.

I look at Unoffical guide website to check crowd control calendar for the dates I'm going (you have to have the book or be a member now to get the info) then I plot the suggested park for the day. It would be in columns but each day looks something like this...


Suggested Park - AK
MK Park Hours - 9:00am - 11:00pm
MGM Hours - 9:00am - 8:00pm
EP Hours - 9:00am - 12:00am
AK Hours - 9:00am - 5:00pm
BF/Lunch -
Dinner - Whispering Cannon 8:30pm

Dining Reservations
Extra Magic Hour - Morning
Extra Magic Hour - Evening

This helps me see our week at a glance. We've travelled with others too and they've come to rely on my itineraries for the "what are we doing today" daily question.
 
...thanks everyone for your awesome suggestions. Keep them coming.
Now I don't feel so overwhelmed.:)
 
I believe it is important to first think about what you and your family(?) will enjoy doing, given personal preferences, ages, physical conditions, etc.


For example, we went last May: DH (me), DW, DD14, DD12, DD8 and stayed at the Poly.

We knew from a couple of visits to Wonderland that 7 or 8 hours per day on the rides was enough for us. We were not interesting in any "commando" days at the parks.

Now, we all really enjoy eating, so we were on the dining plan. Every day ended with a table service meal around 7:00 to 7:30 at night, followed by fireworks viewing (sometimes from our balcony), then a swim. We found this very relaxing, and none of us suffered from tired feet or anything else while we were there.

We did not have much of a plan for visiting the parks. Before we left, we did make a tentative plan on which parks to visit on each day, which was partly driven by our dinner reservations, and partly to space things out (for example, no water parks on adjacent days).

When visiting the parks, we had some ideas in mind about the must-sees, and if they were likely to be busy. (All of this info gleaned from these forums!) So when visiting Epcot, we went to Soaring straight away to get a fast pass, but that was one of the few times. For the most part, we had no "attack plans", we just walked around the parks and made good use of the Fastpasses as we went.

Early May is neither busy nor quiet time. If it had been a busier time, this may not have worked so well. So if you go in a busy time you might need to plan more.
 















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