Help with pre-trip planning

[LegendsDis]

Hello, I am a long time DVC member though I find myself in a strange position. I am too experienced with Disney World and DVC. Crazy, I know, but here is the story...

Next May 2021, I am taking my brother (57), his wife (55), nephew (20s), and niece (20s) to Disney World. My brother and his wife are now disAbled (mobility challenged ). This will be their family's first trip to Disney. For the nephew and niece, this will be their first trip to Florida.

I remember my excitement and anticipation for my first couple of trips many years ago. I am looking for ideas on how to build excitement over the next six months. How do I add to the experience and excitement for adults who are new to Disney, yet, not give away the first time experience?

 

[amyjeanbeck]

What a great question! I've only been to WDW once. Disneyland many times. But every time I am getting ready for a Disney trip, the planning process is what gets me excited. I love learning about the behind the scenes tips and coming up with strategies for each park. I also love listening to WDW related podcasts because they give a deeper dive, but not having the visuals doesn't ruin the first time experience. I also make a Disney music playlist and listen to it every couple weeks or so while I do housework or errands and it reminds me that we have an amazing trip coming up. We have a trip to WDW planned for the end of Oct. and are watching movies and shows on Disney+ to get us excited. We watched the Galaxy's Edge special yesterday and as we haven't been there before, it was a perfect balance between highlighting the magic and offerings in that section of the park, without ruining the experience for when we finally see it in person.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

I remember my excitement and anticipation for my first couple of trips many years ago. I am looking for ideas on how to build excitement over the next six months. How do I add to the experience and excitement for adults who are new to Disney, yet, not give away the first time experience?

First of all, I’m sure your excitement will spill over to them! Second, it’s so thoughtful to try and put yourself in their shoes!! I’m sure you will all have a fantastic trip together!

But every time I am getting ready for a Disney trip, the planning process is what gets me excited.

1000 times, yes! I love the planning!! I have 6 kids, who have varying levels of memory/understanding when we plan, so I just talk it all out with them. One son has said how he loves our “Disney rundown” in the mornings, where I share new info and/or ask Q’s about their desires/expectations for an upcoming trip. We also travel with extended family members quite a bit too, and I’ve learned that some people want the spoilers in order to best prepare (mentally) and get excited. Crazy, I know! I don’t want any spoilers myself, so I hadn’t ever considered that!! Some other people are just overwhelmed with all the ins & outs of Disney and really don’t want to learn it... they’ll let me know if they have a strong opinion about restaurant menus, but they’re just along for the ride.

I’ve tried other avenues to excite people as well (if they don’t want to dive in and learn all things Disney)

Crazy as it sounds, making shirts has become a huge part of our planning process! I bought a silhouette & iron press (specifically for our Disney trips!). I ask people to give me their favorite plain tees/tanks that they would like spruced up (or go buy some), and then ask everyone what they want made! We have only had one request for matching shirts thus far (and that was a trip with all adults- so, you never know!)... every other set has been individualized & we’ve had so much fun!! Coordinating shirts are really fun too- like personal snack goals... there are a million ideas on Etsy! We pick favorite quotes or characters from movies and then go to town making them! Even my teenage boys have a blast choosing their quotes & designs! We get stopped all the time asking where we got our fun shirts & our PhotoPass pictures have extra meaning to us as a result

 

[amyjeanbeck]

1000 times, yes! I love the planning!! I have 6 kids, who have varying levels of memory/understanding when we plan, so I just talk it all out with them. One son has said how he loves our “Disney rundown” in the mornings, where I share new info and/or ask Q’s about their desires/expectations for an upcoming trip. We also travel with extended family members quite a bit too, and I’ve learned that some people want the spoilers in order to best prepare (mentally) and get excited. Crazy, I know! I don’t want any spoilers myself, so I hadn’t ever considered that!! Some other people are just overwhelmed with all the ins & outs of Disney and really don’t want to learn it... they’ll let me know if they have a strong opinion about restaurant menus, but they’re just along for the ride.

Awww I love that you do rundowns with your kids! I love doing the same and find it helpful to have a balance between a few planned things and room to be spontaneous.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

Awww I love that you do rundowns with your kids! I love doing the same and find it helpful to have a balance between a few planned things and room to be spontaneous.

Thanks & I totally agree- balance is super important! I’m the kind of girl who plans everything (if I didn’t, we’d all just stare at each other all day )... but then we never stick to the plan (except for FP’s & ADR’s)... & we are always very happy with how our trips go

 

[LegendsDis]

Thanks to all for the replies