Hitting the wall. . .

[revwooster]

Every time I plan a Disney trip, I hit the wall.

Our 60 day fastpass window is this friday, so I am working o n trying to figure out what to do and when. I find myself way more than knee deep in details about fast pass, crowds, rider swaps, park schedules. And it's making my head spin. . . . . .

Other people I know go to Disney and they come home saying "It was fun, but not relaxing" or "The two hour waite onbl for (insert ride choice) was so not worth it." Meanwhile, we have always returned having had a great time, feeling at least rejuvenated and recharged, and have never waited in a line for two hours (not sure any of the attractions are worth that long of a wait...). So I know it will be worth it...

But. . I am feeling a bit overwhelmed tonight. I know I can't be the only one who ends up feeling this way. What do you do when you hit the wall? How do you keep the magic alive even in the midst of rather umnagical details?

James

 

[joyjoy]

Wine always works for me.

 

[ottawamom]

Push through the pain. You're near the finish line. Having just made my Fastpass reservations yesterday I can tell you there is light at the end of the tunnel. Then it's an easy downhill ride to vacation day.

I find I spend all this time and effort now so that I can just go with the flow and follow my plans when the time comes. I even forget what I've got planned sometimes and amaze myself.

 

[KrazeeK120]

My Fastpass window opened today. I know exactly how you feel! Plus, this is going to be our first trip with our toddler, so my planning has been totally different this time. I hope all of the planning I'm doing will enable us to have an enjoyable trip! (I won't say relaxing because let's be real, nothing is ever relaxing with a toddler!)

 

[DiaryofaDisneyKid]

I plan everything like crazy right down to the places in each park we want to try snacks. I end up hitting a wall right after I have all my ADR's made and before I have to make my FP+. I take a couple days off and try not to even think about anything Disney related. After I've given myself a break I ease myself back into Disney by watching Disney videos and I get excited all over again!

 

[AntJulie]

My daughter and I share the planning...I usually make most of the ADRs...I let her know which days we need to be in which parks...She makes all of the FP+ and continues to pick up FPs when we are actually there (as we are getting on a ride she is scheduling our next one)...I usually keep track of parades, showtimes, fireworks, etc...We have an 8 year old and 3 year old that we have to make sure we do things they both like...not so easy sometimes but we make the best of it with rider swap...I would have your FP+ must dos ready since you only have a day or so before you have to make them...Once they are made you can always change things around...Start with the hardest ones to get the furthest days out of your trip...Good Luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[Tomh]

I have developed my approach to Disney planning over the course of 9 family trips, all in the heat, and crowds of July / August. The first year, we were total commando, with everything planned down to the minute. Positive . .. . we got to pretty much everything we wanted to. Negative, there was a ton of pressure to keep moving, to keep up with the schedule, and we missed the details.

Over the course of subsequent trips, I worked on ways to address the shortcomings of commando touring, and settled on how I do things now.

I plan our mornings, not crazy planning, not to the minute, but I schedule our 3 FP+, I try to pick rides that make sense, and do them in some kind of order that will allow a natural flow through the park. The first FP+ generally is scheduled for either 9:30 - 10:30 or 10:00 - 11:00 (we expect to use this one close to the end of it's window), and the next two directly after so that all 3 will be used no later than 12:30. When we enter the park, we try to hit some of the rides that get long lines, and try to follow a route that naturally brings us towards our first FP+ I will plan this out in advance, knowing what rides I want to do, and in what order. Once we get to our first FP+, we will do the first and second one right after the other. Then, we have time for a bit of wandering, use the bathrooms, have a drink, catch a ride or show with a short line, and work our way toward the last FP+. No planning is done for that part of the day. After the 3rd FP+, we will see what is available for our 4th FP, and then lunch.

The rest of our day is not planned except for the evening entertainment, we know we will do that. So, our mornings are planned, but not to the minute with schedules. Mid day on we just kind of take it as it comes. This allows us to be pretty sure we will do everything we want to do, and still gives us ample time to wander through the shops, sit and have a drink while enjoying the atmosphere, maybe play a game of checkers in Town Square.

I don't freak over the planning, because I don't plan with that much detail, just enough to give us a framework. We won't stand in 2 hour long lines, and I won't be a slave driver making sure everyone is walking fast enough on the way to the next ride because we are 2 minutes behind schedule.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I'm getting ready to make my FP+ this morning, I know how you feel. I do all of the planning-which park on which day, ADRs, and FPs- nothing aside from that, but that's still a lot. When I ask for help from the family I just get-"Do what you do best Mom" which is all good and fine until we are in the middle of MK 62 days from now and I'm being asked why we have FPs for Peter Pan and not Space Mountain or why did you pick AK on a Monday look at all these people!

It doesn't end for me even after the FP mark, I'll over think everything and question my plans and if I should change them. Heck it's not hard to be Disney'd out before ever getting there. But this is how things are now and since I love WDW and can't wait to go, it's what I do, lol.

 

[Surgie2]

What do you do when you hit the wall? How do you keep the magic alive even in the midst of rather umnagical details?

I feel your pain and our trip is not for 14 months! I keep telling myself - and I know it's true - that this advance planning will pay off in terms of shorter waits and a fun, but low-key trip when we get there. We are doing a multi-generation trip with husband and myself, our adult kids and four grandchildren who will all be under the age of 6. My son-in-law went to WDW with us for his first time 8 years ago pre-children. He's afraid our "commando style" of the past is what I'm thinking for next year's trip - lol. No way!

If you are ready to make your FP reservations then you've already made your ADRs and other 180-day reservations so half the work is done! Once you get your 3 FP per day, you can relax and loosely fill in other details of your days.

 

[Klayfish]

In my opinion, though not the most common one, is that you're hitting the wall because it's a wall you put up yourself. I'm not going to sit here and say people shouldn't plan to whatever level of detail they want, it's your vacation, your choice. But I think the more regimented you are and the more intense planning you do, the more pressure you put on yourself, the bigger that wall becomes, the less it feels like vacation.

As I've mentioned in many posts, we plan nearly nothing at all. Diddley squat. The only things we plan are FP+ for each day, because those are very, very valuable. Obviously, that necessitates us planning what park we'll be in and at what time, but that's it. When we plan that out, we don't look at crowd calendars, park hours, EMH days, etc...really, we don't. There's no hard planning or formula to it. We honestly pick parks simply through rotation....A,B,C,D,A,D,C,B,D,A, etc... Then when our FP+ window opens (30 days, because we stay off site), I log on at 7am and pick rides that I know the kids want. Takes less than 5 minutes. There is no other planning done. I couldn't tell you where we're going to stop for a snack, where we're going to stop to eat, what other rides besides the FP+ we're going to do. No clue. We figure that out while we're in the moment. Even the FP+ plans we make get changed spur of the moment often. For example, if we're in MK on Tuesday, the kids may ask what we have planned for Wed. I will tell them, and they may say "We'd rather go to Epcot instead of HS". So we'll pull up MDE and see if we can swap FP+. If we can, wonderful, then we're in Epcot on Wed. If not, then we're in HS like originally planned. When we're done our FP+ for the day, we decide on the spot what we want to do next...get a 4th FP+, park hop, go home, etc...

Even "touring" this way, we never wait in lines more than roughly 30 minutes long, 40 tops. We ride pretty much everything at least once, many rides multiple times. We go home happy.

In full disclosure, we bring all of our own food in, so we don't deal with ADRs. But I can honestly say that even if we did, it wouldn't really change what we do. If we had a dining plan, we'd make ADRs, then tour the way we always do. If we didn't feel like doing our ADR, we'd cancel before the deadline and just hit one of the umpteen QS places.

So my advice, for whatever it's worth, is to not get so caught up in all of those planning details. I think it just sets up crazy expectations and can lead to frustration, and feeling like the trip was a "bust".

 

[Surgie2]

But I think the more regimented you are and the more intense planning you do, the more pressure you put on yourself, the bigger that wall becomes, the less it feels like vacation.

From the completely opposite perspective, for me planning in advance does equal less stress and a more relaxed vacation once we get there. I spend hours "planning" by researching and reading various books and blogs but this in no way translates to a "regimented" vacation - not our style at all. I just like to explore many options, take notes and gain knowledge before the vacation begins. Then once vacation starts, we have a few ADRS, our FP+ and a loose plan for each day.

Even "touring" this way, we never wait in lines more than roughly 30 minutes long, 40 tops.

Nope, not for us, not with four preschoolers under the age of 6 LOL! 40 minutes would seem like an eternity haha.

But that's what I love about reading these boards - always interesting to learn how others do it - all part of the planning process for me!

 

[Nancyg56]

In my opinion, though not the most common one, is that you're hitting the wall because it's a wall you put up yourself. I'm not going to sit here and say people shouldn't plan to whatever level of detail they want, it's your vacation, your choice. But I think the more regimented you are and the more intense planning you do, the more pressure you put on yourself, the bigger that wall becomes, the less it feels like vacation.


So my advice, for whatever it's worth, is to not get so caught up in all of those planning details. I think it just sets up crazy expectations and can lead to frustration, and feeling like the trip was a "bust".

I tend to agree with you. The minute the planning stresses you out, it is time to reduce the details.

I am not a strategic FP planner, but I recognize I like having them so I make it work for my family. For us, over planning would be a disaster, but we need an outline to start with. I plan park days but looking at a calendar, but then still choosing the day that works best for us. From there I make dinner Adrs because we are more comfortable knowing they are there. FP? Why not? I look at my arks list, see if we are there morning or evening, book three FP and walk away. Planning done.
There is not an attraction, a restaurant or an experience that we allow to turn any one of us into a stressed out mess. My DH put his foot down on our first family trip when I was trying to drag the family to the next attraction, and while I generally am not good with a "word" this one was well deserved. We vacation to enjoy the family, and the moment we are more worried about "seeing and doing" anything than we are in enjoying the moment, it's time to stop.

 

[Klayfish]

From the completely opposite perspective, for me planning in advance does equal less stress and a more relaxed vacation once we get there. I spend hours "planning" by researching and reading various books and blogs but this in no way translates to a "regimented" vacation - not our style at all. I just like to explore many options, take notes and gain knowledge before the vacation begins. Then once vacation starts, we have a few ADRS, our FP+ and a loose plan for each day.



Nope, not for us, not with four preschoolers under the age of 6 LOL! 40 minutes would seem like an eternity haha.

But that's what I love about reading these boards - always interesting to learn how others do it - all part of the planning process for me!

Sure, nothing wrong with that. I'm with you. I don't read books or blogs, but obviously I do read this board and will put things I learn in my back pocket as knowledge. I suppose that could be considered "research". Just for me, the overplanning that can lead to a wall is something like having a spreadsheet to map out every minute of every day and trying to plan all of that. Strategically planning each and every ride at specific times. Just wouldn't work for us. We certainly don't criss cross the parks, and try to be logical in what we're doing, but do it on the fly.

 

[Taylor F.]

In my opinion, though not the most common one, is that you're hitting the wall because it's a wall you put up yourself. I'm not going to sit here and say people shouldn't plan to whatever level of detail they want, it's your vacation, your choice. But I think the more regimented you are and the more intense planning you do, the more pressure you put on yourself, the bigger that wall becomes, the less it feels like vacation.

As I've mentioned in many posts, we plan nearly nothing at all. Diddley squat. The only things we plan are FP+ for each day, because those are very, very valuable. Obviously, that necessitates us planning what park we'll be in and at what time, but that's it. When we plan that out, we don't look at crowd calendars, park hours, EMH days, etc...really, we don't. There's no hard planning or formula to it. We honestly pick parks simply through rotation....A,B,C,D,A,D,C,B,D,A, etc... Then when our FP+ window opens (30 days, because we stay off site), I log on at 7am and pick rides that I know the kids want. Takes less than 5 minutes. There is no other planning done. I couldn't tell you where we're going to stop for a snack, where we're going to stop to eat, what other rides besides the FP+ we're going to do. No clue. We figure that out while we're in the moment. Even the FP+ plans we make get changed spur of the moment often. For example, if we're in MK on Tuesday, the kids may ask what we have planned for Wed. I will tell them, and they may say "We'd rather go to Epcot instead of HS". So we'll pull up MDE and see if we can swap FP+. If we can, wonderful, then we're in Epcot on Wed. If not, then we're in HS like originally planned. When we're done our FP+ for the day, we decide on the spot what we want to do next...get a 4th FP+, park hop, go home, etc...

Even "touring" this way, we never wait in lines more than roughly 30 minutes long, 40 tops. We ride pretty much everything at least once, many rides multiple times. We go home happy.

In full disclosure, we bring all of our own food in, so we don't deal with ADRs. But I can honestly say that even if we did, it wouldn't really change what we do. If we had a dining plan, we'd make ADRs, then tour the way we always do. If we didn't feel like doing our ADR, we'd cancel before the deadline and just hit one of the umpteen QS places.

So my advice, for whatever it's worth, is to not get so caught up in all of those planning details. I think it just sets up crazy expectations and can lead to frustration, and feeling like the trip was a "bust".

This was how we "Disney'd" when I was a kid. It was always an enjoyable time for us kids. I'm structuring my upcoming trip a little more this time. We are doing one ADR a day. Character meal of some sort. The QS's and snacks we are going to wing. Lol.

I am not an over planner and totally agree with the sentiments of your vacation planning extents. I'm so with you.

 

[Surgie2]

the overplanning that can lead to a wall is something like having a spreadsheet to map out every minute of every day and trying to plan all of that.

HA! This strategy would lead to a separation between me and the other 9 family members at WDW!

 

[DiaryofaDisneyKid]

From the completely opposite perspective, for me planning in advance does equal less stress and a more relaxed vacation once we get there. I spend hours "planning" by researching and reading various books and blogs but this in no way translates to a "regimented" vacation - not our style at all. I just like to explore many options, take notes and gain knowledge before the vacation begins. Then once vacation starts, we have a few ADRS, our FP+ and a loose plan for each day.



Nope, not for us, not with four preschoolers under the age of 6 LOL! 40 minutes would seem like an eternity haha.

But that's what I love about reading these boards - always interesting to learn how others do it - all part of the planning process for me!

I agree! It is way less stressful for us with little ones to have a plan! I may plan every detail at home but we are in no way regimented when we are there. I book our FP+ and ADR's and the rest we just go by what everyone feels like doing. I have a little book with options like DS would love the snack at Norway or DD might like to pick a pearl in Japan etc. Over planning on my part just gives us options when no one can decide what they want to do next or the little ones get cranky. We are in no way a rush around the park spreadsheet family with everything planned to the minute. We are more of a go with the flow family with a book full of options in case we need it.

 

[han22735]

I try to keep it simple....By the time my FP window opens I know which park I am going to be at and my ADR's are done. I just pick the 3 rides I know will have a longer wait and book them from 10-1ish. Rope drop rides first thing and then hope for extra FP's in the afternoon. The rest of the day is spent doing what we'd like with no particular schedule.

 

[Surgie2]

I have a little book with options like DS would love the snack at Norway or DD might like to pick a pearl in Japan etc. Over planning on my part just gives us options when no one can decide what they want to do next or the little ones get cranky.

Yes! that's what I mean by "planning". It doesn't mean we'll actually do everything in my notes but at least I have some ideas. And honestly as the retired grandparents, we have way more time to research than the parents do.

 

[Ambehnke]

I wrote a huge story and then deleted it.... my opinion basically boils down to: -make no more than one ADR/day, decide the rest based on when you are hungry! -fastpass your must dos in the morning/early afternoon, try to stick around them on the in betweens -let everything else fall into place using the Lines app to avoid waits - you don't have to plan everything to a T, it's nice to be able to do what you feel like doing and not what you planned. I've done it commando and I've planned everything out and both ways I've had a magical vacation.

 

[revwooster]

See...I knew I wasn't alone!

There is certainly a balance between planning and spontaneity needed. I had a friend from college that planned her wedding day down to the minute (bride will walk down the aisle at 3:32. . .etc). I could NOT do Disney that way! (Her husband has said maybe someday we can go to Disney together, but, I think I will pass!) On the other hand, I had a friend go to Disney just a few weeks ago during a slow season in the parks and her exact quote on facebook was "The 7 dwarfs mine train was not worth the two hour wait!" I also could not do Disney if we were standing in line for ANY ride for two hours. Can't barely imagine much more than 10 minutes with small children!

We stay on property so we get some extra windows. This trip our must do was Cinderella's Royal Table (we are going in honor of our daughter's 5th Birthday..don't tell, it's a surprise! over the next two months she will be getting gifts from the princesses, culminating in an invitation to dine with Cinderella at the Castle), so we had to know 6 months out. (We didn't get the exact reservation we wanted, but close enough to be satisfied. . .and I will keep looking!) This is the first time, we've been booked so far ahead. Our last trip we were going to go in October, but discovered in February that my wife was pregnant with an October due date, so that trip was out! We wanted to take our then 3 year old daughter, so we made (what felt to a planner) a last minute decision and went in May (About 12 weeks later). And it all worked out. . . our ADR's weren't perfect, but they were workable. We went that trip knowing that we were going to let our daughter take the lead. So for example, we were supposed to go to Hollywood studios, but she loved magic Kingdom so much that she wanted to go back, and we never made it to Hollywood studios. We skipped a couple of fast passes because she was more interested in something she saw along the way. We knew that we wouldn't get to do everything and we knew that she wouldn't know what she was missing. It was a great trip (except for the heat indexes of 110), that she still talks about at least once a week!

That being said. . .. this time we've added an 18 month son and two adults over 65+. Add to that changes at Disney (no nighttime parade at Disney, Frozen Ever After (a must do with a 5 year old girl), etc) and you get a whole new set of planning challenges. I love a challenge though. . .And, whoever said it is right: The biggest wall is the one i put up myself! Trying to plan the perfect trip is exhausting!

So, today. . . I will make myself a nice cup of hot tea. . . dig up our old pictures and stream park music. . . breathe deeply and. . . .pick a few fastpas