Hitting the wall. . .

[LuvMyEAR]

So much great advice here! DISers are awesome, and it is so healthy to have an outlet for our passion (obsession?)

As one pointed out, the wall is of our own making, but I love this particular wall. I plan the heck out of a trip, and find it builds my own anticipation. It's my thing. But it is also a desktop exercise, so to speak, as plans are for us guidelines or a default so we don't have to think about which direction we are headed in the morning. A mental safety net, if you will. If someone gets excited by something else on a given day, great! Abandon some or all plans and live in that moment. None of our travelling group expects perfection, we just hope to hit the main points of interest for one another and maybe discover new things, too.

I make and change FPs and ADRs because I can and when I feel like it. Embrace the wall, slide down, and relax at the bottom for a bit. Jump back in when the mood strikes. Because it probably will.

 

[Accident]

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?

I don't, I also take a relaxing pace and enjoy myself. I do different things every time I go into the park. I barely plan and it's really the don't want to leave without doing attractions that I fastpass and meals that I make reservations for. i'm also ok with not doing anything and wandering around just enjoying the day, no work, no on call and being somewhere the family relaxes at. I keep my eyes and ears open for things I didn't know about or people doing things I didn't know was available. I sleep in and set a noon alarm clock to make sure I don't sleep the whole day. We leave the park or change parks when we're just walking around struggling for what we are in the mood to do, warn out or just not enjoying the moment. We decide where we are going when we wake up.

It comes down to, we know we can't see it all and don't try.. We know our threshold for a line and when we don't enjoy it and what other factors might entice us to wait in longer ones (stoopid hot and the line has a/c is the most common. Rest and cool off while in line ).

 

[tsme]

I hit the wall too. It gets to be overwhelming planning everything myself. Plus I put undo stress on myself to try & make everyone happy. So I try to focus 1st on which parks on which days, then the adrs, & betwen adr & fp booking I plan our itineraries for each day, next try to get fps when I want & lastly rearrange itineraries to include the fp times. I still stress afterwards, but try to remind myself it'll all be fine.

 

[pitpat]

How did it go?

 

[Hopefully]

I don't, I also take a relaxing pace and enjoy myself. I do different things every time I go into the park. I barely plan and it's really the don't want to leave without doing attractions that I fastpass and meals that I make reservations for. i'm also ok with not doing anything and wandering around just enjoying the day, no work, no on call and being somewhere the family relaxes at. I keep my eyes and ears open for things I didn't know about or people doing things I didn't know was available. I sleep in and set a noon alarm clock to make sure I don't sleep the whole day. We leave the park or change parks when we're just walking around struggling for what we are in the mood to do, warn out or just not enjoying the moment. We decide where we are going when we wake up.

It comes down to, we know we can't see it all and don't try.. We know our threshold for a line and when we don't enjoy it and what other factors might entice us to wait in longer ones (stoopid hot and the line has a/c is the most common. Rest and cool off while in line ).

But as a local who seemingly goes all the time, you can do it this way.
That is not the case for many here on the Boards who are coming from a great distance and spending lots of money on tickets, food, hotels, travel expenses etc. for a short trip.
You didn't mention in the above post you are local and I thought it might be misleading to those who aren't frequent readers of the Boards.

 

[Surgie2]

That is not the case for many here on the Boards who are coming from a great distance and spending lots of money on tickets, food, hotels, travel expenses etc. for a short trip.

Lol exactly! No one in our group will be sleeping in until noon haha. But I'm envious of those who live close enough to visit frequently and don't have to even think about a schedule!

 

[Bullseye]

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!

I would agree with this. Once I have the resort, flights, ADR's, and park schedule planned out the thing that gives me a bit of anxiety is the looming FP+ date. This year with Pandora, ROL, A&E and other new things to do it's already weighing heavy on my mind. Plus not knowing if AK will be tiered doesn't help. I think I need to spreadsheet my FP action plan.


Here's a hilarious post by evilqueenmindy about WDW planning

My family mocks my planning too. Is this REALLY necessary, it can't be this complicated. . .i finally lost it.
"You can't handle the truth! Son, we vacation in a world that has FP+ and ADR's and those things have to be planned by people with type-A personality. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Aunt Sylvia? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for "going with the flow" and you curse the 17-page spreadsheet. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that being up at 6am on 180+ 10, while tragic, probably saved a reservation. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves time! You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that computer. You need me on MDE! We use words like "pin code", "FP+", "touring plans". We use these words as the backbone of a life spent making something magical. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a person who rides, and eats TS, and sleeps on property under the blanket of the very plan that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you", and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a laptop and log on to Dis. Either way, I don't give a magical disney day what you think you are entitled to!"

They leave me alone now.

 

[Pmlocke]

I answered this question last year and allow me the time to reply once again. My wife and I are in our 60's. We now travel, every year, to WDW but without children. We have brought our children and our grandchildren but several years ago (2013) we discovered something wonderful. It all happened when we visited to WDW for the second time that year. We were going to a wedding in Jacksonville and found it was a thousand dollars cheaper to stay a week at WDW than a weekend in Jacksonville. So I rented a car for the day of the wedding and that was that. This occurred in September, a quiet time usually because most kids are in school. It was a rush vacation planning wise so I didn't really do much planning at all. No dining reservations, no fast passes. On the third day, we were lazing at the pool and we both locked eyes. My wife and I stated at the same time "Best vacation ever". With the kids they want to do all the rides, they want snacks, they want stuff in the gift shops, they want to go over there, they want, they want, they want. Don't get me wrong. I love my children and grandchildren (even more than my kids) but you all know what I mean. It is hectic, busy and at times tiring. This time without the kids we were finding ourselves taking our time, looking at everything. We saw so much more than we had ever seen before. If a ride had a line longer than 15 minutes, we just walked on. We've been on them so many times in the past, we didn't feel the need to stand in line to do it again. Try doing that with kids. Every morning we woke up when we woke up. In other words, no alarm, no kids, just a peaceful realization we were back at Disney. We went where we wanted, when we wanted. Again, try that with the kids. I guess what I am trying to say is, the magic isn't lost or fading. It's waiting for you to grow up, get a little older, so you can enjoy being a kid again.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

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

I spend months planning every trip when we go. There is research into multiple crowd calendars. There is research into historical weather patterns. There is a color coded spreadsheet that includes sunrise/sunset, moon phases and historical temps. There are ADRs made at the 180 day window and there are FP+s made at the 60 day window. Details about the drive down including dining departure times, dining destinations and rest stops are mapped out (sadly the same for the trip home is done). Arrival night hotels are stalked from the date of resort booking (we drive down the night before and stay off property and head over early in the morning). I try to cover every detail I can and invariably DW will want to sleep in on our early MK day or DS6 will want to go swimming on our DHS day (where my favorite ride and nighttime show are) or DS14 will want to go blow his spending money at Mitsusoki in Epcot on our AK day. The point of that ramble is that I make all the plans because I love doing it. I know there is no way they will all come to fruition because we are more of a fly by the seat of our pants type group. Just try to enjoy the process and have a great trip.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't, I also take a relaxing pace and enjoy myself. I do different things every time I go into the park. I barely plan and it's really the don't want to leave without doing attractions that I fastpass and meals that I make reservations for. i'm also ok with not doing anything and wandering around just enjoying the day, no work, no on call and being somewhere the family relaxes at. I keep my eyes and ears open for things I didn't know about or people doing things I didn't know was available. I sleep in and set a noon alarm clock to make sure I don't sleep the whole day. We leave the park or change parks when we're just walking around struggling for what we are in the mood to do, warn out or just not enjoying the moment. We decide where we are going when we wake up.

It comes down to, we know we can't see it all and don't try.. We know our threshold for a line and when we don't enjoy it and what other factors might entice us to wait in longer ones (stoopid hot and the line has a/c is the most common. Rest and cool off while in line ).

Don't you live in the Orlando area now? I would imagine that would be a whole other type of planning than a tourist. I remember when we were going a few times a year, we were very chill about what we got done

 

[ArwenMarie]

I answered this question last year and allow me the time to reply once again. My wife and I are in our 60's. We now travel, every year, to WDW but without children. We have brought our children and our grandchildren but several years ago (2013) we discovered something wonderful. It all happened when we visited for WDW second time that year. We were going to a wedding in Jacksonville and found it was a thousand dollars cheaper to stay a week at WDW than a weekend in Jacksonville. So I rented a car for the day of the wedding and that was that. This occurred in September, a quiet time usually because most kids are in school. It was a rush vacation planning wise so I didn't really do much planning at all. No dining reservations, no fast passes. On the third day, we were lazing at the pool and we both locked eyes. My wife and I stated at the same time "Best vacation ever". With the kids they want to do all the rides, they want snacks, they want stuff in the gift shops, they want to go over there, they want, they want, they want. Don't get me wrong. I love my children and grandchildren (even more than my kids) but you all know what I mean. It is hectic, busy and at times tiring. This time without the kids we were finding ourselves taking our time, looking at everything. We saw so much more than we had ever seen before. If a ride had a line longer than 15 minutes, we just walked on. We've been on them so many times in the past, we didn't feel the need to stand in line to do it again. Try doing that with kids. Every morning we woke up when we woke up. In other words, no alarm, no kids, just a peaceful realization we were back at Disney. We went where we wanted, when we wanted. Again, try that with the kids. I guess what I am trying to say is, the magic isn't lost or fading. It's waiting for you to grow up, get a little older, so you can enjoy being a kid again.

This is such a cute post

 

[GenGen22]

I totally feel your pain... Im a DL vet and our vacationing style here in CA is usually with not much of a schedule as that's what we're trying to vacation away from is our daily schedule. It also doesn't help that you have to book your ADR's so much in advance way before the revised park hours are posted and then have to figure out your FP selections. I've been asking a lot of questions on here as well as using touring plans which I never thought I would do but I'm new to FP+ so I needed extra help. My window opens Sunday and I too feel very stressed out.

 

[eeyoresmom]

I totally feel your pain... Im a DL vet and our vacationing style here in CA is usually with not much of a schedule as that's what we're trying to vacation away from is our daily schedule. It also doesn't help that you have to book your ADR's so much in advance way before the revised park hours are posted and then have to figure out your FP selections. I've been asking a lot of questions on here as well as using touring plans which I never thought I would do but I'm new to FP+ so I needed extra help. My window opens Sunday and I too feel very stressed out.

I am an uber planner myself, depending on who we are bringing with us, what time of year etc. We are leaving in 11 1/2 hrs, bringing 8 adults, 2 first time visitors, 4 separate rooms, 2 different dining plans...you get the picture. Let me just reassure you, it's only as bad as we let it be. I have been tinkering with our plans all along. Lots of ADR's that I have been stalking started opening up yesterday( so 2 days before) We moved fastpasses around very easily up until yesterday also and that's for a party of 8. If you are reading these boards, chances are you are fairly well prepared and you will be able to tweak as the weeks go by. Just know what park you will be in each day ( I even switched that up a few days ago, and still did fine), and choose your top 3 fp's and get a plan in place. Chances are you will be switching it up

 

[Accident]

But as a local who seemingly goes all the time, you can do it this way.
That is not the case for many here on the Boards who are coming from a great distance and spending lots of money on tickets, food, hotels, travel expenses etc. for a short trip.
You didn't mention in the above post you are local and I thought it might be misleading to those who aren't frequent readers of the Boards.

Fair point but this started years before I even considered moving here and it's just under a year since my last full trip so I dont' think it was invalid advice. you are correct though, I forgot to disclaimer that.

Don't you live in the Orlando area now? I would imagine that would be a whole other type of planning than a tourist. I remember when we were going a few times a year, we were very chill about what we got done

yes, I was describing my traveling planning which wasn't that long ago and hopefully pointed out I forgot my little disclaimer about that. for us, not that much has changed and we still approach any particular park trip the same. Now there are times where it is very different and those trips are more than planned ones. but even now, I'm looking at the dis anniversary and planning that very similar to an offsite stay trip which might include a night or two staycation.

 

[GPC0321]

I've heard that planning a vacation is almost as much fun and as emotionally satisfying as actually going on the vacation itself. I definitely love planning Disney vacations, even though I've really only planned three (one 17 years ago, one last Easter, and the one coming in December). The one 17 years ago probably doesn't count since all I did was pick a resort and the kind of park tickets (hoppers) and that was it. It was my first trip since being a kid (went three times as a kid...no idea how much "planning" went into that). But that trip last Easter? Whoa, Nelly! I planned like a fiend! Making and adjusting ADRs and FP+ was super addictive for some reason.

BUT. I do remember hitting the proverbial wall at one point. A friend of mine at work is a frequent Disney goer, and he wanted to chat about my plans for the trip almost every day. I got to the point where I said, "I don't want to even think about Disney right now," LOL! I knew I had to leave it alone for a bit or I'd be burnt out before we even got there.

But, of course, as soon as I got home from that trip, to ease the withdrawal/depression, I had to immediately start planning the next trip! I'm a bit less intense this time as it's a shorter trip and we were just there last year so the "gotta see it all and do it all" drive isn't there. Resort is booked, tickets are purchased, and now I really don't have much else to do until they release MVMCP dates (hopefully this spring?) and then my ADRs. I don't even care about FP+ this little trip as rides are taking a backseat to Christmas stuff and some good eats!

But yeah. I think I filled an entire composition notebook with draft after draft of "the plan" that I reworked a million times while sitting in bed until the wee hours of the morning, fretting over making it THE. BEST. TRIP. EVER. Then we got there and the most fun we had was when we went "off script" (LOL) and just did whatever.

 

[GenGen22]

I am an uber planner myself, depending on who we are bringing with us, what time of year etc. We are leaving in 11 1/2 hrs, bringing 8 adults, 2 first time visitors, 4 separate rooms, 2 different dining plans...you get the picture. Let me just reassure you, it's only as bad as we let it be. I have been tinkering with our plans all along. Lots of ADR's that I have been stalking started opening up yesterday( so 2 days before) We moved fastpasses around very easily up until yesterday also and that's for a party of 8. If you are reading these boards, chances are you are fairly well prepared and you will be able to tweak as the weeks go by. Just know what park you will be in each day ( I even switched that up a few days ago, and still did fine), and choose your top 3 fp's and get a plan in place. Chances are you will be switching it up

Thanks for your enthusiasm. I think your right being on the DIS is very helpful and I know it will all be just fine. I am grateful I found the DIS for my first trip to WDW. We had an amazing time thankfully to everyone on the DIS and their advice.

 

[Elliesmommy]

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

I get it. This just happened to me. I had the regular dining plan, got exhausted making the ADR's, then panicked that I will have to schedule everything around dining. I ended up downgrading to the quick service plan and will just wing it with any sit down meals.

Honestly, I should have remembered this from my last trip where I had the regular DDP. My trip was wonderful and all but, again, everything centered around ADR's.

All the planning definitely gets overwhelming. Totally agree with the wine tip ! I also agree with plan some for the morning and evening entertainment. Most of my trips that involved carefree planning were...well...carefree.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

I try to take things easy if I start to get too stressed. I remember that my favorite rides will also be there next time, and that if I miss something or my plans go awry it's not the end of the world. Sometimes the magic comes from just standing by the castle and people-watching, or by riding the Peoplemover 3x in a row. I make my plans the best I can, and I try to get everything in, but if things go awry, I deal.

(Also, I am a 23 year old single person so my Disney trips are just overall less stressful, but I hope when I take my future family to Disney I can keep the same attitude).

 

[KalamityJane]

DL vet here, but planning WDW. I'm taking it like we do DL, I planned FPs for the rides like 7DMT and FEA, will be doing SDFP and taking it as it goes. Not planning on many ADRs (I think we have 3 for a week, we will do QS or CS). Lots of pool time. I started to overplan and it actually gave me a migraine, so at that point, I was like screw it, we ride what we can. The best part will be experiencing Disney with family.

 

[revwooster]

I didn't get to update this weekend. (Our daughters bday party was Saturday. 18 kids! So I was kind of busy. . . .)

But, I made it through. We didn't get most of the fast passes we wanted, but the process did minimal damage to our itinerary. The one we weren't able to get was for Frozen Ever After, but I did secure one for Soarin, so we just need to do Epcot a bit differently and we'll be fine.

here is what I learned in case it helps some one else. . . .. (maybe I missed these tips elsewhere, if so here they are again!)

1) Don't make your fast passes in chronological order. Instead make them in order of how hard they are to get. I started with 7DMT (had heard it was the most difficult), but I probably should have started with FEA. (I did manage to get two 7DMT on different days at the right times)

2) You can't schedule two fast passes for the same slot. Normally this was fine and easy, But. . . .this made scheduling fast passes for some of the shows tough. For example, we got a fast pass to the Safari at 9:30 (wanted 9, but this is livable). We could not then get a fast pass for the Lion King showing at 10:00.

3) The window for fast passes for shows includes arrival time at theater. This caused us an issue with Frozen Sing Along. We have a 9:20 fast pass for TSMM. This prevented us from getting a fast pass for the 10:30 showing of Frozen sing along because the fast pass time is 10:00-10:15.

The hard work of planning paid off. When things didn't work out the way I had planned, I was easily able to figure out workable alternatives because I had done my research.

Of course, because I am a perfectionist who loves a challenge.. . . . i will continue trying for the fastpasses I wanted in the first place!

thanks for your support! Good luck with your efforts. .

58 days to go. . . . .