How do YOU do Disney?

[Tomh]

I was reading another thread about how someone plans their days at Disney and a few others shared how theirs days looked, and it got me curious about how different people experience Disney World?

So how do you and your family do Disney?

Some questions to get it started:

Who are the travelers?
When do you go?
How many days?
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level?
Car or Disney transportation?
Dining: plan (type) or OOP
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans?
And I'm sure their are other things that can be shared that I'm not thinking of!

Thanks for sharing

My gosh, we've tried it all lol.

Generally when we travel it is my wife and I, and our son and daughter. The first year we visited (2008) and last summer, my mother went along as well, and over the years, we have had my cousin, and two of my daughters friends travel with us on different occasions.

In 2008 we visited in July, every other year we have visited in August.

7 days our first visit, 11 to 14 days every other year.

First visit was offsite one night before, and one night after our Disney stay, and Villas at Wilderness Lodge in between. Trips 2 through 8 were all onsite at Port Orleans Riverside. Trip 9 was offsite at a rental house, as will be our upcoming trip 10.

We have driven from New York to Disney every year. During our onsite stays, we mainly use Disney transportation, though when it was more convenient we would use our car. Last year, since we were staying offsite, we used the car, and will be doing the same this year.

Dining, we paid for the dining plan our first year, got free dining the next 6 years, paid for dining year 8, and paid OOP last summer, and will do the same this year.

We are absolutely Rope Drop kind of people, and usually go straight through until close. We have done mid day breaks, but generally they don't really work for us. Typically, we plan our mornings pretty thoroughly with our own touring plan, and try to hit all of the big stuff in the morning. Lunch is usually either QS, or sandwiches that we bring with us, then in the afternoon we take it easy, go with the flow, and just do what ever we feel like. Supper is usually a TS meal, and then we enjoy the evening entertainment in the park. We never park hop.

We do sometimes do breakfast at a resort before the park opens, or leave the park for supper at a resort, then return for the evening entertainment. We've also watched Wishes from the dock at the Grand Floridian, which allowed us to get a head start on the traffic leaving. It is vastly different from watching in the park, but still quite enjoyable.

We almost always have at least one non park day. At least part of that day is spent in Disney Springs. Last year, we spent that morning exploring I-drive. This year, we plan on visiting Disney Springs in the morning, then going to Old Town for the car cruise in the evening.

After all of our different experiences, I have found that I enjoy both offsite, and onsite. Disney transportation is convenient and easy, but driving myself is usually faster. Dining plan is convenient, but OOP is less expensive. Touring like a commando is fine for part of the day, and helps ensure that we hit everything, but taking it easy for the rest of the day ensures you don't miss the details and little bits of magic. There is LOTS to discover outside the parks! Also, plenty of nice souvenirs are available for MUCH less than you would spend in Disney (I bought a palm tree last year, and I absolutely love it). I guess the most important thing I've learned is try lots of different things, don't just do what everyone else says to do. We have found a lot of things that we really enjoy simply by changing things up a bit, and doing things differently.

 

[aristocatz]

Who are the travelers? Me, DH, DD4, & DD2. We often travel with my mom & dad in an adjoining or nearby room.
When do you go? We only like to go during the cooler months: November-February
How many days? Usually 4 nights, 5 days
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? On-site. Resort level varies between Value & Moderate. Would LOVE to be able to do a deluxe in the next few years!
Car or Disney transportation? Disney transportation
Dining: plan (type) or OOP? DDP
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans? Rope Drop with mid day breaks & touring plans

 

[lovethattink]

Who are the travelers?
Myself, dh and ds

When do you go?
We are AP so whenever we get the free time.

But now it's evenings because I've just recently finished 35 radiation treatments and need to avoid sun exposure for a year.

How many days?
Mostly just a few hours here and there. But we use to stay onsite for SWW.

Onsite/offsite? Resort Level?
Onsite. We can drive from home for offsite. Moderate or value.

Car or Disney transportation?
Car

Dining: plan (type) or OOP
OOP

Daily schedule:
Rope drop or sleep in?
If I had my way, RD. But my guys are night owls, not morning people. I can count on one hand the number of times we've done RD.

mid day breaks?
No, if we are onsite we make the most of the resort. And spend more time there than in the parks since we can go to the parks anytime.

pool days?
Definitely! And no matter what the temps are outside.

touring plan or go with the flow?
Make my 3 FP then go with the flow.

park hop?
No. Imho, it takes away too much time.

meals?
We wing it. Though I really like the nachos at Minn and Bills. My son would live on resort pizza if we let him.

evening plans?
We like to walk around the resort. Catch a show at a park.

And I'm sure their are other things that can be shared that I'm not thinking of!
We like to stop and smell the roses. Take in the details. Talk with cm. And enjoy tree little treasures that are often hidden or missed when going commando style.

 

[BigredNole]

For us, it is as cheap as possible. However, Disney cheap is still expensive. We now do APs, use them over the 12 or 13 month use, and take 3 trips at least. Then, we skip 12 months. We stay offsite for the price of 1 night at a Disney resort. Get much more space, make our own meals, and save $1,000s by doing so. On the outside chance we can get a a 1BR DVC villa rental for about $1,000, we will stay onsite. Otherwise, we are offsite.

 

[dsdeleon]

We have done all combos in times of the year and places to stay but this is our previous trip and the most likely in the future:
Who are the travelers? Me, DH and 2 Sons (Now 8 and 11)
When do you go? Late August
How many days? 7 nights then 3-4 nights at Universal
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? Onsite - deluxe - AKL (concierge if possible)
Car or Disney transportation? Always rent a car
Dining: plan (type) or OOP: no dining plan. When we do stay concierge we really do get our value out of it.
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans? RD with mid day breaks. I just get the most bang for my buck with RD. We are never in the parks from 11-7 it seems. We always go back for lots of resort and pool time. The days we don't do RD, we only do night time. I just don't like the parks mid-day and work really hard to not be there then, especially in summer.

 

[pammydw]

This is such a fun thread!!

Who are the travelers?
Usually it's our family; myself, DH38, and our DD12. Our last trip it was just myself and DD! Girls trip and DD performed in Disney Springs wth her theater troupe (DH couldn't get away from work for such a short trip so I streamed live for him to see her performance). Our next trip coming up this December (DH has to see Christmas decor) will be us three, and now I'm planning a trip for my mom and I to go to the Flower and Garden Festival next March. It will be just us two so we can go at a slower pace! I can't wait! My mom hasn't been to Disney since 1983, when she last took me! Now I'm going to take her!! We'll stay at Boardwalk. She will love it there!

When do you go?
We like to go in October for DD's birthday, but now we have also experienced the beginning of December and LOVED the weather and the holiday atmosphere is amazing!

How many days?
Since we go when DD is in school, we don't stay super long, so usually 4 nights, 5 days. Once she reaches high school level, I'm sure this will change and we will have to go during school breaks. We'll see!!

Onsite/offsite? Resort Level?
Always onsite. That's part of the magic for us! We do the deluxe resorts, and we are trying them all out. We love the BW area and being in close proximity to Epcot. BW and BC are awesome resorts, and I just love walking through the International Gateway in to Epcot. We stayed at POP for our girls trip, and it was a nice place to stay, but it was just too far out from everything. We were only there for 3 nights and we couldn't get a room at our usual resorts. This time we're staying at Contemporary to try out being close to MK!

Car or Disney transportation?
Disney Transportation. We have taken a cab a few times, but only when needed.

Dining: plan (type) or OOP
DDP. We plan our meals according to what park we want to go to, and skip some meals so we can double up the credits to do a couple signature restaurants. We have never done Disney without the dining plan. Sometimes it seems like we're leaving a park to get to our next ADR, but we've never regretted that. We seem to make our plans work out time wise and never feel like we have left too early or without doing or seeing what we wanted.

Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans?
Surprisingly, we have never done RD, but we always get to the parks right at opening, or we have an early ADR so we're already in the park. We always try to fit in a pool break one day, but never a full day. Our trips aren't long enough to schedule a whole day at the pool. Sometimes our breaks might be a bus ride to our evening park so we are park hoppers. We do usually have a plan for the park we are in, between ADR's and FP's, we know what we're going to be doing, and we like it that way, for now...however, as our DD gets older, I'm sure our trips will start to change in pace. We are relitively newer to Disney vacations, with only 3 under my belt as a mom, and there is just so much to do and see, that's why I like having a plan. Once we have been many times, I can see us being a more go with the flow, but for now, we go in with a plan that has some flexibility, for SHOPPING!
We always try to see the fireworks at a park, even if we're watching it from the bus area. When we're done, we're done!
We love the MNSSHP and we do it every time. DD and I did the MVMCP this last trip and we plan to do it again when we're all there this December. I am hoping there will still be the Star Wars Desert Party for this upcoming trip. Would love to surprise my family with that!

Our ADR date isn't until June, but we already have wish lists (we love the planning phase as much as the actual vacation!) and what day for what park, where we'd like to eat, rides we want to ride. We just love Disney!!

 

[Elliesmommy]

Minus my first trip... I have always stayed on site for seven days during marathon weekend in Jan with a husband and myself. (I have had two husbands...lucky me!)

This year I am taking my DD8. She and I will tackle the thickened crowds for seven days over Easter. Because I have always went during low crowd weeks, I am expecting a big change from my previous experiences.

I hated the regular dining plan the one time I tried it. Personally, I just did not like planning my day around ADR's. Also salt is my friend, I could care less about sugary desserts. That being said, I did opt for the quick service dining plan this time 1. For the convenience of it. 2. I like the new changes to the QS plan. 3. My DD and I can easily eat three meals a day out of our credits.

Just like many of you, I kind of do a mix with plans. Partially wing it, partially plan it (FP's and such). Read up on touring plan ideas, tips & tricks before I go and then just keep that info loosely filed away in my noggin for me to help guide the day as it progresses.

Don't do pool days but find time to go for a swim from time to time.

Did enjoy watching my ex husband eat desserts at the Wishes Dessert party during my last trip. Okay not really, but I did enjoy the seating and the view. It was worth it for me. Because of this, my geek self and even geekier daughter opted for the Star Wars dessert party. Now I will truly enjoy watching my daughter nom nom nom on desserts while I have a cocktail and endless, salty, delicious cheese.

Do any of you take part in these little magical extras?

 

[Buddy888]

Who are the travelers?
Myself (26) and My Girlfriend (26).

When do you go?
Usually once a year in the summer (July), since the GF is a teacher. Before she became a teacher though we use to go in May.

How many days?
Now we usually go for the full month, last year we did 6 weeks . Prior to her becoming a teacher though we would do about 2-3 weeks stays.

Onsite/offsite? Resort Level?
We use to stay onsite before the GF was a teacher and have stayed at Pop Century, Saratoga, & Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo). Now we stay offsite since we go down for a month.

Car or Disney transportation?
When we use to stay onsite we always used Disney transportation. But now since we stay offsite we always rent a car.

Dining: plan (type) or OOP
Always OOP, never done the dining plans before.

Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans?
We like to do a combination of all of the above. Some days we'll try to wake up extra early to catch RD, some days well sleep in and go into the parks after lunch. We rarely do any breaks back to the offsite hotel as we feel it takes way to long to leave the parks, drive back to the hotel, drive back to the parks afterwards just for a few hours of chill time. We usually plan a free day or two to hang out and chill after doing 2-3 park days in a row.

 

[goofyernmost]

Over the years, my Disney time has changed:

I was always in non-planning mode. Always! I started long before FP days and just went from attraction to attraction until I got hungry and then ate something. Continuing on after that. After the first couple of trips I knew what I wanted to see again and what I didn't so I focused on that.

I hated FP from the get go and felt that a lot of the magic was lost when FP came in. It's hard to maintain an illusion when you are concentrating more on what FP's you couldn't get then what the attraction is all about. I hated it then, I hate it now, even though I think the current one is better.

Then the inevitable happened... I aged! I had to start incorporating my feet, knees, lower back and hips into the scenario. Probably why I like the new FP better then the old. I can have my three in hand, easily plan around them and not have to be running all over the park to try and get my favorites. I do not do APR's other then the occasional one at lunch time. At this point, by evening, my body has started to fatigue to the point where it is sometimes downright painful to continue on. I have spent as little time in a park as 4 hours and as much as 12 depending on how the body is reacting that day. I have had to use a scooter once, and will never do it again. No one knows, except those that have had to use one just how much of a pain it is and how much it slows you down. So, now what I can't walk I don't do. I have, however, because of that remained unplanned.

What I do is enjoyable though. Two weeks ago as well as a brief one day visit to WDW spent two days (almost) at Universal. I managed to spent 11 hours at WDW. The next day the body revolted and I only got in 5 hours in Uni. I left early and attempted to recuperate and managed another 8 hours at Uni. Sometimes the brain is determined but the body does not agree with that decision.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

Who are the travelers? - Usually, DW, DS14, DS6 and me...there have been other trips where DM joins in
When do you go? - Whenever we can...DW used to homeschool so it was much easier then!
How many days? - usually for a week but we have been for just 3 days after a cruise and for 4 days over Labor day
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? - OKW or All Star Sports depending on whether it's points or cash
Car or Disney transportation? - always have a car
Dining: plan (type) or OOP - we have only had the meal plan 1 time
Daily schedule: We typically sleep in and break in the afternoon and close the park down at night

 

[GillianP1301]

Who are the travelers? My son (currently 9) and myself
When do you go? Always the week leading up to Labour Day and through Labour day weekend. We return and he starts school the next day.
How many days? 10
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? Onsite. I have a bucket list item to try and stay at all resorts. We've done 5 so far with our 6th book. 2 each of value, mod & deluxe.
Car or Disney transportation? We fly and rent a car.
Dining: plan (type) or OOP: We've done OOP once and dining plan the other times. The last 3 trips have been DxDP, which I love. Next year, once my son is no longer a Disney child, I may go back to OOP.
Daily schedule: We do a park every day, but not all days are full day/nights in the parks. We always have a pretty early breakfast (usually a character meal) and then immediately to attractions after that. Fastpasses are usually late morning/early afternoon. Lunch midday and then we either hop to another park or stay in current park for a few more hours or a few days during the trip, we head to the pool. TS dinner and then some nights we do nigh entertainment and others we chill at our resort. Because we have 10 days, I feel like we can really have a little bit of everything.... some more relaxed days, some days with long hours in the park, some hopping, a few pool afternoons and some evenings out later with entertainment and some early to bed.

 

[Barnabas T Bullion]

The travelers? Me, wife, 2 kids (currently DS9 and DD5)
When do you go? Lately we go during school vacation in April. Formerly liked quick trips around Veterans Day weekend.
How many days? Old trips 4-5. Now we take into account the fixed cost of flying and minimal park ticket costs for extra days and make it 7-8 (maybe 9 next time?!)
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? Onsite. Have rented points at AKL but generally find the moderates to be almost as good. Must have moderates for pool slide and hot tubs.
Car or Disney transportation? Disney transportation. Never really had a huge problem with this. Hassle of car and driving on vacation is gone. Like it.
Dining plan (type) or OOP: OOP. Kids just don't eat enough to make it worthwhile for DDP.
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? Rope Drop for sure
Mid day breaks? If the kids want to... I think it works well but the kids sometimes want breaks and sometimes keep going. We do find the pool breaks mid-day really energize them for night time park touring even if they are not napping.
Pool days? Kind of, no exclusive pool days with nothing else though. Prefer Water Park days myself but the plan got nixed last vacation with a grumpy kid. So we slept in one day, skipped the water park, did some swimming and went to Epcot at night as was planned anyway.
Touring plan or go with the flow? Like Rope dropping, having a TP is a no-brainer. Or at least have a semi-rigid plan to know what works and what doesn't.
Park hop? No. Haven't found a need to do so yet. Maybe in the future.
Meals? Usually do a character meal or two for the kids. We enjoyed Chef Mickey and always love Donald's Breakfast at AK.
Evening plans? Sometimes but generally not much. Maybe a trip to Disney Springs when AK closes early.[/QUOTE]

 

[tonga]

Who are the travelers? Me, DH, DS age 8, my mom joins us on November - April trips (won't go if it's too hot)
When do you go? Last 2 weeks of August, March or April depending on DS hockey schedule. Used to go in September or October but now it conflicts with DS school and hockey
How many days? 11 to 15 nights, usually 14-15
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? Onsite. DVC every second trip when we have the points. Value if we don't. Our favourite DVC are Beach Club, Boardwalk, AKL, Poly. Favourite value is All Star Sports.
Car or Disney transportation? Car
Dining: plan (type) or OOP Usually DDP. DS eats like an adult so the buffets are a great value for him. Flying Fish and Teppan Edo are our two must do places - DS requested that we do Teppan Edo twice on our upcoming trip. We do a few signature places, and make up the short credits with a couple of favourite off site places. Hurricanes near the Walgreens on 535 is our current favourite.
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans? We're pretty relaxed about the parks, not commando at all. Not always rope drop, but early mornings. We get APs so we do park hop, but with an afternoon break between parks. We stay in the park until early afternoon and then head back for a break and pool time for DS. Usually go back out in the evenings for parks, Disney Springs or recreation. Disney Quest is a favourite and we're really sad that April will be our last visit before it closes. We do take some pool days, Disney Springs for DQ or Splittsville or a movie, and a bit of off site shopping.

And I'm sure their are other things that can be shared that I'm not thinking of!

 

[luvsJack]

Who are the travelers?--Always me, dh and dd (now 18 but started when she was 4) and on some trips, younger ds (next one though will be his children instead!)
When do you go? Prefer November. Have been in April and in March.
How many days? 4-8
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? on site. Pop Century
Car or Disney transportation? We drive from home to WDW, park and use Disney transportation.
Dining: plan (type) or OOP--Have always done the DDP and loved it. Not so sure I will the next time but Dh prefers it even if we won't "save" money.
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans?--We do RD and go until WE drop. Mid day breaks are usually nice long meals. Since we have access to a pool all the time, we do not tend to use the resort pool. We do park hop sometimes more than once in a day. But always end in the park that is open the latest of that particular day. We start with a plan but rarely use it after the first attraction or two. By the time we see the night show of whichever park we find ourselves in and make it back to the resort, we bathe and hit the bed and are out so no need for plans after that.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

Who are the travelers? It varies, but lately just me and DW. Many times we've gone with other family members so it can be as many as 9. But on an average, there are three of us--myself DW and DS if school schedule permits. He finishes grad school in May so then his job will come into play.
When do you go? Again it varies, but not in summer months.
How many days? 9 days, usually.
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? Onsite at All Stars. We are in the park at opening and staytill closing, with no breaks, so see no room to pay for a room we don't use that much.
Car or Disney transportation? We fly in and use Disney Transportation while there.
Dining: plan (type) or OOP OOP. Each trip I keep records of what we spend on snack, meals, etc, and it is ALWAYS less expensive to pay OOP. And I'm not a big fan of having a sit-down meal for every day. That always takes up more time when I could be doing Disney. We will have some sit-down-s but maybe only 4 o5 five the entire stay.
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans? I generally use WDW easy for recommendations on what park to visit each day, but we are on our on with regards to what happens when we arrive. I'm the planner in the family, so months ahead, I start the details and DW goes along with them. She enjoys just seeing what's next and being a little surprised by it. We always buy hoppers and use them most days. Most meals are in the parks with the exception of breakfast, which we usually have in our resort or in the room (pop tarts, granola bars, type).

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Who are the travelers? Usually me, DW, DD, and DS. We have been going frequently for 17 years now, so have had some variations on all four of us going.
When do you go? Been there in all seasons and almost all months except December. I love October the best.
How many days? Typically 4-5. Never been for more than 6 park days on a trip, and have had some single day visits here and there
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? Almost always on site. We started out at value, and still stay at Pop sometimes. Have tried all moderates and some of the deluxes. My favorite is Wilderness Lodge
Car or Disney transportation? Disney transportation
Dining: plan (type) or OOP--We enjoy the dining plan when it is free.
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans?--We mostly do rope drops or arrive soon after, typically avoiding morning EMHs. Now that the kids are young adults and DW and I are not decrepit we tend to stay in the parks until closing time. Have not done much park hopping in years past, but now we are AP holders so that will change. We definitely go with the flow and eschew touring plans.

A special shout out to DW and DD who are headed to WDW tomorrow for a quick trip. DW's birthday is Wednesday and DD is home for spring break. Lucky them! DS17 and I are envious and wish we too could get away on short notice, but we are already plotting our "payback" trip.

 

[CabesLove]

I guess I should start off by saying that we're from Florida and maintain our residency there, even though we're not always in the state because of my husband's job. We've gone to Disney quite a bit, and still try to go as often as we can. Occasionally we even have annual passes for the year. So our trips are kind of all over the place. Some short and some long, some planned out and some last minute, some years we get to go a bunch and some we may go once or not at all...like this year. Haha.

Who are the travelers?
Myself, my husband, and our two children (currently 5 and 3). Occasionally it's just the kids and I, and sometimes our families join us.

When do you go?
Anytime we get the opportunity! We would typically try to avoid peak season and almost always go during the week, but now our oldest is in school so that era is over and it bums me out. lol

How many days?
Like I said, we've had some super short (day trip!) visits and some longer, but our average is around 5.

Onsite/offsite? Resort Level?
Always onsite, usually value or moderate, but we have stayed deluxe a few times if I could find a good deal or in one case...had some serious pixie dust come our way! CBR is my personal favorite though.

Car or Disney transportation?
Car.

Dining: plan (type) or OOP
OOP. I don't think the dining plan would ever be worth it for us.

Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans?
We sleep in, unless we have a breakfast reservation. No breaks, since we just go later in the day...we prefer nighttime at Disney anyways. Arrival day is usually our hang out around the hotel day, so we'll do the pool then if we want to. It's also become tradition that we have dinner off property on arrival night (specifically at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse), and then on our way back we'll stop and pick up some groceries for the room. We do try to have at least one day off midway through the trip that we'll use for DS, and maybe mini golf or activities at the hotel. We don't do the water parks at all. We're pretty go with the flow. Rarely park hop, unless it's between AK and HS (honestly, we usually end up skipping AK lol). Dining reservations are probably the one thing I really "plan" every trip. We like to try to do at least one table service a day, usually for dinner. Evening plans vary based on where we are and what's going on, but if we're at Epcot...we have to stay for IllumiNations. It's my absolute favorite!

 

[Masonmj84]

I was reading another thread about how someone plans their days at Disney and a few others shared how theirs days looked, and it got me curious about how different people experience Disney World?

So how do you and your family do Disney?

Some questions to get it started:

Who are the travelers? Me, DW, DD, DS

When do you go? Usually Feb-Apr, excluding 2 weeks closest to Easter (but also like Nov-mid December)

How many days? Usually 8-14

Onsite/offsite? Onsite

Resort Level? Usually deluxe split stays (sometimes we start vacation at a moderate)

Car or Disney transportation? Disney transportation and occasional taxi/Uber

Dining: plan (type) or OOP Usually OOP but we eat DxDP style (see below)

Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? Usually RD
mid day breaks? Always
pool days? Usually at least one
touring plan or go with the flow? Touring plan for first 3 hours
park hop? Rarely
meals? Table service breakfast or lunch and table service (usually signature) dinner
evening plans? Typically plan one night for each of Wishes, Illuminations, and Fantasmic, otherwise usually hang out at resort after dinner

And I'm sure their are other things that can be shared that I'm not thinking of!
On trips of longer than 8 nights in March or April, we usually plan for one day at each water park

 

[whitney37354]

Who are the travelers? we've done just our family of three, with another family of four, & taken the grandparents with us
When do you go? either second week of June or second week of October
How many days? 6
Onsite/offsite? onsite Resort Level? we've done all three levels
Car or Disney transportation? Disney
Dining: plan (type) or OOP, we've done deluxe, QS, & OOP
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans? We get up just like we're going to work, so we have made it to a few rope drops. Sometimes we take midday breaks & a sometimes we stay in the parks all day. I plan before we go, then we go with the flow once we get there, taking into account our fp & dining plans. We have both park hopped & done one park per day. We've done Wishes, Illuminations, F! at night, and on other nights, we've done the movies by the pool & campfire. We have also gone to DTD at night.

We've taken three trips: all different & all fun!

 

[dreiwhit]

Who are the travelers? My wife, my son, my daughter and me.
When do you go? Either the week after Thanksgiving, or the last week of February - first week of March.
How many days? 5 or 6 park days.
Onsite/offsite? Resort Level? Offsite. We can either get a week in a condo free (my father-in-law is an owner) or for $349 through the organization I work for.
Car or Disney transportation? Car
Dining: plan (type) or OOP We bring food in from outside or maybe eat at a QS restaurant.
Daily schedule: RD or sleep in? mid day breaks? pool days? touring plan or go with the flow? park hop? meals? evening plans? We get to the park at RD, follow our plan for the day, and then leave in the evenings.