How do you plan?

[DISNEY FIX]

How do you guys plan out your vacations? Do you plan out the park to visit first then the restaurants? Wing it? Dinner reservations first? How do you do what you do? EMH?????
Thanks
Chris

 

[Deb & Bill]

We use EMH mornings to help us make our schedule. We always go to MK the day we arrive. If it's summertime (warm weather at least), we'll plan on hitting the waterparks for their EMH mornings, too. Maybe every morning that we don't go to MK for EMH morning.

Then we might decide where we want to eat and plan the rest of the parks around our ADRs.

 

[Lenc324]

I always plan around my dinner reservations.

 

[searlproudbottom]

We check out touring plans for the least crowed days, then make dinner reservations. Just google touring plans and you will find the link.
Searl

 

[OKW Lover]

I always plan around my dinner reservations.

Actually, this is pretty much what we do. Our planning process has evolved over the years to selecting some favorite and new restaurants we want to dine at. We then decide what nights to go there based mostly on when we can get reservations for (since we typically don't plan 180 days out). Once we know that, we plan our park time.

 

[Inkmahm]

We check for EMMH first and I plan our park schedule that way. Then we plan lunch and dinner ADRs around the planned park schedule. We always reserve at 180+ days so I rarely have a problem getting the ADRs we want.

 

[chevyAZ]

1. Check the Touring Plans for the least crowded days at each park.
2. Decide what park we'll visit each day and if we will be there all day or split between parks. We might do AK in the morning and afternoon and EPCOT in the evening.
3. Make ADR for restaurants at the park we expect to be in.
   

I hate to say it, but I do have a spreadsheet. My wife thinks that I'm a geek, but it definitely helps to plan.

 

[Deb & Bill]

1. Check the Touring Plans for the least crowded days at each park.
2. Decide what park we'll visit each day and if we will be there all day or split between parks. We might do AK in the morning and afternoon and EPCOT in the evening.
3. Make ADR for restaurants at the park we expect to be in.
   

I hate to say it, but I do have a spreadsheet. My wife thinks that I'm a geek, but it definitely helps to plan.

My husband makes me start working on our spreadsheet at least 6 months before the trip starts so we can get our ADRs. I thought every good Disney guest had a spreadsheet.

 

[monami7]

I have a spreadsheet too! I start planning as soon as we know were gonna go!
Heidi

 

[Pennyguy23]

We really don't think about it. I try and get lecellier(SP?) for one night and then we just get what other ADRs we want then just WING IT!!. We go way to often to have a spreadsheet. Not making fun, I know you all go ALOT too but I just figure we will be back in a couple of months so whats the rush. BUT!!!, we do ALWAYS go to MK when we arrive, First thing after check in. But we just planned an October stay and we don't arrive until Midnight so that wont work this time but first thing in the morning.

 

[Kathi OD]

I always plan around my dinner reservations.

I more than resemble this plan of action!!

After that we just kind of wing it. Now that the kids are grown, DH and I do things on a leisurely basis; no more commando for us. We know we'll be back in the next year or 2, so if we miss something this time around we know we can see it next time or the time after that. I think we were to Epcot 3 times before we went on TT. The first two times all the FPs were gone by the time we got there and the standby lines had too long of a wait time. I know that our way isn't for everyone, but it works great for us.

 

[DMKEDM]

We don't plan at all. Well, that's not true. I plan "to the max" just like everyone else. But DS and I both know full well that my plans are just for the fun of planning. Rarely do we actually do anything I've planned at the time I've planned for us to do it! Only "special events"--e.g., MouseQuest last May, a Cinderella's Castle visit w/my four-year-old "almost-grandaughter" (DD of a former nanny who's like a daughter to me) this past August--influence what we actually do...

Thanks to DVC, we're now going 3-4 times each year. I do make ADRs a few weeks ahead of each trip (and learned the hard way last year to make T-giving Day reservations early!), but we almost always wind up redoing those dinner plans once we arrive. We just go where we feel like going at the time...we have meal reservations that we decide to keep or cancel, based on our mood of the day. The joy of 5 - 8 days at Disney every 3-4 months! Works for us...

 

[dznymom1]

PLAN? We don't need no stinking plan Honestly, we make a couple of ADR's for the week and half the time we end up cancelling those. Sometimes we just wander down to the bus stop and get on whichever bus comes first.

One of the greatest things about DVC is that after a few years it's actually a wonderfully relaxing vacation because the planning is all behind us!

 

[jdvm]

We have a number of traditions that probably fall into the planning category. We always eat dinner on the first night in the same place. Always hit the same same park first. If it's a busy time, we'll make dinner reservations. When we arrive we'll check the EMH mornings and avoid them like the plague. Once at a park, we generally have a routine that works for us. We'll also have a list of special things to do that we never make it half way through.
John

 

[JimC]

We usually have our first night's dinner at the resort, then schedule other dinners based on the resort we are at. ADRs are typical for all dinners. For example:

- AKV (Jikos) or OKW (Olivia's) then our other nights are more likely to be at DD.

- WL (Whispering Canyon, used to be Artist Point but we have been disappointed with the food and service quality there recently) then we focus on Poly, CR and MK.

- BCV (varies), then it is Epcot, Studios and the resorts in between.

- VB (varies), then mostly off property.

We usually avoid the park with EMH in the morning as they tend to be the most crowded. Lunches are park based and usually without ADRs or they are made that morning. Afternoons are usually enjoying the resort with some boating, shopping, miniature golf depending on how the day is going.

 

[eporter66]

We come from New York, so we like to use our arrival day to relax, have a nice dinner and hang at the pool/resort. So, we usually make dinner reservations for our first night at our resort. Once we are in the room, I will take a drive to the store to pick up food/snacks/drinks for the room while DW and DD go to the pool. We get a 1 bedroom, and usually do breakfast in our room every day. This seems to help us get started, makes sure our daughter is ready to go.

We have a 3.5 yr old, so we dont like to plan too much, we just go with her flow so to speak. We have been to WDW a number of times, so nothing is really a "must do" anymore. When there is an attraction we want to see (Finding Nemo and Turtle Talk for this trip), we try to hit that first.

Parks - We plan around our daughter. This trip we are having breakfast in Cinderella Castle - so we are going to do MK that day since we are already going to the park. So EMH has no bearing... We want to do Playhouse Disney at MGM, and that only runs Th-Sun, so we are going on Thursday. We do try to get Fastpass to the rides we love (TOT, RRC, Soarin, Mission Space...), but after that we just enjoy the park. Love this time of year for EPCOT, just stroll around, sample food, listen to music and enjoy. The F&W fest is great!

Dining Out - We usually eat fairly early with her b/t 5-6pm, so a lot of the restaurants do have availability at that hour. We dont usually find that we wait long or get turned away. We also are staying at SSR, so with DTD right there, plenty of places to eat that dont require a ressie.

I enjoy planning and my wife leaves it up to me, the only thing she asks is for our travel day to be at the resort, which is fine with me. I must admit when we first started going to Disney I did a ton of reading and planning on which parks on certain days etc..., but for whatever reason (luck?) we usually make out really good, and not feeling like we missed anything. I think the best part is that we actually come back relaxed. Again, probably due to the fact that we go yearly, we never feel the urgency to do something in particular.

E

 

[BroganMc]

I plan by ADRs and usually with a framework of every other day leaving the days between for winging it. Our ADRs are based on places we like to revisit and new things to try.

We have started one tradition in recent years. Our first full park day involves a trip to Magic Kingdom's barber shop. My dad likes to get his mohawk trimmed and shaped. Sets off his whole vacation if he does that.

 

[newholidayx2]

Late afternoons & nights are spent in EpCot - whenever possible right in front of Off Kilter
I try to avoid early morn hours and do each park at regular opening time. The other mornings are for tours (well except this Nov I put aside the morn after my 50th birthday to just chill)
AR lunches are at the parks before I switch over to EpCot or I may leave the parks and start the EpCot afternoons w/AR there

 

[DVCJones]

1. Check the Touring Plans for the least crowded days at each park.
2. Decide what park we'll visit each day and if we will be there all day or split between parks. We might do AK in the morning and afternoon and EPCOT in the evening.
3. Make ADR for restaurants at the park we expect to be in.
   

I hate to say it, but I do have a spreadsheet.

We do the same thing

 

[chevyAZ]

We really don't think about it. I try and get lecellier(SP?) for one night and then we just get what other ADRs we want then just WING IT!!. We go way to often to have a spreadsheet. Not making fun, I know you all go ALOT too but I just figure we will be back in a couple of months so whats the rush. BUT!!!, we do ALWAYS go to MK when we arrive, First thing after check in. But we just planned an October stay and we don't arrive until Midnight so that wont work this time but first thing in the morning.

True. We come in from Arizona, so our trips are not that frequent. A lot of planning is required to make sure we get the most out of our vacation. I think that if we lived closer and could go more frequently, I'd wing it a little more.