How far ahead do you plan?

[kitkat4622]

We spent 8 nights in april of this year I am already thinking of our next trip but it wont be until Oct 2018. Planning 10 nights. Already missing Disney. How far ahead do you plan and how do I keep from driving myself crazy....lol

 

[melana]

Well.. I can't really answer as all my 3 trips have been planned in a 9 month timeframe or less. And i just decided on my December 16' trip 2 weeks ago... But even with that I spend my time researching, seeing what is new, constantly going back and forth on if we need to change resorts or stay longer. If I tried to plan a trip that is longer away than that.. i would drive myself crazy.

 

[niffer5150]

i've been planning for april of '17 since february. there's just so much research and planning to do. i like to plan, replan, and actually do the math on stuff tho. my kid helps and it's kind of bonding time.

 

[CaterFamily]

We spent 8 nights in april of this year I am already thinking of our next trip but it wont be until Oct 2018. Planning 10 nights. Already missing Disney. How far ahead do you plan and how do I keep from driving myself crazy....lol

We went this March - Cruise then WDW - and have already planned, booked, bought tickets (including MVMCP) for December 2016...So yeah...

My wife and I have a spiral notebook with our "planning":

Christmas WDW 2016
Aulani October 2017
DCL - WBPC 2018
ABD - England/France (Stop by DL Paris) August 2018

And a few things in-between.


EDIT: Basically once you've got the Disney bug its really difficult to get rid of. We're driving ourselves crazy just planning, waiting for ADR's and the like, for this next trip.

 

[SouthernBuckeye]

I usually plan "big" trips about eight months out. We go to WDW to golf, eat and/or shop for a day or two on short notice when we visit family in Orlando. That can help and also make me more crazy to get back!

Between trips I collect things, usually deals, I'll want for our next vacation. For example, we drive so I put together travel trays for the kids to use on the trip, "the princesses" send my kids a welcome gift to the resort and I like Disney shirts or themed clothing. I always have my eyes open for Disney coloring books, craft items, snacks, toys, clothes, pajamas...you name it. I buy it on sale or clearance then I have a nice stash in my closet. Yes, I take it out now and then when I'm in a crazy, missing, planning Disney kind of mood!

 

[warrenz1963]

I'm a planner so I don't think it's unreasonable to start planning now for your trip in '18. But maybe just a few hours a week at this point? Start reading up on where you'd like to stay. Put together a preliminary spreadsheet for budget and itineraries... small steps for now since it's so far out.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

I'm a late planner, but I have been so many times, planning WDW trips comes easy for me.
I always choose which park each day based on hours and if they have EMH or not.
I like Extra magic hours. Then I make dining ressies. Fast pass plans are always last.
I make a Word pad file on my computer for each trip for planning purposes.

Also I don't take long trips. I go for 5-7 days, that way I can afford to go every year, at least once.
Some trips I have planned in 3 months or less.
I think the longest trip to WDW exclusively was 9 days, and I was wiped at the end.
One year we went for 12 days and did both Disney and Universal for my son's graduation.
(I hate Universal except for the Harry Potter stuff)

 

[MommaBerd]

With every big trip we take, my planning horizon grows - which is both fun and not fun. For our trip in November, I started planning back in January. It was fun to decide what our dates would be, compare prices and sketch out various financial scenarios, and ultimately decide room accommodations. Then, I'll look over restaurant reviews and make a list of possible ADRs. Now, I've hit my 180 days and ADRs are made...and now there's kind of a lull until probably about 30 days before making FP+s.

The not fun part this time is that SO much will be different in the parks between now and then (and definitely between now and YOUR trip). The November calendar is not even close to being the final iteration, so making ADRs was kind of a guessing game. There are so many unknowns that touring strategies are all up in the air. Will RoL be playing? What nights will Star Wars Symphony in the Skies be? Etc. It's a little frustrating for a planner. During this lull I'm mostly keeping up with the changes, but I'm not necessarily *planning*. Probably around the first of August I'll start pulling the kids into the FP/touring process.

After our trips, I love to go back and look at pictures and remember with my kids/husband the fun things we did. We talk about what we would definitely do again and what things we missed and would want to do next time. That tends to "satisfy the cravings" for a while. Another thing I'll do is come up with a savings strategy for our next trip, because that is fun for me.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Typically, we aim for 1 year in advance.

We like to book, and then divide the cost of the trip by 11 months so that we can just make monthly payments and be paid off
before we arrive.

We were just there at end of April, and our next trip isn't until August 2017. I'm so sad, it seems so far away, but right now, I just want to book
and start paying for it.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We usually have one trip booked and talk about where to go next. This year is the exception where we booked a trip to Disney Vero Beach for Sept 2016 back in January but in April decided to throw in a June trip.

We are thinking about Universal for Spring 17 and are hoping for a family trip to Disney in Aug 17. These are early in the thinking about stages.

 

[cdnjason]

11 months. As a DVC member, you can book your home resort unto 11 months beforehand. So, we book 11 months ahead and start planning.

 

[kniquy]

Our next trip is in April of 2018 (saving our DVC points for a big family trip) I have already started w/ planning - just to keep my sanity. I am constantly reading these forums to learn about new tips, tricks and things to see. We kind of have a planning time line where we are just researching various restaurants now. That is one of the big highlights for our trips. 11 months out we will book and then 6 months out the dining reservation, 2 months out fast passes.

The last trip i planned was only 2 months out so i had to cram a ton of planning into 2 month -- fun but stressful. I probably went over board w/ a spreadsheet for each day and mapping out our park plan, FP, dining reservations even down to when we would grab a snack or CS meal. I think it helps ensure that we were able to see most of what we wanted, had meals and snacks planned - because no one has fun if they are hungry.

I think the planning process helps to build up the anticipation and excitement for the trip.

 

[dislovefrommn]

Our upcoming trip was booked 400 days out and I've been planning in some way or another every single day since then.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Our tentative dates for the next trip are 12/1-12/10. I've planned our budget, hotel choice, and bought 6 day PH tickets before the price increase. I won't do much else until January. I think budgeting is important as early as possible. We like to have our trip paid in full before we leave.

ETA: I've started doing my research on Universal now, because I am pretty clueless about it. Never too early to learn!

 

[PeasandCarrots]

I usually have a plan around 1 year out - not detailed but dates & usually a room only reservation at least.

 

[BeerMe]

The farthest in advance I've ever planned is 10 months. Our trip next week was reserved 10 months ago because Shades fills up for June that far in advance. Parks, FP and ADRs about 60 days. Our 2 month Fall trip, will be planned in September. Not much planning required for that trip. Condos are already booked and paid for.

 

[PSUGuy]

For the last 6 years or so we've been going in Oct for Food&Wine staying at Board Walk on rented DVC points. In order to get a DVC room during a highly popular Epcot event we must book the room 11 months in advance, the earliest a DVC owner can reserve. So... a few weeks after getting home from one WDW trip we're committed for the next year. As time passes we add stuff, sleep n fly hotel once our flights are booked, rental car. Some of those things are a lot cheaper if booked early so there are advantages to early planning.

BillFromPA

 

[gatorlisa]

Three or four months out at the most. But I don't do dining reservations. Table service is our my thing. We are fine with counter/quick service for our meals. Once the FP+ window opens, I look at park hours and EMH if staying onsite (we always use those...AM and PM), and figure out what parks we want our FP+ in on which days, book them, and call it done. I've done it on shorter notice too and it has worked out fine.

 

[loves to dive]

According to what you mean by planning. I know I'm going every year for F&G and F&W, not always sure what month/week/date but know I'm going during those times. I was there in March, which I booked maybe 3 months in advance, didn't book ADRs or FPs until day before, some FPs I didn't book until morning of and some ADRS (well of the 4 we ended up with I booked 2 about a week in advance and the other two the day of). I knew when I left I was coming back for F&W. I knew my AP expired Sept. 22 or 23rd. When they announced F&W would start Sept. 14th I was a happy little camper, that meant I would actually get 3 trips on one AP. So, about a week ago, I booked my rooms (I do split stays). There is a 80% chance those will change before I actually arrive if I find a better deal. That's it for my planning. I won't book FPs and only one ADR before I actually get there. The ADR I may book next week, I may wait a little longer because I may add another day to the beginning of the trip (turning it into a 3 resort split).

 

[mindeola]

Just got back and my next trip will be Dec 2017 with my girlfriends. I am already saving money and we have talked a little about where we might stay. I've looked at renting points. We won't do anything in depth until January though.