How Many Of You REALLY Plan Out Your Trip To WDW???

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

This is the first year that I can remember really "planning" and it is as follows:

Day 1 - Arrive, unpack, pool, Crockett's Tavern
Day 2 - EE at AK and e-nite at MK
Day 3 - Pool, Church, PS O'Hana's
Day 4 - TL, DH golf in pm, River Roost
Day 5 - Kennedy Space Center & Cocoa Beach
Day 6 - EE at Studios, evening other parks
Day 7 - Pool, DH golf in pm, dinner/lounge in evening
Day 8 - EE at MK, evening in other parks
Day 9 - TL, pack, dinner/lounge in evening
Day 10 - Depart 6:00 am

Enroute to the parks, we'll discuss our plan of action once we arrive (usually me to restroom- LOL).

The above is subject to change based on weather ... we've all been several times and I know we do better with non-park days in between the park days. The above ends up being quite relaxing for all of us (me, DH, DS18, DD17).

You may want to do something like the above -- it's just a framework without the details.

 

[jaret]

On our past two trips I did make up index cards for each day.They included which park we would go to,which attractions we really wanted to go on,and any ps ressies we had for the day.This ensured we did not miss anything important to anyone,but also gave us a free scheduale to do as we pleased.I also kept them flexible so if we needed a down day it was possible to just do the minimum on a card and enjoy the rest of the day.We always had fun and no one was dissapointed.May be get everyones in put as to what is a must do at each park so no one is upset and once this is done you can do as you please (like ride star tours a whole bunch of times in a row which my 5 year old thought was just great last time because on our first trip he did not make the height requirement)You may find this a very relaxing trip and you never know what may happen!On our last trip we stubled upon the MK parade,and my DH was called upon in the sword and the stone skit,they were great moments which were not planned!!

 

[lovetoscrap]

Boy am I glad to read all this! My friends think I am crazy and my DH knows that I am! I am known for being a Control Freak (and I freely admit that I am!) and this is my Once in a Lifetime trip (which I hope will convince DH that once is not enough!). We are going with my mother, brother and my girls (3 and 7). I have the Unofficial Guide and have gotten everyone's input. We want to do and see it ALL! I have everything scheduled to the nth degree. At this point I have a 2 inch binder with tabs and color codes for each aspect of the trip! I have printed out almost everything I can from the internet. I have scheduled each day on index cards down to the last second! However I am very flexible and plan to take time to "enjoy" the little things--I have assured everyone that we will take bathroom breaks even though they are not written in the schedule! I have also left one day free in case of bad weather another day and for us to go back and do things again.

One of the reason that I feel that we have to have a plan is because just trying to come to a consensus on where to have dinner at home takes an hour! I do not want to waste my time at the park with "where should we go now?" I also think it is important for us to make sure we go to the most popular rides early.

If we go back again (hope, hope, hope) I will be less rigid and structred but I just want to make sure everyone gets to do what they want in case we don't get back again. And to accomodate everyone's wish list we need a "plan".

You have made me feel better about having this plan. I was starting to think that maybe I am a little to much of a control freak. And as many have mentioned, I have had a GREAT time planning! It has allowed me to "live Disney" every day!



You know I should probably change my log in name to CFscrapper--most of my friends call me CF (control freak) anyway!

Oh, and I started packing weeks ago--our trip is the end of April!

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

".... and have gotten everyone's input."

This is definitely the key when you have a mixed group like your's. Cannot stress enough how important advance communication regarding expectations are!!!!

Have fun!

 

[lovetoscrap]

Everyone going (except my 3yr old!) had to give me a list -- in writing-- of what attractions they want to see and do and where they want to eat! That is how I determined that between us all we need to hit everything! I have also saved these so I can't be blamed later if something gets missed! They have also been given the completed schedule to review--that is when I got the most teasing!

I also found out that a good friend and her family will be in MK the same day we will (she will have a party of at least 7 or 8 assorted family members) She is planning on going on the "we will just see what happens when we get there". She asked if we could go together and I gave her a copy of my schedule and said "only if you want to follow this!" She thinks I am nuts, but has decided to borrow my Unofficial Guide and maybe plan a few things. Her family members live in Orlando and are "Disney Bored" can you imagine! She is planning on them playing "tour guide".

 

[mm6mm6]

We had a breakfast PS at Hollywood & Vine one morning, Chef Mickey's for din-din one evening, and the Hoop De Doo one night also. So we knew that for our first trip, we just had to do MK the first day. The third day would have to be MGM since we had the breakfast there that day. Epcot would be smart for the day we were going to Chef Mickey's since we could just take the monorail.
So suddenly it worked out to MK day 1, AK day 2, MGM day 3, Epcot day 4. Funny how the meals set the schedule!
Other than that we just went with the flow.

 

[beansmom]

This year, not only do I get to plan my trip, I also get to plan for Dear Sis and her bunch,too! I am toooooo excited. She is already sick of me calling with new info and ressies, etc...and it's only been about 4 days.

She really missed so much on her last trip there simply because she didn't know all the stuff that you all told me on these boards. She didn't know about the talking fountains in Epcot, DeVine in AK, they didn't even GO to Epcot, she didn't do Fantasmic because they didn't know, AK wasn't even there when they went. So I'm making it my job to make sure their trip is the best ever.

We already have ressies for the hotels...I got her HIFS for $102 per nite and the free breakfast for 6 more than makes this a great price.

It's gonna be so much fun!!!!!

 

[Ms. WDW]

WOW! So many ideas and plans!! Thank you all!

My son was reading over my shoulder the day I posted this thread, and immediately said "who are you and what did you do with my Mother?". And I asked what was he talking about? He looked at me and calmly said "you aren't planning for WDW? Are you sick??". I guess that say's it all.....

I know that I will definately make PS arrangements. We have our favorite places picked out that we love to eat at.

As for the parks, well that's where I'm having that "inner struggle" with myself. I do know that I'm going to have to match the Parks up against our meal choices. I'd hate to be in the MK and realize we have PS arrangements over at EPCOT in 1/2 hour!!! However, I would imagine that's happened to alot of people at one time or another!!

I'll keep reading the replies and maybe the more I read the calmer I'll feel about "just winging" it.

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

I would strongly recommend that first timers and infrequent visitors plan pretty thoroughly in order to get the most out of the trip.

We were there as a family for the first time in 2000 and benefited greatly from DW's planning. This fall MIL & FIL and two recently acquired DDs will be with us so, because it will have been three years since the last trip and the make up of our group is different, we'll make pretty detailed plans again.

I believe you are much more likely to enjoy the trip more thoroughly if you are flexible enough to give yourself permission to deviate from the master plan if the circumstances dictate. Inevitably a ride will "out of order", weather won't cooperate, someone will get sick, etc..., but that doesn't mean you can't still have a great time. Even if it throws off THE PLAN!

BTY, my suitcase is already packed in my mind for our trip this fall!

 

[mom_rules]

For first timers-I have two suggestions:
1) either plan what you really want to see and
decide on a few places to eat and make PS
(esp. for character meals) or

2) resign yourself to the fact that this is only your
first trip and whatever you don't see on this one
you will see on your next and next and next.......

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

No matter how many times you have been there, I still strongly recommend planning "what park-what day". This way you can plan if you want to do early entry or not.

I am now planning for my 9th visit in early Dec. This will be my 5th solo trip; DH prefers to stay home. I don't have children.

On vacation, I refuse to use an alarm clock. I get up when my body tells me to, and then get to my *non-early-entry* park that I had planned to go to. At WDW I usually wake up between
7-8, so I have enough time also for a full buffet breakfast.
I don't need to get there at park opening, and I still do everything that I want to do.

 

[opal]

We have gone a least once a year for the past ten years. We, or I guess to be totally honest, I used to plan out each day based on EE, where we wanted to eat etc. After the 4th or 5th trip we were lucky enough to take a two-week trip to WDW in August. Since that removed a lot of the pressure to try to "fit everything in", I did almost no planning except for 2 or 3 "have to" PS. It was so nice! There were eight of us on that trip and everyone fondly remembers it as our best trip ever.

 

[InstImpres]

You have to plan and I got the greatest affirmation of that last week. I make a chart with 4 sections: AM, mid-day, evening and fast pass. I chart in parades/shows we want and than usually 1 PS per day. (The rest we eat in room or on the fly to uncomplicate life). My in-laws find me Disney obsessive. (o.k. so they are right). but they have always made fun of me for my planning and the 7 year old grin that comes on my face when talking about DIS. Last week we went with my sis-in-law and niece and I was dissappointed we didn't have enough hours/days to do everything I wanted. (we did not open the park any day). The last day my sister in law told me they did 2-3 as much as she has ever done in DIS and appreciated having someone who was organized and knew the ropes.

She always called me 2 days after returning and told me she has been dreaming of DIS since are return, can we go again!!!

Looks like I've converted another one

 

[heart4dis]

I WISH I could say I've been to WDW lots...Planning definitely is a must for first-timers or only-timers to get a lot in the day, but I dream of being able to go someday and stroll around relaxed. For my family, this is a one-shot deal and I want to have a plan but build flexibility into it.

 

[costpenn]

The first time I took my family, I remembered the trips my parents took us on to the World - Middle of July, arrving midday, no planning. Frankly, I did'nt enjoy it much as a kid because all I could remember was the HEAT & CROWDS. So I did some research, found out about the Unofficial Guide and planned & planned. My wife thought it was completely anal, but interestingly, by the third day she became a enthusiastic supporterof the plan and was into it!! We've been planning our trip next week since October and the kids and wife find it great fun. Careful planninig actually increases your "free time" - usually by the last day, the plan is not necessary and we go back, take our time and do whatever we want to do again. Going early. going off season, and planning your meals (arguing about where to eat is usually the biggest park time killer after time in lines) makes for mucho magic.

 

[GlennandAnn]

We usually take 3 trips down to WDW every year, so we never plan anymore. We wake up and see what we feel like doing that day. The only things we might plan in advance are PS's and if there are any special events going on in the parks. We used to be big planners and were very dedicated to the Birnbaum guide and the Unofficial guide, but now it seems much more fun to just do whatever we feel like.

Ann

 

[Ness2289]

I'm glad to see that I am not CRAZY! We're leaving on the 15th and I have the entire week planned from which park to where to "think about" eating.

I'm new here. How do you get the countdown to your trip across the bottom? That is really cute!!!

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says..............................Don't worry about it! If you have been a few times you have plans in your head, many of them. On our last trip, we made "no plans". Of course on the first three trips, we planned every second, so we had plans in our head.
Our planning kinda went like this.
What about tommorrow? EPCOT? OK. Left or right? Left. FP first or latter? First. World right or left? Left! Wow, a new twist.
What that meant in english was:
What shall we do tommorrow? How about EPCOT? Yes that sounds fine. Do we want to attack the left or right side of future world? Left of course, simply good time management. Should we get FP for test track first, or wait. Get them first, I'll run to get them and meet you you back at Ellens Energy. And then it's on to Canada for cheddar soup and the rest of the WS in reverse.
All that planning took about 90 seconds! I bet you can do the same thing!

 

[tax58]

I plan which park for each day and where we will eat. After that I give in to the family for the activities of each day.

 

[cindyfan]

Planning is part of the FUN!!!
It is something DD and I really enjoy as part of getting excited .....kinda like a "pre-show"!!!

Anyway, we start with.........Which park which day. To do this ......
We need a park hours schedule with EE days and E-nights (if any). Also, if there are parades, etc that are must-sees. For example: Spectro Magic.....it doesn't run every night!

Then everything seems to fall into place.
Keeping in mind not to do things like.....if planning E-night, then NOT to plan EE the next morning.

We also plan a "let's just do WHATEVER!" day in the middle of the trip. And a "shopping" day.

But we are always flexible!!! One morning we saw the weather and it was supposed to RAIN most of the day. So we changed our day from AK to MGM since most of the attractions at MGM are inside.

Just do what you feel is best and always remain flexible.