How much do you plan ahead of time?

[bigbabyblues]

We're going 9-2/8 to 10/5. I am going to make one PS for each day, so I'll know what park we'll be in for that particular meal on each day, but that's all I'll know. We'll probably know what park we're going to hop to after our break as well, but that will be it.

If we have our list of must do's, is that as much as we need? I don't really want to say, 'Ok kids, you only have 3.5 minutes to eat that Mickey bar before we have to be at X ride/show'. We will have 7 full days and 1 half day in the park, and with the kids (ages 1 and 3) we won't be able to do the roller coasters or big thrill rides, but we should be able to do all the things on our list.

Thanks for any input!

Steph

 

[HenDuck]

I make my PS ahead of time (usually make more than I will use).

I plan which park on which day and plan a rest/shopping day usually on a Saturday or the middle of the trip.

If you have small kids, you might want to plan to hit MK fantasy land on certain mornings so they get their fill, although the parks shouldn't be that crowded when you go.

If there are shows you want to hit, try to keep those in mind too so you can be in the right place at the right time!

Have a great trip!

 

[mic_key_mouse]

I think it depends on the person and/or how many times you've been there. I leave tommorrow and started about 2 weeks ago. Made a few PSs the last couple of days. Jumped on the DIS, mousesavers, and allearsnet to get all the updates, and off we go

We have 2 weeks, so I pretty much 'wing it' for most of the trip. Make PSs on the same morning as we are going, etc. There are lots of folks that plan everything though, too. I did my first couple of trips- felt it was important. Whatever level of planning you are comfortable with is what you should do.

Blessings,
mic_key_mouse

 

[disneysteve]

We plan nothing ahead of time. We do not make PS's in advance. We do not decide what park to go to each day until the nite before and sometimes not until the morning of. It depends on the weather. It depends on how we feel. It depends on what we're in the mood for. Etc., etc., etc. Last trip, for example, we left our condo heading for AK. On the way, it started raining so we went to MK instead since that is the best park to do in the rain (in our opinion). No way we could have planned that in advance.

We will sometimes make lunch or dinner PS's in the morning when we first enter the park but that's about it. For example, we always have lunch at Crystal Palace when we go to MK so we'll book that when we arrive in the park.

Keep in mind, though, that we only go during the off-season. During peak times like Christmas or Easter week, you probably want to make PS's in advance.

 

[dougsmom98]

I'm an over planner, but since my husband and I are teachers we can only go when it is busy. We know which park we are visiting and which attractions we will see in which order. We don't do sit down meals so that is one thing I won't have to plan. We also stay offsite so that requires a little more planning too. I think as my children get older, we will plan less but we try to plan it so that we mimimize the time we stand in line. We have 3 year old twins and a five year old and we try to avoid meltdowns if possible.
-Amy

 

[mansionfan]

We are already planning our August and October trips. It's never too early! It makes the time go by faster !

 

[Chicago526]

Your going for a week durring an off-peak time. Make PS's for character meals, but I wouldn't plan much beyond checking the early entry days for each park (if you want to get up that early to tour) and parade times. You've got so much time and crowds will be so light that you shouldn't need to do much planning at all.

I, on the other hand, am planning my trip to death. But it's my BF's 1st trip and since we ARE big enough to go on ALL the rides, we need some additional planning to make sure we get it all in. Also, I'm just a "type A personality planner".

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

Plan? I haven't even purchased park tickets or plane tickets yet. On the other hand, I'm not going until November...I figure I have a few more months before I have to do all that stuff. I'm probably not going to make any PS's. In all the times I've been to WDW, I never once ate at a sit-down restaurant there. (my parents had a limited budget and 4 kids). I am planning, however, on taking a day to rest in the middle of the week.

Good luck!

 

[Lora]

I make a rough plan for each day that includes the park, any PS (we make only a few - usually a couple character meals), breaks, and rides we want to do. If I don't stick with the plan it is ok. I also will switch plans to a different day depending on the weather or how we feel. I prefer to be prepared and not have to think about it while I'm there.

Once I thought I'd just be spontaneous and not really make plans. It was the worst! I felt unprepared and ended up wasting a lot of time because I hadn't thought through my day ahead of time.

Here's one of my days from our upcoming trip:

Tues. – Park Day 2
(MGM EE day)
8:20 - Bus to AK
9:00 – Safari
9:30 - Pangani
10:00?- 10:30 - Lion King
11:15 - Train to Conservation Station
1:00 - Lunch and rest in room
3:30 – to Epcot, Get FP for Mission Space,
4:00 - Living Seas – Nemo, Mission Space Ride, Test Track
5:00 – Spaceship Earth, Innoventions East, etc.
6:00 – World Showcase Entertainment and Supper
8:30 - Find spot for Illuminations (snack)

 

[two-foxes]

Granted, we only have 2 trips under our belts, but we are getting ready for the third coming up in Sept. I have already planned where we will need to make PS's at and what parks we will go to each day.....plus any tours, as we are doing DiveQuest. But we won't do any "attraction itinerary." We will play all that by ear.

My SIL is going in August and hasn't make one PS or done any planning and it is her first trip! It is driving me nuts! I am afraid she will wonder why I rave about WDW, when alot of your good times will depend on some good planning!

 

[bajanswife]

Mostly to learn as much as I can to get the most out of the trip. Plans for the trip itself are somewhat structured because it's a very short trip, but within each park it is completely flexible. The only PS (reservation, really) will be the GF tea, and that's not even in a park! We will eventually buy MNSSHP tickets for Oct 14th. My plane ticket is reserved but not paid for/issued. We don't have park tickets yet - we may buy one-days unless I end up registering for a convention I was looking into (then we can get short hoppers). Epcot has the F & W, so we will not be eating any sit-down meals that day. AK we will just do counter service. We're not doing MGM. MK will be just the MNSSHP right after the tea, and we will just snack when we get hungry again. I actually researched so much to end up with a plan that doesn't even call for any ressies beyond the tea!

I am also sort of planning our big family trip in 2006 or 2007, when all 3 kids and DH will come (my Oct trip is just me and friends). But it will all boil down to when we can get our timeshare exchanged for, so I can't even plan which month it will be yet! I am simply gathering ideas, and when I know when we're actually going I will form them into some sort of plan.

Yes, I am the ultimate over-planner, but I don't mind if I don't get to use all my planning - I learn so much from it that it's worth it even if ultimately the trip doesn't need as much planning as I had approached it with.

 

[kimwim8]

How much or how little you plan actually depends on you. I have been to Disney a lot, and my sister has been there several times. I like to plan everything out, so that I know I can get the most out of my trip. Whereas my sister just wings it. She says she has a good time, but when I ask if she did this or that, she says - oh man we missed that or we forgot to do that.

Oh, and if you and your hubby like to do the roller coasters or big rides, look into the baby swap. You won't be riding together, but one of you rides while the other stays with the kids, and then you swap & the 2nd adult gets to ride right away.

Don't stress, you'll have a great time no matter what!

 

[Wenda]

I have been to WDW 12 times and now I do a lot of research but don't make PS until we are there and get up in the morning and say how about eating at so & so tonight. I did make reservations for Hoop-de-do-review this time and have decided to go to AK the first day (if it is not raining). When I went to Universal I planned the day step by step because we only planned to go one day and we don't plan to go back. At WDW I know I will be going again in Feb and both trips are adults only, so if I miss something now I can do it then. Thanks to the DIS boards I have found out about several things that I never knew about even after 12 trip. For instance the tea at GF which I will look into doing this trip. I think it is best to do it which ever way you feel comfortable. Just remember, if you have small children with you some of your plans will fall thru but you will have a great time anyway.

 

[Eeyore2003]

I think it depends on the trip. For July we are taking my brother and family for their first time there. (My brother says ONLY time, but I can't imagine it) Children ages 7 and 11. I would like to get in as much as possible, but still take our afternoon break and make it as relaxing as possible. For this trip I have planned and planned and planned, down to the commando style list of rides, dinner ressies, and times of things. That being said, it never goes as planned and it's best to be flexible to insure a nice time.

Hubby and I are going the first week in December alone. All I plan on doing is making my reservations for MVMCP and Candlelight Processional dinner. I plan on EE for MGM and EPCOT. And I'm going to make dinner reservations in advance. Other than that, we'll just do what we want when we want. I'll probably make 2 per day. I can always cancel.

From experience about the only thing my younger son remembers from when he was two was the crippled duck at the campground we stayed at and standing in long lines. I would not plan very much at all and let the little ones enjoy the things that they think important, which is probably seeing the characters, going on rides geared to their age and just enjoying Disney World. I think they'll remember allot more if you keep things very simple and fun for them. I'd just relax and have a great time!!! I guess my only advice about a ride is to get there one morning on time and go straight to Dumbo, if your kids want to do that one. The lines for that are long and slow, although I'm not sure about that time of year.

 

[vicb]

I have a basic outline for which parks on which days and restaurant PS.

Then.... I threw it out the window on our first day due to weather! We really wanted to do BB and only our first day there looked to be warm enough (mid-70's) so we just skipped our touring plan and went! Then we had 2 days of rain which wreaked havoc with our evening plans (spectro/wishes/fantasmic) so we just switched parks and PS's and went with the flow.

In the end it all worked out, we missed eating at LTT (for the 2nd trip in a row ) and we missed Spectro (only showing one night we were there, rained out) and wishes (too rainy and cold 2 nights we tried). But we will try for those next trip.

If you have done your research it is easy to change on the fly, I knew enough restaurants our family would like and enough about what was at the parks to make it easy.

 

[phyllis1966]

I agree that there are many factors involved when deciding how and how much to plan. If it's your first time there, I think more planning is necessary. I've read and heard many folks complaining after their first trip because they waited in long lines all day, couldn't eat where they wanted to, the kids had meltdowns in the afternoons, etc. These people did no research whatsoever and knew nothing of FP, PS's for meals, taking a midday rest if necessary...I know not everyone knows about the DIS, but I alwauys read up a bit before I vacation someplace to which I've never been.

Time of year is also a factor. During off-season, when we go, much less planning is needed, so we go with an outline that includes where we'll be on a given day, and PS times for that day. We do the most popular rides as early as possible, then plan any shows we may want to see, and then ask DD5 what else she'd like to do in the park (if it's MK, she'll inevitably want to ride the TTA again ).

I think that personality also comes into play - some poeple like to fly by the seat of their pants, some like to plan almost every detail - whatever level of planning you're comfy with can really only be determined by you and your family, but I have found that a basic outline for the day is the most helpful. Overplanning may make you crazy and detract from your enjoyment and relaxation.


Anyway, I'm sure with all the help from your fellow DISers, you and your family will have a terrific time!

 

[madhouserobey]

you can use baby swap for the big rides tot ,RnR,splasp mount.and the rest of the big rides . dw and i used in nov 2003. just walk up to cm at the beginnning of ride and tell them you want to use the baby swap. he will give you a fast pass .one stands in line and rides , the other wait s with kids. when you come off you go right to pass line with the fast pass cm had given you.

 

[inloveindisney]

I have been planning for about 6 months now and I am not going until Next June!! It is my wedding and honeymoon though, so I feel like I have an excuse. I am addicted to the DIS!!