How much do you plan?

[pam66]

It's our 3 yr old DD's 1st trip. 5 Days in July at BCV. I can't decide if I should book PS's, dinner shows and/or tours ( I'm thinking of HDD and Family Magic Tour). Or should I just follow my DD's lead. She is a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) Buzz fan and we may stay stuck at Pizza Planet, Al's Toy Barn, and Buzz's ride. LOL. Accounting for travel, we won't have 5 full days and I don't want to overdo it. Is there anything that is an absolute Not To Be Missed event? I would love any help or tips. Thanks

Pam
PS
So far, all I have are 2 PS's for character meals; Chef Mickey's for dinner our 1st night and Cape May at BC for breakfast our last morning.

 

[mommystieg]

If you don't have any guide books, you may want to get one or two and make your own "not to be missed" list. You may not want to plan too much since we all know how unpredictable toddlers can be We took our 2 y/o dd to HDDR and she loved it!! After we came back she would march around singing "Hoop de doo, Hoop de doo". All the things us big people think are "not to be missed" (Illuminations, Fantasmic! and FITS)may not be your toddler's cup of tea. My dd loved fireworks as long as someone covered her ears. Do you have any of the sing-a-long videos? Those are great because they show the characters interacting with kids and since they are filmed at WDW and DL your little one can kinda get an idea of what is going to happen. The ones my dd loves are:
Campout at Walt Disney World
Beach Party at Walt Disney World
Disneyland Fun
Flik's Musical Adventure at Animal Kingdom

 

[pam66]

I do have a few guidebooks. I just got overwhelmed and was wondering how important PS's were as opposed to "flying by the seat of our pants" so to speak. I'm glad to hear your child liked the HDDR. I think it would be fun since my parents and brother will also be with us. It's good to hear that young children enjoy the show. We also have the sing a long videos so I think she will be pretty comfortable with the characters. Thanks for the feedback.
Pam

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I have a pretty detailed plan but i stay flexable with- in that plan. I always know what park we are going to start at each day. I take into account EE and what we have done the night before. I make a few special event plans such as MVMCP for this trip and HDDR last year. I also make PS for anywhere we know that we want to eat. This year I will make them ahead of time for Ohanna's and CG as well as one or two character meals. Most of the others we make the night before or after we get to the park. We try to hit the big line rides first and then just work our way through the parks. Some people plan the order of each thing they are going to do in each park. I tried that once and it made me crazy! I do insist that we use some order in touring the park. When DS was younger he would want to go from one area of the park all the way to the other side to do rides in the order he wanted. Plan a little, relax a little and have a blast.

Jordan's mom

 

[laceemouse]

I think the PSs you have planned are great but I wouldn't make too many more. You are going on a pretty short trip and, as much as I hate the burger and fries thing, you really do not want to do sit downs for every meal. They are very time consuming and I know my kids are chomping at the bit to get to the next attraction! I plan every day as far as which park etc. but I usually limit sit down meals to 1 per day and pick up something quick for the other meals. Hope this helps and have fun!! Lacee

 

[pam66]

I have made a reservation for the HDDR and I think I'll hold with that and the two character meals for now. I was seriously considering the Family Magic Tour; it sounds like so much fun, but I think I'll save that for our next visit. Which I hope will be an annual thing, or at least every other year. I can't wait to go! My DD is sooooo excited to meet Buzz! I wish they had a Buzz character meal (and I have asked if they have one planned, they don't). Buzz and anything to do with him is going to be the highlight of our trip. Oops, I'm babbling!
Have a Disney Day

Pam

 

[Texian@WDW]

I love planning for WDW and once DL. I think it is so much fun!

I have found that this trip (July 2003) I haven't been so obsessed with it. This could be due to age, being busy with end of school/spring stuff, or that I feel confident knowing where to go and what to do. I haven't even bought the Official and Unofficial Guides. I do love what is available on the net and it makes it so easy to plan.

After deciding which resort to stay at, the most important planning that gets the most attention is eating! I guess I really plan around eating. I'll get those guide books for the long drive there.

Have fun!

 

[momof2sons]

We come to The World with a general plan. Like which parks on what days. We never make PS for lunch always do that when we enter a park or before we leave the resort. But we are real flexable and have changed plans midway through our day especially if a certain park gets supper crowded.

 

[crisi]

Our last trip was our first with kids. They were 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 and we weren't sure how it was going to go, so we made a few PSs (three for a seven night trip - one of them a character breakfast) and decided to fly by the seat of our pants.

DISASTER. Unless you are willing to eat counter service for all your meals, it was horrible. We'd show up to a sit down place early only to be told there was nothing available or a two hour wait. We'd trek to the next place that appealed to us and get the same story. By the third place, the kids needed to eat NOW, so we'd end up at whatever counter service was closest - I ate so many chicken fingers I don't care if I ever see another one. Junk for breakfast, junk for lunch, junk for dinner. Ugh! (I do like some WDW counter service, but even that has to be planned. The first place you stop is likely to have burgers and chicken fingers - if you want something like BBQ, you can find it, but you have to be where it is).

This next trip I will make at least one sit down PS per day. We may decide not to use it, but I'll make it. I'll also carry my cell phone and if we change our plans, call and see what arrangments can be made on short notice.

Some people run their trips around PSs, some never have any. Last trip I learned I'm much happier being closer to the first type of person than the second.

 

[colleen costello]

We eat a lot of counter service because of convenience and BUDGET. Lots of PS's are simply too expensive. We also eat offsite when we can. The "Crossings" area, near Downtown Disney, has Pizzeria Uno, McDonalds, and Perkins. Perkins has kiddie meals for $2.50! We eat here to save some money and then do some PS's.

SOME planning is good. If you don't overdo it you'll be fine. Little kids love it when you are flexible. Compromise! Make sure everyone gets to pick a "must see" each day. We work this way. My kids, for example, will NOT miss Test Track. I must always see Figment and my husband likes The Land.

Have fun.

 

[mryder]

Originally posted by pam66
I have made a reservation for the HDDR and I think I'll hold with that and the two character meals for now. I was seriously considering the Family Magic Tour; it sounds like so much fun, but I think I'll save that for our next visit. Which I hope will be an annual thing, or at least every other year. I can't wait to go! My DD is sooooo excited to meet Buzz! I wish they had a Buzz character meal (and I have asked if they have one planned, they don't). Buzz and anything to do with him is going to be the highlight of our trip. Oops, I'm babbling!
Have a Disney Day

Pam

My 3 year old DS is a huge Buzz fan. He loved the Buzz ride at the Magic Kingdom. Buzz is there throughtout the day, ask a cast member for the exact location. He does take breaks so not there all the time. All at the Studios, go to Al's Toy Barn area. Buzz, Woody, and Jessie are there. The highlight of my son's trip. A few of the green army men were also out one day.

 

[TammyAb]

I agree with crisi. We only made 2 reservations for our 10 day trip last year and we wished we had made more!!

When you finally realize you are hungry - you are starving and there's no where to eat with out a wait or no seats available at all.

What I suggest is making your ressies now at all the places you want to go and then plan your trip around them. That way you will be doing the park that your ressies are at. It takes too long to go from park to park.

I enjoyed planing our trip almost as much as going. I had our itinerary planned to the hour and it made things go so smooth!! I am a planner though - some are not...
Tammy

 

[DisneyVillain]

We plan in detail. We also remember that the people who are the most miserable are the ones who insist on following a plan that isn't working.

 

[Texian@WDW]

I agree Disney Villian: You definately need to be able to bend and adjust in case your plan fails.

 

[ZerasPride]

I am a detailed planner and that has always worked for my family. Traveling with two toddler though I know will be different this time. My sister does not want me "planning" our days. Of course, she's never been to Disney before so she doesn't know how important it is to have a least a rough plan of what you want to do each day. I keep telling myself that I have to flexible no matter what.

I have made two priority seatings per day. One late breakfast and one dinner. We can snack in between. Another poster mentioned making your ps arrangements and then scheduling your park days around those. That's what works best for my family and I am hoping it will work with toddlers. I figure, better to have a sit down meal where we can see the characters than wait in a long hot line and take a chance on not seeing them at all.

I am so excited about this trip and know my nieces are going to flip when they see the princesses and Pooh and friends. I already know my 1-1/2 year old niece is scared of the characters (bad incident at Chucky Cheese's a couple of weeks ago) so we'll play it by ear with her. After she screamed bloody murder to get away from poor Chucky, she followed him at a distance around the restaurant so maybe there is hope!

 

[laurabelle]

Yes, get PS', I'd make them early for a little one, take breaks to swim/rest at your resort, as well as finding places in the parks to stop and smell the roses. Our family loves the Japanese (Zen) garden in Epcot as a break in the parks, there are lots of others. I would suggest not planning on doing *late* nights every night- meltdown is inevitable. I'd have an outline in mind for your day, but as the other posters have said be willing to go with the flow. Also @ MGM is Playhouse Disney, my kids are too old for it, but it's a huge must do for preschoolers.
Have fun!

 

[tidoublegger]

Either Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace for a Pooh & friends breakfast! If you can get an 8:05am PS for CP, you'll be done before the rope drops! Both were enjoyed thoroughly by my 4 yo dd last week! Have a wonderful time!!

BTW, the daily times guide for each park will tell you exactly when to expect Woody, Buzz and Jessie at Al's Toy Barn. We got there at 11:00am for the 11:15 beginning of their appearances and she was the first in line. Woody and Buzz posed with her and gave their autographs in her book then Jessie came out and took my dd by the hand and walked with her to where she was greeting people! It was an adorable moment!!

 

[pam66]

Wow!
Your replies have been a big help. I have been working on an itinerary for our trip that will hopefully keep our trip moving smoothly but also allows for flexability. How does this sound?
Sun:arrival in afternoon
mgm parade 5:30
pizza planet
Meet Buzz tour park
Mon:am-MK
lunch: Crystal Palace
afternoon: pool and/or nap
dinner in Italy 5:15
tour the lands and Illuminations
Tues: am- AK
lunch: don't know yet
afternnon: rest
5:00 -7:00 Hoop Dee Doo
DTD or probably an early night
Hopefully, my parents will watch DD so we can attend the E Ride night.
Wed: am - mgm, gotta see Buzz again!
lunch: 50's Prime Time Cafe 11:45
afternoon: rest
dinner: Chef Mickey's 5:30
evening: MK
spectromagic parade & fireworks
Thurs: am - Cape May Character Breakfast 8:00
pack
Storm Along Bay Pool for one last time
12:30 ish - leave for the airport
Fri: Back Home
Start planning for next WDW trip

We are staying at the Beach Club Villas, so I didn't really plan any breakfasts because I plan to utilize the kitchen in the morning. any comments? Good, bad or mickey?

Pam

 

[LUCKYCAJUNLA]

Originally posted by mryder
My 3 year old DS is a huge Buzz fan. He loved the Buzz ride at the Magic Kingdom. Buzz is there throughtout the day, ask a cast member for the exact location. He does take breaks so not there all the time. All at the Studios, go to Al's Toy Barn area. Buzz, Woody, and Jessie are there. The highlight of my son's trip. A few of the green army men were also out one day.

WERE IS AL'S TOY BARN LOCATED IN DISNEY

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

It really is different for each family on what would work best.
For us- I plan on doing a lot more "planning ahead" for this trip- but not go overboard. And only because we've done the spur of the moment trip before with NO PS's and not really knowing all that there is to offer at WDW before going! We lucked out (bigtime) by being able to do the princess storybook breakfast without a PS- but now I realize how lucky we were to be able to do that without a PS!
I'm going to try not to go overboard on the "planning" thing because with 3 children things are just simply NOT going to work as planned all the time- I'm sure. But I also don't want to go the whole trip by the seat of our pants like last time- it could spell disaster and a lot of eating at counter services, not being able to do any character meals/etc.
My plans are to plan atleast one meal with PS per day- but I'm sure some days it won't work out perfectly. I HOPE (hope hope hope crossing fingers and toes if that will help LOL) to get a PS for Cinderella's breakfast- that's going to be a big deal for my kids- especially my youngest! And also plan on breakfastosaurus- simply because I did that on my solo trip and enjoyed it- plus the kids have not seen Donald yet..... didn't see him anywhere on the trip with them. Ice cream social at Garden Grill was great for me too- so I know the kids would love it. Other than that I'm not sure what plans to make.
For us- breakfast character meals would probably be best. I'm not much of a breakfast eater BUT my family is- and it will make or break the day honestly. Plus I hope to take advantage of EE as much as possible and I know we'd be more likely to do that if we have PSs for breakfast. We'll probably do some dinner things also- like perhaps Hoop Dee Doo (trying to decide on that one only because the food they serve are not things we really want or can eat- kids wouldn't want to, us parents are doing Atkins and the menu isn't all that great for us either). But we'd probably do better with breakfast PS's and just see how the rest of the day goes. I could see us making dinner PSs and then it not working out with the kids (either too tired to even go or having an afternoon back at the resort and not getting back to the dinner PS in time or not at all LOL)

So you just have to find what will work for your family. I'm HOPING that I can do a "happy medium"- not too planned but not completely unplanned/unprepared for either. I haven't exactly figured out how to do that though- because I would really like this trip to be more relaxed rather than commando style and like for instance- if we feel like making a day an "off day"- I'd like to be able to do so. So it's going to be hard for me to figure out what to plan ahead on PSs and such.... somehow I'll figure it out though I guess. LOL