Hubby says I don't need to plan!!!

[bbjunkie]

This thread is the perfect opportunity to post a hilarious comment I received when I was obsessively planning my last trip. It was an extended family trip and some (including my hubby) wanted NO part of any planning - especially the level of ADRs and FP+ ride selections. I posted a thread here about family who didn't appreciate my planning and how to get them on board. I wish I could find the original thread or credit the wonderful poster who said this, but I can only find the text that I cut and pasted into an email. It is a spoof on Jack Nicholson's monologue from the movie A Few Good Men

"You can't handle the truth! Son, we vacation in a world that has FP+ and ADR's and those things have to be planned by people with type-A personality. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Aunt Sylvia? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for "going with the flow" and you curse the 17-page spreadsheet. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that Being up at 6am on 180+ 10, while tragic, probably saved a reservation. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves time! You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that computer. You need me on MDE! We use words like "pin code", "FP+", "touring plans". We use these words as the backbone of a life spent making something magical. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a person who rides, and eats TS, and sleeps on property under the blanket of the very plan that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you", and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a laptop and log on to Dis. Either way, I don't give a magical disney day what you think you are entitled to!"

This is hilarious!

 

[itchin2go]

This thread is the perfect opportunity to post a hilarious comment I received when I was obsessively planning my last trip. It was an extended family trip and some (including my hubby) wanted NO part of any planning - especially the level of ADRs and FP+ ride selections. I posted a thread here about family who didn't appreciate my planning and how to get them on board. I wish I could find the original thread or credit the wonderful poster who said this, but I can only find the text that I cut and pasted into an email. It is a spoof on Jack Nicholson's monologue from the movie A Few Good Men

"You can't handle the truth! Son, we vacation in a world that has FP+ and ADR's and those things have to be planned by people with type-A personality. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Aunt Sylvia? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for "going with the flow" and you curse the 17-page spreadsheet. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that Being up at 6am on 180+ 10, while tragic, probably saved a reservation. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves time! You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that computer. You need me on MDE! We use words like "pin code", "FP+", "touring plans". We use these words as the backbone of a life spent making something magical. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a person who rides, and eats TS, and sleeps on property under the blanket of the very plan that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you", and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a laptop and log on to Dis. Either way, I don't give a magical disney day what you think you are entitled to!"

Oh, bless you for this. It's 100% truth!

 

[MataHari22]

I wouldn't listen to hubby. Lol. Maybe he is the type that doesn't like to plan, or maybe he thinks you over planned last time and wants more down time. Or maybe he is one of those people that doesn't want to hear about all the planning. I would talk to him and find out what the deal is there. I would at a minimum plan out my park days according to the crowd calendar, have ADRs in place if you decide to have table service meals and I would definitely make FP+. Make plans more stealthily if he is the kind that doesn't like that type of thing. Lol.

The one year we did a day trip to Animal Kingdom, my step mom and I were taking my niece and we were meeting up with my step mom's cousin, her two little kids and my step mom's older aunt. My step mom told me - NO PLANNING! Which didn't make me happy to go in with out a game plan, especially because I was the only one who had been there before, but I listened and didn't do one. I tried to let my step mom do whatever she wanted. Well, everyone was standing around overwhelmed and totally lost, and didn't know where to go or what to do next. By the second time I heard - "what do you want to do?.....IDK what do *you* want to do?" I couldn't take it. I took charge and got some (paper) FP for us and started leading the way. When we finally left that night my step mom thanked me for stepping up. I told her it would have gone better and we would have seen a lot more and not waited in lines so much if she would have let me go in with a plan from the start. Sometimes people just think that they don't want a plan. Lol.

With 14 days, you can easily have a happy medium, because you have lots of time to see everything. As PP have said, maybe just plan half the day, and leave the rest unplanned for hubby.

 

[Minniesgal]

To be honest i'm our trip planner and I have largely stopped planning so I'm with your hubby. i've been watching ADRs all year and you can get almost all the places we would eat in at 24 hours notice easily exception being chef Mickeys so we will probably only have 1 ADR. We are rope drop tourers so we tend to go real early ride what we want to by noon then leave and go do other things so FP+ isn't a massive deal with us.

for me going with the flow is now more important than go go go

 

[c3h3a3r]

You have to have purchased your tickets in advance by at least the 30 days. If you have a voucher, I believe there is a number to enter them in on it that will allow you to book the FP+.

Great, thanks.

 

[c3h3a3r]

Thanks all ☺

 

[ChelleFeegan]

I always have a "rough" plan, enough to be able to book any FP+s and ADR's (we're not doing any this year, and I am so uncomfortable with that but OH has specifically said QS only... going to be so much fun, not!) but a lot of the time we do "wing" it. I have all the parks noted down on a spreadsheet and which are best, which have EMH's and we put that in the hotel room (it's also saved on my phone) and then on days where we have FP+s booked in the evening we decide there and then. I enjoy it because I've done some planning and don't feel overwhelmed, and OH enjoys it because its free and easy, and DD9 enjoys it cause she's at Disney and is a her happy place

 

[BudgieMama]

My DH was the same before our first trip. I ignored him, did it anyway, and he was very grateful. Me? I would have happily used Touring Plans personalised plans to the minute, and just did as they told me, but that's not his style. We booked ADRs and FP+, made use of additional FP+ and kept an eye on wait times before traipsing across the park for an attraction we wanted.

Next time, we're going for longer and we have QS dining rather than the regular dining plan, which means we won't need ADRs for every day. I'll make a couple of ADRs for out of pocket meals, book our FP+ (and know most of them can be changed as necessary), and plan parks days, but for the most part, we will have a much more laid back style, and hopefully DH won't realise quite how much of it is planned. As long as he doesn't feel rushed and on a schedule all the time, we're good.

I think with family who don't get the planning thing, the happy medium is what is needed. Book what needs to be booked, but try and be flexible when you're there. Be ready to ditch things if you want a day in the pool, or change park plans completely if you need to. Enjoy!

 

[Nancyg56]

This thread is the perfect opportunity to post a hilarious comment I received when I was obsessively planning my last trip. It was an extended family trip and some (including my hubby) wanted NO part of any planning - especially the level of ADRs and FP+ ride selections. I posted a thread here about family who didn't appreciate my planning and how to get them on board. I wish I could find the original thread or credit the wonderful poster who said this, but I can only find the text that I cut and pasted into an email. It is a spoof on Jack Nicholson's monologue from the movie A Few Good Men

"You can't handle the truth! Son, we vacation in a world that has FP+ and ADR's and those things have to be planned by people with type-A personality. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Aunt Sylvia? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for "going with the flow" and you curse the 17-page spreadsheet. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that Being up at 6am on 180+ 10, while tragic, probably saved a reservation. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves time! You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that computer. You need me on MDE! We use words like "pin code", "FP+", "touring plans". We use these words as the backbone of a life spent making something magical. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a person who rides, and eats TS, and sleeps on property under the blanket of the very plan that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you", and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a laptop and log on to Dis. Either way, I don't give a magical disney day what you think you are entitled to!"

LOVE THIS!!!!!!!! LOL!

I have to say that I get your husband. I am the planner in the family. WHen I was plannign our first trip back since our kids were young I drove my poor family, especially my DH nuts! They did not want to hear restaurant menus, best days, gynormous spread sheets, how to maximize a dining plan, nothin'! My DD, who had been several times as a young adult, finally told me that there was no way we could manage all the "Stuff" I had included (Stuffed) into the trip, and my DH asked me what my backup plan was in the event my poor little 4 YO DGD did not run with my program, and was scared of the characters the parks and wanted nothing moe than the pool? The only one who would even talk to me was my DSIL becasue he worked nights and had no one else to talk to but me! LOL!

Okay! Plan B! We planned park days, meals and what we did nto want to miss. That is it. Now of course we add FP into the mix, but still, we don't over plan. We always have a good time, have plenty of downtime, and never feel like we did nto get our money's worth from our vacation. Maybe you could change your focus, plan how many days you want in the parks and what days you will be there, btu also plan your "off" time actually making time for downtime. AS sense less as that seems, it really can be the difference between an exhausting mantra of "What do you want to do today? I don't know. You? I don't care. Where will we eat? Blah Blah......"

You know that you have relaxation all built in, area restaurant all scoped out so you can pop off suggestions when the family want dinner, and you know the area activities they like.

 

[mom2rtk]

OP, when is your trip? That alone can make a huge difference in the degree of planning needed.

 

[ariane37]

This thread is the perfect opportunity to post a hilarious comment I received when I was obsessively planning my last trip. It was an extended family trip and some (including my hubby) wanted NO part of any planning - especially the level of ADRs and FP+ ride selections. I posted a thread here about family who didn't appreciate my planning and how to get them on board. I wish I could find the original thread or credit the wonderful poster who said this, but I can only find the text that I cut and pasted into an email. It is a spoof on Jack Nicholson's monologue from the movie A Few Good Men

"You can't handle the truth! Son, we vacation in a world that has FP+ and ADR's and those things have to be planned by people with type-A personality. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Aunt Sylvia? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for "going with the flow" and you curse the 17-page spreadsheet. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that Being up at 6am on 180+ 10, while tragic, probably saved a reservation. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves time! You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that computer. You need me on MDE! We use words like "pin code", "FP+", "touring plans". We use these words as the backbone of a life spent making something magical. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a person who rides, and eats TS, and sleeps on property under the blanket of the very plan that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you", and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a laptop and log on to Dis. Either way, I don't give a magical disney day what you think you are entitled to!"

I LOVE THIS!!

 

[GillianP1301]

The trick is to plan so that your trip feels like it has no plan when you're actually there. Planning should just make things run more smoothly and not feel regimented. By figuring out which parks to do on what days, your top rides & book your must have TS meals will make for a much smoother day than waking up and trying to figure out where to go, then getting to a park and standing around looking at a map and getting lost trying to get from point A to point B, now that is stressful.

If he's anything like my husband, he just assumes that can happen without planning, but then gets annoyed when it doesn't actually work out that way. So just go about your plans, don't bother him with the details and your trip will just "magically" run smoothly and he'll be none the wiser.

 

[maltdizzy]

Timing plays a big part.

If you are there during peak seasons, you'll find many restaurants booked solid with ADR's and long ride lines. During Free Dining, ADR's are usually booked solid with people trying to get their money's worth. We avoid those times of years...never Christmas, never Spring Break, never Memorial Day through mid-August, and never Free Dining (we go late August, early May, etc.)

What this means is we only need ADR's for any must-do dinners and shows for that trip, typically ADR's we would often cancal or miss for a spur of the moment activity and now they charge for cancellations. And we only use FP+ because it's available to us to book for free. Typically at the right time of year, lines are rarely longer than 15 minutes and plenty (not all) of TS restaurants have tables available. It's the only way I go, I would hate a rigid schedule. Having to be somewhere at a certain time repeatedly over a trip is stressful and ruins the vacation.

BUT...it is always wise to schedule plan B's if you run into unexpected issues. And if going during any of the busier times listed above, I think you'd be very frustrated without per-arranging some dining options and planning out FP+.

 

[honeybunches]

The trick is to plan so that your trip feels like it has no plan when you're actually there. Planning should just make things run more smoothly and not feel regimented. By figuring out which parks to do on what days, your top rides & book your must have TS meals will make for a much smoother day than waking up and trying to figure out where to go, then getting to a park and standing around looking at a map and getting lost trying to get from point A to point B, now that is stressful.

If he's anything like my husband, he just assumes that can happen without planning, but then gets annoyed when it doesn't actually work out that way. So just go about your plans, don't bother him with the details and your trip will just "magically" run smoothly and he'll be none the wiser.

This. When my husband says something like this, it's his nice way of saying, "You're driving me crazy asking me where I want to eat/what I want to ride/which park should we visit!" My DH truly doesn't care what I plan for us. He is along for the ride. He doesn't care what we spend (to an extent) or what we are going to do each day. Therefore, he doesn't want to have to put any opinions in, either. He has a stressful job and makes decisions all day long, and planning our vacation is just not a blip on his radar. I actually prefer it that way, because I get complete control. I tend to get fixated on the planning, spending all of my spare time on it. He humors me by listening to some of my chatter, but he doesn't want to give opinions that I'm just going to ignore anyway. After our first failed trip in which I overplanned to the nth degree, now the plan I present to him is pretty basic (one or two parks per day, one TS ADR, and FP). In my head, I have a color-coded spreadsheet of what we might do in between, but it's not on the plan I show him!!

If your DH is like that, just come here and talk to us about your planning!!!

 

[jsmla]

Back when our kids were getting into the teen years I faced a full on rage against the spreadsheet type situation. I just went along. We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast and arrived at the park to the heat and crowds of late morning in June, about an hour before the time the spreadsheet would have had us leaving for a break. I think we did maybe three rides before everyone agreed to call it a day. That was the last time I had any complaints.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

My best trip was my least planned trip. That was in 2011.

This trip is 10 nights and I've done a lot more planning because of ADR's and FP+.

I will say my XH used to go every summer as a kid. They would stay off site, get up whenever, show up to the parks around noon and stay until closing.

We did off site twice and showed up to the parks by 10. I found the DIS and planned our 2009 trip obsessively. I made touring plans that we kind of didn't stick to. Pirate cruise, BBB, etc. It's the first time we did rope drop. We did some midday breaks. XH LOVED it. He couldn't believe how much we got done. He said he would never vacation another way.

In 2011 I planned very little. I did make an ADR everyday and which park we would hit. But that was it. We made it to the park for rope drop everyday with no complaints or rushing. No touring plans. Midday breaks at the pool everyday. Rode what we wanted. Met every single princess that trip. The trip was amazing and our best trip ever.

 

[c3h3a3r]

I stay offsite always. The answer to your question depends a great deal on how you usually deal with the parks. Personally, the last time I went was only for three days, so I planned what park(s) (park hopper) I was going to visit and on what days and then made my FP+ selections. I also had two places that I made ADR's for and those were mostly just to fit in with what I was thinking about doing.

Again, it is a personal thing. If you have a car, it is just as easy and no more time consuming to just go back to your car and drive offsite and eat most of your meals. For me I have breakfast before I go to the parks, usually have a quick service lunch and leave late afternoon to rest and have dinner offsite. I then return for the evening. I always have felt, in all my trips, that the little break rejuvenated me for the evening. Since I am not a parade or fireworks fan, I use that time to go on rides that are usually hard to get on, (like 7DMT) while everyone else is fighting for space to watch the other stuff. It just works for me. So, to make a long story longer, I only plan, location, FP's and whatever ADR's I might need... usually none.

A couple of years ago I didn't even make FP+ choices until I got to the park that morning. It was in the slower season and you didn't say when you planned on going. If it's the real busy season, waiting would probably a very disappointing way to do it.

Going end of July 2016 for 2 weeks, so guess I should book fastpasses.

 

[goofyernmost]

Going end of July 2016 for 2 weeks, so guess I should book fastpasses.

Oh, yea... you certainly should and if you plan any sit down meals do that as well. There are many times that they won't take anyone even if you say you will wait. No ressie, no eatie! If you are eating offsite... not a problem at all. But, FP's I would definitely recommend so for that you have to plan what park you plan to be in on the specific day. Those are not transferable, so if you get them for MK you cannot go to Epcot and tell them that you decided not to go to MK that day. You have to use them before you can get any others. It's a sneaky little way they have of crowd control in the parks.

Now once you have covered your desired FP rides, you can do standby, but, just be prepared for some long waits. Not all of them, but, many are going to be patience testing at best. Two weeks is a long time to plan ahead concerning what parks you want to be in and it then leaves you with very little flexibility. For me, two weeks would get me to every ride in every park 5 or 6 times so time really isn't as crucial as it is with a short visit. Maybe if you were to plan one week of that, FP wise, and the rest of the time wing it, it would work for you and you would have at least had a chance to see the ones you really wanted to see and then decide on the rest when you are there. Staying offsite, it is very difficult to get a FP for 7DMT, for example, so then you resort to what I said earlier. Go when the parade or fireworks is happening. The standby line is much shorter then or be there at rope drop and head directly to it. It may still be a long wait, but, not as long as mid day.

 

[Mikie]

Oh, yea... you certainly should and if you plan any sit down meals do that as well. There are many times that they won't take anyone even if you say you will wait. No ressie, no eatie! If you are eating offsite... not a problem at all. But, FP's I would definitely recommend so for that you have to plan what park you plan to be in on the specific day. Those are not transferable, so if you get them for MK you cannot go to Epcot and tell them that you decided not to go to MK that day. You have to use them before you can get any others. It's a sneaky little way they have of crowd control in the parks.
.

I didn't realize this. . . I thought when I was planning, I picked one park for a certain day and later made adjustments where I wanted to switch days and therefore switched all 3 pre-selected FPs to a different park. I did this at least 45 days out, so maybe you're just saying it's not longer available as a choice on the day of your visit?

 

[goofyernmost]

I didn't realize this. . . I thought when I was planning, I picked one park for a certain day and later made adjustments where I wanted to switch days and therefore switched all 3 pre-selected FPs to a different park. I did this at least 45 days out, so maybe you're just saying it's not longer available as a choice on the day of your visit?

No you can perhaps make that change ahead of time. I have never tried so I don't know. What I am saying is you can't just get up in the morning and decide that you want to go to Epcot instead of MK and expect to get them changed, and certainly not for something worth getting that time of year. You can make changes, but, you will still lose those pre-done MK passes in exchange for a FP to Ellens or something else that doesn't need one to begin with. If one wants to be a free spirit it will work, but, with a lot of time spent in standby lines. Sorry, it's kind of hard to explain, but, you will not get preferential treatment just because you have previously made FP's ressie's for another park. You, at that point, get whatever is left, if anything, same as if you just walked in without reserving anything anywhere at any time.