If you keep a Trip Planning Binder...

[MeanestMomEver]

Would you please share what types of information, products, maps, lists etc., that you keep in it?

Any tips you have for starting one?

Photo of your binder?

Thanks in advance for any info you are willing to share.

Have a magical day.

 

[ashenbiez]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Binder. I started using it on our last trip because we did a Carnival Cruise & Disney so I had SO much paperwork to keep track of.

I have a mini binder from Staples, its about 9 inches tall and 7 inches wide.

I got the mini plastic sleeves/page protectors to fill it with so everything was easily accessible without having to undo the binder rings each time. I also used post it flags to label each page so i can find what i'm looking for.

Since its a mini binder, everything gets folded in half and then it fits perfectly in the sleeves. Here are what my sleeves contain:
Flight Info
Magical Express
Disney Hotel Info
Overall Disney plans
5/11
5/11 dining
5/12
5/12 dining
...etc until end of trip...
Magical Express again

I also keep a few extra sleeves just in case, too.
Last time the book worked great for storing all those flat, paper souvenirs like maps, schedules, fast passes, room keys, etc. Makes it easy to just transfer all that stuff into a scrapbook, too!

As far as the mini binder size, I'm SO happy with it. its small enough to throw in my carry on and be able to get out easily. And I don't feel like a librarian or student walking around with a huge binder under my arm!

Definitely helps keep all the info I learn on the DIS straight, too. I usually jot down must-sees or must-eats so i won't forget!

 

[pigletto]

Well I'll answer but it's not too exciting
I have a simple folder with three hole punch paper and a few clear pockets.
In it are..
-ADR's with dates, times and confirmation numbers

-Park for the day with any pertinent info on times, crowd predictions, and shows
(park hours changed during the trip so I always called front desk to confirm park open and close while we were there)

-Pocket with resort reservation confirmation printed. Made sure to print the one with the confirmation number showing as well as showing that it was paid in full in case of issues

-Pocket that contained ME info and our Garden Grocer confirmation (this came in handy as our ME reservation was messed up on departure and I had the confirmation number handy to fix it.

And all of our flight times and confirmations.

You may also want a page with phone numbers that you may need liek the Dining reservations line, or Magical Express. You can always find that info while there, but it's handy to not have to go ask anyone.

That was about it for us.

I went for the duotang instead of a binder because it was small and thin and slid right in our park bag. I didn't want anything bulky.

 

[seadd67]

Yep I had two,way to may. I had one for the bresort and one to keep on me. Should of just had the one I carried around. Its black about 9 inches long,i bought Disney vacation stickers to decorate it. I did not use it it as good as i could of,during the trip i did not update it so most of the time i did not keet it up to date. This year I am doing one at home as a pre trip binder, and again doing my travel one. Sticking to it this time.

 

[LaurenT]

I start with an itinerary...one page with each days info on it...so, example:
Oct 1 :depart ALB flt 222 at 2:00pm, connect to flt 111....
Car rental conf #1111111 at enterprise...
Check into resort conf #111111...

Oct 2 : MK, Crystal Palce 1 pm, Res 41000000

I have a pocket for my tickets/membership cards/TIW etc

I have a packing list

I have any special event info


I also have an I Phone and all reservation info goes onto the calendar in tehre, all important phone numbers are entered into favorites.

I also bring my garmin, preloaded with all the addresses I'll need in the favorites section.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Check out this link.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2115381

 

[nancycg56]

I don't use a binder but one of those multi-pocket folders:

I put anything I think I might need paperwork-wise, including lists of Hidden Mickeys and pressed penny machines There are extra empty slots for anything I want to keep while there. I keep my autograph book and journal in it too while traveling.

 

[anorman]

I have a binder with several dividers in it for each category.

Daily itinerary in a calendar format
Touring plans for each park for each day of my visit
A listing of ADRs including confirmation numbers
Menus from each table service restaurant we plan to go to
Menus from some likely counter service places incl. resort
Resort information and activities
Park hours, fireworks, parades for while we are there
Transportation options for getting around Disney (using olp transportation wizard)
Information on each park including park maps, attractions, closures, cheat sheets, showtimes
Various receipts including car rental, resort reservations, airline tickets (we also bring a smaller folder for transporting these documents safely enroute)

That's about all I can think of.........that's enough I think. All my friends think I'm a little nuts. They might be right.

 

[jabaldi]

I have a binder with tab dividers

I have one section for the trip down, one for hotel, then one for each day.

 

[catra121]

I don't use a binder but I use a small notebook (5.5x8 I think). It has a bunch of pockets at the font and several more throughout.

First few pages have my general information for the trips like where we're staying, what dates, reservation number, dining info and confirmation numbers, etc.

After that I write down park hours for the dates we are there, what night shows are on which days, etc.

Then I leave a bunch of pages so that while I'm there I can write down what happens while I am there. I usually write in it at night in the hotel.

The folder pockets in there I use for my stuff I get from Disney.

Not very exciting but it keeps everything in one place.

 

[pdxJolene]

I have one regular 3 inch binder that I use to keep everything planning related. I have a flights section with tips on booking the best fares, lists of all the airlines with info about baggage fees, size restrictions, etc... Then I have a resorts section with info about all the resorts we'd be interested in staying in. A restaurants section with menus of all the places were interested in, as well as helpful ADR planning spreadsheets. Then I have a parks section with maps, ride lists, our must do's, lists of stores, etc... At the back I have a disneyland section that has mostly the same things as the WDW section, though obviously a lot smaller.

When our trip gets closer I plan on buying a smaller binder to put everything I will need for our trip. I doubt I will take it to the parks though, I plan on adding all my adr's and such into my blackberry and just having paper copies of our touring plans.

 

[sharadoc]

I have one regular 3 inch binder that I use to keep everything planning related. I have a flights section with tips on booking the best fares, lists of all the airlines with info about baggage fees, size restrictions, etc... Then I have a resorts section with info about all the resorts we'd be interested in staying in. A restaurants section with menus of all the places were interested in, as well as helpful ADR planning spreadsheets. Then I have a parks section with maps, ride lists, our must do's, lists of stores, etc... At the back I have a disneyland section that has mostly the same things as the WDW section, though obviously a lot smaller.

When our trip gets closer I plan on buying a smaller binder to put everything I will need for our trip. I doubt I will take it to the parks though, I plan on adding all my adr's and such into my blackberry and just having paper copies of our touring plans.

This is basically what I did for our first trip with the kids. I printed out everything I thought would be relevant, like tips and info from Disboard people, websites, etc. I printed out itineraries, best days, entertainment schedules and restaurant menus.

By the time we were ready to go, I could condense everything into actual necessary info into a soft sided 1" binder, organized like this:
1. Driving to WDW. Road tips, restaurants, good rest stops, hotel reservations, etc.
2. Checking in. Disney hotel reservation confirmation, directions to resort, tips about the resort and rooms, map of the resort.
3. Itinerary on an Excel spreadsheet, Tourguide Mike best days summaries
4. Menus for restaurants we have ADRs for, plus CS that we might want to try.
5. Resort activities, schedules, etc.
6. Other stuff that we might need.

We keep it out on the kitchen table and refer to it all the time. Never took it out of the room - much too bulky.

This will be our first trip with my Droid, though, so I don't know what I will bring in the binder this time. Probably all the same stuff, just because I don't think I could let go!!

 

[hughjulia]

This will be our first trip with my Droid, though, so I don't know what I will bring in the binder this time. Probably all the same stuff, just because I don't think I could let go!!

We started keeping everything in our iPhones.

Tripit has this nice app where you just forward them your confirmation e-mails. They parse the data and build an itinerary that includes dates, times, confirmation numbers and phone numbers. It worked really well with the dinning reservations. I then added some park information to make it more of a daily plan. It was really convenient when it came time to change a dinning reservation.

My wife purchased an app called Trip Journal that does a whole bunch of stuff. It uses Google Earth to GPS map your progress through the park. You create waypoints along the way at points of interest, attach photos and video, and make blog like notes. Then you can e-mail the whole thing to friends and family. They in turn can bring the trip up on Google Earth and see the route you took through the park, look at your pictures and videos, and read the notes you made alone the way. It’s crazy, but also kind of a neat way to let family back home see what you’ve done each day.

We make our packing lists in the Springpad app. We both use the same account, so when I add something to the list, it automatically appears on her phone as well.

I will say though that the Disney binder looks a lot nicer, and is probably more fun.

 

[shocker]

I go pretty simple. Just a binder clip. In the early days, I took a lot more info than I do now. But, I would have

1) a typed itinerary-one page for each day so too much info doesn't get garbled up- this wasn't our "what to ride info" but our "where to be info". I'd have which park, it's hours, any EMH info on it (and I've have other parks info--smaller but still readily available for a last minute change), any dining info, might put some little-known park info here, etc. etc. This made for one concrete place to gather info in the months prior to the trip.

2) one page of helpful phone numbers, dining, resort, lost and found, etc. etc.

3) one page of only ressie info and all confirmation numbers, airline, rental car/ME, hotel, resort. This would indicate all times and ALL phone numbers for everyone. Again one concrete place to refer to when **** hits the fan.

4) printouts from Steve Soares site for show times, etc.

5) photocopies of the touring guide park maps out of the back of UG (always kept pages intact and not written on so I could resell on ebay)--on these I would highlight one color to indicate which offered FP, and another color if height restrictions were an issue for us. On the back of this I would write the park hours for the day, any dining ADR info, show time info from SS, any Dis tidbit info I'd learned and might forget, what my top 3 CS choices might be, and maybe a list of our top 5 things we want to accomplish that day (helps maintain the focus).
This photocopy is what I would fold up and carry in my pocket, it was more useful to me than the park map.

6) Photocopies of things that would kill you if you lost. Some of these I only left at home with family, but would include photo id (especially usefull when flying--don't ask me how I know ), credit cards (helpful to have numbers to call in lost/stolen--but I usually keep with family), and park ticket backs--also good if lost.

7) This whole packet would be given in it's entirety to someone back home that I could call to get the info should my copy get lost or destroyed.

On the return is when I move to the fold-up binder system for longer term storage of the park maps and show times guides, resort maps, etc. etc. from our trip that I can share with others during their planning.

Hope this helps

Happy planning

 

[BarbieGal457]

First, may I say that I am beyond elated I'm not the only obsessive organizer?!

I keep a flexible neon orange poly binder with all my info for that trip. I use the bright poly tab dividers that have pockets on them to fit any small/loose items I can't hole punch/bind. I divide my binder this way:

- Trip information: dates, hotel(s), contact information for the hotel, contact information for each person going, ticket information, flight information

- Packing lists: because I'm obsessive there as well! I like to know every single thing I need to pick up, or have already packed, etc.

- Park Itinerary: which days we'd like to go to which park, EMHs, places we'd like to try eating (not ADRS)

- ADR info

- Miscellaneous

It's usually pretty simple but does the job well, and keeps everything organized, especially the times I've been the one planning for large groups of friends!

 

[At World's End]

Last trip I used two planning binders: a poly 3 ring binder, and a flat plastic photo album.

The poly binder had 5 sections: Transportation (flight info, rental car confirmation), Condo (map, rental confirmation & check in info, owner & mgt co. contact info, local restaurant recommendations), Park Info (copy of back of park tickets, spreadsheet with park hours, EMH schedule, parade times, must-see attractions), ADRs & Gift Certs (printout of ADRs from Disney site, any coupons or gift certs for offsite restaurants), Menus (printout of menus from Allears.net for recommended restaurants)

Inside the binder I have a plastic pouch to put receipts in at the end of the day. This binder stays in the condo. I do pull out the coupons & gift certs and keep them in the backpack, in case we stop for a meal outside the park.

The flat photo album goes in the backpack with us to the parks. One page has the park hours and EMH times. Each day's itinerary is on it's own page. I include show times, parade times, must-sees, FastPass rides, rides that are closed, snacks to try and ADR info. My kids get sick of chicken nuggets for every meal, so I also list some of the different kids meal options for CS places so we can vary their choices. The photo album worked great for us, had all the info we needed, and weighed nothing at all. It also held up much better than index cards, which I used on our first trip.

 

[seadd67]

This week end I am going to start planning my Binder. I got 6 mos but that does not mean i can start early

 

[Mickey1Fan]

I use a Passporter, it arrived last week, and a folder for loose papers. I am looking forward to filling up the information in the Passporter as I continue to plan our May trip.

 

[MeanestMomEver]

Wow, everyone, thanks for all the responses. I liked hearing about how and why you keep what you keep in them.

I guess I have a bit of a different vision of what I want to put together. I'm thinking more of a binder to keep at home and to use to gather things for planning any and all future trips rather than something I would take to the park like packing/shopping lists, list of DP snacks, menus, pressed penny locations, special events, great DIS tips that I will never remember or maybe not able to easily find again, a LGMH, etc.

You all have inspired me though. I love the idea of having a small, break-away section of the binder that goes to the park with us.

I'm going to need a binder-planning binder.

 

[MeanestMomEver]

This week end I am going to start planning my Binder. I got 6 mos but that does not mean i can start early

My long lost twin!!!