Is this normal??!!

[angiejg]

Hi everyone,

We have never been to Disney and have planned a trip for June. My mind is swimming with information! So, how do I attack the planning? Do I study my guide books and get a game plan for each day? Do I need to have a touring plan, including dining for each day? Do we plan all rides and shows and when we want to do them or is that too detailed? Or do we just wing it? We are on the dining plan and have made reservations for dinner and breakfast each day, including 3 with characters. We are staying at the Poly. Do I need to start a file with daily plans? Help me head in the right direction! Remember, I've never set foot in the place! Is this normal to be soooo confused?!

Thanks!
Angie

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

How lucky you are, I still remember our first time.....ok it was only 3 years ago, but it was very special.

Do you have children going with you, how many people are going? IMO these are two things that really impact plans. Also when in June are you going? It may be very hot.

I read my guide bood which was great, but I really like the info I found on the net. The dis has a lot of great topics/questions, and I have found things I would never think about asking. I am a big fan of www.allearsnet.com, they have a rate/review section which I think is a great idea. They also have copies of the menus, so if you are unsure where you would like to eat that might help out a little.

I know for us I had a general idea of things, but other than having adr's, nothing was set in stone. That works well for us.

Don't let yourself get overwhelmed, enjoy planning. Remember this is for fun and relaxation. If you have the disney travel dvd, pop it in.

You will be fine, and will have a great time. One thing that I think is great about a first time, is the fact you have no idea what to expect. We knew we always wanted to go, but never understood why so many people keep going back, needless to say we are know those people who keep going back.

 

[angiejg]

We are going June 17-22. Our kids are 4 (DS) and 9 (DD) now!

Thanks!

 

[antree]

Well so far you did great with planning your meals, it will be busy in June and without reservations it will be hard to get sit down meals.
Remember it will be Hot and Busy! I would swim during the day, and do the parks later when it is cooler, or go when the parks first open and leave by mid day for a swim. Take advantage of Extra Magic Hours at night. They are a God send. You will be able to stay in the park for 3 extra hours after they close. There is a different park every other day that has the hours, Sunday is MK, Tuesday is MGM, Thursday is AK and Friday is Epcot. The parks won't be as crowded and you will get more chances to do the rides that you couldn't get on during the day.
I would read the boards you will get many tips on how to handle that time of the year. Post alot of questions we are all here to help, I love helping people plan for their Disney Trips.

I hope this helps you.

Maria

 

[Rustysmom]

We haven't been to Disney in 10 years so it seems like the first time for us, and basically I'm studying the guide books (Unofficial Guide and the Passporter). I figured out which park I would go to each day and made my ADRs based on that. I keep track of all my confirmations and everything on the file pages of the Passporter, which I'm bringing with us. Other than that I'm winging it, but I may refer to the touring plans in the Unofficial Guide if things seem really crowded.

I wish I could just wing the whole trip like we did 10 years ago, but I know we have to make ADRs at least or we may not have a place to eat. We kind of like to just get to the park and go with the flow.

 

[Heluvsme]

I think you've done really well so far!!

Definitely the books, those really help with the visualizing the layout of the parks and stuff. I think for a trip like this, for me personally, I have spent a lot of money, precious vacation time, and I don't want to 'waste' my time by standing around looking things up in books and pouring over maps. Plus, if you know ahead when the parades and closings are, that really helps! Imagine how heartbroken some are when they realize there's an early closing, or something like that.

I tentatively plan out each day.....I say tentatively because I basically just know which park, what, if any, ADR's, and the basic layout of the park....what we LOVE to do, and what we can live without. The rest just happens!! For instance, I know we DON'T want to do the Stitch ride, but we HAVE to do POTC. Also, we don't like to criss-cross the parks, for us that's a lot of running, so we prefer to do a clockwise tour of the lands....just a little preference of ours.

Have fun!! What a great experience, can't wait to read your trip report!!!

 

[Mkrop]

Those are the exact ages of my guys! We have all our mornings planned out based on EMH etc, we are then coming back hotel to chill out, this was a great idea that worked when went last time, I think my DS4 will need a break from the heat and all the stimulation. DH and DS9 may go to the pool or the arcade or they may chill too. We are going to wing it for the evenings.
I want to wait and see how the crowds are before we commit to any evenings. Our only ADR's are charcter meals for breakfast and lunch.

I like reading this and the Unoffical Guide to get an idea of what my kids would like and what not to bother with. I do take some of the advice from the book on what to avoid for certain ages. Honey I Shrunk the Audience freak my son at 4, so i will proabably avoid that with my current 4. I should have listen to the book so I then knew to avoid for It's Tough to Be a Bug etc

Learn about Fastpass and utilize it, it saved a lot of time with young kids in tow!

Good luck and have fun, I'll let you know how this trip coming up goes!