itinerary question - who really follows one?

[jiminyfan]

We visit WDW a few tiems each year, so we are a go with the flow/feeling family, but even during our early trips we never considered using an itinerary. we felt like a schedule would take away from the magic and special Disney feel of wDW.

How many people actually make an itinerary and follow it?

I guess that for some people it makes sense, but I am confused on why anyone would need one. My fear would be if I am only interested in the main attractions, I would miss the little extras that make WDW special.

Any thoughts or comments?

 

[tileman]

We just go with the flow. And have a good time some times we
set times to see stuff but the rest of time we dont.

 

[bweagle]

DH & I follow an itinerary. However, it is pretty basic and just says which park we're going to, and what priority seatings we have for that day. I definitely do not go as far as Sehlinger saying what order to do the attractions in.

I have never felt that I've missed any of the "disney magic" by doing this little bit of planning. In fact, it was quite to the contrary, and felt that DH & I experiences more of the "littlle extras" than ever on our last trip.

Am I flexible? Sure! One day on a free day we had a breakfast PS at Kona, had planned on doing a little resort hopping and then spend the evening at the Boardwalk. Well, we made it to Kona, but then the shopping bug hit me, so we went to the Disney outlets & the Marketplace all afternoon and then back to the Boardwalk for the evening.

On another day I had planned on doing AK all day and then an E-night at MK. Well, we scrapped the E-night idea earlier in the week as we had already done one and I didn't think DH could deal with another one. After the AK parade, we went to MGM to catch the parade that had been cancelled all week due to rain, then caught a bus from MGM to Ohana for a wonderful supper then went to MK until closing just to walk Main Street.

Personally, I love having an itinerary and think planning one really helps the time go by while you're waiting on your next trip, but we certainly understand that there needs to be room for flexibility in it as well!

 

[steve_rob]

Like Bweagle, we make a plan but it's very short on detail. Just says what park we'll be doing each day and maybe we'll put in where we're having lunch / dinner if we want to go somewhere special.

Even then it can change - for example we don't want to go to a water park on a rainy day, so if the forecast looks bad we'll swap and do the Florida Mall instead!

 

[Tara8595]

I kind of plan around the night-time celebrations and avoiding Early Entry parks. Then after I know which parks which days, plan PS's. Then look at all the showtimes on Steve Soares' site. Then figure out attraction order.

Sometimes it works out, sometimes a better plan hits me in the heat of the moment and we rearrange. I'm usually touring with park commandos, so we're all on the same page, and that helps.

I really enjoy the planning part of the trip though. To me, it's a part of the whole experience. And it helps to make the most of the vacation so that I know I won't miss anything I'll be kicking myself for later. And, you know, it's just good to know that on Saturday night I'll be at MK, and on my last day with a late flight I'll be at AK, since it closes early, etc.

For in-the-park schedules, if you go a few times a year, it gets to be routine, and you remember what has worked and what hasn't. Like, I've learned that Fantasyland first thing is the best, and Tomorrowland after the Day parade is always a sure bet for beating crowds.

But everything can change at the drop of a hat - or at the drop of rain - so even if you plan the minutia, you can't be so rigid that you're unwilling to change it or rearrange it, or bag a dinner if you're tired, or miss a parade if you're hot. Planning is fun, but if you're inflexible, you could end up a little soggy miserable heap.

Tara

 

[BrianD]

I think it all depends on how well you know the "World". If you don't go very often, then I think it is very beneficial to have one to make sure that you don't miss something that you won't otherwise get to experience for a long time.

For a first timer, I think it is a must. (Especially if it is during a busy season!) I've read too many stories about how first timers hated Disney World because they spent the whole trip walking around in a fog, not knowing where to go next, and always getting caught in really long lines.

For more experienced WDW'ers I think an itenerary becomes more abstract, with general ideas of what days to do what but not explicit step-by-step plans. I think it's important to have some sort of a plan, if for no other reason than PS's for restaurants that are harder to get into, in which case some advanced planning is required.

For the really seasoned veterans, iteneraries start to go away, because you're not as concerned in always seeing every thing, every time. Also, I think the person is more instinctive about when to go where, because they know the "World" so well.

At least that's the way I see it. We are becoming more experienced, but I still have a general intenerary because I'm wanting to make sure that I get to see new things every trip.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I always make out an itinerary from a blank calendar page.
I even draw up my own calendar page. From there I mark what parks I want to be in, on what days. I try to AVOID any early entry days. This I do about 6 months before the trip. My 6 night trip is always somewhere during the first 2 weeks of December. I will make a couple of PS's maybe 6 weeks before arrival. It's no big deal to me if I make a PS or not.

Once I get there, I ALWAYS go to the park that I intended to do for that day. Once I am actually IN that park, I just do what ever I want to, whenever I want to --- no big plans unless I have a PS for dinner.

It is so delightfully exciting for me to plan my calendar so far in advance.

 

[JohnTBap]

We just shoot from the hip and do whatever we feel like that day. But I have to think that perhaps we would accomplish more if we followed a touring plan.

 

[raidermatt]

We do the plan, but only to decide what park we will visit on a given day, where we will make a PS, where/when we will play golf, etc... We don't plan it down to the individual attraction level. We do bring a sort of checklist of the attractions, which we check off after each park day. We only do this to make sure we don't forget about something we really didn't want to miss.

We find this level of planning beneficial for several reasons:

1- It keeps us from getting to the end of our trip and realizing we have more things we really wanted to do.

2- It helps us make sure we try something new, like a new restaurant. If we go "spur of the moment" all of the time, we tend to go where we've gone before. That's fine most of the time but there are so many things to do, we want to try different things out. You never know when you'll find your NEW FAVORITE!

3- It allows us to take advantage of later park hours, take advantage of or avoid EE days, catch nightime entertainment that only happens on certain nights, etc, etc, etc.

4- It reduces the need for planning anything while we are there, making the trip itself even more relaxing.

5- Since we usually go with friends and/or other family members, it allows everyone to give input before the trip, so nobody's wants get inadvertently trampled during the excitement of the trip.

6- Its FUN to learn more about WDW!


We do remain flexible however, and make changes when we feel like it.

 

[BethC1952]

We don't keep an itinerary. This year, though, we did plan that we would be in MK on 12/7 for Spectro Magic. I'd never seen it before and didn't want to miss it. Of course, we also saw the Christmas parade (an unexpected treat), the fireworks and two showings of Spectro Magic.

We don't make PS's, although we did make a reservation for the luau -- Dec. 12, a day when it rained so hard that we actually rolled up our pants legs, took our shoes off and waded through the sidewalks! (I can't decide what to have for dinner tonight. I can't imagine planning a dinner months ahead of time)

We were able to be seated at Boma within minutes after we arrived (no more than five minutes passed) at 5 PM on a Friday evening.

I have to keep a tight schedule all year, and this is my vacation. I wouldn't enjoy it if I had to run from place to place to keep a schedule. Of course, we travel without kids (ours is grown) and we're very familiar with WDW, so we know that if we miss something there's always next time. I think that makes a difference.

Beth

 

[MinnieGi]

Our itinerary just consists of which park(s) we are doing and where we have ps's. We usually follow what park has EE and schedule a lunch ps accordingly. Once inside the park we do not have a plan except maybe to hit Fantasyland first thing on MK EE day!

I like planning our ps's and know where we are heading each day, but once down there I have no problem switching things around. This past trip once we were down we cancelled some ps's I had made and even switched the park days around for two of our days. Even still I enjoy doing a little planning ahead in anticipation for our trip!

 

[JulesMom]

We only plan which park and where we are eating.

I usually have a day or two with no plans, so we can do what we feel like doing.

 

[Luv2Roam]

DH will be taking it easy the day before the marathon.
I may do something SIMPLE I have ALWAYS wanted to do! Just go to the bus stop and take whatever bus is the first to leave. Let chance decide where I go that day.

 

[RumpleMom]

I agree with BrianD- the more times you have been there the less you have to plan, although we always have 1 ps planned per day before leaving home. We are no longer in commando mode.

 

[kel3420]

Ditto what BrianD said...exactly, lol.

 

[Eponine]

We (actually, I) plan things out the way most people have already said. We have an itinerary for each day...what time to set the wake-up call for, what park(s) we're visiting, what priority seating ressies we have and their confirmation numbers, and after-park plans, if any. Other than that, we go with the flow...I had the Sehlinger itineraries for each park when we went last time, but we never even glanced at them. The crowds were so low that there was absolutely no need, and we don't see ourselves ever going at any time except during value season if we can possibly help it, so I guess we'll probably never need the detailed itineraries.