Just some thoughts

[Alexandra]

I was thining about sharing some of my personal theme park strategies. The best one "which took me a couple of really stressed out vacations or what were supposed to be vacations to figure out. A vacation is supposed to be just that a vacation and stress free or relatively stress free right? Well I am sure I am not alone when I say that I use to stress out way to much about getting everything done that I wanted to with in the frame work of our time off, no matter where we were. We always had our lists of what we want to do or see. Now there's nothing wrong with this unless you rule your time by this. I use to get all upset if things weren't going just right and i use to worry about getting my moneys worth because lets face it, I only get 2 weeks off a year and damn it if I'm not going to enjoy every minute of it right? Well speaking from experience I usually was so up tight I din't enjoy my time and I probably made it worse for my family members as well. once I let go of that strict time schedule and slowed down enough to say hey I'm here, I'm here with the ones I love, I'm not working and I am simply going to slow down enough to enjoy myself, that's when it was a real vacation for me. Don't get me wrong we still mke our lists of things to do or see but we no longer sweat it, we ENJOY! PEACE everyone!

 

[nativetxn]

Excellent advice, <b>Alexandra</b>. Being flexible about your schedule sure takes the stress out of a trip to WDW.

 

[Micca]

I'm a recovering park commando. With the excitement that builds for a WDW vacation, it's hard to not want to do and see everything. After dozens of trips I am finally at peace with taking the days as they come(except for PS and picking the lightest days for the parks).

 

[RESINDUDE]

We went 3 weeks ago with in laws. By the third day, they were outlaws. They were the commando type, everything, everywhere as fast as possible. We wanted to not set the clock, get up when we wanted, go to the parks and leave when we felt like it.
We were chasing them around the parks and had no fun.
We finally said we were going to different parks, and we would meet for dinner. Problem solved.

 

[FreshTressa]

Good advice!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Excellent advice! On our first trip to WDW I was so intentional about getting around to each thing we had on our "list" that I am sure we missed lots of special moments because of our hurry. One thing I do remember from that trip is being surprised by the afternoon parade in MK (whatever preceded SADCT). We didn't know what it was Ever since then we've been parade fanatics!
Now the strategy is to just pick a park for the day and see what happens. We almost always let the kids stop and hug any characters they want to. There is no one attraction that any of us feel we absolutely positively must experience. By now we know that if we miss it this time we can catch on the next trip. The result of all this now is stress-free vacations to WDW!

 

[chirsty'smom]

Taking WDW as it comes....can be very hard to do when you're caught up in the planning, checking disboards, reading official and unofficial WDW guides etc....

I've been listing the attractions we want to see/ride, making mentals notes of all the tips from this board, printing out the park maps and highlighting the FP and park hours. Yes, I was becoming the park commando and then....

last weekend my 4yr old missed 2 days of naps, up early, bed late by the 3rd day I think he was reenacting scenes from the Exorcist! Well, that woke me up and none to soon! Now I have rethought my "attack on WDW". We are now planning early entry BUT EVERY afternoon we are planning a 2 - 2 1/2 hr BREAK. Then back to the parks.

I've now made mentals notes from all of you who have repeatedly said to take an afternoon break!

Besides I need to stay awake to check out this Kiss Goodnight - I've never even heard about it til now and I really really want to experience it.

thanks for all the tips and counting down til our visit to WDW on 12/25!!!!

Patty

 

[Princess_Eeyore]

Okay, I seriously needed to read this ... I mean really now ... talk about commando ... my dh said to me that I have a list to do then a back up list what is this the army? --- OOPS, I have gone way too far into the planning - Yes, its nice to have those PS but I agree we(ESP ME) need to be FLEXIBLE ... afterall this is a vacation - time for R&R ... and most of all I need to go at our own pace I'm really going to try to relax ... this is a fun trip, so what if I don't get to see half the things on my list, I am with my sweetheart in the most magical place on earth!

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[Alexandra]

I just want to say thanks for everyones replies and I know that once we are able to slow down we can experience those magical moments that we might miss as we race to the next ride. I have to admit I had a little chuckle when I read the post about someone having back plans for her or is plans. I am definetly planning but at the top of my list is to slow down and enjoy, go with the flow and like someone else posted you know you're going to come back again so if you don't see it this time you can do it next time. Hakuna Mattata no worries be happy!

 

[Heather]

I'm also a recovering park commando . . .

There's a lot to be said for both things, though -- I remember on our very first trip, I had researched and planned for months and truthfully, every single person with me (including in-laws) said that we would never have seen/done as much with as little hassle if I hadn't planned it all out and made them follow me.

Having said that, you also have to make sure not to get so caught up in it all that you lose the magic. My former commando strategy was to really plan the first two hours of the morning hard, then sort of let it go with the flow, take our afternoon break, have a good two hour plan in place right after that, then give up. We still got to see alot, but the kids could stop and play at the fountains at Epcot for 30 minutes without me freaking out.

But this time, I've really done it. Aside from making some PS's that will determine which parks we need to be in a couple of mornings, I've planned nothing. I figure, it's going to be crowded, it's Thanksgiving, we're going with lots of other people: there's no way I can have a plan and have everyone follow it, so why stress out about it.

It's kind of exciting to know that I'm not responsible for everyone else's happiness on this trip!!

Hope you all have magical ones!

 

[Lucky4me]

My name is Sue and I am a recovering Disney park commando.

The funny thing is, once you stop trying to see everything is when you start seeing wonderful things you never noticed before! When you slow down and look around is when the magic starts to happen.

 

[Forever a Princess]

Please add me to the list of the recovering park commandos.

We used to try to hit every attraction-now we pick 4 attractions per park (except for Epcot) that we must see. This way we rotate the attractions from trip to trip and we never get bored (as if thats possible) with the parks. We of course have the rides that we go on every time. Whatever else we have time for is icing on the cake.

Allowing ourselves to do this has led to:
-rest and relaxation on the trip. If we don't do all the attractions of a particular park this means that we can go back to the resort for a long midday nap.
-enjoyment of the resort that we stay at to its fullest potential
-increased spontaneous events. Meaning if we're not hurring to go somewhere all the time we may just notice that the entire character charavan is 8 feet to our left.
-More time with each other. Holding hands and skipping down Main Street is essential.

Renee

 

[jann1033]

just a questions to all you "rpc"s( rcovering park commandos) do you usually go at the busy times??it could be a "philosophy" to run around hectically ( if that is a word)but we always see what we want with out that. we do go off season . this is the first trip we have really "planned"..I mean I've always read a guide book, got a few PS and that's about it but never ran from ride to ride so I am wondering if crowds=commando or if it's more an attitude..we always have loved the "details" so maybe that is why we do not usually hurry. ( except have to say we got a thrill out of the old now defunct "dash to Space Mountain" Lol, not to the extent we mowed down little old ladies with walkers but...)

 

[kevind65]

Our family used to be "park commandoes" as well. the last few trips, we have started to slow down and really enjoy the little things about disney world and it's really alot more enjoyable. I remember after our first couple of trips how we would say " we needed a vacation from our vacation" when we got home. We had a great time, but were worn out by the middle of the trip. I can remember wasting alot of time being upset by some person running if front of us in a line or being really upset when an attraction was closed down or the like. not anymore...just a little advice from experience: the best two things that have changed the way we visit the world: 1)fastpass and 2)PAP-premium annual passports.......no need to tirelessly plan from ride to ride;just use the fastpass system and life is good....the other is the PAP--these are life(and money)savers!!! Yes, the intial cost can seem quite steep; but the benefits you get with them are worth their weight in gold when it comes to a worry-free vacation. The ability to hop from park to park(including the water parks and disney quest) whenever you feel like it is absolute freedom at its best. we sometimes will go to 3 or 4 parks in one day just to do our favorites...and still have a couple of hours to hit the water park!!! also, we plan our trips this way: this year we go in the second half of june for two weeks and then next year we go the first two weeks in june while our PAP's are still good--two years vacations( 4 weeks) for less than the price of a 10 day length of stay pass..pretty cool...the extra, really cool benefit to being a PAP holder is the discounts you can receive at the on-site resorts...for example, we have stayed the past three years at: CSR for $74 per night in june, Animal Kingdom Lodge for $109 per night and port orleans for $84 per night....the savings on the resort room prices just about pay for the PAP's!!! wow!! Yes, planning is important, but, not to the point where it makes you crazy.....take time to enjoy all the little things that the world has to offer; after all, you're on vacation.....

 

[TomAndLori]

The most important thing I did was start to put a afternoon nap in our schedule.

So our days end up EMH Park morning and lunch. Back to room for a nap. Head to the a different park for the evening and dinner. Enjoy the fireworks and then get a good night sleep.

That afternoon nap changed everything about our trips.

 

[skiwee1]

I have never been a park commando. There is just too much to do that I knew we would never get it all done anyway. We have been 8 times in the last 4 years and I've yet to do it all. I guess we are the anti commandos. If we do 4 attractions a day at a park we are very happy! Then we come back to the Poly, hang out by the pool and just enjoy ourselves with a delicious pina colada!

 

[stink]

In my first trip staying on site at the Y & B I was a total park commando. When we overslept on EE day at MGM I was completly miserable for the entire day. At the end of the day I said to myself, "Self you are an Idiot". You are in the Happiest place on earth with the ones you love and you are unhappy. So now my strategy is to plan as before but be flexible for unforseen and unpredictable blessings, such as oversleeping when all are exhausted, or leaving a park early before seeing everything on the touring plan because everyone could use an early nap or perhaps a visit to the pool when the weather is beautiful or seeing an unexpected park show or taking time to smell the flowers, instead of racing to the next big attraction. What I've learned is much of the Disney magic is in the little details and if you race from attraction to attraction without flexibility you miss out on the magic.

 

[castlegazer]

I LOVED my last trip to the World because we just did what ever happened and whatever pleased my son who was one at the time. We stopped in at hideaway places I had never noticed before, took time to watch the parade - something I had avoided in the last few trips to save time for rides - and basically just meandered everywhere. We only did one ride and saw a few shows, but we experienced plenty of Disney through character meets and exploring, eating Mickey Bars and Dole Whips, and that was enough. We were on the trip with comandos who we had to split up from because their daughter was just different than our son, she could handled being dragged from ride to ride. My DH and I didn't have an agenda, we just absorbed all the tips from this board, knew about lots of hidden gems in each park, and if we got to them it was great, if not, that was fine too.

It was a great way to vacation.

 

[figmentvi]

Mr DH is a WDW commando and I've told him that he is not allowed to go back to Disney with me until he gets over it

I just won't do the commando thing anymore. We've been going to WDW almost every year forever and it's not like we're never going again.

It's so much more enjoyable to let the magic come to you in its own sweet time and not run around like a nut trying to find it.

 

[photobob]

I don't really consider myself a park commando, but I do like to make sure we get to the parks early to beat the crowds. I'm the one who pushes abit to get everyone out the door in the mornings. I usually try to do the big rides early when lines are short, but the rest of the day is by the seat of our pants. My pre-trip planning is more to make myself aware of where and when everything is so that when we try to decide what to do next I have the info available to do so.