Just winging it?

[Bazinga]

Granted, I live close by now, so no more trips to plan -- but in the before time I wasn't a massive, down to the minute planner. So my question is, does anyone else go without micromanaging things? It seems to me that doing that would take the fun and spontaneity out of Walt Disney World. I'm not knocking those people that do plan everything down to the last detail, I'm just trying to better understand why. TIA!

 

[noahdove]

I plan but, not down to the minute...or hour, except for meals I plan different when I take children alone compared to adults. However, last August when I was in Disney with 2 friends, I planned meals and time to arrive at parks...I had a plan in my head and if we were able to stick to it, fine, if not, we would have to go back another time..

 

[Kristina4109]

For me, it's economics. Flying from L.A. to WDW is an expensive undertaking, and because of that, we don't go to WDW every year. If there are things I really am looking forward to doing, I'm going to plan it to give myself the biggest possible chance to make it happen.

Mind you, I don't plan every detail. I plan the resort, the days we'll go to each park, I make my ADR's for one table service meal a day, and now I'll be making my 3 FP+ for each day. That's about it. I don't have an hour by hour schedule of what we'll be doing.

Also, since this will be my first ever June trip, I am planning on how to beat the heat. Long, air conditioned attractions are being planned for the hottest parts of the afternoon.

So I'm not knocking spontaneity. There will be room for that in our vacay. But the important stuff, I'm planning.

 

[bastos]

With a group - I am working at getting something in for everyone. The winging it didn't work the last time. We ended up at things later in the day - waiting way too long - and missing some of them. Then, we had to decide who ended up disappointed.

Now, we find out a few 'must do' things for each person. Then - a few 'would like to' things. Finally - things to throw in later.

That way, we can prioritize each day for everyone.

Once when we turned it over to the kids - we had two front of the line passes for three kids.

Thankfully, our two year old chose the carousel. So 'everyone' got one front of the line pass.

PHEW!

Last time, though, we ended up chasing between character greets - on a rainy day. Three hours after waiting for Mulan AND Jasmine in two different places - with NO character arrivals - we gave up. CRYING girls later...

We asked the kids to tell us what they wanted for the next few days - and we could PLAN ahead. Weather, lines, etc. It works to not disappoint people. Disney can be stressful enough. No more needed.

 

[Alice Royal]

We're in the same boat as you, I suppose--too close to care about planning anymore. Here's the thing, though: On a good day with longer hours, we can hit all four parks and do everything we want, even without a game plan. And that's without FP+ because we're annual passholders!

Now we're all super excited for our MagicBands to come in so that we can use FP+ (I already have because of a previous onsite stay, but my usual travel buddies haven't). Still doesn't mean much planning, though.

Never understood the need to make a down-to-the-minute spreadsheet for WDW, anyway.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We just went to Universal onsite for five nights and I didn't plan one thing and it was absolutely wonderful, so much fun. We did what we wanted, when we wanted, ate at great places, had no plan. Loved it. So yeah, winging it is awesome.

As for WDW, I think if you live close by, or get to go often, winging it is probably fine. When you have to pay for a hotel and even worse, flights, not so much.

I think prebooking FP+ is pushing the required planning to the limits.

 

[daae3]

I travel with 3 groups-one is my family. They hate planning, refuse to let me make ADRs and will not even discuss which park which day. The second is a group of Disney friends who plan so intensely that we have a calendar that maps out each day, meal by meal and sort of ride by ride. Finally, myself-I start with a plan but deviate as I feel. The planned trips work the best. My family end up grumpy, hungry and waiting in a lot of lines or missing rides they wanted. That is why I plan-I tolerate my family trips but the most fun trips are usually the ones that involved a lot of planning. Also, planning is part of the fun!

 

[CWdreamer]

I make ADR's and have an idea of where we may go each day, but if we decide to go to a different park, stay at the resort and swim, that's part of the fun for me. As a single working mom with teenagers, our lives are run by a schedule. I find that winging it on vacation is essential for me. It's the one time I can really relax!

 

[china mom]

Count me in the group who goes often and plans little. We have been known to pop down to Disney three days after getting the idea to go (if we find cheap hotel rooms). We are too cheap to eat at TS places so no ADRs needed. This most recent trip, we picked our FP either the night before or morning of each day's entrance into the park once we decided where we were going that day.

But, I do totally understand the need for those who have to invest hundreds of dollars in flights to plan every moment and get their money's worth.

 

[TriMom]

I plan everything down to the ride order on which day. I have a spreadsheet titled "Julie's Secret Disney Plan" (Julie is from the Love Boat - your cruise director ) It is a secret plan, because no one wants to actually follow a plan on vacation. But without fail, someone in my family asks - what are we doing next. And because I have studied a spread sheet for months, I can suggest something off the top of my head. I know the line patterns, and the crowd calendar. We see everything that everyone wants to see, we don't wait in 2 hour lines, and everyone has a wonderful "spontaneous" vacation.

 

[jenninaustin]

I plan everything down to the ride order on which day. I have a spreadsheet titled "Julie's Secret Disney Plan" (Julie is from the Love Boat - your cruise director ) It is a secret plan, because no one wants to actually follow a plan on vacation. But without fail, someone in my family asks - what are we doing next. And because I have studied a spread sheet for months, I can suggest something off the top of my head. I know the line patterns, and the crowd calendar. We see everything that everyone wants to see, we don't wait in 2 hour lines, and everyone has a wonderful "spontaneous" vacation.

I love this - and totally get it! We haven't been for 5 years and I can't wait to get back there this June. I would love to go so often that I knew the parks well and could wing it more but i also have fun with the planning. For me the key is knowing the "philosophy" (of ride timing, line growth, etc) well enough that I can adjust as needed and not getting stressed when things need to go. Just remembering - hey, I'm at Disney and that is freakin' AWESOME!

 

[mrsmorrow]

I plan everything down to the ride order on which day. I have a spreadsheet titled "Julie's Secret Disney Plan" (Julie is from the Love Boat - your cruise director ) It is a secret plan, because no one wants to actually follow a plan on vacation. But without fail, someone in my family asks - what are we doing next. And because I have studied a spread sheet for months, I can suggest something off the top of my head. I know the line patterns, and the crowd calendar. We see everything that everyone wants to see, we don't wait in 2 hour lines, and everyone has a wonderful "spontaneous" vacation.

That is ME!!

 

[Ravenne]

As for WDW, I think if you live close by, or get to go often, winging it is probably fine. When you have to pay for a hotel and even worse, flights, not so much.

I think prebooking FP+ is pushing the required planning to the limits.

We have to fly to WDW, so SOME planning is required. We don't go every year because of that. The last time we went, it was before FP+ and I remember trying to narrow down ADRs and thinking...how the heck am I supposed to know what I'm going to be in the mood to eat...3-6 months in advance?!?! I often times having trouble meal planning because I don't know what I'll want to eat tomorrow! Yeah, the pre-booking of FP+ is a bit much for me. I love to plan and I like knowing what to expect, but planning exactly what rides and exactly when we'll do it is a bit too much for me.

 

[minmate]

I plan everything down to the ride order on which day. I have a spreadsheet titled "Julie's Secret Disney Plan" (Julie is from the Love Boat - your cruise director ) It is a secret plan, because no one wants to actually follow a plan on vacation. But without fail, someone in my family asks - what are we doing next. And because I have studied a spread sheet for months, I can suggest something off the top of my head. I know the line patterns, and the crowd calendar. We see everything that everyone wants to see, we don't wait in 2 hour lines, and everyone has a wonderful "spontaneous" vacation.

...And probably that of many of the planners here! Thankfully, my family is pretty happy to "go with the flow" and leave me in charge. It gives my dh a "Hakuna Matata" vacation - no worries... for him. He just asks, "What's next?" and "Where to now?" And they follow me.

We had passes to the local amusement park the last two summers. We never planned going there (much smaller, no FPs, only one park with an attached water park). I enjoyed being able to come and go as we pleased. Sometimes, we would just drive the kids there with their friends, ride our 2 fave rides, leave and come back hours later to ride a few more, catch the fireworks and pick them back up. Twice, we went ahead and staked out chairs at the waterpark all afternoon bc the crowds were too heavy and we even left within a few hours one day because it was too crowded. Having annual passes and more availability definitely changes the attitude about things. But when doling out a big chunk of change, with that feeling in the back of your mind that you don't want this to be the last trip, but what if it is... really changes how much you try to see, do and experience. On this upcoming trip, I hope to strike a balance between our typical commando-style and a more laid-back approach.

However, this will be a new adventure. It's been FIVE years since our last trip. We are staying off-site for the first time, driving (potentially more jet lag than flying bc we'll drive straight through for 26 hours), AND we are hitting up Universal for part of the trip! (feels like I'm in a confesional!!!)

Add in the new FP+ issues and using old tickets that need RFID upgrading (can't link them to MDE until we get there), and the fact we decided on this about 4 weeks before we go, well.... YIKES!!! I'm totally out of my <over>planning comfort zone!

Que Sera, Sera!

 

[THEJOEL]

Granted, I live close by now, so no more trips to plan -- but in the before time I wasn't a massive, down to the minute planner. So my question is, does anyone else go without micromanaging things? It seems to me that doing that would take the fun and spontaneity out of Walt Disney World. I'm not knocking those people that do plan everything down to the last detail, I'm just trying to better understand why. TIA!

We are hardcore planners from RD to lunch. Midday break and then the evening is used as easy touring time to just enjoy being there. For us it fits our style and allows us to "stop and smell the roses". Not what everyone does but for us it works.

 

[Elevationist]

We are hardcore planners from RD to lunch. Midday break and then the evening is used as easy touring time to just enjoy being there. For us it fits our style and allows us to "stop and smell the roses". Not what everyone does but for us it works.

This is exactly my planning style also! Every morning I'm at RD (or early EMH if applicable), go total commando through the park until lunch time, stop at a pre-determined Counter Service for lunch, then head back to the room for a rest. I make an ADR for dinner each night around 5-6pm, and then the rest of the evening afterwards is much more relaxed and laid-back. Stroll around, hop on rides with shorter lines, see fireworks, and just take it all in.

 

[TanJDis2014]

I plan everything down to the ride order on which day. I have a spreadsheet titled "Julie's Secret Disney Plan" (Julie is from the Love Boat - your cruise director ) It is a secret plan, because no one wants to actually follow a plan on vacation. But without fail, someone in my family asks - what are we doing next. And because I have studied a spread sheet for months, I can suggest something off the top of my head. I know the line patterns, and the crowd calendar. We see everything that everyone wants to see, we don't wait in 2 hour lines, and everyone has a wonderful "spontaneous" vacation.

This is so how I envision my an DH 1st trip in Oct. everything will be a magical surprise for him!

 

[wuzzy6]

We are hardcore planners from RD to lunch. Midday break and then the evening is used as easy touring time to just enjoy being there. For us it fits our style and allows us to "stop and smell the roses". Not what everyone does but for us it works.

This is what we usually do, too. We hit RD - blast through the headliners - by lunchtime, we are in total chill mode. It's definitely not for everyone, but we sure do love it!!!

 

[michsig]

Aside from deciding which park we will do on which day, I don't really plan. For me, I feel like planning everything down to the minute is very stressful - especially if it ends up not working out as planned, but I understand that works for some people! I like to just go with the flow. I've always been able to get on whichever attractions I wanted to do, without too much waiting around.