Keeping a list/spreadsheet of thing to do in WDW

[CapeCodTenor]

Well, I did it. I made my first official Disney World spreadsheet. The list I had before, and still have, is a word document with ideas of things to do instead of actual planning. I started my spreadsheet this morning as a follow-up to a conversation I had with my wife about dates for our upcoming trip. She had mentioned going during spring break, but then made the comment that probably so will everybody else. As I got to thinking about this yesterday at work I realized we were in a unique situation. My wife teaches at a private Academy, which is where my daughter goes to school. And two years ago the school decided to combine the two one-week vacations they had, one winter break and one spring break, into one combined two week period in March. Knowing this, I googled Disney World and spring break and came up with a great article from Disney tourist blog about spring breaks when the school districts in and around Disney World and in Florida go on vacation for this year. So I opened an Excel spreadsheet and started a list of the big school districts in Florida and around Disney World and when their school spring breaks will be for next school year. I’m going to expand this list to include Atlanta, Houston and other big areas that that list also included on their list. My thinking on this spring break trip is that instead of going Monday to Friday, I could go Wednesday to Wednesday instead. Not sure if that will be a big difference in crowds or not, but it is fun to think about. I figured it’s all downhill from here because next thing I know it I’ll be adding other things to the spreadsheet. Ha ha ha

For me, the first couple hours of planning is fun and exciting but then after that, it slowly starts to feel like a bit of a chore, but I soldier on for primarily one reason:

Efficiency

When I'm on vacation, the last thing I want to do is wait in long lines or have to rush out the door every morning trying to rope drop this ride or that ride at each park. So with the smaller amount of time that I am in the park when we finally do get there, I want to be efficient and not spend it waiting in long lines or on zigzagging across the park (some amount is unavoidable now).

All of us in our family seem to agree that every hour that was wasted at the parks would be better spent back at the hotel lounging at the pool. So we go in with a plan to hit all the big rides, then the smaller ones and shows in between, and then when we've had enough, we go back to the hotel to rest and enjoy the pool. That doesn't mean we're running around the parks trying to rush through everything (our plans usually build in enough spare time with plenty of breaks since we're slow walkers), but without the planning, we would've had to wait in more standby lines and would've missed more rides.

I totally understand when it comes to planning and having it feel like a chore. About 15 years ago my wife and I went to visit my brother in Germany, his company had sent them there for five years, and trying to plan the trip became overwhelming at some point because there was so much that we could possibly do in the two weeks we were there. In the long run we chose a few big things and then let my brother make most of the other decisions, since he lived there and knew the area more than we did.

I love reading how other people plan and execute their vacations. It is so much fun to see how everybody else does it.

I tend to OVER plan but like you, I want to make sure we do things we haven't before or eat at new places.

For me planning is part of the fun, but at the end of the day it’s all about what you can do in the moment, which means you need to be flexible and willing to make changes on the fly.

 

[FunnyLady1966]

Well, I did it. I made my first official Disney World spreadsheet. The list I had before, and still have, is a word document with ideas of things to do instead of actual planning. I started my spreadsheet this morning as a follow-up to a conversation I had with my wife about dates for our upcoming trip. She had mentioned going during spring break, but then made the comment that probably so will everybody else. As I got to thinking about this yesterday at work I realized we were in a unique situation. My wife teaches at a private Academy, which is where my daughter goes to school. And two years ago the school decided to combine the two one-week vacations they had, one winter break and one spring break, into one combined two week period in March. Knowing this, I googled Disney World and spring break and came up with a great article from Disney tourist blog about spring breaks when the school districts in and around Disney World and in Florida go on vacation for this year. So I opened an Excel spreadsheet of the big school districts in Florida and around Disney World and when their school spring breaks will be for next school year. I’m going to expand this list to include Atlanta, Houston and other big areas that that list also included on their list. My thinking on this spring break trip is that instead of going Monday to Friday, I could go Wednesday to Wednesday instead. Not sure if that will be a big difference in crowds or not, but it is fun to think about. I figured it’s all downhill from here because next thing I know it I’ll be adding other things to the spreadsheet. Ha ha ha


I totally understand when it comes to planning and having it feel like a chore. About 15 years ago my wife and I went to visit my brother in Germany, his company had sent them there for five years, and trying to plan the trip became overwhelming at some point because there was so much that we could possibly do in the two weeks we were there. In the long run we chose a few big things and then let my brother make most of the other decisions, since he lived there and knew the area more than we did.

I love reading how other people plan and execute their vacations. It is so much fun to see how everybody else does it.



For me planning is part of the fun, but at the end of the day it’s all about what you can do in the moment, which means you need to be flexible and willing to make changes on the fly.

Absolutely true!