My neighbor is making me very nervous!

[hrh_disney_queen]

She is going to WDW for the marathon next weekend. Being the WDW lover that I am, I have been giving her booklets, old UG, and asking questions like where she is staying, etc. The last time I talked to her, (Dec. 30, 6 days before she is leaving) she still didn't know where her friend had booked her hotel (not a WDW resort), didn't know where to pick up her race info, didn't know what she was going to do with her two dogs, and just basically "winging it". She is going with her DH, DS8, and DD3(first time) who loves the princesses...

I don't know know why, but this is making ME nervous. I used to "wing it" at WDW, many years ago before I started on this board, but now I know how to maximize my trip. I know it's not my trip, but I am worried they are going to miss out on a lot of stuff!!!

I know.....BUTT OUT!!!!

I just need my own trip to focus on.

Does it make you nervous when someone you know is just going to "let it happen" or "wing it"? I just think that it is too complicated to leave things up to chance...

 

[Disney Fool]

Don't worry about it--nine times out of ten, your neighbor won't take your advice anyway. Anyone who knows anything about Disneyworld realizes that you cannot "just wing it" going to a place double the size of Manhattan!!! That's just plain crazy. You've done your best; when they come back sadder but wiser, then maybe they'll listen.

 

[brer rabbit 28]

my dad went with his wife,stepdaughter and grandson in may last year.Despite all my hard work advising them to make a plan they ignored me and winged it.Infact they winged it so badly that they only managed a few rides in MK and didn't even make it into epcot MGM or AK.They were there for 14 nights and had a 10 day pass for disney so to this day i am mystified by what exactly they did on their holiday
I felt so sorry for my 9 year old nephew who missed out on so much fun.

 

[Got Quattro?]

Dont worry about it. As others have said. Most people wont follow our instructions. It's on them not you.

Just know you will always be able to put them in their place when they brag about their Disney trip. You can always say, but if you would have done this it would have been cheaper and better.

 

[carolinagirl]

I know how you feel. My co-worker and her family (husband and step-son) went to Disney last week (the week after Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I asked her about her plans and they basically had none. They knew when they were driving down and driving back. They were staying with friends who live in the area. Other than that, she had no plan at all.

The WDW planner freak in me wanted to scream.....Make a plan!!!!!!!!! She is a new employee in our office and I have only known her for about 3 weeks, so I was hesitant to be to nosey. I offered to help her come up with a basic plan but she didn't really respond. I did tell her that the week they were going is the busiest week of the year at Disney and to be prepared for crowds. I also told her to make sure to get there early and use Fastpass. (I secretly wanted to sit down and plan her vacation for her!)

I haven't returned to work since before Christmas so I don't know how it went for her. I am very eager to find out. I hope it went well! It so hurts my heart when people don't plan and then don't have the magical time I wish for them to have.

Oh, well, we Disney-plan-aholics need to learn to let go, I guess! LOL!

 

[hiwaygal]

you just never know...

We went for our Disney wedding in September. Neither DH or I had ever been before. But, I knew that neither of us wanted "too much structure" in a plan (there are some who overplan, from our perspective).

Yes, we planned a FEW things. Our wedding and related stuff (of course), a dinner at LTT, the Segway Tour at Epcot...but that was it.

We arrived on a Monday afternoon and left on a Friday. And while we didn't ride too many rides (DH isn't a big "rider") and we missed some things we didn't know about, we still had a MAGICAL time!

Alot could depend on the crowd levels and the weather...and how your friend likes to travel.

 

[cleo]

Wouldn't worry me in the slightest. If she were a real Disney freak, she'd be compelled to 'research'. If not, she's not likely to care if she misses a few things.

We have every bit as much fun 'winging it' as we do when we plan. Different people, different styles. Sometimes trips are fun to plan, sometimes it's fun just to go and see where the wind takes you.

 

[laura001]

I have always found that people that didn't plan their trip ahead of time ended up not having a magical experience and always end up using the comment, "I don't see what is so special about that place, all these people and so expensive".

I have friends or family that come and ask me for help and I don't mind helping them at all, but if they aren't willing to help themselves out with it also, then I just stay in the background and leave them to it. As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water...........

Your neighbour needs to figure it out for herself.

 

[CleveRocks]

Don't worry about it--nine times out of ten, your neighbor won't take your advice anyway. Anyone who knows anything about Disneyworld realizes that you cannot "just wing it" going to a place double the size of Manhattan!!! That's just plain crazy. You've done your best; when they come back sadder but wiser, then maybe they'll listen.

Ok, OK, everybody please take a deep breath ....

It's okay to wing it!!! Yes, I know, everyone here is an overachieving planner, I know, but what you don't understand is some people would be too tense if they felt they had to stick to a plan.

Let me tell you what I did in May, when I went with my wife, our 2 year old daughter, 5 year old son, and my clueless in-laws. It was our first trip to WDW since 1990. For MONTHS I obsessively combed this board, other message boards, and the excellent websites full of incredible information. I filled my head with as much info as I could. I knew all there was to know (except, of course, what you learn from first-hand experience). I knew what we wanted to see and what we didn't. I knew generally what would be wise to do at a certain time of day and what would be foolish to do on a certain time of day. BUT WE HAD NO PLAN!

We arrived on a Sunday morning, and knew we were going to go to a park sometime later on our arrival day, but until we began walking towards our CBR bus stop, we had no idea which park we were going to. Each night, or even each early morning, we decided which park we'd do next. I made a PS (now ADR) for dinner each night, but we only used one of them plus HDDR, because I wasn't going to make us follow a guess that I made three months earlier about what parks we'd be at on which days at which times. This allowed us to be completely fluid. If we liked something a lot more than we expected, if we liked it less, if the kids were melting down and needed some down time, etc., it didn't matter, we were completely relaxed and going with the flow.

And I know it's against everyone's religion, but we had a GREAT time. REALLY! We would not have had a better time if I'd made a daily plan for each day and we stuck to that. I think we would have had a worse time because we wouldn't have felt relaxed. Just my personality. But I think the biggest difference is I educated myself about all things WDW, thanks in no small part to you great people answering my questions, as well as the many questions of many others. i was armed with an excyclopedic knowledge of WDW, so I was able to make decisions about what to do rather than have to follow an exact plan. So on Monday night when my son said he was dying to go to Epcot (for the first time) on Tuesday, I didn;t have to explain to him why we couldn't do that 'til Thursday. We went to Epcot on Tuesday, but I knew: 1) to get there early; 2) to skip Spaceship Earth and do it later in the day; 3) to get a FastPass for Test Track, do Universe of Energy for 45 minutes, get a FastPass for Mission:Space, ride Test Track, etc. etc. etc. I didn't have an exact plan of which rides to do in which order, but because I understood how everything worked, I was able to effortlessly concoct a plan on-the-fly.

There's nothing we missed that we wanted to do. We operated efficiently, happily, and stress-free(ly). When we go back in November 2007 or May 2008, I'll do it in exactly the same fashion, and will have a wonderful time doing it. I agree that going to WDW without knowledge is a recipe for disaster, but going without a plan felt like a true vacation, not like work when I have to follow a strict schedule.

To each's own!

-- Eric

 

[ottawa-newbie]

I've known a couple of families that "wing it" and they all had a wonderful time , but my theory is that they enjoyed what they did, without having any clue as to what it was that they could have done

Personally, the more I planned our trip, the more i realized I was going to be missing out on!!! (Good excuse for another trip though)

 

[sk!mom]

Friends and family of mine who don't plan seem to have one of two vacations. Either they come home so excited about their great trip and completely unaware that they missed anything or they come home saying that they will never go back- it was too crowded, lines were too long, and they couldn't get into a decent restaurant all week.

I love to vacation plan but I don't offer unsolicited advice to those who would prefer to wing it. To each his own.

I will see a non-planner tomorrow and I can't wait to hear about their trip. I didn't know that they were going until 3 days before they left and I wonder how it went since she told me that "they really just wanted a relaxing get away and she could only get her DH, who hates crowds, to agree to taking the kids to WDW because they heard that the week before Christmas was the least crowded time of year." I just said- "WDW is one of our favorite vacations- I'm jealous- You will have a great time!" and I hope that they did!

 

[2belles'mom]

Yes, you can have a good time "winging" it, but you still need to know some basic things (or, get very lucky!). A few years ago my in-laws, who live in Florida, took my nephews and nieces (visiting from Georgia and Washington State) to the World. Alas, I was not part of the trip. I don't remember them asking for my advice, or if I gave them any. But they were so, so, so clueless. They vowed NEVER GO BACK AGAIN. So sad. I never do Disney with that side of the family since they won't get near it with a 10 foot pole.

They stayed about 1/2 hour away offsite, and arrived each day at about noon!!!!!! NOON!!!! OMG!!!! Now come on, you don't need a plan to know you should at least get to the parks early enough (or late enough) to dodge the masses. My MIL spent the whole time worried the kids would get lost--the 5, 8 and 10 year olds were besides themselves with excitement, and not in the mood to do the GRIDLOCK walk. I think the only ride they did was POC. They didn't even know what some of the rides WERE that I asked them about.

So there is a difference between doing some homwork ahead of time...just having some basic knowledge so you CAN wing it successfully, and trying to do Disney right off the turnip truck. I think a completeley clueless first timer COULD have fun, but they would either need a lot of luck (non-crowded parks) or not mind the crowd scene at all.

For the trip I just returned from, there were 10 of us (and not that other side of the famly!), and I was a planning mad woman. Had to be this time of the year for such a large group. HOWEVER, last year, after our cruise, my 2 DDs and spent three days "winging it" THE WEEK AFTER CHRISTMAS. But it was a huge success because I had so much background knowledge. I knew when to zig and when to zag, so to speak.

So good luck to your co-worker--she'll need it, and maybe she will get it!

 

[vacationaddict]

Feel free to help plan my trip. Its Feb2-5. We have a DD7 and DS 4. We will just be getting off of a 4 day Disney cruise.

 

[Stacerita]

Our first trip we winged it and had no ill effects. It can be done. If she is used to winging things, she will be just fine. You can offer up some info if you really wanted to, but dont feel offended if she doesn't take it. Its her trip and she can plan how she likes.

 

[Pedler]

I have a saying. If someone is about to step off of a curb into the path of a truck I am at least obligated to mention that it could hurt. After that its up to them.

Seriously there is a reason that the parks are so crowded during the mid day. Its because thats when most of the people are there. We can either assume that they are uninformed and don't know what they are doing or that while it may not be what we would do they are having a great time.

 

[smjj]

We have been so many times now we just wing it all the time. Other than make a few ADR's we many times get up and say, well what do we do today and have a great time at it. For a first timer I strongly suggest a plan and some research so as to not miss things. A friend of ours actually thought that once you enter WDW, you were in and did not need tickets for the parks at all. They had no concept of how large and spread out it was and the resorts and individual parks were all seperate. They just thought it was like a big theme park all lumped together, we did our best to educate them...smjj

 

[mrsv98]

A word from a "winger" here...

We spend our regular lives running from one place to the next, getting up with an alarm clock and driven by a schedule. This is NOT how we want to spend our vacation. I make some plans, we have ADRs for CRT and Chef Mickey's but that is it.

We go during a time that has small crowds and that helps but we will not be driven by a schedule! We tend to go every 12-18 months, what we don't get to this trip, we will do the next.

Your friend may or may not have a magical time but just because she hasn't made a master plan doesn't mean that she can't have a great vacation. JMHO

 

[TSR6]

I wing it, but i also work for the mouse, so missing something today only means I have to go back tomorrow.

In all seriousness though. I came back to Disney for spring break last march, and completely winged it ( didnt even know for sure who with or where i was staying until I got down here - just had multiple people who said "Uhmm...sure, stay on my couch )

I had a great time

 

[DOOM1001]

This thread makes me think of one time we were resort hopping and our bus picks up 3 couples in their 60's at the middle bus stop in Downtown Disney.When they stepped in they told the bus driver they wanted to go to Disney World, the bus driver's response was You're already here! Obviously he knew they meant Magic Kingdom but was just playing with them.He took them to I think the Beach Club where he told them to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom.

What I remember from them was how happy they all seemed to be from the time they stepped on the bus, constantly talking and laughing and obviously they had no idea about the size of Disney World or how to get there.We talked to them in the bus and found out they were from Indiana and had just arrived by car.They had no clue there was 4 theme parks, someone just guided them to Downtown Disney and they wanted to go to "DISNEY WORLD". This to me is the perfect example of people just winging it, they got in their car drove south and were all just happy to be there.

 

[DisFlan]

We have been so many times now we just wing it all the time. Other than make a few ADR's we many times get up and say, well what do we do today and have a great time at it.

You sound like us. We wing about 80-90% of it, but we KNOW what we're winging. We make some ADR's, but if we miss something, we'll catch it next time. We're between kids and grandkids - we don't feel compelled in the least to do anything remotely commando.

I don't talk to many people (other than those going with us) about our plans, and I really don't want to know theirs. If someone doesn't feel up to uber-planning - or want's to go gung ho with it, that's their business. Different strokes...yada yada.

DisFlan