My strategy = no strategy

[robdam]

Family trip to WDW/WL 2 BR Villa in May04. 3 y.o son & 5 y.o. daughter along with wifey & me. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of the EXCELLENT info/tips/strategy found on this website/forum. Would I have any regrets if I don't plan a minute by minute strategy that I see so much of here? I just don't think it's realistic to plan our 3.5 day visit like that. I don't want to feel pressured to have to be at a certain place at a certain time. I want this to be as relaxing, (HA!), and fun , as it can be.

 

[luvmk]

I know exactly what you mean. It can be a bit overwhelming when you actually start planning everything out. I'll tell you how I plan it and you can see if that helps at all.

I made a page for every park that we wanted to visit. I listed the opening and closing times, also the parades and fireworks. Then, I would list every attraction that was a "must do" for us. I would also make a list of counter restaurants and where they were located. I didn't have everything mapped out exactly, but I had a good feel for what we wanted to do that day. I think it's much easier now with FP. That eliminates so much wasted time waiting in line. I also know that my dd5 and ds8 like to repeat certain rides, so a detailed itinerary wouldn't work for us.

The other thing I do is pick one or two restaurants for priority seating and make those. I usually do one character breakfast and one dinner. Last trip we did Mickey's BBQ.

Once you decide what you want to see, you can start determining what day for what park. i.e wishes, spectro, fantasmic, etc.

I hope this helps a little. Have Fun!



Rachel

 

[The Great Baboo]

No strategy is the best way to go -- no pressure --- I would take advantage of every fast pass that comes up, particularly at the MK....you can squeeze in alot of stuff that way in between --- have a leisurely lunch while you wait for your Buzz Lightyear FP return to come up --- it really works for us, particularly with the little kiddies who hate waiting on line...
Enjoy the Magic!

 

[CaseyJr]

We pick the things we most want to do, such as a special attraction at each park, a character meal, water park, etc. Maybe let each member choose one thing per park (or, more realistically with smaller kids, I'd either let them pick more than one, or else let one of the "grown-up" choices be something the kids want to do -- then, as the kids get older, they'll have a broader range of interest).....

Just remember that with smaller kids, it's important to go at their pace!

Have a grea trip!

 

[snyderla]

If you are not going during a peak time, I don't think a strategy is really important. But if it is a first trip or a busy time, IMHO you would be ahead to at least look at which rides/shows you don't want to miss and perhaps which parks which days. Some are busier on certain days than others, some stay open later on certain days, etc. My favorite tip I post on here sometimes is to get a PS at first seating for Crystal Palace for breakfast, then go straight to FantasyLand to ride those rides before the lines get crazy. We can usually get them all done, except PhilHarmagic, in about 45 minutes, doing IASW last. By the time we get off IASW the line for Peter Pan is usually 45minutes long! We like those rides, but would never wait that long for them.

Above all else, relax, adjust to what's happening at the Park, and have fun!! Hakuna Matata

Lori

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

I also have a 3 yo and 5 yo and am headed to a BW Villa.

Anyway, we never do a strategy. We wake up whenever, have breakfast in the room and decide what to do for the day. We avoid EE days and use Fastpasses.

We may plan to have a sitter to watch the kids and dinner reservations but that's about it. We've always had a lot of fun doing it this way.

The first few years we went when it was just the wife and me, we followed a strict minute by minute formula that worked great. We'd get up at the crack of dawn and follow proceedures to the letter of the law.

Now, we just go and "hang".

 

[luvmk]

I agree with the Crystal Palace ps strategy. We did that once and were out just as the park opened. We took some great photos of the castle and headed to splash mountain. We rode three times in a row with no wait! If it works for you, it can be a great start to the day in the MK.



Rachel

 

[cdpa4d]

I think the best strategy is a partial strategy. You don't want to over plan your trip. But you at least want to know what you are going to do on a given day. For example, make a day-to-day itinerary on which parks you wish to visit, but don't plan the entire day out minute by minute, or hour by hour. This seems to work out great for our family. If you wish to visit a special restaraunt then, by all means, make a PS and go at a certain time.
Good Luck and have a great trip!
ADP

 

[tassie42]

regarding the crystal palace ps.. what do you do when you get to the park and its not open yet? do you tell a cm and walk in front of everybody waiting?

 

[luvmk]

Tassie42--We had this happen at MK and epcot. We went to a cm and told them we had a ps. At both parks, there was someone there with a list of all the people who had ps before the park opened. We gave them our name, they looked it up and let us into the park. I think both times we went to a cm standing off to the side. That way we didn't have to get in front of the people standing in line. You could also ask security where you should check in.



Rachel

 

[clayb]

how do you get fast passes

 

[PhotobearSam]

Stategy/ planning comes down to one thing for me...TIME!!!

If I'm only there for short amount of time...I plan more (to get the most out of my trip)

If we are there for several weeks like the last 2 trips, we just plan where to go each day, back up for each day in case of rain that could or may not change that day's plan and a cuple of PS's to popular places.

On this trip, we only made PS's for Cindy's, Marrakesh for the CP package (December trip), Boma's cause we really wanted to eat there no matter and O'Hana's because we HAVE to eat there on every trip...It's our own Disney custom.

I say you have been several times don't plan but if you have only a little time or it's your first time you could use the Unofficial Guide to WDW touring plans and see the most you can with the least amout of standing in line...Added bonus with the plans...No Standing around a map saying..."What do we do now...???"

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

My strategy might be different than yours because I don't have children, and I go solo, while DH stays home.

That said; My strategy is to plan MONTHS ahead of time, as to which park on what day. I always avoid the Early Entry parks.

I like to relax with a full buffet breakfast, and then I get to my scheduled park....whenever I get there. Nothing else is actually planned. Nothing is actually rushed for the rest of the day.

 

[gailelle]

I agree! The minute you plan everything it rains and everything changes - this happened to us one day last year and we had lots of fun on this unplanned day at DTD - Gailelle

 

[chessie]

The only hard planning I do is to know which park on which day. I usually note the times of the parades and special events We want to see and plan which park around them. We usually do one park in the AM and another in the PM. That brakes up the day. When I have little ones with me we generally leave the park at noon and go back to our resort for lunch and rest and head back to a different park around 2. My personal philosophy is that we see what we see. I educate myself on what is new and what has changed since my last visit. I also keep in mind fast passes but I am generally a pretty slow tourer.

 

[pm914]

I think planning is very important for a WDW newbie. Otherwise, as a previous poster said, the amount of time spent staring at the map and wondering what to do next would overtake your touring time. On our first couple of trips to WDW, we studied and tried to follow the advice in the Unofficial Guide. It worked great as we got to see the maximum number of rides and attractions in a relatively short amount of time.
Now that we "know the lay of the land", so to speak, we can be much more casual about our touring plan. We still get every year's edition of the Unofficial Guide, but now we pick and choose what we want to see.
Oddly enough, we find ourselves actually making more PSs than we did before. We seem to like having that little bit of structure that the PS adds to our day.
BTW, I personally don't think it's possible for a first-time WDW trip with 2 pre-schoolers to be Relaxing.
Magical, yes. Relaxing, no.
Have a great time

 

[travellady]

My planning strategy - know what day you're arriving, know what day you're leaving, have ressies at a WDW resort for the time you'll be there, make 2 PS during the 10 day trip (mine is 10 days so am using this as an example) to ensure you'll get into your favorite restaurants, and be flexible from there. We are going the weekend of Easter through the following weekend. We know it will be crowded, but I'd still rather play it by ear. We are not the type who wants to plan every minute nor even decide which park which day before we go. If we wake up and feel like we want to see animals, we'll decide on AKL. If we're into the movies that day, we'll hit MGM. Maybe we'd like a water slide park instead. We go with our moods and the weather and use fast passes. Also, we don't expect to see everything so already have plans to head back at Xmas after our cruise.

Over the years I've seen too many harried frustrated parents with tired screaming kids in tow - life is short, relax, take a break, and remember this is Disney and the point is to have fun

 

[Ann]

You really don't need to plan minute to minute, but I would not want to have no plan at all and then end up spending all my time waiting in lines at the most crowded park because I wanted to be "relaxed." I do not follow the Unofficial Guide's touring plans, but I find it a good resource for being informed about where backlogs will form, and whether I want to catch an attraction in the a.m. or if it can't wait for later. Now some people just don't have the personality for wading thru all that info, but for me it's a good way to get excited about our upcoming trip. Plus I hate to waste my time ( & money) waiting in lines when knowing a few good tips might have avoided all that. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[johnvree]

I've done the no-planning thing. The first time I went with my kids, we knew what park we were doing on each day, but nothing else. We wasted a lot of time trying to figure out, and arguing over, where to go next, we stood in a lot of lines unnecessarily and we missed a lot of stuff.

Now we plan. Last time we went, we planned our trip by breaking each day into 2 parts - morning and afternoon (it was off season so there was nothing to plan in the evening). For each part of the day we knew which park we wanted to be in and the must-see attractions. For example, a morning block might look like "MK, (POTC, JC, SM BTMR) (lunch at LTT)". To address the rain problem, we leave the last day of our trip wide open to hit anything that we missed.

Hope this helps.

 

[robdam]

Originally posted by johnvree
I've done the no-planning thing. The first time I went with my kids, we knew what park we were doing on each day, but nothing else. We wasted a lot of time trying to figure out, and arguing over, where to go next, we stood in a lot of lines unnecessarily and we missed a lot of stuff.

Now we plan. Last time we went, we planned our trip by breaking each day into 2 parts - morning and afternoon (it was off season so there was nothing to plan in the evening). For each part of the day we knew which park we wanted to be in and the must-see attractions. For example, a morning block might look like "MK, (POTC, JC, SM BTMR) (lunch at LTT)". To address the rain problem, we leave the last day of our trip wide open to hit anything that we missed.

Hope this helps.

Yes, it does. Thanks to all wh have replied.