Nervous my trip will suck...

[jimim]

your plan of each day looks fine. i would make your fast passes and then try to modify what you don't like up until ur trip when u feel like it and then go from there. it all gets done. trust me it will. take advantage of rope drop. take advantage of rides during night shows. go back in the park after ur dinners. night is a great time to crush it! i think it is. by the end of the week i promise you, you will be like "huh we got it all in that we wanted and then some". and i'm not talkign about being in the park all day. in at rope drop, out by 12-1 ish. and then back in after say a 530 or so dinner.

it's all good!

jimi

 

[Magpie]

Have a granola bar or small snack in hotel room
try to make rope drop and do as many rides as possible
grab counter service for lunch
maybe head back to hotel for a couple hours of pool/relax
back to the park(s)
sit down dinner at pre-reserved restaurant
end the night

That's exactly the plan we follow.

Instant porridge or a granola bar for breakfast in our hotel room.

Rope drop (we're early risers, so this isn't difficult).

FP windows are an hour long, so ideally I've got them for 9am, 10am and 11am - something like that. I fit other rides in around them.

Lunch.

Back to the resort for a nap.

Then, using park hopper, pick a park. Maybe we'll return to the same park. Maybe we'll go to a different one. Maybe we'll visit Disney Springs! It's usually up to us, and our whim on that day.

Choose some additional FPs, if we like. Or not. Most of the time, I don't bother. There's always lots to do!

Dinner.

Now, the one thing we don't do is book a sit down meal for every single day. For an eight day visit, we will have at most four sit-down meals planned. And one of them will be a pre-park opening breakfast (this upcoming trip it's Animal Kingdom). The rest are likely to be lunches, and also dining packages. The reason? I like to have more flexibility in the evening. Lunches are less expensive. And reserved seating is always nice!

Disney has very nice counter service options. And if we change our minds and decide we're in the mood for table service, we can just find something on the app (or at guest services), that same day in whatever park we happen to be in. Sure, you probably won't get a seat at Cinderella's table, but there's always something available!

 

[DebbieB]

I would be too cold for pool in late November. Maybe resort hop instead or rest in the room?

I was there December 2 to 8, most days it was mid 80's. That time of year is really variable, I've been there with a high of 48. I wouldn't rule out the pool.

We had a great time. Planned the 3 daily fastpasses and I was able to pull some major rides after that by refreshing the app and seeing what pops up. Even got Flight of Passage around 1:00 for 2:00. Kind of made a game out of it, seeing what I could hunt down. Frozen was the only one I never saw popup.

 

[Carla1183]

I have quite a few friends whose eyes bugged out of their head and they started to get anxiety when I explained the level I planned (touring plans, every minute of every day planned basically). But I did that because that is what helps ME enjoy. The stress of not knowing where to go next would make a trip suck for ME.
But if you are the type of person who a schedule stresses out - your plan will be perfect!! You'll have a great time, nothing will suck. You'll be at Disney World!!

The level of planning you see on this board seems extreme because its a board for the purpose of planning - so those of who love this stuff naturally go beyond what 'normal' people to do for their trips. We gravitate here because it offers us more info to do that level of planning. That doesn't mean it's necessary to have a good time.

 

[FindingTheMouse]

Your plan is the same as ours. Quick breakfast, head to parks to make our FP+ reservations, quick lunch, back to room for rest/pool break, then dinner reservations and a park for fireworks or additional FP+ or other night entertainment.
A couple of things I've learned about our trips to WDW and we've done 10 in the last 14 years.
1. You can't do everything. It is too big and too many things to do to hit them all. Decide what you want to do plan accordingly, if you don't get to ride a particular ride or eat at a particular restaurant, time to start thinking about another trip.
2. Expanding on #1, Disney is made up of a lot of CMs and a lot of technology. They both will fail at points. Go with the flow. As stated in #1, there are so many things to do you get to experience something else when 1 ride is down.

 

[JessicaW1234]

Your plan sounds perfect

 

[GillianP1301]

First off, your trip will not suck. You are already put thought into how to plan out your stay to what best suits your family, and it will be great!

If you're looking for opinions on your plan, for me personally I would probably not build in pool/relax time every day, especially on a shorter 3 - 4 day trip. There's so much park stuff to cover off that I would feel like I'm missing out. But, it really depends on what your priorities are. Other than that, I think your plan looks good and gives you some flexibility as well.

 

[dledger]

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. So if how you want to travel is a more "relaxed" pace than what people suggest here? Go for it! It is your vacation not theirs. I'd say make a list of priorities and just try and hit those first and work from there. You already have a start knowing how you want to structure your days so maybe just look at what attractions/experiences are important to you. Would I be able to travel like that? No. But like I said, not my vacation! It'll all be fine

 

[Maddysdaddy]

maybe head back to hotel for a couple hours of pool/relax
back to the park(s)
sit down dinner at pre-reserved restaurant
end the night

The nice thing about your plan is that you can power through rides using standby for 2-4 hours at Rope Drop, relax at the hotel during the heat of the day (crowds and temperature), and then come back to the park late afternoon/early evening to use your fast passes followed by standby once crowds start thinning out. Your plan mirrors what my family does on our trips to WDW.

 

[dkostel]

The week after Thanksgiving is a pretty good time to go crowd-wise. I would also hit the Christmas party while you're there. You can do a lot at the party without much planning.

 

[BalooFan]

This is essentially what I do on each trip, except that I often do TS lunches instead of dinners. I always have a plan for each day, but other than FP+ and ADR, I only have a loose plan. For example, in MK between my FP+ for SDMT and PPF, I know I will probably hit IASW, the carousel, and Mickey’s Philharmagic, but I don’t know in what order or at what time. Some people are of the opinion that their way of touring is the only way. Their way is the right way for THEM. Try your way, learn from your successes and shortcomings, and develop your own plan. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[Jack!]

I promise it won't. I did 16 nights over Christmas and New Year (i.e. the busiest time of the year) and loved it. I came away having still not done some attractions I missed on my first visit, as well as other resort-wide things I'd hoped to have seen and done like the mini golf courses. Was and am I a little disappointed? Yes. Did it ruin my trip? No, in fact it's my favourite holiday I've ever been on.

Prepare for the crowds, make your FPs in good time, tell yourself it's impossible to do everything, and remember you're on vacation! The minute you step into the Magic Kingdom, or arrive at your resort, you'll be so excited you'll have forgotten all about this. Don't worry, you're gonna have an amazing time and your plan sounds perfect!

 

[Mom2Stitch]

In the words of Dr. Philbilly "We create what we fear"

I think your plans sound fine. Some people feel the need to plan every moment, some jump on the first bus that comes to the bus stop when they get there. There's no wrong way, nor right way! I've had some trips where I poured over every detail before I got there and then most of that went out the window because the crowds were bad or the weather didn't cooperate. It happens-but we were still at Disney! I like to plan, but I think mindset is so much more important.

 

[Satchmo128]

We have had at least one person get sick on almost every Disney trip we have taken and we have still had a great time each trip. Some are better than others and some have had more planning than others. We do not do rope drop (well, we did on our Honeymoon, but that was the only trip that we made a point of it). We like lunch ADRs better than dinner, but that just works better for us! You will have an amazing trip!

 

[AngiTN]

Posts here on The Dis skew WAAAAAY negative for whatever reason, though here's my thought, posted elsewhere

..... I think outrage actually supplies power to the Disboard servers

Can't let the negative nancies that populate this place get you down. Funny thing about those negative nancies, they complain but still go. Should tell you something, no?

I do think much of any trip is your attitude. Go in with a positive one and it's funny how positive things tend to follow and how you tend to find positive where you look. Go with negative and the opposite happens.

 

[belledreamer]

Posts here on The Dis skew WAAAAAY negative for whatever reason, though here's my thought, posted elsewhere

Can't let the negative nancies that populate this place get you down. Funny thing about those negative nancies, they complain but still go. Should tell you something, no?

I do think much of any trip is your attitude. Go in with a positive one and it's funny how positive things tend to follow and how you tend to find positive where you look. Go with negative and the opposite happens.

Omg I love your opinion on this! I've been seeing so many posts (here and elsewhere) of people expecting absolute perfection out of their trip and if it was anything less they want to say that it was the worst trip of their lives. I had to quit reading them because I was getting aggravated myself... Sure we would all love the glory days of Disney back when the most you ever waited for a ride was 30 minutes, but you can still have a great time at Disney if you go in the busiest or the slowest time of the year. It's all in your mindset.

 

[solfan68]

We're going for the first time in several years this June. New to us... magic bands, FP+, the app... And your day looks like what we have in mind. You got this. Have fun !

 

[JenLovesMM]

I think your plan sounds just fine. To me a day at Disney is always better than a day at home/work! Like others have said, positive attitude going into it will make a difference. Fastpasses can be changed up to the day you leave and on the fly, even during the very busy xmas time people were posting that they were able to grab FOP or other headliner fastpasses. And if not, don't let one ride ruin a trip, there are so many other great rides, shows, different stuff to do at Disney. We always go in with the attitude of let's enjoy what we actually get to do, the rest maybe we'll get to do it next time. One thing we have done on past trips to help keep our plans flexible is to do late brunch for TS instead of supper. Of course depends on your preference for meal types, but sometimes with a late brunch you'll get the combo of breakfast and lunch items. We felt that with a brunch vs dinner, we could go into the parks early, do quite a few rides, break for brunch, do a few more things. Once we got tired or parks became too busy then we left for hotel or shopping or visiting resorts, etc without being attached to a TS in a certain park, we just felt that the rest of our day was more open to do whatever we wanted. Did it end up that we didn't leave the park and grabbed CS for dinner, for sure, but we had that flexibility and it really worked for us.

 

[kiford]

One day last trip (Dec 16), we spent the morning at HS (late morning - we don't do rope drop). We watched the actors who come out into the streets do their little performance (hilarious), did a ride (ToT I think), got a drink from Starbucks to await the Imperial march down the main road positioning ourselves where DH could get some good video, went and saw the Muppets 3D movie, took some more pictures (well, DH did), got a snack. Headed back to the hotel and floated about in the pool for a couple of hours. Wandered about Epcot stores later that afternoon, dinner at some TS place, back to the hotel for an early night. No FP+. Yes, we've been to WDW several times in the last few years so we have done many of the attractions but the point was: we had a good time. Enjoyed ourselves. While being in WDW. How could that possibly suck?

With the exception of rope drop, your plan sounds lovely. I plan which day we're going to which park, ADRs and the occasional ticketed event. Maybe get some FP+s (although we often cancel them or don't use them). Basically, we make sure to make all of our ADRs (except sometimes we change up on a days notice) and go to the ticketed events. We hit the planned park maybe 30% of the time. Sometimes we just take whatever bus or transportation seems best at the time. Sometimes we bail partway through the day. Sometimes we stay until very late. Whatever we feel. As long as we're enjoying it, it's the best vacation ever. As yours will be if you don't try to cram everything possible into it and don't feel that you have to do something or the trip is a bust.

 

[revdon64]

Posts here on The Dis skew WAAAAAY negative for whatever reason, though here's my thought, posted elsewhere


Can't let the negative nancies that populate this place get you down. Funny thing about those negative nancies, they complain but still go. Should tell you something, no?

I do think much of any trip is your attitude. Go in with a positive one and it's funny how positive things tend to follow and how you tend to find positive where you look. Go with negative and the opposite happens.

Mostly I agree with this, but our most recent trip didn't conform to my positivity. Not only did we have problems with EMM, we encountered many different ride breakdowns at different parks on different days, we dealt with a few troubling CMs - mostly at resorts, and we experienced a power outage at our hotel. All in all, it ranked up there as one of the worst of our Disney trips. Your mileage not only "may vary," but will likely vary. Attitude is key though.