Panic attack at the mere thought of all the planning

[Lglchick]

Do any other newbies do this? I have been reading threads on this site for 2 days straight and the more I read, the more panicked I've become. I can't hardly breathe, my heart is racing, my hands are sweating and my eyes keep darting from one web link to the next. This board becomes addictive VERY quickly.

I think for now, I will end my weekend long panic attack by taking a few cleansing breaths, download one set of planning pages, re-read my notes from 'What Disney tips are you really glad you listened to?', and, quite frankly, pray. Pray for good attitudes, good weather, good flights, and if anything does go bad/wrong, that my children will only remember the good parts of our trip. That's all I can ask for, right?

 

[Hootch]

no need to panic. Realize from the beginning that a) you won't be able to do everything b) something will go wrong and c) you're on vacation so do what you can and enjoy.

A few trips ago we appended a short, three day visit to Disney on to a beach trip with my parents and my sister's family. The beach trip alone was enough to stress about because there is usually some friction between my wife and my mother and sister.

Our flight was delayed followed by my suitcase was lost, followed by the rental car agency not having a car for our reservation, followed by Disney telling us that the room we had reserved we could not have. The front desk CM cheerfully noted that the room they were offering cost less than the one we reserved - only she quoted us a higher rate. Got that fixed though and got the level we had reserved.

At dinner that night I get an email from my boss asking me to call him at home that night. I obviously didn't call soon enough since he called me before the kids were down for night. Negotiations had taken a bad turn and my vacation was most likely going to be canceled.

I spent the next day on the phone while standing in line either trying to remotely run an analysis or trying to locate my luggage. I was stressed out since I hadn't yet told my wife that our vacation was going to be canceled. I decided to tell her when the decision was to ship my laptop to me with files to work on.

I don't want to go on about how bad it is sitting by a pool when it's a 100 degrees outside working on a laptop or how the woman whose luggage was swapped for mine took it to her hotel and held it hostage until she got her bag.

The point of the story is the next winter my wife and I were finalizing our summer trip to the beach when I proposed going back to Disney for a longer trip instead. Even though so many things had gone wrong on our trip, I still had fond memories of spending time with my kids there and of watching how they reacted to all things Disney offered. It was still a trip that was or more enjoyable than some vacations that had far fewer problems.

Just a couple of additional suggestions:

a) Learn the fastpass system. It's a useful way to reduce wait times. There are some guides that tell you the average return time for fastpasses at various rides.

b) Be there at rope drop. Crowds are lower first thing in the morning.

c) Look for the thread on WDW Theme Park Secrets. Pick a few and seek them out. It may help you appreciate the depth of the planning that goes into each park and attraction. It's worth a little slow down time.

d) Watch the characters at MK or DHS or the entertainers at Epcot. They're quite fun.

Good luck and enjoy

 

[irisesareblue]

Do any other newbies do this? I have been reading threads on this site for 2 days straight and the more I read, the more panicked I've become. I can't hardly breathe, my heart is racing, my hands are sweating and my eyes keep darting from one web link to the next. This board becomes addictive VERY quickly.

I think for now, I will end my weekend long panic attack by taking a few cleansing breaths, download one set of planning pages, re-read my notes from 'What Disney tips are you really glad you listened to?', and, quite frankly, pray. Pray for good attitudes, good weather, good flights, and if anything does go bad/wrong, that my children will only remember the good parts of our trip. That's all I can ask for, right?

Don't go OCD on us! Seriously - it's a great place to visit - just realize that you won't be able to do it all and don't stress - just pick a few things you know you will enjoy and focus on them - if all else fails and you have kids, take them to the Magic Kingdom over and over again - you could spend a whole week in the Magic Kingdom park with kids and never see everything. If you have kids, book one character breakfast in the parks - if all else fails, the character breakfasts never fail to entertain.

My main tips -

1. never go to the Magic Kingdom the first day - some folks have gotten to it and their kids never want to go anywhere else.

2. Be sure to schedule breaks each day - whether you go to the park late or go back to the hotel for lunch and a swim, you NEED rest (and the kids will too!)

3. Be sure to print & use google maps or msn mappoints if you are staying off-site and driving. Preprint your maps for both getting to the parks and back to the hotel - Disney's signage can leave a lot to be desired in getting off-site. It's a magical place but you can also magically get lost really quick.

4. Take time to enjoy the kids and the people around you - talk to people in line - ask where they're from, why they love Disney, etc. etc. You can make some great friends this way.

5. Get a guide - the Unofficial guide to Disney World is a great resource.

 

[Lglchick]

Thanks! I know there's no such thing as a perfect vacation, but since this is our very first official family vacation ever, I want to try and avoid as many obstacles as I can and make it as special as possible - without tears from anyone.

I've had my Unofficial Guide for several months now, plus a couple more and the rope drop, FastPass, etc. are definitely things we will take advantage of. Our kiddos are 21, 9 and 6, so I'm not so worried about breaks, but will definitely take them if necessary. We've already decided we're not pushing anyone beyond their limits, as we know we'll all suffer the consequences.

I guess I'm stressing out more about actually putting it all together, what park, what rides, where/when to eat, using the transportation system, those kinds of things. On one hand I don't want us to get so bogged down in details, that none of us has any fun. On the other hand, I know that an itinerary is absolutely essential so we're not wandering and meandering. I know we won't see everything, but I want to make sure that we get in those must dos/sees.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

The easiest thing to do is go to www.touringplans.com, the companion website to The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and pick your park days off of their crowd calendar. Once you know which parks you will be in on which days, it's pretty easy from there. We pick our ADRs (advance dining reservations) by eating in a restaurant that is in the park that day or at a nearby resort. For example, on Magic Kingdom days, we will usually eat at Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's or Ohana. We always use the basic dining plan and we usually use our TS (table service) meal at dinner time, usually around 6:00 p.m.

 

[JenSop]

How exciting to be going on your first trip!

(I've often wondered what it's like for people to do their first trips as adults, and I guess my question was answered.) My best advice is relax and you'll have a great time! It's Disney! Don't stress.

Once you get the feel for being in Disney, planning actually becomes fun. With every trip, it gets easier and easier. I LOVE the planning process (I make up my own full-color planning sheets, etc.), but I am a bit of a nerd anyway....

I've been going to Disney since I was eight years old, and I think others like me take for granted (or just plain forget) that there's alot that goes into planning a first trip.

It sounds like you're off to a good start. Using one of the guide books is a great start. I also recommend reading other peoples' trip reports here on the disboards - you can see some of the things they decide to do and for many of those things, you'll get to see the pictures of those activities and decide if it's something you want to do too.

Just go with the attitude that there will always be things you won't get to. Make a list of priorities for each park. This fall, I'm doing a girls-only trip. (Which will be a first-time trip for one of the girls.) My other disney-obsessed friend and I sat down and prioritized 3-4 attractions in every park that we HAD to do, then picked our meals. Voila - instant trip plan!

I really enjoy planning Disney trips (if I hadn't had music as my life's calling, I think Disney travel agent would have been at the top of the list ) so if you need anyhelp, just let me know! As I'm sure so many others on the boards will be happy to jump in and give you great suggestions! Good luck!

 

[RitaFaye94]

Last year for our first trip (NO ONE had been in my family, so we were all newbies), I took some advice from my best friend who has visited so much that they decided to buy an RV. Her advice for a first trip:

1. Buy a guidebook (she recommended Passporter or Unofficial Guide) and read through to get familiar. Don't try to map out every day, just pick your MUST do's (Dumbo, Splash Mountain, Fantasmic, etc.) and hope to do's. Learn about Fast Pass and how to work the system to your advantage.

2. Decide which days you'll visit which parks. You may base it on where there are Extra Magic Hours, when Fantasmic occurs, which has more things you want to see - whatever is important to your family.

3. Book your dining reservations. Depending on the time of year, you may have long waits at any table service restaurants you visit.

Other than that, realize that things won't go exactly as planned, and you can change most reservations at any time (except some Signature dining, etc.) in case you decide to revisit another park or just crash at the hotel. Remember you can't do it all in one trip (unless you're staying a month, in which case you can adopt me and take me with you ).

Have a great time!

 

[MyVirtueAidan]

Aawww Mann... That was me last week!!!

 

[Lglchick]

I'm starting to chill out, a little. During dinner last night, we watched the WDW planning DVD. Instead of looking at photos of rides, shows, characters, they got to see kids interacting with the characters, got an idea of what the rides will be like and what kind of shows are available. Watching the kiddos get so excited about it has eased my fears somewhat.

As I've said, I know it won't be perfect, but it'll be our vacation and, with a little pixie dust, we'll make the best of whatever happens.

Thanks, everyone, for your advice and offers of help. I'll be taking a look at the links and the trip reports, too!

 

[mousetravel]

I'm starting to chill out, a little. During dinner last night, we watched the WDW planning DVD. Instead of looking at photos of rides, shows, characters, they got to see kids interacting with the characters, got an idea of what the rides will be like and what kind of shows are available.

You can also watch some youtube videos. That's really helpful.
When we go to Disney, we only plan which days for the parks and make dining reservations for character dining. The rest is just "go with the flow" for us.

 

[jodivee]

oh my goodness, it was like I wrote your post!!
I am (attempting) to plan our very first Disney trip. NONE of us has ever gone, nor have we really ever gone on a vacation that you need to fly to, so this is totally freaking me out.
I'm not totally anal, but I do like to have an idea of where/when/what. The Unofficial Guide has been such a help, especially the chart that tells what are the best parks to avoid or go to on a specific date. I started with that, then made somewhat of a plan by following that suggestion. Knowing what park we'd be in on a specific day, then I picked a restaurant in that park and made an ADR (almost had a panic attack after, but I lived. haha!)
I have by no means planned every day of our trip - and likely that will come back to bite me in the butt when it comes to dining, but having never been, I really don't see how I can plan everything, you know?

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that you are definately not alone in your feelings of being overwhelmed!!!!
Good luck!!!

 

[castlecurb]

Do any other newbies do this? I have been reading threads on this site for 2 days straight and the more I read, the more panicked I've become. I can't hardly breathe, my heart is racing, my hands are sweating and my eyes keep darting from one web link to the next. This board becomes addictive VERY quickly.

I think for now, I will end my weekend long panic attack by taking a few cleansing breaths, download one set of planning pages, re-read my notes from 'What Disney tips are you really glad you listened to?', and, quite frankly, pray. Pray for good attitudes, good weather, good flights, and if anything does go bad/wrong, that my children will only remember the good parts of our trip. That's all I can ask for, right?

Hi there If you or your kids are especially interested in meeting any characters in particular, shoot me a message, I'm very familiar with where the characters can currently be found and what times are best to go meet them Enjoy your trip!