People who plan vs people who don't plan

[lolcow]

I've always preferred organised fun over "going with the flow". Even though it's my first WDW trip, I've planned (and made back up plans) and while it isn't rigid, it covers my main priorities. I've found many blogs and forums which has given me the impression that there are many people like me. Equally, I was thinking that there will be non-planners. Do you ever wonder how many people plan vs those who don't? I'm gonna be looking around the park and thinking; did you plan that or did you just walk by and like the look of it?

 

[pa. dad]

I've always preferred organised fun over "going with the flow". Even though it's my first WDW trip, I've planned (and made back up plans) and while it isn't rigid, it covers my main priorities. I've found many blogs and forums which has given me the impression that there are many people like me. Equally, I was thinking that there will be non-planners. Do you ever wonder how many people plan vs those who don't? I'm gonna be looking around the park and thinking; did you plan that or did you just walk by and like the look of it?

When you see people standing in the middle of the path staring at the park map and it's 10 am, you don;t have to ask whether they plan or not.
We tried no plans once and it was a disaster so that changed.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think since Disney implemented a ride reservation system, the "non planning" ship sailed.

If you want to experience the most popular attractions, you probably need to be on the planning bandwagon.

 

[TeamSy]

We've done both and they honestly both have their pros and cons. I find the biggest factor is time of year (crowds) and luck (which you really have no control over) when it comes to planning or not planning.

We definitely had more "surprises" (in a good way) and less stress with no plans, but that's during a much less crowded time. If you're going over, say, xmas I think you definitely need a plan to see and do all. I find I'm less disappointed when I don't plan, because I have a tendency to get super bummed if plans don't happen. However, with that said, I also find that if you want "magic" you have to plan it yourself (specialty dining, etc) and not expect for it to find you.

It's definitely a personal preference, and I think you have to visit a handful of times to fully grasp what works best for you.

When it comes to planning, I'm also a firm believer that crowd calanders are a waste. I'm all about studying the Disney calendar hours, booking adrs, fp+, and other experiences. I would never pay for someones "expertise."

 

[Mikie]

Planner here.
Tried not to require much from the family about it, but we talk about Disney a LOT prior to trips. A few months after our last Disney trip, the kids kept commenting on how much they enjoyed a short week/long weekend we took to Chicago because we "just went and did whatever we wanted!".
That revealed to me that
a) the family really likes the feel of being relaxed and unscheduled and that seems to be more important than exactly where we go or what we do; and
b) my family has no clue how much planning I do for EVERYTHING we do! It spanned a much shorter period of time in total, but I researched hotels, transportation, venues we could visit, operating hours, restaurants, . . . . and I didn't have one or two central places to do it like DIS. . . They just THOUGHT we were winging it.

 

[snayak]

I try and plan each vacation we take, no matter the location. I prefer having some idea of what we'd like to accomplish, and then go with the flow from there. With that in mind, I only plan about 5-6 hours of sightseeing per day; generally from 9-12 and then 1-4, leaves a nice break for lunch and plenty of time before dinner in case we're running late or want a nap or something.

I feel like it's a bit of a waste to just go somewhere and then decide what to do, particularly if it's your first visit. If you've been a million times before, then by all means, wing it! There is beauty in the unknown!

Though, my wife doesn't realize the amount of planning I do - as if we happily stumbled upon a hotel which has a free jazz concert Sunday nights (oh we happened to check in Sunday night...how lucky!). Nope, plan plan plan. Then act like you don't!

 

[dkrauss]

Even without FP I can't see how you can't plan............even a little. The level at which you take that plan is the issue in my mind. Over time I've loosened up on the minute to minute stuff.............for us it leads to frustration. However I like knowing where and "about" when I'm going to eat most days. I also like FP+ too. I like doing RD and getting in a 20-30 minute line for 7DMT (that'll change now that A&E are leaving )..........and then coming back in the afternoon/evening for a 2nd run.

But that's me

Doug

 

[GPC0321]

I planned like crazy, then scrapped those plans and planned again, and again, and then even when we got there I still wasn't entirely sure what we'd do on certain days.
What helped me was that over the months of making those plans, I was constantly looking at park maps online, figuring out the routes between attractions and where restaurants were in relation to the attractions, etc. So when I got to the parks, I had a good idea of where I was going, especially MK and Epcot. I also had a good idea of what attractions would have the longest waits, which were best to hit early, which would be okay any time, and which ones would be impossible at certain times. I knew when the parades were scheduled, what their route would be, and where the good spots were to see them. Same for fireworks. Which is how we wound up curbside in front of the castle for FoF, and standing as close as they'd let us (in front of a hoard of people) in front of the Chinese Theater for Symphony in the Stars. I knew what attractions were nearby that we could fit in between FP+, and I knew the order of the countries in the World Showcase and what food, shopping, and attractions were available in each (including Outdoor Kitchens for F&G).
Because of all of this, even when we did blow off our FP+ and do other things, I always felt like I was a step ahead of the masses. We literally just happened to be at the right place at the right time on many occasions during our visit, and I attribute that to a ton of research. I found it more enjoyable than trying to follow a strict "plan" with every hour of the day scheduled. We were able to "go with the flow" and sort of stay ahead of the flow fairly well.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I think others have made really good points: 1) SOME amount of planning seems necessary these days with WDW, and 2) amount of planning can depend on how often you've been somewhere.

I'm a planner by nature. First couple of Disney trips were planned in great detail!! After that I eased up some, but dialed it back up after FP+ started. These days, I anchor our trips with 1) special events/experiences (eg Wild Africa Trek, Symphony in the Stars Dessert Party, etc.), 2) must-do NEW things since our last trip, then 3) ADRs and FP+. Also generally leave a block in the middle of the day for a hotel or other break with nothing scheduled.

Since we now know well what rides get busiest when, etc., etc., we don't go with a list of rides to do in order from 9-11am, or the like. We just make those calls on the fly based on what we know about typical wait times, what we've already done, exact wait times that day, etc.

Honestly, pretty similar with other trips in that if we've never been, I do a good deal of planning. If it's another trip to NYC, where we've been many times, I do less planning (but still find a cool new show, restaurant or museum and set that up). That said, I think that for us, WDW will always require more planning than another been-there-many-times destination given constant changes, FP+, etc.

 

[MHSweb79]

I agree that the benefactors of the planning generally have no idea how much effort goes into the making the plan in the first place.

You can tell the planners from the non-planners sometimes here on the DIS when you see different posts covering the same week- one always lamenting how packed the parks were with 60+ minute waits for EVERYTHING and the other crowing that they never waited in line for more than 20 minutes. (Both, I believe, are exaggerating somewhat...)

The other posts that crack me up are the ones who say they don't plan a single thing- they get on whatever bus comes first in the morning and wing it from there. Invariably said in a smug manner, like anyone with a plan is an uptight who-knows-what because "everything will still be there next time." Turns out they go to Disney 3-4 times a year, so yeah- who needs a plan if you're going to turn around every couple months and come back? They can't imagine that many families are trying to have a once in a lifetime experience and of course they want to experience ad much as possible.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I agree that the benefactors of the planning generally have no idea how much effort goes into the making the plan in the first place.

You can tell the planners from the non-planners sometimes here on the DIS when you see different posts covering the same week- one always lamenting how packed the parks were with 60+ minute waits for EVERYTHING and the other crowing that they never waited in line for more than 20 minutes. (Both, I believe, are exaggerating somewhat...)

I think this is true!

 

[StuckInKS]

My extent of planning is deciding which parks to do on which days (mostly dictated by EMH and then, to a lesser extent, available ADRs), making ADRs and then making FP for the most popular rides at busy late afternoon/early evening times. That is enough planning for me and already takes more time than it really should (mostly because we never plan early enough to make our ADRs 180 days out...more like 30-90). We do not do a ride itinerary, our main goals is to ride what we can based on wait times. This does have its cons, as we usually have to criss cross whatever park we are in several times a day. On our very first visit we totally winged it and didn't even plan what parks on which days, we just woke up and decided where to go. Needless to say, we only did one TS that trip (Tutto).

 

[Ametista]

I am an obsessive planner. Sometimes I think it's almost as much fun as being there. I have become a lot less rigorous though. We used to rope drop every day and now we just don't so much, thanks to fast pass +. I can't believe I just said that, considering what a nightmare FP+ seemed like when it was all starting.

 

[StuckInKS]

The other posts that crack me up are the ones who say they don't plan a single thing- they get on whatever bus comes first in the morning and wing it from there.

We actually did this once on our first trip, because we got tired of waiting for a bus to show up (staying at Hilton in DTD and the bus service wasn't great). Either my mom or DH announced that we were getting on whatever decides to show up and that's what we did. That was before FP and we didn't have any ADRs, I can't imagine doing it now though.

 

[msmama]

I feel like at this point I'm firmly in the "do as little planning as possible" category, but that's because we've been at least yearly for the last 8 years!! I do a few ADR's (not everyday) and plan my FP's but that's it.

That said, I know how we generally work each park so there's much less to "plan." I also don't care if we miss certain things because we'll be back.

I know I've had trouble with friends who are going for the first time (or the ones who try to give me advice - I just smile and nod). When you try to really explain to them what kind of planning needs to be done, it seems daunting (even if it's just ADRs and FPs).

 

[Hikergirl]

I'm a loose planner, I haven't been back since right before FP+ completely replaced legacy FP. We are a go with the flow family, even at WDW and there was a time when that was possible.
We didn't get on the first bus, but we would decide that morning where we were going for the day. The only sure thing was that we would do MK on our last day. I made a few ADR's but other than that it was we're hungry lets go eat here.
As for attractions, we used FP to our advantage to ride the things we wanted to ride multiple times, and do some others once or not at all depending on lines and how we felt.

I just booked 4 nights during F&W, my only plan is to go to Epcot everyday to eat and drink around the world and spend the rest of the time sitting by the pool.
I swore I wouldn't be back due to the amount of crowds and planning involved, but I caved, I've always wanted to do F&W.

 

[Duckiedee]

I love planning - for me it is part of the trip and I look forward to it. I also don't care if my plans must accommodate or change. My plans are pretty exact, however life is not and I'm very much fine with that.

My DH likes the great deals I find and the insider info I get. My kids like that we are stress-free when we are there and they can do everything they love with minimal wait.

I have friends who went not long after we did. We had a magical first vacation. I offered to help them, but they wanted to wing it.

They bought tickets same day in the park after showing up to the MK around 1. All the rides they felt were a 60 min plus wait, their girls were too impatient to wait - they were five. They couldn't get into any of the restaurants or BBB. And they left the park shortly after supper because they were so disappointed. They'll never go back. That is so sad. But they really didn't understand how Disney works, if you do the work, it is magic. If you love the 'work' it is even more magical.

 

[DVC-Don]

Years ago we planned a lot. Nowadays we plan very little if any. Many times it's whatever bus shows up first to start our day. But then again, from October to early May I only live 20 miles from WDW and spend a day week (on average) at WDW.

 

[mernin]

I make a plan for when we go. I plan our fp+ and ADR's which we follow. I use touring plans and make what looks like a good day plan for each day, scheduling all the attractions we want to see. This part of my plan ends up being pretty loose, depending on the wait times or how we are feeling at the moment. I can't imagine totally winging it, but we don't visit annually and have to make sure we see what we want while we are here.

After our last trip, my non-planning husband was super happy with our trip and how it was planned. He's told a few friends about my "insider knowledge"! Ha!

 

[snayak]

Turns out they go to Disney 3-4 times a year, so yeah- who needs a plan if you're going to turn around every couple months and come back? They can't imagine that many families are trying to have a once in a lifetime experience and of course they want to experience ad much as possible.

Totally agree with this sentiment! I go to NYC to visit my brother 4-5 times per year, if I happen to miss something due to circumstance, I can go see it a couple months later, no big deal. That said, I firmly believe that the best trips you take (no matter where) always leave you wanting more - so for us that means not more than 1 or 2 big things per day.

We recently went through Eastern Europe by train for 10 days (for less than Disney, go figure) and were bummed out to leave each city. I totally want to go back to Vienna & Budapest just as soon as I can!