That sounds like a great plan for a solo trip. If I take one someday I will take your advice. As long as I have a husband and kids (and dining reservations) I'll write up my outline (sans crayon) and actually enjoy it
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Hahaha!!! I love it!
A great plan is one that's flexible. For some reason he feels like spreadsheets or having a plan means a rigid or not a joyous vacation. I plan to give each of my family members a spread sheet to let them known what's going on if they should want to go on their own to a different park.
Agreed. I do have to say that someone on the previous thread did post their itinerary that was literally minute by minute with bathroom breaks scheduled, but that was after he insulted everyone. In my opinion, you have to allow Disney to take over on any given day, which means there has to be flexibility in your plan in case a Disney moment happens that changes your plans. I think they happen often, so flexibility is key, but that doesn't mean we can't plan. I don't understand why people get so irritated at planners. Seriously, when I stumbled on the Disboards, it was because I had decided after our first trip that was planned by my parents that there had to be a better way to do it. They used the fastpass system, but didn't understand the best way to utilize it. We ended up running from place to place, and with my injuries to my feet, I sat down and cried. It was still magical, and I fell in love with Disney. I came home, had major surgery to deal with a health issue, and then started planning our next trip. That was 7 months in advance. It was as perfect as could be. Every trip we are learning what works and what doesn't, and we streamline the trip based on those things. It gets better every time. This trip we started thinking about before we left Disney, and I started getting a rough plan together at 13 months out. The time is passing so fast, and I am already nervous about getting our ADR's. Planning for 14 people is no joke. I don't plan bathroom breaks and such, and we sort of wing it when it comes to getting up in the AM, or whether or not we need a mid-day break and such. We know where we are going, where we are eating, and what time, what time parades, fireworks, and shows are in case we want to see them, crowd levels, when EMH is and where, and if I plan an open schedule day that doesn't have ADR's, I list all park hours so I don't have to guess or track them down the day of. I have meal reservations written in two places and saved in my phone. I plan and execute all shirt making projects and do additional projects on my own. Last time I bedazzled 11 shirts and 9 hats, designed and made a total of about 60 shirts, then there were pressed penny tubes, lanyards and pin ordering, etc... Packing I have to start 1-2 months out b/c I have to pack for 5 kids and 2 adults. That seems like a long time, but we usually only take carry-ons for everyone, and we have to keep reorganizing to make it all fit.
The reason I say all this is to debunk the thought that planners are sitting there for 10 months playing with spreadsheets, pie charts, and "crayons" (most adults use highligters or computers nowadays). We have more than one thing on our plates. I am a mother of 5 kids that I homeschool, I run a business, teach karate, train for my second degree black belt, clean my house, cook the meals, tackle mountains of laundry, renovate my new home (we bought a forclosure, and have LOTS of projects to keep us busy!), maintain the yard, haul kids back and forth, shop, coordinate bathtimes, bedtimes, and everything else, study for teaching my karate classes (think psychology books b/c we don't just teach kicking and punching), do community projects, go to church, spend time with family and friends, etc...etc...etc...AND I am contemplating writing a novel! Anyway, my point is...I love planning my Disney trips, and it may take me months and months to get it planned just the way we want it to be, but you see how little time I have to work with. I'm sure it's the same with most planners.
Have fun planning your trip your way. If you want to hop on a bus and hit 4 parks in one day, circle back around to hit Tower of Terror just one more time before you head on over to MK to see Wishes, go for it! I do it differently b/c it works for me that way. I like knowing where we are going, and once we get there we just let Disney happen. My runners run for fastpasses, and we take the kids to other rides. By the time we get there our runners are usually almost there, so it works out well. We stack our fastpasses until we want to use them, and hit our ADR's with plenty of time to spare. I personally like one park each day, with never the same park two days in a row. But that's just me. Have fun planning.
