Planners Help Me Please

[PoohHappens]

I just need to vent somewhere you planners understand. We are travelling with my sister's family and they are very laid back and don't make definate plans. Well, I assigned them one day for our trip and said to plan what they wanted to do and where they wanted to eat that day, this was 2 weeks ago. Last night I am talking to my sister and asked her about it. She said "Maybe we'll just decide when we get there" ...aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh......

Somebody please tell me you have travelled with folks like this before and it went ok, I am all for being spontaneous, and am willing to change plans as we can, but with a larger group it is just too hard...

 

[Mister Disney]

BREATH DEEPLY and count to ten

Since you are going in October. My suggestion would be to plan all of YOUR "must-dos" on the other days. That way you won't be disappointed no matter what. Also, you may be pleasantly suprised at what they come up with.

Secondly, you could always pull my routine and be a benovelent dictator. Start sending them links to various attractions, restaurants and activities. This might prompt them to pick some things. Doesn't always work, but worth a try to calm your own nerves.

From one planning nut to another....GOOD LUCK!

 

[TiggMan]

Since you are going in October, you will hit the International Food & Wine Festival in World Showcase at Epcot. Why not plan on going there on their day. There are plenty of extra kiosks for sampling food and beverages of choice, making it a great way to simply "graze" your way around the world. DW and I have done this several times and it actually makes for a relaxing day.

 

[jjarman]

I have two wonderful brothers who married two wonderful women, M and L. L is just like me in planning. We are both obsessive planners and as you can see from my counter below I am planning well ahead for my next trip. L and I have even made some plans for our trip together in about 3-4 years, LOL. However, M is a different story. She is sweet as can be but does not plan anything further out than the next 5 minutes. Our three families vacation together every year at the beach and L and I have finally learned to just plan everything and M is happy with that. That is probably one reason I will never go to WDW with M. I can just see us all getting outside our hotel room doors at 7:30 to walk down to catch the bus to the parks and M will still be in her pajamas and wonder why we have to go so early. Since you are already planning the trip plan what you want to do each day including the PS for everyone. I would even tell her that if you wait until that evening to try to get a good sit down meal you will be out of luck. Then if the others don’t want to do what you have planned for the day they can wing it on their own. Then you can know you tried.

 

[PoohHappens]

Mr. Disney and tiggman thanks for the suggestions. F&WF is new to us this visit, so that may be a lot of fun. We are using the Dinning plan so I like to have ADR's for one meal that day, but I guess I do not have to. We have been several times and have very few must do's, it is more my concern that itwill be 3 in the afternoon and we still do not know what we are doing and where we are going. My 3 year old will not tollerate that, he will be up and ready to go. Do you think it would be rude to let it be a free day that they plan and have them call us when they want to meet us. I want them to have a great vacation and if they want to sleep and do nothing on their day, they should get to right? I might acctually have fun not knowing what i am doing right? I have the other days planned with 2 or more meeting times, so if people do not want to be at the first they can catch up again later.

 

[Mister Disney]

Mr. Disney and tiggman thanks for the suggestions. F&WF is new to us this visit, so that may be a lot of fun. We are using the Dinning plan so I like to have ADR's for one meal that day, but I guess I do not have to. We have been several times and have very few must do's, it is more my concern that itwill be 3 in the afternoon and we still do not know what we are doing and where we are going. My 3 year old will not tollerate that, he will be up and ready to go. Do you think it would be rude to let it be a free day that they plan and have them call us when they want to meet us. I want them to have a great vacation and if they want to sleep and do nothing on their day, they should get to right? I might acctually have fun not knowing what i am doing right? I have the other days planned with 2 or more meeting times, so if people do not want to be at the first they can catch up again later.

I think you might actually have some fun not knowning what you are doing that day. As it gets closer you could mention to them that you like to hit the day early etc and ask them what their plans are for wake up, breakfast etc. If they are planning on sleeping in, then give them your cell number and have them call you when they are up and about and ready to do things.

 

[loriandmatt]

to quote Mister Disney.......

If they are planning on sleeping in, then give them your cell number and have them call you when they are up and about and ready to do things

i think this is the best advise anyone traveling with any family other than your own unit can have. We didnt do this the first few days and both families were crabby. we, cause we felt we were wasting time waiting for them to get moving in the AM, and them, cause they felt we were rushing them and then were tired and crabby all day. this saved so much grief for us.

- lori

 

[cosmicdaisy]

I agree that having a free day might be rather nice and give you a break. We vacation with my folks and brother's family at the beach and sometimes I wonder how we are even related, lol. But, I remember a time when I was laid back and fancy free and very spontaneous...perfect example was my and dh's honeymoon in WDW. I don't remember planning anything and we only had one sit down dinner the entire time and I think we made the PS that same day.

However, I have a dd with food allergies and it has brought the control freak out in me and now, I know no other way to be than a planner. I have to know what's going on, where we are eating, when we are eating...it really mainly involves food for me...because I have to make sure my child is fed. It is already consuming me so much that I have stepped back from planning...for a day or so, lol.

Luckily, my DH just lets me plan away and really could care less if I involve him and I think he actually prefers to be left out of it and then he just goes along with whatever I have decided. On the otherhand...my brother and SIL were always doing the opposite as us on our last beach trip and in a way it saddened me and annoyed me too. But I did learn that they are on vacation too and I could potentially ruin it for them and in return all of us if I don't lay off a little. We are learning with each trip and it really is a bonding experience even though you don't spend all your time together.

If we were going to WDW with extended family I have already thought about how it would go and I have to say I think the cell phone number and a plan to meet later is excellent. I know you are frustrated. Hang in there though. Maybe they don't want a day to plan...or maybe their plans or just vegging. I would try to get a clearer picture of what their intentions are so you can accordingly plan your ADRs...with or without them.

 

[DisneyArk]

We just returned from a trip with my DH's family. We were not at WDW, but we were going to amusement parks all week (San Antonio, TX). We have 2 sons ages 5 and 7.

Anyway, his family is very laid back and easy going and won't make plans. After a few days I realized that being flexible all the time with no plans meant that we always waited for the last group to get ready and wasted way too much time!! There were times when my sons could have gone swimming, but instead we were sitting around waiting because the group was "almost ready".

I agree that you should go on with your plans and have them call you to meet up when they are ready. If you have an ADR and they are not there call them and if they are not on their way then ask to be seated for just your group. We waited several nights for over an hour to be seated because some of our group was running behind. When you have kids, waiting all the time is not fun!!

After our vacation, I'm starting to see that maybe I'm not as flexible as I thought I was. I didn't really have an agenda for this trip, so I didn't care what we did. The problem was all the time that we spent waiting on people. Vacation time is so special to me and the week is up before we know it - I like to make every moment count!! So speak up and make sure your family has a good time!!

 

[PoohHappens]

Thank you all so much for all of your input. We are all looking forward tobeing together, but at the same time do not want to drive anyone nuts. I think there is also some pressure because my mom is funding the trip. Also our ages are varying. My mom asked me to do all the planning. She wants me to put out an itinerary and if people make it to the scheduledevent great, if not the rest of us will go ahead. I just dont want to turn into the Park Nazi "No rides for you"

 

[bianca66]

I am the kind of person where, if someone else wants to help out -w/vacation plans, Thanksgiving dinner, whatever -then I welcome the help. However, some people make no effort and offer nothing. I then fill the void. Your sister's plans are thus far completely empty, without any substance. Fill the void. Believe me, people who think like this - Oh, we'll just decide when we get there - simply don't get as much done as the rest of us.

 

[DisFlan]

We travelled to WDW last year with our extended family. We were of varying ages and included a 3 yo. The one thing I did for everyday was plan where we would eat dinner. Everything else was planned around that. People who wanted to get up and out early did that. My husband went off to play golf. A few of us went here and others went there. In the afternoons, my sister and I went back to OKW for my niece's nap. We all knew to meet back at the resort and go to dinner together. We spent the evenings watching parades, fireworks or Illuminations together.

It worked out well. We all vacationed at our own pace, did what we wanted and no one had to be the Park Nazi.

DisFlan