Planning a Vacation Schedule- What do you do?

[emma'smom]

OK...so my husband is making fun of my "matrix" which I have been working on in Excel that plots out where we'll go on each day of our trip. We have 8 full days and I want to make the most of them, while still allowing for lots of down time (we have dd1 and dd3 to think of).

So here's my question: What does a typical vacation schedule look like for you, especially with 8 days? I've recorded all of the EMHs and park times on my "matrix" as well as inserted all of my ADR's. I haven't planned specific things to do at parks, just blocked out times like "Monday Morning- MK" , "Monday Evening- Epcot". Am I going overboard?

 

[catherines_mama]

I don't think you are going overboard.. you should see my planner

I do it in Excel also, do each day what park, list ADRs, breaks, Parade / show times etc.

I do not include exacts, but I do list what we want to do in each park so I remember our goals.

You sound like you are on the right path.. have a great trip!

 

[lovesdumbo]

I use a table in Word-a column for each day and a row for morning, noon, and night. List EMH, park hours, my ADR's and even my flight confirmation #'s and hotel confirmation # and put any important phone numbers and ticket numbers on the bottom of the page. That way I have all my important information all on one page.

 

[linda0706]

My only hard-earned bit of advise is be sure to schedule some down-time. We were in the parks 5 days last week and by the end we were plumb WORN OUT! (DH, DD5 & myself) As much as I hate to miss out on time in the parks that you've paid hard-earned money for, your last days will be miserable if you set a too-ambitious pace.

We planned to visit my mother in Orlando for 2 days after our 5 days in the parks...by the time day 5 came around we were just pooped & we even left at 2pm rather than stay till evening. And let me tell you, we drove straight to mom's & all 3 of us took a nap! I woke up 2 hours later & my dear mom was watching cartoons with DD5.

 

[investgirlmd]

This is our first trip to Disney(Florida). It will be me, DH,DS(11) and DD (5).

I'm trying to plan out everyday we are doing the dining plan so I want to make reservations for dinner. I dont know where to start or what to do.

Is there a list of parades and times ect anywhere??

Any help would be great!

Thanks
Melanie

 

[In Luv with Disney]

This is our first trip to Disney(Florida). It will be me, DH,DS(11) and DD (5).

I'm trying to plan out everyday we are doing the dining plan so I want to make reservations for dinner. I dont know where to start or what to do.

Is there a list of parades and times ect anywhere??

Any help would be great!

Thanks
Melanie

All the park hours, parades and Extra Magic Hours are located on the official Disney World website.

 

[In Luv with Disney]

This is our first trip to Disney(Florida). It will be me, DH,DS(11) and DD (5).

I'm trying to plan out everyday we are doing the dining plan so I want to make reservations for dinner. I dont know where to start or what to do.

Is there a list of parades and times ect anywhere??

Any help would be great!

Thanks
Melanie

Oh.....go to ALLEARSNET.com (http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dining.htm) to =search for all restaurants located in WDW. Parks AND resorts! It even has menus from every restaurant. Check it out!!!

 

[tmt martins]

I do it in Power Point and show it to them every day so they know exactly what to expect

JK of corse but I do put all my ADR's and must do things on my cellphone calender but I use this for a lot so it's no big deal.

I think some of the fun for the trip is what you do up until you get there the planning and so forth.I print all maps and coupons for what ever is needed on the trip I have adifferent colored plastic folders for different trip items and they all go right inthe backpack.

 

[HaleyB]

My husband always makes fun of my binder, but he is always happy that we have dinner plans

I make up touring plans for each day. We don't always stick to them but they are nice to have. You really must plot out MGM before you go. Otherwise it is next to impossible to figure it out. But I also plan out when we will do each MK 'land' because otherwise we tend to miss stuff.

I use www.tourguidemike.com for my best days and touring info. Love his advice. I use the Stevesoars site for MGM times. I don't have a link, but I am sure someone here will. His site updates weekly but the times tend to be fairly stable within a season.

I make a binder for each trip. It includes an over all plan. Detail daily plans. Menus for all our ADR's and many counter service places. Times of all special events like parades. Phone numbers (like Disney Dining). All our resservation info, just in case. Tips and tricks for best parade view and things like that from here. A list of all fast pass rides for each park. A list of must do's and would like to do's for each park. A budget breakdown to keep us on track. I think that is all...

 

[cinjam]

I do the same thing in excel and then upload it to my palm pilot before we go. I don't do a touring schedule for each park, just ADRs, which park we are going to in the AM and then where we are headed after nap time (two DSs, 2 & 5). I tried to coordinate the late hours at the parks to my schedule. DH laughed and laughed at all my planning but referred to that palm pilot more than I did

Makes me feel better to have it all laid out!

 

[staci]

OK...so my husband is making fun of my "matrix" which I have been working on in Excel that plots out where we'll go on each day of our trip. We have 8 full days and I want to make the most of them, while still allowing for lots of down time (we have dd1 and dd3 to think of).

So here's my question: What does a typical vacation schedule look like for you, especially with 8 days? I've recorded all of the EMHs and park times on my "matrix" as well as inserted all of my ADR's. I haven't planned specific things to do at parks, just blocked out times like "Monday Morning- MK" , "Monday Evening- Epcot". Am I going overboard?

I dont think you went overboard, my dh makes fun of me for the same thing!

But do understand, I was much more able to stick to the schedule before taking ds for the first time. With kids, you may need to spend an afternoon unexpectedly at the resort, or you may have a late night where you needto let the kids sleep a little in the am.

As long as you are prepared to change your schedule as needed, it is a good way for you to know in your head what is happening each day.

 

[TikiGoddess]

You'll be so glad you did plan and so will your dh. My dh had a lot of fun at my obsessiveness, but when it was all said and done he praised my preparedness. As well he should! Anyway, I added the height requirements, parade times and any special info. I had found on these boards. I also put the location to find lost children (just in case) along with the first aid station and stroller rental locations. I had my days pretty mapped out and tried to alternate rides with shows. This worked great for us and we actually never went back to the hotel to rest because we got little breaks throughout the day. Our kids were 2 & 4 last trip. Oh! I also put which rides has FP and which ones caused motion sickness. Yes, my name is Holly and I'm a Disney Planaholic. (Repeat after me) We love you Holly!

 

[Littlemotherhaywood]

OK...so my husband is making fun of my "matrix" which I have been working on in Excel that plots out where we'll go on each day of our trip. We have 8 full days and I want to make the most of them, while still allowing for lots of down time (we have dd1 and dd3 to think of).

So here's my question: What does a typical vacation schedule look like for you, especially with 8 days? I've recorded all of the EMHs and park times on my "matrix" as well as inserted all of my ADR's. I haven't planned specific things to do at parks, just blocked out times like "Monday Morning- MK" , "Monday Evening- Epcot". Am I going overboard?

I totally planned out our last trip (first trip) and we took our 18 month old son. All I can say is plan for the unexpected After a full day (including some downtime) of running around a park, we never hit any of the EMH. Both kids and adults were just too worn out. The parks are just HUGE Have fun on your trip!