Planning vs. Reality

[grinningghost]

No matter how many times I go to WDW, I always find myself faced with the "reality factor" when I get there. In my mind, and on these boards, I imagine myself strolling through WDW, going from one great attraction to the next, not feeling the least bit of fatigue, etc.

But then I get there, and it's always alot different once I actually put my feet on the pavement and start walking. All the open space I must have imagined isn't there. There's strollers and people and raindrops and...you get the picture.

Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT complaining. I love it there so much, but it just always amazes me how my imagined trip differs from my actual trip - even though I've done it many times before.

Anyone else have a take on this?

 

[Todd Lee]

I know exactly what you mean! I get so worked up with anticipating my trip. The day I get there, I walk around, (not run like I anticipate doing) and don't really seem to appreciate the fact that I am actually there. The day after I get home I never fail to wish that I was back at "the land" doing all those things that I just didn't feel like doing when I was actually there. I really do take it for granted when I am there.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

I was so jazzed about being there for our last vacation that if there were any glitches in how things worked then I did not notice them. I asked my little one to check off what things she wanted to do before we went (cut and pasted pictures and descriptions from the web site) then I put rides into geographic clusters... and also batched rides into most important to see, important to see, and its ok if we don't have time to do. Then I cross indexed the most important rides with early entry times and e-ride times and availability... so while we did a tremendous amount it was all fairly casual ... but I did not have expectations of what was going to happen by the minute or by the hour... I left it all open to my daughters wants...and just informed her of alternatives and said things like..."well if we do this group of rides in the morning first then that will give us more time...but if we do those two things first then by the time we are done with those there will be huge waits for the other one that you wanted to do the most" ...other then just internalizing maps, and timings... we left it all very flexible... I don't recall ever feeling rushed or harried except in the early morning when I was hurrying to get everyone to the park way before open

 

[jklarocque]

I planned ahead and can honestly say, the reality was better. Our first family trip was like a dream come true. We had Cinderella's Breakfast, did Hoop-dee-do, ate at every restaurant, saw every show that we wanted to. We did them all with very little time wasting (in lines), and three kids that never had a melt down.
We stayed on site (Swan) teacher discount, and went back for afternoon swims.
When we came home, I overheard my MIL saying to someone," If you want the best vacation at WDW, let Kathy plan it" I felt great!My best friend is there now, I hope she has as good a time as I did. I can't wait to go back.
My favorite memories were of course, breakfast at the castle...we were first in the park that morning!!!
Being in Indiana Jones!
Dancing with my kids after Illuminations was over and just the music was playing. I cry every time I listen to the CD...(I'm just a crier)
The reality can be better than the anticipation!

 

[nicknamy1996]

I think we do pretty good with what we expect, and what we get. We go in Feb. and there really is no crowd to deal with.
We plan our days, such as which days we will be at which park, and add our PSs and a couple of must do things (usually not rides) those are just a do them throughout the day thing. But our last trip was honestly better than expected and we all have high expectations. We did EVERYTHING we wanted to do. Rides, shows, Fireworks, Parades, Co-piloted the monorail, Haircuts on main st., 2 character meals, shopping, The kids(ages 2 and 3) were incredibly well behaved, our 3 y/o was invited into MK parade twice(once with the lost boys, and once in front of the big man..er.. mouse himself. And had incredible character interaction during the AK parade. Left a Legacy, Characters EVERYWHERE. We were never rushed, spent an entire afternoon strolling though the World Showcase doing KidCot and snacking. Did the Kitchen Sink and the Volcano at RFC. Played a round of minigolf (the 2 y/o slept through the entire thing in his stroller, which is the only way this would have worked) Saw lots of "street performers" (magicians, living statues, singers etc...). And not to brag (more than I already have) even the 14 hour drive with 2 and 3 y/o worked out great. All of that and kept the tab pretty low.

I've spent 6 months remembering and braging about our last trip, and now I'll spend the next 6 months worrying that I'll pay for it on our next trip.

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

DH & I took our first trip to WDW in 1999. Now while I had the books and read and read and read - nothing could prepare me for actually being there. But I was not at all disappointed - it really did exceed my expectations because frankly I didn't have any and didn't know any better. There was the suprise cake from the Poly for my birthday, the boat across World Showcase lagoon with bright blue skies, seeing fireworks over the castle, MNSSHP. We loved it all!!!

So with great anticipation we planned a trip for this past december with my 3 yo niece and sister - total newbies. That time I was expecting even more magic and more experiences and dreamed of these moments where we would all be smiling walking down mainstreet (cue music please ) but alas everything that went wrong probably did. My sister got sick, then I got sick, it rained practically every day - not just quick showers but hours of downpours, it was cold, my niece didn't like all the characters, one day she would like a ride and the next hate it. No birthday cake, etc. I think b/c I set my expectations so high that I got disappointed when things went wrong. We still had a great time in the end but I'm still diappointed my vision didn't match what happened.

This year DH & I are going in Sept. for 4 days. We have a room, mapped out which park on which day, have a couple of PS's and that's it. No room requests no high expectations - just me and DH at WDW.

 

[grinningghost]

I'm thinking the Universal (not Studios ) Question must be:

Is WDW bigger than life in guidebooks or in person?

I'm thinkin' it depends on which guidebook you're reading.

 

[Slartibartfast]

<i>I love it there so much, but it just always amazes me how my imagined trip differs from my actual trip - even though I've done it many times before.</i>

Isn't that like life? Especially marriage You have these pictures in your head that almost NEVER turn out the same in reality. That's where attitude comes in. You can either dwell on things that aren't as you imagine, or find love in what's really there.
If you do the latter, your heart will fill to overflowing from things you never would have thought to dream of in the first place.

This is how I'm going to treat my family's first WDW trip.

 

[timbud1]

Oh...just HAVE FUN IN THE MAGIC!!!!

The planning was super fun, but the reality was so much better! Not everything went as planned, but the un-planned was pretty darn magical too. HAVE FUN ON YOUR FIRST FAMILY TRIP...WE SURE DID!

 

[ScarletIndigo]

Eep! I don't want to read this! I've been wielding my cut-out tour plans from the "Unofficial Guide" like a sword, determined to hit EVERY major attraction with ease and never feel the pain of a blister, while always looking perfectly coiffed and calm. Don't break my reverie now!

In truth, I'll probably end up just like DF and I did at Six Flags last week -- lost in the middle of the park with a wrinkly map and aching feet. But oh, I can dream!

 

[nicknamy1996]

Two thoughts.

1) Just think if you had done NO preplanning. Just thought it was a theme park or perhaps 4 theme parks, perhaps all within walking distiance. Talk about being overwhelmed.

2) The best vacations we've ever had were just the 2 of us before kids and the 4 of us since then. Went to vegas, great! went back 2 years later with my brother and his wife, nightmare. Same with our previous trip to WDW, went with mom dad and niece. Lots of headaches. too much of the old "Well what do YOU want to do?!"

 

[Minniespal]

I know excatly what you mean. I plan that I am going to eat here and there and I'm going to manage to eat three meals per day, 2 snacks and some candy too. It never works out that way.

Heat, tiredness and sore fleet inevitably play a big part in the overall picture.

That being said I still have a fab vacation!!!

 

[ncbyrne]

Being prepared for a WDW trip is more than half the battle. On our very first trip (years ago when it was only the Magic Kingdom), it didn't much matter...one park, three days. Now DH and I are empty nesters and our best trips have been just the two of us again. But, now we are older and there are 4 parks, 3 water parks, oodles of resorts and a ton of other WDW/Orlando things to do and see. Without a strict plan, we'd never make it through a day. e ususally go for 7-10 days, but for our 25th anniversary we were there for 16 days. It took me over a year of planning, planning, planning, but the trip was wonderful. And every day went almost exactly as planned. Our next trip is for 10 days in Sept 2004 and I'm just starting to plan now. The planning is almost as much fun for me as the trip!

 

[frazzled one]

We're going for our 25th, too - but the most we can manage is 5 nights. I am in awe and pea green with envy at the thought of 16 days in WDW! I hope you had a fabulous time.

Grinningghost, I know what you mean about the reality - it sometimes impinges on my fantasies, too. My 48 year old feet seem especially susceptible! I plan, I break in my shoes comfortably, I'm in pretty decent shape, walk regularly at home, etc. Then somehow I hit a wall at WDW and no matter what's next on the itinerary, I just have to put my feet up and veg out for a while. Somehow we never do get to see it all ..... but then, there's always next time!

fraz

 

[DISFANS3]

NICKNAMY1996- Where do you live in Mo, We live in SW Mo. We just returned from DCL-WDW June 1-16 We drove 20 hours.. Next trip to WDW March 04..............

 

[DrTomorrow]

You're all worthless and weak! An embarrassment to the legion of Disney Planners! All you need is a schedule of every day's activities, planned in 5-minute intervals, a stop-watch and a GPS with your path pre-plotted. Then you keep to that schedule, no matter how many characters - or small children - you knock over, despite the fatigue, the pain and the fact that you're so hot and dehydrated that everything looks kind of wavy, like a flashback. You will accomplish you planned mission.

Ahem.

While I do use the Unofficial - and I still believe it is a great starting point for newbies and veterans alike - I've learned the level of planning that works for me. I do plan where we'll be in the AM, PM and evening; park, hotel, waterpark, PI, etc. And I have an attraction plan, at least for the first hour or so. But I've given up on making PSs 3 months in advance - I can't even predict if we'll want to eat sit-down vs. counter service, much less Mexican vs. Norwegian vs German vs African vs; well, you get the idea. Got exactly one dinner planned - and that's with some DIS friends; other than that, we leave it open.

Todd Lee: arrival day is always odd for us. I don't sleep well the night before, and once we're there I'm kind of disoriented - it's worse for LasVegas, when there's a time change too. For us, we're never that functional until we wake up in WDW.

ScarletIndigo: don't abandon the Unofficial, particularly for someone who hasn't been there since she was a flag-waving schoolgirl. For people to whom everything is new, the touring plans are invaluable; after a while, less so, as you start to pick and choose what to do.

nicknamy1996: Word! When DW and I travel together (and with DS when he was a lad) we're responsible only for our own wants and happiness. We went to LV with a couple - old friends, they'd never been to LV - and I went into 'tour guide' mode while they went into 'whatever you want' mode. Very frustrating; I'm leery of traveling with others - there's only two couples I'd ever consider travelling with, and one of them I haven't yet met in person!