Please talk me down

[tinkie]

I start out planning my trip saying (to myself) that I will plan but not overly plan...I will remain calm and have fun...realizing I can't possibly see it all in four days....


but then...

the evil planning demons awake and I start going nuts...planning each minute...ride to ride...ps to ps...ice cream cone to parade vantage point.


Please offer some suggestions to cure this twisted Disney planner-maniac......as I really do want my son to enjoy our trip instead of feeling like we are at boot camp!

 

[jennymouse]

If you figure out how to do it, let the rest of us in on it. That's why you're not getting replys as we're all the same way!

 

[dzneprincess]

This will probably shock someone like you (obsessive planner) but I do not plan a thing! Except that I will be there! LOL The way I look at it is, I know I will be back. No need to rush and go commando, no need to wear ourselves out, why make yourself miserable? I can understand wanting to preplan what parks you hit on what days, and if you have any PS's made, planning around them, but trying to get as specific as you have, well that is going to drive you nuts. You know what are plannini consists of? When we get into town the night before, I ask the kids, where do you want to go toommorrow? They tell me, and thats where we go. No stress

 

[joshsmom]

First trip with DS in 2001, I was the ULTIMATE commando once we got there. I knew nothing of PS's or any of the "extras" that you learn about here on the boards. But I was determined that from dawn till midnight, we would be riding every ride and seeing every show until we collapsed with exhaustion. We had a good trip, or so I thought!!

Fast Forward to April 2003. Make a Wish Trip with DS. He was too tired to "commando" and I was frustrated and disappointed when he didn't want to go on rides. I tried not to let it show too much because it was HIS trip. But I was really disappointed. Good trip, but I felt like we missed an awful lot.

November 2003--started to FANATICALLY plan for January 2004 trip. On the boards, day and night, gathering more and more info. Got to WDW and having so much to celebrate and knowing that we will likely go back again next year, I took a breath. Then I looked around, and besides the PS's that I'd made (only 3 in 9 days!!), we took our time. It was THE BEST trip we've had. We relaxed, we didn't worry about what the day would hold, we just let the ambiance and the mood carry us wherever. We saw more stuff and enjoyed our trip SO much more.

I can't tell you how or why this peacefulness hit me, but it did and I am so happy. Of all our trips, THIS is the one we will remember the most.

Best of luck to you and have a GREAT time!! Say hi to Mickey for us!!!

 

[mickeymule]

You know, it is odd. We were like that the last 2 trips, the latest being in December. Now my wife and I are going in May and the only things we are planning are flight, hotel, transportation. No planning on which parks which day, no PS's and I am surprisingly relaxed about this. I visit the boards for new things to check out, but we are taking the wait and see approach. i think the only things we have figured out is 1) the first day we won't be doing any parks and 2) we will try Jellyrolls for the first time, possibly on the first night.

 

[ncbyrne]

I can't imagine NOT planning! The first trip we just - went. We had a good time. But, the more I researched, the more I learned about WDW, the better each trip thereafter. I love the planning and researching about as much as the vacation itself. For months I research the to-dos and plan the details. However....oftentimes the weather, another traveler, or some other little thing, changes our plans. We have a plan if we need/want it, and if it changes, that's ok too. If you enjoy the planning, go ahead and plan till your heart's content. Just be prepared to go with the flow when you get there. Your son will love it no matter what. It's Disney World!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I'm also trying not to overplan my upcoming mommy/son trip. I have which days I go to the various parks planned, but haven't made any PS. Partly because I don't think I'll need to since I'm going at a slow time, but also because I don't know when Jake will fall apart with exhaustion so I want to be able to head back to the room when I need to. When I was deciding which days for the various parks I looked at which parks I wanted to do EE for (MK twice and once at MGM), which days I wanted to go to Universal (not weekends), and then just plugged the other days in. I left our last 1/2 day free so we can go back to whatever we want to repeat.

I plan our whole family trips more because I am then dealing with many different interests and if I don't then the kids argue more about where to go. The best trip the whole family ever took, though, was when I planned where we would be every morning and evening, but planned to not plan for a few hours in the middle of every day. We were able to hang out at the pool and the kids really liked that.

Have fun and remember to get your son's input. I don't have to get Jake's since he is still young and doesn't remember even going so has no preconceived notions abouot what we will do.

T&B

 

[SondraD11]

I don't know if there is a cure, but one way to help curb your instinct to overplan is to read some of the trip reports. Some of these people planned "ice cream cone to parade" and their trip reports reflect this. They "had" to leave something they were enjoying to make their PS time or they would rush from one planned event to another without enough time to enjoy the little things around them. I'm not saying that this type of planning is a bad thing if you have a limited amount of time and are trying to fit in certain activities. But when planning turns the vacation into a forced march, no one has fun.

I'm taking my son and daughter-in-law (her first trip) to Disney next week. We will be there 5 days and I know that we can't see it all. I've made a very general plan of what park what days so that we can see the parades and night time shows and have a second chance in case some are rained out. Other than that, I've tried not to stress. It's hard. As it gets closer to your travel dates, you'll be reading about attractions closing or being scheduled for rehab, but you have to kind of roll with the punches. Flights may be delayed, parades may be cancelled, but you're at Disney with people you love and it just doesn't get much better than that. Have fun.

Sondra

 

[tinkie]

Thanks for the wonderful advice, everyone. I'm feeling much calmer now....after our last "planned to the minute" Diz trip, I swore I wouldn't do that again......and here I am...doing it again. I love planning...but I like y'alls idea of having a loose itinerary and being flexible in revising it. Will do!! (I'll be sure to let you know how this works out in my trip report!)

 

[RamseyTrio]

Hi - I am an obsessive-compulsive-ultra-uber planner by nature.

For WDW though I have managed to calm ths down a bit. I read, and read, and read all I can. Then I plan and organize like crazy. By the time our trip approaches I've managed to settle things all in my mind so I can relax and enjoy and take things as they come. I think being organized is the MOST important thing at WDW.

I plan what days we're doing what parks and really plan everything around our food and PS's (what can i say, i love to eat while at WDW!). I manage to avoid planning what rides we're going to first, second, third, etc...instead I have a few things that I KNOW we want to do and as the day progresses we make sure we get them done. As a general rule of thumb we choose one big thing (like a popular ride, or a haircut at MK) to do first and then we feel happy for the rest of the day knowing that we've already done one thing that we wanted to. This way we can take the time to enjoy each park and take advantage of all the fun, unexpected things that come up.

The planner in me always has about 3 or 4 back-up plans in my mind though so that if we switch parks, or PS's around I'm able to keep it all straight.

 

[AJA55]

Shoot, I’ve made up index cards with a list of what rides/shows to see in what order, how long it should take to walk there, the probable wait time and how long the event will last. LOL, talk about obsessive! ! (hummm…I never have PS’s, but we go in off season) But ya know, we NEVER stick to it…. Go ahead and plan to your hearts content. But for me I always remember that if we make it to half of what I have on my cards then we’re doing well. My trip mantra is: “I MUST obsess before my vacation NOT during”. This is for all vacations…going to Boston in April. Never been. So far I have paper from the visitors bureau, AAA, Forder’s and I’m just staring to read my second book on Boston. Obsessions can be fun! !

 

[01Sweetpea]

We're going for 9 days, having 7 days for parks. I've really tried to be good about planning and scheduling. I've read about everything I could get my hands on. I have our PSs made (there are only 7 if you count the IllumiNations cruise), the days we are going to which parks, and the top 5 must-sees/must-dos for each park, and copies of the park maps with operating times, parades, and fireworks labeled on them.

I almost feel under-prepared, but I want to be able to experience the "magic" and let some of the day take us where ever it may. 27 days to go, and it can't some soon enough!

 

[wdwrich]

I guess we're sort of in the middle here. We plan which park (or other activity) to visit for each day of our tripin order to 1) avoid possible crowds, and 2) know where we'll be in order to make PS's ahead of time. We may even plan an attraction or two to visit at park opening, but that's usually about it. Only on our first couple of visits did we "commando" plan down to the last detail. We find our current scheme provides a much more enjoyable visit overall.
Oh- and we don't get upset if we change plans mid-visit. Sometimes your day (or the weather) just turns out differently than expected.

 

[disney4us2002]

ROFL, this topic is just so funny to me. I'm truly Disney-obsessed and planning doesn't even describe what I do, lol. I am not going til December but I already have itineraries saved in word documents labelled Disney Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D. These change according to various factors, such as AP rates, stays at Hard Rock Hotel/Poly vs just Poly, arrival on Sat., arrival on Sunday, etc. I don't plan rides in any order but definitely plan at least 2 PS meals per day and which park I must be in for specific things, like tree lighting, Candlelight Processional, etc. Of course, we are going at Christmas so we'll need some order to fight the crowds, but I did this when we went in early June in 2002 as well. By the 3rd day of Mickey wake up calls at 7am (there was no ee back then either!) I thought my hubby and kids were going to throw me out of the room.

In 2002 my hubby said he was done with Disney. That would be our last vacation to my mouse! He truly only tolerates my obsession. He is a tightwad. That is really what it boils down to. He finds it absurd that a week in Disney is nearly $4k when we can go to the beach for under half. He sees no magic only dollars flying out the window. This Christmas trip was his idea as it has always been my dream to go at Christmas but he has said this is really the last time. How can I not overplan, stress about getting it all in, making the absolute best of every day???

Yeah, if I knew I could come back every year, even every other year, then I'm sure I'd be laid back. For now, I'm wound up tight as a drum with the hundreds of what ifs. I'm obsessed and happily so!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

disney4us2002, have you gone to Universal before? I would really encourage you to stay onsite at Universal to get the front of the room cards, especially if you are going at a busy time of the year. They are wonderful and the HRH is a nice place. We've stayed there once, at Royal Pacific once, and will be going back to HRH for a few days this April. We're not even doing WDW that trip (and we didn't do it last trip).

If you haven't gone to Unviersal before your husband might especially have a good time--the rides are more grown up and the parks have nice theming. Make sure you plan to spend at least two days there, even with FOTL. Three is better.

PM me back with any questions and make sure you check out the Universal boards if you haven't already.

T&B

 

[gsmartin]

Could someone please let me in on what a PS is? I am new to the boards and have been reading it throughout this whole post and I cannot figure it out.
Thanks!
Shelly

 

[tinkie]

PS= Priority Seating which is akin to a reservation at a restaurant but not really.....basically you are reserved the right to the next table for your party size that is available for the time you book (but not guaranteed!).....a good idea during the busy season or if you are an UBER-PLANNER like some of us....(not me...ha)

 

[Skylarr29]

I have learned the hard way about the demon over planners that attack me when they know I am going to DW. The way I look at it is when you make such "strict" plans it will only lead to disapointment when you don't get everything done that you wanted. Also most important is your son enjoying the magic. If he enjoys half the things you wanted very much you will be happier than trying to cram everything in.

 

[Mainebound]

I love to plan, too, and have a detailed touring plan, with PS's for every lunch and dinner, for each park. [Partly we have to -- my mother has allergies to gluten and wheat, and counter service just doesn't work well for her -- she needs to speak to a chef at each restaurant. Also -- we have two little ones who need to sit down every few hours!] I love the planning, and with little ones, you kind of have to plan IMHO, but after a point I realize I am doing it more for myself, as a hobby or pasttime, than for the group. As much as I hate to admit it, following the plan will not automatically produce the most magical trip ever! We have to be open to the spontaneous things [mostly good, but occasionally bad, as when my DS1 was taken by ambulance to Kingdom --oops I mean Celebration -- Hospital with, as it turned out, a sprained wrist.] So, when we actually get to WDW, I DO NOT STRESS when we deviate from The Plan. I think that's the key -- plan away if you enjoy it, but don't become the Plan Czar on the trip itself.

Good luck!