So ... Do you find it easier to plan EVERY detail

[AmyMama2AvaNtheo]

Or is that just me

I have been sitting here for the last 3hrs (basically since I put my kids to bed) stressing over which days will be in which parks and which restaurants I want to reserve, etc.

I guess I am just worried that if I dont have things planned we will miss so many of the wonderful things Disney has to offer. On the other hand, I dont want to wake my children for previously reserved dining reservations ... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH how do I find the middle ground???

Share your insight .. how did you plan the best layed out trip to Disney. Did you still enjoy it knowing you had X amount of hours before dinner or whatever?

 

[canuckandy]

YES!!! Look here!

 

[scottish mum]

We never have a full plan. On our last trip we were there for 14 nights and only had 5 meals planned and booked. We only plan on what parks were going to when we are there. We don't like to be restrained by plans if we fancy going somewhere we just go.
That been said we stay for quite a long trip and have been several times before and know that we will be back so if we miss something we can always do it next time. We try and go at quiet times too as we have been there several times over 4th july and it was too busy and you probably do need a touring plan if going at very busy times.
Some famillies need to plan and know what they are doing constantly and others, like mine, just go with the flow. Only you will know how it will work for you.

 

[susykt4]

I use TGM for best park days. I've been enough times now that I come up with my own touring plan based on what my kids want to do. We schedule few (if any) meals because our vacation is about doing stuff rather than eating stuff (well, other than Mickey Bars...) I'll wake my husband and kids to make rope drop, but it would have to be a really special meal for me to wake them early or even keep them up late. I think I'm "Relaxed Commando"- I aquire as much knowledge as I can before the trip, experience as much as I can while I'm there, but don't plan every second of every day. I mean, if Big Thunder Mtn has no line and the kids want to ride five times in a row, why would I want to drag them to a pre-planned meal or a different ride just because it's next on the list?

 

[Aliceacc]

last year was my first visit in 19 years, and the first ever with kids.

I spent all of last summer obsessing about every little detail. (I was avoiding thinking of some medical problems, so this was a great outlet!!!)

I gained a TON of background knowledge.

Then, when we got to WDW, I loosened up a little. I knew enough that we didn't have to follow a stict touring plan; I had a pretty good idea of when to do what.

In my mind, it was the best of both worlds.

 

[NJFabFour]

I think the key is to have a well-thought-out plan of attack but build in some flexibility. Like PP stated, if kids decide they want to do something again and again or try something different that's not on the schedule, go for it! (I had Soarin' scheduled twice but my crew hated it! Oh, well!) Only you can decide how to prioritize what you want to see and do . . . we've only been twice in five years and stayed one week so it was important to us to maximize our time and try to see as much as we could. It was definately worthwhile to follow TGM's advice for best days and when to see what attractions . . . while my crew may not have loved getting up early for RD, they loved having done all we wanted to do and be heading back to the resort by early afternoon for some R+R!! The lines really are soooo much faster first thing in the morning and you can get in a LOT more attractions if you get there at RD. However, if it's more important to your crew to sleep in and leisurely tour the parks, then work with that! It also helped to make a list of what we most wanted to see and do. If there was not that much interest, it didn't get put on the schedule. As far as ADR's go, I'd agree with PP's who only had a few scheduled so that your whole schedule doesn't evolve around them. Just like the attractions, we each picked one or two places/meals we really wanted to try and kept the ADR's on the light side. Good luck!!

 

[arielmomma]

In the past, I have planned excessively. Then in January, my family went with only a limited amount of planning. We did not make advanced dining reservations or anything. It was a far more relaxed vacation. We really enjoyed it. The crowds were low enough that we just walked up to the restaurants we wanted to eat at and were seated shortly there after. We were able to enjoy all of the street shows and little extras that we generally don't "plan" for. I would recommend having a schedule so that you can be sure to do the things that are on your "must do" list, but try to leave a fair amount of time unscheduled so that you can enjoy all of the details. There is so much to see and do at Disney. I have been there numerous times, and I am always amazed by something new when I visit. Enjoy your trip!

 

[AmyMama2AvaNtheo]

Thanks Everyone!!

Both DH and I have been to Disney before, so we have alittle grip on park layout, etc ... That shouldnt be an issue ... and hopefully if I make either breakfast or dinner reservations we shouldnt be too rushed. Only 3 more months now .. cant wait!

 

[ilandrazdsw]

We planned, but not every minute. We scheduled which parks on which days due to ADRs. Used TGM for advice on ride order (BIG HELP!!!). And did our homework for parade/show times, how FPs worked, character spot meetings, etc. We had a plan, but it did not dictate out trip. If we had to we took breaks and even went back to the room for nap time a few days. Planning helped saving line and transportation time...we got to do everything we wanted to do even on Christmas and NYE Days in the MK!

 

[Goofy'slady]

I plan what days we'll be in what park around what firework/parades are scheduled. Then I plan our ADR's accordingly. Other than we go with the flow with the amount of time we have left. I do plan but I tend to think it's somewhere between fancy free and comando style. A happy medium for our family; it's been working for us for years so we'll stick with it til it no longers works.

T.

 

[AmyMama2AvaNtheo]

We planned, but not every minute. We scheduled which parks on which days due to ADRs. Used TGM for advice on ride order (BIG HELP!!!). And did our homework for parade/show times, how FPs worked, character spot meetings, etc. We had a plan, but it did not dictate out trip. If we had to we took breaks and even went back to the room for nap time a few days. Planning helped saving line and transportation time...we got to do everything we wanted to do even on Christmas and NYE Days in the MK!

What is TGM??


Oh and where can I find out times/locations for parades?

 

[NJFabFour]

What is TGM??


Oh and where can I find out times/locations for parades?

TGM is TourGuide Mike, www.tourguidemike.com. It is a very thorough website put together by a former WDW private tour guide who now runs his own tourguide business in addition to the website. It can take some time to learn to navigate all the info on the site, but it is well worth it.

 

[Aliceacc]

...though personally, I think I like www.touringplans.com better.

Sorry MIke!

 

[NJFabFour]

Oh, almost forgot to add, TGM will list times for parades and shows (once it is available) and even offer best viewing spots (sooo worth it . . . our first trip, we were positioned for Fireworks at MK right under the spot where Tink flies down to and she flew right above our heads!!). If you know the month you are going, the site has everything you need organized under your month.

 

[ashlansmom]

I DID try to plan every detail! However, once our trip was over, I realized that the most important planning I did was to decide what park on what day, and arrange any dining we booked by that. We did not have park hoppers so we had to plan to eat at whatever park we were at that day. I tried to plan lots more, but with a 2 year old, a lot of the smaller plans fell through. It also never rained on us, so we weren't forced to change any park plans for that. I'm not sure what we would have done if it had poured!

Other than that I just was glad I really did my homework on the Dis and knew to get to the park early for short lines, hit Fantasyland right away with our little one, etc.

Have fun - planning is half of the fun!

 

[4forMe]

I'm the type that plans every little detail. On our last trip this past July, we ended up having to change our plans on our day at Epcot. We were on our way to ride Test Track when a huge downpour hit. DH took the older 3 to Innoventions while I took the youngest to stand in the character line for pictures. We waited 45 minutes in line! However, my youngest behaved great since he was so happy he was getting pics with Mickey and friends by himself. We were scheduled to leave the park by 5 p.m. to be on time for our dinner reservation at Chef Mickey's. My boys did not want to leave Innoventions! We ended up cancelling our dinner at Chef Mickey's. We stayed at Epcot longer than planned, and the kids had a great time.

It's definitely helpful to have a plan, but be sure to allow flexibility.

 

[DRS_Are_Best]

We have had probably the equivalent of 5 or 6 trips already since booking our vacation in November, planning every detail. We carefully considered restaurants for reservations, going through both the adult and kids menus to be sure that EVERYONE could find something to eat there......we planned how many visits to each park (4 parks 7 days), what rides to go on, how to attack each park when we go, what day we can do rope drop -- you name it, we've planned it!!!!!!!

We did this because, even though we are going with a plan, we are traveling with 3 children 3 and under (even though ds will be 4 within a month of our trip). If things don't work we have to have alternatives and have them ready to go IMMEDIATELY -- can't afford a single delay or they will go ballistic. So, it's actually been a lot of fun....planning and replanning and replanning again.....

 

[DISNEYNV]

Planning a trip to Disney is half the fun I think, but if you are scheduling in bathroom breaks you have gone too far Relax and enjoy your trip!

We always plan our ADRs and park schedule accordingly so we are in the right park at the right time and also what rides we all want to go on and/ or get Fastpasses for but that is about it. Now we did a bit more planning I
For our past December trip because of all the holiday activities and such! With kids a schedule really does pay off in the long run with time and money as well. Enjoy your trip

 

[mom of princess]

My DH is the one with OCD when it comes to planning so...
I pick where we want to eat for sit-downs and he finds out the park schedules, what meals are offered for characters (that's why we book our SD at certain restaurants), etc. He then comes back to me do decide what time we want to eat our meals before he calls.

He prefers to be at the parks when the rope drops but I like to have at least one sleep in day while we are there.... it is a vacation, right?!? So he gets up and goes to ride what I have no interest in and I meet him later. Now that this will be our DD 2nd trip I'm hoping she takes a bit of the edge off of Dad's OCD and go-go-go. Especially since I told him we needed to plan more pool time this go-around.

BTW.... if anyone is at the MK on Friday, June 19th, I'll probably be the one eating the mickey ice cream in one bite!! I missed it last trip and they owe me.

 

[damiel]

If you are on the dinning plan then you really MUST make ADR"s so you need to plan what day you will be in what park. We saw so many people on our last trip that could not get in to eat at a TS who were on the plan. I felt bad for them.
If your family is more morning people by all means have some character breakfasts planned - if not then let them sleep and eat a muffin on the way to the park.
We always try to plan a few pool day in - waterslide parks don't count. You are just as exhausted after a day at Bb as at the MK!
It is great to have a plan but it is even better to drop everything to enjoy a magical moment.
Scour these boards for tips and ideas and throw in a few of your favorites.
My favorite is watching Wishes from the beach at the Poly - sand in my toes, drink in my hand. The kids can run around and play in the sand.
Enjoy!