So one of my "best" girlfriends just got back...

[MINNIEBOWSER]

I do not blame you one bit for feeling the way you feel!!! I would feel the same way. I agree that we all have different ways of preparing for our trips (I happen to be the planner type) and to each his own, but to laugh at your planning is just rude. And inconsiderate of your feelings. I guess I may be a little immature about this, but I would of had to have had the last laugh at her expense seeing that she missed out on soooo much. I would have asked her, "What DID you do there? I can't believe you missed SOOOO much! What a waiste! But I am glad you had a good time anyway. That is what makes Disney so great. There is something there for all types of people."

 

[mill4023]

What people really don't seem to understand is that all that planning isn't "work", it's fun. Our first trip to WDW is in 7 weeks. I've been spending hours on these boards and others. My wife keeps telling me to "stop stressing" about all the details. I've tried to explain that I'm not stressing and I enjoy spending all this time reading about Disney and planning our trip, but she just doesn't seem to get it.

It's just a difference in personality I guess. My wife and I are opposites in that way. I spent several weeks researching which miniDV camera to buy. I took my wife to the store to look at them and get her opinions and she just picked it up and said, "sure, that one looks fine". Arrrggghhhh, that drives me

 

[scrump]

I agree that it's frustrating that she ridiculed your planning, especially when you were non-judgmental of her lack of planning.

I guess we're in-between, we check the boards frequently, but like the flexibility of winging it as well. To each their own, as long as we all have fun!

 

[familyfun]

I guess I'd think you were under-organized, lol.

She asked to see my stuff, and then realized that it wasn't for her. As I said, no problem. I didn't expect her to look at it all, she's much more of a "winging it" type. I'm not mad because she didn't take my advice.

I'm aggravated that she went on and on laughing about how much time I'd wasted, and how planning was not needed. Clearly, if I spent 50% less money, and did 90% more stuff, my planning wasn't wasted.

And hell will freeze over before before I help her again! No matter how much she gets on her knees and begs!

Ignorance is Bliss

 

[Deafmedic]

Our next trip is in '09. I'm already planning the drive down(places to eat and fuel). I haven't decided where to stay at the moment but it is narrowed down to WL and CR. You can never plan too much or too early in my opinion.
Don't let her get to you. As I was reading your post, I was reminded of a Disney "Urban Legend" I read several years ago. It is the one where a family went to Disney World for a week and spent the entire week at the Magic Kingdom thinking that was all there is to Disney World.

 

[GoofyDisney]

Ariel - You made me laugh and laugh and laugh!!!!!!!!!!! I may have totally beaten her with one of those colorful flip-out sticks you can buy at any kiosk in WDW.

1. My BIL and Sister are this way. She has NO interest in Disney whatsoever, and he has such wonderful memories from his childhood he has waited years to pass this magic on to their boys, so they are going soon. That said...she is a non-planner anyway, but especially for this thing she doesn't want to do. So, he tries not to get overy excited in front of her, and then gets super excited about the planning and when he talks to me! I got him hooked on these boards, so he may read this! (Hi!) But I did what you did...tried not to impart ALL of my vast wisdom, didn't want to scare them! But I do try and share some of the important things like PSs and FPs and where to be during the parade, and never stand in line without a map, etc. What to miss and what not to miss, etc. I am sure they won't do it like I do it, but hopefully they are now armed with a handfull of important trip making/breaking tips.

2.The over-organized/anal planning is part of the fun for me. I make a folder, get my ressies in order, plan some of the important things...All of that pre-planning helps make the vacation last longer! Do I get upset if I can't stick to the schedule? No. But having the "folder" makes some things easier. And I am so excited about our upcoming vacation, partly because I have already started the planning....makes it seem more magical to me.

3. A few years ago, we went to DL and met my brother and his family who live in San Diego. I was saying things like, "Okay, we will spend the morning in Fantasyland at Dl, then go to...blah, blah, blah." And he was saying, "You know, we have forever, we don't have to rush around." And I was saying, "No, you have forever, we have three days." We were getting on each other's last nerve. We finally had to agree that our very different personality types make us very different vacationers. He still jokes about me being the cattle driver, and I still joke about him being the bench-sleeper. Truthfully, we met somewhere in the middle. But the name calling is still fun!


P.S. Our friends from these boards turned their tips and "folder" into the Passporter that you can now purchase. Who's laughing now!!!

 

[Keokagal]

I'm going thru this now. I do all the planning. I love to plan. I have a wonderful time planning, makes my vacation last months! But now the (11 in the party this time) adults in the party are tired of hearing me. I am not a commandeer type. I plan, go and enjoy whatever vacation has to offer. I do not stress. There is a little stress now as I did tell my friend I would no longer call and talk about the plans. I will copy the simple itinerary give it to the other 2 families and go on my vacation. They may participate or not as they wish. p.s. I have saved ea family $1200 so far!

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

I may have totally beaten her with one of those colorful flip-out sticks you can buy at any kiosk in WDW.

Thanks for all your posts...I'm glad to know I'm not the only nut out there!

I find by planning BEFORE we get there, we can have a much more relaxed time once we ARE there. I do plan what park we will be in on which day (so I can take care of PS's) but once we're in that park, we do kinda wing it. But it sure helps to know what rides will be swamped before noon, and which attractions will have less crowds later in the day. If there are people who want to wander around aimlessly, and are still able to have a good time, more power to them!

If she hadn't brought me that Storm Trooper pin ( ), I just may have beaten her with that stick!

 

[GoofyDisney]

Seriously, I plan what day/what park also.

But more than that, for every trip we go on, no matter where we go, I plan what we are wearing every day and pack accordingly. That way, we aren't all standing around in the morning trying to figure out what we "feel like" wearing. Forget that! You are going to wear the blue shirt with the khaki shorts! And you are going to like it!!! (I have also packed our fold-up wind breakers in case it is too chilly for just the blue shirt!)

 

[JJsmama]

I don't think you are over-organized or waster your time planning.
Yes, we are planners on this board. But we are planners because we WANT to be planners. We enjoy all this planning. Some people don't. Neither way is right.

 

[Rafikifan]

I had to laugh too when I read this because I can sooo relate. On one hand I helped by dbil and dsil and my nieces plan a trip to WDW. I know my sil thought I was a little whacko when I told her to call for p.s.'s etc. (she couldn't believe people pick where they want to eat months in advance) but when they got back they thanked me up and down for my tips and how well everything went and that they would have not known where to go, what to see, and how glad they were they made p.s. so they got to go to character meals. But I've got other friends who I've tried to talk to before going to WDW and they don't "get it" that they need to do any more planning than make their resort reservations. Then they come back and tell me how Disney was "ok" but too crowded, too this, too that. My best friend (who didn't listen to me at all) got back from a trip with her family and just doesn't see what "magic" I get from WDW. Oh gee, maybe it's because they went for 4th of July weekend, stayed at a condo on the west coast of Fla.(the whole stay) and commuted to WDW. Had no p.s.'s, didn't remember me mentioning character meals (and her dd would have LOVED them), only went to MK and Future World in Epcot (What??? NO World Showcase???) because the kids were bored. They spent more time in traffic coming and going to the parks than they did in them. I tried to tell her that if she had her heart set on having some "beach" time to split their stay but when they went to WDW to stay there but no. Of course her dh HAS to stay by the beach because all he really is interested in is beer and bikinis. I am so thankful my dh loves WDW as much as I do. I mean he is a man, he likes a cold beer and
he still looks twice at me if I wear a bikini (but I am getting to the age where I am more comfortable in a one piece lol) but bless her heart when they go to Destin for a week's stay they eat at Hooter's at least 4 times. She says her dh just LOVES those wings! I replied that I have a copycat recipe of Hooter's wings and sauce but she wasn't interested because it just "wouldn't be the same" for dh. My dh is so silly HE has requested that I TRY for a CRT breakfast p.s. because he thinks it is so neat to start your day eating in the castle. I told him he can look at the princesses all he wants. At least they're not putting their body parts on the table.

 

[Lyli]

Hmmmm, well...just my 2 cents:

I'm a planner, I love to plan and organize. So when we do a 3 day trip, I plan a lot. On the other hand....we also do "buzz trips". These are one day trips where we just buzz on up to WDW and spend the day. No planning, just go.

Of course living only 70 miles away (ducking to avoid objects being thrown in my direction) we can do both.

Part of the fun for me is the planning. Visiting the boards, reading books, etc. So if we're enjoying the process, who cares what everyone else thinks...'cause we're having fun!!!

 

[ksoehrlein]

As I was reading your post, I was reminded of a Disney "Urban Legend" I read several years ago. It is the one where a family went to Disney World for a week and spent the entire week at the Magic Kingdom thinking that was all there is to Disney World.

Not an urban legend -- it was a friend of mine and her family of 7! They stayed at WL under one of the all-inclusive packages ($$$). Every morning, they got on the water launch over to MK and spent the day there. Most if not all of their meals were in MK (perhaps they did one or two at WL). I don't know if they even took advantage of the other opportunities provided in their package.

The happy ending is, she became a CM at the local Disney Store and went back to WDW a couple of years ago. That time they stayed at AKL (not on a package) and boy, did they ever park hop this time!

Ariel wanna-be, I'm sure she would have thanked her lucky stars if she had a friend like you (or me, for that matter) before her family's first trip! Unfortunately I didn't meet her until shortly before their second trip...

 

[BostonRob]

Funny, my friend's DH called me the "Trip Nazi" when we all went to WDW together! Are we all really that bad?!

{/QUOTE]


Well there is a difference between planning and ordering people around on vacation. If you were just planning, then their comments were surely in jest. If you were ordering them around, maybe there was some truth to it.

I like to do a lot of planning, as do most people here - that's why we're here. But I know that half my planning goes out the window once we get there. For me, it isn't a vacation if you can't just 'go with the flow' to some extent. If every detail is planned and regimented, well then it begins to feel like work. (I BET THIS IS WHY DISNEY MOVED FROM RESERVATIONS TO PRIORITY SEATING - PEOPL LIKE TO PLAN, BUT ONCE THEY'RE ON VACATION, THEY DON'T ALWAYS LIKE TO FOLLOW PLANS).

Anyway, like everything else in life, there's something to be said for moderation. Too much planning or a total lack of planning could both ruin a vacation. But as long as people had a good time, you can't fault them for not eating in the castle.

 

[YangYang]

I was at the gym the other day and a lady was talking about her recent trip to WDW. She said that she was there a week and that was plenty long enough. They went to NASA one day and to Sea World one day and they opened and closed Epcot one day and they went to Magic Kingdom. She just didn't understand why anyone would want to spend any longer than that. I very quietly said "I have an annual pass and go four or five times a year". I don't guess she would be interested in borrowing my notebook - yes, I have a notebook that I update before every trip!

 

[jlaspoq]

So after she gets back, we go to lunch and she proceeds to tell me how she and her family had every bit of as good a time as my family does, and she didn't do one minute of planning. She is laughingly telling me how much time I've wasted, and how the whole "you need to plan" thing is SO overblown.

QUOTE]


I vote for more people like her.... makes it better for the rest of us!!!

 

[sanctus]

Well, if it's any consolation, I read your post and thought to myself, "THAT'S what I need!! A binder, and colored tabs to sort the topics!!"

I'm a vacation planner by hobby. For a few short years I had a job planning trips for high school band festivals, and I couldn't believe they PAID me to do that! LOL.

Disney is my number one obsession, but I have small sections in various notebooks on key west, hawaii and las vegas, too! If I'm going on a vacation, I want to practically roll around in it before I go. And I'm darned sure not missing the best parts because I just didn't know about them.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

Ariel,
I can relate. I have the job of planning for our group (my family and DB's family). Since I researched and "planned" the first two trips with such success, everyone is very glad to let me plan the next one. To their credit, they have said "thank you very much," but they don't realize just how much time I spend. It's probably better that way.

As to having fun without any plans, I say, "good luck". I'm sure it can be done, but not by me. One time, when I was in college (many moons ago), on spring break, I visited MK with some of my friends on a lark. We sat in terrible traffic just to get into the MK. When we finally got there, it was wall-to-wall people and the heat was intolerable. We absolutely hated it. The lines were two hours long. I remember thinking that WDW was a big hoax because everyone looked miserable. We didn't even stick around. We just wanted OUT! It was back when you bought tickets for different groups of rides (like A, B, C, or something like that). Anyway, we tried to give our tickets to people when we were leaving and they looked at us like we were from Mars. After that experience, I never wanted to go to WDW again.

Seven years ago, we won a trip and so, since there was no cash option , we went. TO make a long story short, I did some major planning, and we fell under Mickey's spell and we absolutely LOVED it. I am the same person (albeit, a bit older) but the experience was NIGHT and DAY! I could go back every year, no problem. Twice would be nice.

Your friend may never know what she is missing. That's okay. Just be glad that you are "in the know".

Jackie

 

[henrylovespooh]

Everyone has their opinion - the ones who don't plan laugh at those of us who do and we planners don't get why others don't enjoy planning out the trip. For me, the planning is half the fun - I love it!

But I do think that the people on the DIS boards who don't plan as much as I do still research enough to know that Fastpasses are free, that some restaurants are better than others, and that for things you really want to do, you need to plan in advance or risk missing it (Fantasmic).

A friend of mine who hasn't been to Disney in 10 years called to ask me for advice and suggestions. I gave her some quick ideas on the phone and offered to help her plan her itinerary at length when we get together next week. She loved the quick tips I gave her and is anxious for help. If someone like your friend gave me that treatment, I certainly wouldn't offer to help again either.

 

[BeckyEsq]

It sounds to me like your friend is trying to convince herself!