The extent of your day/hour/minute planning...

[twinspluscade]

I love to plan too, not just our Disney trips but all our vacations. For me, the planning is just as fun as actually going on the trip!

We do usually end up deviating quite a bit from the itinerary though. Once we actually get to the destination, we use my schedule as more of a guide than a "must follow" set of rules. Kind of like our own personalized tour book.

 

[KingofJapan]

These tight touring plans leave no room for error. What if someone wanted to stop and get an ice cream and there was a line. What if little Johnny stomach could not handle the greasy burger and fries he has for lunch which resulted in diarrhea. I think these touring plans are meant for adults who go to the parks without kids. Kids can change their mind from one moment to the next. They don't want schedules.

 

[twinspluscade]

My family has been making fun of my spreadsheets for years! But, we get a heckuva lot done in relatively short WDW trips. And this time around, I got a touringplans.com subscription and made multiple plans for every contingency....oh my, I was in my own little piece of Disney planning heaven..

Okay, I'm pretty much convinced now that I should subscribe to touring plans. Can you customize the plans however you want? Is it just for the parks, or can you add you add resort ADRs and DTD too?

 

[KingofJapan]

That would be way too stressful for me to keep that strict of a schedule. We plan 1TS meal a day and keep to normal eating times and we plan our 3FP and a few extras like Pirates League, parade times, other shows. Certain days we plan for EMH or rope drop. I have a few days I've already chosen our QS location and mealtime but that's about it.

Exactly. Who wants to stress over schedules. I have enough schedules to deal with at work. Don't want to look at them on vacation.

 

[twinspluscade]

Exactly. Who wants to stress over schedules. I have enough schedules to deal with at work. Don't want to look at them on vacation.

Then don't do one. No one here is saying that everybody should have a touring plan.

 

[Moonwolf]

Pre-trip I will plan every moment. Generally I "plan" for about 2 rides/attractions per hour knowing that some will take a little longer and some will be done quickly.

Once I am there The only thing actually followed on the schedule is the first ride and then any ADRs while we "wing" the rest. My plan is all in my head so I can herd my family in the proper direction and everyone I travel with knows I have a tendency to plan everything so they trust me to lead them. But I don't keep such a stringent schedule that if someone needs a break or something catches their eye it won't ruin everything. And I can adjust on the fly.

 

[Frozen2014]

I loved the planning. It was our first Disney trip so I first did lots of research to get familiar with the rides and what our kids would like. Our DS was 9.5 and our DD 5.5, so that meant that some rides/attractions we'd be together and others we'd have to split up. When it came down to the actual planning, I had figured out:

• which park on which day
• booked 1 ADR per day (based on park or a nearby resort)
• booked FP+ with time range
• then I had a general plan with timings around the FP and ADRs of what rides we do (including all of us, or split up)

The last one was not in stone, but it did give us a general direction so we knew where to go next instead of "what do you want to do now? I don't know, what do you want to do now?" We generally stuck to it unless line ups were long. In those cases, we'd look at the Disney wait time app and select something nearby that wasn't long. It worked quite well and even DH commented how he appreciated it (even though he thought I was nuts for super-planning before we even left our house)

But yes, I had a spreadsheet very similar to yours, and even broken down by person

 

[Mikie]

I almost could have written Frozen2014's post, even traveling in Oct and a DH who thinks the plan is nuts, but appreciates it once you get there.

I like a PPs description of the plan as "research", I just don't write it all down and color code it. But I know what I want to FP, I have 1 ADR per day, have an idea how we should progress around the park. I carry printed cards with ADRs and FP times written on them, as well as things like parade or fireworks times, show times at DHS especially, charactepalooza, etc. Planning helps me know how long an attraction is, so I know whether we should fit it in before or after our lunch, should we get everyone a bathroom break before a 20 min attraction to avoid disaster, is there a way to pick up a ride on our way over to a show we want to see. . .

Looking at uber-plans like these helps me see what's possible and efficient, but I don't plan to that level myself.

 

[clambert1273]

My husband would be really ticked off if I planned in 15 minute increments. He thinks I'm crazy with the hour by hour schedule that I make.

Well my husband at first was ticked off when I was planning it (we just returned March 7); however, once we there he was VERY happy I took the time do it as we accomplished EVERYTHING we set out to do on that trip.

I showed the OP's chart to DH and he said "Don't even think about it!" He hates the idea of plans on vacation, and I hate having none at all, so I make loose ones that are more to do with dining and must do's.

On our last trip I made a spreadsheet similar at a glance to the OP's, but really just had park hours, parades and shows we were interested in, and ADRs, all color coded. At the top of each day I had the park or parks of the day. I had one master copy that stayed in the room and another that I cut up and laminated (one column for each day) and hole punched them. Each morning I put that day's schedule in the backpack, clipping it to the key holder in the bag. Easy to access, and didn't get lost in the bottom of the bag.

I've debated just using my phone next time, but it rarely leaves the bag while I'm at Disney, so I may still do this.

LOL Personally, I would do it and just not tell him I kept mine printed off daily and in my back pack using it as my guide as I would string them along lol

Honestly this is insane. I have seen these people in lines at MK where their kids want to go on a certain ride and the parents yell at them that it is not on their schedule. Felt bad for the kids. What ever happened to just relaxing in the parks, going on a few rides along with the rides where you have a FP and that's it. Enjoy the park without rushing from one attraction to another.

I would NEVER do that to my child. We did many things that weren't on my plan because you HAVE to be flexible and kids have a "shiny things" disorder lol We didn't rush around and accomplished a lot including BBB and Pirates League. I never "planned" on the Prince Charming Carousel (sp? lol) but she saw it and had to do it. I told her "we have a good gap of time soon so I will bring you right back after xxxx" ... she was OK with that. Even with all the in depth planning that we do, ALWAYS have to be willing to wing it sometimes

 

[MrInfinity]

Honestly this is insane. I have seen these people in lines at MK where their kids want to go on a certain ride and the parents yell at them that it is not on their schedule. Felt bad for the kids. What ever happened to just relaxing in the parks, going on a few rides along with the rides where you have a FP and that's it. Enjoy the park without rushing from one attraction to another.

I like the original sheet. I do mine to the half-hour not 15-min, but same concept. And I don't plan out the secondary rides like that... just an area of a park.

I also think you're looking at it wrong. A plan is not something you have to stick to, nor is it something one would yell at kids over. It's something that gives you a basis so you don't have to have the "what do you want to do today" talks and get 5 different answers. With a flexible plan you know you'll get the parks in, with about the right amout of time you want to spend in each.

Plus Disney World has always been such that one who comes in w goals and a plan to meet them will get more done than one who just shows up and wanders. Having done my wandering days, we are more about avoiding some lines if we can, and a good plan helps you to do that.

I think these touring plans are meant for adults who go to the parks without kids. Kids can change their mind from one moment to the next. They don't want schedules.

Hehe... We travel w 4 kids under 12. We are winging it all the time! With the plan you can follow it if it works out that way, do something else if you'd rather, or completely improvise if you get sick. Without a plan at all, you simply lose that option to get more done, if things are going well and nobody is sick.

Plans give you better options. They don't restrict what you can do.

 

[smiths02]

These tight touring plans leave no room for error. What if someone wanted to stop and get an ice cream and there was a line. What if little Johnny stomach could not handle the greasy burger and fries he has for lunch which resulted in diarrhea. I think these touring plans are meant for adults who go to the parks without kids. Kids can change their mind from one moment to the next. They don't want schedules.

I believe with the Touring Plans app, someone correct me if I'm wrong, you can re-optimize your plan and update things as wait times change in real time.

I think it would be worse with kids to say, walk into Hollywood Studios with no plans. You ride Great Movie ride at 9am, then see Muppet movie, then play on the playground until 10:30 (meanwhile you are walking all over the place), then you decide at 11 am to try for TSMM...the line is 90 minutes AND little Johnny is hungry and has to pee.

For someone who only goes every few years, it helps to have a plan because I can have a picture in my mind of the parks and of our priorities for the day.

Also, generating the Touring Plan wasn't really stressful or time consuming.

 

[texasrachel]

I plan obsessively but without times. Except for meals, show times, and fast passes obviously. My plans are more of go to this ride, then this ride, followed by that ride. To do anything else seems to much even for me.

 

[smiths02]

My husband also just rolls his eyes and says "okay, do we pee at 10:07-10:09?" And then he laughs. After 3 trips, he knows that a plan makes the vacation more enjoyable.

 

[rtbreneman]

I think the rigidness of the schedule is what most folks are having the hardest time with - and for us, the plan is NOT as strict as it seems. It may seem that way, but we usually end up with more time on our hands than we scheduled. Touring plans does let you adjust for if you are slow walkers, fast-pacers, etc. The few times I have planned this excessively, we are almost always AHEAD of schedule - meaning that little Johnny's bathroom break is fine. And I always have "whatever" time left at the end of the day, so if you want to circle back to whatever, then by all means, we can.

Because of the plan, I am always prepared when someone says, "I want to ride POTC again," I can counter with, "ok, but we may not get on Space Mountain later. Is that still ok?" My kids are either old enough to know there is a trade-off, or young enough to go with the flow.

 

[Lovetherodent]

Okay, I'm pretty much convinced now that I should subscribe to touring plans. Can you customize the plans however you want? Is it just for the parks, or can you add you add resort ADRs and DTD too?

yes, you can customize all you want and make as many plans as you want. If a ride is broken or you get side-tracked, you can reoptimize on the fly. I just used it for the parks, but it did ask for confirmation numbers for ADRs.

 

[MrInfinity]

Okay, I'm pretty much convinced now that I should subscribe to touring plans. Can you customize the plans however you want? Is it just for the parks, or can you add you add resort ADRs and DTD too?

Touring plans doesn't do anything that you couldn't do yourself. Just start w a spreadsheet. Line up a column for each day. Pick a park for each day, based on how many of each park days you want. Then do your dining and special events. Put those into the relevant windows. This should give you a picture of how your days will flow. From here, you can decide what else to fill in where you want it. My plans start out like a blank canvas with some borders, but by the end they are filled with rich colors, pictures, and are suitable for framing. It just kind of flows. You definitely do not need an app to do this for you -- especially if you just like to think about things and are good with Excel.

 

[smiths02]

Touring plans doesn't do anything that you couldn't do yourself. Just start w a spreadsheet. Line up a column for each day. Pick a park for each day, based on how many of each park days you want. Then do your dining and special events. Put those into the relevant windows. This should give you a picture of how your days will flow. From here, you can decide what else to fill in where you want it. My plans start out like a blank canvas with some borders, but by the end they are filled with rich colors, pictures, and are suitable for framing. It really just kind of flows. You definitely do not need an app to do this for you -- especially if you just like to think about things and are good with Excel.

The personal plans on Touring Plans do have estimated wait times and walking times between rides and will put the rides on a map, though. Also, it gives how long the attraction takes. Looking all that up myself and creating my own spreadsheet would be a LOT of work, IMO.

 

[SpacePod]

Curious how many other uber-planners are out there that try to strategize out every day/hour etc. I enjoy the planning for our group's trips and trying to maximize every day. My tinkering with our schedule has become an obsession, and we are still 7 months out from our next trip!

The attached is just an example:

This is awesome!! I was planning on just using the Lines app, but this spreadsheet is beautiful. I don't think I could plan down to 15 minutes because I have no idea how long the average waits for the rides I'd want to go on, but I love the color coding and the park information at the top. I'm definitely going to have crack at making my own!

I did the same thing, but knowing that some flexibility will be needed. I have a general idea of how long things "should" take and what order makes sense, but also what things can be moved around based on ADR's and fastpasses. I'm super nerd-ing out though. Each day will be color coded and the itinerary with meal ideas on laminated 4x6 cards on a caribeener. My husbands thinks I have gone off the deep end. I also plan to print off EasyWDW's maps (that have the color coding with what rides are highest priorities) and laminate them too.

This is a great idea! I love the thought of a little booklet with ride priorities and meal ideas. Having a small map handy is a great idea too. I'd hate to be the "tourist" with a giant map in the middle of the sidewalk, but this is a great way to keep track of where you are and what you've done! I'm totally stealing this idea for my trip.

 

[VDrolet]

Looks a lot like mine! I don't plan everything, but I do like to keep a schedule of our ADR's and FP's.

 

[scoobydooby]

Touring plans doesn't do anything that you couldn't do yourself. Just start w a spreadsheet. Line up a column for each day. Pick a park for each day, based on how many of each park days you want. Then do your dining and special events. Put those into the relevant windows. This should give you a picture of how your days will flow. From here, you can decide what else to fill in where you want it. My plans start out like a blank canvas with some borders, but by the end they are filled with rich colors, pictures, and are suitable for framing. It just kind of flows. You definitely do not need an app to do this for you -- especially if you just like to think about things and are good with Excel.

Well that is a totally inaccurate statement! TP is a complex computer programme that uses algorithms based on tonnes of data to work out which rides to go on in which order to minimise your wait times. With FPP it advises when to best use them for what. It's not a glorified spread sheet. I personally don't like standing in lines I can't see anything particularly spontaneous about that approach. I love TPs, have been using them for years now and I think they enable us to have more free time to make stuff up because we are not stuck standing in line for many wasted hours. You have misrepresented how they work in your post though.