To all the long-term planners out there... Do you get frustrated sometimes?

[NeutralNovice]

So I am, by heart, a long term planner. I love planning longer vacations way ahead of time which is one of the reasons why I decided to ultimately become a DVC Owner. The 11-month advance is perfect for me.

I guess it's always been there, planning with others, but I am having a somewhat frustrating time planning things put with people who are not planners. And in my circle of family and friends, I am pretty sure I am the only long planner so it's been difficult to get them to go along with the plans. They express interest and desire to go but something like WDW (from California) can be costly in money and time so I can totally understand the hesitancy to commit this far out (for a trip in December).

Anyway, I guess this is more of a rant thread that I just wanted to get off my chest. Perhaps I can find others to relate to and I'll feel better lol.

Thanks for reading!

 

[JLong06]

Luckily my wife likes to plan just as far out as I do (we have vacation plans mapped out until 2025)

However my siblings and parents are the absolute opposite. At 13 months out we’ve resorted to “this is what we are doing in about a year and we’d love for you to join us. Here’s our plans.”

I guess my rant would be in my experiences is that I get accused of being the one that always decides where we go. However, if it were up to anyone else it either a) wouldn’t be decided until like a month beforehand which I just can not do or b) they would pick a place then decide they aren’t going a month out.

 

[Dizzydizney]

I love the planning (loved it more when there was fast pass plus, dining plan, tables in wonderland)...have plans thru 2024 but it’s easier with just the two of us mostly.
There was a thread recently on the member services section....someone wanted to plan an anniversary trip to Aulani for the in laws and family and was thinking of buying mor3 points to do so. It is an interesting read with a predictable outcome. It’s titled Please Hailp or something like that.
When I do invite family I tell them the dates I have in mind, tell them I’ll need to know before the 11 month mark. When it gets closer to the point where I’ll need to modify if they aren’t coming, I’ll let them know. Explain I’ll lose points if I get smaller accommodations, etc. If they end up not coming without giving advance notice, they are not invited again.
Non members have no idea what’s involved in the process and the consequences of last minute cancellations.
I’ve been lucky so far. The price of park tickets is what hurts the most. I always make sure everyone knows the costs involved.
You are certainly not alone with your frustration!

 

[Her Dotness]

Could also be that expressing interest and a desire to go are their way to avoid saying outright they're really not that interested or don't actually want to.

Lots of people think it's impolite to say they'd really prefer to go other places. Seeming interested in joining you but not following through is simpler.

 

[NeutralNovice]

Luckily my wife likes to plan just as far out as I do (we have vacation plans mapped out until 2025)

However my siblings and parents are the absolute opposite. At 13 months out we’ve resorted to “this is what we are doing in about a year and we’d love for you to join us. Here’s our plans.”

I guess my rant would be in my experiences is that I get accused of being the one that always decides where we go. However, if it were up to anyone else it either a) wouldn’t be decided until like a month beforehand which I just can not do or b) they would pick a place then decide they aren’t going a month out.

Lucky man! My partner is not a planner like me but luckily he also is perfectly fine going along with what I do plan...for the most part lol. He's definitely much more of a homebody than me lol.

So far Ive been lucky enough to not get accused of monopolizing a plan but I'm sure that's going to come up at some point. Particularly with Disney, most people just don't understand the level of planning involved to ensure a good and efficient use of time.

Once someone flakes out last minute on me tho, it's game over for them, unless the reasoning is legit.

I love the planning (loved it more when there was fast pass plus, dining plan, tables in wonderland)...have plans thru 2024 but it’s easier with just the two of us mostly.
There was a thread recently on the member services section....someone wanted to plan an anniversary trip to Aulani for the in laws and family and was thinking of buying mor3 points to do so. It is an interesting read with a predictable outcome. It’s titled Please Hailp or something like that.
When I do invite family I tell them the dates I have in mind, tell them I’ll need to know before the 11 month mark. When it gets closer to the point where I’ll need to modify if they aren’t coming, I’ll let them know. Explain I’ll lose points if I get smaller accommodations, etc. If they end up not coming without giving advance notice, they are not invited again.
Non members have no idea what’s involved in the process and the consequences of last minute cancellations.
I’ve been lucky so far. The price of park tickets is what hurts the most. I always make sure everyone knows the costs involved.
You are certainly not alone with your frustration!

Ah yeah, when FP+ came around, I loved it. Though admittedly, I never stayed on property prior to so that made it slightly difficult at times.

It's too bad people don't appreciate what planners have to deal with. And then for them to cancel essentially without notice, yeah I'd cut them off as well.

Im the same with telling them the cost up front. I definitely understand that it's a substantial amount of money to visit Disney World but that's how it goes. I don't get mad if they just can't afford it because it's simply not accessible to everyone. I will get mad at the flakes tho lol.

Could also be that expressing interest and a desire to go are their way to avoid saying outright they're really not that interested or don't actually want to.

Lots of people think it's impolite to say they'd really prefer to go other places. Seeming interested in joining you but not following through is simpler.

Yeah that could be it too. For WDW vacations though, I am usually very straightforward in what the expectations are. And I even say that if it's too much or if they don't simply want to go, my feelings will not be hurt as I understand the commitment.

Wish people would be more straightforward with stuff. But alas, I guess it's human and there's not really much I can do about it.

 

[ajf1007]

I completely understand! I too am a planner which is why DVC works for me too. My husband just goes along with it and agrees to what I decide so when it’s just us, it’s all good.

I’m currently planning a big trip to take my parents, my brother and his family - which is a bit frustrating as my brother and his family are not as “planny” as I am. I had to call a Zoom meeting last night to get us on the same page and put some deadlines down. They were open and interactive but we’ll see when the deadlines come whether the rubber hits the road.

Here’s to all of us planners just trying to make a great vacation for our people

 

[purpliequeen]

I like to plan and consider planning part of the vacation - it gets me excited for all that we're going to experience & do. That being said, Disney has made it harder to plan further out now adays. For insance, 180 day dining > 60 day dining. Oftentimes, new menu items, restaurant opening/reopenings/changes, and attraction regulations (virtual queue to standby only, etc.) come out with a few weeks or days heads up - throwing a wrench into pre-existing plans. I understand all the issues around the pandemic and am willing to throw Disney a break, but it's definitely hard when you've been planning for months....

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

We hear you!! I love planning too … which makes the 11-month DVC mark a definite blessing (when I’m planning for just my fam) & a curse (when it involves others). Thankfully, there have never been any *real* issues for me, but I’ve had to reroute points more than once for a later-planned trip and had to just say no when it’s too late (no points left, no rooms left, no reasonable flights left, you name it!).

However! As much as I love planning, I love going even more- so my sister & so are always scheming to add “just one more” trip (adults only- or with some of our kiddos- we’re flexible ). And I get pretty stoked when I’m able to piece together a fabulous trip that wasn’t planned well in advance. It’s more stressful, but also more satisfying when it actually comes together

 

[J-Dog]

Luckily my wife likes to plan just as far out as I do (we have vacation plans mapped out until 2025)

However my siblings and parents are the absolute opposite. At 13 months out we’ve resorted to “this is what we are doing in about a year and we’d love for you to join us. Here’s our plans.”

I guess my rant would be in my experiences is that I get accused of being the one that always decides where we go. However, if it were up to anyone else it either a) wouldn’t be decided until like a month beforehand which I just can not do or b) they would pick a place then decide they aren’t going a month out.

Yes! We are the same - my wife and I generally agree that I will plan most things, and then she agrees or doesn't agree. Then, for the rest of the family, we literally say "we're going to be at X resort from Y day to Z day. There's room for you. You can show up, or don't. We don't care".

 

[NeutralNovice]

I completely understand! I too am a planner which is why DVC works for me too. My husband just goes along with it and agrees to what I decide so when it’s just us, it’s all good.

I’m currently planning a big trip to take my parents, my brother and his family - which is a bit frustrating as my brother and his family are not as “planny” as I am. I had to call a Zoom meeting last night to get us on the same page and put some deadlines down. They were open and interactive but we’ll see when the deadlines come whether the rubber hits the road.

Here’s to all of us planners just trying to make a great vacation for our people

Zooms are a good idea... I would say participation in something like that is a good indicator of real or feigned interest. Plus, you can see nonverbal queues.

The annoying part is feeling like I have to explain myself on WHY these deadlines are so early. As if learning about DVC wasn't difficult enough lol! And I've been this way for years! I'm a lot better now though as I just do my thing and if they want to come or not by the deadline, then whatever.

I like to plan and consider planning part of the vacation - it gets me excited for all that we're going to experience & do. That being said, Disney has made it harder to plan further out now adays. For insance, 180 day dining > 60 day dining. Oftentimes, new menu items, restaurant opening/reopenings/changes, and attraction regulations (virtual queue to standby only, etc.) come out with a few weeks or days heads up - throwing a wrench into pre-existing plans. I understand all the issues around the pandemic and am willing to throw Disney a break, but it's definitely hard when you've been planning for months....

That 180 advance sounds so delicious. Now we have to keep thinking about it all the up until Day 60. Luckily for me, the root of my planning is mostly just to get to the destination and get the hotel and dining reservations... and now, of course, park reservations. Once we're in the park, I tend to just let it flow more since it's so hard to predict wait times and ride availability. Since this is a rare trip for me, I am planning to spend on G+ regardless--so that should help.

We hear you!! I love planning too … which makes the 11-month DVC mark a definite blessing (when I’m planning for just my fam) & a curse (when it involves others). Thankfully, there have never been any *real* issues for me, but I’ve had to reroute points more than once for a later-planned trip and had to just say no when it’s too late (no points left, no rooms left, no reasonable flights left, you name it!).

However! As much as I love planning, I love going even more- so my sister & so are always scheming to add “just one more” trip (adults only- or with some of our kiddos- we’re flexible ). And I get pretty stoked when I’m able to piece together a fabulous trip that wasn’t planned well in advance. It’s more stressful, but also more satisfying when it actually comes together

When with certain members of my family, oof they know how to stress me out once we reach a destination. And after years of that, I am now perfectly content on just doing my own thing lol. The freedom of it feels... nice.

Being from CA, spontaneous trips to Orlando are much more difficult unfortunately. And I love WDW more than DLR (don't hate me DLR homers). Ugh I wish I had a friend that is into Disney as much as me and wouldn't mind relatively spontaneous, even if short, trips! In the end, it's just too much of a time sink and money sink to go more than once a year. I am jealous!

Yes! We are the same - my wife and I generally agree that I will plan most things, and then she agrees or doesn't agree. Then, for the rest of the family, we literally say "we're going to be at X resort from Y day to Z day. There's room for you. You can show up, or don't. We don't care".

I am getting there! I want my family to experience the greatness that is WDW so I do try extra hard but I'm getting better about not worrying about their needs in terms of vacations.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

Being from CA, spontaneous trips to Orlando are much more difficult unfortunately. And I love WDW more than DLR (don't hate me DLR homers). Ugh I wish I had a friend that is into Disney as much as me and wouldn't mind relatively spontaneous, even if short, trips! In the end, it's just too much of a time sink and money sink to go more than once a year. I am jealous!

Yes- I am super fortunate to have my sister be just as Disney crazy as I am!!

But when I just asked my kiddos what they’d like for our next family vacation- most voted for DisneyLAND!! We had warned them that our CA trip in 2017 was a once-in-a-lifetime kinda deal, but now that we own DVC and are going to WDW fairly often… I think it’s muddying the waters of expectation a bit. It’s just so crazy cost-prohibitive to take our big fam (there are 8 of us!!) to CA, so they’ll probably get their #2 vote instead (which was WDW, of course ). We all really love the Cars Land, and with Star Wars & Marvel out there as well- DL/DCA is an easy win for us!

 

[corpcomp]

I do all the planning 11 months out, planning dinners, lunches, events and for the last two years I've been extremely frustrated and have cancelled 4 vacations including one to Europe. The fourth one is this Friday at Boardwalk due to the new virus. I did go down in November before Omacron hit and was fine and really looking forward to getting back into vacationing. I just want to bury my head in the sand.

But what really ticked me off was the new Genie+ system. No longer can I plan out the rides, it's all guess work.

 

[AdamsMum]

Lots of people think it's impolite to say they'd really prefer to go other places. Seeming interested in joining you but not following through is simpler.

I don't know any of those, my folks let me know straight up they think I'm a nut.

 

[Artemis Fowl]

So I am, by heart, a long term planner. I love planning longer vacations way ahead of time which is one of the reasons why I decided to ultimately become a DVC Owner. The 11-month advance is perfect for me.

I guess it's always been there, planning with others, but I am having a somewhat frustrating time planning things put with people who are not planners. And in my circle of family and friends, I am pretty sure I am the only long planner so it's been difficult to get them to go along with the plans. They express interest and desire to go but something like WDW (from California) can be costly in money and time so I can totally understand the hesitancy to commit this far out (for a trip in December).

Anyway, I guess this is more of a rant thread that I just wanted to get off my chest. Perhaps I can find others to relate to and I'll feel better lol.

Thanks for reading!

Right there with you. My in-laws are slow to commit to anything and they like to retain the right to opt out of everything.

 

[NeutralNovice]

Right there with you. My in-laws are slow to commit to anything and they like to retain the right to opt out of everything.

LOL that would quickly put them on my "Never Invite" list. Sounds like they don't want to do any of the work or make any of the payments then expect to not have any consequences if they flake out last minute. Not cool at all.

 

[Artemis Fowl]

They’re actually very generous and will pay for quite a bit more than I want them too. But trying to nail down dates is like pulling teeth. And we always pay more for airfare than we should for refundable fares.
It’s just stress inducing when I’m trying to book something at 11 months and even more stressful at 7 months.

 

[Disneytrippin']

I am a thorough, plan way ahead planner. Today I got to give an example of why I do to my family. We aren't going until Nov-Dec. But, we have our passes,the resort stay is booked and I told everyone we need to buy airfare as soon as its available. I usually by one way at a time. So, we got one way tickets from west coast to Orlando for only $222 each. 9 tickets for less then $2000. Bonus is I'm a Delta Sky miles card member so first checked bag is free for everyone.

Today was proof of why I plan ahead. The return flight was $222 as well. $222! We did NOT jump on that and sure enough it jumped to 427.00 today.

Moral of the story. Respect your plan way ahead planner. They aren't ridiculous. They are smart and savvy.

 

[NeutralNovice]

They’re actually very generous and will pay for quite a bit more than I want them too. But trying to nail down dates is like pulling teeth. And we always pay more for airfare than we should for refundable fares.
It’s just stress inducing when I’m trying to book something at 11 months and even more stressful at 7 months.

Oh ok well at least they pay. Are they willing to lose that money though if they decide to pull out? If that were the case, I would just make the plans, be rigid, and if they can't go but already paid, oh well.

OR... you can just buy a couple hundred more points and use those points as an "undecided" reservation. Bank/rent points if they go unused! haha

I am a thorough, plan way ahead planner. Today I got to give an example of why I do to my family. We aren't going until Nov-Dec. But, we have our passes,the resort stay is booked and I told everyone we need to buy airfare as soon as its available. I usually by one way at a time. So, we got one way tickets from west coast to Orlando for only $222 each. 9 tickets for less then $2000. Bonus is I'm a Delta Sky miles card member so first checked bag is free for everyone.

Today was proof of why I plan ahead. The return flight was $222 as well. $222! We did NOT jump on that and sure enough it jumped to 427.00 today.

Moral of the story. Respect your plan way ahead planner. They aren't ridiculous. They are smart and savvy.

Hello my West Coast Cousin! I TOO will be going in December.

But where in the heck are were you getting a transcon flight to Orlando for $222? In the SF Bay Area, unfortunately, United and Alaska are the only non-stop flight game in town from SF and flights are still ridiculous at 400+.

Also, if you dont mind my asking, when are you going and what resort you staying? I'll be at AKV Dec 1-8!

 

[Disneytrippin']

Hello my West Coast Cousin! I TOO will be going in December.

But where in the heck are were you getting a transcon flight to Orlando for $222? In the SF Bay Area, unfortunately, United and Alaska are the only non-stop flight game in town from SF and flights are still ridiculous at 400+.

Also, if you dont mind my asking, when are you going and what resort you staying? I'll be at AKV Dec 1-8!
[/QUOTE]

We fly Delta. But, I am seeing better return prices on American. There are deals out there if you are flexible on time of day. I just have a large group and I wanted to add a day so I need to be back home at a decent hour.

We are doing a split stay Thanksgiving day- Dec. 5 at both my home resorts of Boulder Ridge Villas and Baylake.

 

[DonMacGregor]

We fly Delta. But, I am seeing better return prices on American. There are deals out there if you are flexible on time of day. I just have a large group and I wanted to add a day so I need to be back home at a decent hour.

We fly Delta as well, almost exclusively. May not always be the best price, but the service is always better. I dislike American so much that I have 75,000 miles sitting in my AAdvantage account from some forced travel (had to fly American under duress due to reduced flight schedules) in 2020 that I have no desire to use.