To Plan or not to Plan, that is the question....

[sweetiepie71]

....whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The random choosings of the disneyland eateries of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a selection of ride choices,
And by opposing fastpass them?

Seriously though, is all the planning worth it? Should I be getting our itinerary planned to the last footstep? Should all our meals be prebooked before we leave? Is it like a military operation?

Last year was our first DLRP trip and we didn't plan a thing, just bimbled through the parks on a whim, ate where we felt like eating, missed loads of stuff, went on some rides over and over. I didn't feel we had "missed out" particularly, but this time I am planning in earnest now and am just wondering exactly how much this is likely to enhance my trip and wheter I should just "let it all go"??

Amanda x

42 sleeps......

 

[Cyrano]

This is a personal preference which sounds like you have found what suits you best.

We have a rough plan, although have never pre-booked any meals before arrival

 

[Bexx]

....whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The random choosings of the disneyland eateries of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a selection of ride choices,
And by opposing fastpass them?

Very clever!

I've never planned - apart from this trip coming!! As we only have a day and a half, I've made a note of the timings of the parades and shows we want to see. This has given me a good idea of where we will be at certain times and so I have a good idea of the rides we can do then. Luckily as we have two young DDs who are afraid of anything remotely scary, the ride planning doesn't involve much outside of Fantasyland!!

I've also pre booked restaurants for both evenings. This is something I would never normally do until the day - and only if pushed!! Usually we just wing it.

If there's something that you really want to do, or somewhere you really want to eat, then you can plan for that. Otherwise I don't think planning is crucial to enjoying DLP, unless you only have a very short amount of time, or are visiting at a peak period.

 

[Ware Bears]

....whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The random choosings of the disneyland eateries of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a selection of ride choices,
And by opposing fastpass them?

Wow, I'm impressed!

Seriously though, is all the planning worth it? Should I be getting our itinerary planned to the last footstep? Should all our meals be prebooked before we leave? Is it like a military operation?

Well, we always book our meals before we go - mainly because we always go at busy times. If you're going at quieter times or haven't set your heart on eating at a certain place at a certain time then I really don't think it's necessary to book in advance, you can just do it when you're there. We tend to time our meals around any parades we want to see but apart from that we tend to just take it as it comes and use fastpass to try to beat any queues.

 

[wideeyes]

I sometimes make a plan, it depends on when we are going and how long for. I don't intend to plan for our next trip in March as we are going for 6 days in low season so we will have plenty of time to do all we want to do. we have an idea of where we want to eat however I won't book them untill we arrive.

When we go in July I will make a plan as we will be there for less days and the park will be a lot busier.

 

[disneylandkids]

....whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The random choosings of the disneyland eateries of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a selection of ride choices,
And by opposing fastpass them?

BRAVO! This was inspired!

I think, based on my own experience, that it's better to plan if this isn't a place you frequent.

Here's my examples:

We go to Disneyland in California 4-6 times a year. Sometimes we make reservations for a meal at a place we like, such as the Blue Bayou, because otherwise we might not get a seat. Most of the trip, though, we simply go forth and enjoy whatever happens. Too crowded? Oh well, skip that ride, and go someplace else. We can catch it next time.

But...it's a different story for us when we go to other Disney parks because we don't know when 'next time' might be.

So, for our family trips to WDW, I booked *everything* in advance. I spent hours poring over books, message boards, websites, you name it. I knew we wouldn't be able to see or do everything, but I wanted to make sure that we made the most of the time we had there.

And I'm doing precisely the same thing for DLP because who *knows* when we will ever get back again? I think I'm fretting over this trip even more than WDW, but my husband says no, I was just as obsessive then too.

 

[luke]

As someone as said, i guess it depends how you feel about it, not to mention the time you'll spend there.

I've never planned it, and just like to feel free and easy, going on rides and eating at whim, but as we are now pretty much veterans, i guess we have a sort of routine so know what we are doing.

If you're only going for a day or two tho i would probably recommend at least doing things like lookin at the map and thinking which rides you really want to do, and get them in early so you don't miss them

 

[BONITATIME]

We always prebook table service meals and have a plan for which park each day. We usually try to fast pass the big rides as you can pick up several you can plan your day easily. I usually have a plan for which day I will do the parades and anything special like a tour.

BUT I am bad this way i have a plan for beach holidays.

 

[NIK]

I always go completely demented planning before hand then it goes right out the window once I get there! Generally I would suggest making your minds up on which rides or attractions are VITAL to a merry stay then make up a B list. There were one or two things I didn't go on this time but I'll put them up to the A list on my next visit

 

[cstokell]

We sort of plan.

We have booked our meal for the Sunday night but have't thought about the Monday or Tuesday.

We plan to see Fantillusion on the Sunday, or maybe the Monday or Tuesday..

We will see the parade on Monday, or possible the Tuesday or Wednesday....

The only other definite plan I have is to meet Nikki (Bonitatime) for coffee on Monday morning in Salon Mickey. (If anyone else is around in DLRP on Monday 4th we will be there at about 9:30am).