too prepared?

[lilpatty19@aol.com]

I was just curious how many people go to disney so unbelievable prepared rather than doing things as they come along..I just got back yesterday but while I was there I saw these two people that were together and they had a notebook and it sais
9:00 arrive at epcot
9:10 ride spaceship earth
9:25 go see countires..
I was just curious how often people do that

 

[KevinFSU]

Other than planning which parks on which days, and making PS's for dinner, that's the extent of my planning. It just makes no sense to try and plan for more than that (unless you are trying to set a record or something). I would think those people that plan so much get completely frazzled if they get off their schedule, rather than enjoying being at Disney. Mainly, its all play it by ear and do what we feel like doing when we are there.

 

[SkylarKD]

I think for most people, if they made a down-to-the-minute schedule, they'd be so frazzled by the end of the day because it would be almost impossible to stick to it. Inevitably there are goint to be delays - longer than expected waits at rides and restaurants, slow-moving crowds to walk through, etc., and it would be frustrating to see that you're an hour (or more) behind your schedule.

Personally, I'd rather enjoy my day and be 'allowed' to see an attraction a second time or pop in a store if something catches my eye. We have our list of must-sees, but it really doesn't matter when during out trip we see them.

 

[mad4themouse]

Wow! That is over-planning! I wonder if they took into consideration that the World Showcase doesn't open until 11am? That could have wrecked their whole morning!

Personally, I've abandoned the touring plans in favor of a slightly more relaxed visit. I still fight the urge to "plan" every move but after the "Disney Nazi incident of '98" where my DH went 18 hours without a sitdown meal, I've decided that I need to do it to save my marriage and the children's sanity.

 

[Buzzfanmom]

I love to plan every little detail! And the funny thing in my family is that only about 1/3 of the plans I make actually happen. I feel like I need something to do in the months prior because I am just so darn excited to be going to WDW again! All of the plans I make change about 163 times before we even get there. But its fun, so I keep doing it knowing full well that I am driving everyone I live with CRAZY!!!!!

 

[danny1649]

With a good plan will help you see and and enjoy more during your visit to WDW.I like to remind folks the need to be flexible with the plan they have.Ride break downs and many other factors they have no control over may cause them to need to alter plans.Don't panic or throw your plan in the trash,just skip ahead a step or two.Then later in day day go back and see what you missed.

 

[jtjarvis]

Wow, for people who seem so hyper-prepared, they kind of ignored some basic facts, didn't they?

We had a Tour Guide Mike itinerary when we went in late January — we went on Sat. to MK so had no idea how busy it would be — and those loose plans did help us out a lot in the beginning with Fantasyland. But then, it was rainy and quite slow that day so we abandoned any plans and had a great time. However, the suggested itinerary stayed in the back of my mind and much of the advice was truly helpful. I think, as with anything, if you want to be organized you can be, but just leave plenty of wiggle-room for spontaneity and leave the rod at home, LOL

 

[The Sweetness]

It is good for you to be aware of what attractions you want to see, and aproximately where they are in relationship to each other. Its good to plan for some attractions to be seen more than once. (A return tripper can guess who is going to want to see/ride what 4 times). It is also good to know where the restaraunts in the park you're in are, and what they serve. Esp if you want to have a table service meal, get a PS for that. It is also wise to pick out your prime spot for afternoon parades WELL in advance of the begginning of the actual parade. (I suggest Frontierland (in MK) where the parade beggins.) I have seen people get really nasty about squeezing in at the curb. Some people just dont care who was there first, how small the child is that they are blocking the view of, or whoose personal bellongings ( towels etc) that they sit or step on.

Beyond these essentials, try to give yourselves a little room at least to improvise, this is easier now, with fast pass useage

 

[Micca]

I have made schedules like that. I'm a recovering park commando so I don't do it any more. It used to make me feel like I was optimizing my days at the parks. Now I know "we'll be back" before too much time goes by.

 

[jann1033]

obviously YOU aren't anal retentive( we politely call it "detail oriented") like me or a "lack" of schedule would frazzle you !! I do have a ride by ride shedule .we don't always stick to it( probably 30% of the time we change the time we do things but usually stay pretty much in sequence) but I like to have the security of knowing what would probably be the most logical ride sequence. ( I do have some memory problems so would not remember it if it wasn't written down) last time i printed it out in 3x5 format ( perfectly serious here) and paper clipped each day together with any tickets or vouchers we needed for the day and put it in our pack each morning. it worked out really well if I do say so! (our only problem was husband forgot to bring the voucher on the one day we did not do this so we paid extra for food but oh well)
also i was able to plan meals so we would be close by at the time we had the ps or voucher for the place rather than like some who have said they had to go clear across the park...that may be why the vouchers worked really well for us, don't know.

 

[jtjarvis]

Yes, particularly for first-timers it helps to have an idea of which attractions form lines the most quickly, how fast lines typically move, etc. I.e., from some research we knew to hit Peter Pan, Pooh, Dumbo, etc. very early in the game-- there were no lines at the beginning of the day. And of course, every time we came back around the lines were significantly longer and I well saw why the touring plans were in the order they were, for our interests. It made things lots easier and less stressful.

So a little "scientific" knowledge plus a general idea of what you hope to accomplish can make your trip a lot happier and more satisfying, IMHO. Return trippers probably have lots of hindsight filed away in their minds. When we go in October, I don't think I'll be so attached to those little pieces of paper -- but with my personality, I'm sure I'll still have them!

 

[Drcell01]

I have a work associate that went to the length of putting together a Powerpoint presentation for his family for their recent trip to WDW.

I also put together a spreadsheet for the park we will visit on what day and where will will be dining that day.

There is a book out called a Passporter which gives insight about many attractions and allows notes to be written on the enclosed pages (for those of us that are obsessed about our plans...LOL).

 

[Deb T.]

I'm guilty!

I had to laugh when I first read your post, lilpatty19, because it sounded just like me! Then, I looked at the date you posted to see if it really had been me! hahaha (It wasn't!)

I LOVE to make our day-to-day plans, and yes, sometimes they are scheduled down to the minute! haha BUT, I am also flexible as we tour the parks, knowing full well that it would be a miracle if the times really did work out!

Basically, what I do is "interview" whoever is going with us - family, friends, etc., to find out what they definitely want to do and see, and where they want to eat. Then, I plan out our trip so that everyone gets a chance to do these things. Of course, EVERYONE teases me about my "schedule," but in the end, they all thank me for organizing the trip because it always runs much smoother that way. It sure is better than a group standing just inside the MK turnstiles, all gathered around a park map, trying to decide who wants to do what, while the ride lines are filling up.

By the way, I also am guilty of helping others plan out their trip, too.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

I'm guilty too. For our upcoming August trip, I have been planning and researching for over a year. I have purchased both TGM and some "customized" touring plans from the UG. I have all of my ps's in order, my tickets and meal vouchers are already in my suitcase and we don't leave until the end of the month! In my defense, however, let me say that there will be 18 of us, ranging in age from 4 to 74, many of them have never been to a theme park before. So, of course, I feel it is my "duty" to make sure they see as much as possible and have a great time. Hopefully it will work out that way, and we'll all still be speaking to each other at the end of the trip! I'll let you know.

 

[CamColt]

I make index cards for each visit for each park. For example if we are doing MK in the morning, then MGM at night, I have 2 cards for that day. I write the attractions we hope to accomplish during that visit. Upon doing them I number them, which helps when doing my trip report. I also try to factor in times for shows and what we can get done before and after those. Usually my plans are pretty much right on.

 

[TXDoug]

We just got back from our June trip. We used TGM and found his advice to be very helpful. We planned our week and then the attractions we wanted to see, generally following his advice. For us, TGM worked well.

We just used a notecard to keep up with rides/attractions especially in the mornings. It made our trip very enjoyable.

I do think if you are going at a busy time, you should have some kind of a plan. As we used our FP to ride Splash for the second time, you should have seen the look on the people's face who were standing in the 75 min stand-by line. They either didn't know about FP, have a plan, or just liked to stand in line at Disney. We got on in 5 mins, following a plan.

But as a family, we all went over our days and rides. Some of the teenagers went their own way, while we took the kids. We didn't use the plan to conquer Disney, just to make it more fun!

Doug

 

[TXDoug]

We just got back from our June trip. We used TGM and found his advice to be very helpful. We planned our week and then the attractions we wanted to see, generally following his advice. For us, TGM worked well.

We just used a notecard to keep up with rides/attractions especially in the mornings. It made our trip very enjoyable.

I do think if you are going at a busy time, you should have some kind of a plan. As we used our FP to ride Splash for the second time, you should have seen the look on the people's face who were standing in the 75 min stand-by line. They either didn't know about FP, have a plan, or just liked to stand in line at Disney. We got on in 5 mins, following a plan.

But as a family, we all went over our days and rides. Some of the teenagers went their own way, while we took the kids. We didn't use the plan to conquer Disney, just to make it more fun!

Doug

 

[jtjarvis]

Originally posted by TXDoug

I do think if you are going at a busy time, you should have some kind of a plan. As we used our FP to ride Splash for the second time, you should have seen the look on the people's face who were standing in the 75 min stand-by line. They either didn't know about FP, have a plan, or just liked to stand in line at Disney. We got on in 5 mins, following a plan.


Doug

Yes, I agree totally—the FP's can help a lot to make sure you get to do certain attractions but a good plan helps you fully exploit the opportunity. (And ride things numerous times.) Strategy is definitely the key to negotiating a busy park.

 

[Kaycee]

Originally posted by CamColt
I make index cards for each visit for each park. For example if we are doing MK in the morning, then MGM at night, I have 2 cards for that day. I write the attractions we hope to accomplish during that visit.

I do the same thing! Then I carry those index cards to the parks, along with a blank one to match up with each. I use the blank one to write what we actually did. I color code them to each park too. I do all this because, for me, planning is a big part of the fun. We end up changing our plans quite a bit (hence the blank cards for what we actually do) but I still plan the details just for the fun of it! The planning was a lot more important for our first couple of trips; otherwise we would've been quite lost and overwhelmed. Now we don't really need the plans, but I still do them just to help pass the time between trips!

 

[bubba's mom]

my dh thought i was . i've also been researching MK for about a year....got tons of notes! but, we are only going to be at DTD for 3/4 day (maybe 1/2) and MK for 1 day and 3/4....so, to make the most of our time there, i wanted to know the secrets, tips and advice. i also thank many on the DIS boards i have learned soooo much. i'm so glad to know i am not alone. i too have the index cards...but, each LAND in MK is it's own color with tips and info on rides/shows (EMH, FP, popularity, etc...) our resort and DTD have their own color too....my friends think i'm , but i say 'i'm prepared'...... i don't plan on sticking to the minute, but by say, mid-afternoon, this is what i'd like to have accomplished, by 3 or 4, i'd like to start heading to restaurant for lunch/dinner....that sort of schedule! just told dh tonight (matter of fact) i DON'T want to be that family standing around the park map at opening wondering what to do first so, he understands and is leaving it to me....whatever i say, he is for. he says i know what i'm doing cuz i spent the last year researching it....good to know he trusts me and my judgements ....
thanks for letting me know i'm not alone with my craziness