When does planning become over-planning?

[Alesia]

Yes, I can see that. That's not what this person was doing. It was a regimented pit stop where thou shalt go now and not before or after.

Yeah, that's crazy

 

[Klayfish]

There's no right answer here. It's dependent on a person (family) style of vacation and what they want to do.

We stay off site and don't use WDW restaurants. So we have no concerns with making ADRs, nor catching a bus, etc...

In all seriousness, for me "over planning" is if I spend more than 90 minutes planning out a 17 day trip. I'm not kidding. DW and I take a sheet of 8x11 paper and make a "calendar" of the days we will be there. We pick the parks we want to go to each day, so that we can get our FP+ 30 days in advance. There's no rhyme or reason to what park we pick, other than trying to mix it up. That's it. We get that done over one cup of coffee. Then I spend 5 minutes per day getting FP+ once our window opens. Not a single stitch of planning otherwise. I spend 60-90 minutes planning a very long trip, and about 60-90 hours daydreaming about it.

It works for us, but it's not right or wrong, just our way.

 

[adamreisinger]

To me, "overplanning" only comes into play when creating the plan and sticking to it becomes more important than having actual fun. I actually really enjoy planning out my day months in advance -- though not to the extent where I'm planning out specific times for bathroom breaks -- and even making last-minute adjustments the night before. But once I'm in the park, where the moment takes me becomes more important than making sure I'm following my plan.

 

[amberpi]

Reservations and fps and then wing it. I'm a park hopper and like to walk, so it's really no big deal for me. I've traveled with super planners to the point they've ruined the fun - and I've had NO problem bailing from a group (usually with other people) when someone else's BS starts getting to be too much. I've found that "no planners" are easier, as they're more "along for the ride." I think a "rough guide" is good, then you're on a slippery slope. Some random things I've done, in WDW specifically, have led me to learning I like water parks at WDW (not so much the locals), or hey, Tambu Lounge is open and a Laupau Laupau would be amazing and we can come back to MK.

 

[GillianP1301]

If it's stressing you out to plan, then it's too much planning. Everyone is different as to how much planning is enjoyable vs. just being work. I love to plan and spend a lot of time on it, but that being said, I hardly ever follow it exactly. I do find that researching and having a starting plan makes it a lot easier to adjust on the fly and avoid the dreaded "what should we do now"? questions in the middle of a park.

My approach is to plan which parks on which day. I have a schedule that has my 3 meals and then 3 blocks of time, morning, afternoon and evening. I figure out which parks I'll be at for each block of time and then I'll slot in FP's to that plan along with any shows that I know I want to see. Than a rough idea of where in the park (i.e. morning in Fantasyland, afternoon in Adventureland). Because I've been to WDW several times, I already know which attractions in each area I'm looking to do.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

We select what parks we want to do each day, schedule our FP+, and make an ADR if we want to. That's about it for us. We don't like to make plans beyond that. I just can't be one of those people who has everything planned down to the hour or minute.

 

[DSLRuser]

I look at the days we are there. Plan to be in what parks on the days that do not have EMH.

After I know what parks I am in for what days, I plan my Dinning.

Then I set my FP+ up. Always gear them for the early evening.

We tend to arrive at the parks at 9:30ish....do what is light on crowds. Head back to the resort for an afternoon at the pool. Then head back to the parks around 5:00 or 6:00.

Some mornings we just sleep in, which is why we never do morning FP+. So yes, we have a plan but it is very fluid. If we walk by splash mountain and it has no wait, we ride it. That is why having your FP+ all planned out is kind of non sense. 6 months out, you have no idea what will happen. Most of our FP+ get nuked by day 3 and get redone.

 

[davkata]

When is it overplanning?

When you wake up and the first thing you do is check the calendar to make sure you know exactly how many days until you make FP reservations.
When you don't pay attention to meetings at work because you are furtively looking at Robo's maps, planning each step through each park and measuring how many feet it is from the bus stop to ride X.
When you look at wait times for rides at exactly the time of day you expect to be on that ride...in about three months.
When you keep having to fish your toothbrush and q-tips out of your toiletry bag because you packed that stuff a week before your trip.
When you feel the need to call your local restaurant six months before a Monday afternoon reservation for two and not only is the woman on the phone confused, but she says they don't even open reservations until maybe four weeks out.
When you realize a delay of five minutes in any given thing is going to knock your entire day's plan down like a house of cards.
When you look, once an hour, to see if the Highway in the Sky Dine Around is back on the calendar.
When you've asked your child to rank order his priority of meeting 26 different characters.
When you email Disney menus out to your family and ask them to "maybe just get an idea of what you'll order" so that you can save a few minutes in each restaurant.
When you've made a chart of the weather the given week that you're going containing data for each of the last 22 years.
When you post a 16-question comment to every Trip Report posted on here, in order to gather as recon info as possible, including questions like, "What percentage of the time did you wait more than 12 minutes for the bus," and, "If you signed up for the Jedi Training Academy, please give me a detailed report of how exactly that went and what the outcomes were."
Have you called the resort at least 8 times yet, with various questions? If not, get going.

This is hysterically awesome and in many cases SO true! Thanks for my morning chuckle!

 

[woodynjessiesmomma]

I've enjoyed my less planned times much more than my highly planned times. My first trip I had no idea so we went with the flow and it was great. I became obsessed and planned and researched for 3 years and while we had fun I was bummed because I knew too much and we missed things, wait times were longer than predicted and that stressed me. Now I've got a good balance of park/fp/Adrs and then go with the flow. No one way to do Disney and finding your right balance is key.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I think I've gone too far when the Disney nightmares start. I am not making this up-I dream that we can't find the hotel, or that it's the last day of the trip and we haven't done anything except sit in the room and I'm yelling at everyone to get up and let's go because we're leaving soon. Or that I go to the MK (it never actually looks like the MK but it is) and everything I wanted to ride is closed.

 

[sdomino11]

It becomes over-planning when you don't enjoy your trip.

Personally, I plan down to the minute. We enjoy our trips more when we do. I don't treat it like a death march though - if we go off the plan, we just pick it back up when we're ready. For us, standing around trying to figure out what we're going to do next is pure misery. Also, planning keeps us from standing in 30+ minute lines.

Exactly this.

 

[janicept]

I'm lucky to be in Orlando multiple weeks a year so I don't spend all day in the parks. When my husband and I first started going to the parks I will admit I was crazy about walking really fast and having a specific plan for the order of rides. We only eat at quick service so no specific times for meals. My husband hated it. He would say he didn't want to "run" so much on vacation. Now there's days I go to the park alone even if he's with me.

 

[blemon]

I don't understand your question. What is this word "over-planning?" I never heard of such a thing!

 

[maryj11]

We plan an order that makes sense to avoid criss-crossing the parks, but only a loose time schedule based on FPs.

This is what we do plan what day to do which parks then book FP in a certain order so we are not criss crossing the park. That can make a person hot and tired real quick. After our 3rd FP we kind of wing it and look for a FP on what ever we feel like riding or do whatever until the FP window opens. We also plan a table service meal for the day.

 

[turnertime4]

We half wing it/half plan! I like to leave some room for Spontaneity! That is part of the Magic to me.

 

[Dug720]

I make maybe 1ADR/day based around the park I've planned, and I'll do my FP+ for the selected park - but beyond that I just let things happen.

I do miss the days of the old fast passes when one of my favorite things - especially if I had no ADR - was to play bus roulette and get on the first park bus that came along.

 

[ThistleMae]

When is it overplanning?

When you wake up and the first thing you do is check the calendar to make sure you know exactly how many days until you make FP reservations.
When you don't pay attention to meetings at work because you are furtively looking at Robo's maps, planning each step through each park and measuring how many feet it is from the bus stop to ride X.
When you look at wait times for rides at exactly the time of day you expect to be on that ride...in about three months.
When you keep having to fish your toothbrush and q-tips out of your toiletry bag because you packed that stuff a week before your trip.
When you feel the need to call your local restaurant six months before a Monday afternoon reservation for two and not only is the woman on the phone confused, but she says they don't even open reservations until maybe four weeks out.
When you realize a delay of five minutes in any given thing is going to knock your entire day's plan down like a house of cards.
When you look, once an hour, to see if the Highway in the Sky Dine Around is back on the calendar.
When you've asked your child to rank order his priority of meeting 26 different characters.
When you email Disney menus out to your family and ask them to "maybe just get an idea of what you'll order" so that you can save a few minutes in each restaurant.
When you've made a chart of the weather the given week that you're going containing data for each of the last 22 years.
When you post a 16-question comment to every Trip Report posted on here, in order to gather as recon info as possible, including questions like, "What percentage of the time did you wait more than 12 minutes for the bus," and, "If you signed up for the Jedi Training Academy, please give me a detailed report of how exactly that went and what the outcomes were."
Have you called the resort at least 8 times yet, with various questions? If not, get going.

I really cracked up about calling your local restaurant six months out to make a reservation! Hysterical!

 

[ThistleMae]

What usually happens is this: I make my ADR's, since I can do those 180 days ahead. And...I try to make sure we can catch the fireworks or light shows, once we're done eating. Then comes FP+ and I have to change my entire schedule around to get the rides I want, then there is no availability for another time at my restaurant choice, and I have to try and find other restaurants or do different FP's. So my first planning stage has to be "subject to change" until I get my FP's locked in. Add park hopping to it all and it can get a bit crazy...but we still have fun and I like the planning...it keeps me excited for the trip and I get to do a big "YAHOO" when it all works out!

 

[disneyvoice]

I don't think the problem is over-planning (I don't really think you can over plan). I think the problem for a lot of people is that if they are the "planner" and not everyone wants to go along with their plan once they arrive they end up having a terrible time if they can't just accept that not everyone wants to follow their plan to the smallest detail. I have seen people in the parks get horribly mean and nasty with their family (especially kids) if their trip is not working the way they thought it would and everyone in their party looks miserable. I have seen husbands and wives fighting loudly because the wife insists they do something she had planned right N O W!! I think it's fine to plan a ton as long as you can allow yourself to be flexible and not get disappointed. I always plan things out but then there are ALWAYS times that we just decide we don't feel like doing what was planned or decide to take a slower day to just enjoy being in the parks.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

"When does planning become over-planning?"

When it (planning and/or trip) ceases to be FUN for the planner and/or the vacationers!!