When does planning become over-planning?

[Si C]

So currently we have a plan in regards to which parks we're visiting on which days, but do we go as far as to plan the days themselves? For example on the day/s we're visiting MK do we plan an order for visiting areas and attractions?

I know FP+ comes into play when planning but I'm talking about everything else.

Who prefers to wing it?
Who prefers to know when they're getting into Tomorrow Land, when they'll be doing lunch and what time they'll be hitting Fantasy Land etc?

 

[CAS239]

We plan what park we're going to on what day, and I plan on the fast passes accordingly so we're not backtracking a bunch. So like AK I'll do Dinosaur, Safari, Lion King so it's a one way trip.

But we NEVER plan like some people where it's like "ok we'll enter tomorrow land at 9am, by 10:30 we'll be done and on to new fantasyland, etc". I think it's fine to have an order to the day and plan out fast passes accordingly..but I think a full blown itinerary is over the top

 

[mdelano4]

I am a vacation planner. I need to have as much structure as possible when I am away and to tell you the truth I have never gone that far into planning. The most I have ever done is planning which park on which day and where are we eating dinner. The only other thing is sometimes getting to a particular attraction if we are there for rope drop (the animals on the safari are more active early in the morning on warm days). I would say have an idea of where you want to go first, then just wing it from there, keeping in mind you don't want to zigzag the park all day. Let the FP+ be your guide.

 

[starjazz]

We usually try to plan out our mornings pretty specifically, but we use the plan more as a guide, like, when we're done with this ride, we're headed to this next ride. BUT, we're very open to stopping and smelling the roses. If we run into a walking character, or see a super short queue for some other popular ride, or decide to stay and do one ride five times, or whatever, we'll do it. We just try to be certain places by certain times to make the most of the morning.

After lunch, though, its pretty much just do whatever the kids want to hit next, and whatever is available for SDFPs.

 

[Alesia]

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.

 

[MaC410]

I'm currently planning our second trip ever so I don't have too much experience but I do however know exactly how we like to plan. It's only me and my wife though so that's why we can plan like this. The only planning we do is, which park each day, which table service for dinner and the best 3 fastpasses we can get as early as possible. We do not plan out our entire day at the park and we just take it as we go. We love walking around and don't mind hopping from one place in the park to another.

 

[RADOPT]

we just plan what park and if we want to eat at a place that we need an ADR, we plan that. If we do have an ADR , we will tour the park so we are in the area for that meal. Other than that we just do what we want when we want. If there is a ride we HAVE to do, which are few, then we will plan on what time to get there. If we tend to do ADRs it is usually for late afternoon or dinner so we have the time to be more flexible plus we home ot miss the masses. While we love disney, there is nothing there that will ruin our vacation if we don't get to do it. I think we plan our no park days more then our park days.
Have fun.

 

[pitpat]

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

 

[shellyj]

My personality is to wing it. However, we have son with special needs and my husband gets less-than-pleasant if we don't have a plan and/or he's hungry but doesn't want to admit it So to make it all work I plan like a crazy woman, down to the minute. I make an itinerary based on ideal squeezing it all in - what rides we're going on, what shows at what times, printed maps with "escape routes" and snack stops highlighted, etc.

But then we get down there and we only use it as a basic guide. We want to do Pooh twice, awesome. The granola bars I brought are sufficient, score,we won't stop. E needs to go back earlier than expected or seems like he can handle a little longer, great. It's over 100 in October (again! haven't we learned this lesson), we'll take more breaks.

I am super laid back in real life but I think if I walked into disney with no plan at all even I would have trouble enjoying the day.

 

[danielocha30]

I do plan to avoid backtracking and getting overly tired, but will definitely keep an open mind to unexpected changes, sometimes rides stop working, rains ruins a parade/fireworks or kids need an unscheduled break, but having a detailed plan do help to at least not waste energy or time trying to figure it out what to do inside the park along with hundreds of people clueless who didn't plan anything, at Disney time is money and planning ahead is a must to do all that you want without exhausting yourself

 

[Maistre Gracey]

The first several trips we planned... Not like people plan today, as there were no advance fast passes and you didn't need to book dinners a year and a half in advance.
We figured a park and where to eat, plus any special events. It took less than an hour to plan.

As the trips went by it evolved into waking up at the Disney resort around 1100, getting cofffee, showering, and around 1 PM we would look at each other and ask "what do you want to do today?"
Sometime the answer was "hit the pool bar".

MG

 

[ArielSRL]

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.

This is me, too. I like the plan so we do not waste time trying to figure out what to do and to keep us from waiting in long lines. And agreed, it is perfectly acceptable to go off plan if something changes.

 

[brockash]

So currently we have a plan in regards to which parks we're visiting on which days, but do we go as far as to plan the days themselves? For example on the day/s we're visiting MK do we plan an order for visiting areas and attractions?

I know FP+ comes into play when planning but I'm talking about everything else.

Who prefers to wing it?
Who prefers to know when they're getting into Tomorrow Land, when they'll be doing lunch and what time they'll be hitting Fantasy Land etc?

We always plan each day. We just like to have a plan for best case scenario and honestly it usually works out (I build a good cushion into most things we plan for the day). I'm someone who feels much more prepared and less anxious if I can look on a piece of paper to know what's the best option to do at any given time. There's many times that we don't completely stick to it, but it makes me feel much better having it. I feel like I'll start making not the best decisions and start wasting lots of time waiting in lines etc. without it.

 

[WhispyPixie]

I think when you feel trapped to your schedule, it is too much! We plan ADR's & FP, knowing full well that if it interrupts us making memories that we will cancel the offending schedule. It is quite difficult to "do" Disney at the times of the year that we go and plan on doing most of what we want.

 

[kmv]

We plan out our FP+ and which attraction or two we want at RD, otherwise we just go about our day with whatever ride/attraction we decide on.

 

[IrishNYC]

It's too much when you plan every minute, and any deviation ruins your plans. Like, I don't even understand when someone gets mad if hours get extended - there was a huge argument here about summer hours a few months ago, someone was mad that MK was only showing open until something like 11pm in summer, and he needed to plan for additional time if it was going to be open later. I just consider it bonus time if the park is open later than I originally planned.

 

[srauseo]

I make a pretty extensive plan. I'm a competitive person and a planner by nature so part of the fun for me every trip is to beat the clock.

 

[mshanson3121]

That will vary by person. But I agree with the person who said that it becomes too much when it's no longer fun, or stressing you out.
My husband and children despise an overly detailed plan. It's vacation - they want to just be able to enjoy themselves without needing to feel like they're constantly on a schedule rushing to get from this ride, to that ride. We want to be able to stop and smell the roses (or meet the character or see the show) whenever we want. We also don't feel the need to try and see and do it all. So we will plan our FP+ for must-do rides and shows, and that's about it. Otherwise, our strategy will be to utilize rope drop.

 

[Oneanne]

I'll only do ADR's for about half my days, which determines the park for those days, then I map out the remaining parks/days. I also look at EMH to either do or avoid those parks/days. I book my FP+ for mid-morning and leave the rest of the day/evening open for whatever suits me at the time. But I will say that lately I've been going a couple times a year, so there's always next time to hit anything I missed. And I'm usually going solo, which makes it easier to be flexible (no negotiations).

 

[buzznina]

We use to do the park touring plan down to each ride etc. Then one time we did a last minute trip where all we did was plan park days and our 3 FPs and it has been that way ever since, and it has been soooo much more fun and relaxing. We do have to plan ADRs, but if we do any TS it will only be 1 or 2 a trip. There are times that we actually missed using a FP or kept moving our FP times because we were just enjoying whatever we were doing at that time. Once we stopped going from point A to point B, we found that the parks offer a lot more then just rides and shows. We found stores that we never knew were there etc. We rather close the parks then open them, we just find everything so much more fun at night then early in the morning.