When is "Enough" really enough?

[MrsHull]

We leave in a week and I keep finding more fun things for us to do while we're at Disney. At what point do you put down the plans and know that you're just going to have a FABULOUS time no matter what?

I'm currently in danger of overbooking us because I just found out about the Pirate cruise from the Contemporary, and my daughter really wants to meet Captain Hook. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right? Someone, help me get a grip!

 

[BellsFam]

We leave in a week and I keep finding more fun things for us to do while we're at Disney. At what point do you put down the plans and know that you're just going to have a FABULOUS time no matter what?

I'm currently in danger of overbooking us because I just found out about the Pirate cruise from the Contemporary, and my daughter really wants to meet Captain Hook. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right? Someone, help me get a grip!

Yesterday...and I'm still 3 months out!

We are there 7 days and I still can't fit everything in that I wanted, (a solid day at HS or breakfast at H&V which might be junk, but DD is addicted to DJR!)...

Anna & Elsa, I'm already trying to come to grips that I probably won't get a FP for them...but if DD doesn't know they are there/where they are, she really won't be disappointed. I stuck to what she does know she wants, a BBB appointment, to go upstairs in the castle and ride the carousel...

 

[worm761]

We leave in a week and I keep finding more fun things for us to do while we're at Disney. At what point do you put down the plans and know that you're just going to have a FABULOUS time no matter what?

I'm currently in danger of overbooking us because I just found out about the Pirate cruise from the Contemporary, and my daughter really wants to meet Captain Hook. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right? Someone, help me get a grip!

Going to Disney World in itself is special. You don't NEED all those extras. You want them. I don't overbook anything because I don't plan like that. We pick a resort. I look at crowd calendars and pick days, then I book meals. But not too many. And now, I will book a couple of FP+. But I don't need anything other than park admission to have a fabulous time. I enjoy a nice relaxing vacation. We stay busy but I am not rushed to run from this event to that event.

And your DD can meet Captain Hook in MK. Without the added expense (in both time and money) of the cruise.

 

[revdon64]

Unless this is your once in a lifetime trip, there's always opportunity to do what you missed when you plan the next one. Leave some deliberate down time because you can very easily give yourself and your littles sensory overload. Take some of that time you've been using to plan and watch some youtube videos of rides or characters to prime your family for the experience. Make some autograph books of photo albums for the pics you'll take. Talk about the things you want to do. Most of all, take it easy. WDW isn't going anywhere.

 

[slickpoetry]

Make up a list of everything you want to do. Now cut it in half.

That's enough.

 

[Julylady]

My advice is to choose just a couple of special things to do each trip. That way there is always something new to look forward to for the next trip. Two years ago we did the Luau at the Poly and the Pirate Cruise. Last year we saw LaNouba and had a big dinner at Be Our Guest. This year we did archery at Fort Wilderness, bowled at Splitsville and saw Hoop De Do.

I find that with so much going on at the parks even the special things don't seem all that special when you are over stimulated and tired. On our most recent trip we went full out for three days (rope drop to closing) and then really slowed things down for the rest of the week. One day we came back just after noon and didn't return to the park until nightime. The next day we only did the parks until noon and stayed at the hotel the entire afternoon and evening. The girls (9 and 12) really needed the down time.

On our list for next year (and there WILL be a next year) is the Dessert Party for Wishes and maybe an Illuminations cruise. My advice is to savor the extra experiences and not pack them all into the same trip.

Donna

 

[minnie mum]

When is enough enough? If your family looks at you in fear every time you pull that laminated park plan out, it's too late. If your little ones are having melt downs in the park, its too late. If you find yourself saying "we're going to be late for......." more than once a day, its too late. If everyone is too exhausted to get out of bed on the 4th morning, you've hit the wall, and its Way too late.

BT, and guilty of all that on our first couple of trips. Planning to do too much can spoil the whole vacation, IMO. Now we plan for down time, and only one or two special experiences per trip.

 

[Ceryssa]

I have the same problem. I have to keep reminding myself there's just no way to see and do everything. The key for me is I want the most relaxing trip possible while still managing to see and do things we want. So, quality over quantity. My ADRs are scheduled in the park or around the area we'll be in to minimize running around. Most our days are shortened, so we don't exhaust ourselves trying to stay in the parks from open to close every day. We'll do a special experience or two, but I don't want to break the bank to do all of them because going to disney IS an experience and we need time to just enjoy that. Have fun and happy planning!

 

[HookdonWDW]

I used to ask everyone to pick their one "Must Do" item. Then I would try to plan one special thing for each person for the trip (or it could be something we all did together, like the Aqua Seas Tour). Other than that, I remember to leave time to let the magic come to us, instead of spending all of our time (and $$$!!!) chasing it.

 

[rapunzels]

The very fact that you are questioning "when is it enough" means you already met that point, and have probably past it..
Sometimes it takes actually being on the trip and experiencing Disney to realize you have over planned your trip..

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I have to agree with everyone else, definitely don't plan too much.

My own bit of advice is to be prepared to throw some of your plans completely out the window. For the most part we do all that we want, but it may not really be in the order that we planned. There are always factors that you don't plan on and can't control-weather, illness, attractions being down, and the one that almost always get us-we finally hit the wall and that extra hour of sleep means more than another ride on Space Mountain

Just remember that you are in a wonderful place, soak it up, live in those moments, and be patient with yourself, your family and the other guests. Easier said than done and something I have to remind myself of too.

 

[ajwolfe]

I think it's getting easier and easier to overbook yourself with all the neat things Disney keeps up with as "add ons". I try to stick to one or two extras per trip, even though there is a ton we would love to do.
I'm a planner to a tee and I find this time I really feel like we are overbooked, but I think that's because of having the FP+ times already booked and staring me in the face - which will be fine when we get there but on paper looks rough.
So take a deep breath and cut your list down. Let the magic come to you!!

 

[puffkin]

Seriously, going to Disney is enough. We are fortunate to go frequently, and my rule of thumb is to do one new offsite thing per trip (there is so much to do in Florida outside of Universal/Sea World/Disney) and do one "special" thing at Disney.

 

[linskypens]

STOP!!!!!
feel better?
Seriously, we've been 13 times in the last 12 years
Ive never done a fireworks cruise. Ive never been to the Dessert Party.
I will not be scoring an Anna and Elsa FP+ (I did get a BOG FP+ however)
We always have a great time, and dont feel like we've missed anything.
Previous posters have hit it on the head....If you are questioning it, you've already probably gone too far.
Dont over extend yourself...The place is magical on on its own.

 

[MrsHull]

Thank you for hitting me over the head! You guys are so right. This will be my husband's first trip, as well as that of three other people going along (our daughter included) and I want to see and do EVERYTHING in the chance we might not get to go back (if I really break the bank or my husband's tired old feet). But, the key at this point is probably... to pack. And breathe.

 

[Meech Loves Mickey]

Yesterday...and I'm still 3 months out!

We are there 7 days and I still can't fit everything in that I wanted, (a solid day at HS or breakfast at H&V which might be junk, but DD is addicted to DJR!)...

Anna & Elsa, I'm already trying to come to grips that I probably won't get a FP for them...but if DD doesn't know they are there/where they are, she really won't be disappointed. I stuck to what she does know she wants, a BBB appointment, to go upstairs in the castle and ride the carousel...

sorry, this may be a dumb question, but what do you mean by "go upstairs in the castle" ?

 

[shyjade]

Seriously, the best Disney trip we had was not the trip where I went "all out" and didn't think twice about what I was spending and booked as many extras as I could.

Our best 2 trips were tight budget trips with no extras, no dining plan, etc. It forced us to spend more time in the moment and explore, versus keeping a tight schedule or rushing from one thing to another.

Don't get me wrong, I can pretty much tell you where we will be each morning, noon & night of our trip (which is 6 months from today) BUT we won't be rushing to make ADR's, parties or tours. So obsessively planned, but not overbooked.

Another thing I learned on our last trip was it's okay to give in to the exhaustion mid-trip and sleep for 12 hours if that's what you need. I always fought it in the past, wanted to make the most of every moment. One night we were in bed shortly after 7pm because we just couldn't go anymore (closed down MK at 2am that morning). Didn't think I needed to set the alarm for the next morning because there was no way we could sleep 12 hours straight...only we did, and it felt wonderful, and I was very grateful for that wake-up call! The rest of the trip was amazing and we probably got more done by "wasting" those 12 hours sleeping than if we had continued to push ourselves.

 

[minnie mum]

sorry, this may be a dumb question, but what do you mean by "go upstairs in the castle" ?

My guess is she has an ADR at CRT

 

[Carrie in AZ]

I have a friend who went in December with her husband and two kids, the first visit for all of them. They had SO MANY extra things planned and even thought they'd toss in a day to Universal into the mix. Then she found out about private photo sessions at their resort (Poly) and asked me if I thought they should plan for that. Their trip was 6 nights/5 days. I told her absolutely NOT! I asked her if she thought her kids would enjoy dressing alike and posing for pictures or would they rather be on Dino, TT or Pirates?????? She thanked me when they got home. And, they never did make it to Universal! LOL!

"Doing" Disney World is tiring enough. No one has any fun if you are racing here and racing there to be somewhere on time. Kids want to swim in the hotel pool. Heck, Mom and Dad want to swim in the hotel pool and enjoy a cold beverage while relaxing on vacation. It's super fun to just hang out on vacation at DW. Doing all the other stuff is super fun, too, of course, but not when it is all jam packed into one trip. There is so much to do at each Park.

Have a wonderful vacation!!!

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

I used to over plan tremendously, especially when my kids were younger and there seemed to be so much to fit in. However, as the kids (and I) have gotten older I've come to realize that it has been our trips that were planned the least that turned out to be some of our very best. Sometimes it's fun to be able to just go with the flow and not have to follow an over planned schedule while on vacation. Lord knows we do enough of that in every day life.