ExPirateShopGirl said:Last year before our first WDW trip, I bought a huge, laminated 'calender' for the wall with dry-erase markers in rainbow colors to plan our days. I updated the dumb thing every day for months as our plans changed and took shape. This year I started an excel spreadsheet with pages that cover every possible aspect of our vacation. The first page is our itinerary; divided by the half hour and separated into days, color-coded by activity with all park opening/closing times highlighted. The second page was an analysis of our likely eating habits and the costs associated therewith. I ran figures for paying out of pocket and using the dining plan by using the menus on allearsnet. Counter service and snack items were totaled and 6.5% tax was automatically added. Table service meals were totaled and tax and 18% tip were added. My kids were pretty insistent about the restaurants they'd like to patronize again (Chef Mickey's, Sci-fi, Le Cellier and O'hana). No big surprise, the Dining plan saves us a couple of hundred dollars. On page three, I listed all our other expenses and the likely cost; sunscreen in huge amounts, towels, refillable mugs, case of water bottles, etc. On page four, I made a chart of pertinent phone numbers and reservations codes, car rental reservation, airline flight numbers, seat assigments.
My kids roll their eyes when they look at my computer screen and see the spreadsheet open.
Tell me I am not the only one...
You are not alone. We enjoy doing this type of planning also. We consider it all part of the experience.
