Who Has Planing Binders

[tl_swift]

I am getting all of my stuff together now into a binder. When I made a binder like this for my Mexico trip it saved me. (Long story but my my DH/DD were on one plane and my 2 DS's and I were on another. My flight had problems. Because of my binder and a very helpful stewards I was able to connect back up with my family) Anyway, I know some of you get very creative and I would love to hear about them and see some pictures. Care to share?

 

[kimsuenew]

Hi! I don't have a binder but instead use sheet protectors (buy these heavy duty ones in a box at Sam's Club). I attach these with a silver, circular clip (can be bought at any office supply store). This is a little easier to transport around and pages are easily removed (still in the protector) and taken with me (eg each park has pages devoted to it, as well as an itenerary, so I take all of Epcot's pages, and my master ADR list, hook just them together with a smaller ring and place it in my bag for the day when we are going to Epcot)! At the day's ends, I switch Epcot for the next day's park, and so on! We had over 40 sheet protectors filled for our 2007 trip and I am already filling a new bundle for the September 2008 trip! This might not work for everyone... but it does work well for me!

 

[MARCIAKAZ]

I'd like to hear what systems others have come up with. Right now, I have a day-by-day Word Doc, with a rough itinerary for each day, adr's, etc...plus a separate list of important phone numbers, reservation numbers, etc. But, I've been trying to decide the most effective way to carry the info around, and/or make it more user friendly for the rest of the family.

 

[Jenniww]

I have a tinkerbell folder that I keep
flight info
reservation numbers for resort
grand gathering info
ADR #s
A word document that has a rough layout of where we are going with show and parade times...

 

[Disneychix]

I also just used a word document for each day with times and #'s of important stuff. It was just DH and I last trip so it was a very very short agenda as he doesn't require too much planning.
Next year though I think I'll purchase a small photo album so it will easily fit in a purse and be somewhat waterproof. That way I can have each days itinerary available at all times and also have 'pockets' for maps and fastpasses and whatnot.

 

[PolynesianPixie]

I whole punch and tie together a group of index cards-one for each day and write down plans & ressie #s. After each day is done, I write down a few highlights on the back of that day's card. It makes scrapbooking the trip easier when I get home. I love to go back and read the comments and *remember* whenever I need a little WDW in my life

 

[Drewsmommybear]

I have a large black binder. Since we are driving to WDW, I can make it big so I have included many things in mine and it takes up a lot of room. My first section has all of our reservations, our insurance numbers, and our DDP ADR's. I also put all driving directions in this area. My second section is all of the menus for our TS ressies. I also have the list DDP snacks and I will put the list of DDP restaurants in there, just in case. Plus, I put all of the information about our resort--where things are located, etc. In my next section, I put ride restrictions (since we have a 3 year old) and extra magic hours for our trip. Then I have a section for each park that includes a map, CS menus, the characters in the park, and where things like bathrooms and help desks are located.

I know that all of this sounds very obsessive, but like I said, we're driving so I can bring it. I can't tell you how many times we've gotten somewhere and DH says "What do they have at that restaurant, again?" Also, I have 4 months until our trip so planning and creating is a way to keep my from going while waiting!

 

[ZoZo]

I stay very compact in what I actually bring with me on the trip. I make small laminated cards (credit card size) to keep in our wallets. I make a separate one for different categories:

• ADRs and other reservation info (like tour confirmation #s)
• Phone numbers (each person's cell #, hotel #, town car #, Disney Dining #)
• Park hours/parade times/EMH
• Which parks we're planning to go to on which days

I give a set of these cards to each person in the party. I hate to drag extra stuff around with me in the parks, so I find that the info listed above has what I need to navigate my days.

 

[DVCTiff]

I always have a spreadsheet for the week and carry everything for the trip in a folder. When I get home, I file it in a binder by trip. I've been know to have laminated bookmark-sized itineraries for each day on a silver ring . We've been so many times now that I really only need specifics for the trip (EMH, for exmaple). No one makes fun of me because when they've had to go on their own, they've wished I was there!

 

[K9pal]

I use one of those clear plastic expanding files that you can buy at Walmart for a few bucks. It's got tabs for each section, so I have sections for lodging, transportation, menu printouts, etc. And I can change them for each trip if need be.

 

[MARCIAKAZ]

I like the idea of the large binder with menus etc... But then, for something more portable, maybe the small photo album or the handy laminated cards. I also like to have a lot of good info handy, but don't like to lug a bunch of stuff around in the parks... so... I'm thinking I'll do a large planner, and use one of the portable options too!
!!!!
Thanks for sharing your methods!!!

 

[zulemara]

wow, these are some great ideas! I might put one of these together because I have a LOT planned on my 2 week trip

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

I made my own binder last time but this year I bought a deluxe Passporter.

 

[gallafamily]

I started planning our trip a few months ago. I got 2 large binders with lots of sheet protectors & index tabs. I then do lots of research (of course on here!) and everything I found I put in those binders under the correct tabs (Example-ground transportation, airline info, parks, resorts, reservations, gifts, etc). I then went back through everything after I had done most of my research & spent days reading everything & condensing all info I needed down onto spreadsheets & lists. I then condense down to a much smaller binder.

Just thought I would share how I do things!

 

[Rora]

These are great ideas! I'm a pretty organized person but it's great to hear your ideas. When I go to WDW, I always take a binder w/ sheet protectors and keep everything, yes everything in it. There are tab dividers, color coding per day, etc.

 

[duffy]

I don't see my method yet.

I'm the planner in my family, the rest depend on me to tell them where to go and what we're doing each day. I also like to travel light when in the parks, but I will not leave my Treo 650 behind! I have several Word docs on my hard drive that I transferred to my Treo with Documents To Go.

One document is devoted to our hotel info, another is the menus of where we'll be eating, others are for the crowd calendars, etc. I've got packing lists and more. I'll keep adding to the documents, and when we're ready to go, I'll just hot-sync them with my Treo.

I also plan to make laminated cards with specific day-to-day events like what park what day, phone nos. of our hotel and restaurants of that days' meals, and punch a hole in them, to attach to my tiny phone bag.

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

I also use a large notebook at home for all my roughing in and pre-planning and data collecting. Then for the actual trip, I use a $2 plastic covered 4X6 photo album. I then put all my important info (ressie number, ADRs, park hours and show times, etc.) on 4X6 index cards, slide them into the photo pockets, and I'm good to go! The plastic comes in handy for when it's wet or DS spoons applesauce all over it. Love hearing everyone's ideas! I have bought a Passporter in the past, and I think they're great, but I still like doing it myself! This year I am additionally bringing file folders that will have stapled inside all the rides of each park. There will be a folder for each day we are there. This is an easy way for me to jot down what we did for my memorybook later. I usually jot a little note for each attraction we do, remarking how each child likes it. It is fun to look back and see how their tastes have changed!