Why do people plan?

[MinnieSweetheart]

I agree completely with you! I plan because it's my day dreaming. It allows me to get something out of my vacation dollars before I even get there. It's a fun hobby and I like fitting everything in in a way so we don't have to back track!

That said, I've been on a trip where I took a 15mo by myself with 3 days notice. Granted, I had been before, but we still had a great trip. Guess where we ate... 'Ohana, Tusker House, Hollywood & Vine, the Plaza (my actual favorite for lunch) and we missed a reservation at BOG. There were even 2 options on our trip for CRT that we passed up. We didn't need "BIG" fast passes because I couldn't take her on the rides but we still had a lot of magic. We loved watching the MSEP 6 times in 4 days, riding Dumbo until we were dizzy and going on small world about 8 times.

My friend took her honeymoon and they didn't really plan. They picked some fast passes on the trip down and made reservations then too. They ate at one signature and Crystal Palace that I remember and enjoyed riding all of the roller coasters. They had a great honeymoon and would love to go back.

Even though I enjoy planning, I get a little irked when people say nonsense like "You MUST book at 180 days out" and there is even a thread about not enough reservations at 5 months out???

 

[Easto]

This is why I plan:

I have been to Disney with people who didn't plan and who didn't buy into my plan. They just wanted to wing it. We spent so much time waiting in lines, arguing about what to do, walking from one end of the park to the other, etc.

I found it to be very frustrating and inefficient. It's WDW there is so much to do and so many things I don't want to miss out on.

I plan BEFORE my trip so when I am at the park everything is less chaotic.

We all know how much it costs to go to Disney. I don't care about the deal you got, you still paid alot of money to go. By planning you get the most bang for your buck.

 

[HollyL]

If somebody wants to fly by the seat of their pants and not plan, that's fine with me. It's their money and their time, and they can use it how they see fit. I for one am a planner, and that's what works for me.

 

[IronBoss]

The best trip to Disney I've ever had, we did no planning whatsoever. We just walked to the bus stop & got on whichever bus came first. Granted, that was before FasPass+ came out.

 

[bumbershoot]

I am trying to say everyone is different. Not everyone needs to plan or wants to plan . I am sick of these posts that everyone that might be different to you, is somehow stupid or bad because they are not you. I plan but I am sick to death of people think everyone should plan. Or they have a moral obligation

I think you're reading more into posts about planning than you need to be.

The whole point, that the planners make, is that do what you want to do BUT don't complain if things don't end up the way you thought you wanted them. If you asked questions of friends then didn't listen to their answers, they dont' want to hear it when you get back. Don't think your friends are weird for liking Disney, since you didn't like Disney b/c you didn't listen to them. Realize that there was a responsibility on your part to TRY to make things nice, and if you didn't take care of your end, it's not much of a surprise that things were disappointing.

The thing is, I bet most people don't research and plan, at least at the level as most people here. So, that would mean the non-planners are the "normal" ones and the planners are the minority.

Exactly.

Not planning doesn't always equal chaos.
It may for you (general you) but that has nothing to do with the lack of planning, it has everything to do with your personality.
For me, and my dh, enjoying our precious hard earned leisure time means just going with the flow.

Chaos: "a total lack of organization or order"... If you don't plan, that's what you have. If you're cool with that, you're cool with that. As you said, it's personality. But you being OK with it doesn't mean there wasn't chaos.

Think for a moment what a visit would be like if a person who had never stepped foot on property tried to "go with the flow" as you and your husband do.

Exactly.

Having been there before means that you have a general concept of the place. Your brain has a bit of a plan even if you didn't think about it ahead of time.

First time I went to DLR as an adult, I had a plan. DH and my brother and sis in law didn't. So every 5 minutes they wanted to look at a map. Ugh. They teased me for my plan. So I put it away. And let them have fun with randomness and being bumped into when they stopped to look at the map. (OK that didn't last long) I then started magically having answers to "what do you want to do next" that made lots of sense. They followed them without a fuss, when i wasn't reading it off of a paper. And our day got better. Magically.

They wanted no plan but wanted an ordered day. For the first trip back as adults. Huh.

I'd just like to point out, if you're replying to the OP in any way, you have missed the point of his post.

Carry on.

That doesn't make even a tiny bit of sense to me.

 

[redsbe]

I'm sorry but I still don't understand the fear of, or better yet, stress over planning a disney vacation. My wife and I go every year, usually the end of February and beginning of March. We sit down and decide where we would like to dine each night and we also choose our resort and then we are done. Time it takes to do all of this "Planning" is usually 15 minutes. I then call the disney number and talk to a very nice person who takes my information concerning hotel rooms, park passes and dining reservations. The call usually last anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes. That's it. No drama, no sweating over the details, no frustration. In about 30 minutes my 8 day vacation is all planned. I am one of the lucky ones because this trip is always just my wife and my self. We are both in our 60's so we don't sweat the fast pass thing. We are there when crowds are usually smaller in size in comparison to summer vacations or holiday. When we walk pass a ride or attraction, if the wait is more than 15 minutes we just keep walking. I'm not saying this to cause anyone angry feelings or shouts of "oh yeah, well try telling that to my kids".. I am just trying to let you all know that there is a rainbow in your future. Just wait until you get to visit the parks without family, without children. It is a whole different vacation. I have visited many times with my children and grand children and I cherish those visits but nothing compares to just me and my wife enjoying the day at Disney, just the two of us. One of these days, you will too.

If you had 3 or 4 kids with you and going to WDW was at best something you may only have a change to do once or a few times, and not every year, or instead of 8 days they have fewer perhaps only 1 or 2, then you may see why for many people spending $1000s to go WDW creates stress and need to plan in order to see and doing what they what to. Some people would rather avoid standing in line with 4 kids for 90 minutes to see a Princesses, advance planning and help with that.

I have 16 lifetime trips to WDW/DL, including 8 with kids, and yes now that they are older it gets easier, but I still have a list of attractions/events to see and do, and to avoid spending park time in lines, booking FP in advance is really helpful in providing some level of security that I will see those (unless closed or broken down). All depends on time you have and what your priorities are and for many advance planning can be really essential.

 

[Hikergirl]

Chaos: "a total lack of organization or order"... If you don't plan, that's what you have. If you're cool with that, you're cool with that. As you said, it's personality. But you being OK with it doesn't mean there wasn't chaos.

Your talking semantics. You know what was really meant no need to play games.

 

[Bellhop97]

I plan a little but then think.. I'm on vaca and don't want to be stressed... so I'm going to wing it.. and enjoy my vaca!

 

[writermommy6]

There are six of us normally and the last few years there are always extras. Some planning for ANY vacation is necessary for us. If I leave it to the 'what do you want to do' concept then fighting and being miserable is a guarantee. I can head some of that off by doing some basic planning. For those that don't like to plan that's up to them. I'm sure plenty of people have a great time with zero planning or somewhere in between. I don't knock it.

I'm with the others though who say don't ask me for advice, ignore it and then complain about the miserable time you had.

 

[rideswithchrist]

I'm a bit of both. I like to plan and wing it (I know, oxymoron) BUT what I know about our family is that we have to have flexiblity and do enough research to know what and how we can change things.
ie- my 2YO got sick after nap and puked on me returning to Epcot...any plans were pushed back anyway so we had to change things up.

BUT- we also vaca in the off season so we may not need as much total planning. I researched the things that have the longest lines and we got FP for those things and we downloaded the Touring plans app and planned the other rides around our FP (what was closest with the shortest lines) because if my kids wanted to ride something 4 times (Fast Track) but we only "planned" on once- OH NO?!!!
We also don't plan ADRs because we want to eat when we are hungry and not when we are scheduled to.
We planned where to stay because it was in the budget and I planned what places we wanted to eat and then we ate where we wanted inside of the loose plan.
I don't want to go to Disney and just wander around because it is so expensive, but I also don't want to run down a checklist when the kids wanted to go somewhere else.

Planning got us an A&E FP, but not planning also got us an awesome after hours Character meeting in Epcot late at night. It can go either way.

 

[Duckiedee]

I plan. Because I hate lines, but I want to do 'Everything.' Because I find the hunt of the 'perfectly timed ADR' and finding the inside scoop is super-fun.

I plan because Disney trips are costly.

Because planning extends my vacation MONTHS in advance! Because my kids and hubby appreciate how easy our vacations are.

One last thing I plan - is knowing that I'm okay if anything goes out the window - it's still okay and it's going to be great!

 

[5DisneyNuts]

Today at EPCOT: Soarin 120 minutes, TT 120 minutes, MK: 7DMT 160 minutes, Space Mountain 60 minutes, Peter Pan 60 minutes, BTRR 45 minutes, DHS: TSM 90 minutes, ToT 60 minutes

That's why I plan. For me my family wouldn't enjoy the trip or WDW at all with lines like that. I plan in advance so I don't have to plan while I'm there.

To each his/her own.

 

[Madame]

I plan because it's part of my personality, hard-wired. Also, as a teacher I visit over Christmas, spring or summer break (i.e. crowded).

We were at WDW Dec 20-27 2015 & because I plan we got FD, the FPs we wanted when we wanted them and excellent reservations on X-Mas Eve & Day. I cannot imagine visiting over Christmas and 'winging it.'

Sometimes I wonder if those who criticize planners visit during the busiest times or whether their experience of going with the flow during off-season has given them the impression that WDW is the same experience year-round. Just my $.02.

 

[Pesky]

Because:
* I don't like long lines
* I want to get a lot done in a short amount of time
* I want to eat at certain places
* I like to leave the parks for a break in the afternoon when crowds hit a peak
* I have OCPD -- obsessive compulsive planning disorder.

DH has come to greatly appreciate how easy our trip was when we planned.

I personally don't care if people plan or don't, provided they match their expectations accordingly and don't stand in the middle of the way trying to decide what to do!

 

[Delilah1310]

I plan because I want to have options.
I do the research now and know what plans B, C and D could be, so when Plan A goes out the window - by choice or by circumstance - I am ready.

 

[Momto2minniemice]

I plan because it fills the void of not being at WDW! I plan even for trips I dream of!

 

[whiporee]

I am trying to say everyone is different. Not everyone needs to plan or wants to plan . I am sick of these posts that everyone that might be different to you, is somehow stupid or bad because they are not you. I plan but I am sick to death of people think everyone should plan. Or they have a moral obligation

Plan, don't plan. It's all good in my book.

I agree with one caveat: If you don't plan, don't complain about things not going exactly the way you want them to.

I think that's all anyone has ever said -- not that you have to plan, but if you know the opportunity to plan something is out there, and you choose not to, then that's on you. it's not WDW's fault, it's not Shanghai's fault and it's not anyone else's fault but the person who knew the opportunity existed and then decided -- for whatever reason -- to not take the opportunity. If you know ADRs for certain restaurants are hard to get and you make no effort to get them at the maximum time available, then that's on you. If you know that certain FPs are hard to get, and you choose not to reserve then at your earliest opportunity, that's on you. It's not a fault with WDW; it's a decision you've made.

You can -- and maybe should -- argue all you want about whether WDW's good or bad or whatever in allowing those early reservations. You can say it's stupid to book a restaurant six months or a ride 60 days out. That's all fair and interesting discussion. But if you know about availability and time frames and choose to ignore them for whatever reason, then in the end, that decision and its consequences rests with you and you alone.

 

[rideswithchrist]

It is kinda ironic that this is posted under the "Disney PLANNING Forum"

 

[fla4fun]

I guess I don't 'have' to plan, but I don't know what the hell else I would do at work all day.

That is one way of looking at it . . . I admit nothing . . .

 

[OhhBother]

Today is a perfect example of why I plan. My party of 8 spent the day at Magic Kingdom. We waited in no line longer than 5-7 minutes. By using rope drop and FP+ to our advantage, we covered everything in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, with a little bit of Liberty Square and Main Street mixed in. We'll go back Thursday and cover the rest.

My family absolutely marveled as we moved from ride to ride. As the crowds reached crazy levels this afternoon, we headed out for a break at our resort. Then we went back to MK at 6:30 and used FP to ride Buzz twice back to back.

We wrapped up the day with an 8:30 dinner at Ohana, where we watched Wishes from a dead center window table. My family marveled at our "good luck" to be there when we could see the fireworks.

Creating "good luck" -- that's why I plan.