Why dont people plan?

[21stamps]

I had no idea the level of planning some people do for Disney. My first trip, I read the information Disney gave. Watched a few episodes of the Dis (who am I kidding, I watched a lot of episodes of the Dis) and made my ADRs, FP etc. In fact the entire trip was planned around getting a BOG ADR about 3 months out after I found out I couldn't go to Vegas because of work. I made my ADRs based on what interested me, not what was popular. I picked my FP based on what where the 3 most important rides for me that day, not how am I going to have this amazing FP game and get the most out of my vacation. I looked at park maps the day before I went into the parks. And ya know what, it was a fantastic trip. Loved every minute of it. Couldn't have been happier. I didn't experience everything, but I Drank Around the World, meet some lovely people and overall had a fantastic vacation.

The day I have a by the hour itinerary, let alone by the minute as some people do. That my friends, is the day travel stops being fun.

I've had some great, unexpected experiences because of getting lost, not making plans or going with the flow. I just chalk up the difference between me and the uber planners is that I've had a 9 month trek through Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Going with the flow meant that I got to see and experience unexpected things. From Trieste and Ravenna in Italy to hopping to Cyprus to figure out the Israel/Jordan/Lebanon conundrum. To 'accidentally' crossing the border of Saudi Arabia and being stuck in Kuwait for 3 days. Life is an adventure and there is bumps on the road, one or two baksheesh that may or may not be related to some close calls with the police. But it is always off-set by having dinner at your new friend's house where grandma cooks a feast, or seeing something where it is you, the few people you are with and no other tourist around.

I think my last trip was easier than my upcoming one. Booking at just over 60 days out was tough with ADRs.. I got almost all of them, but had to check serveral times daily to do so.

This upcoming trip- booking 8 months out- has made me obsessed. It's not a good look that I'm wearing, but I'm in too deep now.

I have to constantly remind myself to scale back. Yes- I want to get all of my ADRs on the first day available..and need to decide which parks on what days beforehand. I'm hoping that after next week then I can shelf all of this for awhile and resume normal non Disney life.lol.

I want a good overview of efficiency for this trip, but I refuse to overstimulate and stress my kid out again..so, we'll see.

Like you said with Europe etc, when I travel I know what I want to see- I learn about the places I'm visiting, but I don't have an hour by hour itinerary.

I've always been an over planner, but when I read people talk about spreadsheets etc- that's an entire new level of planning..way beyond "over".

But, if it works for them great, if people choose not to do that- that's great as well. The non spreadsheet planners don't run the risk of having their vacation ruined bc MK closes an hour earlier this year, or that they can't get a certain restaurant...etc.

There's advantages to being and over planner, Uber planner, or a minuscule planner.

To each their own. Maybe the people that others "feel sorry for" are having the time of their lives.

 

[Dec38]

Fascinating thread. Most posters have discussed advance FP+ and dining reservations. But most of us know that it's actually far more complicated than that! You have to have a rough plan of your whole day as you go through it and anticipate problems as you make decisions, while keeping an eye on the Times Guide for that day, your personal reservations schedule, etc.

You want to see the parade later today? Okay, how long will it take to get out of a ride, get to the spot you want to watch the parade (will that spot be already packed?), and how far in advance do you have to be in order to grab a good viewing spot? Can you even physically move through the mobs, or are you now on the wrong side of the park to get to your spot, as they put the ropes up?

Say you want to see Fantasmic! tonight. How many rides can you squeeze in before getting there, or will those rides mean that you can't get there in time before they make that dreaded announcement that the show is already full? Do you have time to eat before the show? How about a restroom break before you get there -- it is a long show, after all.

When will you eat? You can't do fast-moving rides or simulators right after eating (at least, I sure can't). Okay, so you have to plan those rides before a meal and plan milder rides, shows or parades after eating. But where the restaurant at which you want to eat means that you would have to backtrack halfway across the park in order to get there...but wait, you forgot about the parade which has now started, cutting off your access to that end of the park...

Should you jump into this standby line? Maybe it will be shorter later on. Maybe you should check out the wait times on another attraction instead. It's just a little further ahead. Oh wait, if this ride takes too long, we might not make our FP+ window for the most popular ride in the park...

And so on. It all gets a little mind-boggling, and you get ambushed if you're not thinking three moves ahead. Timing, logistics, juggling everything you want to do...it becomes a hell of a challenge. And while you're trying to keep all those balls in the air, you're trying to remind yourself: "you're on vacation...relax, you're supposed to be having fun..."

Some people are better at it then I am, although I did a ton of planning for our last trip, countless hours, and we didn't even have ADRS! Our saving grace is that we kind of enjoy the adrenaline rush of trying to squeeze it all in. Last time, in 2014, we compressed six theme parks (WDW and Universal) and four water parks into 11 frantic days.

I just get the impression that, for a lot of people, maybe they would prefer a "sitting on the beach" kind of vacation...

I love to plan vacations, no matter where, because for me, all the pre planning makes vacation FEEL like vacation. I think about logistics, among other things, in advance, so that I don't have to deal with those headaches on vacation. It's all been considered and planned around, so that everything just flows much more smoothly on vacation.

I want to relax, not plan, while on vacation, which is why I plan before the vacation.

The bonus is I get enjoyment out of thinking about the vacation during the months I spend planning it.

 

[jkstewart1800]

They don't know what they don't know. They think its just like Six Flags, where you just show up and discover as you go. And in the 70/80s that was still a totally doable thing.

 

[sunshine1]

Because we are the 'weirdos' that plan.

We are in the minority.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

They don't know what they don't know. They think its just like Six Flags, where you just show up and discover as you go. And in the 70/80s that was still a totally doable thing.

It was also totally doable up through the 2010s. It's really only been since the launch of the DDP and MDE that people are penalized for not planning out their vacation to the minute. When they went to the extended ADRs you had trouble getting into things like CRT but restaurants weren't turning people away without ADRs like they do now even when they aren't full.

 

[Davey Jones II]

WHere did you get this from his post? I vacation in Disney at least once a year, and I have always been a loose planner. I plan our parks but always take into account where we are eating, what time we are eating and allow plenty of time to get out of the park, back to the resort to rest, swim, shower, have a glass or two of wine, and then go to dinner. For you perhaps the vacation in Disney is about the theme parks, and plannign all that you plan. For me I would rather chew glass and die that have to take into account the things that you do in your trip planning. 28 years ago I came home from a Disney vacation needing a vacation from my vacation and I swore that woudl never happen again. It has not.

Not just that one, but multiple posts in this thread. Bars and drinking are recurrent themes.

Hey, you asked, I answered.

 

[Tia1977]

Because we are the 'weirdos' that plan.

We are in the minority.

This I love lol! I'll gladly accept being a "weirdo" It's one of the reasons I love DIS. I can waive my weirdo flag proudly and know we're all in this obsession togetherNothing brings me back to reality quicker than talking to "normal" people... Me a couple days ago with a co-worker "Did you guys have fun? With all your boys did you go to HS for SW's?" "No, we just went to Disney World" " Did you get to ride (insert various headliners) "No, all the lines were too long" "What did you guys do?" "Meh, rode Dumbo, the carousel, IASW, took some pics of the castle, left bc it was just too crowded. We probably won't go back. Just too much money for it being too crowded." Made me sad for them bc they don't know what they're missing. Before I became an official "weirdo" myself, prepping for our 1st trip (was gonna be 2wks of 1 and done); the best tip my TA gave me was to start stalking DIS. Bc of following your weirdness for a year, our trip was absolutely amazing! That was with crowd levels never being below an 8. And, that's when we fell into the rabbit hole ourselves. We now have 2 more trips planned for this year, an AP upgrade, and already planning our trips for next year.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Not just that one, but multiple posts in this thread. Bars and drinking are recurrent themes.

Hey, you asked, I answered.

True. We don't have kids and enjoy our own way of doing Disney. Attractions? Sure, but if I can't get a fast pass a nice steak and brewski at the Yachtsman will substitute nicely.

Each to their own...

MG

 

[mco65]

Personally, I prefer a happy medium. We plan a bit and wing it a bit.. not too much of either.

We typically get a couple ADRs but the rest of the time we just walk up. We will schedule our parks around our ADRs and then wing it on the other days. We certainly get our fast passes early but change them so much before D Day that it seems kinda silly to me. We also get to the parks at Rope Drop just about every day to ride what we really want to ride. The rest of the time we wing it... We have also been able to eat at sit downs that we didn't have a reservation for on just about every occasion.. we might have to wait, but by that time we are typically too poop to fret over it. Just this past Dec (week after Christmas) we got into Tusker House for Breakfast one day, NO ADR.. we just asked and waited and got in... We also had Lunch at BOG the same week without an ADR.. I wasn't not that impressed with BOG.. the atmosphere was nice but the food.. meh..

Sometimes I envy those great (I wont say obsessive) planners. I wish I had the patience to plan things out like that.

 

[21stamps]

True. We don't have kids and enjoy our own way of doing Disney. Attractions? Sure, but if I can't get a fast pass a nice steak and brewski at the Yachtsman will substitute nicely.

Each to their own...

MG

I'm with ya there. I've been on maybe 16-18 adult trips. Mostly stayed at BC, YC, or BW. Drank, ate (food and wine fest), went on rides. Didn't watch any shows. Spent evenings at (then) Downtown Disney. Never had to drive while there. Fun times .
Completely different than my "mom" trips now.lol

 

[NS8VN]

I'm not sure if I made the right decision. But I do know one thing. They transferred off to the Magic Kingdom monorail with so much carefree joy. And I was the one stressed out by their lack of planning and research.

A lot of wisdom in that right there...

 

[whiporee]

They don't know what they don't know. They think its just like Six Flags, where you just show up and discover as you go. And in the 70/80s that was still a totally doable thing.

It's doable now. This is the sentiment that drives me crazy. Not planning doesn't mean they can't have a good day. They'll just have waits. And waits have been a part of Disney as long as there's been a Disney.

 

[Dashzap]

I did a last minute trip July 2014 to Universal. I decided one morning to go to the Magic Kingdom, fired up the MDX app on the bus and got some fastpasses including 7DMT, rode some rides walk on, walked up to BOG at 11 and was able to eat as a walk in, got more fastpasses on the app, etc. I did everything I wanted to.

A solo traveler can still be spontaneous. I'd hate to try it with a party of 6 though.

 

[crazy_for_the_dis]

I used to think that, but a friend booked a trip, made no ADR's and had no idea what to expect. Over Thanksgiving. I was horrified, but said nothing because it was too late. I found out the day before they left. They had a blast! They ate. They went on attractions. Did they accomplish as much as I would have? Who knows. But they were happy.

Maybe there is something to that. I plan obsessively too. But everything never goes 100% as planned, someone always gets sick, weather issues, etc. And that could lead to disappointment, resentment, etc. People who don't plan a thing have no expectation, and therefore ultimately have a better time. They don't obsess over trivial things like if they received turn down service, they don't know that better dining options exist, etc. They just......have fun, probably more fun. And without preconceived stories of what others experienced/received, every little thing seems magical to them. I envy those families! Okay, my FP+ date is coming up this week, back to trying to figure out what park and rides I want to do in two months.

 

[ziravan]

I booked without planning or knowing I needed to plan for me and boys in 5/'03.

Parks were dead. We did everything we wanted. Ate where we wanted. I know we did walk ups for LTT and Garden Grill.

I even distinctly recall something similar to Disney After Hours where onsite guests could buy $50 wristbands for 3 hrs after closing in MK limited to 5000 guests. CM at checkin told me about it.

Of course that was true off season not too long after 9/11.

Now? I'm a DVC member. I plan a few months out, normally get what I want. We eat at BOG every trip. Someone always cancels if you're looking.

When you go to WDW 3X a year, I just don't have it in me to uber plan multiple trips. I'm a planner, just one trip at a time.

I haven't booked ADRs yet for F&W trip. But. They're all booked along with FPs for next month.

 

[ITALIANNYC]

Just got back from a great trip and was shocked to see how many people are clueless at Disneyworld. I dont mean that in a negative way. I just felt bad for people that they spent all this money and dont really know whats going on. Here's a couple examples...

1) SDMT - I saw this couple with their kids ask about the wait time. The CM said its 100 minute wait. The lady said ok where are the kiosk that I can get a fastpass for this ride. The CM said they have been gone for at least 30 days. Further more they debated on getting in line but their youngest daughter was too small. I went over to them and told them about rider swap. The lady was so happy.

2) I also heard a group behing me waiting in line talk about Be Our Guest. They said that looks like a cool place to eat. We should eat there tonight.

3) While at Epcot a couple was getting Fastpasses and asked the CM why Soarin wasnt showing up as an option.

Again I'm just wondering how this happens. There are so many resources out there. I feel that you have to plan to make the most of your trip.

Does anyone else see or hear of these things while at Disney?

The lady at the kiosk is wrong. I literally got fast passes to the hardest rides after using my first three. People cancel literally every min. You just need the patience to keep clicking the times back and forth waiting for a time to pop up to grab. This was this past weekend also which is a holiday.

A lot of people don't even know what a fast pass is and don't plan lol. I've helped a lot, including some at the park. I am a firm believer that you can get any fast pass you want at any day, with a little work.

Not to mention I got the oh so hard and impossible reservation of BOG dinner at 630pm, day before. So I wouldn't ever give up trying to get what you really want in the end

Then again I was only trying to get for two people total so it might be harder for a lot

 

[ellie05]

They don't know what they don't know. They think its just like Six Flags, where you just show up and discover as you go. And in the 70/80s that was still a totally doable thing.

It is a still a doable thing. Most people really don't know what they are missing and some just have no idea what they have gotten themselves into and end up hating it.

My aunt is the other Disney lover in my family, with tha being said she is the founder and runs a very successful company. She also has a daughter that she adopted as a single parent and she is very involved in all her school and activities. So she doesn't have the time to do the research. In fact she doesn't even book her own vacations her secretary and her assistant do that. She has been to Disney parks at least 20 times so she is not a newbie.

Her expectations when she went were long lines. Rarely did she bother with ADRs because she didn't want to waste that kind of time eating. She has been to WDW 5 times since she adopted my cousin and she is now 11. They had great trips she and her daughter loved every minute of it.

Fast forward to December 2014. My grandpa had a stroke in Nov which send the family in a complete panic. By December the doctor said he would be fine to travel in a few months so everyone was so afraid we would loose him that we decided to do our yearly family trip in February and we choose Florida. In two months I had to throw together a Disney trip for 16. I knew there was no way we are doing Disney their way so I gather everyone's must dos, and separate the group into roller coaster riding and those that didn't. Made two different touring plans based on that.

My family thought I had lost it the night prior to our first park day when I told them we will have to be at the gates 30-45 min before the parks open and handed them the touring plans. Now we were all doing mostly everything together. For example some people went to ride 7DMT while the non roller coaster crowd went to ETWB and then we will meet for the next ride. The first day was a bit of an adjustment mainly because I think they through I was just crazy and they went with it just because they love me. By the end of the day they were all believers. They were amazed that we didn't waited long for any ride, they couldn't believe how much we got done. By the next day everyone was ready on time with their touring plans. No one made suggestions like the day before how we should ride x because it is right there.

I can't tell you how many times I heard "I can't believe we didn't wait in lines!This is so amazing and so much fun." Every toast on that trip which was 20 some days (not all in Orlando) included some kind of thank you for planning. They literally still talk about that trip to anyone that mentions the word Disney. I get random Facebook messages from their friends asking for advice and help planning. As a bonus I know I will be invited to any of their future Disney vacations .

They just didn't know that Disney could be done like that. Before that they loved Disney but it was a completely different expirience. We did ADRs that trip because it really gives you a nice break and they were totally cool with it because they didn't see it as a waste of time anymore. To them when they went to Disney it meant 45-90+ min waits for each ride. They didn't particularly enjoy waiting but it was just a given and they accept it. But to some people that could really make or break their trip. I know I would be extremely frustrated if I have to wait 120 min for a ride. I would loose my mind. If I had not done research my first trip I doubt we would have ever gone back. Now I don't do touring plans anymore if it is just DH and I. Our trips are way more relax but I still make sure to have a rough plan to make sure we aren't stuck waiting in lines.

 

[Barbanellie]

I might have missed some of the posts on this thread, but it seemed to me there are two very different things being discussed, commented upon (and in some cases quite a bit of judgement thrown into the mix).

The first is, IMHO, not quite about people who don't "plan", but about people who don't know anything about where they are going. I'm not talking about FP+ or ADRs, but things like people who think Harry Potter is at WDW, not knowing WDW is not just MK, expecting to walk from MK to AK. Being a person who loves to research all her vacations to know what are interesting places and things to see and do when we get there (whether WDW, Europe, or just a day-trip the next town over), I find this fascinating. Personally, I couldn't do it, I just love finding out about destinations too much. This can create quite big issues when traveling, if you had your heart set on doing something but it isn't there. And this is true of vacations everywhere. I worked in tourism for a few years here, and some tourists were angry when paying with US dollars in shops to be giving the change in Canadian dollars. Some people, I think, will just always go without looking anything up and then be angry that things aren't what they thought, or not done like they are at home.

The other thing that's been discussed, and this is where most arguments I thought went every which way, is about the level of planning involved for a trip to WDW. There are different ways to enjoy (or not) a vacation to WDW, and the level of planning necessary varies so much from one family (or traveling party) to the next, I don't think it's fair to judge or make generalized comments on this. What is a great strategy for one family will make the trip a living hell for the next. And the fact that one family doesn't plan the way you do doesn't mean they'll have a terrible time. Maybe they will, maybe they won't, but I seriously don't think planning is the solution to everyone's problems. I know that most touring plans, spreadsheet plans and to-the-minute itinerary would drive me insane, so we've found ways to plan our WDW trip with some things planned, some not, and we've had a fantastic time. Others would have traveled with us and would have been out of their minds stressed out that we didn't always know which ride we'd go to next. And that's fine. I just think it's OK to remember that if your coworker/friend/neighbor decides not to book all their ADRs and FP+ in advance doesn't mean they won't (or will) have an awesome trip.

One last thing. I've lost the quote from the posters who said this was a big problem with Disney, that they make it so complicated, and with all the technology (FP+, MDE, ADRs) that they have created these issues, and that it's Disney's fault that people who don't plan are penalized. I don't buy that. Take away the FP, ADRs, magic bands etc., you'll still have a park full of people who want to ride the same attractions and eat in the same places. And people who think they can ride the monorail to HS or want to ride Harry Potter at Disney. Often, the "non-planners" say they had a bad time because the waits were too long etc. Even without FP, the lines would be long (I know FP+ has an impact on stand by, that's not my point, but you would still have long lines), there would be waits, and the most popular restaurants would either be fully booked at the very first moment bookings are available in the morning, or if they were also just "show-up-and-wait", can you imagine the line of people waiting for a table, and complaining that they can't make reservations, etc. And in the end, not everyone would get to eat at BOG or CRT anyway. I'm not saying the system as it is is perfect (it's not), but saying that all problems of long waits and unavailability in restaurants is because of the system is way too simplistic.

 

[danc18]

I just made dinner reservations at WL for November. Guess I should have stayed up all night at the 180 mark. I thought since WL is half empty we'd we able to eat there at a decent time. With small kids who normally go to bed at 6:30-7:00, eating at 6:30 is problematic. We didn't really want to drag them to a park late in the day to eat. I am a planner but I think it's overboard when a half empty hotel is full at opening 6 months ahead it's a problem. Learning .....

 

[siskaren]

I just made dinner reservations at WL for November. Guess I should have stayed up all night at the 180 mark. I thought since WL is half empty we'd we able to eat there at a decent time. With small kids who normally go to bed at 6:30-7:00, eating at 6:30 is problematic. We didn't really want to drag them to a park late in the day to eat. I am a planner but I think it's overboard when a half empty hotel is full at opening 6 months ahead it's a problem. Learning .....

Resort restaurants aren't just for people staying at that particular resort and I think a lot of people would consider 6:30 a decent time.