Why dont people plan?

[pmaurer74]

I spoke with several people that are there this week or in June. Both families are winging it. I asked if they had ADRs and Fps, they said no. So I think some people are aware and just do not want to be scheduled. I understand that. If I were to go to Universal I would be a little clueless. I am going to DLR next summer and I feel clueless but to be honest... I rather like the feeling. It is refreshing after 12 WDW trips and the heavy planning.

Strange thing is... our first trip 6 years ago. We booked only 6 weeks out and I was able to get BBB and ADRs everywhere I wanted. You cannot do that anymore.

 

[w84no1]

On our first trip to WDW in 2002, we were lucky. We got our friend at AAA to book us a trip and told her that we were only staying 4 nights & had never been before. She booked us the Club Level at GF on the Platinum Dining Plan. After we paid our deposit on about the 6 month mark, we get a call from the Concierge at GF and they walk us through all the ADRs, fireworks cruises, and must do things. It made our first trip a great one.

In 2005, we decide to take some family. Luckily, I remembered we needed to make reservations early and was able to get CRT without much effort. Still not a whole lot of planning on my part.

2010 and we have our own family now, "let's go to Disney". Worried about crowds, I started researching and BOOM, I have to start planning every detail.

We have been three times since then, both off site and on resort. Every trip has been great because I knew what to expect, some trips we got all of our ADRs and rode everything, some we just hit the must dos. I was able to manage expectation based on how much I wanted to plan. Less planning = more waiting in most cases.

My current trip that is coming up June 21st, was planned on April 29th. I was able to get all the FP+ we wanted and every ADR except Beaches and Cream (although, I have my fingers crossed).

No planning on a first trip, and yes I feel sorry for the families that don't think that Disney is worth the cost, but hope that they plan on the next trip.

I pass on my knowledge to everyone I know, next week I am sitting down with a friend to look over her FP+ selections. Just the fact that she has made some FP+ selections is half the battle.

 

[Klayfish]

A lot of it will also depend on where you're staying and what your dining plan is. We never stay on site and we pack 95% of our food. So we have the "advantage" of not having to worry about trying to book a restaurant. When we eat out, we truly freestyle, because we just go to a counter service type place. Or we go to a place like Seven Dragons in Epcot and never really need reservations. Staying off site doesn't change much for attractions planning though...only that we can't plan as far in advance. The hotels on property seem wonderful, but when we can get a 4 bed/3 bath two story townhouse 10 minutes away for $700/week, it's a no brainer for us. We were at WDW for Thanksgiving Day and Xmas Day 2015 and they were the best holidays ever!!! Did RD at MK both of those days, got out before madness ensued (when we left on Xmas Day, I've never seen such a line trying to get into MK), went back to our condo and enjoyed a wonderful family dinner with just the 5 of us. We planned ahead...see, we're still talking planning...and ordered a family sized ready to eat feast from Publix. But yeah, if we hadn't planned or known what to expect, those holidays would have been a disaster.

WDW is definitely not a place to just walk in without any prior knowledge and just wing it. Either that, or you need to be a very, very patient person.

 

[w84no1]

I spoke with several people that are there this week or in June. Both families are winging it. I asked if they had ADRs and Fps, they said no. So I think some people are aware and just do not want to be scheduled. I understand that. If I were to go to Universal I would be a little clueless. I am going to DLR next summer and I feel clueless but to be honest... I rather like the feeling. It is refreshing after 12 WDW trips and the heavy planning.

Strange thing is... our first trip 6 years ago. We booked only 6 weeks out and I was able to get BBB and ADRs everywhere I wanted. You cannot do that anymore.

Some people say they don't like to be scheduled, until they take a Disney trip without planning. My wife's brother had to find out the hard way on their first trip, "Yeah, we are just going to get up and go where ever" . Now we both sit down and discuss our upcoming trips as at least one of us is planning or getting ready to leave on a trip to WDW.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Some people say they don't like to be scheduled, until they take a Disney trip without planning. My wife's brother had to find out the hard way on their first trip, "Yeah, we are just going to get up and go where ever" . Now we both sit down and discuss our upcoming trips as at least one of us is planning or getting ready to leave on a trip to WDW.

For us the only thing we care about is ADR's. The parks are totally a wing job. If we can't get on an attraction no big deal. We've done them all numerous times, and there is only a few I truly care about. I will wait standby for those if needed, but if not I will do it next time. There is no way in heck I'm going to pin myself down to a specific attraction at a specific time two months out. That's just not fun.

MG

 

[joannamet]

stuck eating chicken nuggets every day and going on It's a Small World until their ears bleed.

There are lots of choices beyond chicken nuggets and Small World without planning.

 

[Melissakay1q]

I often see even experienced wdw travelers recommend checking out a guide book from the library! I can only imagine how old those must be.

It was tragic! We went to Universal and I was looking everywhere for Nickelodeon Studios. It was long gone but alive and well in my book.

 

[megster1123]

The non-planners...it may just be a case of blissful ignorance.
It's happened to me - I was a really loyal customer of a business for many years and never knew they had a rewards program. Once it was pointed out to me, I started kicking myself for not researching or not seeing the millions of signs posted throughout. I think some people think "we've got this Disney thing down..." and honestly just walk around in their bubble. Not reading things, not listening to others. Just unaware of what they're missing.

 

[joannamet]

have to plan dinner 6 months ahead, plan rides months ahead, pay nearly $1000/night for a room that will allow us to get to MK in less than a hour etc.

Seriously? There are plenty of us (the unwashed masses) who eat great meals with no 6 month ADRs and pay only a fraction of that for a room and its never taken me an hour to get to MK.

 

[Lisann]

Then Disney is not doing a good job of letting its guests know about advance planning. But then, I wouldn't think they would advise their guests of such, as it might appear to be a 'negative' thing to suggest.."hey, you won't get to see many attractions if you don't plan to within an inch of your life".

Not sure what the solution is. I feel so bad for guests who just have no idea the vastness of WDW and all that it entails.

 

[aprincessatlast]

It was tragic! We went to Universal and I was looking everywhere for Nickelodeon Studios. It was long gone but alive and well in my book.

Ok quoted the wrong person. I was referring the poster who mentioned checking out books from the library....

I think even some of the touring sites are out of date. I am wondering how much I can rely on those sites for a trip months out when there is no experience yet with ROL (JB), 3 tracks for Soaren or TSMM, Frozen Norway, Star Wars fireworks. etc.

 

[21stamps]

Ok well, this thread just motivated me to go ahead and book the VIP tour that I've been endlessly debating.

Now- we won't have to worry about a touring plan or missing something on Black Friday--which has been stressing me to no end.

I just hung up the phone and already think I've developed a few new wrinkles after thinking about what I just committed to.lol

 

[caroline1851]

Well, i'm not surprised people don't know there's so much planning involved. the commercials/ads, etc. don't lead you to think AT ALL that things would be that crowded. there are just pics of families skipping down main street with mickey with no one around. hahaha. Of course, it's mentioned about making dining reservations, etc but doesn't say "you will not get any restaurant that you want during prime time unless you book 6 months in advance". I planned my last trip in about 3 months but that's because all of the research was done from previous trips etc.

 

[Magpie]

Disney is definitely unique. I have been at least 5 times but not in several years. I'm a planner by nature but it does shock me that I have to plan dinner 6 months ahead, plan rides months ahead, pay nearly $1000/night for a room that will allow us to get to MK in less than a hour etc. This is especially hard with young kids who don't keep to plans all that well. But here we go, war will love it and forget that it's costing a crazy amount of money to fight the masses. I actually looked at alternate vacations for kids and couldn't come up with anywhere spectacular. I think I am disappointed that disney hasn't done more to handle capacity though.

Um... we almost always stay at the Pop Century, with some sort of room discount, for a LOT less than $1000 a night. It takes between 20 minutes to half an hour to get to the front gate of the Magic Kingdom, if we take the bus (which we always do). Even high or low season doesn't make a difference. The more crowded it is, the more busses show up - it's great!

We book, at most, three sit down meals in an 8 day vacation, and most of those are dining packages of one sort or another (Fantasmic Lunch, Candlelight Processional Lunch, etc). During our vacation, if we spontaneously feel like having a table service meal, then we just check in at Guest Services (or you can do it via the MDE app) for availability and make a dining reservation for whatever happens to be available. Sure, that often means we're eating at the Marrakesh, but that's okay - I like the belly dancer! And sometimes we get a cool dining surprise, due to someone else cancelling.

As for planning rides months ahead... you're only picking three. So, what you're really doing is deciding which park you'll be visiting on what day, and EasyWDW has terrific resources for that.

I'm actually quite impressed with everything Disney does to handle capacity (including, apparently, convincing you to pony up for one of their 1000/night rooms!).

 

[Magpie]

I think a good part of the reason for this happening is because when you get a Disney "planning" DVD and go through the whole thing, they make a lot of it sound like there is no urgency to booking Dining reservations or Fastpasses. For someone that has never been to Disney before, they may think after seeing the Disney DVD and looking through Disney's website that it is a convenience to be able to book at 180 days or 60 days, but not a necessity. Disney makes it out like you have a wonderful relaxing vacation ahead of you. Unfortunately most people just get railroaded once they step into the parks and figure out that they are stuck eating chicken nuggets every day and going on It's a Small World until their ears bleed. I truly feel sorry for them sometimes and try to give slight suggestions when I hear people talking about their trip if it is misinformation, but it really is a project planning a Disney trip (one I love and hate hahaha).

No one ever gets stuck eating chicken nuggets every day. Matter of fact, I have a family member who LOVES chicken nuggets, and they can actually be rather tricky to track down at Disney's quick service locations. The Columbia Harbour House in the Magic Kingdom, for example, does not offer chicken nuggets. Instead, you can get grilled salmon, chicken pot pie, shrimp platter, lobster roll, etc.

Also, Small World lines can get quite backed up these days. More likely they'll end up at Mickey's Philharmagic, Tom Sawyer's Island, The Country Bears, the Tiki Birds, riding the WDW Express, seeing the Carousel of Progress, taking a turn on the Peoplemover, watching some parades, and standing in line a fair bit for almost everything else (except Dumbo, where the line is actually an air conditioned playground - awesome for the kids!).

If a kindly castmember directs them to a kiosk, they may even snag a fastpass or two for one of the more popular rides.

No need to feel that sorry for other guests.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Um... we almost always stay at the Pop Century, with some sort of room discount, for a LOT less than $1000 a night. It takes between 20 minutes to half an hour to get to the front gate of the Magic Kingdom, if we take the bus (which we always do). Even high or low season doesn't make a difference. The more crowded it is, the more busses show up - it's great!

We book, at most, three sit down meals in an 8 day vacation, and most of those are dining packages of one sort or another (Fantasmic Lunch, Candlelight Processional Lunch, etc). During our vacation, if we spontaneously feel like having a table service meal, then we just check in at Guest Services (or you can do it via the MDE app) for availability and make a dining reservation for whatever happens to be available. Sure, that often means we're eating at the Marrakesh, but that's okay - I like the belly dancer! And sometimes we get a cool dining surprise, due to someone else cancelling.

As for planning rides months ahead... you're only picking three. So, what you're really doing is deciding which park you'll be visiting on what day, and EasyWDW has terrific resources for that.

I'm actually quite impressed with everything Disney does to handle capacity (including, apparently, convincing you to pony up for one of their 1000/night rooms!).

I would LOVE to use EasyWDW to help me plan my parks for my upcoming post-Thanksgiving trip! Unfortunately, due to the fact that Disney hasn't even released the TA calendar for December, there will likely be no such help from Josh by the time my ADR date rolls around next Wednesday. I *think* I've got a decent plan. It would sure be nice to compare my plan to his wonderful crowd calendars though.

 

[HuskieJohn]

YES!!!

Mid February 2016 my boss told me that he was thinking of going to WDW (specifically MK & HS) "to do everything that is good"...for his kids spring break in 3 weeks! So did he buy the tickets then, nope! He didnt buy a single ticket until the day before he left on his plane!!! Here I was having a bit of a panic attack as to why he wasn't the least bit interested to research anything to the point that I just told him I was going to give him a plan by the end of the day. Maybe that was his plan altogether. Maybe he knew that I had planned for my families March 2015 trip for two whole years.

So I set up his FP+ with what the best rides available for day 1 at MK then made a touring plan around that. As for the HS ticket he was relying on a friend who had season passes (or was a CM or something) to get him in for free. Here he was at rope drop at HS so his 2 sons could sign up for Jedi training and when he went to go scan the passes the CM wouldn't let him in until after 11am as that was what the pass allowed. He then had to go to the ticket booth and buy a new set of tickets. While inline he linked them to his existing account and made a run for the Jedi sign up. While he was doing that I was setting up his FP+ on my work computer and then making an updated tour plan off of that. Even though they ended up in the Jedi line for just about 1hr they did get both kids signed up, still managed to meet the characters and get on some rides.

They had a great time and were thankful to me but man...I just don't get how people can spend so much on something and not know what they are getting into.

 

[Skywise]

The non-planners...it may just be a case of blissful ignorance.

This too - My parents and other siblings spent a day at the Magic Kingdom as they were on a trip to Florida. They were perfectly happy to go, ride Dumbo and the Tomorrowland cars, just walk around and see the place, eat at whatever restaurant had space and discover at their pace. Afterwards I asked them things like "Did you ride on Haunted Mansion?" "Was that there?" "How about going into Tomorrowland?" "No, we didn't go there." It was enough for them to say that they *did* Disney. Same with some of my extended relatives.

They've always been that way though. I think you have to allow for the non-planners altogether but wonder about the "partial" planners (like me the first time).

My first solo trip above actually had 2 purposes - 1 was to get a feel of how hectic the trip would be for my, now elderly, parents and the other was to fulfill a lifelong dream of staying in the Contemporary which my mother wouldn't do because she's deathly afraid of heights! (Ironically, 2 years later she'd be staying there and saying she could deal with it.) Once I got back I managed to plan out a pretty good itinerary that had us hitting things like Ohana, the Sci-fi dine-in and the Wishes Dessert Party (so they could sit down for the fireworks) plus having a better understanding of transportation for getting between the parks and such. They still remark about how much there was to see and do in that one trip and we STILL didn't do it all! (We didn't hit Epcot or AK but it was only a 3 day trip!)

 

[Magpie]

I would LOVE to use EasyWDW to help me plan my parks for my upcoming post-Thanksgiving trip! Unfortunately, due to the fact that Disney hasn't even released the TA calendar for December, there will likely be no such help from Josh by the time my ADR date rolls around next Wednesday. I *think* I've got a decent plan. It would sure be nice to compare my plan to his wonderful crowd calendars though.

I'd suggest just making the "must-have" ADRs on Wednesday (ie, the ones like Cinderella's Royal Table that disappear right away) and waiting on the others. There will still be lots of ADRs available by the time the TA calendar for December is released and you'll be leaving yourself more flexibility with regards to which parks to pick.

Personally, my only "must-have" ADR for December is the Candlelight Dining Package, and those usually aren't available until early July.

 

[Lizzim]

I'm a planner but this attitude that you can't have a great trip without planning months in advance is getting a bit much.

We live in the UK and booked our latest trip with just over 1 months notice but I bought tickets with about 16 days to go.

We are doing 3 park days and have FPs for all the rides we like (including the mine train) and have 3 reservations for food....Sanaa, San Angel Inn and The Plaza.

We are only 2 people so that makes it easier but it isn't impossible.