Anyone just go without a plan?

[javs4evas1298]

I was just curious if there is anyone else on these boards who are like my husband and I and go to Disney without a plan of what they are going to do from day to day. It seems like everyone plans what parks they are going to go to on what day and what rides they will ride and in what order. That would drive me absolutely crazy. The only thing we have planned is what day we are going to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and that is only because we had to purchase the tickets in advance. :lol: I see a lot of people complain about how exhausting Disney is but I don't feel that way at all. I am wondering if maybe that is because we just plan as we go rather than trying to cram a bunch of things into one day or one trip. So, anyone else here who just vacation with the "go with the flow" mentality?

 

[KnK]

We don't plan. There are just the two of us and we never know what we might want to do in a day. We make a few meal reservations, and yes we get tickets to the Halloween party, but other than that we wing it.

We also are there 10 days in September, so it's easy to do this way. I'm sure with kids and shorter stays it's harder.

 

[nolatron]

We usually start with planning where we want to eat for dinner (table service) to book ADR's.

Then, depending on days/times of available tables we'll then plan what parks to do on what days.

Once we have our parks picked for each day, we'll pick a place to eat for lunch (counter service).

We don't get much more into detail than that. We mainly want to have our dining plans figured down to the location (and sometimes down to food choices) for ADR's and budgeting. We also don't plan on anything really concrete during the day cause of our 2 yr old daughter. Things could change on a whim depending on her mood. So that's why we keep lunch to counter service, and book table service for dinner.

Once we get to a park, its usually just a matter of "So, do you go left... or go right?" as we enter and we just circle around.

 

[Tazer19]

The only thing we generally plan is a few ADRs. Otherwise we just go with the flow and head to whichever park we feel like visiting. We'll usually visit at least 2 parks a day, sometimes 3.

When I read people's pre-trip reports I'm always amazed at some of the detailed planning people do ahead of time. While I realize a lot of it revolves around ADRs or other time-sensitive activities, I still can't believe the amount of planning that some people do. We would never stick to the plan other than eating. :lol:

 

[happymom52003]

Before we had kids, we did not plan at all. In fact, our trips were usually booked less than a month out because of our work schedules. We never made dining reservations, although those were the days when they weren't really needed anyway. We never set an alarm clock, and went to whichever park we felt like.

But now due to several factors (kids, adr's needed at most places, EMH's) we do plan which park we will visit on each day and where we will be eating...but that is about the extent of it. I have never planned the order of the rides we go on. I also use our "plans" as a guideline....we've never stuck with them 100%....we are flexible.


I actually enjoy the planning...but that is just my personality...I am an organizer and a planner by nature! When I used to teach school, my very favorite part of the job was writing lesson plans...something that most of my fellow teachers hated with a passion.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We plan ADR's and any other things that have to be booked in advance. Arriving at what ADR's on which days at what time is sorta a science that takes a lot more brain cells than I possess so I find the decision making for that exhausting.

We don't really plan what parks, what attractions, etc. because that's too stressful. I have a notebook with all the park hours, ADRs, Touring Plans best/worst, etc. all noted for each day. When there we take a glance at the page to see what's going on for that day and go with whatever we feel like. Hubby has been saying lately he'd like to plan less sit-down meals on our next trip so we aren't having to be at a certain place at a certain time so much. I think it'll be more relaxing that way, too. Now to just relinquish the control.... :lookaroun

 

[ThinkTink721]

Sometimes I wish I did not plan as much as I do when it comes to WDW trips - there is just so much to see & so much to do! :wave:

 

[IndyDisney]

We may end up at WDW 7/29 to 7/31, about a week from now, and I haven't made reservations yet. We're not doing too much planning for this potential trip, that's for sure.

 

[JohnLocke]

Except for ADRs, I don't do too much planning at all. With those you have to have some sort of idea of when you need to be in what park, but at other times you can just play it by ear. Unless we have a breakfast or early lunch, many times we will look at the shortest bus line for our park decision in the morning.

 

[Chrononymous]

I don't think we ever really planned.

And we have always had a great time.

Eat when we are hungry, go on what we feel like at the moment, sit and relax when we need to.

Spontaneous trips are pretty great...but then Mom and I are old hat at this.

The only thing we always plan is to make the greatest use of the park hopper.

 

[dixiegirl]

We don't really plan to much..Kinda play it by ear..Maybe do one or two resservations for dining but thats all..We find the trip goes by slower that way. I don't like all that planning ..I mean for those that have a spreadsheet and all, All I can say is "god Bless ya"..To much for me!
Also, we've been going the past 15yrs to Disney once a year sometimes if we're lucky twice ..So we usually have the things we really want to do and the rest if we do them fine if not..always next year!...

 

[amykissangel]

I would be sad without planning. I have so much fun looking up all the EMH hours and menus for ADRs at new restaurants, etc. that I feel like I would miss out.

For example, on our upcoming trip, TSMM will be open for 1 out of the 11 days we're day. So I planned our day at DHS so we'd get a chance to ride it.

But for our honeymoon (which will hopefully be next summer), I'm hoping to do nothing but plan ADRs and that's it...although in reality, I'll start planning that trip as soon as we get home from this one! :sohappy:

 

[zurgandfriend]

We also plan ADRs and that determines which park we are visiting that day. We don't plan ever ride except Haunted mansion first ride of the trip and it's a small world the last ride of the trip.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

fail to plan plan to fail.

 

[Disneylover1302]

We don't usually plan ahead. We just plan on what we want to do when we get down there. Then when we get there we go day by day on what we want to do.

 

[rsoxguy]

My wife would have a planned schedule if we were just strolling through the parking lot for a scenic drive.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

if we don't do table service meals we just wing it and eat counter service when we feel like it and park hop as we feel like it. we ride whatever whenever.

if we have the dining plan or plan table service meals we plan more so that we're in a park near our restaurant so we don't waste a lot of time running back and forth.

 

[JoeWDW]

I do some planning because my trips are usually in the seven day range. We usually go to the parks for foor or five of those days. We missed out on F at the Studios because we failed to see what nights it was on. Not having the show every night makes it hard not to plan. Travelling with a 4 year-old takes some planning. We like to spend at least one full day at the motel we stay at because of the pool. Coming from the north in January a pool is a must. Last year when everyone said it was so cold, we thought it was pleasent. I really don't like ADR's. There are some places I like to eat at Disney but more often than not go off property for supper. We do like the early morning magic hours. It is a big help at the MK, even in January when fewer people are there.

 

[KaliSplash]

Planning is a big part of the fun for us. We have a huge planning meeting, with special food etc., after we have gathered the research on park hours, desired meals and any special events or new attractions.

And we generally start out following the plan each day. Some days we get ahead of schedule, some days we get behind schedule. So we adjust the days ahead based on what we've done/missed.

We are pretty good at it. (planning). But we really are not afraid to stop and catch a live performance or dash into a show that's about to start as we're walking by and that sort of thing. Fortunately, on most trips, we have at least a day to catch up or repeat really fun things, so we usually pretty much cover all the ground we expect to cover. But we are not slaves to our plan.

All that said, when it was just my wife and I, we never planned anything. We just went. We'd decide the night before what park we were going to, that was about it.

And we have taken a day trip or two when it worked out at the in-laws and just headed over and winged it. But for our vacation trips, heck, we plan for the planning meeting.

 

[tigsmom]

we really don't plan any farther than where we will stay and a few reservations for dining. We have been over 10 times with our kids and have always had a great time! It's our vacation and we like to relax not have to run from place to place trying to stay on some sort of schedule.