Do you plan the order you visit the parks in advance?

Alison1975

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
mergatroid said:
Hi I was just wondering how much you actually plan before your visits to Disney. We usually stay for for 3 weeks when we visit with our AP's but always have in mind which park we're visiting first well in advance. From day 2 it's a bit of a lottery and sometimes we even leave the house heading out for Disney with no idea which park we're visiting and make a decision when we see the signs on I4. However day 1 is always planned and anticipated and I just wondered how organised others are before their trips?
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We have 10 park days and I have pre-planned which park for all but 9 days.. one day will be a whichever day. Since we have 9 ADR's and many are either IN a park or near a certain park we pretty much plan around them.
 
coachwnh

coachwnh

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
mergatroid said:
Hi I was just wondering how much you actually plan before your visits to Disney. We usually stay for for 3 weeks when we visit with our AP's but always have in mind which park we're visiting first well in advance. From day 2 it's a bit of a lottery and sometimes we even leave the house heading out for Disney with no idea which park we're visiting and make a decision when we see the signs on I4. However day 1 is always planned and anticipated and I just wondered how organised others are before their trips?
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We usually have most of the trip planned out, but we do leave a few days each trip to do what we want without worrying about ADRs and such. Our best trip ever was a last minute, load the car and drive all night trip when we had nothing planned and winged it all!!! So I guess we have done both. But my wife usually knows all of the details and plans it for us.
 
Minnie1976

Minnie1976

Well-Known Member
My husband is the planner and goes with a color code spreadsheet. He only has ADR's, extra hours and specific items like snacks we want to eat. On our last trip I knew exactly what I wanted to do as soon as we arrived. We had to twik it a little because of the long lines, but I got everything in that I wanted to do just maybe not in my exact order. We always get a park hopper.

I agree with Gabe 1. Ii liked when I didn't need ADR's. I remember walking up to the castle in the morning and getting lunch reservations for the same day.
 
D

DisneyDebNJ

Well-Known Member
We pretty much *wing it* while there. We sort of/kind of plan our days/nights around our ADRs. For example, if we have an ADR for breakfast, then we might do the searaycers or one of the water parks afterwards, then decide which park to do that particular night. We always take one day to enjoy an in room breakfast, then hang by the pool to regroup a little.
 
MagicMike

MagicMike

Well-Known Member
We always plan to visit the Magic Kingdom on the first day, and the last day of our vacation. As for the order of the other parks, we just plan around the weather, EMH's, and any ADR's we may have.

For us, starting with the MK is such a great way to get in the Disney state of mind. Inversely, there is something about seeing the "See You Real Soon!" as you exit that really seals a great WDW experience.
 
Lee

Lee

Adventurer
I plan almost nothing.
Unless we are meeting up with friends/family, in which case we will work around whatever schedule they might have.
Otherwise, we play everything by ear. Over-planning ruins vacations for me.
 
plaz10

plaz10

Well-Known Member
We plan the whole week. Our evenings are dictated by ADRs. Our mornings are where we want to get the most accomplished + EMH. Towards the end of the week - sometimes the plans change. If we are planning to go to MK but haven't hit up Soarin' yet...we'll do EPCOT instead. Or if we did something we particularly can't get enough of - then we'll repeat. When we were young and we went for 1 week - we would do 1 morning at each park and then the last 2 days we voted on what we wanted to do the most and park hopped like crazy.
 
koryadams

koryadams

Active Member
mergatroid said:
Hi I was just wondering how much you actually plan before your visits to Disney. We usually stay for for 3 weeks when we visit with our AP's but always have in mind which park we're visiting first well in advance. From day 2 it's a bit of a lottery and sometimes we even leave the house heading out for Disney with no idea which park we're visiting and make a decision when we see the signs on I4. However day 1 is always planned and anticipated and I just wondered how organised others are before their trips?
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I plan out everything! Everyday and dinning and even times. Does it change? yes, but it mostly stays on schedule. I think it is very useful to plan out your stay so you can get right to it and not say "where to today?" I also do this because of EMH and special events and other things
 
Disnee4Me

Disnee4Me

Well-Known Member
When the kiddies were little (they are now 22 & 17) we always went the last two weeks of August (when camp ended, yet before school started). We got park hoppers and made reservations for lunchtime at whatever park had early entry, ususally 2 p.m. reservations, so we'd get out of the sun at the hottest time of the day. After lunch if the crowds were bad, we'd then go over to another park. So everything was pretty much planned out. Sadly, the last time we did this was in 2001 and when we were driving back from the airport on September 1st, I pointed out the twin towers to the boys, not knowing the tradegy that would happen ten days later.:(
 
The Empress Lilly

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
I sit down with opened web pages for

refurbishments (if personal favourite ride X closes midway my vacation, plan to do it before that)
EMH
Any special events
ADR
Fireworks / shows

When I spreadsheet these considerations out a list of which parks to do which days pretty much presents itself.
 
G

gccgrad1996

Active Member
Janice Stroud said:
I have wondered whether this option was worth it for us and have postponed buying it since the kids are still pretty young and I don't think the hopping part is of much interest to them yet. I do think the benefit is being able to eat at Epcot every day with a Park Hopper option ... but so far I haven't laid out the bucks for this feature
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We always get the part hopper option with our tickets, but this year I seriously considered not getting it to save some money, it isn't cheap. But after thinking about loosing that freedom of being able to go where ever we wanted in the evening and not be tied down to one specific park, I realized I couldn't not have it. I have two daughters, 11 and 8 and now a 1 year old, but my two daughters are constantly changing their minds on what they want to do, so I like being able to switch around. Plus this year we are doing quick service dinning so I don't need to be at a specific park or resort for a meal, we are free to move about the World. I also plan on using the morning EMH for my 1 year old, he is up by 7 so we will be out and moving as soon as he is up and changed. But my older two love to stay for the EMH in the evening and they are never in the same park on the same day, so I realized the park hopper was a needed extra this year. I really think I am now spoiled with it and will always spring for the extra cost.
In reference to the main topic, I do usually plan where we will be each day months ahead. I see where EMH are and where our meals will be. This year since we are doing quick service dinning we are a little more open to move about, but I did make up a possible schedule to follow. If we change from it, which we already have and we still have 2 more weeks to go, no biggie. We had planned to spend the entire first day at MK, but my daughters decided they want to take advantage of Epcot's EMH Friday morning, so we are heading there first and then will be heading to MK for the evening and the evening EMH. I love planning schedules, but I never feel bad about changing things as we go.
 

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