Does everyone plan way in advance?

[doctornick]

Really a year and a half some people plan?
How do they have any fun?

I am not so up tight I need to plan in advance every thing I am going to to for 5 - 7 days that is stress.

Oh my I can not get a fast pass because I need to make my booking at .....
Drive me crazy.

I call or go online a week maybe two in advanced.

Get there wake up the first morning have no idea which park I go to until I get there.
Get lunch, whenever I feel like it at what every place I feel like eating at the time.
Attractions, line is short .... sure may as well go for it. *That is why I hate the wrist strap idea

It is called freedom and it is a wonderful thing.

And that sounds like a stressful trip to me. To not have any idea what I am going to do during my vacation and having to make decisions on the fly doesn't sound like fun. I'm not saying I don't like spontaneity, but I need to have at least some framework of a plan ahead of time otherwise I'd be stressed out.

And I'm not talking about just Disney. That would be any trip. Probably why I don't like "beach vacations" much -- I need something to do on vacation.

That's the interesting thing is how everyone is different and can enjoy vacations -- even at a specific place like WDW -- very differently.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

The party I am with plans ahead to a point. We do 180 day ADR's because of getting the times we want for eating. We also starting at prices of airfare before the 180 day also because airlines are capable of having good deals like $90.00 each way per person on a direct flight.

We don't do any planing for what park or parks we'll do each day at WDW in terms of what order to do attractions.

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

well im just a big planner i guess lol....i enjoy doing the research, and like always, the anticipation is a major part of the fun!

 

[Emyli Mouse]

I am a big planner, but never feel the need to when planning a trip to WDW. I'm waiting for the ok from my OB to go in June because I will be 28 weeks pregnant, so the only thing we've booked is 'Ohana because we are a party of 12 and needed a reservation for sure. The way dinner reservations have gone is ridiculous. We usually bring lunch and snacks into the park, eat just one meal there, and always do it in an off time. Works for us!

 

[litaljohn]

. We also starting at prices of airfare before the 180 day also because airlines are capable of having good deals like $90.00 each way per person on a direct flight.

this is hhuuuuuuuuugggggggeeee. I started messing around looking at a trip ( basicly when I first signed onto the forums not that many weeks ago) and
in two weeks time of looking and booking a flight from Atlantic city international to orlando the price jumped 80 bucks on the roud trip per person.

perhaps it's not quite the same at busier airports with many flights. but that is ultimately the exact reason I avoid bigger airports locally. to me it's way less stressful finding an early flight at an airport with 5 gates total than to deal with, in my case the likes of Newark and all their screening lines and everything else.

 

[Foolish Mortal]

I make my ADR's at the 180 day mark and that's about it. All the over planning doesn't sound like any any fun.

 

[Pooh Lover]

well im just a big planner i guess lol....i enjoy doing the research, and like always, the anticipation is a major part of the fun

This. My planning begins usually before I leave WDW from my last trip as I book a trip from the resort for the following year. I have the entire year to piece together my next vacation, look at menus, spend loads of time on these boards with like-minded WDW fans, and have the satisfaction of knowing I'm going back to my favorite place once again. Do I say or think that this type of planning is for everyone? No, but it works for me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[PorterRedkey]

The party I am with plans ahead to a point. We do 180 day ADR's because of getting the times we want for eating.

We don't do any planing for what park or parks we'll do each day at WDW in terms of what order to do attractions.

I think if you have reservations for a restaurant in World Showcase @ Epcot, you would in effect be planning 180 days in advance to be at Epcot or any park that contains a restaurant where you have reservations.

I guess if you book ADR's at restaurants outside the parks it wouldn't effect park choice that much.

 

[allgiggles]

We've planned trips (meaning made the actual reservations -- I'm *always* planning the next trip in my head..usually at least a year in advance) a few weeks in advance and up to a year in advance. It's usually 3-4 months in advance, though. We drive so we don't need to worry about airfare and we don't typically do Table Service meals -- we like to just go with the flow at Disney. If we decide we want to eat at a TS restaurant, we just call (or now go online) in the morning and see what's available for the meal we're interested in eating. There's always *something* if you're flexible with time and location. I just did a quick search of TS restaurants for dinner tomorrow night for a party of 6. There were plenty of things to choose from -- even plenty to choose from between 6-7 p.m. (when we would typically eat dinner at Disney). Obviously, I couldn't get into any of the popular restaurants (with the exception of Chef Mickey's @ 9:20), but there were lots of options including some Epcot restaurants and Fantasmic Dining packages. I've never felt like my vacation was ruined because I couldn't eat at a certain restaurant, so planning on short notice is not a problem for us. We typically go in June and most of the time, I'd just now be making reservations. When we went in 2001, it was the first time in over 20 years that DH & I had been to Disney World. We planned the trip 4 weeks in advance and had an awesome time! Granted, I did a lot of reading and research during those four weeks so we were well prepared.

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

I cannot answer for everyone else but yes we, well more specifically I, do. I love it, too.

 

[Poofiesdream]

I usually plan a year in advance but already reserved a room the day I arrived. Last minute for sure but I live only 3 hours away and the room was a good discount so I packed up and went that day. Last minute trips I stick with quick service but you never know sometimes you just walk up and they have openings at the sit downs.

 

[Mickey_777]

We don't want to accumulate a lot of debt during our trips so we do plan 3-4 months out by basically booking our hotel (always stay offsite, less $$), getting our park hoppers and put aside the cash we'll need. Usually we'll fly and book flights and a rental car but this time we're driving down. So it's a lot simpler this time: hotel, tickets, and save. Other than that we make some dining reservations and we're off to O-town.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Last year, I was able to book our trip Sept trip just 3 weeks in advance, a week at Coronado Springs, preffered room got all my ADR I wanted. However, my two upcoming trips I've been planning since I got back last year.
So Sept '13 & May '14 here I come!

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

This. My planning begins usually before I leave WDW from my last trip as I book a trip from the resort for the following year. I have the entire year to piece together my next vacation, look at menus, spend loads of time on these boards with like-minded WDW fans, and have the satisfaction of knowing I'm going back to my favorite place once again. Do I say or think that this type of planning is for everyone? No, but it works for me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

i like your thinking....i think its funny that some people think planning a WDW trip is a stressful thing lol....really? i find not one ounce of "work" in this at all...i find it relaxing, and after a day at work, i like coming on this site and being with people who love WDW. Its fun planning meals, seeing which park well be at etc...man thats half the fun!

 

[doctornick]

i like your thinking....i think its funny that some people think planning a WDW trip is a stressful thing lol....really? i find not one ounce of "work" in this at all...i find it relaxing, and after a day at work, i like coming on this site and being with people who love WDW. Its fun planning meals, seeing which park well be at etc...man thats half the fun!

Exactly. Planning trips to WDW is fun! I enjoy thinking about what places to schedule ADRs at or what activities to do. I love reading about new stuff that I didn't know existed and making plans involving them. We are going for a week later this year (we've typically been going for 4-5 days in recent visits) so I'm really excited to have 7-8 days to do a lot of different stuff that I haven't in the past.

I don't plan out every minute, but I enjoy having a good framework of what to do each day and having a few dining reservations and "can't miss" stuff on the agenda that provides some structure. I recognize that there are people who want more freedom and don't want to plan ahead, but it is definitely not for me.

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

were not going again for another 389 days...ugh!!! april 26th to may 3rd or 4th so thats a saturday to a saturday (or sunday) like you, we dont plan every dinner, only about 95 percent of them lol....i plan our days around which park has the extra magic hours, then from there, figure out food....lunch is typically a quick service, (pizza planet, pecos bills) then dinner we do the adrs, ( trex, sci fi dine in, etc...) we make sure to hit all the fave rides, then get in others...weve only been twice so far (april 10' and april 12') but ive become a semi pro at WDW planning lol...were going every two years with our two kids, ages 2 and 6, so we have alot of disney trips ahead!!