Ever Suffered "Clipboard Of Fun" Syndrome?

[Crockett]

So there I sat a few days ago, watching a re-run of Full House. Yes, THE Full House show from the 90's, which teaches children you can run a car into the kitchen (even though Uncle Joey told you not to be in the car in the first place), and your only punishment is a quick 3-min lecture from Dad. Gotta love that show.

Anyhow, this particular episode was when the Tanner family went to Hawaii for vacation. Mr. head-of-the-household Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) insisted on bringing along a "clipboard of fun". This clipboard of fun mapped out all the events scheduled for the entire vacation. Everything was organized & listed. Needless to say, the other family members did not care too much for said clipboard. They wanted to have a vacation, not a boot-campesque tight schedule to keep. The clipboard finally gets tossed into the ocean by everyone's favorite Uncle Jesse.

So....how does any of this relate to Disney?

This particular Full House episode brings up an interesting question: Have you ever had a "clipboard of fun" style Disney vacation before? Meaning, everything is pre-planned, mapped out, and it feels more like you're looking at your wristwatch more often than not...just to keep from missing another planned event? And when all is said & done...does it even feel like a vaction afterward?

OR...

Do you just relax, enjoy your trip as a vacation, not a rushed schedule, do what you feel like WHEN you feel like it, no mapped-out itinerary. Just doing what you want, resting when you want, and so on.

I'm not talking about making sure you're on time to a restaurant with ADR's, or making sure you're on Mainstreet for the 3:00pm parade. Those planned events are typical of the average Disney vacation for anyone. I'm talking about allowing the "let's plan everything out" mindset to completely take control of the trip, making it feel like the Tanner's with the infamous clipboard of fun.

Make sense?

And...do any of you prefer completely planned & mapped-out trips over just going & doing what you like, when you like?

 

[MissMorrow]

Ha ha, I love that show!

And yes, I've been on a "clipboard of fun" Disney trip. We went 10+ years ago with friends of ours who were only here for a few days, and all I can say is never again. Breakfast was at 7 sharp, don't be late. Every attraction was "scheduled," though not for a certain time like 10:42am- Splash Mountain. Shopping and meals were also in the schedule, and if you happend to take too long to eat or spent too much time browsing the shops you were left behind and had to meet up later. (It wasn't as pushy as it sounds. You weren't forced to do anything, but it was very "must follow plan".)
Although I have to say, we saw and did pretty much everything there was to see and do in all four parks in three days. I really don't remember anything we didn't do. Granted this was during the week in September, so it was doable. We were all thoroughly exhausted by the end, but I've never to this day had so much fun on a Disney trip as I did on that one.

As for which type of trip do I prefer, I like to go at my own pace, whether it's fast or slow (usually slow). If I don't do something, I'll do it next time. Plus, now I like to pay more attention to the details and soak in the atmosphere which is something you can't do when you have ride-tunnel-vision.

 

[Susan Savia]

No Clipboard...After all it is a vacation from that... The only thing we ask is that we be at the park each day at park opening and from then on whatever happens, happens. If I want to sit on a bench for half an hour, I do. Also, in the past two years we've stopped having ADRs because when we made those reservations 6 months earlier, we didn't know which park we'd be in that day or what we'd be doing. Thusly, its a wonderfully carefree and 'fun' vacation.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I practice what I call "informed spontaneity". I have a one page spreadsheet that I carry around in my pocket with park hours, parades, fireworks, crowd calendar #'s, but it doesn't run our vacation. I assign parks for each day before we leave, but it's more of "it would make sense to go here because of EMH, crowds, fireworks tonight, etc." than "must go here now!" I'm somewhat stuck in my habit of visiting all four parks on the first four days, but after that it's really up for grabs. We may pick MK for a day because of morning EMH, but if we decide to grab something to eat at the resort and we miss the beginning of EMH, we are flexible and knowing the park hours and crowd levels at a quick glance makes it easier to switch. We also have been known to grab the bus that pulls up at a nearly empty line if we are standing in a long line. We also try to fly back as late as possible so we have an extra half day at the World; that day we've been leaving to the kids to decide what they want to do.

 

[Laura]

The first time I read the Unofficial Guide to WDW back in 2004 I took it very literally. I spent months studying the crowd patterns and used index cards to map out which rides to hit at which times to avoid the lines and I wrote everything down on a hardcore itinerary.

It was not a fun trip. Anytime something didn't go just right or if we were "late" for a ride I would have a meltdown. The book had convinced me that if my touring plan got out of whack then my whole trip would be a failure, so I was adamant about sticking to the schedule. It was SO ridiculous and I can't believe I did that.

The most I do these days is plan which parks on which days so that I can make the appropriate dining reservations. My group can do any ride they feel like doing at any time they feel like doing it. I do NOT read the Unofficial guides anymore and I do not consult crowd calendars either. My trips are much more enjoyable. :lol:

PS - my family has been Full House obsessed this year. We bought seasons 1-4 so far on DVD. My kids (8 and 10) are crazy about it, and I get sucked right in along with them.

 

[Xethos]

I dont plan ANYTHING, its a vaction, I end up doing whatever i please. Not even what parks on what days. As soon as you start to plan things out (for me at least) it starts to feel like work.

 

[bayoubelle]

We arrive before rope drop and have a ride order plan but we do not follow the "you have to be at Teacups at 8:47" type of plan. In the past we did not have plans and rode and saw 1/3 as much as we do now.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I recall at least one trip (I think the 2nd or 3rd) that I had a pretty structured plan for. Like others, if the plan was deviated from I would get frustrated. Didn't take long to figure out that using the "plan" as a loose suggestion was a better way to go. Less stress. I guess a day or 2 into that trip I ditched the plan and everything vastly improved.

I agree with the other poster, I like a more "informed spontenaity" type trip. I know what is/isn't a good time for something. I pick up little tips or secrets of things to try. I make ADRs but we never have a problem canceling anything. We go with the flow and follow our hearts. It's more relaxed and makes for lots more stress-free fun.

Up until our soon-to-be-here trip I've always laid out spreadsheets, 1 for each day that listed park hours, show times, ADRs, etc. just so I had the info in front of me in an easy-to-read format. This trip I even scrapped that! I put all our ADRs in my iPhone calendar as appointments and will use the Lines App for park hours, info, etc. We'll just open the door each morning and set out on whatever adventure unfolds! :wave:

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I plan what parks I want to be in when, based on two factors: park hours and my ADR's.

Once I'm in a particular park, whatever happens, happens. I do, however, use the various iphone apps (specifically, Lines) to check on wait times without having to trek all the way across the park. But I've never gone into the parks with a spreadsheet before. Touring Plans are extremely helpful, however, during the busiest weeks of the year.

 

[zweltar]

My wife and I do plan. We learned our lesson in 2006 when it was both of our first trips as adults who planned our own trip. We couldn't eat anywhere (table service) that year that we wanted and missed out on shows.
I think Disney World is definitely a vacation that you need to be informed to enjoy. I feel sorry for people who just show up and think it will be similar to a Six Flags visit on steroids.
That being said, we plan which parks we're going to around our ADRs. But we plan our ADRs around park hours and EMH. So I do create a little spreadsheet, but it basically has ADR numbers and show/fireworks times. We figure out which park we'll go to and go there. We don't really have a plan once we're there. We ride what we want to ride and shop where we want to shop.
I've often said that I wish the ADR business wasn't so difficult and burdensome. It does put a damper on the vacation for me, just a little bit. But what are you gonna do?

 

[trr1]

we do a little of both
we plan what day we go to what park to maximize the time with EMH and least crowded but we dont plan every minute

 

[93boomer]

My DH and I make a small outline of the park hours, parade times, and fireworks shows. We don't do ADR's so we can go where and when we please. That way we can park hop when the urge hits and are not tied down to one park for dinner. We tried the enforced schedule the first few years and literally killed ourselves by running to everything. Don't know how our little girl kept up with us back then! After 19 trips, we now have a more relaxed schedule and do what we want when we want and take lots of rest times for people watching!

 

[unkadug]

I dont plan ANYTHING, its a vaction, I end up doing whatever i please. Not even what parks on what days. As soon as you start to plan things out (for me at least) it starts to feel like work.

I guess you never have a sit down meal while on vacation then. :shrug:

 

[wendysue]

My wife and I do plan. We learned our lesson in 2006 when it was both of our first trips as adults who planned our own trip. We couldn't eat anywhere (table service) that year that we wanted and missed out on shows.
I think Disney World is definitely a vacation that you need to be informed to enjoy. I feel sorry for people who just show up and think it will be similar to a Six Flags visit on steroids.
That being said, we plan which parks we're going to around our ADRs. But we plan our ADRs around park hours and EMH. So I do create a little spreadsheet, but it basically has ADR numbers and show/fireworks times. We figure out which park we'll go to and go there. We don't really have a plan once we're there. We ride what we want to ride and shop where we want to shop.
I've often said that I wish the ADR business wasn't so difficult and burdensome. It does put a damper on the vacation for me, just a little bit. But what are you gonna do?

Stop making ADR's???? There are alot of places to eat in the world that don't require ADR's. I cannot imagine picking where I want to eat 6 months in advance, but I understand that it is important to some people.

 

[invader]

I only plan one thing. Where I eat.

 

[wdwfan22]

A scheduled vacation is NOT any fun in our book. The only thing we plan is where we will be eating that evening. Everything else is done at random.

 

[wdwfan22]

I guess you never have a sit down meal while on vacation then. :shrug:

You can still have a sit down meal without planning. In fact this past August i was there for 2 weeks and able to change dining reservations multiple times during the trip without any issue.

 

[Chrononymous]

My mother and I love to do the Whole World In 3 Days trips and we don't plan a thing.
Everything is spontaneous...and most of the time we end up doing what we want and really enjoying ourselves.
We have done walk-ins for restaurants, even without reservations. Made it onto all we wanted to see in every park, and even toured the resorts.(in the rain. Always in the rain)
And neither of us drive, so we have the transportation routine down!

Sure there may be some thiongs we miss, but usually it's things we have seen, and don't really care if we do it on that trip.

The only time we get bogged down is when we are meeting someone else there, and that group always has the clipboard of fun mentality. It seems like we waste more time with these folks than we do on our own spontaneous vision.
Maybe it's because these people, even though they have a tight schedule...seem to plan it out badly. Lots of waiting in long lines, lining up for parades and shows long before it seems necessary...that sort of thing.
I would much rather let the moment take me wherever, then have to stick to a plan...especially if that plan isn't working.

 

[durhay]

I call it "Joey and Janice's Day Of Fun!"

 

[JiminyandTink]

I find I do an insane amount of planning before I go (mostly probably just to pass the time until my trip, that's half the fun right), but once I get there I relax on a lot of the pre-planning I had done and go with the flow a lot more.