How often do you change your plans?

GigglesMcSnort

GigglesMcSnort

Well-Known Member
Booked our 7 day April trip last September, booked all our ADRs at the 180 days mark, all our fast pass +'s at the 60 day mark, felt smug about myself for having got everything organised, annnnnd .... it's now little under a month to go and I must have changed them all around completely at least 3 or 4 times, in addition to countless regular minor tweaks, as I keep refining the plans and changing my mind about which park / venue to do on certain days, what times to do rides / meals / events, when to factor in resort time (I'm the only one doing the planning). It's like fine tuning an agenda for a business trip! The amount of research and what I can only call "vacation design" I've put into this is absolutely crazy when I stop to think about it.

I mean heck, I've even joined a discussion forum about WDW! :D

This got me wondering, is there anybody out there that actually plans everything once and sticks to it or do you too have to keep going back to alter the ADRs and fast passes until they're perfect until the very last moment like me?
 
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belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
I'm definitely the person that plans every day and meal down to the T and never changes anything! I do poke around the site to see adjust dining times by 5 mins or so (like it matters haha!) but it's all part of the fun. :) I feel I do too much planning in advance to make major overhauls after the fact.
 
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yensid67

yensid67

Well-Known Member
My 2018 trip has been in the planning stages SINCE 2013!!!! That said, I am FINALIZING our plans now and tweaking them until January. Then its FINAL, FINAL! I tray to have everything ABSOLUTELY FINALIZED 60-90 days before trip. This way I can concentrate on packing and making sure everyone that is going are doing what they need to do before we leave! I try to plan it out, but its much more enjoyable FOR YOU to plan it to an extent and then let happen what happens! You have spend months making all the plans and only you expect them to go a certain way! If they don't you will be the only one that is disappointed! The others won't care if things don't go 1-2-3, A-B-C! You deserve to have a good time too. Try to get everything done by a certain time and then sit back, hold on to the bar, and enjoy your vacation! Have a good trip...remember relax and LET IT GO!
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
I like to plan everything ahead, but it's impossible to foresee every refurb, change in park hours, closure due to a private event, etc. that far ahead of time. Changes (big and small) are inevitable!

On our last trip we planned an entire day -- from FP+ to ADRs -- around seeing "Rivers of Light," which was supposed to have debuted 6 months prior to our arrival date, and enjoying AK's nighttime offerings. In the end, all that planning was wasted, as Rivers of Light was continually delayed and hadn't even started at the time of our visit, and AK evening hours were truncated as a result. Unfortunately, by the time it became clear that ROL was a non-starter and that WDW's hours schedule was barely going to get us past sunset on our AK day, we had a terrible time finding alternative ADRs and changing FP+ around, which led to a largely wasted evening, despite 12+ months of careful planning in advance. I'm still a trifle bitter about that one, can you tell? ;)
 
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Schneewittchen

Schneewittchen

Well-Known Member
I start planning this stuff a year in advance, like the day I get home from each trip to WDW.

So I know what I'm going to do (and when) long before I can actually reserve anything.

If anything, I might add ADR's in the weeks before a trip, but I don't tend to move things around.
 
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GigglesMcSnort

GigglesMcSnort

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Schneewittchen said:
I start planning this stuff a year in advance, like the day I get home from each trip to WDW.
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I did that too! But my issue is that I keep second (and third, and fourth...) guessing myself.

Famously any plan falls apart in the face of the enemy, and we proved that the last time we went two years ago as "newbies" (we were cancelling and re-arranging ADR's left right and centre, ended up in parks that we hadn't planned on a day, and trying to change fast pass option when actually on the ground because reality didn't meet planning theory), so I'm slightly obsessed by the planning this time to avoid that happening again. The kid will be 6 this time, so I'm acutely aware there's a danger of her actually remembering this one, whereas all she can remember from the last trip is that she really enjoyed "The Goofy Rollercoaster" (i.e. the Barnstormer ;)) and has no recollection of any of the day to day chaos we were fighting!

Of course after coming home, I'll immediately start working on the next trip back with even better plans :D
 
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HoneyBee1991

HoneyBee1991

Active Member
I plan everything out perfectly and change things about 80 times. Then we will be in the park, realize what the plane was won't make perfect sense for that day and change it then and there.

We planned on going in October for slightly better weather. Yeah, it was over 90 degrees during the day for our entire stay. So all are perfectly laid plans fell apart around the noon to 3pm time when the sun was at its highest.

We would rearrange things every day around that time and go do cooling non-park things in Orlando.
 
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GigglesMcSnort

GigglesMcSnort

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
updownandsideways said:
I only plan which day I'm checking in and out everything else I just do whatever.
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I'm pretty sure that's what my parents used to do when I was growing up. But these days with FP+ and ADRs don't you find that you end up having to stand in some very long lines, both at rides and at counter service restaurants, with that approach?
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
The day after I come back from a trip I'm thinking about the details of the next one. I'm constantly researching, setting up, altering, adjusting details for my wish list for the moment I can book the next trip, so by the time I do book I'm pretty satisfied. By the time I reach that 180+ morning, after I click the buttons to make the ADR's and FP+ I've never had to reconsider.
 
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82EPCOT82

82EPCOT82

Member
My family and I don't do park hoppers. We just plan the week with the day(s) we want to visit the park. We select FP and ADR and work around those. I don't map out the entire week....We go to the park and wing it and have never have had issues waiting in long lines for attractions.
 
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Schneewittchen

Schneewittchen

Well-Known Member
JIMINYCR said:
The day after I come back from a trip I'm thinking about the details of the next one. I'm constantly researching, setting up, altering, adjusting details for my wish list for the moment I can book the next trip, so by the time I do book I'm pretty satisfied. By the time I reach that 180+ morning, after I click the buttons to make the ADR's and FP+ I've never had to reconsider.
Click to expand...

That's kind of what I do. I'll get on these boards a month before I can do ADR's and start asking people about their experiences to help me decide.
 
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disneygirl76

disneygirl76

Carey Poppins - Nanny and Disney Enthusiest
H
Marc Levin said:
Booked our 7 day April trip last September, booked all our ADRs at the 180 days mark, all our fast pass +'s at the 60 day mark, felt smug about myself for having got everything organised, annnnnd .... it's now little under a month to go and I must have changed them all around completely at least 3 or 4 times, in addition to countless regular minor tweaks, as I keep refining the plans and changing my mind about which park / venue to do on certain days, what times to do rides / meals / events, when to factor in resort time (I'm the only one doing the planning). It's like fine tuning an agenda for a business trip! The amount of research and what I can only call "vacation design" I've put into this is absolutely crazy when I stop to think about it.

I mean heck, I've even joined a discussion forum about WDW! :D

This got me wondering, is there anybody out there that actually plans everything once and sticks to it or do you too have to keep going back to alter the ADRs and fast passes until they're perfect until the very last moment like me?
Click to expand...

Hee hee yep! It is so fun! Whether it is your first visit or 100th, the planning is half the fun! :) Have any amazing trip!!!!
 
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Patcheslee

Patcheslee

Well-Known Member
I had probably 3 different ADR plans up until I reached my booking window. Then just went with what seemed the easiest to plan around. There are a couple ADR's I'm still trying to get better times for and will change if it comes up. That and ADR change due to Shutters being closed, somehow managed the Bon Voyage breakfast on checkout day. Since our flight is at 7 a park visit didn't seem like a good idea. Other than that it's stayed about the same so far. Course when FP opens in a couple weeks things could change a bit but I'm hoping not. Wanting everything before 3-4pm in case DD8 wants to head back to the resort for a bit.
 
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