Is it too much?

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Ok, Ill admit im a bit of a control freak, but is it excessive planning your daily routine for a trip to WDW?

In the past ive planned which park on which day and the odd meal. This time Ive gone for the full Monty! Every meal every day. My reasoning behind this is I want to try something other than our normal places. To me it will help us get more from our trip

I dont use park touring guides, but I have a must do list. Admittedly the spread sheet I have made features clip art and various fonts matching those of the parks and attractions. My work mates think im mad, but its a way of passing the evenings.

Have I gone nutz??

 

[tenchu]

Originally posted by Pumbas Nakasak

Have I gone nutz??

Yup.

:lol:

I plan what to do on what days etc, but not to the detail you do.

The only problem is I quickly get ignored my multitudes of screaming sisters once we get into the parks.

Ce la vie.

 

[Maria]

I´d like to see the spread sheet with fonts and clip art! Please??:animwink:

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Originally posted by Pumbas Nakasak
Have I gone nutz??

Nope, welcome to the club! :lol:

I "Excel-the-hell" out of my trips. I create seveal tabs too:

Daily Planner Tab: looks like a calander. Shows days, and times, like a daily planner would. I time box all the PS is once color, tours in another, and special events (shows, etc) in another.

Tours Tab: list of all the tours we will be taking with confirmation numbers, times dates, location to meet at, cost, etc

Dinning Tab: All the PS go here with all the infor like the Tours

Other: this is like Tours and Dinning, but for shows like Cirque

Confirmations: all my confirmation numbers go here

Costs: all the expensis go here (added up from the other screens) plus the resort, packeges, and travel costs. I have two sections, real cost, and Disneys rack rates, so I can see how much I'm saving with discount codes, coupons, wishes, etc.

Plus I color code everything like putting red in areas that need attention like calling for a PS.

Am I crazy? You bet! Does it help? You bet! Nice to have all that info at our finger tips. Plus whe I called AKL Itinerary, I just had to rattly off the info down the list. Took only a few min.

Plus it gives me something "Disney" to do until we go...

 

[Dayma]

Admittedly the spread sheet I have made features clip art and various fonts matching those of the parks and attractions.

OMG my wife does this for everything...it drives me NUTS!

Just relax and have fun. Overplanning can take away from the experience if you ask me. Just walk around and go to the rides that appeal to you...and if u like them go again and again and again....

 

[LivefortheMouse]

Well if ur mad so r we. My boyfriend and i have been planing for our trip in august since janurary buying our plane tickets in march ( yes we fly and live in miami)and booking our room since feburary. We have a schedule for were we are going to eat each day and the order in which we will visit the parks. we even have our priority seating for all the restaurants we will be dinning at. Cant wait to arrive only 2 months left.:sohappy:

 

[billybaruch1]

My reasoning behind this is I want to try something other than our normal places. To me it will help us get more from our trip

Good idea. I read trip reports where someone writes, "We did this and that, just like we always do...", or something like that. We all have our favorites, but I'd like to try something new every day. :wave:

Bill

 

[Nansafan]

Sounds like a plan to me. I'm a list person and nothing makes a list person feel better than checking something off their list. A comment on the food thing. One year we planned all our meals with PS's etc. By day 5, we felt like we were running to places just to make dinner. We've cut back on the big sit down meals and don't schedule ourselves to tight anymore. On a 8 day trip, we'll have 4 big dinners and a character breakfast. The rest of the time we eat on the run.

 

[Experiment627]

Re: Re: Is it too much?

Originally posted by AkiraRaptor
Nope, welcome to the club! :lol:

I "Excel-the-hell" out of my trips. I create seveal tabs too:

Wow.....I made a very simple color coded spreadsheet with parade times on it and my wife STILL makes fun of me for it. I'd hate to see the abuse that you would have to endure from her.
:lol:

 

[GenerationX]

Pumbas, Akira, LftM, my fellow control freaks! While I don't have a spreadsheet with tabs, I do have a Pocket PC folder with Note files:

Planning - This is where I detail month-by-month what must be done before leaving.

Packing - This is our packing list, sectioned by piece of luggage.

Hours - This is where I list the park hours for the days we're there, the early entry days, and the E-ride nights.

Itinerary - This is the list of destinations by day with confirmation numbers.

MK, AK, DS, Ep - Separate files with each attraction listed under "Must Do", "Sounds Fun", or "Avoid". Height restrictions, FastPass, and interesting notes about each attraction are listed here.

Diversions - List (with some details) of fun ways to occupy our time when we're not in one of the parks.

Pennies - This is a list of where all of the Pressed Penny and Quarter machines are.


I take my Pocket PC with me and review it each night for the next day's activities. Why do I do this (aside from control freakish nature)? We see what we want, we avoid lines, we don't waste time, and we all have a fantastic trip.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Nah, thats not excessive. Now, if you have highlighted passages out of the SAS survival book for them to read on the plane, then maybe.

 

[Bagheera]

Always remember: Plan the heck out of it, but be prepared to chuck the schedule out the window on a moment's notice if events dictate differently.

 

[Timekeeper]

I can see clearly now the rain is gone

Tip:

Don't rely completely on your list - and have a plan B / C, because it tends to rain on a daily basis during an Orlando summer, and that could throw a curveball at your spreadsheet.

Tk

 

[Woody13]

I would think that a fellow that wears a Kilt would be much more flexible.

 

[Maria]

I do make excel spread sheets when I travel, but only put there my flights, hotels, transportation details, dates, phone numbers of the hotels, time for flights, and confirmation numbers for each reservation. Makes me feel a lot safer and it´s a great tool for not having to rely on my memory. I did this for my trip to Europe and the one to Argentina and it helped me a whole lot.

I wouldn´t recommend planning a whole vacation with PS for everyday at different times, because you can´t control the crowds and weather and the mood of your troop... I would suggest to make a brief plan of each day, but take it as it comes... not militarized. Of course, if your troop cooperates, go for it! :animwink:

Good luck!

 

[504ellamae]

My wife and i plan our whole 2 weeks holiday not just the "disney bits" but when we go to IOA, Sea World etc.

We also do a count down from 100 days that we stick on the refrigerator that we tick off each day as it seems to make the time go quicker!!

So in answer to your question, no you are not mad!!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Thanks glad to see im not alone. Just one thing about the PS,s one of the reasons weve done that is because many here have commented on humidity and mid afternoon rain, so most days when were having a full day in the park Ive made ressies for a late lunch. And as I prefer to keep my money in my sporan Ive heard its cheaper:animwink:

 

[Maria]

Originally posted by Pumbas Nakasak
Thanks glad to see im not alone. Just one thing about the PS,s one of the reasons weve done that is because many here have commented on humidity and mid afternoon rain, so most days when were having a full day in the park Ive made ressies for a late lunch. And as I prefer to keep my money in my sporan Ive heard its cheaper:animwink:

That makes sense... I thought you had PS for bkfast, lunch and dinner for the same day! :animwink:

Still... I´d like to see that clipart excel sheet... hehehe :animwink:

 

[Pippa]

I LOVE planning and counting the days it's what makes the time go (a bit) quicker and it is all part of the WDW obsessive personality!!!

 

[careship]

Thanks everyone!!!! I see now that my lists are OK not weird. Maybe my list of food is. I can pull it up on my puter by location or food. Turkey Legs is the favorite. I know where to find them everywhere. It is the perfect lunch/snack for my boys.