Planner or Winger?

[WishIwasThere]

I'm a total planner. Park times, parades, shows, hight restrictions, dining reservations...etc.

Wife calls me crazy until we see how much we do in the course of a day.

If you don't plan, you end up going back a forth through the park wasting time.

If we get done what we want to...then we go leisurely getting second rides on everyones favorites, see shows we skipped, do some people watching...

 

[EaglesfanNJ]

This is a fascinating poll to me, and I've read many of the responses. Personally, i'm a planner to a certain extent. IE: I make ADR's, we plan around Extra Magic Hours, buy everything in advance such as MNSSHP tickets.

I am curious, though, and i'm looking for actual feedback from "Wingers" First let me preface by saying by no means am i judging or do i want to seem like i think "planning" is the way to go. I'm actually curious to know the answer to this...

So if you wing it, I wanted to know how you make it work? In other words, do you plan nothing? Do you just go during off season and that helps with dining? Do you just show up at table service spots and hope for the best? Will you just go to any park on any given day with no regards to Extra Magic Hours or special engagements?

 

[Walt Disney1955]

The problem is, going to WDW is something that a first time person CANNOT do with their eyes closed. It is important to know that there is a difference between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. It's important to know that there are two water parks and hopper passes and stuff like this. Nowadays with the internet the only thing stopping a person from planning a trip properly is laziness.

You can educated yourself on the line ups, the fastpasses, the best day to visit a park, the days it might rain, the hours of operation and most importantly I cringe at the people who leave the park at 6pm. They miss Wishes, Spectromagic and I've had people get a weird look on their face if I ask them how they liked Splash Mountain. There is no excuse nowadays to not know what you are getting into and to know how to fully experience the whole park. Because we all know how immersive the experience can be if people do it.

As for me I plan to an extent. I wanted to hop to all 4 major parks on one certain day and I swore I would do it but I didn't. In a way I winged it that day but I had done the 4 parks already. In general I tend to have a little bit of an plan going in there.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

So if you wing it, I wanted to know how you make it work? In other words, do you plan nothing? Do you just go during off season and that helps with dining? Do you just show up at table service spots and hope for the best? Will you just go to any park on any given day with no regards to Extra Magic Hours or special engagements?

I will plan dining. I think leaving that up to chance goes beyond winging...more like flying blind. :lol:

I do try to go during less busy seasons, and I generally stay offsite, so EMH's aren't really relevant to me.

I guess to some extent we have an issue of how to define planning vs. winging, since everybody will see a little of both in themselves.

One big difference I've seemed to pick up on...I have never on any trip planned to spend the entire day in a particular park. That seems to be a big thing people who define themselves as "planners" do...if they don't plan their day down to the second, they do at least have a general idea which section of property they will be in at any given moment. They have their "MK day," their "Epcot day," etc.

That's definitely not me. Even if I have a rough outline of what I want to do or see the next day, I generally wander around as I (or people I'm with) want to throughout the day. If we've been in a park for awhile and agree that we're tired of it (and don't have a reservation coming up), then we'll move on to somewhere else.

 

[Rinx]

So if you wing it, I wanted to know how you make it work? In other words, do you plan nothing? Do you just go during off season and that helps with dining? Do you just show up at table service spots and hope for the best? Will you just go to any park on any given day with no regards to Extra Magic Hours or special engagements?

The only things we plan are three ADRs and a round of golf. Other than that we decide which park to go when we wake up and do whatever we feel like based on lines and fastpass times. We'll eat where ever we are, we like most of the QS spots around the parks. Oh, and we will make sure we hit up the EMHs.

 

[EaglesfanNJ]

The only things we plan are three ADRs and a round of golf. Other than that we decide which park to go when we wake up and do whatever we feel like based on lines and fastpass times. We'll eat where ever we are, we like most of the QS spots around the parks. Oh, and we will make sure we hit up the EMHs.

That's cool. I guess overall there was a grey area on the thread title in regards to how we define planning and how we define winging it. What you mention above, involved a very small amount of planning, but planning nonetheless.

I guess like i said, i lie somewhere in between. I love the freedom and flexibility of going wherever we want, whenever we want, withouth being tied down to some military style spreadsheet or itinerary. I also have been to WDW enough where i know what to expect by now. And what to expect is that i have to make ADR's if i want a sit down meal.

 

[PhilharMagician]

I try to plan to utilize my time, since this vacation is costing me a decent chunk of change (that I really should be using on my college loans) I want to enjoy every moment. I planned which days based on EMH, but not what order we're doing things.

Except riding the Mansion first. That's the only "must do" kinda thing. The rest is "planned with the option of changing if necessary".

Don't take this the wrong way, but those typically are the days you want to stay away. Historically the parks busiest days are during EMH.


I would say a bit of both.

I plan the following:
Where stay.
Where to eat at night.
What park to possibly visit that day depending on crowds.
The rest who knows. Park hopping, DTD visit, hang at the pool, mini golf, resort visiting, water parks????????