Secrets of Trip Planning!

[real mad hatter]

Hi folks,Now iam sure they are many of you out there that have a wee secret of something you do concerning your upcoming trip to WDW. One of our favourites is devising a matrix with the magic hours,morning & evening,our ADRS,parade and show times,etc. Once it's complete we laminate it and pin it to our resort room wall. Then as each day comes to an end,we check what's the schedule for tomorrow,we don't always stick to it but it keeps us on our toes. So do you have a planning secret that you do?:wave:

 

[mickeysshoes]

No real secrects here. I plan our lunch by what park we go to in the morning..most of the time it will be the park with EMH. Dinner has no real plan just however I am able to schedule the ADR's so we get the times we want. We are park hopper people so it can be anywhere. We tend to spend the morning as a family and the DH will leave us for a nap after lunch and we will meet back up for dinner and then the kids will do their thing and DH and I will do ours.

 

[GoochDSA]

We also don't really have any secrets when it comes to planning either. Our toughest decision is where we will stay. I usually want one resort and my fiancee usually wants a different one. The only other thing we really plan for is our ADRs, which we change over and over and over again (we even still change them around while in the parks). We are hoppers and tend to really go with the flow. Just because we me have breakfast scheduled in one park, does not mean we will be there long after breakfast. Also, it is just the 2 of us, so it's not a big hassle going from one park to another or settling for less desired dining times (we actually try to get the last ADR of the night on most nights).

 

[mickeysshoes]

We also don't really have any secrets when it comes to planning either. Our toughest decision is where we will stay. I usually want one resort and my fiancee usually wants a different one. The only other thing we really plan for is our ADRs, which we change over and over and over again (we even still change them around while in the parks). We are hoppers and tend to really go with the flow. Just because we me have breakfast scheduled in one park, does not mean we will be there long after breakfast. Also, it is just the 2 of us, so it's not a big hassle going from one park to another or settling for less desired dining times (we actually try to get the last ADR of the night on most nights).

We tend to eat dinner later at Disney then we do at home. We like 8:00 pm or 8:15 pm!!!

 

[Susan Savia]

We begin our vacation at Epcot, then next day is MK, then HS and then AK.
Unless there are EMHs at the park of our choice for that day, then we switch off to one without them. It is the only thing we plan. The rest is on the fly after all, 6 months out we have no idea what we'll feel like eating, etc. We used to make ADRS and be racing to get to them, but stopped and it's much more relaxing now, not having to hurry to leave to go here or there.

 

[Florida_is_hot]

My plan and the one that works for me is book 5 or 6 nights at a WDW Resort.

Wake up and say..... hum..... what do I feel like doing today?

Go down to the bus stop if the first bus is the Magic Kingdom go there, first buss is Epcot do Epcot, the first bus is Hollywood Studios ok.... the first bus is Animal Kingdom.... well wait for the next bus.

I never plan anything.

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

The fist thing I do is go to touringplans.com and look at the crowd calendar and see the projected crowds for the upcoming year to see which week we want to be there. For instance, we've been the last 3 spring breaks in a row and had the time of our lives. When I looked at the crowd calendar for this past spring break it showed 10/10 every day so we opted to pick another week to go. We had family that went and they said it was CRAZY CROWDED and not near as much fun as our trips before! Next we pick a resort, decide how many days, then I follow touringplans.com as far as best parks to be in each day. The planning ends there. Once we get to the parks we know what we want to ride so we just go for it.

 

[real mad hatter]

Good Call.

My plan and the one that works for me is book 5 or 6 nights at a WDW Resort.

Wake up and say..... hum..... what do I feel like doing today?

Go down to the bus stop if the first bus is the Magic Kingdom go there, first buss is Epcot do Epcot, the first bus is Hollywood Studios ok.... the first bus is Animal Kingdom.... well wait for the next bus.

I never plan anything.

Hey,I like your idea,that's cool.:wave:

 

[EaglesfanNJ]

Hi folks,Now iam sure they are many of you out there that have a wee secret of something you do concerning your upcoming trip to WDW. One of our favourites is devising a matrix with the magic hours,morning & evening,our ADRS,parade and show times,etc. Once it's complete we laminate it and pin it to our resort room wall. Then as each day comes to an end,we check what's the schedule for tomorrow,we don't always stick to it but it keeps us on our toes. So do you have a planning secret that you do?:wave:

Our secret??? Not really a secret! Use Kingdom Konsultants!

Seriously though they do all of this for you.. In your package from KK comes a laminated card with lanyards.. the card reads your ADR times, places, and reservation #'s. Also in your package is a list of the EMH's, park maps, helpful packing tips, etc.

It's the little things like these that you don't have to worry about, they're already done for you, and you still get the fun and benefit of being involved in the planning process!

KK, if you didn't know...... now you know! :wave:

 

[real mad hatter]

K.k.

Our secret??? Not really a secret! Use Kingdom Konsultants!

Seriously though they do all of this for you.. In your package from KK comes a laminated card with lanyards.. the card reads your ADR times, places, and reservation #'s. Also in your package is a list of the EMH's, park maps, helpful packing tips, etc.

It's the little things like these that you don't have to worry about, they're already done for you, and you still get the fun and benefit of being involved in the planning process!

KK, if you didn't know...... now you know! :wave:

Yeh,I've read about KK thro these threads,I take it they are an American company?My local travel agent tried to charge me $1600 for free dining this year.She had no idea what QS was on the DDP and she didnt know that it was free.:hammer:

 

[plaz10]

I plan like crazy! I plan all the ADRs - then religiously research the menu items, reviews, pictures of food. I do the same with counter service and snacks as well.

Then I watch Youtube videos, read trip reports, look at pictures from past trips. I have a "disney box" that has old park maps, room keys, etc...that is nice to go through.

Websites like this one are great just to read about people talking about Disney. I could talk Disney all day, every day. So this site helps.

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

sounds good to me!

I plan like crazy! I plan all the ADRs - then religiously research the menu items, reviews, pictures of food. I do the same with counter service and snacks as well.

Then I watch Youtube videos, read trip reports, look at pictures from past trips. I have a "disney box" that has old park maps, room keys, etc...that is nice to go through.

Websites like this one are great just to read about people talking about Disney. I could talk Disney all day, every day. So this site helps.

your speaking my language lol...i do the same thing! my wife lets me handle all the details, she gets a little annoyed with all my disney talk, but once were about 2 months out she gets excited. as long as i keep everything spread out, not too much of this, not too much of thats shes good. once month from right now well be at wdw! downtown disney first night....31 days!

 

[copcarguyp71]

We use a car service from the airport to the hotel for arrival. You get off the plane the driver grabs your luggage and off to the resort we go in a comfy town car. This means no possibility of bags arriving four hours after you do and no potential wait for the Magic Express to arrive or board. We get one stop included in the car fee ($68) and pick up a case or two of water. When we get to the resort we do not run the risk of half the Magic Express bus being for our resort meaning a log jam at check in.

To us it is a cheap way to start off stress free even though they provide ME for free it is still worth it and we use ME for our return to the airport as it is much less craziness on departure versus arrival.

Also we use a car service at home for our trip to and from Phila International. It is a little bit of money but no too much more when you balance it against the headache of driving yourself, getting a bus from long term parking to the terminal, the cost of parking and the possibility of your car being broken into or damaged...it is a luxury I allow myself rather than the stress of driving to the airport myself. After all, this is my vacation too and starting it out all stressed stinks.

 

[bethymouse]

I plan too, but this year for our 15th anniversary we're relaxing @ the POLY I do make ADRS and plan the days we go to which park. ENJOY!

 

[cornandacobb]

We use a car service from the airport to the hotel for arrival. You get off the plane the driver grabs your luggage and off to the resort we go in a comfy town car. This means no possibility of bags arriving four hours after you do and no potential wait for the Magic Express to arrive or board. We get one stop included in the car fee ($68) and pick up a case or two of water. When we get to the resort we do not run the risk of half the Magic Express bus being for our resort meaning a log jam at check in.

To us it is a cheap way to start off stress free even though they provide ME for free it is still worth it and we use ME for our return to the airport as it is much less craziness on departure versus arrival.

Yep, we skip the Magical Express and rent a car/van service...a van because I usually travel with a group. We hit up a supermarket on the way to the resort to pick up the following: case of water, 12 pack beer, yogurt, milk, juice boxes, granola bars, dry snacks, fruit. No need to pack this stuff in luggage. I feel sort of stupid when the bellhop has 4 or 5 grocery bags hanging of the cart...but I'll throw him a few extra $. It's soooo worth it to make the stop...especially traveling with kids.

 

[SMS55]

For us we get up early. We try to be the at the park as it opens. You can knock out some of the big rides. Our first morning we tend to go to MK since we are our freshest and it is easiest to get up. We'll knock out some of the big rides early to avoid lines and get fast passes for others. In the middle of the day we'll head over to another park. Works for us.

 

[jlevis]

I'm with Florida_is_hot. We stay at our timeshare every trip so no decision there. On our next trip our grandsons have a Yes Program at EPCOT our first day. After that it is pretty-much a free for all. We do have an ADR at Mama Melrose for my birthday but that's all the planing I've done. I did do the matrix thing once. Never looked at it. Oh, we drive sowe know where our luggage is all the time. :lol:

 

[Lexi]

Use the extra magic hours to your advantage, but not the way most people think. If MK is open early on Monday, its obviously smart to avoid it if you are looking for smaller crowds. Go to MK the following morning, I bet it will be empty, people have moved on to the next park thats opening early that day.