Theres Planning..Then Theres Planning!!!

[real mad hatter]

Good Morning All..Had a wee chat with a neighbour yesterday who asked me when I was going back to WDW.I told her 2015 but the planning was already in action..Only in so much that we've decided on October instead of our usual July,and were going to book our flights separate from a package tour,and book our resort direct with WDW.Now when it comes to planning,I told her we book our ADRS and write down which days have extra morning & late hours.Now Mrs Hatter hates my commando style attack on the mouse.( alarm set for 6.30am ) But what amazes me is some folk plan each day like an military assault..Example..Day 1...Get up at 6.30am..Breakfast at 7,00am..Get bus to MK for rope drop..Start at Fantasyland...lunch at 11.30am CHH...Leave around 3.00pm..head back to resort for swim & chill out period..Get bus for Epcot at 6.00pm..Do Spaceship Earth,then MS,,followed by,etc,etc..Dinner at Rosé & Crown for 8.00pm,etc,etc...Then day 2 has another military assault..Is there anyone out there that does this type of planning?.. Come forward now,and tell us if you would do it again,or ease off on exact times for each day..

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

We definitely have our days planned on which park, our tables service restaurant, and our park opener attractions but we like to go with the flow a little. Sometimes towards the end of our trips we've even been known to let the Disney buses decided where we go that day, as in whatever bus shows up first that's where we go. Planning it to the last minute detail doesn't sound like much fun to me.

 

[ImagineerDude]

I don't do exact times...but here's my planning format....for example...


Day 1: Magic Kingdom
B- Crystal Palace 8:05am
M- MK
L- Cosmic Ray's whenever
A- Break?
D- Tony's 7:00pm
N- MK...Wishes 10pm

Day 2: and so on and so on...

 

[draybook]

Same here. We know which park we'll be at and we have our ADR times set along with parades, other than that it's a free for all.

 

[zurgandfriend]

I have said it before and I'll say it again my DW compares my planning to the invasion of Normandy. I make the ADR's plan the parks visits, book the resort, after much debate with DS and DW, and make packing lists for DS and myself.

 

[ginadee]

We definitely have our days planned on which park, our tables service restaurant, and our park opener attractions but we like to go with the flow a little. Sometimes towards the end of our trips we've even been known to let the Disney buses decided where we go that day, as in whatever bus shows up first that's where we go. Planning it to the last minute detail doesn't sound like much fun to me.

Let the bus decide. That sounds like fun.

 

[Figgy1]

We always plan for rope drop and out ADRs at least 180 days in advance. That being said I don't plan the exact order we'll be doing each and every ride, but we do plan our first 3 or four rides for each day and know which ts we plan to visit on which day and we even schedule in a few goody stops along the way. My boys are commandos so I try and schedule in some rest during the day, COP, HoP, EUE, FOLK, BATB etc.

 

[Susan Savia]

Heck no! Only plan we have is Epcot is always our first day and last day. We have (for our upcoming trip) made two ADRs. The one for the Crystal Palace for lunch, we will be spending that day at the MK. Usually we don't make any ADRs, but just wing it. We figure our lives at home are scheduled enough. This is vacation.

 

[epcotisbest]

Less than two weeks to go. In a few days we will be doing the single digit countdown dance. No ADRs, no tickets, no plans. It could be the best trip yet!

 

[JTT]

Love to plan! Talking, discussing, tweaking the park schedule, the restaurants & rides.
Making plans and changing them is part of the experience for us. We vote on old favorite restaurants to go back to, which new ones to try. What resort we can afford and the ones we wish we could.
Should we do a big breakfast or wait for dinner? Which counter service is the best? We always relive our Flame Tree BBQ lunches. Love the birds & the ducks.
Right now we are starting to plan for Thanksgiving 2014! Can’t wait!!

 

[bgraham34]

The only planning I do is work around my dining plans. I don't set what time I am going to ride an attraction or anything like that, well I guess I am going to have to with Fast Pass +. We get up when we need to get up.

 

[G8rchamps]

I am getting over my planning addiction as I've learned I wear out the family, but we usually plan which park days and our first few rides each day to hit the major attractions before the lines. Going this weekend with FP+ reservations, we'll see how it goes.

 

[Tom 55]

Good Morning All..Had a wee chat with a neighbour yesterday who asked me when I was going back to WDW.I told her 2015 but the planning was already in action..Only in so much that we've decided on October instead of our usual July,and were going to book our flights separate from a package tour,and book our resort direct with WDW.Now when it comes to planning,I told her we book our ADRS and write down which days have extra morning & late hours.Now Mrs Hatter hates my commando style attack on the mouse.( alarm set for 6.30am ) But what amazes me is some folk plan each day like an military assault..Example..Day 1...Get up at 6.30am..Breakfast at 7,00am..Get bus to MK for rope drop..Start at Fantasyland...lunch at 11.30am CHH...Leave around 3.00pm..head back to resort for swim & chill out period..Get bus for Epcot at 6.00pm..Do Spaceship Earth,then MS,,followed by,etc,etc..Dinner at Rosé & Crown for 8.00pm,etc,etc...Then day 2 has another military assault..Is there anyone out there that does this type of planning?.. Come forward now,and tell us if you would do it again,or ease off on exact times for each day..

We are extreme planners. Check the expected crowd levels to pick time of year to go. Figure what day has the least crowd in what park. Them figure ADR at least 180 days. Use the fact that you can make ADRS for the whole 10 day trip to get the hard to get ADRS 10 days before they are available to public. Make a few extra ADRS so you can fine tune as date get closer. Put together spread sheet showing all the open close time with the extra magic hour plus all parade and firework. Make matching t-shirts for each day that reflect what park we are going to. Costumes for MNSSHP. We watched airlines for specials for 6 month before we bought tickets. Got those in February. What rides are going to be closed for remodeling are listed. Were can we get ADRS that give us reserved seating for events. AS for how we spend each day once we get to part we have Disney app on our phones that show line wait times to plan our day. Use Fast Pass wisely. The only constant is that we like to go in September and stay at POFQ. Everything else we research and plan. Have been planning this trip since our last one in December 2012. So 22 more days till D-Day.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I'm SUCH a planner! I have Excel spreadsheets showing every day, the park hours, the time of nighttime entertainment (Fantasmic, Wishes, etc..) predicted crowd level... I even have little notes indicating what time we should get up each day and approximately what time we would be in bed each night so we know how much sleep we would be getting. I have a big manilla folder with hotel and airline confirmation, copies of our ADRs (just in case!) and a list of all my dining and which souvernirs I want so I don't forget anything! Oh yes, I'm a big planner! lol but not to the extent of having everything down to the minute planned out.

 

[dopeylover]

I have had the park days for our 2014 trip planned for quite some time, although we are just booking! In terms of restaurants, I usually have those too, but we're trying some new things this year so I'm still in the process of planning. Our DD will be 4 1/2 and our son (who will be here in 30 days!) will be 14 months, so we'll be adding character meals to our dining for the first time in years. Also, we need to give BoG a try, and we're going to try some different restaurants in WS. I'm enjoying exploring things, since we've very much been creatures of habit at WDW!

Here's a question for everyone----We went to Jiko on our honeymoon, and it was one of the best meals of my life! I'd love to go back, but looks like this trip we will be w/ our kids w/o the help of other family. When we were there, there were older children dining with their families, but our kids will be little. Do you think if we made an early dinner reservation we could go with them? I'm thinking no, but I thought I'd ask everyones opinions. Sorry to crash the thread, but I know @real mad hatter loves food like I do, so I thought he would give a good opinion!

 

[Raven66]

On our last trip my husband almost planned me to death. I wanted to smother him in his sleep. But we usually make some ADR's and we know which park for which day. And we know that when we get to MK the very first thing we do is Mickey's Philharmagic. But that's it. Everything else is play by ear.

 

[harryk]

I have had the park days for our 2014 trip planned for quite some time, although we are just booking! In terms of restaurants, I usually have those too, but we're trying some new things this year so I'm still in the process of planning. Our DD will be 4 1/2 and our son (who will be here in 30 days!) will be 14 months, so we'll be adding character meals to our dining for the first time in years. Also, we need to give BoG a try, and we're going to try some different restaurants in WS. I'm enjoying exploring things, since we've very much been creatures of habit at WDW!

Here's a question for everyone----We went to Jiko on our honeymoon, and it was one of the best meals of my life! I'd love to go back, but looks like this trip we will be w/ our kids w/o the help of other family. When we were there, there were older children dining with their families, but our kids will be little. Do you think if we made an early dinner reservation we could go with them? I'm thinking no, but I thought I'd ask everyones opinions. Sorry to crash the thread, but I know @real mad hatter loves food like I do, so I thought he would give a good opinion!

Walt DisneyWorld has been established for 'families'. We dine at Jiko's every year - it is a must for us. We usually get reservations for anytime around 5:00 P.M. (We just like to eat early - since it gives us time to stop in another park before they all close). You should not have any problem with youngsters at that hour.
Go and enjoy!!

 

[real mad hatter]

I have had the park days for our 2014 trip planned for quite some time, although we are just booking! In terms of restaurants, I usually have those too, but we're trying some new things this year so I'm still in the process of planning. Our DD will be 4 1/2 and our son (who will be here in 30 days!) will be 14 months, so we'll be adding character meals to our dining for the first time in years. Also, we need to give BoG a try, and we're going to try some different restaurants in WS. I'm enjoying exploring things, since we've very much been creatures of habit at WDW!

Here's a question for everyone----We went to Jiko on our honeymoon, and it was one of the best meals of my life! I'd love to go back, but looks like this trip we will be w/ our kids w/o the help of other family. When we were there, there were older children dining with their families, but our kids will be little. Do you think if we made an early dinner reservation we could go with them? I'm thinking no, but I thought I'd ask everyones opinions. Sorry to crash the thread, but I know @real mad hatter loves food like I do, so I thought he would give a good opinion!

Well if memory serves me right,in 2010,there was a family of three sitting not far from us at Jiko...I'am sure they had French accents..There little girl looked about 4 years old and the server gave her crayons and a book of Disney animals to colour in..Nice touch..Go for it..A memory awaits you..

 

[Weather_Lady]

Hi, my name is weather lady. ("Hi, weather lady.") I'm here to confess that I am a park commando. I'm trying to get better, but it's difficult because I enjoy planning vacations SO MUCH.

The thing is, though, we use the plan as a guideline. Does it have every park, every land and every attraction listed in the most minute detail, along with the "alternative" attractions in each slot for those who don't meet a height requirement or don't "do" rollercosters? Well of course, it does! Does it list where we're stopping for a snack and when? Does it have bathroom breaks? Does it plan every day down to half-hour increments? Well, yes! Does it get double-checked, every-which-a-way, through the touringplans website in order to maximize attractions and minimize walking? Darn straight it does!

But do I insist on sticking to it? Of course not! We show up for rope drop every day but one, and follow the plan about 75% of the time. It makes us pretty darn efficient. The rest of the time, we pause to see a street performance, wander off to snag the snack someone just HAS TO HAVE at that moment, take in a passing parade, or jump in an unexpectedly-short line for an attraction that wasn't on the list.

My family actually enjoys feeling like we "know where we're going," and my children love the "adventure" of trying to follow the plan (they like to hold the list and point the way) and become instantly overwhelmed if they are confronted with too many choices. We're also early risers, so it's never difficult to coax the family out of bed for rope drop.

In short, going commando works for us.

 

[jw24]

I don't make those strict schedules. Having exact times seems too much for me. I mean, rides could shut down for the rest of the day, weather could cancel live shows or parades, etc. So to have a plan, then a backup plan, then potentially, a backup for the backup becomes too much. *Edna Mode voice* "Too much!" But like I've said many times, creating a set schedule will in all likelihood, end up not being followed at all! I mean, I have a time range regarding meals. Not exact time like 1 pm sharp for lunch but more in a range of a few hours like 12-3 for lunch. I plan my day based on priorities so obviously, my favorite rides and if applicable, the most popular rides I'm interested in are the things that need to be done first. (Re-riding is not an issue. Making sure I get at least one ride on my favorites and must ride attractions does!) In between all that, it's shows and character greetings because it's too much on my plate to fight FP return times, potentially long standby lines, meeting characters and seeing the shows I want to see all at once! I try to do M&Gs first over shows because unless characters do greeting into the nighttime hours, I'll need to do it sooner rather than later! General speaking, there's not too many characters I want to meet and take a pic with so there's enough room for seeing shows. That's just me though.