What have i done???

[msthunder]

eleven more days to go to our first trip to DW and I am finding myself dreading it more and more. At first I was SO EXCITED,, but after all the booking, scheduling, iterneraries,,, and books of tips,,, I am overloaded.

What was I thinking?? How in the world will this be fun???? There is NO WAY I can memorize all the do's and don't and go this way and go that way,, get a fast pass, catch the bus,,, wait in line, run to the mountain,,pack your blister mole skin, don't come off looking too stupid, stake out your spot for the parade, ,, put your fingers where?????

Now i just wish i would have booked a week at the beach or something.

 

[Hakunamatata]

This is your first trip isnt it?

Just relax. Schedule your days at the parks and meals, and dont wory about the rest. Just hit the park, get a map, start on one side and go to the other.

You have to understand that you cant to everything in one trip. In fact, Ive been going for 18 years or so and still have not done everything.....

Spontinaity (sp?) is a big part of the magic. If you go feeling like you are rushed, you will miss out on more than if you go and enjoy what you get to see and do.

 

[seabee1]

You will be fine. I always have a little overwelming feeling when I look at our schedule too, but it always works out. My trick is to not book things everyday that I am there. Leave a few days to do whatever moves us. Go, relax, experience what you can, and just remember you are there to have fun. Don't worry if you don't see everything, it will make your time there miserable if you are rushing around. Enjoy, and have a cookie from the Main St. bakery for me!!:wave:

 

[zjer]

The beach? Why? So you can burn your feet as you run from your car to the sand only to find all the good spots already taken? Then you lay out your blanket only to have some little snot run right over it getting muddy sand all over your blanket. Once you get settled and start to relax you turn to the right just in time for some kid to get his diaper changed. Oooh, what a deposit that one was. Within two hours you have sand on every inch of your body so you have to trek to your hotel to shower. Now sitting on your bed in the hotel, you think, why didn't I just go to Disneyworld?

Well, maybe not.

You'll have the time of your life. Don't rush!!!! Just go from point to point and if you don't see everything (which you won't) then it just gives you reason to return. If you find yourself getting flustered then leave the park, go back to your hotel and lay by the pool. Drink a Mai Tai and return to the parks later that evening.

 

[polynesiangirl]

With all due love and respect to my fellow WDWMagic members (and I include myself here,)...a lot of the WDW planning fanatic stuff you read online? Is a little bit overkill sometimes. People here (including myself!!) - we love to plan. Part of the fun for some of us is being exacting about where to go, planning all our meals, making schedules, etc. You probably do not need to be quite so thorough and stress yourself out about this.

That said, some of it is important. You should have SOME idea of where you want to go each day, SOME sort of dining plans for at least a few meals, but honestly? My family went to WDW every year when I was a kid and I cannot recall my mother ever having as detailed an attack plan as I have now, and we were FINE.

You may miss some rides. You will wait in a few lines here and there. You might not eat at some sit down restaurant you were sort of interested in. It doesn't matter. You will have a wonderful time no matter what - running yourself ragged to get on every last thing or freaking out over whether or not you got a Fastpass for something is just going to make you miserable. That is not a vacation. That is a work day! :lol: Getting Fastpasses at the right time or getting on the right side of a certain line or whatever - it really doesn't make earth shattering differences (unless you are going like, the most crowded week of the year or something.) In the end you will get on what you want to see and all that matters is that you have a GOOD TIME.

Take a breath. It's going to be totally OK. Honestly, my husband and I never stake out a spot for the parade, or the fireworks, more than a little bit in advance if ever. We don't bolt for the Fastpasses immediately after we get to the parks. We take our time. We always see what we want to see. If we forget something, we buy it there. If our feet hurt, we go back to the hotel and relax for a while. If the bus is late, it's late - nothing you can do about that.

Don't let us trip planning fanatics get you too riled up! :lol: :animwink:

 

[msthunder]

I do have the trip planned knowing what park we will be in each cause we had to make reservations for the dining plan dinners at night.

I know I won't see everything but it just feels like its gonna be so stressful!!!!
I am taking my blender and a liter of rum so I can mix daquiris in my room
Maybe those will take the edge off after a long day.

 

[zjer]

I
I am taking my blender and a liter of rum so I can mix daquiris in my room
Maybe those will take the edge off after a long day.

That's the spirit!!:lol:

 

[seabee1]

:lol: It sounds like you are ready!

 

[shoppingnut]

I do have the trip planned knowing what park we will be in each cause we had to make reservations for the dining plan dinners at night.

I know I won't see everything but it just feels like its gonna be so stressful!!!!
I am taking my blender and a liter of rum so I can mix daquiris in my room
Maybe those will take the edge off after a long day.

Okay, first you need to take a few deep cleansing breaths. You are flipping yourself out over nothing. Go with the flow and don't worry about things, so you made dinner ressie's, if you need to change something you can if they have availability at the other restaurant. I've planned my trips out with dinners and what parks we'll be at before I go and there are times, we switch things around while we are there, not a big deal. Just relax and have a good time.

That is only if you have the energy to press the button on the blender at the end of the day. :lol:

I usually end up just flopping in bed when we get back to the hotel at night.

 

[jcowens2000]

I always get major anxiety over the cost of a Disney trip about 48 hours before leaving. When you're budget is busting the $4k mark, I begin to think...crap. Maybe I should go to the beach lol

When its all over, it is worth every penny.

 

[Stitch69]

Just have fun! It is a vacation. The tips are great and are helpful- but if you don't get everything in this trip plan another. Remeber these are just tips not rules. Do what you want and makes you happy. You will have a much better time if you just relax! Have a magical trip and let us know how it goes!:wave:

 

[Lanipie]

I am like another member who already posted. I plan things out like crazy because I love it, but we went more times than I can count, when i was a kid and my mom never planned anything.

Just try to remain calm. Remember that everything you've planned is flexible. Basically just know how to get to the parks and then get back to your hotel and you'll be fine! Any ADR's you've made can easily be changed if you change your mind about anything.

WDW is, whatever you make of it. If you going in anxious and dreading everything then you are doomed to have everything go a crazily as you expect it to go. But, if you go in reminding yourself that it's a vacation and it's supposed to be fun, you'll be just fine.

ON Disney boards you will see lots of uber planners (guilty for me) but remember when you get to WDW, there will be hundreds and hundreds of people who planned nothing at all, so look at it like this....you're way ahead of the game on those people, so now all you have to do is sit back and relax as everything falls into place!

 

[New2WDW]

You'll be fine! Just enjoy the precious moments with those you are with.

 

[CelticRose]

The only thing I schedule in advance is of course hotel rooms, dinner reservations and that's it, we usually wake up in the morning and decide then what park we want to hit that day. The first day we are there is always MK!!!! So just take it one day at a time and have a ball!!!

I have 263 days until I am there:wave:

 

[DisneyMissy]

Just relax and go with the flow, you will be fine. It is loads of fun to plan for some of us but it can get stressful at times especially if this is your first trip. Don't worry about a thing, it will all fall into place for you.

 

[swimmom]

I do have the trip planned knowing what park we will be in each cause we had to make reservations for the dining plan dinners at night.

I know I won't see everything but it just feels like its gonna be so stressful!!!!
I am taking my blender and a liter of rum so I can mix daquiris in my room
Maybe those will take the edge off after a long day.

It really looks like you have everything under control. You obviously have a hotel reservation and you have your dining reservations and a plan for which park will put you where your dining reservations are for the day. And you know that everything can't be done in this one trip.

Now stop stressing out and go and have a great time!!!! Everything else will just fall into place.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

As much fun (and stress!) as I had reading, researching, and planning my trips to WDW, in the end this is what I did:

-made a chart with each day we would be at WDW, and the opening and closing times of each park, including parade times. So, it would have seven columns for each of the seven days of our trip, and four rows for each park. I'd include EMH just in case. I would also put all our ADR's on this chart as well.

-Kept a list of all ADR's we had made, and a few places we would like to have eaten, but did not have time. That way, when your 5pm ADR at Crystal Palace rolls around, and none of you are hungry, you can say, 'hey, didn't we all want to try O'Hanas?' and call WDW Dining and try to squeeze in a meal for after 8pm, when you all will be hungry.

-for the most part, forget about Fastpasses, except for the big rides. You might grab one for Soarin', or Space Mountain, but I don't think we got more than one or two for our week long vacation. Fastpasses are not so guest-friends as we like to think they are. They are mostly a tool invented by TWDC to spread us out more evenly around the parks. While you have almost two hours to pass until you can ride Soarin', you can't get another FP, so you wander around Epcot and go on Journey Into Your Imagination, which never has a wait. Genius.

-Also forget about getting the BEST spot for parades. Most times, you can show up 30 minutes before hand, stake out a halfway decent spot, grab a popcorn and soda, and still see the parade. Okay, maybe Peter Pan won't pose for a picture with you if you're three people deep, but you'll have had all that extra time beforehand. And, always wait for the second showing of a parade if there are two.

-HAVE FUN! Don't worry about looking stupid, or not knowing exactly what to do next. You might have written down '2:15 - arrive at The Land to ride Living with the Land', and your entire group might stop dead to see a street performance, of which there are a few in Epcot and Disney-MGM, I know.

Also, if you wake up on Magic Kingdom day and it's raining, go to Epcot. Plenty to do inside. Not to mention, alot of the time it won't rain for more than one hour. Stake out a dry spot and wait. I also found that the moleskin wasn't quite as necessary as most people think if you wear well broken in sneakers and make sure your feet are dry before you put your socks on. Foot powder helps, too.

The beach is boring. Too hot, not enough food choices, and WAAAAY too much sand. Disney is a much better option. Calm down, throw away most of your itineraries, and HAVE A GREAT TIME!!

 

[barnum42]

Other than anything you feel is a definite "must see", throw the itinerary out the window.

Then take your time in the parks. Don't race from one attraction to the next, just relax, saunter where your feet take you, immerse yourself in the atmosphere and the detail.

If you miss anything, make a note to see it next time. When you are familiar with the layout of the parks you may try using an itinerary next time you visit.

No point stressing out - it's a holiday. Time to relax. So do just that. :wave:

 

[ClemsonTigger]

I do have the trip planned knowing what park we will be in each cause we had to make reservations for the dining plan dinners at night.

I know I won't see everything but it just feels like its gonna be so stressful!!!!
I am taking my blender and a liter of rum so I can mix daquiris in my room
Maybe those will take the edge off after a long day.

Why even bother with that...just saunter down to the poolside bar, wave to the barkeep and say boatdrink please...and keep 'em coming! Mixing yourself is too much work.

You'll be fine!

 

[msthunder]

Why even bother with that...just saunter down to the poolside bar, wave to the barkeep and say boatdrink please...and keep 'em coming! Mixing yourself is too much work.

You'll be fine!

well,,, I read that the daiquiris at the bar by the pool were about 8$ a pop

SOOOOO,,,, in the name of saving money,,, I decided just to make my own.:lol: