Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Some folks actually enjoy the planning but it isn't for everyone. Definitely stay home if you can't put time into planning. Lots more places to spend your money. Lots of sour faces and kids getting yelled at in the parks.

Half the enjoyment of taking a vacation is planning it! That way I don't only enjoy the actual days there, but I daydream about my vacation while tweaking my plans. I don't understand the people who leave it all to chance.
But then I'm a research scientist. This is what I do anyway

+1

I do both. I plan for months and line up all of the set things (like where we're staying, flight times, ADRs you can't get last minute) and then have a loose plan for each day. There are apps that will recalculate ride schedule on the fly to work around FPs for high wait rides, but there's no need to obsess about sticking by a set schedule.

And the best WDW vacation we had was 2yo, 5yo, and me. We didn't go on all the rides because of height limits for the 2yo, but we had a blast and it wasn't stressful at all. The last time we went was more stressful but that was mostly because it was 10 degrees warmer than average that week.

I do want to say there's a lot of room between pre-planning everything and yelling at your melting down toddler, though. If you're of the mindset that you have to do everything, then you should probably pre-plan that.

this alone speaks volumes. go see the grand canyon. the trevi fountain. the air and space museum. absurd.

Those don't require planning? You have to book a room at the grand canyon a year in advance! You have to use their transportation system! It's mobbed in the summer! Hmmm...sounds like Disney.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Some folks actually enjoy the planning but it isn't for everyone. Definitely stay home if you can't put time into planning. Lots more places to spend your money. Lots of sour faces and kids getting yelled at in the parks.

Half the enjoyment of taking a vacation is planning it! That way I don't only enjoy the actual days there, but I daydream about my vacation while tweaking my plans. I don't understand the people who leave it all to chance.
But then I'm a research scientist. This is what I do anyway

+1

I do both. I plan for months and line up all of the set things (like where we're staying, flight times, ADRs you can't get last minute) and then have a loose plan for each day. There are apps that will recalculate ride schedule on the fly to work around FPs for high wait rides, but there's no need to obsess about sticking by a set schedule.

And the best WDW vacation we had was 2yo, 5yo, and me. We didn't go on all the rides because of height limits for the 2yo, but we had a blast and it wasn't stressful at all. The last time we went was more stressful but that was mostly because it was 10 degrees warmer than average that week.

I do want to say there's a lot of room between pre-planning everything and yelling at your melting down toddler, though. If you're of the mindset that you have to do everything, then you should probably pre-plan that.

this alone speaks volumes. go see the grand canyon. the trevi fountain. the air and space museum. absurd.

I'm a planner but Disney is so completely overwhelming that I realize I have met my match. DH and I were planning to go this summer (we already have hotel reservations and a few restaurant reservations), but we are now leaning toward cancelling.

I cannot believe that all the people who flood Disney have the money for it. It's so prohibitively expensive. We just went to Europe for two weeks over Christmas, and it was less expensive than Disney would be for us for 5 days.

My DD is 5.5 and she talks about Disney but not in a OMG I HAVE TO GO THERE NOW way. So, we'll probably wait, find a time that's less crowded, if that exists, and go. The work I've done already has stressed me out and made me think twice about spending my hard-earned money. Who wants to work that hard for a relaxing vacation?

Just took our first Disney trip over this past Thanksgiving. I did not listen to podcasts lol. Here's what I did do:

1. Booked the tickets 7 months in advance.
2. Booked meals 6 months in advance (you can cancel up to 24hours before and not be charged a penalty)
3. Booked Fast Passes 60 days in advance for the afternoon.

Once we got to FL we arrived at the parks everyday 30-40min before "rope drop" (when they open), did the popular rides first, have lunch, then did the FP's. Utilize the app. It has up the to minute wait times for rides so as you're exiting one you can quickly see the times for others around you.

That's it. We went during one of the most crowded times and got to ride near everything we wanted, DD met 25-30 characters and we had some great meals/experiences. You do the bulk of the work before you go, so when you're there it's just enjoying the moment. Seriously wonderful.

We have gone 3 years in a row, with a newborn at that. I don't see it as much planning. You purchase a hotel, rental car, tickets, wait in line and eat food. Big deal?

OP you are right. I've been going to WDW for about 40 yars (I am from Florida and grew up less than 90 minutes from the park.)

When I was a kid, we'd just pile in the car and go. Today, there is so much more preplanning involved to make it a successful trip -- the Fast Passes you get 60 days in advance really changed it for me.

Anyway, we're going back next month (my kid still loves it, even as a teen) but all the preplanning made it less for for me. He'll still have a great time.

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care what other people do on their vacation? You do you.

Right! I wouldn't give someone else's vacation a second thought; I have my own family to think about, I wasn't observing every family in Disney when we were there 2 weeks ago. We walked in, got our fast passes, walked around, found rides with shorter lines, went our on fast pass rides, ate great food and went back to the resort. Same routine for 3 days. I didn't observe other families, but asked a few ppl to take our picture.

Dear Lord, there are so many freaks in this world!!!

There is no need to buy guidebooks or do the type of excessive planning you are describing. We went last year. I did about 20 minutes of internet research, and consulted with a coworker who had been (conversation length about 10-15 minutes). We had a great time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Some folks actually enjoy the planning but it isn't for everyone. Definitely stay home if you can't put time into planning. Lots more places to spend your money. Lots of sour faces and kids getting yelled at in the parks.

Half the enjoyment of taking a vacation is planning it! That way I don't only enjoy the actual days there, but I daydream about my vacation while tweaking my plans. I don't understand the people who leave it all to chance.
But then I'm a research scientist. This is what I do anyway

+1

I do both. I plan for months and line up all of the set things (like where we're staying, flight times, ADRs you can't get last minute) and then have a loose plan for each day. There are apps that will recalculate ride schedule on the fly to work around FPs for high wait rides, but there's no need to obsess about sticking by a set schedule.

And the best WDW vacation we had was 2yo, 5yo, and me. We didn't go on all the rides because of height limits for the 2yo, but we had a blast and it wasn't stressful at all. The last time we went was more stressful but that was mostly because it was 10 degrees warmer than average that week.

I do want to say there's a lot of room between pre-planning everything and yelling at your melting down toddler, though. If you're of the mindset that you have to do everything, then you should probably pre-plan that.

Took my kids to Disney World several years ago. It seemed very worn down.. So, didn't seem so magical to me.

I planned Disney more than our trip to Europe and about the same in cost. Disney is an over rated, over priced tourist trap.

You think planning avoids meltdowns?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Some folks actually enjoy the planning but it isn't for everyone. Definitely stay home if you can't put time into planning. Lots more places to spend your money. Lots of sour faces and kids getting yelled at in the parks.

Why should I "stay home" if I don't enjoy planning? How about I go on a spontaneous beach vacation with my family and our neighbors' kids, like we did last summer? It was a blast.

Nah, just find out when the lowest crowd times are and go then. There are times when the parks are pretty empty. (The weeks after Labor Day is pretty great.)

We went in Feb when it was supposedly one of the lowest crowd times. It was still packed! We did it once- kids were 7 & 9- and won't do it again. It's not my idea of a vacation.

We just went for the first and last time in November during one of the "most recommended/least crowded" weeks and it was soooo crowded. We were just overwhelmed with the people everywhere and I had a travel agent and had done tons of planning. We went to see these Christmas lights at one of the parks and could barely move. We were herded through it like cattle to the slaughterhouse

Anonymous wrote:I've been dreaming of taking a Disney vacay. You've all talked me out of it, esp OP, so thanks!

You're welcome! One less person...

I've been dreaming of taking a Disney vacay. You've all talked me out of it, esp OP, so thanks!