Anyone else feel like they overplan?

[cdnjason]

I love planning. I always over plan, then cut things out as we go with the flow while there.

 

[behindthegossip]

Those people freaking out because their plan isn't working out? Totally don't get why people call those guys overplanners. To me, they underplanned, because they didn't consider the fact that kids don't follow plans!

Luckily I do not have kids (and WILL NOT have kids for a very long time) so I don't have to deal with this, but it made me laugh none the less.

 

[DisneyNewbieDad]

I like the idea that part of being a planner is planning for the unplanned nature of kids.

 

[CaterFamily]

Yes we certainly over plan!!

You should see my wife's WDW Christmas planning spiral notebook...

 

[shalom]

I like the idea that part of being a planner is planning for the unplanned nature of kids.

Sometimes you can figure out ahead of time how to derail their derailment for at least the first few hours of the day. Have a list of distractions, that don't involve long lines, to throw out as soon as they start looking like they want to veer off course ("Let's go see if Cinderella's in the castle" "Let's go see if you can pull the sword out of the stone" -- helps to watch Disney movies before the vacation and know who most interests them), and then after you get them out of sight of whatever was distracting them, hopefully you can move them on to whatever it is you'd planned. Doesn't work with all kids, but by the time my kids weren't out of sight, out of mind, they were old enough to understand how taking turns worked. And of course I always made sure everyone got to pick out rides and things they wanted to do sometimes.

But I do think going with kids requires a lot more playing it by ear. I've known a lot of people who got to Orlando planning a big ol' Disney vacation, only to discover the kids wanted to spend most of the day in the resort pool! Nonplanners and non-Disney people love to hear that ("saved a boatload of cash on Disney tickets!"), planners and Disney fans, not so much. Some people have cooperative kids who nap in their strollers, and some had a kid like that last time, but the older version just gets cranky and then does that "I'm so tired I'm just gonna cry" thing instead.

IMHO, it's always a good idea to include the possibility of a goodly chunk of down time when little kids are along. Part of planning ahead with the somewhat older ones is sitting the kids down and saying, "Okay, this vacation is not about you, it's about spending time with Aunt Jan and Uncle Jim" or otherwise convincing them ahead of time that they aren't running the show. And sometimes another part is sitting some of the adults down and saying, "Look, I know you love to race from ride to ride from park open to park close, but my two year old doesn't work that way... how about we just meet for lunch?"

 

[mikerohlfing]

I'm in the midst of planning my first trip that includes Fastpass+. I'm sure it'll be great, but I'm already longing for the paper Fastpasses. I was so good at 'taking advantage' of the system; I'll certainly miss the spontaneity of it. Here's hoping that Disneyland sticks with the old system for a while longer...

 

[jlnten17]

I am a major overplanner but am getting better. On our first trip I had my ADRs for all the highly recommended restaurants and not a single one was worth it (too late, kids tired, not hungry yet, etc). Now I will make a reservation for our top 2 or 3 places then wing it for the rest. I have FP+ for FEA but the rest we will decide as we go. We always rope drop so that helps big time. I also love seeyareelsoon to get my Disney fix. And Gillian at home has some great vlogs as well.

 

[kniquy]

I too am an over planner. We don't have a family trip until early 2018 and i am already trying to figure out how many days at each park and where we want to eat. I know our plans will evolve and take shape as we really start talking about our wish list. I think there is a lot of weight on my shoulders to plan a perfectly timed trip for my family and my in-laws. I like to rise to the occasion and impress everyone with how smoothly and efficiently i can plan dining reservations and FP+.

Planning is half the fun of Disney (for me at least, my husband would have no clue where to start). Planning less really depend upon who you are traveling with - if it were just a couple of adults then you could be more lax with the plans. With kids you need to plan out your fast passes and figure out meals otherwise you will have crabby, hungry kids. It also depends on the time of year -- holidays - you better be on the computer at 180 days to make dinner reservations. I just looked on my disney app and if you wanted to get a dinner reservation for tomorrow night -- then there is plenty open with a little flexibility in times. I long for an adult only trip, but at least for the next 10-15 years we will be on the kids schedule.

We just bought a DVC at AKL so now that we will be able to go every other year i will likely be able to ease up on the tight schedule to see everything.

I think we need an over planner support group where we share our tips and detailed spreadsheets.

 

[toolmanjan]

I long for days gone by.
No fastpasses
We could make our dinner ressies during our afternoon break for that evening.
Extra Magic hours played a small part in deciding what park we hit that day

We are go with the flow people
The closest thing to a plan is a bucket list for our visit (+it's a mental list)

I like the FP+ better than the paper system. But wish I could make my choices before I leave for the parks in the am.


Do I think some people over plan, Yes. But that works for them. If I made plans that were written in stone my family would surely revolt.

 

[Delirium]

I don't think I overplan, but I am scared that I'll be late to the 11:42 restroom break in the breezeway between Adventureland and Frontierland on October 5th. If that happens, my whole trip goes south.

 

[biondagirl]

Totally! Preparing for last year's trip felt like a job. I was so stressed planning which park, on which day. Which fastpasses. Which restaurants, which meal . . . . But it all worked out beautifully. We really had one of our best trips!

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

I used to. Some people think I still do, but I always tell them, it's an improvement over what it used to be! My spouse and kids like to have an idea of what to expect, but our #1 family rule on vacation (any vacation) is "be flexible". We book our FPs, make some ADRs, sketch out a rough itinerary ("Monday is Epcot day! I set up afternoon FPs, so we can sleep in, grab breakfast at the hotel, and do the FPs and whatever else until dinner at 7 in Mexico! Do we want to stay for Illuminations, or do we go back and hit the pool?"), and we're golden. We've blown off FPs, we've dropped ADRs or picked up new ones, it's all good.

 

[DisneyMom111]

Another overplanner here...and I love it. For me, the planning is part of the whole experience. I have a binder that has way more info than I need, just because its fun to print it out and put it in there. Like Pinterest, but in a book...lol I am not spontaneous at all and do have a hard time when things don't go as planned. That's something I have been working on. I was much better on our last trip. But when a first time traveler comes to me for help planning their trip, the look of fear and horror in their face is totally understandable. It's overwhelming what you need to know to plan a trip these days. It's so much! But I am happy to guide them and it helps get me through until it's time to plan OUR next trip "home"

 

[Leelo]

I am a planning addict! I love it! My husband is a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. It's a good balance. We don't drive each other crazy. He just tells me when he needs to feel unplanned and we do it. I have learned to be okay with having a "flexible" plan instead of a rigid one AND my planning has saved the day SOOOO many times that he really appreciates me for it.

IDEAS: Sometimes instead of a set plan, I give us 2-3 options and then we decide which option on the fly. It makes us feel spontaneous but I also get to sort of pre-plan the spontaneity. Best of both worlds for me.

 

[Alfredo68]

I am generally not an overplanner, but have really enjoyed planning for my upcoming October solo week trip to WDW. I even did a calendar on Word, with Disney characters and all! Most of my planning is which park/s I am visiting on which day, and what dinner reservations I am making. Since I am an introvert and this is my first solo trip to WDW, I wanted to make sure I had my dinners planned, especially as the MNSSHP and the EPCOT's F&W things are going on and getting into restaurants w/o reservations may prove difficult. I will also schedule my FPs. After that, I will go with the flow and see how I feel. The park hopper will allow me to jump on a Monorail and head to WDW to EPCOT or vice-versa depending on my mood and reservations. Planning also let's me put on the calendar park and event hours so I know what I am looking at once I'm there rather than constantly go to My Disney Experience app, since I forget things five minutes later. Having a printed out calendar for each day, folded in my cargo pants pocket, will help me along so I can then be totally stress free. I find that if I do not plan, I stress later now knowing what is going on around me. This goes back to my school days, when everyone knew what was up but me. I have a learning disability, and did not find this out until about three years into college (a bit too late), so I spent my childhood playing catch up. For my Disney trip, I am prepared!

 

[casperthegm]

It's tough to balance planning vs spontaneity. We are planners, by nature and because we figure if we're paying that much for a trip we want to be sure we are as informed about what is available to us as we can be. We cross reference all of the crowd calendars, map out our dining reservations on a spreadsheet, etc. But we generally feel that it's better to be prepared, even at the risk of "over-preparing." You know the stories we've seen here, where families show up and had no idea about fp's, dining plan, or even how many parks make up WDW.

At the same time, there is something to be said for spontaneity, or slowing down our pace and "taking it all in." It's a work in progress for us

 

[Alfredo68]

It's tough to balance planning vs spontaneity. We are planners, by nature and because we figure if we're paying that much for a trip we want to be sure we are as informed about what is available to us as we can be. We cross reference all of the crowd calendars, map out our dining reservations on a spreadsheet, etc. But we generally feel that it's better to be prepared, even at the risk of "over-preparing." You know the stories we've seen here, where families show up and had no idea about fp's, dining plan, or even how many parks make up WDW.

At the same time, there is something to be said for spontaneity, or slowing down our pace and "taking it all in." It's a work in progress for us

I think planning and preparing takes the stress out of the experience. If we plan it all out yet leave room for spontaneity, it works out. Disney changes constantly, so for me, planning means catching up since being there in 2011. I would have hated showing up to WDW with no clue as to what a MagicBand was...I'd hate to be THAT person. LOL.

Last night, my brother-in-law texted me that they want to take my niece and her idiot boyfriend (trust me, he is a total idiot) to WDW in September and did I have suggestions for hotels. After all the planning I have been doing in the last two months for my October trip, I burst out laughing when I saw his text and wanted to text back, "September? You mean TWO WEEKS FROM NOW? ARE YOU KIDDING???" But I did not. I simply told them good luck finding a resort room last minute (and not pay through the nose) and, if they planned on staying off-Disney property, I could not really help them. I also reminded him that these days people plan their Disney trips months ahead of time. On a side note, I also wanted to tell him I think my niece is a spoiled brat who probably started the "I want to go to Disney" routine when she saw I was going in October and, since she gets what she wants, they want to go NOW. Did I mention she is 19, not 5?! We used to live in FL in the 80's and 90's, so I guess my sister still remembers the days when we'd decide to go to Disney overnight, get in the car and go for the day. Living in Atlanta, 6 hours drive, it does not work that way.

Anyway, all this to say, for Disney: WE PLAN. LOL.

 

[DisneyMom111]

IDEAS: Sometimes instead of a set plan, I give us 2-3 options and then we decide which option on the fly. It makes us feel spontaneous but I also get to sort of pre-plan the spontaneity. Best of both worlds for me.

This is a great idea, a good way to balance planning and flexibility. I'll have to try this next time.

 

[pigletgirl]

I like the idea that part of being a planner is planning for the unplanned nature of kids.

Yes! I whole-heartedly agree. Kids are perfect at ruining the plan.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I make loose plans and then just enjoy my day. We do make fastpasses and adrs in advance, but many times we miss fastpasses or change them at the last moment. I pay a lot of money and work very hard to earn my vacations, I will not be stressed out trying to have the "perfect" trip. Our culture today is so obsessed with everythibg being picture perfect that we forget the whole point if to have fun and relax. I refuse to spend my vacation sweating the small stuff. And we always have a good time.