Sure signs of not planning

[Cee]

Last week I was checking in at BOG for our ADR, and many people were in line asking how long the wait was. The CM was telling them november.

LOLOLOLOL!!!!!

 

[danceintherain]

There is a lot of ground between not having a rigid plan and arriving knowing nothing. Some who advocate not having a plan are not taking into account their knowledge of the Disney parks and resorts. I know I could show up and have a good time without planning, but I would know better than to walk up to the castle looking to eat lunch, or to head straight to Stitch or the People Mover first thing, or to look for the monorail to take me to Universal. I would have a good idea of restaurants to try to just walk up to, or good out of the way CS locations, or which rides to knock out first.

I think advising first timers to show up without any planning is doing them a disservice.

This is true. It's a matter of being aware of what is available to you, and making decisions based on that knowledge.
We didn't do awful, when I went as younger, but we did wait in a lot of long lines. We knew about FP, but didn't have a solid plan of how to use it. Most of the knowledge we had was based on the 9 months we lived in Orlando when I was 5 years old. By the time we went back when I was 14, a ton had changed. They had built a whole new park by then! Luckily, my parents knew how to read, since the FP info was on the back of the park map. A little bit of research would have gone a long way. That said, it was in the '90s so research was a little bit more difficult. You couldn't go online and read a million reviews about everything, or even reviews about books to buy.
My Dad actually argued with me during our last trip together, because I told him something was closed or something, and he didn't believe me.

Nowadays, I would never go anywhere without even the smallest background about where I'm going. Since our last few vacations have been fairly last minute, Disney ends up being a fall back, because I have years of research behind me.
Even taking a trip to an all-inclusive resort a few years ago, I did research about which place got the best reviews, and what exactly was included in the "all-inclusive" price. We mostly went and hung out next to the pool, but it was nice to be aware that they had archery, but we weren't interested enough to leave our loungers.

Our biggest Disney "mistake" was going over New Year's with very little planning. We didn't get up for Rope Drop at all, and almost got shut out of the Magic Kingdom on New Year's Eve, even though one of my brothers was in the parade.

 

[arlsdimples]

Being a baby.

Maybe I'm an ageist, but every time I see a baby at Disney World I can just tell they put almost no effort into planning.

Seriously? Why? I don't really understand this statement at all. You see someone with a baby and "can tell" they put no effort into planning? I've had 3 of my 4 children at Disney as babies, some more than once. They were easy. It is just as easy to plan with a baby as it is without. The planning is different and realistic expectations are different. Just because you can not fathom having an infant with you while in Disney does not mean other people find it to be an unbearable challenge or are too stupid to know better. Trust me I have had to do far more challenging things with an infant in tow than vacation with them in Disney World.

 

[kidneymomma]

We are going in Feb; our first trip since 2009 and first trip with kids. My DH keeps asking me why I am researching and trying to plan so much.... Well a lot has changed at Disney, I want to get these coveted ADR for character meals for the kiddos so we aren't one of these families. I want to do rope drop at least one day at MK.

 

[ElizabethG]

Seriously? Why? I don't really understand this statement at all. You see someone with a baby and "can tell" they put no effort into planning? I've had 3 of my 4 children at Disney as babies, some more than once. They were easy. It is just as easy to plan with a baby as it is without. The planning is different and realistic expectations are different. Just because you can not fathom having an infant with you while in Disney does not mean other people find it to be an unbearable challenge or are too stupid to know better. Trust me I have had to do far more challenging things with an infant in tow than vacation with them in Disney World.

I think you misunderstood. The baby didn't do any planning. You know, because babies hardly ever make plans. Tee Hee.

 

[POOHsie]

My all time favorite is when my BIL thought you could fly to Disney World... Not to MCO airport. He was shocked when he found out Disney didn't have its own runway. He is an EX BIL now, thank goodness!

WDW did have its own runway, not active for decades. I think it was for Disney execs and VIPs during WDW's initial development. But never for paying WDW guests. LOL

It's used now for semi trailer parking and bulk storage, as you can see on Google Maps. I read somewhere that the Disney plane (like the one on display at HS Backlot tour) flew in there, long before the Epcot monorail (seen below between World Dr and the airstrip) was even a vague idea.

 

[mummabear]

One thing that strikes me about this, is the difference between planning (e.g. scheduling, lists of stuff to do, etc) is less important than research (what there is to do, the ins and outs of stuff, etc).

Planning isn't really all that important. You can go with the flow, so long as you know how to swim. (As is seen by several posters here)

Research on the other hand, including trying to discover what you don't know you don't know, is important and can easily (and quickly) move a good trip over to a bad trip.

As far as amusing anecdotes...I don't really have any from either side. There was the time in 2009 that I forgot how to read the front of a bus and we ended up in Animal Kingdom instead of Magic Kingdom...on our 8:30am CRT breakfast day... that was interesting.

I agree, and not just for a Disney vacation but for any vacation. I really think that information is the key, and allows you to be flexible. Know if a museum is closed on a Monday, if the ferrys only run on Wed and Sat. Know so you can be spontaneous but don't end up disappointed (i.e. head back to the resort because you are tired to discover the next night-your last night-is a sold out hard ticket party and now you wont get to see the fireworks at all. Doesnt mean you dont head back just means you do so with the knowledge that you are choosing to miss x for y)

 

[mummabear]

There is a lot of ground between having a rigid plan and arriving knowing nothing. Some who advocate not having a plan are not taking into account their knowledge of the Disney parks and resorts. I know I could show up and have a good time without planning, but I would know better than to walk up to the castle looking to eat lunch, or to head straight to Stitch or the People Mover first thing, or to look for the monorail to take me to Universal. I would have a good idea of restaurants to try to just walk up to, or good out of the way CS locations, or which rides to knock out first.

I think advising first timers to show up without any planning is doing them a disservice.

100 x this.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Seriously? Why? I don't really understand this statement at all. You see someone with a baby and "can tell" they put no effort into planning? I've had 3 of my 4 children at Disney as babies, some more than once. They were easy. It is just as easy to plan with a baby as it is without. The planning is different and realistic expectations are different. Just because you can not fathom having an infant with you while in Disney does not mean other people find it to be an unbearable challenge or are too stupid to know better. Trust me I have had to do far more challenging things with an infant in tow than vacation with them in Disney World.

Get thyself to the nearest pharmacy and purchase a bottle of chill pills. They meant the baby didn't do any planning, not the parents.

Why does everyone have to take offense to everything in today's culture?

 

[nonstopdisneymom]

Visiting Florida for a week and spending Monday-Thursday at the beach and going to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on Friday and Saturday. With 5 kids and no fast passes because you "didn't get around to it and wanted to play it by ear".

 

[evilqueenmindy]

My sister and I hopped on the Epcot monorail to go back to the TTC and head back to Poly. Curiously, there was a family sitting in the section we picked that did not get off the monorail. Midway through the ride to the TTC, I overhear the family, pretty frustrated, with the dad telling them that magic kingdom HAS to be the next stop.
(During this declaration, the monorail announcements are explaining that to get to MK, you'll have to switch monorails. They do not pay attention to this)
So I tell them, politely if they want to go to MK, they have to switch monorails at the TTC. "This is the Epcot monorail, it only goes to Epcot"
The dad kinda nods dismissively at me, and when we arrive at the TTC, THEY STAY ON THE MONORAIL, and I hear the dad tell his family "she doesn't know what she's talking about"
I like to think they spent the rest of the day on the Epcot monorail, in their own personal twilight zone, waiting for the MK stop that never comes.

 

[BrokeMack]

Get thyself to the nearest pharmacy and purchase a bottle of chill pills. They meant the baby didn't do any planning, not the parents.

Why does everyone have to take offense to everything in today's culture?

It's a disboard thing. We get offended, sidetrack discussions and judge other people. You'll get used to it.

But seriously, Disney is like any other multi-thousand dollar purchase. You shouldn't just go into it blind. You wouldn't buy a car without doing any research, Disney is no different.

 

[averysmom]

6 or 7 years ago, my coworker celebrates her retirement by taking herself, her teenaged dd and her mother to a WDW for the first time. They use a local travel agent, CAA. They are going at the end of August, beginning of September during Free Dining. I ask her where her ADRs are? She says that her travel agent told her with the dining plan she can walk up to any restaurant to eat, and skip all the lines. When I told her that wasn't true, and that if she wanted to eat at a specific restaurant she had to make reservations, she still didn't believe me. When I spoke to her after the trip she told me that they couldn't get in anywhere, and they ended up having to pay for a ton of quick service meals once they ran out of credits, and didn't use a bunch of table service credits.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

Seriously? Why? I don't really understand this statement at all. You see someone with a baby and "can tell" they put no effort into planning? I've had 3 of my 4 children at Disney as babies, some more than once. They were easy. It is just as easy to plan with a baby as it is without. The planning is different and realistic expectations are different. Just because you can not fathom having an infant with you while in Disney does not mean other people find it to be an unbearable challenge or are too stupid to know better. Trust me I have had to do far more challenging things with an infant in tow than vacation with them in Disney World.

LOL! Read the post you are quoting again! The babies don't plan, not the families that take them! It was suppose to be funny

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

You walk away very disappointed with the roller coaster inside that giant golf ball.

Hahahaha! I remember going to Epcot in December 1982, when I was ten. I don't know what I was expecting at Spaceship Earth, but I was seriously disappointed at the time.

 

[DisneyDad64]

Being a baby.

Maybe I'm an ageist, but every time I see a baby at Disney World I can just tell they put almost no effort into planning.

I don't agree. That too general of a comment. We planned a year in advance for a multi-family trip. We didn't know that we would have a 2 month old at the time of the trip. He was great and all of the extra people helped.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

You're gonna laugh when you read the other posts on this page.

I don't agree. That too general of a comment. We planned a year in advance for a multi-family trip. We didn't know that we would have a 2 month old at the time of the trip. He was great and all of the extra people helped.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I don't agree. That too general of a comment. We planned a year in advance for a multi-family trip. We didn't know that we would have a 2 month old at the time of the trip. He was great and all of the extra people helped.

I don't agree. That too general of a comment. We planned a year in advance for a multi-family trip. We didn't know that we would have a 2 month old at the time of the trip. He was great and all of the extra people helped.

Facepalm. read the thred. borrow one of PP's chill pills. Teach your 2 month old to think before reacting.

 

[Jarmo]

I apologize to any detail-oriented babies that I have offended with my comments.

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

My babies were all advanced and were vital to our planning experience.

I apologize to any detail-oriented babies that I have offended with my comments.