The Ultimate Planning..

I plan like crazy!! But I also always try and remember that no plan survives first contact and once we get there we've got to go with the flow. I would say that my planning comes down to creating the perfect guideline.

I would be nowhere without my vacation spreadsheet!

We had JeffC write a post about his last year.
http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/articles/how-create-trip-planning-spreadsheet

We also did a forum thread where many people shared their spreadsheet tips and tricks, several people posted the ones that they were currently working on. Maybe I'll put my latest up today.
http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/forum/do-you-use-spreadsheet

Thanks Kristen...Will check that out..

Planning is everything, the plan is nothing.... A good friend of mine once said that about her wdw trip. I totally agree with it, I plan like it's going out of fashion but we never stick 100% to the plan, things happen and you have to be able to adapt but I like having the plan so that I can fit everything in and then move things around from there

I plan everything in great detail and begin planning months in advance. I keep it all in a notebook along with pages and pages of tips and things we want to see and do. Problem was I forgot the notebook when we made a 12 day trip to DisneyWorld. Fortunately I had saved all my meal reservations, and other important information in my phone but I still felt totally lost. You can bet it sure won't happen again!

I plan, plan, plan! My DH doesn't really care about all the details, he just likes the fact he knows we are going and trusts me to take care of all that. I like having an idea of which parks on what day and what our evening plans are however if something happens and we change our minds then so be it! After all it is our vacation!

I plan pretty much every second of my ideal vacation given the time constraints that we will face for that particular trip. I use touring plans, allears.net, the unofficial guide, wdwinfo.com, various Disney park info books, and now this wonderful website to develop a comprehensive plan with appropriate ADR's, FP+ (can I just say that I LOVE being able to schedule these in advance), ride order, etc. and I spreadsheet it.

Then when the plane lands, everything except the ADR's and FP+ gets thrown out the window and we just go with what sounds fun! The planning and spreadsheeting is basically just therapy for me for when I'm missing being in Disney We usually end up coming in pretty close to what I planned. I look at the plan so much that I practically have it committed to memory before we go and DH is super easy going, so he lets me plan basically anything I want as long as he gets a nap break now and then!

My spreadsheet is in that thread that JeffC mentioned as well. I'm happy to share the file with you if you think it would be helpful.

Cheers...Lots of great ideas here...Love that colored timetable...Going along that route and laminate it..

I appear to be in the minority.WE do a fair amount of planning but just wing most of the holiday depending on our mood/which bus has just turned up.Certain days are at certain parks to catch EMH but other than that its just whatever the day brings .
I feel we will have to be a bit more planned for our 2015 trip however due to the new FP+ system.But if we don't go to our allocated park on that day i am not going to lose any sleep over it.
As for ADR's we traditionally don't make any but may sneak one or two in for the next trip as we want to do CRT and probably breakfast at AKL so will have to.
Being completely honest i resent having to plan my rides in advance but that is a personal thing .

To be honest I think it's easier to wing it when it's just two adults. I'am lucky we've only one little dude..( Well not now as he's almost as tall as me 6" ) But my friends who went for the first time in 2012,had their two girls, aged 6 and 8 and their boy aged 2, said it was hectic,trying to organise things...Personally I don't think they planned enough..They were there for 14 nights, staying at POFQ, and yet still managed to miss Fantasmic and Pirates...Whit?

I think if its just adults, wing it!

If you have kids, a little bit of planning is in order especially when you have little ones. I've seen it far too often, and I don't have kids but I was a Nanny, when parents push their kids through their "nap" times and end up being stressed out and upset because the kids are cranky by mid afternoon. It's always best to plan a small resting time in the middle of a hectic day.

I am a planning person myself. And while I go with the flow when I am at the parks with my friends or my brother, when I was a Nanny, I had a set schedule that I tried to stick to. Most cases, it worked somewhat alright. But you know, there are always those moments when you are feel like your plans are crumbling down.

I'm already way into planning for my September trip, and I haven't even booked yet (I'm waiting for discounts for the dates I'll be there), but the planning is helping keep me in the Disney spirit during this drab time of year.

However, just because I'm planning doesn't mean I'll stick to it necessarily. I only really want ADRs for one or two places, but FP+ may be more of an issue at any given time. Also who knows what parks I'll end up wanting to do multiple times! So I plan a lot, but I'm always very willing to go with the flow if need be.

Well, in terms of actual vacation planning before I get there, I first decide my preferred mode of transport, hotel and park tickets and if applicable, the DDP with it. Then I calculate rough estimates of the total costs of my vacation several months or even a year or two earlier. Why? To have a rough sense of how much everything is going to cost. It may not be exact but having a good ballpark estimate of the costs really helps. I assume the eventual cost will be higher than the ballpark estimate so I tack on more money with the ballpark estimate. So if a vacation costs total around $4500 right now, for instance, and I'm planning a trip one or two years later, I'm estimating my total cost will be at least $5,000-$5500 later on, maybe $6,000 even.

As for planning when I get there, well, I don't go all in with a meticulous schedule because I've said this many times before, a set schedule will likely mean I will never follow it! So I have a basic plan of priority rides first. Re-riding is not a factor. Getting at least one ride on my favorites does! Once all my favorite priority rides are done, I'll go on whatever interests me. In the past, if a ride has FP, anything more than 40-45 minutes would make me get a FP later on. But now, the FP+ is going to be the wild card on my next trip. There could be a possibility that I am able to ride my favorites once before the crowds show up and have a bonus re-ride later or a possibility that the FP+ reservation is the only chance besides waiting in a long standby line! I am already marking which rides I will definitely need to use the FP+ for my personal tastes for my next trip, whenever it maybe!

Once all my rides are finished, that is where I usually do other activities like seeing shows or meeting characters or photographing things that interest me. As for meals, well, I don't do table service meals considering that I pretty much travel solo so it's mostly counter services so I have a time range in mind for meals. But if I were to a reservation, I would need to make a note of that.

Thank you sir! I Laminate mine as well. Even though our trip was just for the wife and I, I wanted to plan things out according to crowd levels. Crowds and lines are no fun, so we though we might avoid them as much as possible.

I create a spreadsheet and I'm constantly searching the internet for anything related to WDW and the time period of our trip. Every thing that we may want to do or do have scheduled and confirmed is on the spreadsheet (highlighted for 'have to do' and general information). We use the spreadsheet as our guide and not our bible.

I usually figure out which park on which day first. Touringplans.com is a great site for that. Next we pick where to eat. Lunch and dinner I do ADR and breakfast we wing. After that I look at which shows, rides, fireworks are a must for this trip. Than I type up my plans and carry them with me at all times. I love planning it makes me so happy.

I was going to say almost this exact thing. I have been planning our September 2014 trip since we got back from our October 2012 trip because it just helps me stay sane and builds my excitement for our next trip. I already have spreadsheet after spreadsheet after spreadsheet set up with meals, park times, schedules, etc. However, besides ADRs and what parks we're in on what day, we pretty much wing it once we're there.