How far in advance do you plan?

[Jessie]

I don't mean just think about and dream because I think we all do that all the time:mickey:. I'm curious how far in advance you start really planning as in saving money, booking rooms, buying supplies, etc.

Or even not something as concrete as buying the rooms, but planning what resort or hotel you'll be staying at, for how long and when.

I had wanted to go sometime this year or next year, but I'm 26 weeks pregnant and just don't like the idea of bringing an infant to WDW both for my own sanity and her comfort level ( I also have a 2.5 year old). I figured waiting until the new baby was at least 2 (and that would make my other daughter 4.5) would be the way to go, but I'm so antsy! That means I'm going to be waiting another 2 years. :(

So when do you start?

[merlinmagic4]

I start thinking about it as soon as my current trip (at the time) ends :mickey:

I book my timeshare week exactly one year in advance.

I start looking for airfare at 331 days out.

I like to book any ADRs exactly 180 days out.

So, I start as soon as possible but am restricted by the guidelines of the companies that I am using to get there (timeshare resort, airlines, Disney).

[AllDisney]

On our way back from WDW we start planning on when to return:mickey:

Right now we are looking at December 2009. We have the week picked out that we want to go! We are currently trying to figure out value or moderate.

At this point we are also looking at what restaurants we want to return to and what ones we want to try for the very first time. This keeps us busy and our thoughts on are return trip!

Have fun planning!

[kathiep]

This time around, we've been planning our 9/08 since before we checked out during 9/07. We were able to book their bounceback offer so we've been actively planning since we made our reservation.

We made the initial just to have something. Since then, we've added days to the stay and switched resorts. We're actually hoping to upgrade to a deluxe now so I'll probably be changing resorts again. :fingers:

Just this month, we've started talking about our itinerary and getting our ADR thoughts organized.

FYI - for our first trip with our kids, my DD was 18 months old. I had always wanted to wait until she was at least 2 as well. Plus, she is a very stubborn independent child so I was a little leary of going as well, (DS was 3 1/2). But we had a fantastic trip.

Looking back, I think that once they hit 1, I'd be ready to go.

[wifey5794]

We too start planning as soon as we are on the bus on our way to the airport home. Every trip we try to check out a resort or two that we may want to stay at and make a list of restaurants we would like to try. Then when we are home we will look at menu's from various restaurants and make our choices that way.

I too look for airfare early. I get on every websites farewatcher. We have flown to the Orlando area so many times that I know when I am getting a good deal.

If money is an option, I would start saving the minute I returned and then when I was close I would plan a trip. I like to have my trip paid for before I go. I don't like that suprise bill later.

If my kids do extra chores they earn Disney Dollars and all of our relatives know that is Disney Dollars that are to be "slipped" into that Easter Card.

I think I would definately wait for the kids to be older. I took mine when they were 8 months and 28 months and I would never do that again. Not that it wasn't fun, but my son doesn't even remember that trip and it was a lot of work and extra effort (not counting money) for a trip that he doesn't remember.

Since you want to go when they are not really going to be involved in the planning process, go ahead and just plan. Take your time and pick the perfect resort etc. Afterall, I think planning is half the fun!

Good luck!

[Jessie]

So it sounds like for the most part I can start planning pretty far in advance, but most likely no more than a year in advance. Well, I mean I could *try*, but not much will be available to me. Thanks for the input!

[Speedy1998]

More than 6 months, need to have the dates set before the 180 mark so I can make ADRs.

[Cinderelley]

I have a Dec., 2009 trip that I've been "planning" since last September. Our first trip I planned & saved for 3 years. I've also done it in just a few months. It all depends on my life circumstances for me.

[Jessie]

I have a Dec., 2009 trip that I've been "planning" since last September. Our first trip I planned & saved for 3 years. I've also done it in just a few months. It all depends on my life circumstances for me.

So how did you stretch out the planning to three years? I know this sounds silly, but I want to be actively planning :D . It makes me giddy. This would be our first family vacation and my first time ever actually planning a vacation. I haven't been in almost 10 years (when I went with my parents) and before that I just worked as CM at Disneyland, so while I'm a big Disneynut, my actual planning experience is very little.

[c&d]

I book our DVC at 11 months out if that's where we'll be staying. If we're not staying in a condo I'll book the room about 10 months out. Since we're trying to stay at every property the choices are getting easier each time.

I have a countdown clock to show me when I'm 180 days out for ADR's but I never make them at that point. I spend way too much time poking around in the menus. I just made our ADRs for April last week.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Before we leave the last park the last day! That's the only way you can pry my fingers off the turnstile and get me to leave! :blush:
I truly enjoy the planning process as long as I can spread it out! BUT, last minute-spur of the moment works for me, too!:wave:

[Cinderelley]

So how did you stretch out the planning to three years? I know this sounds silly, but I want to be actively planning :D . It makes me giddy. This would be our first family vacation and my first time ever actually planning a vacation. I haven't been in almost 10 years (when I went with my parents) and before that I just worked as CM at Disneyland, so while I'm a big Disneynut, my actual planning experience is very little.

Well, we had never been to WDW, so keep in mind that I knew absolutely nothing. Well, almost nothing. We had been to Disneyland numerous times, so I kind've knew what to expect, or so I thought.

It always went in bursts. First I browsed through our offsite timeshare options, how far they were, how much renting a car would cost, etc. Then I found intercot. :laughing:

Here on I'cot, I discovered that the hotel situation is quite a bit different at WDW than at DL. At DL, you can get literally get a hotel across the street and the Disney hotels are rather expensive. At WDW, that isn't possible, and they have different price levels. Plus the EMH hours every day were a huge bonus. So, I ordered a WDW planning CD and browsed through the pictures here on Intercot and at Magical Journeys. I continued looking for a timeshare for the time when my whole family was going to be there (it was a cheaper way to do it for 15 people) though. Then my kids and I picked some WDW hotels that we thought we would enjoy when everyone else left. We never did completely make up our minds and wound up trying out 3 of them. ;) After that, whenever I would pick up an extra shift at work, I would think "this is going to pay for a night at Pop or the Poly" etc. It made working overtime a little more fun. :D Then I went about narrowing it down to which area to request for a room, etc. I asked Debbie at Magical Journeys tons of questions. I requested the timeshare at two years out. I don't remember when I finalized the onsite plans. It must've been at the one year mark or so because the prices were already out.

After that I went through the same thing with where we would eat. I found out all the information I could on here. It's a little embarassing to admit, but at times I would forget that WDW has it's own website since I got so much information here. I spent a lot of time looking through the menus, seeing which characters were there, reading a lot of threads on the ones I thought we might be interested in and reading a lot of trip reports. I would also order a planning CD each year to see everything. They had one that was great for information - a different section for each resort, etc. IMHO, the ones they have now don't give as much information.

Then I went to info central and found out which days were busy for which parks and started a spreadsheet with what parks we would go to on which days. The plan when we were with the whole family was that we would all hit the same park each day and meet up for one meal, but the rest of the time each family was free to do whatever they chose. We did all do Fantasmic together though. My kids and I would watch the video and look on intercot to decide which rides we definitely wanted to go on or a way to go through the park in hopes of seeing as much as possible. We also decided to do the water parks and Disney Quest.

Then I decided what type of tickets to buy. I wound up getting an AP since we were going to be there so many days, and it gave us free parking while we were staying at the timeshare. In the long run, it wound up saving us money on the rooms too. I also got the DDE. With that, I didn't have to worry about including a tip into my budget. The % I saved was what was given as a tip. I looked for a lot more ways to save money here on the boards.

There were other small details that I got a lot of info on. I had one thread that asked what everyone's favorite thing to eat "around the world" was, and another that was "where's the best spots to take pictures". It's fun to ask questions to personalize your trip to what your family likes.

I would also make trips down to the Disney Store to buy Disney dollars if I had a little extra cash or pick up little trinkets for everyone. For example, one time they had the little handheld fans on sale for $1 a piece. I picked up a different character for each person. I didn't use mine much because the heat didn't bother me, but a lot of people in my family did. I gave Disney dollars for birthday presents or Christmas presents.

As I said, it always went in bursts, a couple of months figure out which hotels, then nothing for a few months. A few months of browsing menus, etc. Then nothing for a few months. I started saving money as soon as I knew we were going, but I do that with any vacation we're going on. I'm not sure what else I can tell ya. If you have any questions for me, let me know.

[Disney Doll]

I feel your pain. We postponed our annual Feb trip due to the birth of our son last Oct. We're planning for Oct '08 when our son will be a year old. I just can't wait any longer than that. :) We booked the room in early Dec. so that was about 10.5 months out. We started making our plan in Feb '07 after our last trip.

[Suz36]

As others have said, I start planning before the previous trip has even ended! That's the only way I can leave, knowing for sure that I'll be back. We like to do a little resort research - fell in love with WL in Dec. and am planning Feb '09 there. Will probably book the room soon, but they aren't booking packages yet, so that will have to wait for Disney's timetable. ADRs at 180, definitely! I'm currently working out the restaurants and which park for each day. I plan practically to the minute, even this far out, but then rework the plan over and over between now and the trip, just to keep the dreaming going! Happy planning!!! I feel it's never too early to start! :mickey:

[OhToodles!]

I feel your pain. We postponed our annual Feb trip due to the birth of our son last Oct. We're planning for Oct '08 when our son will be a year old. I just can't wait any longer than that. We booked the room in early Dec. so that was about 10.5 months out. We started making our plan in Feb '07 after our last trip.

We are currently planning our trip in October for our son's first birthday too! :party: I can hardly stand the wait, but don't want to wish away his first year either. We said we would wait until kids were out of diapers before we'd go to Disney, but we obviously couldn't wait that long. I can't wait to go!!:mickey3:

[ljv1975]

I am also 26 weeks pregnant. We are leaving in 16 days to take our 2 year old DD as one last hurrah before her brother is born. I have already started thinking about when we will go back!

I am hoping that we can go back in September 2009 for my DD's 4th birthday. Our son won't be quite 1 1/2 by then, but I think it will be ok. I want to take DD for her birthday and next year will be the last year we have before she starts school. :(:(:( She is growing up so fast!!

I figure, even though DS won't remember this trip, there will be plenty more to come!!

[crazeedizneefinatic]

We did our planning the 1st day on our last trip, we scheduled our bounceback trip for this sept/oct '08. But usually we start a few weeks after returning home. We do go often so it always seems like something is in the works. We are always putting away what we can in the Disney jar. My son has one too. It's amazing what adds up. We book the room as soon as my Husband confirms with work about the dates. It's always nice to have a few months to pay for the trip and do it in installments. It just doesn't seem so bad when it's done like that.

As far as waiting for the trip do what's comfortable, you may change your mind. We took our son right before he turned 1 and made a handful of trips before he was 3. 3 is the magic number, that's when it get expensive, they need a ticket at 3 and need a full meal at 3 and so on. The only thing we had to pay for before that was an airplane ticket for him. I know he does not remember everything but looking at pictures is so fun. I know it seems so overwhelming but many breaks during the day and a slow pace will keep everyone on schedule. He is 7 now and will be 8 on our next trip. Time flies by so quickly. Make the memories if you can.

[Tink#64]

As soon as I know when we're going back I start planning. I buy & check out from the library lots of guide books. Even though I've read them all, bought most, and visited 4 times, it's what I do! I love to read & as I read about things we've never done or something new I jot down notes in a notebook. I start a new notebook for each trip & I have a folder that I put all of my computer printouts, etc. I spend alot of time on here & pick up alot of little tid bits for new things to do & try! I know that with our next trip we are shipping oursleves a box to the resort with a coffee pot & our fav coffee - the values don't have these in the rooms! I'm also going to have groceries delivered so we can have some fresh baked goods, produce, etc. I love to read the trip reports & take notes incase we want to try something cool that someone else has done!

I love to look at the menus & characters & try & decide where we want to eat. I start making up possible iteneraries, ie: MK - day 1, EP FW day 2, etc. then I decide where we're going to eat each day! This way when the time gets here I have a great plan! I'm neurotic, I love to plan. For me, planning a Disney trip is the next best thing to being there! It helps to stretch the magic a little further! :magic:

[snowblack]

I am planning our trip for Aug 09 now. I have to wait until this august to get the room rates though. I always plan at least a year and a half apart. I try to take my family every other year, that way it gives me time to save, and so that we don't get bored of doing the same trip every year. Happy planning to you all.

[GrmGrninGost]

We make one 8-9 days trip yearly. We start planning the next one as soon as we get home from the last one. Sometimes we make a short trip in between the long ones. We usually only have a few months to get those together. :mickey:

[cinderella crazy]

Right now we're planning our trip fro January 2009. That leaves us a little less than a year to plan and that makes me nervous.

We usually start planning anywhere from a year and a half to a year in advance.

At this point, for our 2009 trip, we know where we're staying, where we're eating, and have a general idea of which parks we're going to on certain days. The resort is pretty much set in stone. The restaurants and park days are subject to change.

Most people that know me and aren't Disney fanatics think I'm strange for planning so far in advance. But I think it's fun! It gives me an excuse to look at Disney stuff all the time! :D

[teamblackwell]

610 days out and just started planning.

[poohluva]

After our last trip (April 06) we knew we wanted to go back this year, so we booked our land/sea vacation for April/May 08 in Feb 07.

We just payed it off, and have been shopping for clothes, and soon I'll be getting all our trial size stuff together to see what needs to be filled/bought. I'm also going to be buying Bonine or Dramamine this time around, I think I might check out the bracelets too. I don't want someone being seasick ruining our trip!!

:mickey:

[bshaw96]

After our first family 2000 trip, we knew we'd like to go back, but were not overly anxious. I was 4 months pregnant at the time with a 2 year old so I had plenty to occupy my mind :mickey:
Then, we waited until baby #2 (ds) was 3 and we went back in 2004. That's when the addiction kicked in I think. Could not afford to go back until 2006. DH and I just took a trip last week, and we're officially hooked! We'll likely be going every year now, to some sort of Disney park. Trying to mix things up a little, we're now "planning" a June 2009 DisneyLAND trip. By planning, I mean reading up on DL, Southern Cal, etc. Have been researching hotels in the area, and as soon as airlines and hotels open up for next year, we'll book them. I'm officially a disney freak :D
I actually had started planning our next trip before we left the last one. I nearly drove dh nuts, asking when we were gonna come back, where we were gonna stay, etc., and we were still in the middle of our current vacation. And I only got worse as it got closer to time for us to leave. Should have heard me at the airport!!

[diz_girl]

Like many others, I start planning as soon as my last trip ends. I need to save for my trips, so as soon as one trip is over, I'm saving for the next one.

It didn't quite work out this past time, since I had a baby and incurred some unexpected costs there. But we'll most likely use our Stimulus Package rebate from the Fed Gov for our tickets (10-day no expiration, so I can use them for two trips), I usually get a bonus in September, so that can pay for the room. My DH can then pay for food, gas and in-transit hotel (if we don't drive straight through). The points on my Disney Visa can pay for any extras.

Until we make our reservations, I'll be on Intercot looking at the various resorts and restaurants menus, and reading the boards. Once we make our reservations, it finally seems real and I'll plan my ADRs and CS meals.