What do you do that all the guidebooks tell you not to do?

[Septbride2002]

Do you go to the right rather then the left?

Do you ride Dumbo in the evenings rather then first thing?

What do you do that is against the Disney grain?

After this last trip we will never go to Animal Kingdom first thing in the morning like everyone suggest. We find it less crowded and more animal interaction in the late afternoon to early evening.

~Amanda

[joonyer]

What do I do that all the guidebooks tell you not to do?

Well for starters, I don't read the guidebooks.:D

Well, not anymore at least. On our first trip with our kids we did buy one, but for every trip since, I discovered you could get much more information, and get your questions answered in real time, all right here on INTERCOT.

Guidebooks? . . . We don't need no stinkin' Guidebooks. :rocks:

[Taja]

Probably everything!

Never have read one of the guide books!

[Friend of Figment]

I don't go at park opening very often. I don't ride the mountains so I can go a bit later and still not wait in line.

[Septbride2002]

What do I do that all the guidebooks tell you not to do?

Well for starters, I don't read the guidebooks.:D

Well, not anymore at least. On our first trip with our kids we did buy one, but for every trip since, I discovered you could get much more information, and get your questions answered in real time, all right here on INTERCOT.

Guidebooks? . . . We don't need no stinkin' Guidebooks. :rocks:


No disresepct to INTERCOT intended. I use INTERCOT for the majority of my planning - which is why I would never ever suggest going against what the site reccomends ;)

~Amanda

[Aggie97]

We don't go to the parks first-thing in the morning. I've never even been to a park opening or morning EMH. :)

Some days, we don't even get to a park until early afternoon, because we've stayed out until the wee hours of the morning, slept in, eaten a late breakfast, and lounged around the resort a bit.

Granted, it's just my husband and I, and we generally go during the off season.

:mickey:

[BMan62]

We rarely take a mid-day break. Of course, this costs us in the long run as we are often too tired to be out late at the parks.

Danged old age!!!! BTW - I'm 46 & DW is 51! :secret:

[KylesMom]

Without many exceptions, we will not wait in a line much past 20 minutes. Therefore, we "criss-cross" the park, getting a FP for one attraction, and riding a less popular one (oftentimes on the other side of the park). It's supposed to be a "no-no" to criss-cross, according to the guide books.

My DS who is 10 is a HUGE reader of the Disney for Kids guidebooks. He loves to read them in part so he can recommend how HE'D suggest to people what to do - or where to eat - or where to stay . . . or how they should plan their day!!!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

:blush: I just ordered three guidebooks for this year and of course, Intercot advice always overrules

Last trip-no guidebook

First trip-2003 used two year old guidebook-we tried one suggestion that said that people naturally start doing attractions located on their right hand side so start with attractions on the left hand side...when we went to Magic Kingdom we found that part of the park didn't even open until an hour later....also, instead of going to the park with extended hours like the books suggest we found those parks are more crowded because people are trying to get those extra hours in so we go to any other park but the one with extended hours.....

[laward32]

I go left first at MK, but not because the "guidebooks" say to, it's because POTC is always our first ride of the trip. It was my fav as a little kid at Disneyland and it is still my fav at WDW. We don't usually visit the parks for morning EMH. We usually go until we drop. We don't plan afternoon breaks. If we get tired in the afternoon then we will go back to the resort. We eat our meals when we can get a rezzie (TS) or when we feel like it (CS) not before the lunch run or after the lunch run.
I guess we just do what makes us happy. I do read the guidebooks, but I don't usually follow the guidebooks.:mickey:

[JMTStone]

I have never been to a park opening. Like others, we are just too dang tired closing the parks the night before.

:rocks:, of course. I listen here...

[Mrs.Mickey]

I don't think I have ever once followed one of those stupid park plans that they give you. I can plan which park I go to and where I eat dinner but planning which ride I go on at which time just seems like too much to me. If I want to go on space Mountain 5 times in a row then I will. (and Have:thumbsup:)

[Septbride2002]

Without many exceptions, we will not wait in a line much past 20 minutes. Therefore, we "criss-cross" the park, getting a FP for one attraction, and riding a less popular one (oftentimes on the other side of the park). It's supposed to be a "no-no" to criss-cross, according to the guide books.

My DS who is 10 is a HUGE reader of the Disney for Kids guidebooks. He loves to read them in part so he can recommend how HE'D suggest to people what to do - or where to eat - or where to stay . . . or how they should plan their day!!!


Your son will make a fabulous engineer! :)

[mouseketeer mom]

Those "touring plans" are simply ridiculous to me. Ride this first, then ride that, then go ride this...Yikes. Talk about taking the joy and spontaneity out of things. We never get there at opening. We ride our faves or FP our faves when we arrive, even if that means crisscrossing the park. Its bad enough we plan our mealtimes 180 days in advance! I won't take it too much furthur than that!

[Narawen]

We're never at a park at opening. We utilize all possible evening EMHs, we don't so the crazy zigzags from (at MK) space mtn to splash to BTMRR to BLSR, etc.

[AllDisney]

We used to buy the guide books when we first started to go to WDW for vacations. We've been enough times now to guide ourselves.

Reading some of the responses it appears that a lot of people don't do park openings. We do and we close the parks at the end of every day. We take advantage of the EMH. My theory is.....I don't when I'll be back again an I don't want to miss a thing.:D

[Gottaluvgoof]

Never read a guide book, so I don't know what rules I'm breaking..:D

[SAHDad]

I almost always go to the left when entering the parks - not because the guidebooks say so, but because I am a lefty, and it seems more "natural".

We get a guidebook or two before a trip (if they are on a new edition), but mainly to look over restuarants and see if anything has changed. Plus, they're fun to sit and read, whereas sitting in front of the monitor is a little less so.

[cal5755]

Never read a guide book, so I don't know what rules I'm breaking..:D


:ditto:


I have to agree that :rocks: because I have found so many things to do and little hidden things my kids have never seen I am compiling a list for September!!

[Septbride2002]

I almost always go to the left when entering the parks - not because the guidebooks say so, but because I am a lefty, and it seems more "natural".

We get a guidebook or two before a trip (if they are on a new edition), but mainly to look over restuarants and see if anything has changed. Plus, they're fun to sit and read, whereas sitting in front of the monitor is a little less so.

We buy a guidebook every year to - although I try not to get the same guidebook. For our honeymoon we got "Walt Disney World for Couples 2002-2003" then later I got the Unofficial Guide for 2004, Got the official guide in both 2005 and 2008, Got the Wald Disney World WITH Kids in 2006.

So we try to switch it up. They are fun to read and I still go back to them at times when someone post a question. Although the first one I bought in 2002 isn't really worth much for infomation anymore I can't seem to part with it. I think I read that book cover to cover 5 or 6 times.

~Amanda

[thejens]

Just have to pipe up and defend park openings, following the unauthorized itineraries and planning, planning, planning...:secret::secret: But definitely smell the roses, check out the sparkly sidewalks, eat some ice cream, change plans, and follow the pixie dust.

[phillydan]

We are not a big fan of the afternoon break back at the hotel - seems like so much wasted time. What we usually do is plan a nice sit down, fancy dinner about 3 days in; we then go full speed each day and then on the fancy dinner day, we will do 1/2 day at the park then go swimming or rest up in the afternoon leading up to dinner. Of course, we head back to one of the parks for the rest of the evening.;)

Also not a big fan of evening EMH in August- always seems way too crowded and there is no fastpass.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

I haven't read a Disney guidebook in 13 years. However the tip that I don't do is the afternoon breaks. I'm too wired to take a break in the middle of the day. I just go go go all day long. I'll sleep and rest when I get home. There are too many things that I want to see and do to take a break.

If I need a restful day....I go to Epcot - drink, eat and relax there.

[myhappyplace]

I think I do my own thing but after reading some of the previous posts, maybe I do follow the guide book a bit. Not intentionally though.
We love to get at the parks at opening, it's so magical. At MK we head to fantasy land. Last year we were the very first to ride Winnie the Pooh and about the third person on Peter Pan. We completed fantasy land in about an hour. Don't get me wrong we enjoyed ourselves but it just wasn't crowded there first ( we always go in May 1 day 22 hrs to go). Everyone either went to the left or Toon Town.
We always take a break in the afternoon. It refreshes us and allows us to keep going to the wee hours. It does seem like a waste but it keeps us relaxed. What we do would seem like a waste to alot of people becuase we go back to our room; but we don't nap. I am not a napper, talk about ruining the day. It's just a change of pace.
Really we have no plan, like someone else already said, it's bad enough we plan our meals and times of those meals so far in advance.

[Coach48]

My first rule is no rules.Do what the day brings.Some days the kids(7,5,8mos.)need naps.Some days they don't.Some days I need a nap.Meal reservations come into play also.Personally I love park opening.It always seemed to me that you could see so much so quickly,then start with FP's when the crowds started to pick up.Do what you want to do.I never used a guidebook anyway.

[thatkindofday]

I have NEVER gone back to the room in the middle of the day. It seems like the biggest waste of time and money. I am there when it opens and we leave when it closes. That's means I'm good and tired enough that when I get back to the room, I go to sleep quickly and sleep really well. We eat when we get hungry, unless we have ADRs. We don't plan out rides, the only things we always do, is go straight to Splash mountain first thing in MK, mainly bc you can go on, get soaked, then you dry within an hour or so and your dry for the rest of the day. At Epcot, we head straight for TT, or MS. At DHS, we go to ToT or RR (and get FP for the one we don't ride). At AK, we go straight to Dinosaur. Other than that, we get FPs when we can and wait in line if we have to.
Oh, and I always buy the 'official guide' on the years we go, its like a scrapbook for me. I highlight all the rides and shows we did, and staple maps, tickets, etc in the back of them.

[TheMartellFamily]

Do do what works for us. We do the restaurants we like, rides we like, and so many other things we do our way. I think guide books are great for some people as for it can be stressful for those who do not know what to expect. For us we are experts so there for we have made our way and it works like a charm. We have even helped people who are planing and helping them have a wonderful vacation. they will come back and say WOW you really know what you are talking about. We do not get the guide books because we have found out what works for us on our vacation.

[fysh]

We don't ride :coaster:Space Mountain first, :alarm::too much exhileration early in the morning:eek:. Our first ride is the:mcoffee: Jungle Cruise, a little more sedate way to start the day.:coffee:


:fish:

[homeschool mom]

I bought a guide book the first year we went, and that was it. At the time we were a family of 6 with 3DDs 9, 7 & 6 and one DS 1. I bought a guide book for touring with kids. It was halpful, but I don't see the need for guide books anymore. We have gone enough that we know what works for us and I also learn a lot on Intercot and many other sites. I would rather plan my trip that way than buy a book.

One thing we don't do that guidebooks suggest: We don't go back to the resort in the middle of the afternoon for a break. We go, go, go from morning until night. As one other poster mentioned, I do so much during the day that I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and sleep like a rock until it's time to start going again the next day. :mickey:

[biodtl]

Another vote for no break. I don't nap in my normal life, so doing so on vacation would just throw me off. Even though we go go go when we are at WDW - start early and stay late - I still probably get more sleep than I do at home.

I know vacations are supossed to be relaxing, but that's how I relax - by having as much fun as possible. Going back to the resort would make me restless and stressed out.

[joonyer]

RE: Afternoon breaks
When its really hot weather in Orlando, we DO take a break from the theme parks, . . . . sort of. . . . I don't know if this tip is in any of the guide books or not.
We go back to the room sometime after lunch, change into swimsuits and visit one of the waterparks. The kids go off on the slides and DW and I float around the lazy rivers and we all cool off. When the water park closes, it's back to the room, feeling refreshed, and then off to dinner and one of the parks that's open late. Even though we don't take a nap, this does give us relief form the heat and recharges us.

If we are there for seven days or more, about 3-4 days in, we might take an afternoon off and nap for a couple of hours to recharge also. Otherwise, we'll be so worn out from our vacation at WDW, we'll need another vacation as soon as we get home to rest up.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Didn't know there was a thing about breaks in the guidebooks because we haven't used one since our first year. We now have our own ways of doing things and manage to get everything done every trip.

AND, we do take an afternoon break. We love to go back late afternoon and spend an hour or so sitting on the balcony with a cool drink and a snack from the concierge and watch all the boat traffic on the Seven Seas Lagoon. Find it a great time and then head back around dinner hour to a park and not leave until closing time.

But that said, we probably don't do anything else by the book.

[crltkcagle]

I bought four guide books this year. I think that have some great tips but really if I have to plan to go to this ride at this time and then hit this ride at that time i would pull my hair out. LOL We don't do breaks either. We go with the flow. We only plan around our TS reservations.

[MushuGrl]

We always eat in the parks, do NOT bring our own snacks, and up until my last trip, I took my time getting up and getting out.

I also never do a detailed park plan and never take a mid-day break. I always consider Downtown Disney my "break."

[Jasper]

For us the big thing would be not going back to the hotel for an afternoon break. Even though we are always at the park before they open and are the last ones out at the end of the day we still don't want to lose any time in the parks. Sure our feet are miserable after a few days of this but with careful planning of longer sit down attractions coupled with careful timing of sit down lunch reservations we always manage to make it work. Besides, we figure we have all the time between this visit and the next one to let our dogs rest up and quit barking at us!:D:D Granted it does help that we normally go during the slow season so the parks are open fewer total hours.

[McGoofy]

My DS who is 10 is a HUGE reader of the Disney for Kids guidebooks. He loves to read them in part so he can recommend how HE'D suggest to people what to do - or where to eat - or where to stay . . . or how they should plan their day!!!

My 10 year old son does the exact same thing!! He is always checking out Disney guidebooks from the library. In fact, he just had to give a speech in class regarding inventions. He did Disney animatronics and from what I was told by the teacher, he pretty much gave a dissertation about Disney and had the entire class captivated!

As for the guidebooks...I'm on vacation...we plan what day we're going where and make ADR's, but we don't plan a play by play for the rides. Our theme is always, "We do what we do." I think though one thing that we usually don't do is go to the left like the guidebooks tell you to do when you enter the park. For one, if everybody is following the books, wouldn't that mean that everybody else is going to go left as well???:mickey:

[tinksmom02]

We don't eat breakfast in the room. When I'm in "the real world," I NEVER eat breakfast. But in Disney we have a nice breakfast every morning, either a character breakfast, or in the food court. Pop-Tarts won't cut it for DH for breakfast!

Also, we don't bring snacks from home into the parks. I'll bring some pop-tarts and those little mini cereal boxes with us, but they stay in the room for in-between snacks for DH and DD. Part of the fun of being on vacation (for us) is getting to indulge in some treats that we normally don't get to enjoy.

We don't really follow the touring guides. I like to read the guidebooks, I have Passporter's, unofficial, Complete...but mainly for ideas and suggestions. I don't think I'm that much of a Commando on vacation, but suggestions can be awfully helpful!

[mudpuppysmom]

They write guidebooks for Disney?!?!??!?!

I guess that tells you that I've never read one either (as many people here have not).

I read the boards here and get some ideas, but really for the most part I just make my own plan......and we also have a "tour guide" in my cousin who is a park frequenter!

We always go to MGM the first day we arrive as we can knock it out in a few hours......and we always go to MK on our last day, but we do spend another day there (often an evening after AK).

We do eat breakfast in the room, but that was my own idea to save $$. And we do take snacks and water with us, but we do that here at home when we go on day trips anyway.

Wow, I'm amazed they write books on how to "do Disney".....what happens if there are super crowds on that particular day......blows your whole "plan" doesn't it!!

We also never take an afternoon break......our afternoon break consists of having/getting a snack and sitting on a bench somewhere!

[Moderne]

The Unofficial Guide does allow you to cram a lot of activity into compressed periods of time. Most of the posters here seem to prefer a more sedate pace, which is fine if it works for them, but none have suggested a more efficient or superior itinerary that those presented in the Unofficial Guide.

[Young@Heart]

We try to do everything in one trip! :funny:
Not really, but we do cram a lot in to every day we're there. Yes, it can be tiring. But we don't go to WDW to relax, we can go to Cape Cod to do that. ;)

[Gator]

Like many posters, I've never taken a break mid-day. And now that I have kids, the last thing I want to do is load up the stroller, diaper bag, snack bag, and all my stuff onto a bus 2 more times each afternoon.

Also, I eat when I'm hungry. If I don't have ressies anywhere, I'll eat at high noon or 5pm dinner rush.

[irish1967]

In defense of guidebooks (this may have been said already, I admit to not having read the entire thread)

Caveat: we do our own thing when we are at the parks, not what some random guidebook tells us to do.

I am constantly checking the different guidebooks out of the public library -at least one or two each time I visit (every three weeks)...

The reason is that it is hard to get into my jammies and snuggle up in bed with my laptop :mickey:

I like paging through the books, looking at the pictures and reading about my favorite place on earth.

If I get great tips out of a guidebook, great, but if not, reading them STILL brings me great happiness.

[Goofy Texan]

We use a "hybrid" approach. Our touring is structured and planned for the first half of the trip. We're up for rope drop, follow a touring plan (Tour Guide Mike's are the best) and take a break when the parks get hot and crowded. In the evenings we go with the flow more and do things that never get a long line or watch the evening entertainment. Going from park opening to closing is too exhausting for us. I work at a desk all day and even with pre-trip walking, I can't be on my feet 12+ hours a day and still think I'm having fun. Also, by getting there early and using the low-crowd morning and an efficient touring plan, we've experienced so much that by 1 or 2 we're comfortable leaving and not feeling like we're missing out on anything.

The second half of the trip is less structured. By then we've been to each park at least once and can get a later start if we want and only do our favorites or things we missed the first time around. If sore feet are becoming an issue we're free to take it easy people watching at a park, or swimming at the hotel or a waterpark.

If you're never been to a park at opening and/or used a proven touring plan, I suggest you try it once. Sure you think you're having fun and seeing all that you want, but it's possible you may not be having as much fun as you could be having. :thumbsup:

[tnpoohbear]

I have a couple of them but like others, we have been so many times now we could write a guide book ourselves! But I do love to read them and anything about WDW because it always reminds me of our past trips and then the next one coming up. We are going in October and we have watched the planning DVD lots of times and of course I like to read the board most every day if I have the time.:mickey:

[KAT1811]

Without many exceptions, we will not wait in a line much past 20 minutes. Therefore, we "criss-cross" the park, getting a FP for one attraction, and riding a less popular one (oftentimes on the other side of the park). It's supposed to be a "no-no" to criss-cross, according to the guide books.

:ditto:

We also criss-cross from thime to time. I also will very rarely wait in line more than 20 minutes. We use fast passes to the best of their ability and keep on going.

We do not go left or right when entering MK we head straight to Fantasyland and ride all of those rides first. The lines are very short in the morning, around the time the park opens. I think I only made the official opening of a park once in all the years we have been going, but we still try.

I buy a guide (Birnbaum's) every year we go for a keepsake. I like that the children will be able to look back someday and see the way WDW was when they were children (and how much it cost when they were little. Time flies. I wish I had a book to look back at from when I was a child, just to see how much the World has evolved over the years. I can remember my family being one of the test families for Epcot before it opened to the public! There was not even water in the fountains yet! :mickey:

[KAJUNKING]

i buy the guide books because i enjoy reading them, but ts adrs is about as far as we go for planning

[DestinationWDW]

We are big fans of Unofficial Guide. Would find it difficult though to pull out those little cards and "follow directions" on where to go and what to do next! Do agree with Goofy Texan though - those tours REALLY WORK early am - my little guy and I can do all of Fantasy Land in top speed before DH, DD, and DS even get a spin on Space Mountain and 1 other ride....I too recommend you try it at least once! Being on the first spin of the day of Dumbo is :cloud9: !!!!

[beksy]

For starters, we never follow the lists that the guidebooks use...we go with the flow and ride what we want when we want and sometimes numerous times in a row! We also don't do breakfast in the room but grab a snack in the parks. Some days we take breaks some days we don't. I just get the passporter to take notes in, but come here for advice!! :thumbsup:

[Griz]

I snuck a couple pints of rum into MK in my camera case one time. That count? Hey, it was pirate day, ARRRRrrrr!

(But then everyday is pirate day!)

[makin_memories]

we almost never stand and wait for parades or fireworks. If we're on an outdoor attraction when the fireworks are going on, thats a plus, but other than that we never wait. Besides, all the attractions have shorter lines and the park is easier to navigate with less people around.

[Mackflava99]

I bought a guide book once and basically its one person's opinion of what we should do. but this person doesnt know me or my family.

Plus it didn't seem logical to me.

Sometimes we go early, other times we hang out and use the pool and go later, sometimes we stay late, others we don't.
We do whatever is best for that day.

Yes we do use ADR, so we will make sure that wheverer we go coincides with our ADR- but that's pretty easy to do.
If we are staying at BC, even if we hit AK or DHS in the Am, we may actually go to Epcot at night because its a short walk. All of it depends on the day, the weather, and how tired or rested we are.

Anyway- the guidebooks are fun to read, just like restaurant or movie reviews. but you have to see it for yourself. I bet i could write a review and most of the people here would disagree with how i like to spend my days, which is because we all have our own way to do it.

PLUS since i have been using Intercot, i have no reason to use any guidbooks at ALL- :secret:

[WDWPRIME]

If I want to go on space Mountain 5 times in a row then I will. (and Have:thumbsup:)

How about 14 times in a row? That's right, a line in the sand. Any takers? ;)

Now, I haven't read any guide books, but I caught in this thread that park criss crossing (e.g. Hitting Space Mountain and heading straight for Splash Mountain) is a no-no, and I do it all the time.

That being said, I would use the extra efficient technique of hopping on that lovely MK Train to get there, rather than "playing football" through Adventureland.

[Mackflava99]

e, rather than "playing football" through Adventureland.

I am laughing, because this is what we called it last year when we were at MK during an EMH night- literally we had to dodge people like a running back-

But we made it from Splash Mtn to Space Mtn with no bumps or bruises:)

[tys_mommy]

Now, I haven't read any guide books, but I caught in this thread that park criss crossing (e.g. Hitting Space Mountain and heading straight for Splash Mountain) is a no-no, and I do it all the time.

That being said, I would use the extra efficient technique of hopping on that lovely MK Train to get there, rather than "playing football" through Adventureland.


Maybe we just hit a glitch but last month I took the bulky double stroller through the "football field” style path while hubby and the kids took the train (which was in station as I began walking away) and I beat them with minutes (close to 5) to spare.

[WDWFREAK101]

I read them for fun but I don't ruin my vacation by sticking to them. As for what we did... :secret::blush:

My mom went on Space Mountain when she was 6 months pregnant with me! I know that they would NEVER allow that now but I like to give that reason why I love that ride so much!

[Kairi_7378]

We love the Unofficial Guide touring plans. However, we always have an unspoken rule that we can deviate from them at any time. Both of us have favorite attractions that we'd love to see, and there are some that we can afford to miss.

Like many others here, we have never taken a mid day break. However, now that we are having our first child, we may find that the baby's schedule dictates this decision rather than what I want to do!

Like Kyle's Mom, we will criss cross the parks to find attractions with shorter line times. I'd love to hear some of Kyle's recommendations for meals and rides! Sometimes I will help people when they seem confused but DH always gives me the "You're not a tour guide" speech. :blush:

[Mousemates]

Those who are careful trackers of wait times and busy days at the various parks say not to go to the park with extra magic hours...but we almost always do the MK on evening extra magic...we just love the late nights there.

[Septbride2002]

I find it better to use the evening magic hours for Epcot, MGM, and Animal Kingdom - but the Magic Kingdom always seems to be packed. We do use the extra magic hours for the magic kingdom when they are in the morning.


~Amanda

[TinyDancer]

Basically, I write a planning guide for my family! :blush: We do what we want when we want, but we also know it so well and know ourselves so well that I can plan it months in advance. We have literally everything planned out and while we don't take that into the parks, we end up following it pretty well.

We almost always do early opening, and regardless of the time it opens only once have we ever not been one of the first, oh, 25 people. (Needless to say, we do not "vacation" at Disney, we "do" Disney!)

We take naps in the day. The first year I was really against this and I think we rarely did it. Then by the later part of the trip I was miserable. I now rationalize it as we do naps instead of taking a whole day at once to rest and relax. I also think about how much happier I am later in the trip!

This will be the first year we're going to make ADRs further out than a day, lol. We aren't picky eaters, so we just eat where we can when we can.

An interesting note: This year I think we're going to split our group in half and 2 of us do what we normally do while the other 2 follow a set plan, probably the "Dumbo-In-A-Day-Or-Die" plan as that seems to be at our intensity level. I'm very curious to see the comparisons!

[grwoolf]

Now that we know the parks very well, we like to mix things up and go with the flow like many others have mentioned. If we are undecided between 2 parks to visit for the day, we will jump on the first park bus that shows up at the bus stop (Bus Roulette). That kind of stuff would be CRAZY TALK in our early planning years of Disney with moring and evening parks planned for each day. On the flip side, we have never missed a park opening and rush for SM, EE, Tot, etc., so we still live by some of the guide book mantras because they make sense for us.

[SandmanGStefani24]

i don't make any plans, other than a small list of must dos. aside from that, i just go with the flow, since vacations are kinda hard to plan at WDW. i let the vacation dictate what happens. makes for nice suprises and twists!

[KineGirl]

I snuck a couple pints of rum into MK in my camera case one time. That count? Hey, it was pirate day, ARRRRrrrr!

(But then everyday is pirate day!)

:nono:


How about 14 times in a row? That's right, a line in the sand. Any takers? ;)

:notworth:

I bought a guidebook once many many moons ago and drove my family crazy with our over planned vacay. I knew how long each ride was and in what order we were doing everything. It was our first trip and had I only known that we would be back at least twice a year maybe I wouldnt have gone so crazy (ok maybe I would have!) LOL Now I still go go go but I do it however it comes and I just use my own experience as a guide. I rarely wait in a long line regardless of which season i go and am a pro FP user. And - Ive never missed a single thing I want to do! The only person in the fam who can keep up with me is DD17 (they start dropping like flies around 9 pm starting with DM&F and then DH about 10pm) and Ive created a monster with her! Not only do we close the parks down when we get back she HAS to swim for about an hour. We also rarely get into a park before 10am. We also do head back to the room at some point during the day but just to freshen up so we can head off to whatever park has evening EMH or where our ADRs are.. and of course the DD always manages to get some swimming in! :mickey:

[Natazu]

First it's important to know Rachel and I always go to WDW during off-peak times. That said, we never follow a touring plan. They're so... commando.
I have a HUGE problem with almost all the guidebooks' take on Disney restaurants. They're way off most of the time. The only one that's not is the Luxury Guide. Cara is a doll and has a great sense of what Disney can be and that comes through in her dining section.

[BritCody]

The biggest thing we do different is that we don't take breaks from the park and go back to the room to rest or swim. If we need to rest we will slow down and watch a show or two. Plus we schedule an ADR at a restaurant and take our time eating. I justrather slow down in the park and still do things there than waste time in traveling back and forth between the parks

[Septbride2002]

First it's important to know Rachel and I always go to WDW during off-peak times. That said, we never follow a touring plan. They're so... commando.
I have a HUGE problem with almost all the guidebooks' take on Disney restaurants. They're way off most of the time. The only one that's not is the Luxury Guide. Cara is a doll and has a great sense of what Disney can be and that comes through in her dining section.

I don't have that one - I'll have to check i out.

[bruin1344]

i never read them but from tips i hear, i got to parks late morning/early afternoon which is the busiest and hottest temperature wise, i never have TS for lunch to save money, and i never bring a rain coat so i always end up buying a poncho