Do you plan each attraction you'll do each day?

[Grim Grinning Marathon Runner]

I came across some information about projected crowd levels by day, with suggestions on which park to visit each day during high crowd times to minimize your wait times.

Some sources say that planning the day you'll visit a certain park is not enough - that you should have an itenerary of which attractions you'll do in order to fully maximize your time.

Do you do this?

Personally, I think that takes away the spontaneity of a trip to the world. We typically plan which day we'll visit which park, and just go with the flow, seeing what we can and enjoying our tim.

How about you?

[DDuck66]

Same for us...we usually plan what day to visit which park, but we never plan the order and which events we want to see. We also usually leave a couple of lunch and or dinner options open so that we have free time to do "whatever".

[ibrowse17]

Hello fellow Port City person! The only thing I really plan ahead for is where we will be eating. Other than that, we go where we want and do what we want.:thumbsup:

[Lorraine444]

I plan the big must do rides first, otherwise the fastpasses run out & you have to wait, wait, wait. After that it's where ever & what ever.

[Disneypixie513]

We don't really plan our days out either, other then the park(s) we do that day.
About the only thing we plan, is we always do Fantasy Land 1st thing in the morning before it gets crowded.

[wdwgrl377]

Yeah I don't really plan what rides/attractions I will do. Depending on what park I am in that day, I try to get to that park as early as possible to hit the big/major rides, but if I don't then I just get a fast pass for the main one I want to ride and try for others, and just go with the flow.

I mainly plan my meals for each park.

[Aggie97]

We don't plan our attractions in advance either. I think I can see how it could be helpful to follow some of these types of itineraries if you were visiting at an extremely busy time or were very limited in the amount of time you had in a park, though. :mickey:

[bruin1344]

i only plan the big attractions on want to go on in each park, the rest is spontaneous

[Septbride2002]

I love that site!

The only park I really use a "plan" for is Magic Kingdom. And that is only because I have a toddler and we must do many of the Fantasyland rides that get super busy during points of the day. As far as the other parks - we just head straight to the ride we know we "can't miss!" For AK it's Expedition Everest, for Studios it's Tower of Terror and Aerosmith, and for Epcot it's Soarin. After that we tour the parks dependent upon what we want to do next.

~Amanda

[indytraveler]

My planning is the same each time. We usually go in the same direction and work the parks the same way. We plan when and where to use FP's. However, we don't go from say IASW to Space Mountain to BTMRR to be spontaneous.

[Seasonscraps]

No ride planning going on around here. If we made ADRs in a park, we'll definitely be in the park for that and we liked the morning EMH at AK - other wise we fly by the seat of our pants. :D

[AHOTE]

The only thing we plan are meals. :) Parks are sometimes chosen based on the weather forcast for that day but that's about it.

[Pop Centurion]

We never plan for rides either. The only thing you could consider a plan for us is when we enter Epcot we usually go straight to Soarin for a FP then go do whatever rides until it's time.

[barnaby]

We went this past spring break and did not plan attractions, only parks and ADRs.

We did stand in line alot and missed a few attractions. I do wonder now if it would have been better to use touring plans in that case due ot the large crowds.

[IloveDisney71]

...Personally, I think that takes away the spontaneity of a trip to the world. We typically plan which day we'll visit which park, and just go with the flow, seeing what we can and enjoying our tim...

I totally agree with your statement. I am a planner but I draw the line at planning the order of attractions/rides. I plan ADR's and what parks to attend each day but other than that we just go with the flow. We hit our "must sees" first and then just do whatever else we feel like doing at the time. If I planned my order of attractions, I'd be a nervous wreck trying to stick to that list and I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself.

[MickeyMousse]

The only thing we plan is what park we are going to, usually discussed the night before! We couldn't have a scheduled list of what attractions to see and when....we like to see how the crowds are when we get there and just go with it! :mickey:

[Marker]

No way I could plan each and every step. Where's the fun in that day, you're always trying to "stay on schedule". It's vacation, I don't need the pressure.

Planning which park to go to is driven by our ADRs for the day, EMH schedule for the day, and how we feel when we get up. Sometimes, the length of line at the buses, or the first bus to show up come into play also.

As for what we'll do when we get to the park, it's just whatever hits us. Sure, there may be some strategies as far as grabbing a FP for a popular attraction when we first get there. And we may have some goals as to which rides and attractions we want to visit, either favorites, or something we haven't done in a while. But it really is pretty much play it by ear.

Although, for pre-trip planning, I'll have a spreadsheet that details park hours, EMH schedules, firewworks/parade times. But it's used for info once we get there more than for laying out a plan of attack.

[ASweetLov]

I just plan which day i will be in what park. Other than that we keep in mind attractions we want to go on but just go with the flow and enjoy as much as we can out of each park:thumbsup:

[cer]

We used the touring plans on our first trip to the world. They were invaluable and we got to see a lot without wasting a lot of time - we did not feel like we missed out on anything.

Last time, we did not need them as much if at all. We knew from experience what attractions we need to hit early, which ones were "must-do's", etc. On that trip we were also touring with my parents who had never been before, so there was a lot we wanted to share with them.

On our next trip, we will make our ADR's and just do what we want to do. I usually sit down the night before with a map and circle the not to be missed attractions - so nothing is overlooked, but we have done so much from previous trips, it is going to be nice to take our time.

There is definitely a time and place for the touring plans, but once you've fully experienced the parks, I can't imagine needing them again.

[Grim Grinning Marathon Runner]

I love that site!

The only park I really use a "plan" for is Magic Kingdom. And that is only because I have a toddler and we must do many of the Fantasyland rides that get super busy during points of the day. As far as the other parks - we just head straight to the ride we know we "can't miss!" For AK it's Expedition Everest, for Studios it's Tower of Terror and Aerosmith, and for Epcot it's Soarin. After that we tour the parks dependent upon what we want to do next.

~Amanda

I've figured out their approach. What they do is tell you to avoid the parks with EMH, either AM or PM, and visit the park that is NOT an EMH park on that day. Makes a bit of sense, I guess. I haven't figured out where they get their crowd level meter.

It would be GREAT if Intercot could develop a crowd level meter!!
:thumbsup:

[Lizzie]

I plan what days will visit what parks morning and night. And usualy scheduale a day ahead that we wil hit fantasyland first thing.

[TikiGoddess]

Our planning consists of looking at the crowd levels for the day, what EMHs there are, and what day of the week it is. Once we've decided on a park for the day, we have a general idea of what rides we would like to start with, but after that it is unplanned.

I usually have the park days planned out way in advance of the trip. But when we get there my DH (who is NOT a planner) and I usually end up changing what park we're doing that day, just because. It's good to be flexible.

I think the touring plans are a great tool for new visitors to WDW. It must be daunting, going to WDW for the first time and not knowing where to start. Touring plans give you the important tips: how to do the big rides without the waits, what rides do well at busy times, and how to tour without crisscrossing the parks multiple times.

TikiG

[Minnie Imagineer]

I love planning exact details with everything so on my families first trip they let me plan everything, even what attraction we were doing in order. Of course my family changed it when we got there!
So now on our trips, I just plan some things (ex. at MK we go to Adventure land 1st, fantasy land 2nd, etc)
I have to be somewhat planned! :blush:

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

:) Because we are going the week of Christmas, we are planning the mornings at each park so that we get to see everything we want to do...we will be at each park for opening and will make sure the first four rides are the most popular....but we will leave the afternoons for more spontaneous adventures

[Gator]

Before the trip happens, I'll plan which park to go to on each day and then get reservations for the restaurants I want. Then the day of, I'll ask the family if they want to start at some attraction. While in line, we'll talk about where to go next. That makes it fun.