I love to Plan the Disney trips

[dsnydaddy]

Excel is just easy to use for trip organization, because it helps put things in easy-to-adjust columns. My spreadsheets are quite detailed. One sheet in the document is devoted to budget, including a running balance of what's already been paid and when. Another sheet as park opening/closing times and parade/fireworks/special event times for each park for the length of our stay. That sheet is color-coded according to TouringPlans.com park recommendations. The third sheet is the "money" sheet. It has the full schedule laid out for each day - which park we're going to and the complete touring plan, including wake-up time, time to leave for the park, any dining plans, planned break time, etc. It's important to point out that I plan in detail like that precisely because I know we'll never follow the plan exactly. But the process of putting it together puts me in the best position to adapt as circumstances require.



I need to try out touringplans.com sounds kinda cool.

I'll need to play around with this tonight. I like the ideas.

Once we get dates figured out, my focus goes squarely to Advance Dining Reservations.

Me too. ADR's and park hours determine my choice of days and parks.

DSNYdaddy,

Oh boy, not really sure where to start. I came everything into the sheet. Since we are traveling with a camper, I have a few more items.

The following are colums going from left to right.

Nghts - this shows the number of nights on vacation
Location - Where we will be spending the night - Nght 1 - Forysth GA -
Date - I ALWAYS use the full date feature - Saturday May 21 2011 - easy format change in excel
Sunrise/Set - by location of night. Keep in mind daylight savings changes and time zone changes
RV Site cost - daily cost cost including tax...
Food - This is budget about $40, but also include any extra nice meal like charater meals, or dates with wife Cali Grill..

How I would LOVE to take my 5th wheel to WDW! I dream about it. But since I am west coast, it would take me days to reach WDW AND cost me about the same as airfare. It just doesn't seem very time/cost effective. It'd be quite an adventure though.

 

[dsnydaddy]

I also have a section on the same sheet of must do - based on research and want. These are special things that are normally rigid in schedualing and unable to change. Events Shuttle Launch/Charter meals, Golf res/ BBB/ MMNOSHP or MMVSCP and come off my Daily park hour sheet. sheet B I also come back and update sheet A

On Sheet B - This is where my park strategy really gets going. I list out each park, operating hours, along with extra magic hours by color cells Across the top I list out the dates same format as on sheet A , the #nght of vacation, and any special events for that day and what # day in the park. This way if I we have ADR at epcot, i don't plan a day in animal kingdom. This sheet really provides a visual flow, as we don't park everyday and can schedule down days on those with no magic hours. A new item i added this year was antipated crowd levels for each park. (Side Note, went to MK on dec 25th. We had the BEST day with rides and shows out of all our trips. really!)

On sheet B - I also a daily time sched based on 6-10, 10 - 2, 2-6, 6 to 12. Each park has a color code that runs across the entire sheet. left to right. then in the daily sched I color the boxs to park and can type in spec events, dinning reservations, extra magic hours.

it took me two vacation to build this sheet to where I really like it and it is functional. I now use this for all my trips, less the sheet B for parks. I can plan out an entire year. In fact I was working yesterday on 4th of July 2013 gettysburg 150th anv.

Also great ideas I'm definately going to be working on this tonight!

 

[theduck619]

I'm definitely the travel planner of the family (both Disney and not). As I was reading this thread I thought about our/my planning style and wanted to ask the group to see how we each plan.

Typically the way I plan a trip is as follows:

- Pick time of year that we can go
- Figure out the best days to visit parks during out time (using multiple resources such as TGM and TP)
- Figure out ADRs that would fit into this schedule
- Build the spreadsheet that includes Park planned to visit, ADR & confirm #s, EMH & park hours for each park and the crowd level / crowd color based on previously mentioned reference.

Once we get to the World, we try to take a much more relaxed approach, but I always have my reference chart to verify that if we want to call an audible that it would line up with plans.

Let me know your planning techniques and methods.

FYI, I posted on the Indy Disdad meet thread regarding the dates you are here.

 

[theduck619]

I love planning the trips. I always ask the DW if she has anything she wants to include or skip, but other then that I chart the course. Wake up calls, where to eat, what parks on what days, etc. Like Aaron I plan everything knowing that things in the schedule will change but it gives us all an overview of what to expect.

 

[nealsmith]

I don't use excel except for the budgeting of the individual trips. I'd love to know exactly how you use it for vacation planning. Although, I have to admit I don't plan many of our outings but that's more because I work in an industry where there is no weekends and my schedule changes every month.



I need to try out touringplans.com sounds kinda cool.

I used tourguide Mike last trip, it was ok, but I new I wanted to try a different one this time around. I went with touringplans also. Although I seem to be using it just for the the park crowd calendar. So far touringplans looks pretty good.

 

[nealsmith]

On Sheet B - This is where my park strategy really gets going. I list out each park, operating hours, along with extra magic hours by color cells Across the top I list out the dates same format as on sheet A , the #nght of vacation, and any special events for that day and what # day in the park. This way if I we have ADR at epcot, i don't plan a day in animal kingdom. This sheet really provides a visual flow, as we don't park everyday and can schedule down days on those with no magic hours. A new item i added this year was antipated crowd levels for each park. (Side Note, went to MK on dec 25th. We had the BEST day with rides and shows out of all our trips. really!)

On sheet B - I also a daily time sched based on 6-10, 10 - 2, 2-6, 6 to 12. Each park has a color code that runs across the entire sheet. left to right. then in the daily sched I color the boxs to park and can type in spec events, dinning reservations, extra magic hours.

it took me two vacation to build this sheet to where I really like it and it is functional. I now use this for all my trips, less the sheet B for parks. I can plan out an entire year. In fact I was working yesterday on 4th of July 2013 gettysburg 150th anv.

This is a good point. I think the hours and showtimes are a good minimum. If you are going to do anything else, you should know this information ahead of time. I'd hate to be stuck in line somewhere or eating knowing we were missing a show or parade we really wanted to see. Nothing worse than showing up a the last minute of a parade and seeing the last 2 minutes from a very poor spot.

I do the park hours for all parks, and the schedule for the park(s) we plan to go to, plus showtimes and ADRs, print this out for each day. We stay flexible though...

 

[Steven41782]

I plan the stuff, but DW likes to pick the hotel and some restaurants.


We have cammando days at all 4 parks and usually a day of Epcot and MK with no plans.... just do whatever we feel like. I print off parade times, etc. from Allears or wdwinfo and highlight the days were at that park. I use Excel ALL DAY at work (accountant) but oddly enough not for trip planning.


Steven

 

[fgtriot]

OK so I know I'm the new guy around here but I am hoping for some input. I took my son to WDW (going to have to learn some of the short hand) seven years ago when he was only 18 months old. Now DW and I have 3 kids (9,7&3) and we are finally ready to take them back. Hopefully this time they will remember it. Anyhow, I'm looking for good ideas (given the age range) and maybe a few not so well known ideas to do with them. The planning has really just begun and I know we won't be able to do everything but I'm looking for options. I can give more details if needed, I've been watching DisDads for a while now and just got the courage to join and post. Looking forward to contributing to the threads (though i don't know much). Going to have to also learn the signatures and how to add all the pictures and characters.

<-- This is definately me though.

 

[theduck619]

OK so I know I'm the new guy around here but I am hoping for some input. I took my son to WDW (going to have to learn some of the short hand) seven years ago when he was only 18 months old. Now DW and I have 3 kids (9,7&3) and we are finally ready to take them back. Hopefully this time they will remember it. Anyhow, I'm looking for good ideas (given the age range) and maybe a few not so well known ideas to do with them. The planning has really just begun and I know we won't be able to do everything but I'm looking for options. I can give more details if needed, I've been watching DisDads for a while now and just got the courage to join and post. Looking forward to contributing to the threads (though i don't know much). Going to have to also learn the signatures and how to add all the pictures and characters.

<-- This is definately me though.

Welcome

Jump on over to the main thread and Emma's dad will stop by and give you a member number.

 

[5stljayhawks]

Fgt - you got all boys, Mix of both??? and what are the ages. I have 7g 5b 3g and not really worried about if they remember. Our next trip will include a gator land. Bring your own hot dogs and have a blast, watch out for loose floor boards. It's an easy way to loose a shoe or foot.

BTW - If you do epcot, grab lunch in teh UK (fish chips/ beer and lemonaide to go and sit out by the lake, towards france. Watch out for sea gulls. They will take food right out of the hands of the kids......

I think any one on one time, maybe while the wife eats meals with the other ones is cool. 9 & 7 will get it, maybe not the 3, but they are just fun to be around. The world is just a gaint play ground for the 3yo

 

[DisneyMacAddict]

I enjoy the planning aspect of WDW so much that I started my first blog about it. It's only three posts long but I hope to keep doing it for the next 369 days until our next visit.(Maybe not everyday) I use to go into depression after my visits to the World. Now I am just always in planning mode. What I would really like to figure out is how to get to WDW every year. We live about 16 hours away and are in the process of trying to get out of debt. Oh well, just another thing to plan for!

 

[maddiesdaddy]

I caught the bug when I planned our first trip to WDW. I stumbled upon the DIS and began to read everything I could on the subject. I obsessed of the smallest of things and planned one of the best vacations my wife had ever been on. After that it became a matter of personal pride for me. I'm now starting to branch out and work on non-Disney trips. That's been a bit harder because I've found there's no DIS for Germany.

Wow..just like dsnydaddy, I caught the bug right after my divorce. I wanted to give my DD the best trip ever and came here to the DIS and LEARNED SO MUCH. This place was invaluable to me. I planned such an amazing trip that now that I have new family members, I am the planner and plan amazing trips for the entire family. I get up at the 180th day (except for that one strange year when it was 90) and 6am (central time) and make everyone's dining reservations...it is a blast..and now I am an unofficial Disney consultant for all of our friends. Which has been good since they are all coming to DW in September for our WEDDING!!!!!

I love the planning, love the parks, love the DIS!

 

[Gary Pinkos]

About two years ago, after I found the DIS, is when I took over the planning. Before that we would pretty much do the same things every year.
So I guess the biggest things that first year were the dinning plan, and buying annual passes that we would use for two vacations. But only made a few ADR's

Last year, I learned about and purchased the pirates and friends cruise. So months before our vacation, I mentioned this to my DW, she said it cost too much and I felt guilty and cancelled it. I went back in the DIS boards and was encouraged to see that this seemed to be a great way to see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom, so I repurchased reservantions and just didn't tell DW untill we were there, she wasn't happy, but when I told her how much I wanted to do this for the family......she agreed.

After we did the cruise, she said that the cruise was fantastic and worth every penny.....boy oh boy......did I feel fantastic!

Not doing the Dining Plan this year, but do have all our ADR's......instead buying the Tables in Wonderland program.

Last year we also spent a few afternoons just checking out other resorts. We stopped at the Contempory, wandered over to Bay Lake Tower, Poly, Grand Floridian, and we took the bus one afternoon to Pop Century for lunch and a look around. My family had a great time doing these simple things. We spent one evening wandering around the horse barn in the campground near trails end, met some great cast members, my teenaged girls loved that night.

Untill I got involved in planning, we mostly drove from PA. But when I found out the the Magical Express.....I was hooked on flying.....the time had come not to drive anymore. We take differnt modes of transportation when possible. we will take boats to pleasure island from OKW, or from MGM to Epcot, or take monorail from Epcot to MK. None of this is a big deal, but it does take some planning.

We are going this August and again next July, so as soon as we get back, I will start the plans for our next trip. That trip will be with two other couples and thier kids. My three DD are 21, 17 & 16. One family has a DS 19 and a DD 14, and the other family has a DD 12, a DS 9 and a DS 6.......so the mix will be interesting when trying to plan that vacation.....but with the DIS I will be up for the challange.

 

[GrumpyCAdad]

I (43) love to plan Disney trips! I am not a big planner, but when it comes to trips to WDW (or DL) I am super anal about planning the trip! It's the one place my DW (43) allows me to take the ball and run, for she is not as big a Disney nut as I am, but she enjoys it. My kids DS (12 and 11) and DD (8) love WDW and I always try to make it the best trip possible for them, and trying to keep the wife happy is of course a priority!!


I even try to give co-workers advice when they break the news to me they are going to WDW. I love planning trips to the World!