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When you all plan your trips, do plan like Monday we got to MK and Tuesday to AK? Or do you plan like Monday at MK we will go to Fantasyland and ride this, this, and this and then off to Tomorrowland and do this, this, and this? I have never been that organized but I have been reading about other people who are and I was just curious what some of you all do.
I start with the sheet that shows me which parks open early on which days and stay late. Then I plan where we will be based on that. Then I check out special events like parades or shows in those parks and decide which we will do on which days. Next comes the meals. Must make the priority seating requests based on which park we will be in. Then after all of that, I will decide things like whether a particular day will be a day we ride water rides or not. Or if we head to the back of MK first or the safari at AK first because they will be least crowded early.
I started with park hours and how many days I wanted in each park. Then I booked our meals. Then I planned out each day's rides, shows and parades. I used RideMax to plan out each day. I made sure to have plenty of free time in the schedule to allow for spontaneity and unforseen issues. The second day in each park I left unscheduled so we could go back and do our favourites or whatever we missed the first day. Our last day I left free and we ended up hitting three parks and DTD to make sure we did it all!
My next trip is just me so I will just do what I feel like at the time and probably take more time to sit by the pool.
We are a little different. We like to do 1 park per day, we don't like to hop around. We like to focus on "doing" the park, everything that each of us wants to do in it.
We always put a day in between parks too, otherwise we get tired out too fast. We have small children, so it helps to break it up for them and give them a day to recouperate.
We plan a course of action around each park based on the rides we each want to do and we mostly do CS in the parks. We only get down there about once a year or once every other year, so it's hard for me to justify sitting in a TS restaurant in the parks for 2 hours of the day.
That's what works for us, but I know everyone is different! :)
My strategy is quite similar to Tricia's overall I think.
First I check out the Unofficial Guide to WDW to check park attendance for date based on previous year's data, then I compare that to which parks offer EMH either early or late. (We generally avoid early EMH, but like to sometimes do the late hours)
Once I have that info down I plan which park we will start our day in, and base any lunch ressies around that. We like to get to the park to be right at the front for rope drop, and we always have planned what ride we will go to first. Then we always try to do the biggest rides within the first hour or so before the park gets really busy.
After the first hour or so, we get a fastpass for a later ride to go on again, or to ride for the first time, then we just do what we want to do.
So, I guess in general we do have a strategy and a couple of rides lined up each day, but after the park gets busy, we base things on lines and what we feel like doing, and whether or not we feel like waiting around for parades or not. We usually try to get on rides during the parades though, instead of waiting around.
We like to hop, so I usually do plan a different park, or sometimes the same on as the am to go to in the afternoon, after we have had lunch and gone back to the room to rest and/or swim for a while. Then we usually stay at the chosen park till around closing or so.
I used TOUR GUIDE MIKE website and the passporter and planned where to be on what days ....I found if you are not doing EMH for the park, it is best to avoid that park for the day which I did. My husband laughed at all the planning I had done but they had never been there before and I had so he didn't realize how big the parks are. But my best advise is take a break. I know with having 2 small kids we were usually back to our rooms by 1-2pm and then rest shower change clothes and I would ask the kids what they wanted to do the rest of the day or we had early ADR's somewhere.
I use Tour Guide Mike too and use it it decide which parks which days...He also takes into account the people in your party and make recommendations of which order to do rides. I printed this out on index cards....not as detailed as his, but enough to keep me on track, and we go by that. We don't follow it like it's a bible, but I figure he's figured out where the crowds go and how to avoid them so why not take advantage of that....But usually I only do that on the first day/morning in each park...then we play it more by ear if we get a 2nd (or 3rd) day.
In all my previous trips I planned my days around EMH. After last trip though I'm going to plan on EMH for mornings only and skip the night ones. Even in September the evening ones were pretty crowded for my likings. I mean Soarin would be a 45-60 min wait during EMH but if I went the next day after the evening EMH it would be a 15 min wait which is much better.
So after I do my planning of which park per day I'll decide which restaurants we want to sit down and eat at and then try to plan according to the park. I also try to plan ahead and pick counter service places but that is about it with planning. I do'nt try to do a specific ride order of time. Its too easy to get frustrated if you happen to relax and get behind in your schedule.
I pick a park we will spend most of the day at. Then I talk to my kids and husband and find out their favorite rides in that park. The ones we must hit to have a "good" day. Then we just use our best judgement on if we need to fastpass or just hit the line early in the day, and then we just go from area to area making decisions as we go.
It might be good to check height restrictions and do some measuring so as not to disappoint little ones by checking at the ride.
Make a decision about food, shows and parades...this is personal decision. My family likes more rides and shows, but isn't big on parades. We also aren't big on eating out (too many picky eaters in the family)- so I really need to study a menu before we eat at a new place.
Definitely plan some slower/down time... we slow down in the afternoon and head back to the room for some rest around dinner, and then head back to the park for fireworks. When you take your rest will depend on your family.
Don't microplan your trip to the second, or you will disappoint yourself... I think a general plan of which parks and a few must ride/see/eat goals is the best plan
For me TOUR GUIDE MIKE decides which days we do which parks. Then I choose the meals. I don't do a certain plan for when we get in the parks - we tend to just go where ever we feel like. I don't want to be a drill sargent but it's hard to relax about certain things so if I don't look at touring plans then we wander and have a great time. I'm babbling
I more relaxed and don't want to plan down to the minute, but I also don't want to miss anything good. Or stand in line when we really don't need to.