How Long Do You Plan For Your Disney World Trip?

DisneyonaDime · 03-30-2005, 08:34 PM

How long do you plan for your trip to Disney World?

Over the years, our trip planning has been as short as 24 hours (literally) and as long as a year. Once, when I was still in college, my wife and I looked at each other and decided to load up the car and head out to Disney World. It was Spring Break, I was about to have a nervous breakdown

, and we had some leftover tax return money.....boom we were in Disney World.

Now, most of our trips are planned out in detail. The better the planning, the more money you can save. With a Disney trip- "Fail to Plan, Plan to Spend a lot of Money."

Let us know how much time you need to plan for your vacation.

Jiminy Cricket · 03-30-2005, 08:43 PM

Plan? We don't need no stinkin' plan!

Honestly, I start to plan our next trip the moment we turn off US 192 onto World Drive!!!

In the old days 3-4 months was the norm. Now, since we are APs we plan about 6 months out.

DissyLove · 03-30-2005, 09:34 PM

It's about 3 months for our June trip, but usually I start planning more like 6 months in advance. I enjoy the planning, good way to get organized for a great trip!

jarmitc2032 · 03-30-2005, 10:16 PM

For the two trips I took to disney world, my high school and college did all the planing. As for planing a trip myself I would not know where to begin.

TrendyMagic · 03-31-2005, 11:14 AM

Before I moved down here it was a matter of minutes at times. If Disney had a room available and I had a reason and time to visit, I headed down from GA.

dzney4lyf · 03-31-2005, 04:50 PM

I have only planned 3 trips my self so far. (been there 16 times.. rest of them were my family).... We went in June last year and that was planned 6 months in advance and then again in October and that was planned when we got off the plane in June and we are going again this June which was planned last year since its a honeymoon...

DisneyonaDime · 03-31-2005, 10:51 PM

I tried to convince my wife to do our honeymoon at Disney World, but it never happened. This was years before I converted her into a Disney Fan. She had never been and didn't see what all of the fuss was about.

MommytoMJM · 04-12-2005, 01:16 PM

Let's see....we go every Friday and Sat...so that means we plan for about ummmmmm, 5 days! LOL

MainStreet, USA · 04-12-2005, 05:18 PM

I start planning as soon as I know I'm going!

One time my family started talking about a trip the following summer, and I literally had a running countdown on my desktop calender for well over a year! Each day I woke up I would draw a big X through that day's number...

...287 more days!... (etc)

And for the day we were supposed to fly down to MCO, I had a big drawing of Mickey's face! :mickey:

But now, seeing as I'm so close to WDW for school, I start planning as soon as I realize that I have a free day. That usually means anywhere from as much as 36 hours in advance, to as little as 7! Talk about taking your last minute trip, huh?

JLTraveling · 04-13-2005, 12:31 AM

Yay to the people who have up and decided to go on five minutes' notice!! Glad I'm not the only one!

I had a Disney buddy who also happened to be my roommate. One night neither of us could sleep, so we said hey, why not? Got in the car at 2 am, drove the 45 minutes to WDW and spent the rest of the night poking around the hotels while security looked at us funny...it probably didn't help that at the time we were both gothic teenagers in full attire and makeup

We were first in line when AK opened the next day, and despite our lack of sleep we still managed to hit all 4 parks.
I miss that roommate. We did all kinds of spontaneous stuff like that.

One time we spent a day taking care of some business matters in Orlando, stopped off at DisneyQuest afterwards, stayed there till close, then decided we had nothing better to do, so we took a road trip to Atlanta to go to Six Flags. Anybody remember National Lampoon's Vacation? We drove all night, got there just at park opening... drove up... and saw the big sign declaring "Closed For the Season."

What?!?!?!?! We live in Mickey Land.... what do you mean parks in other parts of the country actually close?!?!?! It all worked out okay though. We did the other tourist stuff in Atlanta, had a fabulous dinner at my favorite restaurant, spent the night in a cheap motel and drove home the next day.

I had so much fun that the next weekend I took a completely unplanned road trip to Nashville with a different roommate, just so I could see my little cousin star in her first play ever. Gotta love road trips!!

GirlStar613 · 04-13-2005, 02:03 AM

when we lived in ny we would book our reservations at least 6mths in advance, but planning is a different story all together...i am always planning for a disney trip! now that we live in fl we can make res. about 2-3 months in advance so we get residence rates bc man those rooms can book up fast(and we no longer have to worry about getting a flight down here, just a short 1hr and 1/2 drive).

MainStreet, USA · 04-13-2005, 02:21 AM

JLTraveling (Lisa, right???)

Sounds like TRAVELING is a great name fo you. Just pick up and go wherever, whenever, huh? Sounds like a lot of fun. I've only been to Atlanta once, (not counting the countless times I've had to change planes in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int'l Airport of course!) and unfortunately it wasn't for the best of reasons. I was evacuating Florida for Hurricane Frances last fall (along with 2.8 mil other people!!!), and did a number on my little car in the process when the traffic on I-75 went from 60-0 almost as fast as Rock 'n' Rollercoaster does it the other way around! ... cost me $2800 in repairs to the front end!

But on the plus side, I had no hurricane damage!

disneydreamer98 · 04-13-2005, 01:06 PM

I would say that my average planning time for a trip is 6 months...but even when I'm not planning for our next trip...I'm still planning. ALWAYS planning...ALWAYS plotting...ALWAYS dreaming of our next WDW trip!

DisneyonaDime · 04-13-2005, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by disneydreamer98

I would say that my average planning time for a trip is 6 months...but even when I'm not planning for our next trip...I'm still planning. ALWAYS planning...ALWAYS plotting...ALWAYS dreaming of our next WDW trip!

That is soooo true. It seems like I'm in a constant cycle of thinking about planning, preparing to plan, planning, enjoying Disney World, thinking about planning,.........

Does it ever end?!?!?

I hope not.

GirlStar613 · 04-14-2005, 12:57 AM

i think for most of us it never stops! it's too much fun just to think about going again and where are you going to stay and what are you going to do and which park first or which ride first and where to eat.........

View Poll Results: How Much Time Do You Spend Planning Your Disney World Vacation?
Less than 1 Month	14	6.70%
3 Months	22	10.53%
6 Months	55	26.32%
1 Year	77	36.84%
18 Months	25	11.96%
2 Years	16	7.66%
Voters: 209. You may not vote on this poll

03-30-2005, 08:34 PM	#1
DisneyonaDime Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 358	How Long Do You Plan For Your Disney World Trip? How long do you plan for your trip to Disney World? Over the years, our trip planning has been as short as 24 hours (literally) and as long as a year. Once, when I was still in college, my wife and I looked at each other and decided to load up the car and head out to Disney World. It was Spring Break, I was about to have a nervous breakdown , and we had some leftover tax return money.....boom we were in Disney World. Now, most of our trips are planned out in detail. The better the planning, the more money you can save. With a Disney trip- "Fail to Plan, Plan to Spend a lot of Money." Let us know how much time you need to plan for your vacation. __________________ Chris Co-author of "Disney on a Dime"- now for sale !!!! Get our new book, plus some extra free goodies when you buy from our site- www.DisneyonaDime.com Find daily and weekly tips, updates, and now- our book. "You can drop a grand in Disney World like that!"- Frank Costanza

03-30-2005, 08:43 PM	#2
Jiminy Cricket Ultimate Park "Hopper" Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: 1,031 miles from WDW in Central Indiana Posts: 4,688	Plan? We don't need no stinkin' plan! Honestly, I start to plan our next trip the moment we turn off US 192 onto World Drive!!! In the old days 3-4 months was the norm. Now, since we are APs we plan about 6 months out. __________________ *Lord High Keeper of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong, Counselor in Moments of Temptation, and Guide along the Straight and Narrow Path and Oldest Active DWT/WDW Radio Member* DL: 1955* (1) WDW: 1977* (2), 1980* (2), 1985* (3), 1989* (3), 1996 (ASMu-3), 1999 (ASMo-3), 2000 (ASMu-2/PO-2), 2001 (ASMu-5), 2002 (ASMu-5), 2003 (ASMo-5), 2004* (8), 2004 (ASMo-8), 2005 (PC-10), 2006* (15), 2007* (20), 2008* (22), 2009* (26) 2010* (27) 2011* (32) 2012* (?) Off Property Total Days @ Parks = 204*

03-30-2005, 09:34 PM	#3
DissyLove Wendy's real. I've seen her, so don't even start with me. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Back in Michigan..... Posts: 5,241	3-6 months It's about 3 months for our June trip, but usually I start planning more like 6 months in advance. I enjoy the planning, good way to get organized for a great trip! __________________ I am in need of some Disney magic!!

03-30-2005, 10:16 PM	#4
jarmitc2032 Lives At Epcot Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: FL Posts: 2,088	For the two trips I took to disney world, my high school and college did all the planing. As for planing a trip myself I would not know where to begin. __________________ Jarod My DeviantArt Page

03-31-2005, 11:14 AM	#5
TrendyMagic On Mars Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: SF Bay, Cali Posts: 3,854	Before I moved down here it was a matter of minutes at times. If Disney had a room available and I had a reason and time to visit, I headed down from GA.

03-31-2005, 04:50 PM	#6
dzney4lyf i come with a warning Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: in my own little world Posts: 12,747	I have only planned 3 trips my self so far. (been there 16 times.. rest of them were my family).... We went in June last year and that was planned 6 months in advance and then again in October and that was planned when we got off the plane in June and we are going again this June which was planned last year since its a honeymoon...

03-31-2005, 10:51 PM	#7
DisneyonaDime Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 358	I tried to convince my wife to do our honeymoon at Disney World, but it never happened. This was years before I converted her into a Disney Fan. She had never been and didn't see what all of the fuss was about. __________________ Chris Co-author of "Disney on a Dime"- now for sale !!!! Get our new book, plus some extra free goodies when you buy from our site- www.DisneyonaDime.com Find daily and weekly tips, updates, and now- our book. "You can drop a grand in Disney World like that!"- Frank Costanza

04-12-2005, 01:16 PM	#8
MommytoMJM DisneyWorldTrivia Mod - Living Disney as a Lifestyle Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Watching Wishes from my patio! Posts: 1,254	Let's see....we go every Friday and Sat...so that means we plan for about ummmmmm, 5 days! LOL __________________ Bonny June, Homeschooler, Webmaster and SNK/Adoption Advocate~~Marjorie June Mailani Adopted SNK, Disney Fanatic, Joyous, Cheerful, Incredible Kid~~Andrew, Cast Member, Disney Reservations Center~~Heart Mom to Cody (adoption loss 10-00) (linkie fixed...heh heh, thanks Val!)

04-12-2005, 05:18 PM	#9
MainStreet, USA I'm walking right down the middle of Main Street, USA! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Southington, CT/Daytona Beach, FL/ Main Street, USA! Posts: 2,040	I start planning as soon as I know I'm going! One time my family started talking about a trip the following summer, and I literally had a running countdown on my desktop calender for well over a year! Each day I woke up I would draw a big X through that day's number... ...287 more days!... (etc) And for the day we were supposed to fly down to MCO, I had a big drawing of Mickey's face! :mickey: But now, seeing as I'm so close to WDW for school, I start planning as soon as I realize that I have a free day. That usually means anywhere from as much as 36 hours in advance, to as little as 7! Talk about taking your last minute trip, huh? __________________ -Don- Your heart can just take wing, You can live out all your dreams... ...it's time to Remember the Magic! Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pilot's Life for Me... Last edited by MainStreet, USA; 04-13-2005 at 02:05 AM..

04-13-2005, 12:31 AM	#10
JLTraveling C-Ticket Holder Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: 10 miles from WDW Posts: 147	Yay to the people who have up and decided to go on five minutes' notice!! Glad I'm not the only one! I had a Disney buddy who also happened to be my roommate. One night neither of us could sleep, so we said hey, why not? Got in the car at 2 am, drove the 45 minutes to WDW and spent the rest of the night poking around the hotels while security looked at us funny...it probably didn't help that at the time we were both gothic teenagers in full attire and makeup We were first in line when AK opened the next day, and despite our lack of sleep we still managed to hit all 4 parks. I miss that roommate. We did all kinds of spontaneous stuff like that. One time we spent a day taking care of some business matters in Orlando, stopped off at DisneyQuest afterwards, stayed there till close, then decided we had nothing better to do, so we took a road trip to Atlanta to go to Six Flags. Anybody remember National Lampoon's Vacation? We drove all night, got there just at park opening... drove up... and saw the big sign declaring "Closed For the Season." What?!?!?!?! We live in Mickey Land.... what do you mean parks in other parts of the country actually close?!?!?! It all worked out okay though. We did the other tourist stuff in Atlanta, had a fabulous dinner at my favorite restaurant, spent the night in a cheap motel and drove home the next day. I had so much fun that the next weekend I took a completely unplanned road trip to Nashville with a different roommate, just so I could see my little cousin star in her first play ever. Gotta love road trips!!

04-13-2005, 02:03 AM	#11
GirlStar613 Queen of Couture Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: The Big Apple Posts: 687	when we lived in ny we would book our reservations at least 6mths in advance, but planning is a different story all together...i am always planning for a disney trip! now that we live in fl we can make res. about 2-3 months in advance so we get residence rates bc man those rooms can book up fast(and we no longer have to worry about getting a flight down here, just a short 1hr and 1/2 drive). __________________ Erica "There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of everyday. There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away!" When I grow up I wanna be a Disney

04-13-2005, 02:21 AM	#12
MainStreet, USA I'm walking right down the middle of Main Street, USA! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Southington, CT/Daytona Beach, FL/ Main Street, USA! Posts: 2,040	JLTraveling (Lisa, right???) Sounds like TRAVELING is a great name fo you. Just pick up and go wherever, whenever, huh? Sounds like a lot of fun. I've only been to Atlanta once, (not counting the countless times I've had to change planes in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int'l Airport of course!) and unfortunately it wasn't for the best of reasons. I was evacuating Florida for Hurricane Frances last fall (along with 2.8 mil other people!!!), and did a number on my little car in the process when the traffic on I-75 went from 60-0 almost as fast as Rock 'n' Rollercoaster does it the other way around! ... cost me $2800 in repairs to the front end!But on the plus side, I had no hurricane damage! __________________ -Don- Your heart can just take wing, You can live out all your dreams... ...it's time to Remember the Magic! Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pilot's Life for Me...

04-13-2005, 01:06 PM	#13
disneydreamer98 fed up Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 46,886	I would say that my average planning time for a trip is 6 months...but even when I'm not planning for our next trip...I'm still planning. ALWAYS planning...ALWAYS plotting...ALWAYS dreaming of our next WDW trip!

04-14-2005, 12:57 AM	#15
GirlStar613 Queen of Couture Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: The Big Apple Posts: 687	i think for most of us it never stops! it's too much fun just to think about going again and where are you going to stay and what are you going to do and which park first or which ride first and where to eat......... __________________ Erica "There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of everyday. There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away!" When I grow up I wanna be a Disney

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