I would do this too. I love your approach @profmatt and think you have done a fabulous job setting your priorities and keeping them at the forefront of your mind during your planning process. I would put everything onto personalized TPs just to compare and make sure that the wiggle/buffer room you have in there will work and balance out the way you’d like it too. The only caveat on that is if you don’t mind missing something or having to move things around, then don’t worry about it.
I also second the comments above about keeping your planning reports to a minimum. It was so hard for me, but for my husband I think it just stressed him out. He lines app and the forum are both great places to vent some of the excitement and planning success! We get it!
Lastly I also fully second the suggestion to know your plans really well. You probably already do even. It was really helpful while touring because I didn’t have to have my plan out all the time, which again would have kind of wigged out my non-planning husband. I already knew the order of events we were shooting for. So it was just a looking at the map situation.
1 Like
Ok, I didn’t really look at the plan yet bc I’ve only been once so I’m certainly no expert. You’ve done an amazing job planning, and yes, I think you just be a little nuts 
What I did want to say is that I hope that mentally you still prepare yourself for things to not go as planned. Arriving late, rain, sickness, ride going down etc. it happens and I think the most important thing with Disney is just to roll with it and move on. I am a perfectionist and plan thing with the expectations that my kids will react the way I PLANNED them too. Well needless to say I can’t control other people. My first day at AK I was so annoyed my kids did not want to see ROL (I paid for the dining plan!) my husband thankfully said we’re going back to the park!! At that point we missed The Lion king show. Barely got to see the tree of Life at night, and literally walked into night time Pandora, saw the land, and left with grumbling kids. HS we accidentally slept till 7:45 and the plan was to leave at 8…so we missed stuff there, DH doubled up on medications by accident and drank a beer causing us to miss lluminations. We were on a bench in the park trying not to barf…I could go on and on. Every day we missed something on our plan or it didn’t go “as planned”. But if you let it piss you off it will just ruin the rest if the day, so you have to let it all roll off your back. Anyway, the best laid plans…regardless you will have the time of your life if you can remember this one bit of advice.
2 Likes
Oh and use uber and lift. They rock in Disney.
Laura has given you a FREE Uber ride (up to $15). To claim your free gift, sign up using this link: https://www.uber.com/invite/lauraa14326ui
This makes my type a personality super happy.
Three things from me:
-
if you can, use the MDE app to pre-order for satu’li. I know that lines there can be a bit crazy depending on what is happening in Pandora.
-
the hogwarts express cue is just physically long to walk through going both ways. It also takes a bit to load. So you might check the recommended timing on TP for this or at least be prepared to spend a little more time there if necessary.
-
same with KS at AK. Depending on what the animals are doing might want a little extra buffer. Also, unloading seems to be a bit of a bear sometimes if the trucks get a little backed up coming into the station.
1 Like
Since the subject of maps has been raised . . .
I should give credit to easyWDW for the templates. (I removed their logos from my maps as they were distracting.)
http://www.easywdw.com/easy/cheat-sheets/disney-world-cheat-sheets-maps-touring-plans-and-wait-times-4/
Day 5 is scheduled to be a Universal day, but actually it’s flexible. By then we will have been to each of the four Disney parks and both Universal parks. If we missed something (for whatever reason) that’s not in any of our second visits, we could do them on Day 5 – we have 14 day park-hopper tickets. (We have Express Passes for Universal and I’ve even scheduled some “emergency” FPPs, just in case.)
The same goes for Day 10.
You don’t need to walk from HS to Epcot to see the boardwalk
There’s shuttle boats running every 20 mins to take you from HS to Boardwalk and from there it’s a short walk to Epcot
It’s a long long walk if you don’t use those boats
You will enjoy the sit down and whilst on the boat it’s a calm time to remind yourself of the plans for the evening or even chase new fastpasses etc
1 Like
The boats drop off at the swan/dolphin, beach and yacht club and boardwalk on the way to epcot
Very pleasant journey
Plus you will be doing more than enough walking inside the parks
The rest will be appreciated believe me
1 Like
That’s good to know, actually. The walk from DHS to Boardwalk didn’t look particularly interesting.
The most important thing to remember with all of this craziness:
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower
As @cervonil said, you need to prepare yourself for things to not go as planned. This is where all your planning pays off - because you have researched everything, you can call an audible and readjust on the fly to the situation at hand. This doesn’t mean that you need to have Plans A-Z prepared and at the ready (“in case DW wants to spend 30 minutes looking at overpriced junk in the gift shop that she has no intention of buying, we switch to Plan B23.5”), but rather you have a knowledge bank that allows you to adjust and move on, confident that you will still be able to achieve your main objectives.
4 Likes
That settles it. I’m having a Plan B23.5 – you see if I don’t!
4 Likes
Regarding traveling companions thinking you’re nuts, my husband was a fan of my planning with the following caveats:
-
I didn’t bother him with the details–I gave a general overview of the day and then just announced each thing as it happened (“Now we’re going to do X.”)
-
Once it becomes evident that things are going smoothly, you’re not waiting in lots of long lines, you have food when you need food, etc., critics are won over to the Plan.
-
If things need to change, let them change. If you’re in Animal Kingdom, there’s no shade, and it’s 95 and humid, be OK with just ditching and going to the pool. If everyone’s hungry at 11:00, but you’re planning on QS at 1:00, just go eat.
One concern with your plan: You have lunch at Tusker House immediately after Kali. If you don’t wear ponchos or have a change of clothes, you will be soaking wet during lunch. If you’re walking around in the sun afterwards, then fine, but you might not want to be drenched during a nice meal.
3 Likes
OK, I’ve taken another look at your plans - you have all your FPPs reserved, all your ADRs made, you have (hopefully) scheduled your TP Room Request fax, and if I recall correctly you are about 3 weeks away. Now is the time to step away from the plans (and stop ordering more stuff from Amazon ;-)) before your travelling companion ties you to a chair and stages an intervention…
If you absolutely have to do something, read the Unofficial Guide from cover to cover at a leisurely pace - it’s a good read with tidbits of information sprinkled throughout. However, if you read something interesting do not jump up and readjust your plans - instead, say “hmm, that’s interesting” and maybe mark it with a sticky note. After you have made it all the way through look back at the pages you have tagged and see if there really is anything that would be worth reworking your plans for.
Face it, you have done a ton of work of this - now is the time to relax and let all that information settle in your brain. 
3 Likes
I appreciate the advice . . . though now you’ve given me something else to worry about and tinker with! I’m in two minds whether I want to do Kali at all, to be honest. I’ve toyed with switching it with a second Everest.
Reading is bad! It’s reading books and websites that makes me think, “Ooh! That sounds cool. I wonder if I can squeeze that in somewhere.” The last time I did that I ended up with a dinner at California Grill. I think that was the point when I admitted to myself that there was no budget for this trip!
It probably wouldn’t hurt to step back from it all for a while.
18 days to go . . .
Hence the sticky notes - and a rubber band around your wrist to snap yourself with when you want to leap up and add what you’ve just read about into your plan. 
You’re in the home stretch - deep breaths, deep breaths…
1 Like
We have 18 days to go too. 
1 Like
Wear a poncho, change out your shoes and put them in the locker at Kali. Put on dry shoes, head to TH, you’ll be fine, you’re in Disney. Sometimes you hardly get wet at all.
1 Like
