I have a short trip to WDW next month. I was just working out my touring plans and I have only a few rides at each park that I really want to do, so it should be a breeze.
But I am afraid I’m going to get back into commando-style touring mode and feel like I have to maximize every second. I’ll be watching the clock while eating and snarf down my last bite of my meal before dashing to my next LL. I’ll probably skip bathroom breaks, which I tend to do when I’m traveling solo. I’ll forget to get snacks.
How do I slow down and just enjoy the journey? How do I park hop when I only have 3 hours in an evening? How can I permit myself to stop and take a picture of the castle without motion blur? How can I waste time riding Its a Small World when it’s not even a thrill attraction?
Oh lawd i dunno, but ive tried it a few times and just cant manage. If someone has it figured out, they could prob charge for a course for recovering park commandos
I have the same problem, and I bet a lot of ppl here do too! This week I have 3 day hoppers and am forcing 2 days of downtime. I literally spent this afternoon lazing on the balcony and strolling the boardwalk feeling vaguely as if I should be doing something else, but enjoying the lazy Sunday afternoon too. Or reminding myself that its ok to relax on vacation, lol.
Make yourself leave and visit resorts for dining. This will force you out of the parks seriously IDK! Our last trip with just DH was about as laid back as it has ever been and we just slept in and left parks after dinner.
Maybe give yourself a to-do list with all the things you want to do, big and small, and don’t deviate until you do every little thing on there. Then go wild.
Ok, Im just realizing you only have 3 hours in the parks. I say save the laid back WDW for another trip and since go,go,go is more your style make it a mission to hit all the headliners in those hours.
I used to have that problem. It didn’t matter how many times we had been to the world (since 1971) I was always “go, go, go!” Then we moved here and I got to slow down. I know you can’t move here, but I did start slowing down before the move… a bit… I started telling myself, “You’ve been here before and you’re coming back so you don’t have to do everything right now, this trip.” When I go now, I have a mission, 1-2 must do’s, and then to dilly dally & ppl/CM-performer watch. W/ only 3 hours it would make sense to force yourself to prioritize your favorite things and pick up something for your girls at home. I frequently have grandma missions
This is probably the best I can do lol. I’m trying to only put my very top priorities on my touring plan. That will leave some time to go off script at the end.
I have 3 hours in MK and 3 in EP. The last two days I will have about 7 hours in HS and almost a full day for AK plus hopping before my flight at 8pm.
Something I realized on my trip was that I really need a list of all the potential things I want to do in any given area. When making on-the-ground choices, I defaulted to headliners and things I know we love because I hadn’t written all of our options out. Creating a TP (more accurately, 5ish TPs per day with all sorts of variations) is helpful for me ahead of time, but I need to equip myself better for the audibles by enhancing the options at my fingertips. Most of what I forgot about were the slower paced experiences so I’m curious if listing them out will help me to actually slow down enough to do them.
On my last mother daughter trip w/ my girls, Jan 2020, they wanted nothing to do w/ rushing around. They wanted to spend their time getting pictures taken w/ characters and go to all the press penny machines. So, that’s what we did. It was fun and relaxing. We also ate at places never been to before and got dressed up for a high tea at GF.
This thread is like group therapy. Or AA. I am so comforted that I’m not the only one.
I was going to mention this in my recent trip report. I don’t know how to relax. I find it really difficult. I panic.
If I’m walking somewhere — anywhere, no matter how mundane — and I see someone walking in the same direction I panic and try to overtake them, or block them. Even when it makes no logical sense to do so.
For example, when I used to get off the APM at MCO and head towards the DME check-in I would see myself as being in competition to get to the front of the line with everyone else in the entire airport, even though maybe 1% of them were headed that way.
Because I was using G+ and because it’s such a disaster I was forced to stop rushing from one ride to another earlier this month and that was actually really nice. I did the same at UOR because I didn’t have an Express Pass.
I really need to learn how to relax. It’s a genuine issue for me. I’m like one of those rescue shelter dogs that gulps down all the food in its bowl even though it doesn’t need to any more because it’s not competing with other dogs for the food.
On the other hand, theme park touring is one of the only ways I get strenuous physical exercise these days, so maybe it’s good if I’m a little overzealous!
If someone gets to the entrance to a line just before I do I feel really mad. I feel like they took my spot. That they won and I lost. And that I’m going to have to wait so much longer now.
For our upcoming trip in two weeks, when the parks are supposed to be 12 out of 10 crowd levels, I’m forcing myself to find quiet places in the midst of the chaos. There are so many hidden nooks in the parks and resorts and it’s my goal to seek them out (preferably with a snack and a drink) instead of jumping in line to wait 120 minutes for a ride I’ve been on five times already.
