Last trip to Disney was May 2017 and was my first time using Unofficial Guide or Touring Plans - I became a huge believer in TPs and all of the advice you all gave me throughout the process. We had an amazing trip.
We are headed to the world for spring break this April - my Fast Past day is looming (Feb 11th) and I cannot motivate myself to get into planning mode, or reteach myself all of the nuggets to make the best plan. SO I guess I need a pep talk?? Or a reminder on what is easiest way to refresh myself. Here’s what I’ve done so far:
Picked which park when and made my dining reservations back at the 6 month mark or whenever that was (we are doing MK, HS and AK this trip - no Epcot which I keep second guessing due to Elsa factor)
Updated my attractions list (I have this in a google sheet that I can share if anyone wants) and picked the stuff we most want to do
Reminded myself to give a half hour to get to parks from AoA (we will drive to all but MK), made a note to look up recommended arrival times for rope drop at parks
Reserve 3 hours for PM breaks, 90 min for character dining, 60 min for Quick Service
Choose relaxed walking speed (will have Mom 69 in tow and DS6 and DD3 - also Sister and DH both in 40s)
Anything else I am forgetting??
A favorite podcast you might recommend to get me back in the groove?
I think I just need to buckle down and get it done. But my type A self enjoyed the planning process a lot more last time.
If sounds like you’re most of the way there already. Have you decided which of your must-do attractions you’ll FP? Since you’re not feeling it, why not just do that and then you can build your TP after getting your FP. Most of us tweak our TP to death before getting our FP and then we tweak again after getting them, but if you’re not into it, that’s just a lot of unnecessary work.
Have you made all dining plans? Do you need to pick out some QS restaurants? Have you also chosen the parades/shows/nighttime entertainment that you’d like?
As far as Elsa factor, she’s featured in either OUAT or HEA (I can’t remember) as well as the Festival of Fantasy parade and Mickey’s Friendship Faire, so you can at least get a smidge of Elsa in MK. And definitely do the Sing-along in HS.
I’m not sure where you live, but every time I open the door and feel the cold air in my face I’m motivated to plan a trip somewhere warm!
As for podcasts, the Disney Dish usually touches on a few of the latest news items before delving into the primary topic for the week. Backside of Magic is interesting if you want to get really serious about trip planning. There are plenty of other podcasts that appeal to different audiences. WDW Prep To Go might be good for where you are in planning, because most of the episodes focus on travel planning, bringing in different guests to talk about their trips.
Thanks - I think I had this all covered except for quick service. I do like using the plans to help me decide with FP to get. I’ve been buckling down and doing it - and second guessing everything. I made an Epcot plan which I am really liking so now figuring out if I can do the MK stuff we really care about in 1 day or if I will ditch Epcot (only a 4 day trip this time as main purpose is to visit Gramma in Vero) - it is going to take prioritizing and me driving my family crazy trying to get them to weigh in on the options.
Thanks!