I’ve been thinking that I need a vacation planner in a 3 ring binder with the ability to plan multiple vacations at once and also have room to store the trip report. I started writing up what pages/spreads I would want it to have and came up with the following
Main checklist w/ dates
Flight info: date booked, cost, departure and arrival times, flight number, etc
Hotel info: booking date, name, address, phone #, cost, type of room, room # assigned, guest names
Phone numbers: DVC, hotels, dining, IT, ticketing, individual restaurants
Touring plans: per park, weekly plan, daily plan
Notes: bucket list items, must try foods/drinks
Epcot Festival info
Trip report
DVC trip history/ points used.
DVC points charts
What other pages would you add? Do you have a specific planner you use or recommend? There’s a bunch on Pinterest/Etsy, but it’s so overwhelming I almost think it would be easier to make it myself.
I am currently organizing the same type of planner in a 3 ring binder for upcoming trips to Universal and then one to WDW. I pretty much have the same sections as you listed, but I also included one of restaurants/dining options and then another one for rides/attractions.
Instead of a binder, I use Excel spreadsheets and include the following (so 1 file with each of the following in separate tabs/sheets) :
Trip overview
Daily itineraries (1 per day)
TPs (by day)
Reservations (flights, hotels, parks, other)
ADRs
Restaurant list with coded been there, want to try, meh
Budget
Notes (copy/paste links, tips I learn on TP, podcasts, etc.)–sometimes separated by topic
New things to do
List of things I need to buy/find
Packing list
Grocery order list
Crowd Levels per park
(We had two sets of magic bands for that trip. The three pre-planned, and the three same day when we picked up SDFP+ With our second set. We quickly realized we were going to need some help. And yes, I do travel with masking tape and sharpies in my bag.)
@eightyeightkeys I don’t know how I forgot about rides and attractions! I guess I was thinking they would be part of the touring plans, but I like the idea of having a separate page for all of them.
@amvanhoose_701479 I use those for work to keep client data for tax returns. I love how strong and sturdy they are. I think I want to keep this planner a little more portable though. I was thinking 6x8. I recognize the logistics of printing the pages may be a slight nightmare.
@momfourmonkeys We spend a lot of time in this house asking, when did we… so having a restaurant list with the date traveled and a smiley face for a quick reference is a great idea!
@qwerty6 you must have the Swiss Army knife of bags. masking tape and sharpies are not something I would think to remember to bring. That was a great way to track which band to use for which ride. Quite brilliant!
Oooooo…now you have me thinking. If I cut a pressboard classification folder in half, I think it would fit in my purse. Hmmm… . May need to duct tape the raw edge to keep it smooth… but reusable so worth a little effort…
For Disney we usually have a backpack anyway that we take turns carrying so full size works, but for trips where we don’t, that might be helpful. My purse is definitely a Hermione bag. (Yes, sharpies. No masking tape though.)
I don’t think I can go completely electronic on my planning documents without carrying two devices. (Ex. “Let me double check the opening times on this list of 5 things” would be so much flipping between windows.)
I plan most of my stuff in a spiral notebook and then put firm details in a spreadsheet with additional notes. I then print out that 1 speadsheet page double sided so I only have to keep up with that 1 page and it folds up easily to fit whichever bag I carry with me.
You may have seen before but I’ll post for others too. I like to make small printed touring plans for in the parks for each family member. I color code by land, so it’s a good visual of when we’re changing lands. And I put some notes right into them. (click to see whole plan)
@amvanhoose_701479 you’re going to need a serious razor blade to cut that sucker in half! But I think it will be worth it. It should be the perfect size.
@LTinNC82 I’m currently planning in my BUJO moleskin notebook, several spreadsheets and a trello board, but everything is so scattered. Once finalized, I usually throw everything into a master spreadsheet to attach to the fridge in the room, but w/o FP+ this past trip, I didn’t actually make much of a touring plan so it didn’t seem necessary. I don’t plan on carrying the binder around the parks with me. I’ll bring it w/ me on the trip but leave it in the hotel for updating with details I don’t want to forget from the day (ie a trip report). My main reason for creating the binder is for posterity. We’re constantly trying to remember what we did when, and are identifying trips by who came with us. It would be great if I could make this binder for each trip, and then move the pages over into a small scrapbook. Some pages will remain in the binder in a permanent section for quick reference. That’s the plan anyway
@bebe80 I remember that printed sheet (from one of your trip reports?) and think it’s pure genius. It’s great for a compact plan of what is happening each day. My family may lock me up if I try to plan them down to the minute like that, but I do love the concept.
Omg Trello is such a great idea! I used to use it all the time at work, but since I moved departments I completely forgot about it. That is an excellent tool perfect for trip planning!
That’s beautiful but I would be afraid that something unexpected might happen and then I’d have to rearrange everything using pens or markers and then it wouldn’t be as nice. And I would probably get frustrated. I like to plan but I’m learning I’m an amateur lol.
Lol!!! That is great!!! I guess mine are scheduled like this too on the TP printout. I’m still hearing about not letting them stop to go to the bathroom!
On this AK day we were able to get everything done. Not exactly in this order. Y&Y took a little longer than expected so we did KS earlier and did a later time of AE. It was an easy change, not a big deal. Setting the walking pace to the slowest accounted for some delays. We were even able to visit a couple gift shops!
I was definitely the one to stay on mission. I love the challenge and the family knows there’s some work involved with getting to everything in one day. If some one needed to use the bathroom, I said sure but everyone goes at the same time!
I can’t even get my guys out of bed until 1 pm EST.
I admire all of your sheets and planning tools (@qwerty6…that was brilliant btw). But I admire them from afar. On a bench with a pretzel. Maybe a coffee. I’ll wave as you zoom by!
masking tape and sharpies are not something I would think to remember to bring. That was a great way to track which band to use for which ride. Quite brilliant!
. May need to duct tape the raw edge to keep it smooth… but reusable so worth a little effort…
I love the challenge and the family knows there’s some work involved with getting to everything in one day. If some one needed to use the bathroom, I said sure but everyone goes at the same time!