your typical day when on holiday at Disney?

[Keith]

I'm just looking over our plans for December and realising that over the years we've ended up planning the same things really.

Morning we chill, we've never yet seen a park opening ceremony! Then we'll go somewhere for a quick lunch perhaps a park or perhaps one of the many Orlando eateries then probably out to a park or a mall. Back for a rest and then out again in the evening for a park and a nice evening meal.

I don't know whether to call that a rut or a tradition

What do your Disney days look like? Are they planned from start to finish before you even get there? Do you tend to do the same every visit or do you make an effort to try new things every time??

[Wendy]

We make no plans at all, except for a few places that we like to eat every trip, but even then we don't plan months in advance.

There was a time in the early days when we used to have a plan and follow it strictly. On our first trip we went armed with the Unofficial Guide to Disney and the holiday was like a route march racing from one side of a park to the other to avoid long waits

Now we just chill, if we wake up and decide to go to a park then off we go. I think that's why we don't eat onsite at Disney anymore other than counter service. You used to be able to walk up and get a table but now you have to book in advance and well to be honest, I have no idea what's for dinner tomorrow night let alone what I would want to eat, in say 3 months time

We both like to go home feeling like we've had a holiday, not like we need one which i how we used to feel in the early years. Maybe we're just getting old

[Keith]

Do you still wander round the parks with no plan in mind just ending up where you end up ? or do you know them all so well that you don't bother?

I used to really enjoy a wander around EPCOT discovering new places and now we're almost clinical in our park plan... get in, go to whatever we've booked, watch fireworks, get out the best exit etc :/

[Tink]

We wander...
When we are staying on property we ease into the morning, unless we really want to do something special at a particular park; then we'll have specific plans.

When easing, we take a look at the particular day, the weather and all that jazz. We'll head out to a park and simply wander. If we are in AK we always (as in every single time) do the Pangani Forest Trail. Otherwise we do what we please if we please.

EPCOT we wander, wander, wander. We poke here and there and may do this or that, or not.

MK is much the same but we like to get in Pirates and Splash. We'll fill in here and there if we wish. Much here depends upon if the boy is with us. Oh, Small World is pretty much a given too. Haunted Mansion sometimes, but we are not as over the top fans of it as some of our members here.

Disney Studios is about the only park that we go to for something specific, do it and get out.

If we want to have a meal at a specific place we may try to book it a couple of days in advance, but like so many others, we don't know what we want to have for our next meal, let alone months ahead of time. It's not that big a deal anymore, eating at WDW what with the slide in quality and service.

So, generally speaking we stroll, take it as it comes, with a few plans sprinkled in here and there.

[uscwest]

If we have the grandchildren with us we get more into the planning mode so that we make sure we can do things that they want to do. If it just the two of us, outside of planning our meals we just take each day as it comes as the general rule. For example on this last trip we had no idea what we were going to do on our final day. We considered EPCOT. But then a little fairy named Wendy called us and told us that Fantasyland was open. 'Nuff said.

[Wendy]

Well I couldn't let you miss it

[foreverducky]

I like to enjoy one sit down meal a day, so I will tend to plan two things which are directly related. A sit down meal (for late lunch--always) and then which park for the day. I do this, so we can cut down on travel time. If I want to eat at 50's Prime Time, then I'm not going to MK for the day...just doesn't make sense to me.

However, once at the park, we wander and enjoy what we want, when we want. I think when you first go it's much more a 'race,' as in can't miss anything, must do this and this, but now, it's about enjoying the details.

You know, I think even changing up the direction you go once in a park and can allow you to enjoy things differently. I found that I naturally go one way.

Tradition...never a rut.

[Esmeralda]

We LOVE to swim so now we have done all the parks in the past we will swim first before heading out usually. DH cooks the breakfast in the villa and he also does the laundry all holiday as he says I do it all year so he gives me a break from it Sometimes we'll eat brekkie out if we're on our way to a park, we like to head off early before the heats up and the people are up. We can get alot done in the early hours before the crowds hit.... then it's off for lunch before villa and swimming.

Usually in the evenings we like to visit Celebration or Old Town to see the cars... something like that. Usually eat out but if pooped we'll chill and eat something light at the villa. We tend to make good use of the villa's pool when on holiday. One year we didn't even enter any parks. If we go to a mall one day we won't do a park the same day, we'll rush back to the pool. Getting a tan is not a priority here we just love the pool.

We try things like Ripleys Believe it or not and off site stuff like that. We don't plan anymore we have a rough idea of what we want to do and just take it from there and if we don't fit it in this time around... oh well it gives us a good reason to go back! Chill chill chill is our watch word

[piglet]

Have to admit we do plan quite a lot of the holiday. Firstly, we sit down and decide what places are 'must do's to eat at and try and do ADR's at the 180 days, althhough this last holiday in September we were very lucky and apart from not getting Cali Grill, when I phoned up in the mornings we got all our requests, even Yachtsman Steakhouse. We had been to both of these once in the holiday but really wanted our last night at Cali Grill and couldn't get at the time we wanted so ended up at Yachtsman instead. We don't plan our first day because we're still mostly zonked out but we booked a character breakfast for the second day as we knew we would be up early still. We have rough ideas of where we're going but these are easily changed. I hate getting up in the morning when there are 5 of us and not knowing where we're going cos then we spend forever deciding, whereas if we say the night before that we're going to such and such a place everyone seems to be quite happy. I love planning, to me that's half of the excitement of the holiday.

[lisaw]

I have every day planned in advance, even non park days are planned! our first day usually consists of getting up early, we always get an 8.05 ADR for Crystal Palace, spend the rest of the day in MK, we tend to leave around 5.30 to have dinner at. MK resort hotel, usually Kona Cafe/GF cafe or Whispering Canyon then back to MK for the parade and Wishes!

We are up and out very early every day, even non park days we tend to be having breakfast somewhere by 7.30, I like early mornings and quiet restaurants!

We like having every day planned as then we know we will get everything done that we want to and also we don't waste valuable time discussing where to go, we already know! There is always room for shifting things around, especially later in the holiday and I don't plan exactly how we are spending each day in the parks but because we spend a lot of time in the disney parks we get time to do pretty much everything anyway.

We always see park opening at each park at least one time each, it's one of my favourite things!