When did it all get so complicated? About This Page:

[jodileigh]

Have fun planning and remember, it doesn't have to be difficult! Just go with the flow! The biggest change I've seen in the past few years is the necessity these days to have ADR's. As long as you have those, you're good to go! And if you don't plan to do much in the way of TS, then you don't even need to worry about that! Have a great trip!

[SleepingBeauty]

Originally Posted by DisneyDana

At the risk of having tomatoes thrown at me...I still prefer the Birnbaum books over all. (Ducks and covers)

I'm with you here. (Duck, dodge, wipes tomato seeds off shoulder.) I love the pictures and the brevity. It's clear and paints a simple picture, which is less overwhelming than the big Passporter guide, which is wonderful for the more seasoned vets (or the overly organized... both of which I am).

[shopthegiftbasketstore]

Well, we got back from our Loooong weekend. I was always curious about "Dixie Landings" which is wha I still call it.... but to be proper, we stayed at Port Orleans for the first two nights. I love that place. It is so compact. I didn't have a problem with the food court (as I've read other people complain)... we walked over to Riverside and My Gosh that place is a site for sore eyes! It is absolutely beautiful! (I am a Northern Gal who reallly should have been a Southern Belle).

We actually saw the space shuttle on Friday right from our Lounge chairs at the PO pool. How cool is that!

After our two nights, the PO did transport our luggage over to the Dolphin. However...I did go up to the Concierge desk on our way out and he said "Oh No, I never heard of transporting luggage to the Dolphin" But I said I had called a bunch of places and yes you do! I went out to the Bell Captain and he said "No problem"

Whew! Next three nights at our beloved Dolphin Hotel. We had dinner at Shula's. which was wonderful!

[jandsdennis]

sounds like it turned out very nicely. So glad. Have you stayed at the Swan before? When we checked these hotels on our last visit we thought about staying there on our next visit. We prefer queens instead of the doubles at the Dolphin.

[RobDVC]

Welcome to the boards, and glad to hear you had a great time!

[strtrek]

Originally Posted by Kynna

Have a great trip! I feel like I tend to complicate things because I want every trip to be perfect. In the end it is the spur of the moment things that end up being the highlights.

I totally agree, you plan and plan, but then something random happens that just takes your breathe away..those are the moments you remember....

so plan, but also allow for the magic to seep in...stop, people watch and enjoy!

[WildflowersforJade]

I feel like it's a bit like planning a wedding, except I didn't have a passporter book for that (I wish I did, lol)

I love to go with the flow, but there's so much to do there (and I'm not a veteran), that we could totally wonder around confused and miss the best stuff if we weren't prepared.
ADRs do throw the biggest kink in the flow because to plan my ADRs I have to figure out which park we may be in on which day. 6 months in advance.
Other than that I woud just make a list of the things that are a definate must-do. But no itinerary or "battle plans". That would be like working while you're eating desert, only to realize you didn't actually taste anything.

At least it's a fun subject to study!

[YOLANDA]

People don't believe me when I say they have to have a plan of attack!!! Its crazy to just wander around the WORLD without some sort of game plan~you'd miss soooo much! I remember the first time I went, I knew nothing about ADR's and thought I could just walk in to those places~hahaha

[kwitcherkicken99]

Same thing happened to my mom last year. Our last trip was fall 1998, right after AK opened. We actually didn't tour there at all...

Flash forward to last September when mom thought it would be a great idea to take my son and nephew for 6 days. I tried and tried to convince her it was a whole new ballgame, but she was hard-headed and assumed she could walk into Chef Mickey's during FD!

It's growing so quickly - let's just all hope we can keep up!

[shopthegiftbasketstore]

Well, thanks for all the advice. My husband and I just "went with the flow". Now, get this....we are going back in January WITH the kids. since they are in their early 20's now (my daughter postedo n her Facebook page "Going to Disney for the 17th time!) we are going to stay at the Coronado Springs. Gone are the days offsite. We want that Magical Express now instead of a car.

And, for the first time every, we are doing the Dining Plan. Not sure if I am making out ahead or loosing money, but since the kids don't have any left over tickets or passes, I figured I needed to buy tickets...so with the dining plan, even though they are advertising it as "free" it still is going to cost me $766 out of pocket for the plan, VERSUS a Value room and park passes. But I figured divide that by 6 days and 5 people, and it comes out to about $25 for food per person a day. Now that the Counter service is up to about $8.50 average without a drink, and I made ADR at some very nice restaurants, I think we will still come out ahead.

However, if I was going back down with just my husband, I don't think I'd do the Dining Plan because we sometimes didn't eat meals, or even just shared Counter meals for lunch...sometimes dinner. We ate on the cheap. With the kids, I thougth we'd get really fancy this time. I can remember lugging bologna sandwiches into the park years ago....everyone always sharing a drink, lugging juice boxes, etc, etc.

[mzozzietj]

Oh the trip in January sounds wonderful! It's great to plan another trip while they still want to go with you! And living it up and knowing it's already paid for will make it that much less stressful! I hope you all have another wonderful trip!