4 Steps to Create the *Perfect* Disney Itinerary
One of my favorite movies, High Fidelity, with one of my favorite actors (John Cusack) has this awesome quote:
“Now, the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art.”
Hard to believe that movie is 17 years old (!!)…anyway, as Rob Gordon says, creating the ‘perfect’ Disney itinerary is a subtle art. I’ve finessed my techniques over the years and I’m here to share the result of my blood, sweat and tears with all of you. *** This assumes you know when you’re going and where you’re staying. ***
1. Make a list – I’m a big fan of lists; it’s genetic (thanks, Mom!). I make two lists: one with park ‘sections’ and one with restaurants. Park sections can best be described by another Nick Hornby book-turned-movie, About A Boy:
"I find the key is to think of a day as units of time, each unit consisting of no more than thirty minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: one unit, watching countdown: one unit, web-based research: two units, exercising: three units, having my hair carefully disheveled: four units."
In my case, these units of time are half days and can be broken down even further into AM and PM because there are some parks you want to hit early and others where it makes sense to end your day, taking in dinner and/or fireworks.
The list of restaurants does require some input from hubby, and we do try to mix it up on each trip. A few places, like ‘Ohana breakfast, will be on every itinerary. But Biergarten might get scrapped.
2. Review park hours and suggested parks – There are paid services (TouringPlans.com) and free services (WDWPrepSchool.com) that have features where you can review the park hours and crowd levels to help plan your trip. Disney releases park hours about 5-6 months prior and these are subject to change. I find that the suggested parks are a good guide as are some of my own rules:
Don’t go to Epcot on a Friday or Saturday night during Food & Wine
DO go to Magic Kingdom on a Halloween/Christmas party day (if you’re an AP); otherwise, use your party ticket to enter the park at 4pm and stay as late as you can stand it.
DO make an early breakfast reservation at Hollywood & Dine if your Padawan wants to take part in Jedi Training at Hollywood Studios. That way, you avoid the rush/crush and line of crazy parents.
Don’t sweat it – if you MUST do Animal Kingdom on a day that’s not recommended, don’t worry about it. Go early or go late, don’t skip your meds and take lots of breaks.
3. Line up your lists – Here’s what part of my itinerary looks like when I finally line up my wants and the park hours:
You could say that step 4 is to pick your FastPass reservations, that’s easy for us now that the little Mouseketeer is tall enough for many more attractions. The services mentioned under step 2 also offer suggested itineraries. I’ve never used one but I know folks who swear by them.
4. Determine that I’m bananas and call a travel agent – I get it. Lists and planning are not for everyone. It has taken me about a year of yoga/meditation to get to the point where I can let that sh*t go…So if you think I’ve completely lost my marbles and you DON’T want to go through the process, contact Jenn Whitney at Whitney World Travel (jenn@whitneyworldtravel.com). Tell her I sent you.