[MerlinMatt]

It's occurred to me that there are 3 ways to approach a Disney trip. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages. It really depends on your personality and the folks with whom you are travelling as to which methodology works best.

#1: Commando Style
Most of us have made jokes about this and some of us actually rely on this. This is where EVERYTHING is planned down to the nearest hour (or 30 minutes if you are the ultimate planner.)
PROS: Generally, you'll have a higher success rate of doing all the things you want to do, whether that be rides, dinners or other forms of entertainment.
CONS: High burnout rate. Some have argued that commando style can be very stressful and can result in "needing a vacation after the vacation". Also, unless the planner knows everything there is to know about Disney, little things like random character interaction, Epcot "street" performers and the overall Disney atmosphere can be missed.
MerlinMatt's Assessment: This is better for families with tweens and teens or for young couples travelling alone. Should be avoided by families with younger kids or groups of more than 6.
Also, Commando style is likely to be reasonably effective during peak busy season, but a little bit of overkill when the crowds are minimal.
Lastly, Commando style is most effectively used by Disney veterans, but can also be effectively used by newbie's who get advice from Disney veterans.

#2: Winging It
This is the "I want to be on vacation when I'm on vacation" method. Very little is actually planned and the vacation is allowed to create itself. Most folks who use this method have a few "standard" trip behaviors such as hanging out at the hotel on day one and planning a handful of "key" PS's such as dinner shows and/or character meals.
PROS: Tends to be significantly more relaxing. Provides ample opportunity to be aware of all that Disney has to offer. Flexibility allows for spontaneous enjoyment of a surprise character interaction or the ability to quickly respond to a sudden cloudburst or a day that is unseasonably warm and uncomfortable.
CONS: Very common to miss "favorite" activities. Can create stress in the waning days of the vacation when the realisation that certain opportunities have been missed.
MerlinMatt's Assessment: This is a great way to do Disney if you are a veteran and have great Disney instincts. This is a "quality in place of quantity" and a stark contrast to the Commando Style. If you've made the committment to yourself that missing certain things is ok, this can be an ideal vacation. Highly recommended for Disney veterans (but most of them already know that, so this isn't news to them.) Not recommeded if you've never been or haven't been lately (within the past 5 years).

#3: Mixed-Mode
This is a semi-structured vacation and sort of a mid way point between the two methods above. A "plan" is made for each day in terms of what parks will be visited and PS's are made for key meals which correspond to the park schedule. It's common to plan at least one character meal and have a PS for most if not all dinners.
PROS: The structure allows for a vacation without having to think. When the higher level planning is done ahead of time, if you'd prefer not to think while you're there, all the planning has already been done before you left. It's not dissimilar from being on a tour, but you become you're own tour guide. You *should* be able to see nearly everything you want, but have the flexibility to be spontaneous.
CONS: You'll still miss stuff. The point of this method is to avoid "commando style" stress, which means that you'll have to accept not being able to do everything. Also, the structure, although limited, can create stress-points where you have a reservation and need to be somewhere at a particular time.
MerlinMatt's Assessment: As you may have picked up based on the way I described the three, this is my preferred style. To me, Commando Style is way over the top and can be really stressful. However, I also have two kids, the oldest of which is a tweener, the youngest is 8. So, maybe Commando might be something we'll try in a few years. The "Wing It" style means to much thinking for me. By having each day laid out with a "bird's eye view" plan, it means that we can be free to do what we want while only having to think about one or two "timed" events per day.

I thought this perspective might be helpful for those who are planning for the first time.

[Tao Of Mouse]

I'm a mixed moder all the way with a description like that. But I do have my Disney Commando moments...

[WDWaddict]

We have done Commando and it does burn us out sometimes. There have been a couple trips where it was necessary or we wouldn't have been able to do all the parks/rides we wanted to do w/o it. The next time we are going Mixed-Mode ..plan a few meals(Hoop De Doo/Chef Mickey's), plan out which days to go to which parks but we can park hop or adjust as needed for rest or pool time. We also planned for 2 days of NO parks at all to swim, rent a boat or bikes, go to Ft. Wilderness and DTD for shopping. Should be a nice vacation doing it this way.

[inluvwithdisney]

Mixed mode is the way to go in my opinion!!! I like to be able to be ready but flexible to enjoy the street performers and character interactions!!!


Great, post Merlin Matt!! Good perspective for non veterans!!!

[EmpressJenny]

Thank you for that, Matt

But I will always be the type A Commando

[MerlinMatt]

Originally Posted by EmpressJenny

But I will always be the type A Commando

I'll betcha that once you and Pete decide to have kids, that will change.

[EmpressJenny]

I can see it now...dragging along our 3 year old..."No, you CAN'T ride Dumbo until after Peter Pan and Snow White. It's just not in the plan! You can't change the plan! Go with the plan! What's wrong with you, kid???"

[MerlinMatt]

Originally Posted by EmpressJenny

I can see it now...dragging along our 3 year old..."No, you CAN'T ride Dumbo until after Peter Pan and Snow White. It's just not in the plan! You can't change the plan! Go with the plan! What's wrong with you, kid???"

LMAO!!!!

[Tao Of Mouse]

or "Thats not part of the plan!!! Thats what you do when the plan fails!!!!! No no no... not that either!!! God, where were you during the Disney Strategy Planning session honey? Weren't you there? What do you mean you couldn't see the whiteboard through the pile of brochures and printouts?!?! Those were relevant printouts from disneycentral.com!!!! Careful honey, here comes a Brazilian tour group, don't get run over. Look honey, I planned this vacation to the nanosecond so we could maximize the fun. Waddaya mean you aren't having any fun, that's not on the itinerary!!!"

[mickaholic4077]

For my Night of Joy trip,I am doing little more than Winging it. Good descriptions, Matt!!!

[Disneywife]

Great post! We usually travel under #2 - winging it - we went to Greece for a month without a single hotel reservation! Even with a child in tow, we would just walk up to a place and say "Got a room?" Since my dh is Greek they always did and for a good price too

But for this trip, we only have 3 full days to visit the parks, plus one travel day and one day at the Space Center, and this priority seating thing is freaking me out. How can I choose where I want to eat months in advance? This is just killing me! LOL

So I think for this trip, I'm going to have to move to mode #3.

[Dana]

I am a commando with planning, but am flexible with many things once there. I make PS's for every place I want to eat and have scheduled days to go to each park, but I have been known to go with the flow if my DD wants to. For instance, last trip on our last night there instead of going to watch Wishes and Spectro, we hung at the resort and acted like goof balls....lol If we aren't in the mood for a certain PS or a certain park on that paticular day, we just change our plans...no biggie. I just like have the plans so there is some structure to the trip. However, with prepaying and all other aspects of planning, I am a total commando planner....actually I'm quite insane about it...lol

[EmpressJenny]

Originally Posted by Disneywife

Great post! We usually travel under #2 - winging it - we went to Greece for a month without a single hotel reservation! Even with a child in tow, we would just walk up to a place and say "Got a room?" Since my dh is Greek they always did and for a good price too

My husband Pete is Greek too

[mickaholic4077]

Did anyone here watch that Travel Channel special called the Ultimate Guide wo WDW with the four different families? I thought that the family who stayed at AKL went way above board in the planning,don't you?

[tragic312]

our two trips to WDW were mixed. we mostly winged it but when it came to certain shows i wanted to see and of course the PS's, time was scheduled so we can do everything we wanted to do. it'll probably happen next month when we go to WDW. i don't think it'll mixed so much because we've done so much during both trips that it'll probably be wing it.
so far, the only thing that we're scheduling is the magic kingdom portrait sessions. this is when you take pictures, very early in the morning i might add, in your wedding attire in front, in, around and behind the castle. i want to schedule it for Oct. 1 because we have PS at CRT at 8:50 that morning. i think the session starts at 6 am. this should work out because we'll already be up early in the morning for the portrait session and should make CRT in no time.