I’ll admit I’m not really a huge planner when I’m heading to Walt Disney World unless my grandchildren are going with me. I want them to see and do as much as possible so do lots of planning for them.
When visiting throughout the year alone or with friends I rarely plan. I still like to visit like the olden days. Just head to the parks and see what happens. I often visit without dining reservations or FastPass plans.
I know I make my friends who are planners just a wee bit crazy when I show up with no plans. My standard reply is “whatever you get is fine with me” when it comes to dining and FastPasses.
I guess I’m so lax because I know I’ll be back within a month or two and I’ve been going since the Magic Kingdom opened so . . . I’m o.k. with whatever happens and whatever I get to see or do.
The internet and social media are full of ideas, suggestions and planning tools for the planners who will be visiting. So many exist that it’s almost as hard as the planning to find the right tool. The internet and social media is so full of things about how to plan your WDW vacation, many people panic when it comes to making their plans and over-plan.
I personally am a huge believer and user of the My Disney Experience APP. That is the only tool I use and more as a reminder. It has taken the place of notes I used to make if and when I made any reservations.
I have to add as an aside that since this is the only tool I do use, I get really annoyed when it doesn’t work correctly. I have had some stranger’s FastPass reservations in my system for 2 months now and Disney IT can’t seem to figure out why or how to get rid of them.
Printables for Sale
Over the last few months I started to look at all the different planning tools around to help novice visitors plan out their trips. I found hundreds. Some were outstanding. Some were o.k. Some were downright horrible.
The best one I found that encompasses just about everything you’ll ever need when planning a visit to Walt Disney World is 29 pages long. I had to purchase the download from an Etsy shop, but I’m sharing my purchase with you:
[embeddoc url=”https://anopensuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Disney-Planning-Pages-Etsy.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]
Another purchase on Etsy was these Disney FastPass printables:
[embeddoc url=”https://anopensuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Disney-Fastpass-Printable.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]
Free Printables Found
These Packing Lists from Get Away Today come in a boy version and a girl version!
[embeddoc url=”https://anopensuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/disney-packing-list-girl.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]
Making sure you don’t leave behind anything that you’ll need when you set out on your Disney vacation is tough. It’s even harder to make sure that everybody has repacked everything that they brought along with them when you’re getting ready to head home.
[embeddoc url=”https://anopensuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/disney-packing-list-boy-1.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]
Print out a few of these handy daily planner sheets a few weeks before your big trip. Use them to create a detailed schedule for what you want to do each day.
[embeddoc url=”https://anopensuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/convert-jpg-to-pdf.net_2018-10-22_12-49-22.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]
One of the best things about these printable sheets is they include spaces to designate your daily dining reservations and FastPass+ picks. When you get to the park, just take a quick look at them to see what time you need to be at each attraction or dining location. This way, you’ll never miss a reservation.
This next one I just think is cute but really is no help when it comes to planning.
[embeddoc url=”https://anopensuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Disney-planning-journal.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]
The Over-Packed Park Bag
I’m not an over-packer so you’ll never see me tell anyone what they should have in their “park bag.”
The park bag: I take as little as possible into the parks with me so I have no park bag. I always chuckle when I see people with a long list of things for their “park bag.” Who the heck wants to carry all that stuff all day? Not me! Just a cross-body purse and if it doesn’t fit in there – it doesn’t go.
I’ll never understand the need to take along just about everything JUST IN CASE. I often wonder what people have in those huge bags I see them carting around the parks.
When I take my grandson I have one of those small square packing cubes that fits perfectly in the net under his stroller. In it I fit diapers, wipes, an extra outfit, a bib and some snacks (usually Gold Fish and Cheerios). That’s it.
So – think wisely when it comes to your park bag. You have to carry it all day.
Do you use any special or specific planning tools for your Walt Disney World vacations?
