A morning spent planning...

I love Saturday mornings (who doesn't, really?). I get to sit at the kitchen table and plan away, and the kids play (moderately) well together.

So, without further ado...

<<<< THIS is The Infamous Spreadsheet. When people (mostly at work) see my planning spreadsheets I get the best comments in the world. I seriously wish I could take pictures of the looks on their faces when they find out THIS is for a... family vacation?! ...Well, why yes it is. I'm a project manager by trade, so I spreadsheet everything from huge executive level projects to my grocery shopping and pantry inventory. It's how my brain works.

My high level itinerary planning is done. Which park & activities on which day, and the restaurant reservations we really wanted were made about 90 days ago. That's because Disney has a "180-day advance" reservation window, and ALL of the really popular restaurants fill up on that date. I kid you not. So it's a little struggle planning which days you want to do what, so that you're in the right place for your dining reservations. Maybe it's my ADD, but I (and a whole vacationing community) thrive on having our steps laid out for us. It means we can get the most enjoyment out of our vacation, and the most bang for our buck.

Next is the day-to-day "Touring Plans" for each park. I'm pretty stoked about this part because it's the nitty-gritty details of looking at trends and statistics to see what is the best time of the day to do X attraction. This is why I think I love my job so much. I really enjoy optimizing project plans for the scientific groups I assist and oversee. And now the fact that it's on a subject I LOVE (Disney), well it's just all the better. For anyone planning a disney vacation, I HIGHLY suggest: www.TouringPlans.com. Even a semi-veteran like me, who knows the trends and crowd statistics - it's an amazingly helpful site just to maintain the organization of your Touring Plan. There is also an amazing chat community on there, with incredibly helpful, colorful people. :) This group that I have come to love, calls themsels the "Liners" and it's great to have friends that share your OCDD (Obsessive Compulsive Disney Behavior) . And with that, I leave my "Liner" friends with the following....

PS... you WILL see lots of inside jokes. If you're not a Liner, please don't let this put you off. Just ask. I promise you, there is a hilarious back story. Well, hilarious if you are moderately exhausted and/or drunk.

(One Long Vacation, How-We-Vacation, and their subsidiaries take no liability or responsibility if you do not find said jokes humorous. )