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Questions to Ask To Start Planning A Vacation

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Mon, 02/09/2015 - 17:01
Kristen K.'s picture
Kristen K.
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Questions to Ask To Start Planning A Vacation

With so many amazing options for Disney travel, how do you decide? What questions do you ask yourself when you start planning a vacation? Here are the first things I try and figure out when planning a Disney vacation - what questions do you ask?

  1. Where am I going? Disneyland, Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Adventures, so many options!
  2. Why am I going? Is there a specific reason for the trip? Business, Leisure, Birthday, Anniversary, Special Event?
  3. Who is coming along? Is it just me, my husband, kids, friends?
  4. What's the Budget? Do I have enough DVC points, do I need to pay cash, how much money can I save ahead of time?
  5. How long will we be traveling for? This one is often determined by available budget.
  6. Where will we stay? Also determined by available budget and personal preferences.
  7. How are we going to get there? Will we fly or dive?
  8. How should we play? How many Park days will we get, will we do any other activities?
  9. What will we eat? Can we afford the Disney dining plan, which one do we want, is this a cash quick serve trip?
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Mon, 02/09/2015 - 22:21
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When will we go? Depending on the seasons or planned events, that will sometime influence the "where will we go" as well.

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December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 01:54
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What's can I sell to finance my Disney Trip? (the kids, the dogs, the wife eek )

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Tue, 02/10/2015 - 02:36
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Where I am going to eat?

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Tue, 02/10/2015 - 03:19
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Magic Mirror wrote:
What's can I sell to finance my Disney Trip? (the kids, the dogs, the wife eek )

awesome

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Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch

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Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 04:16
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biggrin rolling

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Tue, 02/10/2015 - 14:31
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Excellent question Kristen....Especially as Iam breaking the rules and hoping to return after one year ( traditional is every two years ) But this question takes a different view with me..After 5 vacations in July,last year was our first in October and we loved it..Would I plan to return in the summer..No...If I went back in October would I do MNSSHP again...No...Also last year we done 7 ADRS ( 3 of them were signature restaurants) Would I do as many again..Probably not...So to your question...All going well, and finances healthy..I look at my previous experiences and make a note of the must do list and also the not again list..This would take into account of what resort to stay at..What ADRS and how many..And because of our November landing, I would definitely do the xmas party...So a combination of all our past trips would play an important feature in our planning..

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 21:07
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What can we do different this time to make it seem like a new and different trip? (visit more resorts, play mini-golf, see a movie,etc.)

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 22:05
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After my first few trips I made a list of what things I needed to do at Disney - sort of like a Disney bucket list! Every time we book another trip, I take a look at the list and try to figure out what items we'll be crossing off, if any, on this trip.

Example: We've done MNSSHP two years in a row now. This year we're hoping to attend MVMCP!

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Wed, 02/11/2015 - 02:32
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For me, the first question I ask myself is do I even want to go to Disney in the first place. I know the answer for this question for some is yes 100 times out of 100. But for me and maybe others, there are other non-Disney destinations I have in mind and have strong interest in visiting and additionally, I may not want to go if I strongly feel there isn't really anything new in the parks that is worth the time and money for it.

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Wed, 02/11/2015 - 17:32
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93boomer wrote:
What can we do different this time to make it seem like a new and different trip? (visit more resorts, play mini-golf, see a movie,etc.)

LOve this one! muchlove

Mon, 03/30/2015 - 16:17
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One of the first things I worry about is what is my 180 day mark for making ADRs

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