Shownotes
Read the full show notes for this episode HERE!
If you've ever felt like your brain is in full spreadsheet-mode 24/7 when planning a Disney trip... this episode is your sign.
Today, we’re tackling what no one wants to admit: you might be overplanning your Disney trip.
And not just in the cute Pinterest-planning kind of way. I'm talking about the kind of Disney World itinerary stress that leaves you feeling mentally tapped out before you even see Cinderella Castle.
In this episode, I’m breaking down what overplanning your Disney World itinerary really looks like, why it happens (hi, perfectionism), and exactly what to do instead so your family Disney World trip actually feels like a vacation.
Here’s what we get into:
- The four sneaky signs you're deep into overplanning mode with your Disney trip — and how to spot them before the burnout kicks in
- The reason you keep switching park days and dining reservations when planning a Disney trip and why it’s not about being indecisive
- How an overly detailed Disney World itinerary can leave you feeling behind before noon
- The 3-2-1 method I swear by for planning a Disney trip that’s fun and flexible
- Why your best family Disney World trip doesn’t need to be a checklist of every ride and snack in the parks
Ready to get off the overplanning hamster wheel and create a Disney World itinerary that works with your real life? This one’s for you.
What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever overplanned for your Disney trip? Spill the details over on IG: @somewhereworthwhile.
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Podcast music by Podington Bear, track: 'Filaments', licensed under CC BY-NC, courtesy of Free Music Archive.
Transcripts
[00:00:28] Dana Stanley: You might be over planning. And today we're gonna talk about it, what it really means to over plan, how to spot it early on, and what to do instead. So you can actually enjoy the trip you're spending all this time and money on. Hello and welcome to the Laid Back Magic Way podcast. I'm your host, Dana Stanley.
[:[00:01:05] Dana Stanley: So whether you're brand new to Disney or looking to go deeper into the details. This podcast is your go-to for simple tips, mindset shifts, real life trip recaps, and expert insights to make your trip magical and manageable. New episodes drop every Monday, so be sure to subscribe so you never miss a moment.
[:[00:01:49] Dana Stanley: I had spent so much time obsessing over every detail, like where we'd eat, what time we would get on the bus, where to watch the parade, and like where the parade would be at a certain spot and what time to get there. That by the time that day actually came, I was just mentally tapped out. And it reminds me of when you work on something, maybe like a tech issue, like maybe if you're a business owner, like your website and you're dealing with like codes and URLs and you're going back and forth or setting up like a new email system, something like that.
[:[00:02:48] Dana Stanley: And what makes it even harder is that planning is necessary. You've heard me say it like over and over and over, obviously, that you can't just show up to Disney World and hope for the best and wing it. But there's this really fine line between planning enough so that you're prepared and can relax when you're there.
[:[00:03:34] Dana Stanley: And honestly, like it's the perfect description. When I read that, I was like, oh my gosh, it's exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to Disney. So just to reiterate, to excessively organize schedule or arrange details ahead of time, often leading to inflexibility stress or a diminished ability to adapt excessively arranging, that's the part that I'm noticing is it's not the arranging of details, it's the excess of arranging details.
[:[00:04:30] Dana Stanley: It's sucking it all up way before the trip starts, and then two, you're trying to cram too much into the trip itself. You're over planning. The trip, like the things you have planned aren't realistic or feasible because you've got so much packed into every day. And both of these can happen separately, but usually if you're doing one, you're doing the other.
[:[00:05:21] Dana Stanley: I'm a perfectionist, so I have lived all of these things and I still do, but there are signs that I see now and I'm like, oh. Like you're doing it again and you can quickly reel it in and it makes such a big difference. After we go over these signs, I'm going to give you some tips on what to do instead of doing these things.
[:[00:06:02] Dana Stanley: And you just get really frustrated at yourself. And this is going to happen a little bit for sure, like it's normal to shift things around. But really that should all be happening before you book anything, before you're setting things in stone. So when I'm sketching our trips, I am definitely bouncing back and forth and racing and plugging things in.
[:[00:06:46] Dana Stanley: That's your sign, and if this is happening, it's not because you're like bad at planning. I really think this happens when you don't have clear intentions or a vision or whatever you wanna call it, guiding your decisions. Because when you know what matters to you most in the trip. Like your non-negotiables.
[:[00:07:26] Dana Stanley: Like just do this. And it's not flashy or sexy, but that's why you need to do it because literally no one else can tell you this part. And I'm not talking about like, what time do the buses start running the Magic Kingdom. Like, yes, you need to know that. You can research that, but I'm talking about things that require more of like an opinion on what you're deciding on what to actually fill your day with, because for those kinds of things, when you don't have little guide marks, you're constantly looking outside of yourself for the quote right answer.
[:[00:08:21] Dana Stanley: Otherwise, you're gonna keep just changing your plans and moving things around and wonder why your planning is taking so long. Another kind of red flag, if you wanna call it that, is when your timeline or your park plans for the day have too many timestamps. And what I mean by this is normally if I was looking at your park day plans, I'd wanna see three times the first, I wanna see like the Disney world times like when it opens the parade time, fireworks.
[:[00:09:13] Dana Stanley: I don't want to see timestamps. I don't wanna see like 30 minute blocks, like 9:45 AM We're gonna get a bathroom break, 11:30 AM Browse the gift shop 12:00 PM go visit Mickey. Like I definitely. I think I learned a lot of this. My brain is just wired now. When I see a timeline from back when I used to film weddings, I would be sent a timeline either from the wedding planner, which usually didn't really have any red flags, but if I had a timeline sent from the bride, ooh, like, you know, 30 minutes for first look and 30 minutes for makeup, and me and the photographer look at each other.
[:[00:10:24] Dana Stanley: It's awful and it really feels awful when you're someone that has control issues like me, and I'm gonna say this completely from a place of like, I get it so much that if you're telling yourself, if I just plan enough. Like if I just think of every scenario, then nothing will go wrong. And this is sign number three, that you're setting yourself up for disappointment when you're trying to control too much, because Disney World is still gonna be real life.
[:[00:11:20] Dana Stanley: Like you feel confident that you've thought of everything. So then when something does happen. That is out of your control. It just gives you just this like icky feeling. And I will give you an example of something that happened to me years ago that I still, it still bothers me. So we had done a split stay, which means you start at one resort and switch to another resort.
[:[00:12:13] Dana Stanley: And we had to get to Magic Kingdom very early. I'm like, this is perfect. 'cause we're saying the Polynesian, I'm gonna take the monorail. I'm gonna book this breakfast experience because it's gonna be so easy to get to Magic Kingdom. Of course, that morning at the Polynesian, the monorail just went down.
[:[00:13:05] Dana Stanley: And I just remember thinking like, I feel like we've been on the bus a while and then me and my husband kind of start looking around and I don't know where we ended up, but there was like railroad tracks like. There was a railroad and I remember like him going really slow. It's like a back like woodsy area with railroad tracks.
[:[00:13:49] Dana Stanley: And the bus driver, the poor bus driver, like he apologized and I think he mentioned something of like he had never done that route before. Something and we ended up making it on time and everything was fine, but the control freak in me felt terrible. And here's the thing, if I had tried to out plan what had happened, if I had known that ahead of time, it wouldn't have done me any good.
[:[00:14:40] Dana Stanley: You're just gonna set yourself up and drive yourself crazy. The fourth sign is a little sneakier and hard to put your finger on. It's that feeling that. No matter how much you tweak your plans or organize your days or book better dining, there's this weird gap, like you're worried you're forgetting something.
[:[00:15:30] Dana Stanley: And when you haven't gotten clear on what you actually want for the trip, I. It's impossible to plan in a way that's going to feel like complete and satisfying. It's gonna be just this vague sense of like how things should be or could be better somehow. And this is where, again, setting your intentions before you get into that nitty gritty planning is so important.
[:[00:16:12] Dana Stanley: And first it's going to just pick your non-negotiables. So decide what the absolute core or bones of your trip are before you start planning anything else. It could be that you want to like blow your 13-year-old son's mind with throw rides. It could be that you want to actually like feel relaxed and life has been busy and you want it to be like very calm.
[:[00:17:00] Dana Stanley: Whatever it is, just name it, get it down on paper. Amish is kind of like a brain dump of like, this is actually what I care about. Second is to use the 3, 2, 1 method. So this is the formula that I use for all of our park days. For each park day, I pick three rides. That we absolutely have to do. It doesn't have to be like the big rides.
[:[00:17:46] Dana Stanley: They could be sprinkled out throughout the day, but I like just getting them done more in the morning or at least attempting to, because there could be, you know, rain, if it's an outdoor ride, it could close with like thunderstorms and stuff. A lot, right. Just closed down. So just better to put those towards the top.
[:[00:18:30] Dana Stanley: I could list so many more experiences, but you can think like more out of the box here. It could be like a tequila tasting for your husband or something. Just again, an experience. And then last is just one dining reservation, two round out the day. Not have to make a decision of where you're eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
[:[00:19:10] Dana Stanley: You're gonna do so much more than this, but this is what you have to focus on to keep from over planning and keep from going into those spirals. The 3, 2, 1 method is the way to go. When I shared the 3, 2, 1 idea on Instagram four years ago, people like really latched onto it, and I know it's because it's just the right balance of not too much.
[:[00:19:57] Dana Stanley: There's no point in booking bi boppity boutique if your daughter hates wearing dresses like mine, and there's no point of eating at be our guest if no one in your family will actually like the food. So build a trip that actually fits, you know, your family, your people. And what you're already doing anyway at home and like the way that you guys like to vacation when all else fails and you still feel this way, I would find a community or group or person where you feel like the advice that they give actually fits your style.
[:[00:20:59] Dana Stanley: Like that would make me miserable. I'm pretty sure. Then move on and find a new space. Someone you can show your plans to and help them point out your red flags. Someone you can run things by when you keep second guessing. Sometimes you just need an outside perspective from someone that you actually know.
[:[00:21:39] Dana Stanley: Make sure you grab that free journal. It's again, laid back magic way.com/journal. It's gonna help you set those intentions, kind of see like the overall vibe of your family. And we'll definitely help you stop that second guessing and feel a little bit more confident as the trip planner of your family.
[:[00:22:17] Dana Stanley: If you'd write a quick review, your reviews, help more moms like you find the show, and I read every single one of them seriously. Thank you in advance. You can find me on Instagram at somewhere worthwhile, and I'd love to hear from you there. DM me if you have any questions about this episode or what you'd like to see in future ones.
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