Why I'm Nuts About Disney (World)

Why am I writing this blog, all about the planning of my next trip to Walt Disney World? Glad you asked!

In late 2006, my parents decided to take is on what would likely be our last big "family" vacation together. I was already in my mid-twenties, my one younger brother was about to graduate high school, and my other younger bro was just starting high school. So it was likely the last time just the five of us would be able to travel together for a week long vacation without some major scheduling magic, or bringing along signifigant others and the like.

We kicked around ideas of where we wanted to go, keeping in mind the basic logistics of time and money restraints. A number of places came up in coversation, but we decided on Disney since it's a great family destination for any age, and combined a lot of the different interests we all have into one location.

My parents had taken me and my younger brother when I was around ten, back in the early 1990s. But my youngest brother wasn't around at that point, and neither me nor my younger brother remember much of the trip. While I have always loved amusement parks, truth be told, I was never a big Disney fan - I never much got into the movies, characters, etc, and never really put much thought into going back to Disney World. But that was about to change.

Naturally, once we decided where we wanted to go, and had a rough idea of when (May 2007), next came the decision on who would be responsible for putting it all together. Since I had previously worked as a travel agent (although I sold cruises, not Disney vacations) and enjoyed planning things like this, I got the job.

Well, I'm the type of person who likes to know as much as I can about a subject, and when planning a trip, have all the details worked out before ever setting foot in the destination. And since I wanted my whole family to be pleased, I wanted to make sure we had a plan that included everyone's needs. Including the need to have a plan so we didn't exit ever attraction and have a five minute argument about "where do we go next?" (I've come to realize most families who don't have a plan end up doing this at least a few times a day in Disney.)

In the several months between making the decision to go to Disney World and actually going on the trip, I read several books, countless websites and message boards, and spent hours upon hours hammering out every little detail - including booking everything, making dining reservations, coming up with detailed touring plans, etc. And I loved it. Finally getting to actually go on the trip was of course the best part - but I learned that for me, planning the vacation was part of the whole experience.

So that's where it all started for me, about three years ago. And I'm still learning all kinds of new information, as things in Disney World are almost constantly changing. I decided to share a little of my craziness (the good kind) with the online community in hopes of helping others make their vacation that much more special.

Hope you'll take the time to follow along!

More About This Blog

September 2010 may seem like a long way out. For me, it certainly does at this point - but it will be here faster than any of us think. Time has a way of doing that.

But since it is nearly a year away, blog posts will likely be a little sporadic for the first few months, as there is a lot of details that can't be planned this far out. My hope it to post at least once a week throughout the whole process, with more posts at certain points, and likely daily posts in the last few weeks before the trip.

Oh, bother. The wait is the hardest part.

Walt Disney World or Bust!

Hello all!

Just a preliminary post to let you know I'm in the beginning stages of planning our next Walt Disney World vacation, tentatively scheduled for September of 2010. All of the details are very vague right now, but over the next 11 months or so, I'll chronicle my planning details on this blog as I go along.

My goal is to help others with their Walt Disney World vacation planning, by showing my (sometimes very detailed) process. For me, part of the fun of a Disney trip is the planning. I've done a lot of research for our past trips in 2007 and 2008 - a lot more hours on line and in books than most people would spend. I've also worked as a travel agent, and currently co-own a tourism related business. I still read several Disney websites and message boards a day, so I'm always keeping myself in the loop on what's new in the World.

So, follow along as I put together as close to a perfect trip as possible. I'll be blogging about it all, from airline reservations to where we're going to eat... to all kinds of little details and ideas.

If at any time you have question or suggestion, please feel free to leave a comment, or email me directly.

- Bill