My family of 4 (DD - 11; DS - 9) go down every year for about a week. But, a week is no where near enough time for everybody to do everything that they want to do. So, how to choose? Every year there is whining, bickering and complaining about having to skip something . . . and don't even get me started about the kids!
Well, this year we tried something new that not only minimized the complaining to previously unknown levels, but enhanced the fun we had planning the trip. I call it the "Disney Draft," and here's how it works.
We all got together and made up a list of every possible thing that anybody might want to do outside of the major parks, from restaurants, water parks, DisneyQuest, shows, mini-golf, etc. Everybody then picked out 3 items, with the understanding that everyone was guaranteed to be able to do their top item, with every effort given to get more in if possible (both time-wise and budget-wise).
We then eached picked out 3 items that were "must-do's" in each of the major parks. Everyone was guaranteed their top-pick, plus they were guaranteed their next 2 picks if it was something that was skipped on the most recent trip. Plus, we'd prioritize all the picks over other things.
The deal was that, in return for guaranteed picks, no one (i.e., DD & DS) could complain if they couldn't do something that wasn't on their list. A couple times, we'd split up. And, we'd always schedule several hours of pool or relaxation time in the room (we've never regretted leaving a park too early; we no longer regret staying too long!).
Well, DS wanted to go to Wide World of Sports; DD wanted to go to the Aloha Luau at the Polynesian; DW wanted Victoria & Albert's; etc.
And, it worked. Several times, one of the kids would see something and wanted to do it, and we simply pointed out what we had planned the rest of the day and what "selected item" would have to be skipped if we did that. That usually worked, like a charm!
We will be doing this again in the future. No, we didn't do everything that we wanted, but no one felt "cheated", and the kids felt that they got to make meaningful choices in planning the schedule - - cause they did.
Well, this year we tried something new that not only minimized the complaining to previously unknown levels, but enhanced the fun we had planning the trip. I call it the "Disney Draft," and here's how it works.
We all got together and made up a list of every possible thing that anybody might want to do outside of the major parks, from restaurants, water parks, DisneyQuest, shows, mini-golf, etc. Everybody then picked out 3 items, with the understanding that everyone was guaranteed to be able to do their top item, with every effort given to get more in if possible (both time-wise and budget-wise).
We then eached picked out 3 items that were "must-do's" in each of the major parks. Everyone was guaranteed their top-pick, plus they were guaranteed their next 2 picks if it was something that was skipped on the most recent trip. Plus, we'd prioritize all the picks over other things.
The deal was that, in return for guaranteed picks, no one (i.e., DD & DS) could complain if they couldn't do something that wasn't on their list. A couple times, we'd split up. And, we'd always schedule several hours of pool or relaxation time in the room (we've never regretted leaving a park too early; we no longer regret staying too long!).
Well, DS wanted to go to Wide World of Sports; DD wanted to go to the Aloha Luau at the Polynesian; DW wanted Victoria & Albert's; etc.
And, it worked. Several times, one of the kids would see something and wanted to do it, and we simply pointed out what we had planned the rest of the day and what "selected item" would have to be skipped if we did that. That usually worked, like a charm!
We will be doing this again in the future. No, we didn't do everything that we wanted, but no one felt "cheated", and the kids felt that they got to make meaningful choices in planning the schedule - - cause they did.
