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Thread: That's My Opinion: iPlanning

  1. #1
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    That's My Opinion: iPlanning

    iPlanning by Steve Russo

    This isn't your father's trip planning anymore.

    Read it here!


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  3. #2
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
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    Welcome back, Steve! I'm a big fan of your writings, be it columns or trip reports, so I'm very glad to be able to read your 'drivel' on a regular basis again.

    I'm one of the few without a smart phone; I am just too frugal to invest and the only time I seem to wish to have one is on a vacation to the Disney theme parks! I use a plain ol' AT&T Go-Phone, which only costs me about $25 for 3 months of airtime; I rarely use my phone so it works fine for me.

    I am also an avid planner of these trips and still pretty much follow the system you described for your earlier trips (before technology became advanced!) with the spreadsheet, etc. It's still a great process, IMHO!

    Looking forward to more columns in the future!

    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



  4. #3
    Registered User srusso100's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pammer View Post
    Welcome back, Steve! I'm a big fan of your writings, be it columns or trip reports, so I'm very glad to be able to read your 'drivel' on a regular basis again.

    I'm one of the few without a smart phone; I am just too frugal to invest and the only time I seem to wish to have one is on a vacation to the Disney theme parks! I use a plain ol' AT&T Go-Phone, which only costs me about $25 for 3 months of airtime; I rarely use my phone so it works fine for me.

    I am also an avid planner of these trips and still pretty much follow the system you described for your earlier trips (before technology became advanced!) with the spreadsheet, etc. It's still a great process, IMHO!

    Looking forward to more columns in the future!
    Thanks, Pam. It's good to be back.

    Like you, I don't seem to have much use for a cell phone. I have one but use it infrequently so I opted for a TracFone which winds up costing me about $100 per year.

    I do, however, have an iPod Touch that I wouldn't be without. It contains almost all my music (the important stuff anyway - over 1,000 songs) and lots of podcasts (I favor Disney podcasts, sports and politics). I listen in the car and anywhere else I'm held captive (any waiting room). It also lets me check email, surf the web, the MousePad forums, track my workouts, check the weather (local and, of course, WDW), stock market updates, sports scores, TV listings... you name it. It also lets me text or Face Time with my kids. Anyway, I'm a big believer and that's where I use the planning apps mentioned in the article.
    Steve

  5. #4
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
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    Gotcha! We did invest in a Coby tablet before our WDW trip but since it only works on Wi-Fi we don't get to use it TOO much yet (plus we keep forgetting to bring it with us on trips to town ~ LOL!).

    Thanks again!

    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



  6. #5
    Registered User srusso100's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pammer View Post
    Gotcha! We did invest in a Coby tablet before our WDW trip but since it only works on Wi-Fi we don't get to use it TOO much yet (plus we keep forgetting to bring it with us on trips to town ~ LOL!).

    Thanks again!
    There you go... and there's a lot more Wi-Fi at the WDW resorts now. It's still hard to find in the parks though.
    Steve

  7. #6

    Steve,

    So, so HAPPY that your baaaaaaack!!!!! I absolutely love your articles. I would rather you do them weekly, then monthly, but I'll take what I can get!! Welcome back!!!
    Heidi Commerford


  8. #7

    Steve, I wanted to join the others who have welcomed you back. Your take on WDW is always insightful and fun to read, and was much missed. Count me in for reading whatever articles you are able to write!

    Much like Pammer above, we're still "old school" when it comes to trip planning, and your spreadsheet sounds mighty familiar. My wife and I certainly remember our trip a couple years ago where her beautifully prepared spreadsheet, which had been reduced to fit in a pocket sized notebook and almost required a magnifying glass to read as a result only made it as far as our home airport. Our "homemade low-tech I-phone" was left on a table there, never to be seen again. I like to think that someone flying out the same day had a great vacation with all the planning that went into it! We're stubborn though - the lesson we learned from that wasn't to go electronic, it was to bring extra copies of the spreadsheet!


  9. #8
    Registered User srusso100's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FortWilderness IsHome View Post
    Steve,

    So, so HAPPY that your baaaaaaack!!!!! I absolutely love your articles. I would rather you do them weekly, then monthly, but I'll take what I can get!! Welcome back!!!
    Heidi Commerford
    Awwww. Thanks, Heidi.
    Steve

  10. #9
    Registered User srusso100's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jms1969 View Post
    Steve, I wanted to join the others who have welcomed you back. Your take on WDW is always insightful and fun to read, and was much missed. Count me in for reading whatever articles you are able to write!

    Much like Pammer above, we're still "old school" when it comes to trip planning, and your spreadsheet sounds mighty familiar. My wife and I certainly remember our trip a couple years ago where her beautifully prepared spreadsheet, which had been reduced to fit in a pocket sized notebook and almost required a magnifying glass to read as a result only made it as far as our home airport. Our "homemade low-tech I-phone" was left on a table there, never to be seen again. I like to think that someone flying out the same day had a great vacation with all the planning that went into it! We're stubborn though - the lesson we learned from that wasn't to go electronic, it was to bring extra copies of the spreadsheet!
    Thanks so much.
    Steve

  11. #10

    Peel for IPOD touch

    hey all
    I bought a PEEL from Virginmobile for my IPOD touch just for WDW in December 2012...I love all the apps for WDW that I have loaded on there and was boggled trying to figure out how i was going to use them. i stumbled onto the PEEL because our family uses virginmobile.

    I will be testing this in a week or so when I go visit my mom in NMB and if it works out, will let you know...

    this peel only works with the older IPOD touches, not the newest generation...


  12. #11

    It is really wonderful to see you back writing. Thank you very much for taking the time to entertain us. Much appreciated.


  13. #12
    Registered User srusso100's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by howlongtillsummer View Post
    It is really wonderful to see you back writing. Thank you very much for taking the time to entertain us. Much appreciated.
    Thank you.
    Steve

  14. #13

    While I enjoyed all of the points you made about iPlanning, I had to tell you that I was completely FLOORED by the pic of your spreadsheet. If you looked at MY spreadsheet and yours side by side, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. Great minds!!!

    The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
    - James Taylor

  15. #14
    Registered User srusso100's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by danyoung View Post
    While I enjoyed all of the points you made about iPlanning, I had to tell you that I was completely FLOORED by the pic of your spreadsheet. If you looked at MY spreadsheet and yours side by side, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. Great minds!!!
    "Great" minds, Dan? LOL... maybe mediocre.

    I began using the spreadsheet in the late 1990s and it's morphed into what it is today - sort of a single source for park hours, ADRs, reservation #s, crowd levels, etc. To be honest, I find myself referring to it infrequently once we're there but we use it a lot in the planning stages.
    Steve

  16. #15

    I tried something new on my last trip a month ago. I did the spreadsheet, but then I transferred it into my Android phone. It really was a cool thing to have all that info with me at all times. I've always been worried that I'd show up to a dining rez and have them NOT have me in there. Now with the rez numbers with me I don't have that worry any more.

    And I'm sticking with "great"!!!

    The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
    - James Taylor

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