Oh, this is going to be fun. Favorite Park, it's Disneyland, you never forget your first time. We visit from the UK and over the last few years we've been fortunate enough to do Florida in the spring and California in the fall, usually Spending two weeks at Walt Disney World because we typically get more vacation time than our American cousins. UK deals tend to acknowledge the higher cost of our travel arrangements and the standard UK vacation packages are for two weeks, so our WDW trips are quite relaxed, we can be pretty flexible with our touring plans, change tack at a moments notice and still free form our experience to make for a relaxing vacation without the need to cram everything into a five or six day blast. We tend to benefit from free dining packages, lower than average Park pass prices, $200 gift cards and good discounts on room rates offsetting against the 'hit' of $1000 per person airfares. We absolutely plan in advance, for those of us who are quite organised it's a no-brainer, a little homework works wonders, eases the time spent in line and it's remarkably satisfying to pre-plan the trip as it allows you to reminisce about previous visits while anticipating new experiences. I genuinely think that my wife gains as much enjoyment planning and visiting forums, sharing suggestions and hunting out new surprises, as she does actually visiting the parks. Is it too much effort? Yes, friends look on the groundwork as excessive, and we understand that not everyone shares the commitment and passion to the cause, and that's where we say Disneyland! If you want a greater degree of spontaneity go to California. When visiting DL we schedule a few days in Hollywood, throw in a week in Vegas and finish-up with five days at Disney, more than enough time to enjoy most of what makes the west coast a throw-back to how WDW used to be, for a concentrated dose of Disney Magic it can't be beaten, and apart from the odd dinner reservation, you don't need to commit to a plan half a year in advance. If you've got the budget and vacation days, you can have the best of both worlds, they just happen to be on the opposite sides of the country. Next Disneyland - two weeks time, next Walt Disney World 12 months time (planning and scheduling started weeks ago)!

I have been visiting Disney World since it opened.I have stayed at the Poly, Contemporary, New Orleans, Caribbean and value resorts. I haven't gone for years because I have to pre plan everything. Disney now encourages that so I must plan where I want to eat six months ahead of time or what rides I might want to go on.The people that don't do this will have to wait a long time or simply be refused. This is not my idea of a vacation.

The acronym stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow....not Environmental.

Two other topics to consider: annual ticket price increases and staying on/off property.

1.) Ok, with so many parks to choose from, it's hard to objectively coin a "best" park.

2.) whenever i talk about the DDP, i try to look at it objectively. the first thing i mention is the fixed cost. DDP cost $$$ up front. that's all you pay. while, if you PLAN and do some example meals, you can get an estimate of what you'd pay out of pocket. compare the two numbers. are you saving $5 or $200 by not doing the DDP? Ok. next point. how much do you value your eating time? do you agonize over if you should get the $45 steak or $18 chicken? is paying an extra 5 bucks or 200 worth it to not have to worry about the meal selection? are you OK with passing on a appetizer or desert if you are full (aka wasting DDP money)? So I don't see an argument there. personally I like the DDP. my boss pays out of pocket.

3.) I will advocate for pro-planning. So much in the sense of knowing what to expect. I would rather plan dining and fast pass early on, so my vacation is that much more relaxing. Sure, you can take a "no plan" vacation at disney, but don't expect to be able to get that seat at BoG for dinner or the California Grill. be prepared to wait 70+ minutes for 7D, the mountains, etc. If you are ok with that, then by all means, don't plan. But if you like the security of knowing you have times/places to eat and guaranteed spots in lines, and will not like the fact you have to wait over an hour in lines, then planning is key. so i guess you need to plan ahead to know if you are going to plan the vacation or wing it the day of.