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Are you a planner or do you enjoy Vegas spontaneously?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by Jonnyvegas, May 8, 2015.

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  1. Jonnyvegas

    Jonnyvegas Low-Roller

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    My wife thinks I'm nuts. We've gone once a year for the last 11 years. For months leading up to our trip I eat, breath, and sleep Vegas. It is my first topic of conversation each night at dinner. I make up multiple itineraries. Even though we have been so many times I feel the need to get the most out of each trip. Every night is myvegas and at least 3 vegas website visits looking for any new Vegas news.

    I'm sure she will laugh at me when I give her the Vegas 2015 itinerary - 3.0 some time this weekend.
     
  2. boxofbirds

    boxofbirds Royally Flushed

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    I like a rough plan. I take notes of what I want to do on each day, with lots of alternatives in case something doesn't pan-out, with the idea that the plans could change as the day pans out. I also usually plan a few "must do" things either something like a show that I already purchased tickets for, or something I really don't want to miss out on, like last time I wanted to visit the Riviera before it closed.

    I also have a big list of bars, restaurants, casinos, and attractions I am interested in trying as a supplement for when plans fall through or we're looking for something to do in a certain area.
     
  3. VegasGroove

    VegasGroove VIP Whale

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    I'm definitely a planner. My trips each year take place in February, June and October. I have an itinerary template that I fill in for each trip. I also keep a revolving list of restaurants for dining.

    I also keep a log of shows or activities I have seen and want to see.

    I enjoy my Vegas planning. It keeps me Vegas-connected during the 4 (LONG!) months between each trip.
     
  4. livala

    livala Tourist

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    We always have a mental list of things we want to do... VP at Gustavs, breakfast at Mon Ami, stop by the Cromwell and get Angelina to mix a drink, the steak special at Ellis Island. Half the fun is talking about the upcoming trip and loosely planning the days. Well maybe 1/4 of the fun!
     
  5. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    For our first three trips I did some pretty heavy planning...

    But then I realized that we end up rarely ever sticking to the plans - just time gets spent doing other things or some things take longer than expected or we just change our minds.

    Now we still do some planning but its more like a list of things we want to do on the trip (IE: a show to see, want to hit the outlets, want to go Downtown for a full day, etc) and thats mostly about it. Sometimes I will actually assign a specific day but then thats usually just to make sure stuff gets spread out properly or a day that'd work best for what we have planned.
     
  6. Chrisbeans

    Chrisbeans High-Roller

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    We like to keep things loosely planned, but we do have lists of restaurants and things we want to do. What usually ends up happening is we eat wherever is closest to us at the moment or whatever we're craving (may or may not be on the said list) and cross a few things on our "to do" list. I've had "Mon Ami Gabi" on our restaurant list for the past several years and we have yet to go there!
     
  7. Gaggles

    Gaggles VIP Whale

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    Am I a planner? No not so much. Are my associates planners? I will let the Macker Another One Bites the Dust Pre Trip Report in teh Misc Section answer your question as to pre-planners. I'm almost ready to go home from Vegas with so much Vegas chatter and the trip isn't for 20 days!!!!

    But seriously that trip is gonna be ridiculous.......
     
    I Like to Drink and Gamble
  8. rhinoman7

    rhinoman7 A Diamond in the Ruff

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    I am an extreme planner, especially when travelling with my wife. We usually go to see several shows at night, and site-seeing, activities, and shopping during the day. She is diabetic and has had 3 back surgeries, so I have to be mindful of mealtimes and also how much walking we do. I plan everything around that so that she is never too tired from walking too much, or starting to feel her blood sugars drop because too much time has passed since our last meal. I attempted to not plan as much for our trip last August, and that did not go over too well. Learned my lesson! Despite the incessant planning I do leading up to a trip (which I LOVE to do), we usually end up only following about 50% of my schedule, and we always have a great time!

    For my solo trips, I have found that not planning as much works much better, since I can be a lot more flexible when I am alone. Solo trips are mainly gambling anyway, so not as much of a need to plan.
     
  9. Jane42

    Jane42 Low-Roller

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    I try to plan. I research and research and research but write nothing down. When I finally get there, I am all over the place and totally forget about the things I wanted to do.

    I really need to write some things down! It doesn't necessarily mean that I will do them, but it would be good to remember what I thought looked interesting when I was researching...:rolleyes2:
     
  10. SW

    SW Well-Known Member

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    Those two sentences described me pretty well. I also make up an itinerary.

    Our last trip seemed too structured even for me. For our next trip, I'm trying hard to just list out some of the things we could do and just see what happens.
     
  11. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

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    I think having some kind of plan, whether written down or planted in our heads is a good thing when visiting our beloved town. Then offer yourself the luxury of sticking to it or just winging it for the day.

    I used to wonder why people would meticulously plan out the trip but I've learned that some times this is a good thing to do especially in cases like rhinoman7 whose wife has some mobility and health issues. I think it's wonderful and ensures a good time for everyone involved.

    With that being said I don't plan anything when I go solo, I just wing it everyday. All I do is gamble anyway. When I go with my Wife it's all about her. I'll do whatever she wants to do and we have a great time. It's the least I can do for the woman who lets me go solo and understands why I do.
     
  12. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    I am a METICULOUS Vegas planner. My entire 9 day trip is planned, and it commences SEVEN WEEKS from today. My itinerary is a few pages long and I have at the beginning of each day the bankroll alloted for that day. For my itinerary, meals (the specific restaurant, time and whether it will be a room charge or not) are in purple, spa treatments are in pink, shows and other activities are in orange, gambling, including where, e.g., home casino, coupon run, etc. is in green. I find planning is essential to maximize my trip. I also do research about events while planning. I would have missed out on good seats for a number of shows for my last trip had I not done that.

    I don't always stick to the schedule. Indeed, I expect to go off of it because Vegas is about doing what you want to do when you want to do it, but detailed planning helps me maximize my trip and makes for a stress free experience when I'm there as I'm not having to do planning while I am there, but instead just simply enjoying.

    I also often do Vegas with DBueler paired with a few days of solo Vegas so planning also helps us coordinate our schedules. We know when we'll do meals or shows together and when we've got time to do things that the other person might not want to do rather than waiting to figure it out when we get there.
     
  13. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    We're decent planners...but we never fit in everything.

    The most recent trip...things that were technically planned but missed:

    Red Rock
    Ellis Island
    Orleans
    Hard Rock (never done this)
    Effiel Tower
    Madame Tussauds (we still have never done this even though we've "thought" about it maybe 5 times)
    Auto Collections

    Overall though we hit about 80 to 85% of the places we wanted to. Leaves things for next time I guess!
     
  14. Snidely

    Snidely VIP Whale

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    I don't enjoy myself when I plan an itinerary. What I'll do is put a list of restaurants, shows, bars, etc, that I'd like to visit. Still haven't made it to porn star karaoke or Bob Taylor's Ranch House.
     
  15. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    Count me in as a loose planner as well. I usually try to buy one show ticket or groupon, to keep me grounded, and doing something that isn't gambling. This last trip I had 2 groupons and 1 MyVegas purchase, but only used one of these. I try and arrange my trip itinerary geographically, so I can realistically hit multiple places on one outing. A random, spontaneous side trip rarely happens unless I hit large, but I do try and make sure I do at least 1 new activity each time I visit. Next targets are Carrot Top,Wynn Poker Room, Parasol Down and the Lake of Dreams :D can"t wait!
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
  16. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    I plan my visits very carefully. I look at times when the convention crowd is low, lots of helpful websites for this, and get my room reservations on Cyber Monday. Usually two-three trips a year for about eight days. Typically I'll fly in on a Tuesday and fly out the next week on a Wednesday; these are supposedly the least expensive days to fly, domestically. I usually get my airfare about 45-60 days out, but if I see good rates six months out I'll definitely jump on them.

    I go solo so I can go/do/see things in LV at my own pace. I usually make a pre trip list of new places to see, excursions, restaurants I haven't been to etc. I usually go with the flow but I do try to do some new things each trip. This July I'm going to check out Red Rock Canyon and have a dinner at Haufbrauhaus.
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
  17. Snidely

    Snidely VIP Whale

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    Carrot Top was on our list for 7 years before we saw him. Excellent show. Our times at Parasol Down and the Lake was always too crowded and we couldn't do it. We tried one time and it wasn't crowded. In fact, no one was out there. The host said it was a little warm outside. We made it about 5 minutes sitting outside on the deck. It was about 120°F and we had to go back inside before we passed out from the heat. Hope you get some nice weather!
     
  18. FullBoat

    FullBoat VIP Whale

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    I usually have an idea of what I want to do. I try to get a nice meal in at least 1 night, and maybe a show. But, other than that, it's laid back, and I do whatever I can fit in.

    This next trip will be a bit different the first night at least. I'm going to have to check into 4 different hotels when I get there. At least they're all downtown so it shouldn't be bad. But, I'll have been up for 24 hours when I get there, and all I'll want to do is take a nap. :)
     
  19. LV2GAMBLE

    LV2GAMBLE Certified LOW Roller

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    Our best trip to date was our most recent (April) of 6 nights. We had absolutely nothing planned and we loved it! But we had just been in March and had a few things planned for that trip that we did (NASCAR, Jeff Dunham). I have a 'list' of things on my computer that I want to do or places I want to eat at some point on some future trip. With each trip, I am tickled if I can cross off at least one item. In the past, I've tried making an agenda but found it just doesn't work for us. We find we just like to go with the flow, if we have something planned, such as a show, that's fine, and will make it work. I think next time (probably post Thanksgiving) I am not going to plan anything but if we decide we want to hit a show we will do so by hitting up a Tix-4-Tonight or something.
     
  20. RockyBalboa

    RockyBalboa Front Line Winner

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    I'm a list making fool. It's how I navigate my day through work days whether it be from the physical list in my notebook or the one continuously looping through my brain. That's just me.

    So when I zero in on a Vegas date it's time to get down to business consuming as much info and news and odds and ends that I can. Earlier on in my Vegas visiting "career" the lists ruled. We (or I if soloing) would bang it out with a little spontaneity thrown in to keep it interesting. However the Vegas lists over time have devolved into rough sketches of what's going to happen or what I'd like to see or do.

    I keep a list on my phone's notebook with certain things (example: eat breakfast at DuPar's) that I want to cross off my bucket list or things I've read about. And when I have downtime I'll scroll through so I can see if something catches my eye. Sometimes it'll take a trip or three to get it done but it's there when I need to consult it for a change of scenery.

    My Vegas is centered around gambling and many hours at the craps tables, blackjack stools or sports book loungers...everything beyond that is just filler.
     
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