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Over Planning a Vegas Trip

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by alana86, May 31, 2014.

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  1. alana86

    alana86 Low-Roller

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    Does anyone have a bad habit of planning their Vegas trip? I try not to, but I know there are specific things I want to do. We are gone for 6 full days and I basically have some sort of plan for each day. Some of the plans are loose but I know that sometimes when a person over plans it's hard for them to enjoy the moment. It's always like "Ok, next we have to go here." I need to work on that! We are going with friends so that's part of the problem. If we want to meet up with them we need plans for what we want to do. They want to see the Voodo Lounge one night, Freemont Street one night, House of Blues another night. I want to do it all but the most important thing is to lay by the pool and to gamble and eat good food lol!
     
  2. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Before I go, I plan out most trips in painstaking detail. Then, when I get there, all those plans go out the window, lol. Actually, I love planning trips, but end up not caring if I follow the plan when I get there.
     
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  3. Turtleman

    Turtleman VIP Whale

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    "Failure to plan is planning to fail," or so they say. Nonetheless, since we go primarily to play, about the only planning involves where we might go for dinner. If we later decide that we missed something, it goes on the list for next time. If we attend a show, we'll figure it out once there. Right now we're trying to decide what to pack, and thats' pretty much the extent of our planning.
     
  4. VeddaLasVegas

    VeddaLasVegas High-Roller

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    Between the MyVegas Rewards, Restaurant.com gift certificates, food credits, and gift cards, we should be eating 80% of the time we are there. Not going to happen.
     
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  5. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Our normal trip is 5 days/4 nights. We plan on two sit down dinners, usually Sat & Sun. Other than that, we just wing it, gamble and when the urge hits, go have a burger or something. We tend to play VP 10-14 hrs a day.
     
  6. mgill1974

    mgill1974 Low-Roller

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    I always plan so much for Vegas and then once I get there most of that never happens lol
     
  7. Blonde_4_ever

    Blonde_4_ever LasVegas4ever.com

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    Planning is what keeps me SANE between trips.
     
  8. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    I planned every day. I had envelopes with groupons,ticket confirmation emails, money etc and the tentative plan each day. With plans for the GC, LOVE etc we needed to have some sort of plan. We also winged it if we felt like it and wanted to do something different. It sure made the trip a breeze though having everything in a daily envelope with the plans on the outside.

    I did NOT feel like it made it hard to enjoy the moment. We did not do dining reservations because THAT would have made us not enjoy the moment. I hate being on a strict schedule. I made fun of the way i did things but the time i put into it at home made sure i didn't have to waste much time there trying to get organized.
     
  9. wellmel

    wellmel Low-Roller

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    Yeah I also spend a lot of time planning my trips. That can be just as exciting as the anticipation of the flight/car ride over! However, once I get there, I also usually stick to what I "feel" like doing. It's nice to have an itinerary to turn to for stuff to do, but if you feel like relaxing, screw it. Do what will make you enjoy the trip the most.

    I went with a friend on my last trip, and she really wasn't feeling all the pool parties we were going to, she just wanted to relax during the day. This upcoming trip we'll be with more people so I have the freedom to do the clubs/parties I plan with others, or just gamble and relax with her.

    Plans are great and fun to make, but there's no hard and fast rule that you have to stick with them.
     
  10. Alhanalasa

    Alhanalasa Low-Roller

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    THIS. It was way too long a winter. I have almost as much fun researching and planning as I have while I'm there.

    We only go once a year, and we primarily go for the great restaurants and great shows, so a certain amount of planning is necessary to make sure we get the tickets and reservations we want. On a 7 day trip, I leave one or two nights completely open, and most of the days. I have notes regarding options for things to do and places to go/see/eat at, and we usually decide each morning what we feel like doing that day. For me, it's not overplanning.
     
  11. sybgal

    sybgal VIP Whale

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    I plan certain places to eat either because we have coupons or will be using comps......nothing day-by-day. Only thing that is etched in stone is that our group will do the CET Buffet of Buffets on Monday-Tuesday....dinner to dinner time. Other than grabbing some breakfast or a lite lunch before starting the B of B....we tend to wing-it. We have certain places we always go to....Margaritaville for nachos / Burger Brasserie or KGB for a burger / HHAGG ..... If we planned too strictly...it would be difficult to get the majority of our group together. We also decide on our Diamond show tickets once we get there.... love it that they sometime offer Jersey Boys or something similar in addition to the normal shows. Since I am on this board daily...lol.... I can update our group what has changed since their last trip or what might be new things to do. I love planning our trips and gathering all the data to make each trip special.
     
  12. MeowFace

    MeowFace Tourist

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    I'm driving my husband crazy with all the research I'm doing lol. He just wants to wing it, but there's so much information about Vegas, I can't help but look at everything first! Then I figure I won't miss something while I'm there. I imagine it's quite overwhelming to figure it all out on the spot, especially for our first visit :)
     
  13. hoochiemama

    hoochiemama Low-Roller

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    Every year I over plan and vow not to the next year. Especially after rushing around so much last year. Although just before writing this I was just adding stuff to vegas mate:). At least now it's more of a wish list rather than "plans".

    So far so good though. We're hoping to wing it a bit more this year. About a month away without anything booked (except for the room) which is pretty good for us!
     
  14. NeonAndBeach

    NeonAndBeach Tourist

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    Even if half of your plans go out the window, it still pays to plan. We've all seen the hordes of people walking around with that totally lost look on their face, not even aware that some very cool stuff they may want to check out is just minutes away.
     
  15. thekillers

    thekillers Low-Roller

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    Like some other people on this thread, i plan to the exact hour. Book my days around which MyVegas dining comps I have. Even though my schedule is booked to the exact hour it never works out that way, i base it on how I'm feeling and keep it flexible. I usually end up doing most of the things that I wanted to do but it's never in the order planned. And if there's something that I missed, it gets added to the next trip.
    I think I just like planning it to keep me going until the trip happens.
     
  16. Badger31

    Badger31 Low-Roller

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    The last time in Vegas, I did no research whatsoever and very little planning. We had fun, but I feel like I missed out on SO much. Now, I have been planning our next trip since January 1st (my wife told me I had to wait until 2014 to start, so I literally started as soon as I could). We have loose plans...but we pretty much have an event every night (downtown one night, Fuel the Duel at MC, vow renewal in the middle of the trip, etc) so we will need to stay on schedule a little. Like a previous poster said...my wife gives me a hard time for all of my research (particularly time spent on this board), but I have a feeling she will be thankful once we get to Vegas at the end of July.
     
  17. burdog

    burdog Low-Roller

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    I could have wrote this, LOL!!! :eek:
     
  18. Sdebruyne

    Sdebruyne Low-Roller

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    I plan and research for months! It's part of the fun. But I don't "schedule". I hate to be on a schedule, or try to follow a schedule. The only exception is for shows. I love researching and finding new deals or different things to do. We usually don't get to everything.
     
  19. Texas Gramma

    Texas Gramma Low-Roller

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    I also go for 6 days and I do plan a "tentative" trip by day. Almost never is it followed exactly... first started doing a "schedule" when we went to a restaurant and found it was closed on the night we had chosen. After that, I keep a list of food "specials" for each casino and the times the eateries are open... this list has both fine dining at a good price and breakfast/lunch or snack specials.
    ---
    We occasionally have shows or tournaments, etc. in which we want to participate... so I mark those on my tentative schedule by dates... if we end up preferring to gamble rather than do a show or tournament... fine... but we don't miss it because we didn't "remember to do it"
    ---
    The one "plan" I always do is have my gambling money in envelopes for each day and one for the airport... don't want to have a day in Vegas with no money to spends... that is really bad!
     
  20. Chuck2009x

    Chuck2009x VIP Whale

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    Most of my planning is around transportation and hotel reservations. Once I have my dates finally locked in, I only ever lock myself into one event max by purchasing in advance.

    I make a list of what's going on and what I might like to try, but it's always totally optional. If I do one or two things on a list of a dozen, that's plenty.

    I go for vacation, I don't want to have to do anything. But I've also been lucky to be able to go a couple of times a year, so I don't feel any urgency to check off things on a list, like I might if I went less often.
     
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