Worst advice you got

Frozen2014 · Jul 29, 2015

amomma23 said:
We sat on the bus with one other family going back to AoA for an afternoon break. The dad was kind of grumpy and mentioned not doing the dining plan if they return because he was tired of eating at the resort every day.
Apparently their TA told them their free QS dining plan was only good at their resort! We quickly set them straight, but I wish we would have met them earlier. It was day 4 of a 7 day trip.

That's awful. That TS should be fired. They should know what they're selling.

HeyIt'sMe · Jul 29, 2015

It wasn't advise - just misinformation. Many years ago we spent the morning at DHS (still MGM at the time) and planned to go to Epcot later that day. I had heard you could walk from DHS to Epcot so I asked a CM how long it would take and he told me 10 minutes. After 15 minutes of walking DH & DD asked me if we were lost. It took us almost 30 minutes to get there.

Dr.Mickey · Jul 29, 2015

Watch a football game for my college team at ESPN Zone...

I might enjoy watching your team's game, but I did NOT enjoy watching my game. It doesn't help that we lost. But even though our game was on the big screen, nobody seemed to care at all. About ANY of the games.

Aerinha · Jul 29, 2015

When I did my first grown-up trip in 2011 my friends hadn't had kids yet so my sole basis for Disney first hand accounts was my nearest co-worker "Sally" (name changed) who takes a different grandkid each year. Sally assured me I didn't need park hoppers, needed the dining plan and that each park would keep me busy all day. She also said the food at Disney wasn't that great.

I do my research which led to forming different opinions. I had also slowly been learning Sally and I differed on what constitutes a good vacation. I made the choice not to take the dining plan (good thing I would have seriously over paid), my boss informed me hoppers were nice because he and his 4 kids could do AK and DHS in the same day (advice seconded by another co-worker...I listened and was glad).

Later I discovered that Sally never sees rope drop and parks take her all day because she spends most of it waiting in lines. The reason she finds the food unimpressive is that she and hubby order off the kids menu to save money and have a week of burgers and nuggets. She also does several character buffets where you are paying for the company not the food.

She tells anyone who asks me for advice that I am wrong in saying they should consider hoppers because I only finish parks fast because I don't do every ride...i get out of bed to use my pricey park tickets.

Robo · Jul 29, 2015

Dr.Mickey said:
Watch a football game for my college team at ESPN Zone...
But even though our game was on the big screen, nobody seemed to car at all. About ANY of the games.

Nobody cared?
About watching a ballgame on TV?
While at Disney World, 1000 feet from Epcot?

Wow! I'm starting to see a glimmer of hope about the human race, after all. :wizard:

drwadadli · Jul 30, 2015

JRawkSteady said:
Worst advice I ever received...hmmm. Well, the whole "go back to your resort and take a nap" thing makes no sense in my life. We've been told that over and over again by guide books, podcasters, message boards, etc. They say we should go back to the resort and relax midday, even though we have no kids....So we tried it once. Not only was it the opposite of relaxing...the bus ride back to the resort alone took up more of our time than was needed....we weren't tired and could barely relax by the pool, because we would rather be in the parks that we paid to be in. So in our personal opinions, we'd rather stay in the park from Rope Drop to closing (except on our park hopping or free days).

I personally think the idea of going back and taking a nap only works if you are go to MK or EPCOT and staying at the monorail resorts. I totally agree that waiting for the bus and heading back to your resort wastes all the time that you had planned to relax or nap.

Accident · Jul 30, 2015

Apopper74 said:
Worst advice I ever received made absolutely no sense. For touring the World Showcase, to beat the crowds I was told to immediately walk straight to the end and then tour the countries on my way back around. I would beat the crowds doing this. I knew better and shook head like I was taken in the advice. Knowing this person it would be too exhausting to correct her and I figured if this approach worked for her than I would continue to let her believe it was true.

I vaguely remember my parents doing this on a trip when I was a teenager. I think it was in some old touring book to do this before the interwebs. Back then you could tell who read what book by what order they did everything (aka which crowd they were in).

IndianaMouse · Jul 30, 2015

Buy meal vouchers, you'll save money.
This was back in 2004 so I don't remember the name of the vouchers but it was all over these boards so I'm sure there's others who remember them. They were good for a QS meal and dessert. We bought 2 vouchers for 4 people to share and still threw away a ton of food every day.

POOHsie · Jul 30, 2015

IndianaMouse said:
Buy meal vouchers, you'll save money.
This was back in 2004 so I don't remember the name of the vouchers but it was all over these boards so I'm sure there's others who remember them. They were good for a QS meal and dessert. We bought 2 vouchers for 4 people to share and still threw away a ton of food every day.

Your story reminds me, we were on the monorail once when DD was little, and this family on-board was finishing their WDW trip. They asked me if I wanted their leftover QS food vouchers. Sure! I thanked the family profusely, and ended up saving a good bit of $$. (Then spent it on souvenirs.)

ConnecticutNonna · Jul 30, 2015

Hi! Great thread, just following! Sparkle on pixiedust:

merrick · Jul 30, 2015

our ta tried to get us to get park hoppers, we said no. we had never been to disney before and was pretty sure there would be enough to keep us busy for a whole day in each park. there was! he also told us that they keep a certain amount of ADRs for walk-ins. uh, no one told them that at BOG when we tried to get in!

our upcoming trip, i got park hoppers. we are staying near epcot for more food options so wanna be able to spend day at a park, head back to the resort and walk over to epcot for dins.

and i would probably say i am one that would have advised against going when your kids are really small. our kids were 7,9 and 14 when we went. when i looked around at parents struggling with double strollers, tons of gear, mid day meltdowns, etc. we just seemed so much more relaxed. but to each their own, right??? PP makes a good point, if you were only going to go multiple times, seeing their faces when they do believe in the magic would be wonderful. but if you are only planning to go once, i would want everyone to have memories of it.

EdgeOfGlory · Jul 30, 2015

Aerinha said:
When I did my first grown-up trip in 2011 my friends hadn't had kids yet so my sole basis for Disney first hand accounts was my nearest co-worker "Sally" (name changed) who takes a different grandkid each year. Sally assured me I didn't need park hoppers, needed the dining plan and that each park would keep me busy all day. She also said the food at Disney wasn't that great.

She said you NEEDED the dining plan but that the food wasn't good?!? Haha, am I missing something here.....that seems pretty counter intuitive. :rolleyes:

Heatherj726 · Jul 30, 2015

kathy884 said:
A nice man in his 50s came up to us afterwards and said to my son, "I always feel like screaming on this ride too, but it's not socially acceptable at my age."

That is too funny! I think my dad would say the same thing. That is by far his least favorite ride. :dance3:

disneyfantotheend · Jul 30, 2015

mom2AidanAndEli said:
you absolutely HAD to have park hoppers

That's funny because most people have tried to talk us out of park hoppers each trip. We enjoy them and always get them, except one trip. I don't feel you have to get them but we make use of them.

GatorChris · Jul 30, 2015

Worst advice was from a TA in 2002. She said that for our honeymoon trip, we should stay at the Alligator Bayou at POR. Easily the worst advice we received AND unfortunately took. It's a honeymoon. You want something sorta classy, kinda upscale looking. We check in, walk past all these mansions....and end up in an apartment complex in south Birmingham. While I'm sure some feel it's quaint and charming, it was not for that particular trip. And we never returned to POR because that trip jaded us so much.

Aerinha · Jul 30, 2015

EdgeOfGlory said:
She said you NEEDED the dining plan but that the food wasn't good?!? Haha, am I missing something here.....that seems pretty counter intuitive.

She was sure the dining plan would save me money on the bad food. She is now anti dining plan, but still claims the food isn't great. When I point out her restaurant choices contribute to that opinion, she tells me I waste money on the TS places and that if I ate out more at home I would agree nothing is that great. Sally is one where her world views are always right and yours are wrong until you agree with her. People now try to get me alone for Disney advice she she can't chime in

SingingMom · Jul 30, 2015

I enjoyed reading this thread! A lot of it really does come down to "different strokes for different folks"! We took DD right before she turned 3 - so we didn't pay for her admission or food. We knew we wouldn't see everything we normally would on our own, and knew we would return when she was older. It was tough because she wasn't totally potty trained yet, so we still had pullups and night time diapers, but we still had a wonderful time and she remembers a few things.

I think that some of us diehard fans sometimes forget that for some people, this really might be a "once in a lifetime" trip. If that is the case, then, yes, I would wait until a child was older. Also - we always stay onsite now, but in the early days of our marriage, we stayed offsite twice, due to finances.

Food wise- TOTALLY different tastes among people! We live in an area that has some of the best restaurants in the country, so the food options in WDW are ok in our opinion. Nothing to "write home about". Now, if your idea of Italian cuisine is Olive Garden, you might be thrilled with the food. Either way is fine.

Park Hoppers - we always get them, because we like the option of heading into another park later if we so choose. And we never go for rope drop, because I could never get hubby out of the room that early. lol

What I have found is that I don't give any advice unless specifically asked, and then I preface it with - "this is what has worked for US."

mom2AidanAndEli · Jul 30, 2015

SingingMom said:
What I have found is that I don't give any advice unless specifically asked, and then I preface it with - "this is what has worked for US."

That's the key right there! It's fine to offer an opinion. It's something different to say "this is what you NEED to do." Every family is different.

For us, we don't use park hoppers. Just no need FOR US. But, as I mentioned way back, before our first trip I kept reading that basically the world would end if I didn't have them. So I bought them and never used them. Waste of money. For us, that was bad advice. For others, it would have worked. If it had been prefaced your way, I might not have gotten them. But too many people feel their way is the ONLY way!

Cannot_Wait_4Disney · Jul 31, 2015

I think the worst advice I see usually stems from a mistaken notion that what works best for some works best for all or what works during a slack time works during a busy time. As a result I'll see advice given that isn't the best for the situation of the person asking for it.

BobC · Jul 31, 2015

Here are some things I've heard people tell other DISers. Again, I disagree with these in my opinion...not saying that im 100% right!

-Not needing dining plan: Sure, if you're not a foodie; that's fine. But you do have to eat! A burger and fries is $10 and a small pizza is $8. Plus another snack.... you're saving money in the long run (most likely.)

-Saving money by staying offsite. You're losing DIS transportation and the allure of being encompassed by Disney 24/7. Also, no Magic Hours!

-No getting park hoppers. I couldn't imagine being at one park open to close, but that's me. I love going back to my resort to rest for a bit or swim or also going toanother park or resort for dinner. I love the freedom of being able to roam all of Disney as I please.

-Thinking the Disney Pins are a waste. This is totally my own opinion here. I love these! It's fun to collect the rare ones that are limited editions or the resorts you visit. It's sooo fun coming home and looking back at your pins 6 months - 1 year later and remembering when/where you got XXXX pin. Rekindles that Disney feeing at home!

-Only buying park tickets for a few days of your stay and having 'relax days.' You're not saving that much money by getting a 4 day park hopper vs a 6 day park hopper. Might as well get the 6 day one for the duration of your trip just in case you want to venture to MK one more time!

Again, all subjective and my opinions!!!

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