Biggest mistakes that can ruin your WDW vacations

[dd50]

The biggest mistake a lot of people make (me included, in the past) is relying too much on the info posted in these forums. A lot of it is good, sound information, but it's easy to become obsessive over it and to start to conjure an idea of your upcoming trip that is just unrealistic, one that your trip just can't measure up to. Which will, in turn, lead to undue stress and even borderline depression.

No, the DIS is good, but, as with everything else, in moderation.

Exactly!!!!! You always have to make room for the unexpected. When planning so much you miss so much.

 

[drag n' fly]

My favs are

1. Realistic expectations (crap happens....suck it up...go with the flow)
2. Educating oneself (read a bit about WDW, figure stuff out and *see number one)
3. Utilization and the understanding of the fastpass system (far too many people do not understand how it works. Instead of figuring it out they stand in line and glare at you as you come up the FP line lol).
4. Treating staff with respect. You get what you give.

 

[billybobblockhead]

Big mistake: wearing flip-flops. Still don't understand why so many folks insist on wearing them.

Good, wide brimmed hats are great during the summer heat months. After losing my father to skin cancer that began on his head, mine goes everywhere with me.

Not bringing sun screen is a mistake: see above.

While we plan a ton, we also use our plan as a guideline (as they say in "Pirates..."). If we decide to change it up, we do and don't think the next thing about it.

 

[parmtoo]

Expecting the kids to get along better on vacation then they do at home. I mean really, why do I alway think that?

 

[antsss]

I think you can't research enough and you can't plan enough, but the important thing is to be flexible enough to chuck the plan and go with the flow when you need to!!

 

[escapetodisney]

Biggest mistakes IMHO are not taking enough breaks when someone in the party needs one and forcing kids to ride thrill rides they're not ready for. So sad to watch children crying hysterically as they are being forced on a ride; not very magical.

 

[photobob]

Attitude is everything. Don't let negativity ruin your vacation and make no mistake it can!

 

[zimomiller]

Don't wear new shoes.

Don't forget to take breaks and go back to your resort for a plunge in the pool and a nap.

If you get caught in the rain, keep your feet dry. If they get wet, change the shoes and socks asap. Blisters can ruin your vacation

If you really want to eat sit down dinners, don't forget the ADR's

 

[Goopy]

How about buying 7 days for 4 people from some a discount ticket place only to find out the tickets were bad...


Didnt happen to me but it would be pretty bad.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Stop and smell the roses. You are on vacation afterall. Some of the most magical moments we've had at WDW is when we are spontaeous. I cringe when I see parents "dragging" their kids around the parks. WDW is sensory overload. Even the most well-mannered child can get overwhelmed and have a meltdown at WDW. Every park has a play area in it to let the kids let off some steam. I HIGHLY recommend parents of children ages 2 to 10 to use these play areas to let the kids unwind and run around.

The Magic Kingdom
Toon Park (ToonTown)
Pooh's Playful Spot (Fantasyland)
Laughin' Place (Frontierland - Under the RR Station near Splash Mountain)
Tom Sawyer Island (You'd be surprised how nice it is to get away from the mainland for a bit. The rocking chairs are a nice place to take a mid-afternoon nap.)

Epcot
Mission:Space (Inside climber near the exit.)
Spaceship Earth (The exit area has interactive games.)
Innoventions (All kinds of hands-on activities.)
United Kingdom Pavilion (hedge maze)
Outpost (Drums to play)

Disney's Hollywood Studios
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set (play area)

Disney's Animal Kingdom
The Boneyard (An excavating play area. My kids easily spend an hour in here each trip. )
Rafiki's Planet Watch (Take the Wildlife Express Train to this petting zoo/refuge from the chaos of the rest of the park.)

Jennifer

 

[MyManGoofy!]

Well - as a former CM - I have to say that a bad day at WDW is still better than any other! However, there are somethings that I noticed.

Water - we are in hot, humid and sunny Florida. Dehydration stinks. Keep the fluids flowing.

Sunscreen - and this is not just for the pale faces up north. The sun is more intense than many realize and spending your time in the parks with a sunburn is misery.

Food - if your normal diet is not full of heavy, greasy foods at home - don't load up on them while on vacation. Can't tell you how many sick tummies I have seen. I mean don't deny yourself but don't go overboard either!

Exercise - there is a lot of walking involved here at the World. If you are not used to it - please do not try to be all commando while here. If at all possible - work yourself up to a good level in the weeks/months before you get here. If you have special health concerns - please give them the same consideration you would at home. And as has been mentioned before - this is so not the time to break in the new shoes!

Rest - put some time on the schedule to do nothing. Keep in mind - you can do nothing poolside, or while sitting on the curb on Main Street, or while watching the kids play in the water sprays at EPCOT...you get the picture. All 4 parks have some really great play areas where the kiddos can roam and play and the adults can chill. Take advantage!

Expectations - there is so much to see and do here! Believe me - I get the whole "gonna see and do it all". But this can so easily become the worst thing you can do to your whole vacation. Ask each family member what their top "must - do's" are and make sure you do these. Of course how many tops will vary depending on family size and days of vacation. But even if everyone only gets one top thing - the rest is gravy!

 

[itchin2go]

I think the WORST thing you can do is just book the trip and go, thinking you can just wander around and figure it out as you go. I think those people end up bewildered and disappointed. They're the ones who some back from the trip saying Disney World sucks.

Sleeping in and not following a plan. Adds hours to your wait times!

Molly213 - Shhhh! Let's keep this quiet!

 

[kstinw19]

Other big mistakes:

1. Not having a sense of humor about life. Things happen. You can laugh or cry. Better to laugh and move on.

This reminded me of our last trip. We were staying at BWV and had an ADR at Cape May Cafe. It was a little overcast but not too bad so we started walking with our 1 year old in a stroller, our 3, 6 and 8 yo's walking.

We got about 1/2 way around the loop and it started. Thunder/lightning/pouring rain!! We were trying to run with all the kids and the stroller and the kids were freaking out b/c of the thunder!! It was crazy! There was no cover anywhere!

We eventually got to BC and they handed us all towels. We were going to go back to the hotel but decided to eat anyway. It turned out to that we laughed about it the whole vacation. The kids thought it was quite an adventure! You just never know what you will encounter at Disney!

 

[walt's assistant]

Two biggest mistakes in our opinion:

1) Insufficient amount of planning. We know several people who decided to just go without even a remedial amount of planning. To a person, they found themselves quickly overwhelmed and wasting vacation time trying to figure out what to do. They ended up missing more than they expected and didn't repeat this mistake on subsequent visits!

2) Second guessing the planner. The planner goes through a lot of time and thoughtful effort to put together a touring plan everyone will enjoy. She reviews it with everyone and makes sure all agree. Then the trip begins and the backseat drivers start their act. This upsets everyone.

 

[tommygunn]

Purely my opinion of course, but if you are spending the cake to go down there you should stay on site. If you look for deals you can do it quite economically and it really adds to the magic of disney. I did it one year off site because we I was caught up in the allure of having a big house with it's own pool, etc right outside of disney.....never again....just not the same, not even close.

 

[acy]

My biggest mistakes ...(1) Not being at the park at rope drop (these extra 30 minutes of sleep cost us more than 30 minutes of standing in line). (2) Not having a plan. Flexibility is very important but the one day we went to a park without a plan, it seemed like we spent half of our time trying to decide what to do next. (3) Being too focused on the plan to stop and enjoy the unexpected. There is a happy balance! (4) Not resting when tired. One of my favorite memories is eating ice cream while people watching in Magic Kingdom during our first visit. I didn't want to stop (it wasn't on the plan) but my husband insisted that he and everyone else was tired and they were stopping to rest and I was welcome to continue my plan alone if I wanted. The 15 minute break was wonderful and refreshing.

 

[msd1962]

2) Second guessing the planner. The planner goes through a lot of time and thoughtful effort to put together a touring plan everyone will enjoy. She reviews it with everyone and makes sure all agree. Then the trip begins and the backseat drivers start their act. This upsets everyone.[/QUOTE]

2nd this one. We took my sister down in Oct. She goes once every 3 or 4 years we go 1 or 2 times a year. So we talked to her about how we tour and I made all the ADRs. I showed it to her on many occasion, and she was fine. about 4 days into the trip she wanted to take over and replan the whole trip while we were there, because she knows how you are suppose to do disney and you should never go back to the hotel and unwind in the afternoon. Never ever will I take anyone but my wife and kids on any vacation again.

 

[dls881]

Planning too much and expecting it all to go perfectly.

 

[ajleone]

Attitude is everything. Don't let negativity ruin your vacation and make no mistake it can!

This is one I'm still working on. It's amazing how fast negativity can take over!

 

[floydfamily4]

My thoughts:

Thinking that "magic" only happens in a disney resort. IMO it is not "magical" to be crammed in a tiny value room when you can relax and have comfort in a 3bdr house for 1/3 of the price just because you think you will miss some "magic".

Not budgeting for your time away. Take the time to read the menus, compute taxes and gratuities and plan for the Mickey ice cream or popcorn. $5 bucks here and $5 bucks there can add up and lead to the "I can't believe it was so expensive" syndrome.

Not being flexible. We were going to go to the MVMCP but decided that for $200 we could stay another day/night instead. We were all too tired for the party anyway. We had another great day at Epcot and Animal Kingdom before we left and never missed the party.


Last one I'll share. Take care of your kids in the way you need to! Who cares what others think about whether they should be in a stroller or if they should walk or if they should play in the water? They are your kids and when they melt down and have a tantrum you have to deal with it. Make the best decisions for your family and just smile and nod at everyone else.

Just my thoughts