Buyer's Remorse?

[Eosphotog]

I last visited WDW in 1999. It was in October, and we were celebrating our Honeymoon. It was a great trip! I just reserved a trip for this fall (Oct 19-21) for the family (which includes are kids, 4YO, and 1YO). We are staying at AoA/Cars and will be spending 2 days at MK and 1 day at AK.

But I'm suffering from buyer's remorse.

Why? Because I've been reading a lot of complaints about WDW - to the point where I'm worried that instead of a great trip, we're going to end up having a horrible time. Here's what seems to come up frequently:

1) Crowds are massive, uncontrollable, and be prepared for lines - because it'll start at the front gates where it will take 2 hours just to get INTO the park with waiting for the ferry, then security, then the turnstyles.
2) The park is out-dated, old, and suffers from a lot of mechanical problems. Monorail gets mentioned a lot. Up to half the rides will be down.
3) CM's are rude more often than not. The magic is gone from the staff.
4) Fastpass is broken. Large tour groups gobble up all the tickets, and the standby line runs extremely slow (1 person for every 20 FP). Also anyone with a wheelchair or scooter gets to bypass the line along with 10 of their friends. This gets easily abused.

This sounds horrible. Buyer's remorse is kicking in...

My thoughts?

1) Most of the crowd complaints come from December, April, June, and July - which are red/purple/black days in Dad's Guide. So no real surprise I guess.
2) I know what to expect about the "classic" rides, but the maintenance issues doesn't sound good at all.
3) I don't know what's going on with CM's. But the stories are really distressing. Perhaps it is combined with large crowds and heat?
4) FP issues, line hoping, and slow moving standbys are really frustrating. By design you can't have more than a few FP's issued to you in a day. Does this mean that Disney really only expects you to be able to ride a couple of rides a day?!? And what's up with the line-skipping?

I'd love to hear people's honest thoughts. Anxiety is running pretty high...

 

[Suellen]

Go. Have fun! Ignore the nay Sayers and form your own opinions!

We go several times a week and haven't seen rude CM's often - lines/crowds are manageable and we can almost always get Fp's except Toy Story Mania

 

[Alli76]

Wow - you have been reading some negative reviews!!!

We don't go anywhere near as often as a lot of people on this board. Our most recent trip way May 2011. WE had a FANTASTIC time!!! To address some of your issues:

We never waited in a huge line to get into the park. We went in the morning got a lot accomplished using FP and walkons. THe crowds didn't get too bad until we were leaving for an afternoon break at the resort. We had no problem getting fastpasses.

We stayed at the Polynesian and used the monorail A LOT - never had any problem. And other than the pre-announced ride closures, we never had any maintenance issues.

The CMs that we encountered all seemed friendly and helpful. We even met a couple who stick out in my mid as being extra friendly/helpful... but none that I remember as a negative thought.

Hope this helps. I really think that each person't trip is individual. You will read many negative things and many positive things.

It really is all up to you!

 

[BonnieA]

If you are looking for problems, you will find them. But it is still the greatest place in the world to me. I have never noticed the bad things if there are any. I've been going at least twice a year.

 

[glocon]

Since this visit will be your first with kids, I understand your concern. But there have always been lines, FP abusers, rude CM's and rides down for refurbs. But most of those things are the exception to the rule, except for the lines of course. Just study these boards and have a plan.

You guys will have a great time if you are prepared, and it looks like you are starting to make a plan, so good for you.

There are threads on these boards for you to read about ride refurbs (sticky note at top of board), how to use FP, and making touring plans. Rude CMs are not the norm I don't think, but if you find one, get their name and give it to someone who matters.

Go into this trip with a positive attitude and a plan, and you will be ok.

Good luck and have fun planning!

 

[holleypie]

Of course everyone has a different experience, but we'll be there that same weekend and usually visit the parks in October, and I don't have any concerns. We've never waited a long time to get into the parks (of course, we usually skip rope drop). I've never had a problem with the monorail, but you can avoid it completely if you want to (I think the ferry is much more pleasant). I've never experienced a rude CM or had a problem with FastPass. If I see a large group and think they might irritate me, I head in the other direction. The only line skipping I've ever experienced is one or two people trying to catch up with the rest of their group. It's annoying, but ultimately not a big deal.

The only thing on your list that I HAVE experienced are mechanical issues. It's always something. We've been stuck on Pirates for twenty minutes, ushered out of Muppet Vision in the middle of the show, and evacuated from TTA. I've just come to expect that SOMETHING will go wrong, so it doesn't bother me when a ride breaks down. Except the twenty minutes on Pirates. They should have cut the freaking music.

 

[jcemom]

1) Crowds are massive, uncontrollable, and be prepared for lines - because it'll start at the front gates where it will take 2 hours just to get INTO the park with waiting for the ferry, then security, then the turnstyles. Maybe at Christmas, Easter and 4th of July, but I really doubt it. Someone has been exaggerating lol. NOT during the third week of October. Go to easywdw.com and look at the recommended parks for each day.


2) The park is out-dated, old, and suffers from a lot of mechanical problems. Monorail gets mentioned a lot. Up to half the rides will be down. Things do break down occasionally. They are used many hours each day, every day of the year. With that kind of usage things are bound to break down sometimes. I have never experienced more than a couple of rides down in the same day, unless they were closed for scheduled refurbishment. The monorail has never broken down when I have been there.


3) CM's are rude more often than not. The magic is gone from the staff. We visit once or twice a year, every year. I have not yet come across a rude CM, although I'm sure they do exist. All in all, if I meet a couple of rude CMs, it will still be far better than what I experience in my every day life -- at the bank, McDonald's, the grocery store, etc.


4) Fastpass is broken. Large tour groups gobble up all the tickets, and the standby line runs extremely slow (1 person for every 20 FP). Also anyone with a wheelchair or scooter gets to bypass the line along with 10 of their friends. This gets easily abused. There aren't likely to be any large tour groups when you are there anyway. We have been there with large tour groups in January and February. They do get a lot of FP at one time. They do NOT get ALL the FP. Just don't get in the FP distribution line behind them lol. Those in wheelchairs and scooters do NOT get to bypass the lines. They just enter through a different queue sometimes -- most of the queues can accommodate a wheelchair now. They wait as long as, sometimes longer than, everyone else.


I don't know which reviews you have been reading, but I think you need to stop reading them.

 

[Nomad70]

First off, let me say you are going at a fantastic time of year! Weather will/should be nice, crowds will be lower (in our experience since we only go in the fall/winter months) and have fun! Now, I have to say we have always had our best vacations as a family at WDW. I didn't know about this site until I started planning DH and my anniversary trip, so it's only been a couple of months. Before then, I was blissfully ignorant on the whole DIS boards thing. I say this because I have NEVER planned with so much detail our trips like many do here. Our style is make a couple of MUST do ADR's, highlight the attractions we really don't want to miss and wing it the rest of the time. In other words, relax, do what we can with the time we have, have fun and if we are not able to get to something we really wanted to do, it's OKAY. We don't resort hop, or resort lurk, we also don't look for things to be wrong either. I worked at WDW in the late 80's/early 90's and yes, there were 'standards' back then that are no longer 'standard's' today, BUT, it is still a fantastic place, and is a lot of fun. I admit I too get discouraged when I read so much negativity on here about things. I mean I personally don't care if there is dead plant here or there or even a light out somewhere. Or if the pool doesn't have a slide, etc. Not things we worry about. lol So, go have a fabulous vacation with your family and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[DM4Life3]

Go have fun!

Crowds at that time shouldn't be too bad. We are AP holders who love to go during that time since there are less people.

Any ride can break down at any time. It should be up later that day.

Any one CM can ruin the Magic. Just realize they have to deal with many people everyday.

FastPass is being overhauled. But again, October crowds aren't that bad.

 

[GenevieveRaqs]

Take a deep breath and GET OFF THE DIS FOR A WHILE.

Seriously.

There is a ton of great info here, but there is also an inordinate amount of whining and complaining and nit-picking. Sure, there are some legitimate complaints, too. But Disney World was NEVER actually perfect. Not on Day 1, not in 1985, not five years ago. And now we have the internet where we can complain about things that aren't perfect, while working other guests into a frenzy about things like a change in the type of napkins provided at WDW!

This happens in the media all the time. There's a shark attack, so ALL the media outlets report on it. You hear about it on every channel, in every newspaper, on every web site. Soon, you forget that we're talking about ONE incident, and you start to think about changing your beach vacation plans.

That effect, combined with the tendency to over complain on the internet, tends to produce the feeling here on the DIS that WDW is a horrible wasteland of a place that no one should bother visiting. I'm telling you, THAT IS NOT TRUE.

So, step away from the computer and check your expectations. Will your vacation literally be perfect? No, nothing ever is, and contrary to what some believe, Disney doesn't guarantee that it will be. Will you have an amazing, magical time with your family? Yes, as long as that's your intention and YOU make it happen.

1. Crowds--October shouldn't be bad. We will be there the week before you are. Sure, there will be some lines--you don't get the park to yourself! But it's not like you'll only be able to ride two rides a day because you're stuck in four-hour lines or anything.
2. State of the park--Half the rides will not be down. Rides go down sometimes. They always have. This is not new. Then, they come back up. No big deal. My DH and I were there is January. The parks looked lovely as always, and the monorail was perfectly fine when we rode. HM did not come on line first thing in the morning due to technical issues, so we hopped over to Fantasyland and rode a couple of things, then came back. HM was open then. Space Mountain went down at one point, so we went to ride the TTA and came back--SM was back up then. I'm not saying you won't have a ride break down, but it is not the end of the world and you won't be walking through a park where everything is shut down.
3. CM behavior--I have never experienced a CM being rude. Never. Again, not saying you won't catch someone on a bad day. But it's not like Disney has hired a bunch of mean ol' bullies to run their parks. Also, keep in mind that in a two-sided story we only get one side here on the Dis...
4. FP--Again, lines won't be horrible in October. You may not even NEED FP for most rides. The myth about people in wheelchairs/scooters is nothing more than a myth. They don't skip the line, they simply wait in a different area. I have never personally experienced line jumping--that doesn't mean it doesn't happen, of course, but you're really not going to have fifty people jump in front of you.

Please don't let a bunch of complaining on the internet keep you from having a magical vacation!

 

[JerseyJanice]

I think you will have less buyer's remorse if you have a good deal booked. Hopefully, you received either a room discount or got the Free Dining plan.

It's just you, your wife, and two kids, ages 4 and 1, correct? You won't need a family suite for that few of you. You'd be far better off booking a moderate room (not CBR--too big) and getting the regular DDP Free Dining deal.

Don't let the Disney website or a travel agent dupe you into buying extra park admission that you probably won't use--like park hopping or the water parks. You can always add those options to your tickets while you're there if you find you really want to park-hop or go to a water park. But with a baby and a preschooler, I doubt your family will have the energy for either.

I wouldn't be concerned about the lines, Fastpass or stand-by. If you see a wait time below 30 minutes, get on line because it's usually far less, and the queues themselves are designed to be entertaining. Use Fastpass by all means though; it's a wonderful benefit that most other theme parks charge for.

We've gone on 7 trips in the past 5 years and enjoyed it each and every time. Disney definitely offers a quality family vacation experience. (I wish I were planning another trip because I'm love going so much, but I promised my family we'd go somewhere else on our next trip out of state.)

Lastly, we had the most magical trip of all when my son was age 4. He still believed the characters and special effects were all real and was a delightful thing to watch. Your one year-old won't remember anything, but I promise he or she will be thrilled by rides like Pooh and It's a Small World. If you get Free Dining, make sure you book a couple of character meals too. Little ones love those!

Have a great trip!

 

[Raenstoirm]

We go every year. I have noticed a decline in WDW in general since the 1990's, BUT it is nothing that would ruin a trip unless you expect it to ruin your trip. Since this is the first time you are bringing your children, look at the trip through their eyes and I guarantee you will have a BETTER trip than your honeymoon.

 

[Mousemom]

Wow! Wondering where you got all this information. We have been going to WDW since 1996. Our first trip there we were hooked. We have been when it was crowded, the holidays, but were aware it would be crowded before we left. We now try to go two times a year, fall and spring. During these times we have never seen huge crowds. The parks are are always changing, adding, and updating rides. If a ride does go down Disney works hard at getting it up and running again quickly. Our family does not see it as outdated. We have only run in to a couple CM's that we thought were not Disney friendly but over all have had great experiences with all workers at WDW. Even had a few times that they surprised us with above and beyond service. I think if you go with a positive attitude you will find it a very fun and enjoyable vacation. AofA should be a great resort to stay at too.

 

[mrsap]

I last visited WDW in 1999. It was in October, and we were celebrating our Honeymoon. It was a great trip! I just reserved a trip for this fall (Oct 19-21) for the family (which includes are kids, 4YO, and 1YO). We are staying at AoA/Cars and will be spending 2 days at MK and 1 day at AK.

But I'm suffering from buyer's remorse.

Why? Because I've been reading a lot of complaints about WDW - to the point where I'm worried that instead of a great trip, we're going to end up having a horrible time. Here's what seems to come up frequently:

1) Crowds are massive, uncontrollable, and be prepared for lines - because it'll start at the front gates where it will take 2 hours just to get INTO the park with waiting for the ferry, then security, then the turnstyles.
2) The park is out-dated, old, and suffers from a lot of mechanical problems. Monorail gets mentioned a lot. Up to half the rides will be down.
3) CM's are rude more often than not. The magic is gone from the staff.
4) Fastpass is broken. Large tour groups gobble up all the tickets, and the standby line runs extremely slow (1 person for every 20 FP). Also anyone with a wheelchair or scooter gets to bypass the line along with 10 of their friends. This gets easily abused.

This sounds horrible. Buyer's remorse is kicking in...

My thoughts?

1) Most of the crowd complaints come from December, April, June, and July - which are red/purple/black days in Dad's Guide. So no real surprise I guess.
2) I know what to expect about the "classic" rides, but the maintenance issues doesn't sound good at all.
3) I don't know what's going on with CM's. But the stories are really distressing. Perhaps it is combined with large crowds and heat?
4) FP issues, line hoping, and slow moving standbys are really frustrating. By design you can't have more than a few FP's issued to you in a day. Does this mean that Disney really only expects you to be able to ride a couple of rides a day?!? And what's up with the line-skipping?

I'd love to hear people's honest thoughts. Anxiety is running pretty high...

Wow this is all news to me!!!!! I've never experienced any of these problems in all the years I've gone! I recommend avoiding that board!!!!!

 

[GenevieveRaqs]

It's just you, your wife, and two kids, ages 4 and 1, correct? You won't need a family suite for that few of you. You'd be far better off booking a moderate room (not CBR--too big) and getting the regular DDP Free Dining deal.

We're getting a bit off topic here, but this REALLY depends on the family. I don't think you can really say that someone "won't need" a family suite based on the number of people.

My DS is 4. We MUCH prefer to stay in a suite than a regular room, and that's not Disney specific. He has always slept in his own room, so NONE of us sleep well in one room together. Also, DH and I don't want to have to go to bed at 8 p.m. because that's when DS goes to bed. Having a suite allows us to put DS to bed, close the door to our bedroom, and stay up as late as we like. It also means all of us are better rested the next morning. We're happy to pay the upcharge for a suite so that we all have a better experience. My parents and brother are going to WDW with us in the fall for DS's first trip, so we're staying at the Cabins. But, even if it had just been the three of us, we would have booked a family suite.

I didn't get the impression that the OP was concerned about the cost of her vacation, simply that she was turned off by all of the negative information she's finding here on the Dis.

 

[crostorfer]

I last visited WDW in 1999. It was in October, and we were celebrating our Honeymoon. It was a great trip! I just reserved a trip for this fall (Oct 19-21) for the family (which includes are kids, 4YO, and 1YO). We are staying at AoA/Cars and will be spending 2 days at MK and 1 day at AK.

But I'm suffering from buyer's remorse.

Why? Because I've been reading a lot of complaints about WDW - to the point where I'm worried that instead of a great trip, we're going to end up having a horrible time. Here's what seems to come up frequently:

1) Crowds are massive, uncontrollable, and be prepared for lines - because it'll start at the front gates where it will take 2 hours just to get INTO the park with waiting for the ferry, then security, then the turnstyles.
2) The park is out-dated, old, and suffers from a lot of mechanical problems. Monorail gets mentioned a lot. Up to half the rides will be down.
3) CM's are rude more often than not. The magic is gone from the staff.
4) Fastpass is broken. Large tour groups gobble up all the tickets, and the standby line runs extremely slow (1 person for every 20 FP). Also anyone with a wheelchair or scooter gets to bypass the line along with 10 of their friends. This gets easily abused.

This sounds horrible. Buyer's remorse is kicking in...

My thoughts?

1) Most of the crowd complaints come from December, April, June, and July - which are red/purple/black days in Dad's Guide. So no real surprise I guess.
2) I know what to expect about the "classic" rides, but the maintenance issues doesn't sound good at all.
3) I don't know what's going on with CM's. But the stories are really distressing. Perhaps it is combined with large crowds and heat?
4) FP issues, line hoping, and slow moving standbys are really frustrating. By design you can't have more than a few FP's issued to you in a day. Does this mean that Disney really only expects you to be able to ride a couple of rides a day?!? And what's up with the line-skipping?

I'd love to hear people's honest thoughts. Anxiety is running pretty high...

I could argue everything but the ride maintenance thing. There are several rides that are in desperate need of refurb and are kind of sad. That doesn't mean you still won't love them, though. We ride Splash Mountain multiple times a day while we are there and make a game of pointing out all of the features that aren't working from one hour to the next, or even one day to the next.

The line hopping thing can happen any time of the year. You either make a big deal about it or grumble to yourself and move along.

I don't think Fastpass is broken at all, in fact, I think it works just fine.

Your trip will be whatever you make it, honestly. If you want to go into it with a negative attitude you won't have any fun. Your kids are so young they aren't going to care, really. That is where my buyer's remorse would come in. I would personally never take kids that young. *putting on my flame retardant suit*

 

[disfanRN]

We have made over 50 trips since 2001. We generally go for Food and Wine festival early October, the week before Christmas and spring break with a couple side trips sprinkled in. Never have we experienced a rude CM. ut then again we aren't rude to them. We have had a ride or two go down while we were on it. But that only added to the fun. We had to walk down from the top of spaceship Earth once and had to walk out of POC. Rarely have we seen a ride shut down to mechanical issues besides refurbishments.
Honestly, if you go looking for flaws and problems you will find them everywhere, not just at Disney. But if you go there to enjoy yourself and let go of the real world for a little while you will have a blast.

 

[JerseyJanice]

We're getting a bit off topic here, but this REALLY depends on the family. I don't think you can really say that someone "won't need" a family suite based on the number of people.

My DS is 4. We MUCH prefer to stay in a suite than a regular room, and that's not Disney specific. He has always slept in his own room, so NONE of us sleep well in one room together. Also, DH and I don't want to have to go to bed at 8 p.m. because that's when DS goes to bed. Having a suite allows us to put DS to bed, close the door to our bedroom, and stay up as late as we like. It also means all of us are better rested the next morning. We're happy to pay the upcharge for a suite so that we all have a better experience. My parents and brother are going to WDW with us in the fall for DS's first trip, so we're staying at the Cabins. But, even if it had just been the three of us, we would have booked a family suite.

I didn't get the impression that the OP was concerned about the cost of her vacation, simply that she was turned off by all of the negative information she's finding here on the Dis.

To each his/her own, but I don't think a non-discounted suite at AOA is a good value for a small young family. And JMHO, but "buyer's remorse" generally happens when you feel you paid too much for something. I think that if the OP feels that his/her family got a good deal, they'll feel better about their expectations overall.

 

[kerriemiller]

It doesnt matter if its Disney or a local resturant or what ever . . . you cannt please everybody all the time. Preception is very powerful what one person sees as rude my not be to another person. And there truely are so people who just cannt see anything but negative. Just because they are in the happy place on earth doesnt mean they are going to change thier perspective. You will have as good of a time as you want to.

 

[GenevieveRaqs]

And JMHO, but "buyer's remorse" generally happens when you feel you paid too much for something. I think that if the OP feels that his/her family got a good deal, they'll feel better about their expectations overall.

I agree that is typically how the phrase is used. But when the OP enumerated his or her fears in the first post, they were specifically related to the worry that "instead of a great trip, we're going to end up having a horrible time." No mention of paying too much or not getting a good value...just that lines, CMs, FPs, maintenance issues, etc. will create a miserable trip. Those things, if they were true, could potentially create a miserable trip even if you paid pennies for it.

You don't feel a suite is a good value, and I'm not trying to talk you into one. It's great that there are options for everyone. But I'd hate to give the OP one more thing to worry about ("OH NO, now I booked the wrong kind of room, TOO!!!") when he or she is already anxious about other things. Especially since, for some of us, the appeal and value of a suite goes beyond just the number of people who can sleep there. To me, no hotel room is a good value if I can't sleep or can't be comfortable...for whatever reason!