What makes a trip a bad one?

[kozmo]

My last trip to Disney was in 1998. Before the internet was huge and social media and smart phones, but even as an 18 year old, I still bought the guide books and read up on everything. With all of the information today, people still come back from Disney trips having a horrible time.

What is it that causes their trips to be bad ones?

Do they not plan at all?

Do they try to do too much or expect too much?

Since this is my first trip back in 10+ years, and with my young kids, I am just curious.

Cheers!

Be Patient , if children are little , and take lots of breaks if it is hot out ,but most of all be patient

 

[kozmo]

boy things sure have changed on disboards, i had a hard time logging in,glad i finally got on. I have missed everyone ! Where do i go to find out about disney paris,if its still there,hahaha!

 

[disneyjes]

I think when you spend so much money on a trip and a ton of time planning it, you just want it to go perfectly.

Sadly, rarely does anything ever happen perfectly. Just like with life you need to learn to roll with the punches and not have any expectations. If something wonderful happens it will be that much more amazing. And if you have some bad moments, let it go and don't let it set the tone for the rest of the day and/or trip.

 

[hicksnichols]

Because Disney can be taxing, I allow my family (and myself) one "Disney meltdown" during the trip. This means, everyone gets one chance to have a crying or complaining spell. One. That's it. Once you have it, you're done. I found that this allows us to laugh about them quicker and to be more forgiving when they occur.

Even with the Disney meltdowns, downpours of rain, and a hotel fire on our trip down to Disney our first year we have never had a ruined trip. It's all about attitude.

 

[peg110]

It's all about attitude.

This is true about "LIFE" (as well as Disney! )

 

[gap2368]

I can not see how any one can have a bad trip to disney even with 4 or 5 trips to the fist aid satiation ( each one there for over an hour) had the EMT called for me 2x and a 5 hour trip to the ER I still had a great time in the 5 and a half days I was there just wish I did not have so many medical problems

but I was determined to have a great time so that helped

 

[peg110]

but I was determined to have a great time so that helped

And that is the key. Your Attitude. You were DETERMINED to have a great time. Despite the issues you saw the good in it. I try to be just like that. I have had some "Not so happy" moments/times at WDW but nothing that I would consider that made it a "Bad Trip"

Sadly, some people are always miserable no matter what. I think they only get joy about trying to make other people miserable. It's those type of people that often have a "Bad Trip" at WDW (or anywhere else for that matter). I guess there is just no helping some people.

 

[familymemories]

Planning is key. We are Disney Ca veterans. My hubby and kids have never been to Orlando Magic Kingdom. We are going to rest alot. The hubby refused to do 8 days in the parks. So we have 9 days. We will see what happens........

 

[davper]

Planning is key. We are Disney Ca veterans. My hubby and kids have never been to Orlando Magic Kingdom. We are going to rest alot. The hubby refused to do 8 days in the parks. So we have 9 days. We will see what happens........

I can just see how that conversation went...

DH...I am not doing 8 days going to the parks. That is not a relaxing vacation.

DW... Yes, you are right. I won't do that to you. We will do 9.

DH...Thank you. I am happy you saw it my... wait WHAT?

 

[peg110]

@davper that was my initial thought too.

 

[disney2014plan]

Again, it's all about the expectations.

We went over Xmas 2014, with a first timer. We ended up cancelling a couple of FP as we were tired after a day in the parks, sometimes we just walked around (with an 8 year old), taking in the scenery instead of spending a long time in the queues. Be flexible - there will likely be a couple of "must dos" - so if that "must-do" FP is at 1100 and everyone is tired, make a late start!

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

For me it is BLISTERS on my feet. I get blisters after the first or second day every single time I go. I've gotten them so bad I could hardly walk. This sounds messy, but it really wasn't. Last year I greased my feet up with Vaseline, then put my socks and shoes on (No more blisters). And it wasn't a greasy mess when I took my socks off at the end of the day. It works.

 

[HollyM7813]

I agree with what seems to be the general consensus, attitude and expectation.

I had a few friends of mine (wife, husband, 2 girls ages 13 and 10) who just took a trip over spring break and have had mixed reviews, most of which are bad. At one point they said they would never go back and would rather spend less money to go to a local theme park. They booked their trip about a month in advance and were upset that they couldn't get all the ADRs they wanted. They hated the new Fastpass+ system. They are the type of family that wants to do nothing but get on rides and were upset about how much time they spent in long lines. Honestly I think they focused too much on the thrill ride aspects and not enough time on the Disney magic! But that's just my opinion. After listening to them about their trip, I decided that I wasn't going to let their review have any effect on our up coming trip.

Our family is different than theirs. Yes we like to go on some rides, but for us Disney is all about the ambiance and the Magic of it all. We understand that nothing is going to be all rainbows and butterflies and pixie dust all the time, we know there is going to rain, heat, humidity, crowds and lines.

The last time we were in Disney was 8 years ago during spring break. There was 10 of us and we had NOTHING planned except for one ADR for Akershus.
It was crowded, it rained all but one of the 10 days we were in FL (only 4 were spent at WDW), I got sunburn for the first time in my life (you know on that one sunny day!), it was so bad that I would cry every time I got in the shower, my sister and now ex BIL fought almost the entire time, and YET, it was still an awesome vacation!!!

 

[Lady Hiss]

We've had several 'bad' trips in the past couple years:
The dreaded stomach illness (3 out of 4 trips - not sure why)
Severe back pain
A death in the family back home

We've also had trips with horrid heat; drenching rain; freezing cold; crowds so bad it was scary; blisters; family tiffs; MDE crashing - those we could roll with. The other incidents - not so much. Good health is my prerequisite for enjoying the trip.

Lady Hiss

 

[Jess_S]

I did the college program way back in 2003 and I couldn't believe the number of people having a miserable time at Disney. I agree with other posters who said that the number one cause of a bad vacation is attitude. I worked at TSPP in what is now DHS and I still vividly remember one particular guest. She ordered a salad and the one we served her was not fresh. If I were her, I would have complained too. The lettuce was mush. I offered to replace the salad. "No. I don't want another one." I offered to give her anything else off the menu. "No. I don't want to eat here. The food is disgusting." I offered to refund her money with a free Micky rice krispy treat thrown in for good measure. "No. I just wanted you to know how terrible this restaurant is," she said as she walked away with her mushy salad. The only conclusion I could draw from that encounter was that this particular guest did not want to be happy.

The guests who think they need to see "everything" or their trip will be a failure are another major category of unhappy guests. They can be seen dragging their sweaty and exhausted children from one line to another as the children cry that they need to use the bathroom. "You can pee next week," Dad replies. "I spent a lot of money for this trip, and we're going to get our money's worth." Really though, this comes down to attitude too.

 

[Jocelynred]

When I was 13 my family went with my mom-mom and cousin who was 16. It was before the days of planning everything. My cousin had a bad attitude most of the trip and I was often stuck w her because we were the oldest kids. My younger sister would have been 10 and youngest sister was a baby. I especially remember Epcot being pretty boring. I think mostly because my cousin didn't want to "do" anything. MGM was pretty new at the time w not as many attractions as Hollywood Studios has now. I have been as an adult several times and have never had a bad time. Last time we were there I made a mistake w a restaurant reservation. We were supposed to go to Hollywood & Vine. I thought I was making the res for 7pm, but it was actually for 7 am. I didn't even know they were open that early! By the time we went to check in for dinner we were hungry and tired and ready for a break. Of course they didn't have anything available either. I even called the reservation line to see if there were any dinner options with no luck. By now my 4 yr old was really losing it. We were thinking of packing it up and calling it a day. My sister was with us and she said that the cranky 4 yr old needed a nap. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. Of course, that's exactly what he needed! We grabbed a quick bite and in to the stroller he went for a snooze. Hubby stayed w the
sleeping kiddo while sister and I rode TT. Then we all got to ride Toy Story Mania before we left. All the fastpasses were gone by the time we got there that morning, so we didn't think we would get to ride it that time. In the end it wound up being one of our favorite trips.

 

[Luv0fDisney]

I think the guide books are good and bad. Sometimes you can't count on the crowd levels being what the book says or even the temperature.
One thing that makes a trip bad is about the hotel you stay at. If you know you won't be spending a lot of time at the resort, go value. Sometimes moderate
hotels have negative aspects like Bus systems like at the Caribbean Beach Resort. From experience we waited more for the buses than most rides at the parks.

Another thing that makes a trip a bad one is trying to cram everything in one trip or at least in the first few days. Start out slow and then get more into the vacation. Sometimes you wear yourself out before the fun starts. Also if you are into parades, don't wear your feet out standing for the parades. I learned the hard way last year or so. My feet hurt the first day because i stood for an hour watching the parade.

 

[ChimCher-ee]

It's all in the attitude. My DD and I picked up an expression somewhere: "A bad day at Disney is better than a good day anywhere else." And while it isn't strictly true (we have lots of good days elsewhere, and appreciate those moments), we use it a lot.

 

[Glittercat]

I love WDW and for the most part we've have had positive experiences there.

Last trip though all of us in the handicapped access line at Haunted Mansion were forgot for an hour in a dark hallway. We made jokes about it and such with the other people stuck with us, it was such an odd situation that we can laugh about it now.

The only other thing that made the trip tough was the sometimes angry reaction of other guests to those of us stuck waiting for busses in the accessible line I wished strongly for the power of invisibility. I developed a phobia of transportation (bus transportation) and that made one rainy/stormy night very fraying on all of our nerves, especially my husband's. We ended up soaked to the skin, frazzled, and arguing. Eventually we took a breather, calmed down, and apologized, but that one was rough.

We've agreed to take everything at a more natural pace this time, and not worry about getting to and from places as much. Also to hopefully only use the busses one day AK and Sanaa.