Any MISTAKES made on past trips?

[D L and K's Mom]

1) Not going to the water parks. We went for the first time this trip and LOVED THEM!!!! Remember to keep re-applying sunscreen though. We had one sunscreen and re-applyed once.....nasty sunburns!!

2) Not having the photographers take mare family pictures. I regret that so much. I had many taken of the kids but DH and I scooted out of them. Now, I wish we had them. I also regret not having tons and tons more taken. It was nice to use the pass when we got home to view them.

3) Taking my camera from the air-conditioned room right outside . The lens got all foggy and condensation got in. The camera people at MGM told me to leave it in the car so it didnt go from hot to cold....we could not use it for a few days while it "dried out"

4) Not taking enought time at the hotel to relax and enjoy the pool.

 

[dj2]

2) Not having the photographers take mare family pictures. I regret that so much. I had many taken of the kids but DH and I scooted out of them. Now, I wish we had them.

i second this. we have TONS of pictures from all our trips, but very few shots of the entire family. i wish i'd asked more people to take pictures that had everyone in them so i'd have a better selection of group shots. even if there's no official photographer around, other guests are usually happy to help out when asked.


dj

 

[hsmamato2]

My biggest mistake was trusting DH with the camera bag.

This brings to mind our wonderful disney trip from 3 years ago... Now I can laugh at it, but at the time, I was devastated! We go with my family, and my Mom and sister...we're all complete picture-holics! at the 11th day of a GREAT 12 day vacation- I handed my dh the camera, he wanted to see this"most perfect shot of our 4 yr old ever taken" (ds is passionate about sea life, took a shot in Sea world of him and a dolphin that brought tears to my eyes, was going to go home, enlarge it, etc )
Anyway, as I'm in the bathroom area, I hear DH say"what's format card mean?" I honestly don't remember the next 30 seconds- but suddenly I was on the other side of the hotel room, trying to take the camera from his hands,while he was pressing the button. (I do remember a long"no-o-o-o-o", ala Luke skywalker at the end of the star wars movie...)
Yes, DH had reformatted the entire digital card. All 400 or so shots, but especially the one that we could never duplicate, that moment of ds and dolphin. AND, they take pics in seaworld, but I knew I had a one in a million shot of ds already, so I DIDN"T buy the one they took, which wasn't as nice.
I called the next a.m.- but they delete them at the end of the day. AND, We had decided we were done at S.W.- so we hadn't opted for the "get the second day free" option that evening as we left.
Well, we were intending to take it easy on our last day, but instead I dragged my family to 3 parks, and took a million pictures, all on the last day!(also not the best idea) Went home and pretend scrapbooked them in the order we did a lot of stuff- instead of all my shots being from just the one day! So, I guess I won the crazy insane scrapbook/picture-holic mom award that year! Like I said, now it's a part of family legend, and dh is still dh! Not ex-dh! And for ds, he still adores dolphins, but he has to make do with his big stuffed one we bought at Sea World...

 

[swanprincess]

Last trip was my 5th year anniversary, we were looking forward to it very much. We hadn't been away together since our honeymoon as I had been laid off of a while. I wanted to stay on onsite but my in-laws offered up their timeshare. We were trying to save money so we took them up on the offer. We appreciated their offer very much! But, my DH and I were very unhappy staying offsite, we have vowed to never do that again. It is so much better to stay onsite if you want to scoot back to the room to rest, go swimming, change clothes, etc. It is so much better being surrounded by the Disney theme. Then when talking about our trip my SIL said she really wanted to go to WDW someday and maybe for her upcoming honeymoon. I responded you should go - not meaning with us (at least this time). Bad news, her and her fiance ended up coming with us. At first it was only supposed to be 3 days, ended up being 5 of the 7 days. I felt like a tour guide and her fiance didn't feel the magic at all. We tried to split up but she wanted to hang with us, which I don't blame her. She was actually a lot of fun but her fiance not so much.

So - take my advice, go with you an your close family husband and kids or a veteran Disney fan. They'll be more than happy to split up! Stay on site, you won't want to miss a minute of the magic. And don't pack as much!!

 

[kathyh]

b-b-b-bump!

Call me ignorant, but what is the purpose of bumping????

 

[LorieR]

Call me ignorant, but what is the purpose of bumping????

It is to bring the thread (topic) back up to the top of the page (current) so people will see it and respond to it. (It was started on 9/18 and is still going.)


Lorie

 

[bedgraynexl]

I have done the little mistakes, not bringing enough film, late night early morning, but the biggest one was allowing DS5 and DD3 to get in line (again) for Dumbo in the mid afternoon. We had ridden ealy in the morning, did some other things but walked past Dumbo on our way through Fantasyland. We were hoping to go the Philharmagic again. As much as we love Dumbo, not again under those circumstances. (on the plus side we rode it a third time at night during Wishes. Now that was cool)

Second mistake, DW not buying DD3 her stuffed Tinkerbell at Tinks Store before it closed for Wishes. Of course Tinks store is the only place at MK to get this doll. Not at the Emporium or Fantasyland shops. This was our last night at WDW so good ole trusty DH (Me) had to run to DTD and try to find it. Mind you, I hadn't seen the doll so I had absolutely no idea what I was trying to find. Just a vauge description of what it looked like. Six inches, plush, shimmery dress. Other dads have this problem? This doll was the one souvenier that she had to have. Why it wasn't bought earlier I will never know.

Anyway, I found Tink (about 10 minutes before closing) with the help of a very patient CM and grabbed some Chip n Dale cookies for the plane trip home. (The cookies didn't get eaten until we had been home for about a month.) DD3 was very happy when she woke up the next morning cuddled with Tink. Ahh, what fathers won't do to keep Daddy's little girl happy.

Third mistake, not researching all options. I got WDW planning video and Unofficial guide, but I have learned so much more on DIS and other sites that our next trip (hopefully spring of 06) will be that much more enjoyable.

 

[Tiinkerbelle]

Trip this last March (thank god it was just my wife and I and couple of our friends - no kids).

Standing in line for Splash Mountain. Started to drizzle. We said it will soon pass. No. The sky opened and it downpoured. We were drenched to the bones. We finally gave up on waiting when the wind started to pick up and we started to get chilly. We rushed into the Splash Mountain gift shop.

Wet and cold, we each spent like $100 for shirt, shorts, towel, and socks. Some of us even bought underwear.

I believe the rain was caused by Disney to force us to buy more stuff!

And we never got to ride Splash Mountain, but we got wet

You're lucky, I went last July with my boyfriend. They sky was looking a little gray, by the time we got on the ride and got out in the open it started pouring. We got soaked even before the ride started the very first climb!

 

[HenDuck]

I have never really "just sat" at Disney and watched the world go by. My dad does it all the time because he's not much of a rider, and he enjoys watching people.

I think I'll try to make some time and sit on a bench on Main Street next week and really soak up the atmosphere!

 

[DisneyConvert]

When I was 10 years old (back in 1969!), my parents took my younger brother and I to DL - what a wonderful adventure.

I guess it was different then (actual letter-graded tickets for the "rides", real BB's in the shooting gallery, the skyride, etc.) but it kind of blurs.

I do remember that the "Main St." wasn't all one big inter-connected gift shop back (the way it is now in WDW Magic Kingdom) then. There were actual "stores" with different functions.

One that I remember very well was a game arcade. It wasn't just pinball -- goodness knows, they didn't have any electronics 'till approx. 1980 anyhow. -- but they had some antique games as well. I loved the blend of authentic "old-timeyness" and the just plain boyish fun of arcade type games of skill/chance. For sure, I was "captured".

So much so, that I did not exit the store when and how my parents expected me to. Maybe it was the park closing time, it was crowded, they weren't waiting where I expected them be, I don't remember. They just told me it was time to go.

So I went. I left the park. Walked through gate, took the tram to the parking lot and found the car; I have no clue or recollection how I knew where it was, but I did.

They were worried that they lost me and eventually, when they gave up, amazed that I found my way to the car. I simply wondered, "what kept them!?"

I can't imagine my when-he's-10-years-old boy doing that, but then again maybe he will. He's pretty wonderful with spatial and pattern recognition as well.

 

[mushumadness]

taking too many clothes is always my mistake,

we go to wdw again in 6 days, theres no way i am overpacking, I am christmas shopping when we get there!!!!!!!! so need sooo much space in my case

other mistake was not buying the picture the photographer took of us in frount of the castle, will definatly get one this time

 

[jtopp]

Spending time with SIL and family on our family vacation. Some families just vacation differently then others. All our other vacations, just immediate family in the resort!

 

[rt2dz]

Leaving the parks for an afternoon break. Thought that was going to be the best thing ever--I was 6 months pregnant, and our kids were 4 and 15 months. We have gone many times without leaving the parks for a break and it never was a problem, you think I would have known.

When we tried to leave the parks, my kids threw a fit (only time) because they weren't ready to go. Then when we'd finally get back to the resort (slowed down by the tantrums they were throwing), they would take awhile to get into the next activity (never napping there, but everywhere else) and then wouldn't want to go back to the park. And it took me several times before I'd quit trying.

Much better once we let the kids nap in the stroller (including my normal non-stroller user at home) and just took in-park naps of sit down lunches, quite shows/rides. No fits, still rested. Much, much better. Get up when they do (no trying to rush to the parks), rest when they need resting, do the rides they want to do when they want to do it, and leave whenever they were done for the day.

 

[psiprez]

bump - it's almost time for our trip!

 

[goodeats]

New 'mistakes' learned on last trip -

1) Arriving and checking our on a Saturday, the place was a madhouse!

2) Trying to go to MK on a Saturday - the place was a madhouse!

3) Not enough resting!

4) Taking the boat instead of the bus to the MK. The boat was sooo slow.

 

[Jeanny]

going with friends who "don't do the rides"... yes, it's nice to see all the shows and shops, etc... but I have to have ride the "mountains" ToT & RnRC!!!!!

 

[Marimar]

Yes, DH had reformatted the entire digital card. All 400 or so shots, but especially the one that we could never duplicate,

I am so glad you totally didin't end up w/o pictures, but if this ever happens again, you can recover the images It would take special software, but it can be done.

 

[Marimar]

Second year - I packed DH's luggage and the kids only brought coloring books and crayons for the plane. What a difference.

Thanks! This is something I tend to over do on road trips and the way I was thinking....was getting ready to happen again on our first trip to the world! I will force myself to avoid doing that!

 

[CdnDisneyFan]

Travellng with my mother!! I convinced her to go in 2002, for my birthday, and all she did was complain! I was working a lot before the trip, so never got to get travellers checks, since my bank was closed by the time I got done work the night before we left, after I was done work, so mom had to pay for things, which was fine, except I had booked a Character breakfast for my birthday, and she had the gall to complain about the price of it! Geez, thanks for ruining my birthday mom! Because of her complaining, I couldn't enjoy the magic, I had to listen to her, and to top it all off, we shared a room at ASMO, and had to listen to her snore, even with earplugs (which I couldn't use when I had a bad head cold, the pressure was too much).

Jules

 

[skeleton_pirate]

Making priority seatings. Even after checking all the menus online, we inevitably felt like eating something else or at a different time. Even though we were there in the summer and the parks were packed,we never really had a problem eating at any restaurant we wanted. I recommend making the PSs, (and I have made a few for my trip next week) but don't feel like you HAVE to go.