Any MISTAKES made on past trips?

[lnh'smom]

Nothing bad happened...it was unbelievably hot in the boat (it was June) and sooooo sloooooowwwww...and HOT....did I mention that it was HOT in the boat? We had never taken the boat between the parks and that was our "something new" that day. We weren't on any time line, but we weren't expecting it to take us nearly 40 minutes to get to Epcot and that our transportation would be more uncomfortable (temperature-wise) than being outside and walking. The ironic thing was that they were doing the trial of park-to-park buses at that time and we chose to walk right past the bus going to Epcot to go on the boat (which we were expecting to be a relaxing ride with a nice breeze.)

Now I understand. Luckily we haven't ever had that problem!

 

[Funfire240]

taking my parents and in-laws at the same time! DS and DD loved having both sets of grandparents there but it was the biggest stressor for me! We were stuck "baby sitting" the in-laws because they were completely helpless and wouldn't leave (MIL freaked out one time when DH was 2 feet behind her and she couldn't see him!)

Other than that, the day of MNSSHP I let DH take DD swimming (after being up early for a character breakfast) and it tired her out completely and she fell asleep before the fireworks even started that night. Next time we have a down day on any party days.

 

[luvmylatte]

My son wanted the long long long cap rifle from the toy store at DTD. Being the awesome parent I am, I bought it for him. Only one problem...my luggage was not long enough to accommodate it. So my mom who lives in Florida and was with us on vaca, took it home and mailed it to us. The price of mailing the much needed toy was $32. The toy cost $20. Lesson learned, measure your suitcase to make sure you can fit souvenirs or have them mailed by Disney.

 

[gibbow]

Getting a Deluxe Villa for my first trip down with my dgf...

Now we are spoiled and are saving to be able to afford such accommodations again. This time we are looking at staying at one of the 3 on the monorail because, 1) I loved staying at the Contemporary as a child, 2) the monorails are simply AWESOME!! and 3) We really did not enjoy all the time spent on the buses from SSR

 

[anorman]

Making all of our ADRs at suppertime. At the time the kids weren't old enough to make it a full day at the parks (they were 6 and 7) so we would leave the parks at around 2 and head back to the parks for our supper ADR at around 4:30. This gave us an afternoon break of just 2.5 hours and by the time you factored in Disney transportation time back to the resort we were probably left with less than two hours. If we wanted to do pool time and you factor in getting ready for the pool and, on the other side, getting ready for supper, we were left with only 30 minutes of pool/relaxation time. Needless to say, our first trip was extremely hectic!

Our next trip (and all that followed) we made out ADRs for lunchtime at whatever park we were in that day. After that we could either stay at the parks, head back to the resort, or take an afternoon break before finishing out the evening back at the parks if we felt like it. The point is that our evenings were wide open to do whatever we felt like doing. This was a much more relaxing approach and we are doing the same thing for our upcoming trip in August!

 

[MadAlice1025]

Our biggest mistake was thinking we could have TWO table service meals in one day while on the dining plan. OH LORD! Bad idea! We went to Tutto Italia Ristorante for lunch at 11am, and then to Les Chefs de France for dinner at 7pm. We were still full from lunch.

 

[disneyworldfamily]

Getting the deluxe dining plan. It may work well for some, but for us, it was too much.

We felt like reservations dictated our day. Some days we were still full from the day's previous meals. And we always felt rushed while in the parks, constantly looking at the time. We spent a lot of time on the buses traveling to our reservations and that was not cool, especially with kids.

That said, we had the chance to eat at some pretty amazing places, and trying new things and dining out is an important part of our vacations, but next time we will go with the regular dining plan

 

[Anri]

Taking my brother with us. Last time he went to Disney World he was four years old and EVERYTHING we did was a waste of time. Upon leaving the Tiki Room he proclaimed that he had much more important things to do. Ok, you are four, what could you possibly have to do with your time that is so demanding you cannot be bothered? Now that he is 16 his attitude has not improved, in fact, it has worsened. So we have since decided that my mother and I are the only two compatible Disney travelling companions in my immediate family, and it is best to leave everyone else at home.

 

[Bethshaya]

We have two must dos every time we go down. They are traditions.

1) Every vacation, we buy one Christmas ornament to commorate that vacation.

2) My father started the tradition on my first visit to WDW when I was a baby. I always get a piece of jewelry. When EPCOT opened, that tradition turned into pearls from Japan. Every time we go, I get one of the oysters that they dive for and have it made into something (ring, necklace, etc).

One mistake I did make recently was being talked out of the ornament for one of our vacations. Everytime I decorate the tree, I know it is missing.

Our last trip, we were married on the Disney Magic and I insisted that we not only get the vacation ornament, but one wedding/honeymoon one as well.

On that trip, we traveled with 20 family members. It was crazy to try and organize everything and since we were on the cruise, I didn't even try. We had three rules with that many people: 1) Everyone goes their own way, but meets for dinner (unless sick) 2) they HAD to dress up for Pirate Night. It's Disney, why bother if you aren't going to have fun? and 3) they had to be where they needed to be on the wedding day.

We had a blast except for my cousin who was not very organized. We had to keep reminding him to go get his passport when debarking at ports.

My father has Alzheimers now and we don't know how much longer we have him. We make the most of our vacations now and we take him with us. It is a lot less planning now. We have a wheelchair for him to go through the parks and have to make adjustments with speed and stops. We go with the flow based on him, but we don't mind. We'll always have another trip to Disney, but we won't always have him to enjoy them with. Those memories that we've made through the years with our many trips there are important. Even with his memory failing, he still remembers going on Dumbo with me as a baby, or funny things that happened in different places. We try to tell him about them if he doesn't remember. But he loves the place like a little kid.

The biggest mistake we could make is not taking him. Life is priceless. Suddenly, having to get everything in and working a plan isn't so important.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

We have two must dos every time we go down. They are traditions.

1) Every vacation, we buy one Christmas ornament to commorate that vacation.

2) My father started the tradition on my first visit to WDW when I was a baby. I always get a piece of jewelry. When EPCOT opened, that tradition turned into pearls from Japan. Every time we go, I get one of the oysters that they dive for and have it made into something (ring, necklace, etc).

One mistake I did make recently was being talked out of the ornament for one of our vacations. Everytime I decorate the tree, I know it is missing.

Our last trip, we were married on the Disney Magic and I insisted that we not only get the vacation ornament, but one wedding/honeymoon one as well.

On that trip, we traveled with 20 family members. It was crazy to try and organize everything and since we were on the cruise, I didn't even try. We had three rules with that many people: 1) Everyone goes their own way, but meets for dinner (unless sick) 2) they HAD to dress up for Pirate Night. It's Disney, why bother if you aren't going to have fun? and 3) they had to be where they needed to be on the wedding day.

We had a blast except for my cousin who was not very organized. We had to keep reminding him to go get his passport when debarking at ports.

My father has Alzheimers now and we don't know how much longer we have him. We make the most of our vacations now and we take him with us. It is a lot less planning now. We have a wheelchair for him to go through the parks and have to make adjustments with speed and stops. We go with the flow based on him, but we don't mind. We'll always have another trip to Disney, but we won't always have him to enjoy them with. Those memories that we've made through the years with our many trips there are important. Even with his memory failing, he still remembers going on Dumbo with me as a baby, or funny things that happened in different places. We try to tell him about them if he doesn't remember. But he loves the place like a little kid.

The biggest mistake we could make is not taking him. Life is priceless. Suddenly, having to get everything in and working a plan isn't so important.

This made me tear up! I am sure the memories you are building with your father are very special.

 

[GayeofPA]

My mistake: not taking the time before the trip to ask each member what was the one thing they REALLY wanted to do.

I will feel badly about it forever! Our first trip taking the kids, my youngest son (age 4) told us WHEN WE GOT HOME that he had wanted to have a meet and greet with Mickey. Who ever would have thought?

He barely knew who Mickey was, and we just have never done those kind of things. (for example, the boys never had any interest in sitting on Santa's lap) And none of us like to wait in line, and I just never gave it a thought that he would want to do that.

Now, before any vacation, I always find out what matters most to each person--sometimes it is surprising!

 

[kittengal13]

What a fantastic forum- I really enjoyed reading through them all

And I will bear these in mind when I go next year!

I would say my regret is...... Marching up Main Street on my way in- I never just stop to look at the wonderful buildings- I vow to do this when I go next year!!

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

A couple of my mistakes (Not sure if I already posted, and too lazy to check, lol):

I never thought to price out Disney resorts thru Travelocity or Orbitz before and always stayed at a DTD hotel for savings. This time around and b/c of someone on the boards posting it, we were able to get the Pop Century cheaper than my DTD hotel!! While my DTD hotel was really nice and I loved it there, the convenience of being able to take the bus straight to MK and not get dropped off at the TTC was huge for us.. less hassles on vacation, the better. Plus if we want to do the EMH, we could.

Another mistake: Not wearing comfortable sneakers. I wore flip flops and while they were fine the other 2 Disney trips, this year they posed a problem...and caused my feet to swell up!! Sneakers it is for our upcoming trip.

 

[MadAlice1025]

Another mistake: Not wearing comfortable sneakers. I wore flip flops and while they were fine the other 2 Disney trips, this year they posed a problem...and caused my feet to swell up!! Sneakers it is for our upcoming trip.

It always amazes me to see people walking around WDW with just plain old, $2 flip flops. My feet hurt just thinking about it!

 

[SingingMom]

It always amazes me to see people walking around WDW with just plain old, $2 flip flops. My feet hurt just thinking about it!

Hard to believe, but sneakers ave always bothered me. The first time I wore flip flops I was amazed how much better my feet felt! I alternated between crocs flip flops and uggs or Merrill sandals. Much better for me!

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[kittengal13]

Hard to believe, but sneakers ave always bothered me. The first time I wore flip flops I was amazed how much better my feet felt! I alternated between crocs flip flops and uggs or Merrill sandals. Much better for me!

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

This is a problem for me, my feet change their mind all the time about what hurt and what don't!!! So I will have to take trainers and flip flops and see how it goes!

Although, I must say- I was in Epcot a few years back and my flip flops snapped and I eventually found a stall which sold flip flops and they were SOOOOOO comfortable, I would take them this year but I think my DM threw them out They were bright orange and were the type of "thong" flip flops and they had Mickey heads all over them- I ended up wearing them the rest of the holiday!!

 

[SingingMom]

My dd19 had a bad experience with the shoes she chose last time we were walking in Manhattan and she had to run into the Gap and purchase a pair of flip flops. Lol. She said they are so comfortable she's bringing them to Disney next January. Lol

 

[sunflowerfields]

two mistakes I won't repeat. I started reading these boards in Jan. and one tip that stuck in my mind early was to remember that although your children are allowed a carry on, they are not pack mules, therefore it might be difficult for them to carry a bag through the airport and on to the plane. I DID remember this, although my husband thought we could get along just checking 3 bags. We had 6 people in our group and 6 carry on bags, plus our personal items. OH MY GOSH!!! I think everyone on the plane was snickering as we came down the ailse with all our stuff. We checked 3 bags going down and 8 coming home. At that point I did not care how much it cost. Next trip we will be packing very light!

The other mistake is I bought Disney gift cards ahead of time. When we got ready to go to the first park we couldn't find 4 out of 6 of them. I had given the kids theirs to take care of which they did. We never did find them at Disney but last Sunday I took a credit card out of my husbands wallet to pay for something and 4 Disney gift cards came out with it. Neither one of us remembers putting them in his wallet. When we got to our resort we just took out our id's and locked our wallets in the safe the entire trip. I should have known better, I can't keep track of anything. The good news is some lucky people will be getting Disney gifts for Christmas this year.

 

[kimber11]

I think the biggest mistake that I made the last time was not scheduling enough time to just hang out at the resort itself. We stayed at the Art of Animation which really is just an attraction in itself. I wish we had more down time to just hang around the pools and walk around and see the sights, maybe enjoy one of the movies under the stars or take part in some of the other activities they have there or even play in the arcade. Next time I want a day to just stay at the resort. Also, wish I had scheduled a whole day to just enjoy Downtown Disney as well. Our vacation felt rushed as we were trying to do so much in such a small amount of time.

 

[jackemail]

My father has Alzheimers now and we don't know how much longer we have him. We make the most of our vacations now and we take him with us. It is a lot less planning now. We have a wheelchair for him to go through the parks and have to make adjustments with speed and stops. We go with the flow based on him, but we don't mind. We'll always have another trip to Disney, but we won't always have him to enjoy them with. Those memories that we've made through the years with our many trips there are important. Even with his memory failing, he still remembers going on Dumbo with me as a baby, or funny things that happened in different places. We try to tell him about them if he doesn't remember. But he loves the place like a little kid.

The biggest mistake we could make is not taking him. Life is priceless. Suddenly, having to get everything in and working a plan isn't so important.

Bless you. I took my Mom with Alzheimer's to Disney, as she had gone with me every year since 1973. I took her for the last time in 2010, knowing full well that it would be her last trip, and she so enjoyed the Magic Kingdom.

I just came back from my first trip without her along. Taking the granddaughters and remembering the things we used to love to do with Mimi at Disney was hard, but knowing we were in her special place helped.