Any MISTAKES made on past trips?

[momimouse27]

Agree with others that this is regional in the USA. Here in West Tennessee, you either order "sweet tea" or "unsweet tea." If you order "iced tea" you will get asked "Sweet or unsweet?" At Disney, we could not find sweet tea. When I go to visit family out west in Wyoming, no one has sweet tea! They look at you like you have 2 heads if you ask for it! And I think anyone who loves sweet tea (like I do!), or maybe just any Southerner, can tell you that unless you put the sugar in while it's hot, it does NOT taste the same!

I'm a MS girl, and we love our sweet tea. You can still get sweet tea here in GA but FL must think they aren't "south". We couldn't find it at Disney either, but fortunately I've gone to using Splenda so it isn't too bad

My hubby went to NY the first time and they brought him Instant tea and a lemon.

 

[momimouse27]

We have never had a problem with the attraction since it's conception.... With children, grandchildren and now as senior citizens... The signage is adequate to state is a dark attraction...we prepared our children before hand, warned them of the interior and gave them the option of attend or not... we never miss a chance to go...

I hate the ride. Thank goodness I'm informed about all things Disney. If I were to put my mildly autistic son on that, God only knows what would have ensued. Even for myself, it just does nothing for me.

 

[catwalk82]

I'm a MS girl, and we love our sweet tea. You can still get sweet tea here in GA but FL must think they aren't "south". We couldn't find it at Disney either, but fortunately I've gone to using Splenda so it isn't too bad

My hubby went to NY the first time and they brought him Instant tea and a lemon.[/QUOTE]

It's not a Florida thing. I'm a Florida native, and we are obsessed with our sweet tea. Must just be a Disney thing if you can't find it.

 

[JoWiJo]

They don't "forget" to put sugar in iced tea in the U.S. I think it's more a combination of time/cost. Or in other words, being cheap and lazy. The attitude: why make batches of both sweet and unsweet tea when you can just make one batch of unsweet and then provide patrons with multiple sweetening options at the table, and they can sweeten the tea to their own personal liking? They can always sweeten tea afterwards, but no one can simply remove sugar from tea that has already been made.

Well, of course there IS a problem with making tea this way. Cold water cannot absorb sugar as well as hot tea and when you try to sweeten tea that is already iced, a lot of the sugar just drops to the bottom of the glass, no matter how much you stir. That means it is difficult to impossible for restaurant guests to sweeten tea to their taste. And my guess would be that the same thing is true of the artificial stuff.

Fortunately, more restaurants are beginning to brew both kinds of iced tea. But for some reason it's still assumed that you want your tea to be unsweet unless you specifically order it sweet. That kind of madness has driven me away from ordering tea at restaurants and going for whatever brand of soda they serve.

 

[skripples]

We found on our first trip that paying out of pocket for breakfast then using the QS dining plan credits for lunch was a waste. We were either not that hungry at lunch but forced ourselves to eat so we didn't waste the credits and then weren't hungry enough come dinner time to eat everything that came with the TS credits, or totally forgot about it in our excitement and never used the credit at all. Now we use the QS credits for breakfast and use the snack credits for a small 'lunch', like a bowl of chowder or chili, baked potato, spring roll, etc. We save money and time this way, and our appetites by dinner are right where they should be.

 

[spoonfulofdole]

Most Disney vets will tell you DO NOT TRY TO DO IT ALL. My last trip was only a few days long, so my friends and I tried to pack in as much as we could in one day. Big mistake. We were completely wiped by dinner time, and ended up back at the resort by 7:00, missing all the great stuff there is to do in the evening. We ended up with so much extra time later in the week, so all of our rushing was totally unnecessary. Pick your priorities. Do them. Then use the rest of your time to do all the extras! Or just plan a longer trip. Which is always better, if you can manage it

 

[mdyoung]

They don't "forget" to put sugar in iced tea in the U.S. I think it's more a combination of time/cost. Or in other words, being cheap and lazy. The attitude: why make batches of both sweet and unsweet tea when you can just make one batch of unsweet and then provide patrons with multiple sweetening options at the table, and they can sweeten the tea to their own personal liking? They can always sweeten tea afterwards, but no one can simply remove sugar from tea that has already been made.

Well, of course there IS a problem with making tea this way. Cold water cannot absorb sugar as well as hot tea and when you try to sweeten tea that is already iced, a lot of the sugar just drops to the bottom of the glass, no matter how much you stir. That means it is difficult to impossible for restaurant guests to sweeten tea to their taste. And my guess would be that the same thing is true of the artificial stuff.

Fortunately, more restaurants are beginning to brew both kinds of iced tea. But for some reason it's still assumed that you want your tea to be unsweet unless you specifically order it sweet. That kind of madness has driven me away from ordering tea at restaurants and going for whatever brand of soda they serve.

Here in the southern US, both sweetened and unsweetened tea are offered at most restaurants and your server will normally ask which you prefer. So no, it is not about wanting to be "lazy and cheap". I am not really an iced tea drinker myself (Coke please another southern staple) but I learned at a very early age how to make it because it is very much a drink of choice here.

 

[rcbarker]

Most Disney vets will tell you DO NOT TRY TO DO IT ALL. My last trip was only a few days long, so my friends and I tried to pack in as much as we could in one day. Big mistake. We were completely wiped by dinner time, and ended up back at the resort by 7:00, missing all the great stuff there is to do in the evening. We ended up with so much extra time later in the week, so all of our rushing was totally unnecessary. Pick your priorities. Do them. Then use the rest of your time to do all the extras! Or just plan a longer trip. Which is always better, if you can manage it

Sage advice

 

[JoWiJo]

Here in the southern US, both sweetened and unsweetened tea are offered at most restaurants and your server will normally ask which you prefer. So no, it is not about wanting to be "lazy and cheap". I am not really an iced tea drinker myself (Coke please another southern staple) but I learned at a very early age how to make it because it is very much a drink of choice here.

I've spent most of my life living in the south, including all of my childhood. Like I said, it is becoming more common now days. And I love it. But I can remember a time where almost any restaurant that sold iced tea only served unsweet (even in the south), and anyone who wanted sweet tea had to use packets at the table.

 

[Susan413]

I've enjoyed reading all the tips and stories.
One mistakes I made was to do no planning. When my DD and I walked into The MK we didn't know where to start.
Also I had found a pair of Mickey Mouse tennis shoes before our trip, I wanted them to "look good" for the trip so I didn't break them in. All I can say is wear comfortable shoes!

 

[trudyt623]

I have made the new sneakers mistake......never again. I wear very worn sneakers now.

I second the big breakfast and dinner and snack for lunch. You will be too busy to keep stopping to eat.

 

[Disneyaddictz]

I always tell my friends planning trips to plan their meals around their parks. Too many family's plan their choice for meals 1st and end up rushing around the whole time trying to make it to meals from different parks. Pre planning is key to a smooth trip!

 

[copykitten]

I allowed someone who had then on vacation to Disney several times dictate our trip and say where she didn't want to go because she had already visited before. I had never been there before and did not get to go several places I wanted to because of that. Not happening this time

 

[mousekatool]

The other mistake was the Dining Plan. Frankly, it was just too much food for us, even if we LOVE the Disney restaurants. We didn't waste any credits but it gets annoying ordering a subpar chocolate mousse at a quick-service just because it's included when there are splendid cupcakes next door. Plus we never get soft drinks with our meals usually, so basically the math didn't add up for us. We didn't even enjoy our last meals because it felt like we were eating non-stop! So when both Free Dining and 30% room-only discounts applied for our next trip we didn't hesitate.

This! We paid for the DDP on our first trip, and it was ok, but we felt confined in some ways, since we don't eat that much normally at home. Last trip, we paid OOP, ate the way we wanted including several character meals and lots of snacks, and when we added it up, we saved more than $300 than if we had used the dining plan alone, not even adding tips and things that aren't included! I know some people love it, but it just doesn't jibe with our lifestyle. Give us a room only discount any day!

 

[MataHari22]

I allowed someone who had then on vacation to Disney several times dictate our trip and say where she didn't want to go because she had already visited before. I had never been there before and did not get to go several places I wanted to because of that. Not happening this time

Aww, that seriously sucks. That wasn't very nice of her. Last year, I took my friend to WDW, she had only been to MK long time ago, like when it first opened. I planned the entire trip from her perspective as a first timer. Picked the things I thought she would enjoy and be comfortable with. (She can get motion sickness, so no spinning and she won't do coasters) I wish I would have gotten to see and do some more things that I wanted to, but it was nice to watch someone enjoy themselves and experience some of the Disney magic for the first time. That's ok though, because we are going back in 45 days, and I can do those things this time around.

 

[Andrea464]

Here in the southern US, both sweetened and unsweetened tea are offered at most restaurants and your server will normally ask which you prefer. So no, it is not about wanting to be "lazy and cheap". I am not really an iced tea drinker myself (Coke please another southern staple) but I learned at a very early age how to make it because it is very much a drink of choice here.

I'm in NC. If you go out to eat and ask for tea, you'll get sweetened iced tea. The have unsweetened and I've found that Splenda is the best thing to dissolve in it.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I'm in NC. If you go out to eat and ask for tea, you'll get sweetened iced tea. The have unsweetened and I've found that Splenda is the best thing to dissolve in it.

Same in most places in Florida, don't know about disney.

As an avid fan of iced coffee (I don't really care for hot beverages) I am well versed in the pain of trying to dissolve sugar or sweetner in ice cold liquid.

I ask for a few spoonfuls of hot water (or hot coffee), dissolve my sweetner in that and then add to my drink. Such a small amount doesn't water it down but is enough to dissolve and evenly distribute the sugar/sweetner.

 

[Cool Cat]

When we went earlier this year, I forgot to ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Mickey's Philharmagic.

 

[Vernie822]

Not booking a non-stop flight! I have never booked a flight myself so I was somewhat of a newbie. We are flying into MCO and out of Miami, so I had to find an airline that could accommodate that.

We are departing at 8 AM and arriving to MCO at 2:30 PM. I feel like it's a day wasted! Although we are doing an evening ADR and some evening MK time, I would've preferred to get there at 10 or 11 AM and have the whole day to spend there.

Not scheduling enough time in WDW. We have 4 major park days, plus our arrival day (a few hours in the parks) and a MNSSHP day. At first I thought that was plenty - now I wish we would have done a bit longer of a stay with some breaks in between where we wouldn't be as rushed.

We'll see though - we leave Saturday!!

 

[Disneyluv111]

Not booking a non-stop flight! I have never booked a flight myself so I was somewhat of a newbie. We are flying into MCO and out of Miami, so I had to find an airline that could accommodate that.

We are departing at 8 AM and arriving to MCO at 2:30 PM. I feel like it's a day wasted! Although we are doing an evening ADR and some evening MK time, I would've preferred to get there at 10 or 11 AM and have the whole day to spend there.

Not scheduling enough time in WDW. We have 4 major park days, plus our arrival day (a few hours in the parks) and a MNSSHP day. At first I thought that was plenty - now I wish we would have done a bit longer of a stay with some breaks in between where we wouldn't be as rushed.

We'll see though - we leave Saturday!!

First time going to WDW in Feb 2015.
I booked flights with 1 stop, but the stop is only 35 minutes. We are coming from the West Coast. I compared my flights with the nonstop one and we lost only 1 hour. We are staying for 8 nights, 9 says. Almost 2 days are dedicated for travel. Yikes! Hopefully we'll have enough time to enjoy without feeling rushed!