Bad Disney Advice

[Planogirl]

I'm one who likes to eat offsite a lot even when we've stayed onsite. I like my breaks and we save a lot of money but I realize that this isn't for everyone.

 

[katml14]

We used to be a part of the "eat offsite" fan club when we were visiting WDW. That was before children. Now, it is just easier for us to get the meal plan and be able to grab something to eat at the parks or at the hotel. Plus, if we don't eat offsite, there really is no need to get a rental car. So I just say that the cost of the meal plan is really offset by the cost of NOT renting a car.

But to each their own!

 

[Ava]

Maybe they are confused with Universal. There you can purchase fast passes and it is $$$$
When I tried to explain to dh the last trip the passes were $$$ He was as confused as I first had been.
I use to think,( 1st trip that MGM was Universal), for about 15 minutes until kids explained it all.

There was no second park in Univeral in those days and now the lines are sooooo long.

When we went to Universal a few years ago, we stayed for 1 night at the Hard Rock Hotel. That got us 2 days of unlimited "Front of the Line" access - our check-in day & check-out day. I can't remember how much we paid for the room, but whatever it was it was totally worth it to skip those monster lines. Plus the hotel is really cool - I loved how they pipe the music in under the water in the pool.

 

[dzorn]

I believe we're workin' on that!

Well if you don't know for sure then you're not doing it right!

Denise in MI

 

[hffmnheidi]

I've had people that I work with completely not get how our family can go for a week and see/do everything we want and come back with so many pictures and good stories/good memories and want a long explanation about it. I have tried explaining to them that you just have to time your vacation right and plan out what is important to you to do first and they just tell me that we must have gone for more than a week which we have never done.

 

[Beckypooh1972]

Lots of people don't realize there are 4 parks and how vast WDW resort is. A co-worker literally thought WDW was a park where you meet the Disney characters who come running up to you. She didn't realize the scope of the attractions - rides, 3D films, etc. I can't convince her how much is there for adults. She is really stuck thinking the whole of WDW is for the preschool set.

 

[minnie1928]

When I first learned about these boards back in the '97's there was a post about a couple sitting on the MK's City Hall, sharing a cold, can of whole kernal corn!!!

I've heard about the famous can of corn!! Unfortunately, I heard about it second hand...didn't that post get lost in an upgrade/conversion?

It reminds me of a picture I took of the horses at Magic Kingdom. They were standing in front of the flag pole circle, near City Hall. When I got home and had the film developed (pre-digital camera) I realized that not only did I get a picture of the horses, but I also got a picture of a man digging lint out of his belly button!! Priceless!!

 

[Ericandjenng]

My kids maybe don't remember when they were 1 and 2 years old, but I do. They were so cute, and it was a great trip. We also have picture that are priceless. If I had it to do again I would do it the same.

 

[SandrA9810]

I can't get over the whole "we're going to Disney tomorrow"... while standing in the middle of Animal Kingdom. I'd always ask back, "well where are we now? cause I'm supposed to be working right now." And the parent would always respond back, "ohh you know what I mean".

The Magic Kingdom at WDW has more or less always been referenced to as Magic Kingdom. I can understand Magic Kingdom at Disneyland being referenced to either or. Back then it was the only thing.

And people always mixing up Universal Studios and Disney's Studios (MGM or Hollywood, whichever you prefer).

The exaggeration of cost for tickets or the resort. The amount of time it takes to complete a park, or see and do certain things. How to find the characters or how the meet and greets work. How the bus system works. Calling characters by the wrong name.
I over heard a conversation a week or so ago, about how bad Disneyland has gone down hill with certain people in charge. Or that Bob Iger took the parks out of the family's hands. Or who's even in charge now.
These are all times when I just bite my tongue and let it go. Cause I could go on for hours trying to correct them on all their mistakes.

 

[eliza61]

I
So have you ever heard advice and just sat in shock at what people do to save $1 when at Disney. Not anything unethical but just bad advice. For example - I had a lady advice to eat all your meals off property (not as a break, literally eat lunch and drive right back to the park)...Once you pay for gas, and the meal off property how much could you really be saving.

Sorry Nicole,

This can be good advice. We eat off site a lot and it saves us tons. for example, not a mile from DTD is a Perkins pancake house and an I-hop. It's literally 1 mile away at the crossroads. Last August we ate at Ihop for 5 bucks a person. I mean a stack of pancakes, meat (sausage or bacon) and 1 egg. Have you eaten breakfast at Disney? most people do not because teh cost the charge for breakfast is crazy. Now I can get a platter at the food court for the same cost but then it's usually lukewarm and I have to find seats.

Now that the food is really mediocre we rarely eat on site

If you are going strickly but money, pound for pound dining and hotels are always cheaper off site. You can stay at the new Waldolf Astoria for less than most Disney deluxes and the Waldolf is a real deluxe and the restaurants are waaaaay better.

We stay at Disney but it's more for the magic and total immersion. If

 

[seashoreCM]

My old boss*, who was notorious for being wrong even though he swore that he was right, tried telling me there was only Epcot and "Disney World". So when I got back he'd ask "did you go to Epcot or Disney World?" and I'd say "there are 4 parks now actually and I did all 4" And he'd ask again"....so Epcot or Disney World?"

You'll have to bite your tongue on this one (not all the way through) and play along with him. Let him trip up later in the conversation by himself with his mistakes. For now, "I did both Disney World and Epcot. Also the other places Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom."

Do not just send people off to some web site. If you see misinformation in a blog or forum, put the correct answer right in your reply.

When I first learned about these boards back in the '97's there was a post about a couple sitting on the MK's City Hall, sharing a cold, can of whole kernal corn!!!

I'm guilty of sitting in the open (not at WDW) and eating fruit cocktail from a can. Before you get too uptight, it had fruit juice instead of syrup although I'll admit it still wasn't quite as healthy as the corn.

Was it called Magic Kingdom before there was more than one park?

Yes.
(from a 1973 brochure)
Walt Disney World is a completely new kind of vacation experience. Here you'll find all the fun of California's Disneyland -- and many new attractions ... in the Vacation Kingdom of the World.
1. Magic Kingdom Theme Park
2. Championship Golf Courses
...
5. Polynesian Village (resort)
6. Main Entrance (the Transportation & Ticket Center)
7. Seven Seas Lagoon (between TTC and MK) ... for sailing, swimming ...
8. Contemporary Resort
...
13. Parking Area (at the TTC) ... adacent Car Care Center ...

I got the impression the person meant for every meal. That would mean getting breakfast offsite, parking going to the park, leaving the park, eating lunch, returning and then doing the same again at dinner. The person would save money on food but not get near the value of the park tickets which are costly.

Typical for me (may not work for everyone). Breakfast: grab a muffin or "danish" either before arrival or in the park (not as healthy as the fruit cocktail). Lunch: In the park, sandwich or lunch platter such as from Columbia Harbor House (MK) or (mediocre) Commissary at DHS. Dinner: Off site such as on 192 (e.g. Golden Corral) if I rented a car (usually), otherwise another spur of the moment decision in the park such as inexpensive items at Epcot World Showcase or a resort food court. Rarely a buffet dinner at Crystal Palace or 1910 Park Fare or Akershaus. Where these are is left as an exercise.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

* When you write a weekly progress report and save your own copy, you make it more difficult for your boss to claim your accomplishments as his own.

 

[disneygirl 17]

Sorry Nicole,

This can be good advice. We eat off site a lot and it saves us tons. for example, not a mile from DTD is a Perkins pancake house and an I-hop. It's literally 1 mile away at the crossroads. Last August we ate at Ihop for 5 bucks a person. I mean a stack of pancakes, meat (sausage or bacon) and 1 egg. Have you eaten breakfast at Disney? most people do not because teh cost the charge for breakfast is crazy. Now I can get a platter at the food court for the same cost but then it's usually lukewarm and I have to find seats.

Now that the food is really mediocre we rarely eat on site

If you are going strickly but money, pound for pound dining and hotels are always cheaper off site. You can stay at the new Waldolf Astoria for less than most Disney deluxes and the Waldolf is a real deluxe and the restaurants are waaaaay better.

We stay at Disney but it's more for the magic and total immersion. If

I was talking about lunch not breakfast - breakfast offsite to save money is a no brainer for me - we eat that in the room most of the time. I was talking about leaving for lunch with the only purpose of eating lunch, not a break, not shopping, just eating and going right to the back. Not only do I think you wouldn't really save much but I think that bringing lunch to the park would be the cheapest way to go.

I heard some more strange advice/bad advice yesterday. A lady I work with asked me for advice, her parents want to take her family to disney - money isn't a problem there. They want to go the week before Thanksgiving - of this year ok - so she asked if money wasn't a problem where would you stay. I said Poly. She said I thought that is what you had told me before (we have talked before about WDW hotels)....She told her parents she heard the Poly was nice and her parents told her it was a dump! I couldn't believe it...it might not be there favorite theme or something but a dump! lol - it actually made me chuckle a little.

 

[Got Muchness]

I love this thread! My MIL grew up in Florida and I could never figure out WHY she insisted on calling the MK "Disney World". It drove me nutty! Now I understand
Some good friends of mine went to Disney for the first time and asked me to make them a itinerary and book their meals. They were clueless. I did it all because I love them (and I have a Disney obsession). Anyway they came home raving about what a good time they had and telling everyone how I had made their trip worry free and easy.
Another friend called and asked me for some advice before they left. I gave her some basics and then she said "Ugh, that sounds too complicated. We are more of the wing it kind of people."
Needless to say, after that trip, they now hate Disney and swear they are never going back.

 

[Ava]

The exaggeration of cost for tickets or the resort. The amount of time it takes to complete a park, or see and do certain things. How to find the characters or how the meet and greets work. How the bus system works. Calling characters by the wrong name.

My most often heard misinformation of this type is about FastPass. Many many times on my last trip when I was in the FP line, I overheard people in the regular line telling others in their group or around them that you have to pay extra for FP. Usually it was kids asking their parents, "How come that line's moving faster than ours?" And the parents would tell them, "Because those people paid extra for special passes." I never bothered to correct them because I'm a mean person & want shorter FP lines for myself.

 

[tink2dw]

I've heard about the famous can of corn!! Unfortunately, I heard about it second hand...didn't that post get lost in an upgrade/conversion?

Yes! it got lost in a crash/conversion. Except for in my mind. I thought of all the snacks that could be eaten in MK a can of corn was the oddest! But the the world has gotten more savy since the inception of the internet, and travel boards like the DISboards.

 

[seashoreCM]

... "How come that line's moving faster than ours?" And the parents would tell them, "Because those people paid extra for special passes." I never bothered to correct them because I'm a mean person & want shorter FP lines for myself.

I would always stop and correct them, but so far have never run into that situation.

I have a "friend" on Facebook ... she was bragging on her FB that she bought her tix for $50 off craigslist.
I warned her to be cautious, that they may be a scam. ...
Well they got back from FL... no mention of visiting any of the parks & no pictures. ...

Someone 'orta' ask her ('publically' on FB) how her trip went.

 

[VAN]

I've been going to WDW since it opened. I believe the MK was always called the MK. There was always a plan to add other parks.

Vacations and food .... well, if you are going on a vacation and food is a big part of your enjoyment, then I can see planning to pay a huge amount of your vacation $$ for food. But if you are just eating in order to keep the energy level up, then there are many ways to do this without spending a fortune ... whether staying on-site or off-site.

We've had trips where we ate our meals off-site and spent as much as we did when we ate them all on-site.

It's all in your priorities. We never ate at a TS restaurant for the first 15 years of visits ... and then only ate CS occasionally. We would go back to our campsite to eat our meals (Ft. Wilderness).

Recently we went to NYC ... we ate breakfast in our room, took granola bars for snacks, ate lunch from a sandwich cart, and then had a nice sit-down dinner. Total average daily cost for 4 adults (including 2 alcoholic beverages for each) was $161 - of that $120 was the dinner!

We do the same thing at WDW (unless on free dining) ... breakfast in room, lunch at CS or again in the room (if spending the day at the pool), granola bars for snacks / or ice cream from carts, and then either a sit-down or CS meal in the evening. Totally doable and not much more than we would pay in our hometown if we ate out.

If someone wants to save money, but just doesn't DO the value resorts -- well that's a preference -- your vacation WILL cost more than mine. If you don't do breakfast in the room -- then your vacation WILL cost more than mine. If you order soda instead of ice water with your meal -- then your vacation WILL cost more than mine.

I guess my best and most frequent advice I offer to first timers is that they research (such as Unofficial Guide) and they plan their vacation for AT LEAST 7 days at WDW.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I had someone from an online community tell me to sneak down into the tunnels to eat at the CM's cafeteria for cheap and to watch the light and get through the turnstile with the person ahead of you to save a day on your ticket (pre fingerscan days). Needless to say I did not follow that advice.

Still on the chat board with her 8 years later and she seems normal and goes yearly.

 

[Ava]

I had someone from an online community tell me to sneak down into the tunnels to eat at the CM's cafeteria for cheap

That's about the worst advice ever! Why would anyone risk getting kicked out of the parks & have their vacation ruined just to save a few bucks on a meal!?

 

[tripplanner2]

I had a friend plan a last minute trip with the dining plan. She said she would never again do the dining plan because you had to go all the way back to your hotel to eat. And she kept telling people that you could only eat at your resort on the dining plan and it was a pain because you could not eat in the parks. I kept trying to tell her she could have eaten in a ton of places and then gave up because her trip was over anyway, would have only made her feel worse. I told other people around though that she could have eaten in tons of places and probably never got the brochure.