Been there, Done it, Bought the T-shirt!

[FRANTIC FROG]

Have you ever had the experience of meeting strangers in Florida and they insist that they tell you all about what to do/not do and then you find out it's their 1st time!!!.
It happens to me every time we go ( soon to be No-5 trip ).
It's a bit like meeting that Harry Enfield character-
" OOh you don't want to do that, you wanna be doing this!!"
I try politely to explain that I have been before but it always falls on deaf ears.
I don't know a fraction of things regarding Disney & Florida and always appreciate little tips or warnings but what really irritates me is these people that tell you how c**p Seaworld is when they find out you are going the next day ( We love it and it's DH's favourite) or the " Don't bother giong there" moaner.
I love 99% of all the parks etc. Nobody can love every single thing.
I happen to think that my holiday isn't complete without a visit to " It's a small world" but there again some people hate it and avoid it like the plague!! .
I have been thinking about this as last night my niece was telling me how her next door neighbours were bragging to her how wonderful Disneyland Paris is and how much better time they had than she was going to have on her first trip to Florida in January.
( These were grown adults talking to my 13 yr old niece!!).
" All the rides are so much better" was their words to her
These are people that have never been out of the country before and went on a 2 night coach trip last week!!.
My niece was quite upset about this, but we reassured her that she was going to have THE BEST holiday of her lifetime.
Sorry to go on a bit, just made me mad
Lin xxxxxx

 

[WDWfan uk]

Hi Lin,

I haven't had that experience to be honest!

Sounds like the neighbours were trying a bit of one upmanship on your niece - they'd probably secretly love to go to Florida, I'd tell your niece that too!

You are quite right - how can you give an informed opinion on a place if you haven't been there yourself? Don't let them get you down !

 

[Mike Jones]

.. fortunately I generally seem to spot these type of people before they vent off at me, generally because they can be heard, (usually before you can even see them!) having a pop at some other, more polite victim. When I have been collared in such a fashion (once on a Disney tram and once on the plane!) I have been very blunt and told them firmly that as I have to suffer being spoken to by people I wouldn't pass the time of day with at work, I am a bit more choosy when on holiday and could they please keep their opinion to themselves. Try it - being tactically rude doesn't come naturally, but, like walking on stilts or driving, it can be mastered with application and practice!

P.S... while you are thinking about this, try to stop yourself APOLOGISING to cold-callers (either at home, in person, or on the phone) who attempt to engage you in conversation about their product, agenda, religious affiliation etc... I'm NOT sorry that I can't help them, I just want them to sod off... so don't say sorry, say" Sod Off!" and put the phone down or close the door! Life's too short!

 

[FRANTIC FROG]

Great advice Mike.
I'm usually quite brave with cold-callers and can get rid of them in one foul swoop!!
Guess I need to brush up on being assertive with "know it all" holiday makers!!
Lin xxxxx

 

[Beejayjay]

I'm with Mike here, I am more than happy to dispense with the kind of person who foists their unwanted opinions on me, with a curt "Well, I'm old enough to draw my own conclusions thanks, so keep your opinions to yourself, I simply dont care/I dont want to talk to you !" or even slightly more direct words to that efffect, depending on my mood...

Even if you felt my approach is a bit OTT, well, I'll never seee these people again, so... Oh well... !!

My lass sometimes runs off to hide when she sees it coming, and I'll admit sometimes I am a bit more 'curt' than is strictly necessary. But I see it like this - life's too short, my time's too precious to waste it listeming to the unwanted opinions of people I don't know and don't want to know ! First impressions are high on my agenda for reading people...

Cold callers too, if I'm not interested, they soon know about it. I wait till they draw breath and simply say, I'm not interested. If they then try to continue selling me, I repeat it - Like I said, I'm not interested, bye... click... !

Not rude, just straight to the point. They didnt worry about the fact they might be bothering me, why should I worry about their feelings ?

We Brits need to be more willing to stand up for themselves - ever wondered why service in shops is so good stateside ? Our American cousins dont flinch at making a fuss if they dont get the service they feel they deserve. Not many Birts will do the same. I am a definite exception - it's my cash they want, they better give me value for it !!

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

I have never personally ran into a "know it all" but we was told by a lovely couple at the airport when coming home "we shouldnt of done two weeks,and we should of done 4 weeks, cause money wise it didnt make a difference?????" LOL we tried to tell them we only booked the holiday at last minute and that we had to save up spending money and to pay for the holiday which we did in a couple of month,but that fell on deaf ears, they was only trying to be polite,but what ever we said, they never listened too!

I try to be polite too,but sometimes,you have to be a little abrupt with them,and i find that hard,now DP hes another thing,because he will tell them where to go,if he finds them being O.T.T, i get embarrassed and scarper as fast as i can past,trying to not look like im with him

Beth

P,s your Neice will have the TIME OF HER LIFE, and let no one let her think overwise!! alot of people my partner has found, when he works for them,they seem to say such and such a thing about america,but when he says have you been? they say NO? so how can they know? gr!!

 

[signtalker]

I think this has only happened the once to us, and it was from a member of staff in the hotel we were staying at.Trying to tell us that really we didnt need to be at the parks at opening time!!!!!!!!!!.

Im a very upfront kind of person anyway, always say what I think(hence why Im in trouble at work LOL).And Im afraid at times i can be deemed as aggressive(but then I dont mince my words, so people could be right)!

As far as Im concerned, if I wanted other peoples input Id ask!, it really grates on me, when people think coz theyve had the one trip to disney they know it all!!!

DH will always duck and weave when he sees a potential situation brewing, and give DS the "quick your mothers gonna blow look"
Afraid lifes to short to ***** foot around people..
Jules

 

[Scottish_Maleficent]

I've actually had this kind of experience with a neighbour, who has NEVER BEEN to Florida!!!!!
She tells me that children as young as mine (4 & 5) don't appreciate holidays like that, and she will wait till her kids are older (they are 8 and 4) before she takes them. She goes on and on as if she knows it all - when she hasn't even been!!!!

Cath

 

[Sue & Co.]

Ha, I've got a friend like that, has never been but insists it is too expensive, her children wouldn't like it and that it's not fair to go until the youngest is tall enough for everything because otherwise it would be a waste of money. What planet is she on!! I don't attempt to disagree I just point out that we want different things from holidays and this suits us. and yes it is annoying when someone insists on trying to tell you what you should do and you know they are giving you wrong information.

 

[Hilary]

I agree that unsolicited 'advice' can be a nuisance, especially when you can tell it's not based on knowledge or first-hand experience! Consequently, I always try to keep quiet unless someone asks me for advice about their trip to Florida - and even if they ask, I try to avoid recommending anything, as everyone is looking for different things from their holiday. I just tell them what works for us.

But ........ wouldn't these boards be quiet if none of us were willing to share our 'advice' and experience?

(I also think life is too short to spend it being rude to people.)

 

[PoohBears#1fan]

Oh god yes, I need to take a leaf out of the book of the direct people here! So wish I could be like that.

My best one was this year, another set of parents in the playground just back from their first ever trip, telling me how they didn't like DisneyWorld and that Universal is much better.

Amazing really how you can summon up so much in so few words, of course this was a 14 day do everything trip so naturally they saw enough to pass a comment like that.

Did you enjoy Illuminations at Epcot? I said... No we didn't see it they said.

Did you see the parades? I said..... No it was too crowded so we didn't wait they said.

Sounds to me like they had a very thorough trip!!!! LOL I very much got the impression that they had gone into each park, rushed their way round riding only rides with short lines, so that they could then tick it off their list and move onto the next park.

 

[Beejayjay]

Hilary,

"...wouldn't these boards be quiet if none of us were willing to share our 'advice' and experience?"

There's a big difference between people coming to the DIS specifically to ask the advcie of people who know WDW and Orlando well, and having know-alls who actually know very little pestering you with unwanted advice...

"I also think life is too short to spend it being rude to people."

Is it really being rude simply to tell someone that you dont want their opinion ?

You can be direct without being rude - I am only rude to someone if they are rude to me first.