Complaint? Disney is to stressful and complicated

[CalSea12]

For me its not being there, its all the before stuff. All the planning, all the having to get the ADRS, FP+, MNSSHP tickets, and even free dining promos before everyone else, and afraid that I wont be able to get the things I need for my vacation. Yes I am a planner, but how can I plan if everything is gone...

 

[sethschroeder]

The poll is seriously skewed, because all the negatives are divided up into different choices, while the positive is one choice by itself.

So just looking at the numbers, more people think it is too stressful and complicated than not.

Ok, it was that way when I first started to type.

Its multiple choice so that people can show what they find stressful. So right now 52 people have responded 35 of which say its not stressful. That means there is 17 people who find it stressful for various reasons that they marked.

 

[JanaDee]

Its multiple choice so that people can show what they find stressful. So right now 52 people have responded 35 of which say its not stressful. That means there is 17 people who find it stressful for various reasons that they marked.

You may want to recheck your numbers. The poll right now is 31 choices have been checked that find it stressful for various reasons (multi-choice) and 36 that don't.

 

[Planogirl]

You may want to recheck your numbers. The poll right now is 31 choices have been checked that find it stressful for various reasons (multi-choice) and 36 that don't.

It's hard to tell with a multi-choice though. You can't tell how many people checked several options. Even those who don't find it stressful might have checked a few of the other answers.

 

[amg35]

ooooh, does one side (stressful vs non-stressful) get a prize???

 

[prudence64]

It isn't relaxing, but relaxing vacations sound boring to me to be honest.

 

[kapoof]

Disney is insane with all the planning and crowds etc. We get up early and race to the parks and run around like crazy people then head back to the resort and can't believe we just lived through it. We get up early the next day to repeat. We are exhausted stressed coming home and can't wait for our next trip . We love love disney world. We have recently added dcl to our vacations which really is less crazy then our beloved parks.

 

[m3retired]

For me its not being there, its all the before stuff. All the planning, all the having to get the ADRS, FP+, MNSSHP tickets, and even free dining promos before everyone else, and afraid that I wont be able to get the things I need for my vacation. Yes I am a planner, but how can I plan if everything is gone...

YES! The vacation itself isn't full of stress-- it's the advance legwork and research that MUST be done.

 

[Jennasis]

I've said this several times on the board now...and it's the thing I find most stressful about Disney now:

Nobody should ever have to contact the IT department to "sort it all out" to go on vacation.

 

[SuperRob]

YES! The vacation itself isn't full of stress-- it's the advance legwork and research that MUST be done.

There is no advance legwork that must be done. You could show up knowing nothing ride a few rides, eat a meal or two, and have a great day in the parks.

That said, you are not going to show up without advance planning and get a seat in the most popular restaurant, or ride the most popular ride without waiting. But that's the same anywhere. I can't show up in a city, go to the hottest restaurant in town, and expect to be seated immediately if I didn't think to get a reservation in advance. You can't just walk up and expect to have the same options available to you as someone who planned in advance. If you're going to be laissez-faire about just showing up spontaneously, you also need to be spontaneous about finding something else to do if your first choice isn't available.

I'm pretty Type-A, and I have everything planned out for our vacation so that my wife has a magical, stress-free experience. But if she doesn't feel like doing what I've planned, we can go off and be spontaneous and do whatever we want, with the understanding that once we go off-book, we may be turned away from some things. For example, if we feel like bagging park plans one day and going to Downtown Disney, or a water park, or maybe even just staying at the hotel, we can do that. But we're not going to be able to say, "Hey, let's go meet Anna & Elsa today." It's just not going to happen, and we get that. But she has the CHOICE. That's what planning gets you. You get to have a choice, whereas if you show up without planning, you get what's available.

This is all my long-winded way of saying, don't let advanced planning stress you out. You CAN still be spontaneous, no matter what anyone tells you. For me, doing the planning in advance HELPS us be spontaneous the day-of. This isn't just with Disney, this is LIFE. You don't plan in advance, you get what's available.

 

[TaylorsDad]

At one time I would have agreed that planning our WDW trip was half the fun, but not anymore. Due to all the changes it requires more and more planning to get the most out of our trip. I sometimes wonder if it will get to the point that we will have to schedule our bathroom breaks 60 days out.

 

[kathie859]

I agree with the poster who mentioned any vacation requires some level of planning. Some people are more easy going and not into planning but when I travel--whether it be a Disney trip, a trip abroad or a domestic vacation, I like to have an idea of what's available and what I plan on doing each day. I don't like to waste my time or money ANYWHERE. And knowing what to expect reduces the stress factor immensely.

 

[DisneyFive]

If my first ever visit to WDW was with FP+, I think I would be a little overwhelmed!

It was hard enough our first year (2010) just to gather the info to determine our park days, and then figure out when and where we wanted to schedule our ADR's. Throw on top of that the ability to schedule your FP's!

FP+ is a double edge sword, great in some areas (knowing you have your rides booked), and stressful(too much planning) in others.

All this prebooking just makes it very hard to change plans on the fly, especially when you've been able to get the very popular ADR's or FP+'s

Dan

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

My observation is that the stress comes from the person, not the vacation.

I'd have to agree with this. When I am there, if things don't go as planned, oh well. I'm still in Disney and I love it. I love planning too though so I am biased. To those that don't love planning, I could see how it would be more stressful when you get there.

 

[BudgieMama]

I enjoy planning, so I don't find that stressful. We wouldn't be travelling to WDW for a veg out holiday. We want to be busy, and have fun, and pack plenty into our time off.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

At one time I would have agreed that planning our WDW trip was half the fun, but not anymore. Due to all the changes it requires more and more planning to get the most out of our trip. I sometimes wonder if it will get to the point that we will have to schedule our bathroom breaks 60 days out.

I agree. I don't find planning a Disney vacation stressful per se (type A gal that I am, I do find a certain amount of pre-planning actually enjoyable), but it has become WAY too regimented for our family.

Having to make rope drop to maximize rides, schedule where and when you want to eat six months before you arrive, booking ride times.....it lacks the spontaneity we crave on vacation. To make matters worse, something going not quite as planned (a family member not feeling well on a particular day, or particularly bad weather) can throw things completely out of whack.

Every moment of our day-to-day regular life is scheduled, or so it seems. Jobs, school, sports, doctor/dentist/vet appointments, volunteer commitments, you name it. When I take a break from the daily grind and actually get away, I want it to be fun and relaxing and easy. Disney might hit the "fun" part, but relaxing and easy it is not. And yes, I know many will insist this is incorrect as you can skip table service meals and rides (so no ADR's and no FP+'s needed) and just "soak up the atmosphere", but for the price of a Disney ticket, I would sure want more than just the atmosphere. If the food and rides are both taken out of the equation, then I can enjoy the atmosphere and the "feeling" of many other locations without a huge capital output.

Friends of mine are in Orlando right now, enjoying their very first Florida vacation with their 4 kids (ages 3-12). Their itinerary includes Magic Kingdom, Discovery Cove, SeaWorld and Aquatica. So far, they have been to the first three (Aquatica is tomorrow), and in the order listed. I got a Facebook message on Monday from them, after their day at MK, and they were miserable. I will spare you the details, and simply acknowledge that their lack of pre-planning yielded a less than spectacular day. The other two parks? An absolute hit. They have been raving about how much fun they had, how less crowded it was, how enjoyable and relaxing their days were. They rode rides, saw shows, dined until they were bursting....all with no advance planning needed (except picking a date for their DC reservation). I know this family well, and strongly suggested (even begged!) that they avoid Disney (since I knew they would be unwilling to research so extensively, pre-book everything and be slaves to FP+ and ADR ressies) but they didn't listen. There are folks cut out for that touring style, and some that aren't. Neither one is right or wrong, but I think its important to know your personal limits and schedule your vacation accordingly.

 

[POLY1985]

I chose it's not stressful. I love to plan so when I have an upcoming trip, the first thing I do is plan what per park. Then I pick my ADR's based on park day. I make sure each family member gets one restaurant pick. Now with FP+ I can get the three most important rides in with no worry. We are rope drop people so anything not covered with the 3 FP's we will get at rope drop. And yes I used the old FP system but hated having to run all the way to the other end of the park to get it.

 

[robinb]

I voted: ADRs and FP+ forces me to plan, there is too much to do and too little time, WDW is too busy & "other". The "other" is that we need to get up early and get to rope drop to get anything done. Unfortunately, my family revolts after a few days of burning the candles at both ends even with a mid-day nap/rest and we end up at the parks after rope drop and they are crowded and I get grumpy .

We also go at the busiest of times and I always feel like I need to "work the system" to get a decent vacation within a sea of humanity. I was the queen of FP- hoarding and last December we were the royalty of double-dipping. By the time December rolls around I will be the queen of FP+. Sadly all that planning sucks all the spontaneity out of a WDW vacation and also makes it harder to "roll with the punches" when something goes wrong. The days of standing at the bus stop and taking the first bus to arrive to a random park are over .

Compare that to my last Spring Break vacation of a couple weeks ago. We took a 7-day NCL cruise to Honduras, Belize & Mexico. The extent of my planning was to prebook excursions in the first 2 ports and to join my Cruise Critic roll call and plan for the meet and greet. We had plenty of things to do on the ship with nightly entertainment and 2-3 meals a day (we had lunch away from the ship our 4 days in port) too many things to do on sea days. It was truly relaxing.

 

[kwdw]

I love to do the planning - that's part of the fun for me. But with FP+ == I do believe having great experiences at the parks requires using that system effectively. (well, after the "magic time" at rope drop)

The STRESSFUL part, however, is that my traveling companion does NOT like his vacation pre-planned - hence he frequently wants to deviate from the plan I made. (He refuses to help with pre-planning.) And now - with both ADRs and FP+ - that has lead to a couple very negative touring days doing what he wanted to do that day because "he didn't realize" how hard not having ADR's and FP+ would be.

I'm HOPING to remind him of those negative days while planning the next trip so he either agrees to stick to the plan I make or agree to be part of the planning in the first place.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think FP+ is pushing things to a breaking point of planning stress for a lot of people. Look at the ruckus today.

But even on a normal day, trying to get your FPs, fit them in with your ADRs, then look for fireworks and parades if you want them at some unknown date when Disney finally loads them, BOG, on and on. Too much.