Complaint? Disney is to stressful and complicated

[justhat]

We are Disney veterans. We were ap holders for years, from 2001-2009. Took at least 4 trips/year back then. January 2010 we had our 3rd kid and later that year we moved from DC to AZ. So between the increased cost with an extra kid and the further flights, we significantly cut back on our WDW trips (and now we do DL instead!).

We have a trip planned for this June. Last WDW trip was 7/2012. I can honestly say this is the first time in my life I am stressed over a WDW trip and honestly, a lot of the excitement that came with planning is gone and just feels like a chore and a source of stress. Part of it is that we are traveling with extended family (meaning ADRs and FP are harder to book), but even the days that are just my family are proving to be a challenge. I couldn't get ADRs that I wanted over 90 days out. Had to book A&E FP+ at 9pm opening night to be sure we could get the day we wanted for our party size, then have back up plans in case I couldn't. Even had to order what I want to eat for lunch for our BOG lunch 58 days in advance!

We travel a lot. Last year we spent a month in Europe, part of that time on DCL B2B cruises. We go skiing out of state 1-2 times a year, do a beach vacation, more local 4 day trips, etc. This WDW trip is by far more work for me than any of the above!! Sure, for Europe we had to book entry tickets to big attractions before we left, but that was simplified by "cruise stops in city X on day 3, so we need our Vatican tickets for that day". Done. Palo reservations, picked a night where we didn't have early excursions and done. Brunch? Any morning we wanted. We had an advantage that we were in a Cat R so we could send all our stuff to concierge to book for us at 120 days, but still took us maybe 30 minutes to figure it all out. When we go skiing it is "want to go to Colorado this year?" Then we pick a city, book a resort, and show up. Never an issue to get dinner reservations that day or the next day. We went to San Diego last fall and again, picked a hotel and showed up. Go there and decided to go to legoland the next day so we did. Then that night decided the zoo would be next. Then at the zoo we got the 2 park pass to go to the wild animal park the next day. Dinner every night was pretty much an open door.

We have family in New Jersey and New Orleans. When we go there, should we want a nice restaurant in NYC or Nola, yeah, we would need a reservation. But that is more for the high end or very popular places. And they don't ask you to choose your order in advance! You could still get a sit down place as walk-ins without difficulty. Same in DC. Sure, some times of the year it was better to get museum admission for certain ticketed parts in advance. Like the Washington monument. But plenty to do without huge waits and no reservation. Not the case in WDW. I needed to switch some of ours around around 60 days and had great difficulty even breaking it down to smaller party sizes. And if we miss a meal and don't cancel a day ahead, then we get a cancellation fee. So we can't just decide to change our plans mid-day without penalty. I fully agree with canceling, we always did in the past before the fee was instituted, but sometimes that was a few hours out when we decided to head to a water park for the afternoon or whatever.

I think that is what makes it stressful for people. Too much to plan too far in advance. And if you don't/can't, then good luck eating more than counter service or getting on rides past 10am.

 

[justhat]

What's stressful to me is walking into a park with a family member saying "I want to do this" and I have to tell them, sorry, but we didn't choose that for our FP 2 months ago, and the standby line is too long." Or having someone say "I had fun at Epcot the other day. Let's go back there today" and I have to say "Sorry, we didn't choose our FPs for that park today and the good ones are gone."

This, exactly. I feel like I can't deviate from our plan once we are there cause there won't be valid options.

 

[SuperRob]

This, exactly. I feel like I can't deviate from our plan once we are there cause there won't be valid options.

Define "valid". There is so much to do at Walt Disney World that doesn't involved riding the E-Tickets eight times in a row or dining in the most popular restaurant at the most popular time ... if you don't find the remaining options "valid", you might have your expectations set too high. Edit: To be fair, Hollywood Studios can be tough to be spontaneous in.

That said ...

I get that many people don't want to have to plan on their vacations. I understand that entirely. But let me see if I can explain it in a way that makes sense. Would you go to the airport this weekend and expect to be able to book a flight to a popular destination at some exact time? I think most people would understand that no, you're not going to do this. Most people understand that a popular restaurant in Times Square probably won't have a table for a walk-up customer. You might try, but you're expecting to hear a No. This is reasonable.

So why do people think they can go to the Number 1 Vacation Destination in the Entire Freakin' World (tm) ... with NO plans made in advance, and be able to do all of the popular stuff? There is some weird entitlement mentality going on here that I really don't understand.

You can be spontaneous at Walt Disney World. I do it every trip. But you can only be SO spontaneous if you want to do the same things THOUSANDS of other people want to do.

I booked an ADR for Be Our Guest to make sure we can eat there. If my wife decides she wants to go to a different park, or maybe eat somewhere else instead, I'll gladly eat the $10 for the reservation (I'll call and cancel, of course), so that we can have that spontaneity. But if she DOES want to go to the most popular restaurant, it's covered. I'd rather put in the time now to prevent a possible disappointment, because it gives us flexibility.

 

[disneyshea]

It's not stressful so far since I LOVE research and planning vacations. This will be our first family Disney vacation and I just want us all to enjoy the experience. I've taken lots of advice from many on this board and have a plan but realize (as with other vacations) that plans sometimes go out the window once you're in the middle of them. I like the idea of FP+ since we are guaranteed to get on the rides that we have selected as musts. We have some ADRs, mostly for lunch, but plan to be flexible otherwise. I also have mid-afternoon breaks in the plan. I'm just optimistic at this point. We always have a good time on vacation.

 

[nat8199]

The most stressful idea to me is walking into a park and all three kids having a different idea of what to do first, or no idea, and DH looking to me because he is useless. At least with a plan I have answers!!!

 

[ZoZo]

I think people can choose to have a stressful vacation, a busy vacation, an exhausting vacation or a relaxing vacation. I know people who love to rocket through the parks every day, from RD to close, and others who meander from place to place,taking in whatever occurs. For me, Disney is not stressful or exhausting, but my family rolls that way.

It is very easy to fall into the "do it all, minute by minute plan, no room for deviation" mindset, and if that works for you, it's okay. I worry that a lot of people tend to believe that if they do not plan to the max, they will not get their "vacation's worth'" and that is my idea of stressful.

This. I think a lot of it has to do with your attitude.

 

[ZoZo]

Define "valid". There is so much to do at Walt Disney World that doesn't involved riding the E-Tickets eight times in a row or dining in the most popular restaurant at the most popular time ... if you don't find the remaining options "valid", you might have your expectations set too high. Edit: To be fair, Hollywood Studios can be tough to be spontaneous in.

That said ...

I get that many people don't want to have to plan on their vacations. I understand that entirely. But let me see if I can explain it in a way that makes sense. Would you go to the airport this weekend and expect to be able to book a flight to a popular destination at some exact time? I think most people would understand that no, you're not going to do this. Most people understand that a popular restaurant in Times Square probably won't have a table for a walk-up customer. You might try, but you're expecting to hear a No. This is reasonable.

So why do people think they can go to the Number 1 Vacation Destination in the Entire Freakin' World (tm) ... with NO plans made in advance, and be able to do all of the popular stuff? There is some weird entitlement mentality going on here that I really don't understand.

You can be spontaneous at Walt Disney World. I do it every trip. But you can only be SO spontaneous if you want to do the same things THOUSANDS of other people want to do.

I booked an ADR for Be Our Guest to make sure we can eat there. If my wife decides she wants to go to a different park, or maybe eat somewhere else instead, I'll gladly eat the $10 for the reservation (I'll call and cancel, of course), so that we can have that spontaneity. But if she DOES want to go to the most popular restaurant, it's covered. I'd rather put in the time now to prevent a possible disappointment, because it gives us flexibility.

Wow - well said! I totally agree.

 

[ebradley23]

I have found planning this vacation to be one of the most stressful trips I've ever planned. That includes planning multiple European trips and a trip to Costa Rica while 24 months pregnant. It's all my fault though. I'm spending way too much time obsessing. It's our first trip to WDW since having our son (will be nearly 3 at time of travel), so I want it to be perfect. When it was just DH and myself, we didn't plan our trips to WDW. We just went non-stop while there.

Once we're there, I won't be stressed. My philosophy is there is no such thing as a bad vacation. Even when not so great stuff happens, it makes for a good story later.

 

[ArwenMarie]

What's stressful to me is walking into a park with a family member saying "I want to do this" and I have to tell them, sorry, but we didn't choose that for our FP 2 months ago, and the standby line is too long." Or having someone say "I had fun at Epcot the other day. Let's go back there today" and I have to say "Sorry, we didn't choose our FPs for that park today and the good ones are gone."

Yep. With the paper FPs, every day was a new day. If a day got wrecked for whatever reason, or, on the brighter side if you wanted to make changes because people were having so much fun, you could always start fresh the next day. Just get there for rope drop.

 

[sethschroeder]

Update - 190 voters - 98 not stressful - 92 stressful in some combination

 

[nat8199]

Update - 190 voters - 98 not stressful - 92 stressful in some combination

Yes, but my vote doesn't count, and I imagine some others, as well! Not everyone funds planning because there is too much to do or because they need ADRs stressful. It just is what it is! This was a totally biased poll!

It needs to be posted again with just 2 options... too stressful or not.

 

[sethschroeder]

Define "valid". There is so much to do at Walt Disney World that doesn't involved riding the E-Tickets eight times in a row or dining in the most popular restaurant at the most popular time ... if you don't find the remaining options "valid", you might have your expectations set too high. Edit: To be fair, Hollywood Studios can be tough to be spontaneous in.

That said ...

I get that many people don't want to have to plan on their vacations. I understand that entirely. But let me see if I can explain it in a way that makes sense. Would you go to the airport this weekend and expect to be able to book a flight to a popular destination at some exact time? I think most people would understand that no, you're not going to do this. Most people understand that a popular restaurant in Times Square probably won't have a table for a walk-up customer. You might try, but you're expecting to hear a No. This is reasonable.

So why do people think they can go to the Number 1 Vacation Destination in the Entire Freakin' World (tm) ... with NO plans made in advance, and be able to do all of the popular stuff? There is some weird entitlement mentality going on here that I really don't understand.

You can be spontaneous at Walt Disney World. I do it every trip. But you can only be SO spontaneous if you want to do the same things THOUSANDS of other people want to do.

I booked an ADR for Be Our Guest to make sure we can eat there. If my wife decides she wants to go to a different park, or maybe eat somewhere else instead, I'll gladly eat the $10 for the reservation (I'll call and cancel, of course), so that we can have that spontaneity. But if she DOES want to go to the most popular restaurant, it's covered. I'd rather put in the time now to prevent a possible disappointment, because it gives us flexibility.

Exactly what I think, no one forces you to use your ADR or FP+. You have the ability to switch but at 180 or 60 days out grab the ones that are most popular. I grab a table at BOG and California Grill so we had a spot if we decided to go, personally I could skip BOG all together but if we are in the mood I want the ability to be "flexible" and eat there.

I guess it could be the time of year I am going now but when I went last year from July 7-15 we had no issue getting any ADR we desired when we were there. Did we go at 6PM in MK or 8PM in Epcot? No but personally I would prefer to shutdown a restaurant at Disney to avoid a little bit of the dinner rush anyways. Heck you could say my local Applebees or Olive Garden is worse than WDW at least at WDW I can do a reservation at those two you can show up on a Friday night and have a 2-3 hour wait.... and thats not exactly the happiest place on earth lol and partly why we skip those places as well.

 

[sethschroeder]

Yes, but my vote doesn't count, and I imagine some others, as well! Not everyone funds planning because there is too much to do or because they need ADRs stressful. It just is what it is! This was a totally biased poll!

It needs to be posted again with just 2 options... too stressful or not.

What are you guys talking about, there is a TOTAL voters number.

Total voters MINUS non-stressful voters EQUALS stressed voters

EDIT:
Also while you might vote for 3 stressful options you only count as 1 voter.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

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.

I was just about to suggest DCL!
We find a Disney cruise to be everything we love about Disney but without the long lines and mobbed crowds. Yes, there are some lines but not for everything like it is as WDW. We see characters all over the ship and when they're out for picture ops, it's a way shorter line.
There's plenty to do for those who like to stay busy, or just veg in the sun and watch the ocean pass by.
Overall, it's a more intimate feel and a higher level of service. Our room is cleaned twice per day and our dining room servers call us by name, even our kids. By the end of the week, we're all hugging with sad good byes.
I'd highly recommend it to anyone who loves Disney but it sick of the park crowds & running around.

 

[Aliceacc]

Disney is only as stressful as you allow it to be.

I get a huge kick out of planning. This is where I go to fight stress, not find it. When I can't look at another math test or quiz, when I'm not in the mood to do any school planning, when I'm not in the mood to do the laundry or housework that's calling my name, I go online to the Disboards.

That said, there's no one ride, no one attraction, that has the power to "MAKE" my trip. If we get onto the Mine Train this summer, cool. If not, then all those people on that line will be people NOT ahead of me on whichever other attraction I choose. So it's not something that stresses me out.

Likewise, we were fortunate enough to get ADRs for both the MK Dessert party and dinner at BOG, along with the other ADRs we wanted. Wonderful-- our travel agent was right on top of things and phoned them in at 7am. Had we not gotten them, we would have eaten elsewhere.

She was also on top of things when Visa opened up the summer discounts. We switched from the Beach Club to the Yacht Club and saved just over $1000. Had there not been a discount of any type, we were prepared to pay the higher price. But I must say I'm still doing the happy dance over the extra $1000 in our vacation account.

It's an amusement park. It's not a biopsy, not a pregnancy test, not even a road test. It's a vacation at an amusement park.

If it's stressing you out, you should probably be looking at other places to vacation.

And, as far as the accuracy of the poll goes: keep in mind, the sample is skewed. Those people who see a commercial, call Disney and book a vacation never even hear of the Disboards. They don't get to vote. They're not at all stressed-- they have no idea what any of these abbreviations mean. They show up and begin their vacations. No stress, no endless days of haunting the boards. They just show up and go on vacation. And some have a marvelous time, never knowing or caring about what they've missed that others consider vital to a WDW trip.

If you're looking for an unbiased sampling, try asking every third person to go through the turnstiles all day long on the first day of every month for a year or two. Don't look at people who choose a website that's all about planning for Disney.

 

[scrappinam]

I've never felt stressed at Disney. Actually the complete opposite. We go hardcore. Open to close everyday but it has always been about being together with zero interruptions. Nothing outside of the Disney property matters. We usually go in with a plan but once we are there if we stick with the plan great, if not that's fine too. I have never walked away with regret of not getting to do something.

THIS! We go hardcore too. But it is relaxing for us because we tune out all outside distractions. Everything is about spending time as a family and any thing that doesn't revolve around disney will just have to wait until we get home. So for us it is relaxing, tiring but relaxing.

 

[sethschroeder]

THIS! We go hardcore too. But it is relaxing for us because we tune out all outside distractions. Everything is about spending time as a family and any thing that doesn't revolve around disney will just have to wait until we get home. So for us it is relaxing, tiring but relaxing.

Disney is the only place I am able to get away from my job completely. If I take long weekends or days off I always have to be plugged in. Disney is the one place where I can turn off my work email from updating, sign out of Lync, and disconnect my office line call forwarding.

 

[Aliceacc]

Disney is the only place I am able to get away from my job completely.

Not me. I can pretty much bet you a dollar that either my husband or I will run into a current or former student.

In 2012, he ran into a former student as we were entering Epcot on our first day. A week later, one of my former students had a daughter in the same YES class as my daughter.

It's not stressful; it's always nice running into graduates and hearing how they are. But it's pretty much an occupational hazard.

 

[Marilou]

Vacation: an extended period of recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling.

Recreation: activity done for enjoyment when one is not working.

By definition..... WDW is the perfect vacation for me! (and my entire family)

We had always planned ahead and enjoyed the planning process.
But even I can admit that FP+ takes a lil bit of the flexibility away if you really want to maximize your experience.

We dont need anymore free time to people watch or relax and enjoy the resorts.

We had already been in the habit of planning which park each day based on EMH and then we had an initial attack plan for the start of each day.

 

[sethschroeder]

Not me. I can pretty much bet you a dollar that either my husband or I will run into a current or former student.

In 2012, he ran into a former student as we were entering Epcot on our first day. A week later, one of my former students had a daughter in the same YES class as my daughter.

It's not stressful; it's always nice running into graduates and hearing how they are. But it's pretty much an occupational hazard.

Hahaha, ya my mom, aunt, great grandma were all teachers and I know my mom would always run into former students in all crazy places around the country on vacation.