confess what is the dumbest/strangest misconception you ever had about wdw

[Mermaid02]

My husband thought WDW was just "an amusement park" now he knows that it is MUCH more than that!!

 

[k5thbeatle]

Some friends of ours thought that the Space Mountain roller coaster was what was inside the ball in Epcot.

 

[mommykds]

That is was just for kids.

 

[smt218]

I've got the best one ever! When I went to WDW for the first time 4 years ago I was under the impression that EPCOT was in "the ball"! Everytime you see EPCOT on televison they show Spaceship Earth so I always thought that EPCOT was this huge golf ball looking park. When we pulled up to EPCOT that first day I said, out loud, "how do they fit everything into that ball. It sure is small" The three friends I was with asked what I was talking about and when I explained they laughed SO hard at me. I can't believe I was so silly!

When I was younger, I thought the same thing. This was before i knew anything about Disney World. But you're right, that's all you would see of Epcot on TV was the huge golf ball. Glad I wasn't the only one.

 

[daannzzz]

I didn't know much about WDW beause I always went to Disneyland. I had the Disney Channel off and on back in the 80's and 90's an got fleeting glimpses off WDW that I didn't pay much attention to because I never thought I would get to go.
I had the impression that Epcot was across the lake (Bay lake I found out later) from the Contemporary resort. I thought you could see the countrys that were all arranged along the shore of the lake!!!

I also thought that the Grand Floridian and the Yacht Club were the same resort. I remember seeing quick arial view of the Grand Floridian and then a couple years later an arial view of the Yach Club and I thought that they had remodeled the hotel!!!!

On my first trip in 1996 I figured I would stay in a cheap motel in Kissimmee but I would check the prices of the Polynesian and if it was around $100 per night I might splurge! (This was before I would spend more than $50 for a motel. I had paid $69 once and thoght that was high). Needless to say the first trip to WDW changed my spending patterns on hotels. We stayed at the CBR for $129 a night and the following year I was at the YC and the WL and the year after we did the GF!!!!

 

[DVC-Don]

My husband thought WDW was just "an amusement park" now he knows that it is MUCH more than that!!

Yep, that was me in 1996. I thought my DW was bats for wanting to spend 3 hours on a plane with our kids (and me) to go to an amusment park.

 

[fitzkerry]

As many have posted, the image of SpaceShip Earth in EPCOT is a visual impression that many have when they think of WDW. I did not realize how much what my youngest daughter saw on TV about WDW she remembered till we were planing a trip for her 5th birthday. On our way to her school each day we passed a waste treatment plant that has a dome on it that resembles Spaceship Earth, and sometimes smells less then perfect. When we drove past the day after we told her we were going to WDW she cried that she didn't want to go because it smelled. She thought that THAT was Epcot! She liked the real thing much better.

 

[cstraub]

While researching my first trip to WDW as an adult I used the Disney search engine to plan a trip. The cheapest I could come up with was about $10,000 for our family of five with no airfare.

Glad I figured out some things and realized that it doesn't have to be that expensive!

Also, thought Osbourne lights had to do with Ozzy Osbourne

 

[CamColt]

I thought you could go to WDW without planning. We did this on our honeymoon. While the trip was a good time, I now know I could have goten so much more out of it had I done some research.

And I do feel at this point, after so many trips, I could go with very little planning, however for my first trip as an adult, and my first trip after 9 years without seeing all the changes, I really could have used some planning.

 

[castleri]

Originally Posted by slk537
That there was nothing "special" about staying on property.

Then we did and everything changed.

Same here -
It was always looking for the best deal on 192 and wondered why people would spend so much more to be on property

Now I have three DVC contracts so I can always be in the middle of the magic if I want to when on a trip to WDW

 

[bjsmico]

I was totally blown away with the size of the whole WDW property. No idea they had all those ways of transportation and I can remember thinking OMG!!! This is a CITY!!!!

 

[sPaRkLeSpAz]

The first time I went to EPCOT, I thought it was going to be so dumb, and I kept trying to talk mama and daddy into another day at the Magic Kingdom. I love EPCOT now though!

 

[HappyLawyer]

mine is that i would never be addicted to disney- i failed on that one, i'm hooked

 

[freakylick]

You're not going to believe this one...I always thought Disney was perfect.

 

[Danemom]

I thought we were going to WDW once and just for the kids!!

And I thought there was a "window of opportunity" for WDW and kids. Too young or too old and they won't enjoy it. I'm glad we figured out otherwise!

 

[spereira]

I thought that you could walk from one resort to the other...say CBR to GF.... ....Boy was I wrong!!!!

 

[Troy08]

The first time I went I thought DW was in downtown Orlando.

 

[drcmk]

I assumed that the WDW hotel prices were so high because they included park admission. If only. Was there ever a time when staying at a WDW resort did include park admission?

 

[Disney Ella]

I knew IASW was a ride but for some reason I thought it was also the name of a kiddie section of rides. I don't know where I got that idea.

 

[dreamscometrue47]

Omigod!! I also couldn't figure out the connection between the Osbourne lights and Ozzie Osbourne! My kids had to "enlighten" me!

I also thought the first time we went back in the 70's, when we stayed offsite, that once we parked and got off the parking lot tram, that we would be at the entrance to MK! Boy was I upset that we STILL had to wait in line for the monorail or the ferry at the TTC....

But now when I stay onsite, i still do miss riding the ferry to the TTC, with the castle changing colors in the distance...so beautifully peaceful, with a little one on your lap telling you that "this is the best day of my life."