Disney Sour Grapes

[sapdaddy2]

We love the research just as much as actually being at WDW. We have been so many times we know what we want to see or do. The next trip is in AUG 2015 for a land and sea. Never been on a cruise so that is requiring more research that just going to the parks. We don't like to plan each day out, we sometimes just decide where to go based on which bus arrives at the bus stop first. FP+ will probably not work very well for us for the most part. I may just use it for the next day if we know what park we want to hit. Even at WDW we just take it easy and take our time. I would rather see 4 rides and relax than 10 rides and be exhausted.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I was really disappointed at first about the May 28 date since we leave May 26 and I can't extend our trip. But with 50,000 FPs, I think lI might have a better chance of riding a soft opening. And now I have an excuse for another WDW trip!!! I'm looking forward to Star Wars weekend and so much fun with my family!

As much as I plan, plan, plan... I'm making this trip easier with Feel the Force Premium seating for the Star Wars parade, less table service, added park hopping, and scheduling down time for the resort and pool. Having been a few times before, this May trip will be less rushed and "commando" style!

 

[Nancyg56]

That is how we roll. I usually book ADR's for meals and plan parks, as wel a a starting place in each park. i list the times of shows we really want to see, but we use the resort a lot as well. I never worry about what we do not do, only what we do experience. Honestly, I was shocked at myself that morning when my DH hauled my surly little self to the side and basically told me to knock it off. You see, we were with my Sis IL, who was used to commando touring, and I was racing right along with her, dragging my little DGD to the next attraction while her Mom and Dad, Aunt and Uncle were trailing behind. DH was pretty much as annoyed as I have ever seen him, and he pt a stop to that pronto, thank goodness!

Lesson learned, right up front. We had a blast the rest of the trip, and still continue to tour in a leisurely manner. Remember the attractions are a very small part of Disney Magic.

 

[AthenaBolina]

I love all the planning too, I've been doing it since February when we booked our trip. However, today as I was making the upteenth change to our itinerary on a word document, I kind of had an epiphany. I know we're not going to follow it to a tee, so I took out ALL the times I had put in there except for the FP+ times. I know we won't want to do all of that, or can't do all of it, so I am going to have us follow a general schedule and then we will deviate from that. I know we wont go back for years, it's been four years already for us, so I want us to enjoy it.

Don't get me wrong, i LOVE the planning, it's fun for me, but I also wish it wasnt so structured of a trip. This is also why we didn't get DDP, only QS/CSDP. I did however book 3 ADRS (Yak & Yeti, Mama Melrose Fantasmic Pkg and Raglan Road), and yes, I know it would have been more cost effective for the DDP. But we would be miserable if we were tied down to table service every day, it's not our style. Plus my kids would get bored. We like to eat quick when we are on vacation, not linger.

Either way, I am looking forward to our trip in 3 weeks. Right about now we will be rolling into our resort on the DME, and we are so excited!

 

[wendybeth75]

I love the planning. To me it is almost like part of the vacation. I get to start enjoying my vacation 6 months early!

 

[Sammie]

I love the planning, and as someone said, if there comes a day when it's no longer loads of fun, I would go somewhere else.

There is no mandate that says, One Must Go To Disney World.

There is lot to see elsewhere in this world, which is why I never understand why people get so upset over it and the changes, etc.

 

[Misha72683]

It's funny, we're planning out first trip (still 1.5 years away) and my husband and I have such different reactions.

I'm a planner. I love that I'll be able to plan out every detail. When we go on vacation, I make-up schedules, bring along a travel binder, etc. Disney is perfect for me. I'm in heaven already figuring things out.

My husband on the other hand likes to go with the flow. He hates vacations where you have to plan the details months in advance. He went to GenCon last year and he hated the scheduling aspect. In fact, I was the one who made all of his bookings because I like that kind of thing. I think my husband is dreading Disney a little bit because he thinks it will be super micro managed.

 

[Nancyg56]

It's funny, we're planning out first trip (still 1.5 years away) and my husband and I have such different reactions. I'm a planner. I love that I'll be able to plan out every detail. When we go on vacation, I make-up schedules, bring along a travel binder, etc. Disney is perfect for me. I'm in heaven already figuring things out. My husband on the other hand likes to go with the flow. He hates vacations where you have to plan the details months in advance. He went to GenCon last year and he hated the scheduling aspect. In fact, I was the one who made all of his bookings because I like that kind of thing. I think my husband is dreading Disney a little bit because he thinks it will be super micro managed.

My husband sounded like yours before our first trip with my lovely DGD. I He complained that all I did was live on the computer, arranging things compulsively. And they we had the vacation we had never dreamed was possible. My entire family had a wonderful, stressfree time. He is the biggest preplanning Disney cheerleader, telling anyone who is going how important it is to just plan a little ahead. We are not super structured once we arrive, but we sure do put some effort into the trip ahead of time so that once we step onto that plane, we are good to go!

 

[JimmyV]

Basically I love the planning but thankfully I've gone 20 times and i know all of the ins and outs. It's the newbies that I feel bad for.

And there it is! This is a planning and strategies board. It self-filters into a community of people who have been to WDW many times and love the pre-planning aspect of the vacation. Is it any wonder that so many people don't agree with the original premise? Imagine the reaction that would ensue if someone went to a Wine Connoisseur website and posted that wine has gotten too expensive and that beer is the better beverage. Horrors! Sometimes I get the sense that people subliminally like the complexity of planning Disney vacations because they know that most people aren't doing that, and by doing all that planning, they gain a distinct advantage. Then they say: "You don't really have to plan. You can wing it'. Well, it is in the planner's best interest to have other people not plan. That preserves their advantage.

What people once may have stumbled upon organically, they now have to plan to recreate. Once upon a time, people passed by 'Ohana and said: "That looks interesting. Let's eat there." Hard as it is to believe, it did happen. And those people didn't wait 75 minutes as walk-ups. And ADRs used to be available 30 days out. Then 60. Then 180. Then 180+10. It is hard to argue that this is a positive change or one that first time guests would find intuitive. Sure, it is easy to say to someone that if they don't like to plan then they should go somewhere else. Or that they don't have to plan in order to do everything that they want to do. But that does ignore the truth that spontaneity ain't what it used to be.

 

[msdroz]

I have to admit that I also love the planning and it just gets me more excited about our trip on a daily basis. In fact, I know I will go through planning withdrawal when our trip is over since we won't go back for several years. With that said... I am trying to take all of my planning with a grain of salt. I don't always know what I am doing 3 days from now, let alone 180 days from now. Not to mention that going during the rainy season will probably change most of my plans and I'm going in with that expectation so hopefully I won't be too disappointed.

 

[kaybird]

Does anyone just get tired of all the planning required for a WDW trip? It's getting insane with ADR's, fast passes, extra costs for premium seating at parades. I have no idea why it took Disney do long to announce an opening date for 7DMT except it's probably just hype to draw more guests in June. Does it really take that long to build and open a "kiddie" coaster? I don't even care if I get a soft opening ride. I'm sure BTMRR and EE will be much more fun to ride. More and more, WDW seems less about the customer experience and much more about taking your money. Yes, I know it's a business. I'm excited about Star Wars weekend but this is probably our last trip. going on a cruise or beach vacation is much easier to plan and more relaxing.

Not me! Love the planning, still love our spontaneous trips! Can't wait for 7DMT, think it will be awesome! Love the beach too, so hope you have a great time wherever you go.

 

[Disneychick75]

I agree with the poster. Disney is becoming a job. I LOVE Disney and will continue going but it's changing. If your older and don't have the right phone good luck working out your trip. My daughter was on her phone changing fast pass times and dinner reservations. If I was alone with my husband I don't think we would get any fast passes. This system is geared for the young. Disney is like my kids. I love them to death but the make me very angry at times. So to vent your feelings on all the changes Disney is making is okay. The Disney I remember from the day it opened is not the Disney I see today. As always money comes into play. That said I will continue the abuse and book each trip like it's my first.

I always say Disney is work and it's why I include Universal onsite for a few days at the end of our trips. That's the vacation.

Adding that I always enjoyed the planning aspect of the trips. Wasn't thrilled with having to plan ADRs in advance but I got over it. Now, I'm annoyed with FP+ planning. Don't know if I will get over that one. We've traveled all over the world and have never had to plan to this extent.

 

[Bullseye]

The answer is to quit going...and we have

Just curious...why would you hang out on a Disney Forum if you don't go to Disney anymore??

Yes, it takes a lot of planning. But in all reality, at least for us, it's really no different than before. Yes, I make FP+ choices now...but I'm actually using more FPs than I did before.

The only difference I see is picking your FP+ at the sixty day mark. Other than that everything is exactly the same. Booking rooms early and waiting for park hours to come out has been a regular planning activity for years. Scheduling ADR's at the 180 day mark is nothing new. The only thing stressful was that 7DMT mess the other day and even that wasn't that stressful.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

You absolutely do not need to plan anything other than the "must do" meals. Plenty of people report getting FP+ for every attraction they want the day that they go to the parks. This is really a non-issue.

 

[MelissathePooh]

People "do" Disney differently and for some of us all the changes have really had a negative impact on how we like to vacation there. We are all products of our own experiences. We have seen the good and the bad and so it is easier to understand than I think it must be for people who haven't seen the bad yet. Easier to believe that it is a result of our own unreal expectations or lack of planning or whatever than to believe our beloved Disney could have caused it.

We are all subject to our experience and I totally understand being turned off by Disney. Heck - our disgruntled feelings go all the way back to the the origins of the Disney Dining Plan. That was the start of the downfall to us, lol! Most people here LOVE thet DDP - go figure...

So we have gone other places and LOVE going to Disneyland. Aulani was amazing. We're going back to WDW in 3 weeks for SWW specifically. We are a little trapped by being DVC members, but I suspect we'll be using our points other places in the future. And we have grown to love Universal.