Do you feel responsible for others' Disney vacation happiness when you give advice?

[disneyholic family]

i always feel responsible.....whether i give advice or not...
after all, they know we're psycho about the place so they always tell us they're going "to see for ourselves what the fuss is all about"..

recently, a close friend of mine told me she and her husband and 3 kids were going for the first time ever....

she told me they were going for 4 days over memorial day weekend and could i draw up a plan for them....(she had free rooms and flights due to frequent flyer miles)....
4 days????????? to do all 4 parks over a holiday weekend...
well i wanted to refuse...
i told her it was impossible...
but i relented, made up a plan for them....described every single ride to her and what were must sees and what to skip...etcetc..


so what happened? she LOVED it!!!! i was so thankful it had all worked out for them.....now she's a convert.....she's joined our fold...

 

[challer]

I am frequently asked by people in my community about how to make their Disney vacation work or work better - especially for the kosher-diet family. I do feel a responsibility, like you mentioned.

However, too many of these people still just don't "get it," and never will. I have learned to try not to advise these people too much on the details. It ends up going over their head anyway. Be very non-specific. (Advise which days to spend where, but no need to go into a touring plan from rope drop to fireworks.)

One of my friends just took his family there this week after meeting with me to help plan. It seemed like most of the stuff I recommended were not going to make it onto their itinerary, and they didn't seem to care if they missed too much. Whaddayagonnado?

 

[disneymom8589]

I totally know what you're saying! I'm kind of known as the "Disney Expert" with family, friends, and co-workers and people often come to me for vacation advice. I give them ideas, but then in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Well, we really like (fill-in-the-blank), but will so and so like it as much as we do?"

 

[Joshua_me]

yes, www.disney.com

oh, nevermind, you need a HELPFUL website!

Yeah. My friends and co-workers think of me as the 'Disney Oracle' (in their eyes) but I've learned over the years to keep the advice fairly generic.

After all, everyone's idea of the 'perfect vacation' is different, and rarely is any vacation 'perfect' to begin with...

I'm happy to answer specific questions, (ie- "What's the best way to get from the CBR to the Hoop de Doo ?") but when it comes down to things like "What's the best restaurant in Epcot ?" or " Will I really like the HoP ?"
they are pretty much on their own.

I made the mistake one time of telling someone I thought dinner at CRT was way over-priced and not worth it, only to hear for the next two months about how it was the highlight of their trip.

These days I just smile and nod.

 

[tlcoke]

I only give general information, but I have told them suggestions about time of year, The DISBoards, and how to find the best deal. I am willing to let them know how to find the best deals. Last winter, I had a friend who was at disney with her family, she texted me to ask directions to a off site restaurant we ate at down there last fall while attending a conference.

My boss was thinking of going the first week of August, but changed his mind to do something closer to home with his family, because he had never been there and was surprised at how big WDW is and didn't feel that they would have the time to do it right. He had only been to Universal once before years ago and wasn't impressed.

 

[dpuck1998]

I can usually judge how much info they want in a few minutes. If they seem pumped and are talking about where to stay, what to do, I'll toss some websites at them and tell them to contact me if I can help. When they start telling me about how they want to go to SeaWorld, Universal and Disney World on their 5 day trip, I say...have fun....and talk about the weather.

 

[RainbowWit]

My thought is this, Don't offer any advise unless asked, and when asked direct them to the DIS.

My lesson learned the hard way.

My Aunt and Uncle brought thier daughters and grandkids in April. They were just going to pick up and go, no planning what-so-ever. I told them they at least needed to plan some ADRs since they were doing the dining plan, and have a loose strategy for the parks. I gave some ressie suggestions but they of course waited too long, Plus didn't want to plan anything since there were so "many of them". They came back from a HORRIBLE time, and proceeded to tell me "Why didn't you tell us "this" and "that" and "the food was horrible for kids".
The only happiness you can have any control over is your own, everyone else needs to buck up and do the planning and research for themselves too. You can give some tips, but the biggest tip is always for me is "If you don't put in the forethought to get creme brulee you'll just get ketchup"

 

[Anjiebaby]

Today my esthetician and friend told me very excitedly that she has booked a trip to Disney World. I was so happy for her because she has a daughter same age as mine who loves Princesses and Fairies. The gears in my head started smoking what to tell her, where to start. So I started with the most important, she is going during free dining and is already in her 90 day window. She knew nothing about the parks, nothing about the restaurants so I helped her to decide which park she wanted to be in each day and made some suggestions. I left a couple days open and showed her where to find the restaurant choices and menus on wdwinfo.com. Next time I will bring her my Disney maps with the highlights geared to her and her daughter circled. That is most of what I will tell her.
There is so much more that it is overwhelming! Knowing too much and searching for certain things takes the wonder away from a first trip.

 

[Joshua_me]

The only happiness you can have any control over is your own...

^ I think that's excellent advice for life in general.