Four main types of Disney tourists

[Mousemommy1]

Our family is definitely a 1/2 hybrid, trending towards more 2 than 1. LOVE relaxing at the resorts!

 

[magicbob]

Hybrid of #1 and #2. We lean more towards #2 these days, but when in the parks, we often stay more than 5 hours, and never only 3 hours.

 

[CWdreamer]

I guess my family doesn't fit.

We are a family that plans out about 60 percent of our time. We plan some meals, but not all. We go to the parks most days, but do to have the commando attitude. Maybe you need a 5th category. The experienced partial planner.

That's my family too!

 

[jess1662]

I guess my family doesn't fit. We are a family that plans out about 60 percent of our time. We plan some meals, but not all. We go to the parks most days, but do to have the commando attitude. Maybe you need a 5th category. The experienced partial planner.

This is our family! I do mega-research ahead of time (but mostly just as a way to get excited before a trip and experience the Disney Magic in between trips). But then we don't actually do half the stuff I plan for In the years we do a dining plan, we schedule ADRs, but some years we do mostly QS. We never miss a day in the parks! But rope drop stresses me out way too much.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I'm category 2. I go to relax at the resort. We will do 1 park day for every 3 days So a 7 day stay would get 2 park days.

 

[tfc3rid]

#2 and #3...I make 4-5 2 night weeknight stay trips per year, maybe one longer stay during F&W... DVC Member and live in GA so can get airfare less than $100 RT.

 

[Nayan]

2 and 3. I'm a local (live an hour away), stay over (usually a couple nights), spend some time in the park but also enjoy the resorts and the other things to do besides the parks and dining.

 

[soccer mom]

We are solidly #2's at this point in our lives (young at heart and retired). It as been a progression over the years to get to where we are (and loving it). We raised four kids and started out as #1's. When we realized that Disney wasn't going to have to be a once in a life time trip, we slowly turned into a mixed of #1 & #2. We were just blessed with of first two (of many we hope) grandchildren this month and can see ourselves slipping back into the comfortable #1 & #2 mix in a few years.....can't wait!

 

[BillyBuckner]

I am a #1 and the rest of the family are #2 so that leads to some interesting conflicts.

But seriously, we all like to do some Table Service, but I often get frustrated by the time it takes. We used to stay value or moderate, We bought DVC last year because we are a family of 5 and won't fit in a moderate any more, and our youngest still needs naps so we need some resort time.

But when we are in the parks (and not eating) I try to invoke the commando thing.

 

[2012DisneyWorldBride]

We are definitely category 3... We are AP and go at least twice a month for the day. We have also been known to only go for a dining reservation or only for a few hours before doing other things in Orlando just to get our Disney fix. We also go for just the day for special events like F&W or F&G. We also usually stay at Disney resorts prob 3 times a year at least. We have also looked at DVC.

 

[Spriesty]

I guess my family doesn't fit.

We are a family that plans out about 60 percent of our time. We plan some meals, but not all. We go to the parks most days, but do to have the commando attitude. Maybe you need a 5th category. The experienced partial planner.

I think I'm with you. None of the 4 categories describe me (or my family.) We always stay onsite. We like to be at RD, but never stay all day at the parks. We plan out lots of general stuff way before we visit, but never plan the details - no ADR's for us. However, the parks are definitely the most important part of our trip - I would not be going to WDW if it weren't to spend the majority of my time at the parks themselves. I'm definitely not a local, nor am I "uninitiated." I do mega research before each and every trip. Granted, there have only been 7 or 8 trips, but I definitely know what I'm doing before each one.

Right there with you. We are definitely not commando, and we definitely aren't resort loungers. We aren't local, and we aren't uninitiated.

We're more of a WDW Casual (should be a new category). We like to stay at the nicer resorts. We get up early (not necessarily making rope drop), hang out in the parks for 5 or 6 hours, then generally take a break mid afternoon. Could be for the kids to take a nap or swim at the pool for a couple hours. Then we generally head to MK pretty much every evening, enjoy Wishes and pretty much walking onto the rides late at night, staying until closing or close to it.

Not many ADR's, but occasionally a few, depends on the trip.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

We are #2 all the way except for the park hours thing.

We are in the parks more than 5 hours per day. Just not commando at all.


I do love to plan our vacation just not down to the minute and we use TiW.


We take our time strolling from ride to ride, and know we are always going to be back because we are DVC.

We have days that we stay at the resort longer but that is usually only 1 or 2 days depending on how long our stay is and by the end of the day we are at a park for dinner and fun.


We have never seen everything in one trip and each trip has been different with a new favorite thing or restaurant to eat at.

Last trip we had so much fun playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and Via Napoli and Trails end became our favorite restaurant.

I am sure that will change on our next trip. It always does. .

Had to edit, the more I think about it we are not #1 at all.

.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Category 1: The Commando. The object of this type of tourist is to get the most theme park bang for their vacation buck. Knows how to take maximum advantage of the FP system. Often stays in the parks from RD until past closing. Typically stay off-site or in value resorts. Generally views table service dining as a waste of time and money. May come home sleep deprived.

This one 30 years ago but of course there was no FP

Category 2: The Resort Lounger. This type of tourist approaches Disney like an all-inclusive resort that happens to have theme parks. Typically stays on-site in a deluxe resort, DVC villa, or moderate resort. Opts for a lot of resort time and may only spend 3-5 hours per day at a park, some days skipping the parks entirely. Usually enjoys table service dining and is often either on a dining plan or has TIW.

slowly morphed to this after decades of several trips a year

Category 3: The Local. This type of tourist is relatively local to central Florida and typically visits multiple times per year. Usually an AP holder, they may come for a whole day, part of a day, or just for a special event (e.g., F&W, CP, etc.). They may also opt for multiple, short overnight trips (for example, they may be DVC owners who come several weekends per year).

Became this in the first move in 1998 and then again since 2008

Category 4: The Uninitiated. This type of tourist is often a first time visitor who hasn't put much thought into their trip. Often stays off-site during a peak season and arrives at the parks after 11 am. Has little knowlege of the relative popularity of attractions or the workings of the FP system. Likewise, has little knowledge of the relative popularity of restaurants or the workings of the ADR system.

Can't say I ever fit this category Family sat down with the Birnbaum book and highlighter pens for the first road trip from NY to WDW We even got excited stopping at " South of the Border" after all those comical road signs

Obviously, these aren't hard and fast categories, as many guests are likely a hybrid between at least two. Also, I've excluded certain categories of guests like tour groups, competition groups, and conventioners.

If you had to break down Disney guests by their dominant category, what do you think the ratio would be?

I can't even venture a guess on this one
What category most closely describes you?

I guess being a member of category 3 I usually land in the category 2...staying at CSR right now, first time there LOVE it, but my second home is at POP, not planning a park except EPCOT for Garden Grill tomorrow night definitely category 1 with family & friends from " up north "
Interesting thread brought back a lot of great memories of packing 2 little ones in the car for a 20 hr trip I miss that part of my life It was a lot of fun

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Looks like you need to reconsider your categories - no one belongs in any of them.

We have been #4, then we were #1, then we were #2. We now a hybrid of #1 and #2. We go for 2 weeks, stay moderate or deluxe, enjoy our time at the resorts, but still spend long days in the parks. We are going for the parks, not the resorts. In fact, if the parks weren't there, we would never even consider a stay at WDW resorts at their prices.

 

[dvcdisney]

Definitely #2 -

For my family, the resort and dining is just as important (or even more so, in some cases) than the Parks.

We always stay at DVC Villas (except once when we stayed at AKL - which so happens to be the year we bought DVC).

We usually have at least 2 TS meals per day because we prefer the food over quick service meals. Although we likely spend about 3hrs in restaurants each day (1.5hr for each TS), we don't feel like we're missing the parks. Our park plan is not specific but is generally scheduled around are ADRs.

I don't recall ever being there for rope drop. But we usually do stay until closing, except for MK - we usually leave before Wishes.

We usually take afternoon breaks at the resort and the kids prefer it this way. Sometimes, they don't even want to come back to the park. However, they don't have a problem if our ADR is in the park, then they're fine with that. If you knew us, it sounds quite strange that I'm saying this since we love thrill rides and enjoy even the more tamer rides.

We used to put a lot of importance on rides and getting on as many of our favourites as we can, but in the past 5 or so years, we've preferred to relax, enjoy the resort, dine in our favourite restaurants and treat it like a real vacation. (We went to Aulani (2wks) and Disneyland (1wk) this past summer and we enjoyed the "not so rushed" atmosphere.) We usually go to Disney World twice a year and 2 wks each time so we do have APs. In the past few years, we've been adding Disney Cruises and have enjoyed it.

 

[dwheaton]

If I was traveling solo, I'd be #1 all the way. I know that my time is limited, and I live in Missouri, so I want to do everything I can at the parks.

On the other hand, my wife likes the parks but doesn't want to move as fast. I wouldn't describe as #2 since she does like to spend most of our time there, but she's a more casual #1. Now that we have young kids, we end up drifting more towards #2 by necessity.

Still, my mind is in the #1 zone. It might change if I went more often, but going once a year or even less lately with the young girls has made me really appreciate when I'm there.

 

[The Fox Menagerie]

We are a hybrid of #1 and #2. RD and commando in the mornings, afternoon loungers, then back to the park at night. We make some ADRs, but decide the rest of our meals as we go. This is the same approach it we use for DL and it works well for us. I would say about 60% of our schedule is planned before we arrive.

 

[cygnusx1jg]

Big 3 here. SP (me) and AP (my sis) that goes just about every other Saturday while the SP is usable. Sometimes for an entire weekend, but stays off property.

Do you think most families that come from abroad and/or for whom English is a 2nd language fall into the 4 category? Or not?

 

[AliceandAriel]

Category 1: The Commando. The object of this type of tourist is to (1) get the most theme park bang for their vacation buck. (2) Knows how to take maximum advantage of the FP system. (3) Often stays in the parks from RD until past closing. (4) Typically stay off-site or in value resorts. (5) Generally views table service dining as a waste of time and money. (6) May come home sleep deprived.

What category most closely describes you?

Out of all of these, I connect and match the most to the first.
1- Vacation bang for buck; yep.
2- Knows how to use FP to advantage; yes and no. Until FP+, I really had a hard time remembering to come back to spots in time for my ticket, assuming I was even still in the same park.
3- Often stay in parks from RD to close; mostly yes. When traveling with my SO, we slept in a LOT, but not by my choice. We also went back early, again, not my choice. Me? I'm a RD nut and won't leave the parks until the close, or unless I get horribly ill.
4- Typically stay off-site or in value resorts; yes. Off-site trips twice, on-site now twice at AoA LM rooms, so value. September trip will be a combo of value and deluxe, but I prefer to stay longer and spend less per night versus a nice roomy place for only a few nights.
5- Generally views TS as a waste of time and money; no. TS is cleaner than QS/CS spots (typically, not always), and gives me time to 'wind down' and go over what I still want to get done in the day.
6- May come home sleep deprived; always. But worth it.

 

[shadeauxe]

I am a commando planner before we arrive, but once we get there, we're a relaxed #2 with a lot of dining reservations.