Friends didn't enjoy their WDW trips

[Dug720]

My point is - there are people who are just not going to like Disney vacations no matter how much or little planning they do. And that is ok.

Bingo! Not everyone has to like everything! It would be a pretty boring world if that was so.

I've got a friend who loves hiking, camping, fishing...the whole outdoors thing. LOVES it! Cannot think of any place he'd rather be! I don't mind a day hike, but hiking for days on end and camping at night while hiking? AND fishing? EWWWW!!!!! No thank you!! But on the other hand, the thought of going to Disney makes him cringe.

So...we just know we'll never go on vacation together. It's simple, and we're still friends.

 

[Aliceacc]

Two of my sisters went once and won't go back.

Another sister and I are huge fans.

It's not always a matter of being uninformed or unprepared. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of personal preference; not everyone loves what I love.

We also disagree on favorite ice cream flavors. Go figure.

 

[Mome Rath]

For some that don't enjoy it, it's a lack of planning. For some that don't enjoy it, it's just that they have a different taste in vacations. It's all ok. I try to help people that ask, and the biggest thing is to know their personalities and what they want to do. I don't dig parades, never have, but I have a friend who absolutely loves them, so when I help her plan, I make sure she knows about all the parades and shows. I've helped people who have asked and then threw all advice to the wind and had absolutely horrible times because they wouldn't listen, they're the ones missing out. I also have been so much that I can help most people either plan or go on the fly... going on the fly is entirely possible, but you do have to have a basic knowledge of a few key things to make it work, so, that's what they get.

And, I do believe people can be let down by things... the first time I saw Mt. Rushmore I was very underwhelmed. lol So, to each their own. Gratefully I do have many friends and family who absolutely love Disney, and are ready to talk about it, or to go, at the drop of a hat.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Most of my real life friends who have mentioned going have loved it. Maybe I'm just surrounded by bouncy people - but I do understand it not being right for some. Disney (at least the way most people do it) is a high-energy vacation, not a relaxing one. I think that, because of the price, people want to "get their money's worth" so they try to cram everything in.

...I am surprised at the number of people who actually listen to me although every year I seem to get a few people who "We just can't get up on vacation before 11".

We've mostly been early morning people over the years (and I still love that!) - but now that I have a teenager, the one thing I really like about the new FP+ system is that you can book them for later in the day, and not have to rope drop. - Occasionally now, we do arrive later and stay into the late night hours, which we never used to do!

 

[daisyx3]

I have a dear friend from childhood who did a trip of a few days last summer to FL, and did one day at MK. No fastpasses. She couldn't believe how expensive it was (one day passes) and how few things they got to do, although they did like the fireworks. They won't go back to WDW, although they did like the beach. It didn't make sense for me to tell her how to plan after it was over (she lives in another state so I didn't hear about it for a while) so I just nodded sympathetically.

 

[Aliceacc]

Friends of ours have adult kids who will be returning to WDW for I think the 3rd time.

They're not on the DDP, but do have the ADRs they want.

But no FP's. And they had no idea of Memory Maker until we spoke last night, adding them to our Friends and Family Account so they could make use of our MM.

I'm hoping that our short conversation, with the email I just sent, can make a huge difference in their trip!

 

[Sue M]

I have a friend who went with her family: both daughters, their children and husbands. They rented a house off site, never arrived at a park till late morning, didn’t have a plan, and she complained about all the long waits and they couldn’t find any food except burgers and chips. I asked her why she never asked me anything regarding WDW and her answer was her daughter and husband were planning everything Sounds like epic fail in the planning department.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

they couldn’t find any food except burgers and chips.

This comment never makes sense to me when people equate it to lack of planning. It isn't lack of planning that gets you burgers and chips. That's having on tunnel vision when you're there at WDW because WDW doesn't just serve burgers and chips at QS.

 

[Sue M]

This comment never makes sense to me when people equate it to lack of planning. It isn't lack of planning that gets you burgers and chips. That's having on tunnel vision when you're there at WDW because WDW doesn't just serve burgers and chips at QS.

I found it odd too, and mentioned our last trip we never had 1 burger. But I do think it’s partly lack of planning because if they researched dining options they’d see. Had to be careful on what I said as it’s her family that did the so called planning. I just felt sad that they didn’t enjoy the vacation.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I found it odd too, and mentioned our last trip we never had 1 burger. But I do think it’s partly lack of planning because if they researched dining options they’d see. Had to be careful on what I said as it’s her family that did the so called planning. I just felt sad that they didn’t enjoy the vacation.

Yeah I could see not wanting to rock the boat too much.

I think my thought process was you don't have to research options in advance (it would sure help reduce the time looking for food you want though). But if every QS place a person visited only had burgers and fries/chips (meaning no other options available) then I'd call that being unlucky lol.

 

[Sue M]

Yeah I could see not wanting to rock the boat too much.

I think my thought process was you don't have to research options in advance (it would sure help reduce the time looking for food you want though). But if every QS place a person visited only had burgers and fries/chips (meaning no other options available) then I'd call that being unlucky lol.

Right? Don’t understand it but...

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I am always shocked when people say that they basically didn't enjoy their Disney vacation because it was crowded and they had to wait for something, somewhere. Uh what guys, did you actually believe the commercials where it looks like the actors (uh I mean the family) have the Park to themselves? You really thought there wouldn't be 20,000 other people here? REALLY?!

WDW is a commando mission where you need a strategy, two back-up plans and some goals if you don't want to come away feeling like you wasted a bunch of money. It is not the kind of outing where you show up, buy tickets and meander around, unless you are an AP-holding local and you won't be bothered if your favorite TS place isn't taking walk-ups tonight because you can just hop onto MDE and make an ADR for tomorrow.

I just do not see how it is obvious that one needs to plan to get the best out of a trip where you are jammed in with the masses of humanity. It's like... you just don't turn to your friend and say, "It's rush hour now! Let's get in your car and go sit in traffic for 40 minutes!"

 

[otten]

Lots of people enjoy vacations where they hike a lot of mountains, or ones where they do nothing but lie on a beach all day. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying those types of vacations but I hate them. I dislike Vegas too but lots of people go every year and enjoy it. Good for them.

My point is not everyone is going to like Disney vacations and that's okay. You don't need to make them like it and it isn't always because they did it 'wrong.'

 

[GAMom2]

My husband had a coworker who went with her family to Disney World for the first time this year on spring break. Because we went last year for our first visit on spring break and loved it he didn’t think much about giving advice but did mention to be prepared for the crowds and to make sure to plan well. They went and hated it. Her son never wants to go back. Our kids loved it so much and couldn’t wait to go back so he was shocked. He starts asking questions and finds out they stayed at a friends house while there and hated driving to the parks, didn’t buy their tickets until the day they got there and didn’t know what fast passes were, packed coolers and lugged them around for food and were exhausted by it, hated the humidity and couldn’t believe how long the lines were for rides that didn’t last that long. My husband didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to say that they hadn’t done enough research or planning but hated that their son was miserable there. He ended up just giving a little advice in case they go back (like making fast passes and using the phone app for wait times) and told her he was sorry they were miserable. She said it was okay. They had taken a day for Legoland and her son thought it was the greatest thing ever so he had done something fun on vacation. I don’t think they’ll be going back anytime soon and I’m pretty sure she thought we were crazy for going back this year in May.

 

[rkstocke5609]

My husband had a coworker who went with her family to Disney World for the first time this year on spring break. Because we went last year for our first visit on spring break and loved it he didn’t think much about giving advice but did mention to be prepared for the crowds and to make sure to plan well. They went and hated it. Her son never wants to go back. Our kids loved it so much and couldn’t wait to go back so he was shocked. He starts asking questions and finds out they stayed at a friends house while there and hated driving to the parks, didn’t buy their tickets until the day they got there and didn’t know what fast passes were, packed coolers and lugged them around for food and were exhausted by it, hated the humidity and couldn’t believe how long the lines were for rides that didn’t last that long. My husband didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to say that they hadn’t done enough research or planning but hated that their son was miserable there. He ended up just giving a little advice in case they go back (like making fast passes and using the phone app for wait times) and told her he was sorry they were miserable. She said it was okay. They had taken a day for Legoland and her son thought it was the greatest thing ever so he had done something fun on vacation. I don’t think they’ll be going back anytime soon and I’m pretty sure she thought we were crazy for going back this year in May.

Yeah, I always tell people that a trip to WDW starts with a copy of the unofficial guide a year before they are thinking about going. I give them a quick indication of timelines including 6 month dining reservations, & 2 month FP+. And then I wouldn’t ever stay offsite. I’d stay on property in a value if necessary but would just skip it otherwise. Hassling with driving and all the lost time with that commute — let’s face it, If Ya can’t “let it go” when it comes to the costs and have to go on the ultra tight budget is fine for some folks but others will never be happy with the cost once they see the crowds.

 

[amy1115]

A coworker of my husband's just got back from her first trip a couple of days ago. As a general rule, we do not offer to help people plan their Disney trips, or offer advice, but she asked us for help so we gave her some advice on mainly the big things...ADR's, Fast Passes....etc. While she was planning it became very obvious that while she had asked for help, she just wasn't going to "plan" very much at all. I feel like a lot of times that's what it comes down to. For us, the planning is part of the fun and something to keep us occupied during our Disney drought. For others, they feel like a vacation should be relaxation from beginning to end, including not having to plan at all. To each their own. She pretty much came back with the feeling like, ok we did it, but once was enough.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

My husband had a coworker who went with her family to Disney World for the first time this year on spring break. Because we went last year for our first visit on spring break and loved it he didn’t think much about giving advice but did mention to be prepared for the crowds and to make sure to plan well. They went and hated it. Her son never wants to go back. Our kids loved it so much and couldn’t wait to go back so he was shocked. He starts asking questions and finds out they stayed at a friends house while there and hated driving to the parks, didn’t buy their tickets until the day they got there and didn’t know what fast passes were, packed coolers and lugged them around for food and were exhausted by it, hated the humidity and couldn’t believe how long the lines were for rides that didn’t last that long. My husband didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to say that they hadn’t done enough research or planning but hated that their son was miserable there. He ended up just giving a little advice in case they go back (like making fast passes and using the phone app for wait times) and told her he was sorry they were miserable. She said it was okay. They had taken a day for Legoland and her son thought it was the greatest thing ever so he had done something fun on vacation. I don’t think they’ll be going back anytime soon and I’m pretty sure she thought we were crazy for going back this year in May.

Your husband's friend's approach was my family's approach when I was a child, due to economics more than anything. We couldn't afford onsite so stayed at motels/with relatives, only got one day park tickets which we bought when we got there, which was always late morning because we had breakfast at whatever cheap diner or fast food was on the way from where we were staying. My only real memories of WDW were waiting in line for 2 hours for Space Mountain and watching Captain EO at Epcot. Now, my mom is amazed at how I navigate us around the crowds, she has never waited in line for anything more than 30 minutes. But I have to admit that my ability to do so is in some part due to economic privilege, both that I can stay onsite and get that advantage for booking FP+, and because I have the free time to be on the Dis constantly reading others' tips.

 

[WDWFan0813]

It is interesting hearing opinions of 1st timers when they get back. We had friends who went several years ago with their kids and both of their parents. She planned the trip fairly well. The next time I saw his father I asked him how it was, thinking it would not have been his cup of tea. He said it was the best vacation he ever had. All the planning was done for him, he could just grab a cup of coffee and follow around, if he wanted to sit on a bench and people watch, he could.

Personally, I enjoy the planning aspect of it. My wife is worried that I am going to be bored next year when our annual pass runs out that I won't have anything to do. That being said, I do feel you can go to Disney unplanned...to a degree. I think if a family is doing a 1st time / once in a lifetime trip, heavy planning should be involved. But for most of us, who have been and will be back AND have a library of knowledge in our heads, 'winging' it is a feasible option.

Leaving in 6 days! BOUNCE ON!