Honest Opinions..Has anyone NOT enjoyed their last WDW trip?

[peainapod]

I have read and heard SO many negatives recently from people on review pages/friends/etc.

How have your last trips been? We haven't been for about 1 1/2 years, but coming back in a few months.

Hoping for pixie dust!

 

[Mousemommy1]

We go annually and while there have been different things we have been disappointed with, overall, we have still very much enjoyed our trips.

 

[powellrj]

We were just there in the fall. We use to go every year when the kids were at home, but since they have moved on and it's just DH and I we don't go as often. What we had noticed little things weren't taken care of and it seemed worn out. Everything use to. Be fresh and welcoming. For the prices things were, we expected the parks to still have the fresh feeling. We had a nice time but DH isn't in a hurry to go back anytime soon.

 

[SweetMissy]

We go every year with a total of 6 trips and have never been disappointed. I feel sorry for those who have and would be interested to know why. The only real compliant I would have is a couple trips ago, our DD woke in the middle of the night and puked in the bed. We warned the mousekeeper in the morning about this. Well, we get back to the resort late that night and we found a bag tied to our door with a "sorry we missed you" note and some towels in the bag. So the morning mousekeeper apparently didn't want to deal with the vomit blanket, so she didn't bother even going into our room. Se we had to call the front desk and they sent another mousekeeper to change the bed and clean our room. Very awkward with us being there and her having to do someone else's job. That's about it though. We've never had an issue....aside from the occasional toddler tantrum, sick teething toddler, etc....every trip has been fun and magical.

 

[sprousehouse]

I grew up going to DL but we went to WDW for the first time 11/29-12/6. It was wonderful. We stayed off property at a Hilton timeshare so I can't comment on the resorts except to say we loved the decorations at GF, WL and AKL. We did make rope drop or close to it every day. I used the crowd calendars to plan and used touring plans for a loose outline. We enjoyed BOG breakfast twice (food is just ok but being in the park early is great), did bring in our lunch several days as we have some allergies and also eat a whole foods/organic diet as much as possible but we did try Biergarten and Le Cellier for lunch as well as The Brown Derby and Spice Road Table for dinner and all were good. We also finished up most every day by 5pm so we could relax and get a good night's sleep. I think if you plan and pay attention to the recommended parks you will have a great time.

 

[BaxterSaysMeoww]

My boyfriend and I just got back last week, we usually go twice a year and this past trip we had was a rough one. A lot of the things weren't actually Disneys fault though. We're already planning to go back because we love it there but this last trip we took will definitely be our most memorable.

 

[sbeets]

I enjoyed our trip, but have no plans to go back anytime soon. We have too many other places to go. Maybe in 5 years? My kids want to see more of Europe. Epcot World Showcase is a little disappointing if you've seen the real thing.

 

[Hezzy04]

I took my husband and daugjters for their first trip last May. It had been 8 or so years since I had gone. My husband basically figured WDW was just a glorified Great America, but was willing to give it a try bc I wanted to.

I had orgiginally told him that we would get back and want to start saving to go again in 5 years. I knew I would want to go again.

Well, we basically had the best time EVER and my husband and girls fell in love with WDW! We are going back again in April!! It was truly the best vacation I ever could have imagined with my family.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

One word: TEENAGERS!!!

This trip my kids were 15 and 9. My SO went for his first trip (I divorced 6 years ago) My DS15 can be uptight, doesn't just go with the flow and is always worrying about what people think of him. His hair is very important to him (which was a huge issue in the rain!!). Sometimes I feel like he can't enjoy himself due to worrying if people are looking at him or "judging" him. DD9 is the complete opposite. She lives in the moment, carefree, all about having fun, she loves being the center of attention, goes with the flow. With that said, it made it difficult to please their needs. They bickered a lot. DS complained a lot. Which then makes DD feed off of that. I would tell them we had a FP for SM later on. DD was fine with that. DS would ask 394039847 times if we can still ride it NOW. NO! There's a 45 minute wait. We will ride with a FP! So then DD starts whining because she also wants to ride it NOW. 7DW became a 3 day ordeal that he couldn't get over. It was closed due to rain, etc.

It was so bad that we left MK PM EMH one night and went back to the Poly. I was furious. DS literally wouldn't walk in MK because it was raining and messing up his hair. I left them in the room and went to Trader Sams and Tambu lounge. This was on day 3. I was almost in tears. The next day we had a rest day and we regrouped.

The next 7 days were much more pleasant and we had a blast. But those first 3 days were difficult. DS shaped up and started enjoying himself. My SO talked to him and told him to just loosen up and enjoy himself. We moved to the BC on day 5 and playing volleyball in SAB with a bunch of teenagers gave him his life back I guess. lol

I loved Disney and still do. I enjoyed FP+, the food, FoF parade, the rides, etc. It was still very magical for me and the kids. I want to go in November. I've asked DS if he wants to go and he's unsure. He says he loves Disney but he's not sure if he wants to go but doesn't have a reason why. I'm thinking a mother/daughter trip will be in order. I want to do F&W and DS does not care about food or the WS much. He goes with his senior class soon and he's been to Disney more than DD since he was born first.

 

[Baklava]

Most negative reviews tend to come back to a lack of planning. Lines were too long and they never used Fast Pass. Couldn't eat "anywhere" because they didn't book ADRs. Missed X event because they didn't take into account the transportation being full at peak times. Make your ADRs at 180. Make your FP+ at 60. Read the boards, see what's changed, ask questions. You'll be fine.

I am one week away from a first time, 10 day WDW trip and I would have a very different experience if I hadn't planned.

Vida- could you let him do his own thing? Would he have a better time if he wasn't tied to the family the whole time? My teen loves his solo Disneyland time. He drifts back to us for meals but some days he needs a couple hours to single rider his favorite thing over and over. Our rule (even in CA where the parks and hotel are next to each other) has been that he may not leave the current park without telling us and we set a meet up time. He has a cellphone and it has worked well for us. Don't want to walk in the rain? Okay, stay here and we'll meet you later. Want to stand in the 45 minute line? Sure. We'll go ride something else and meet you here at our FP time. I know there's a temptation to keep the family together on a family vacation but some teens are more pleasant if you give them a little room to be alone. (Mine is now 18. His rules will be a lot looser. Once they register for the Selective Service it's hard to tell them they cannot go back to the hotel alone.)

 

[tcherjen]

Our last trip wasn't a relaxing as the previous. No fault but our own. We were there for three night and tried to do way too much.

 

[bsj1701]

My only negative trip was in May of 2015 at DISNEYLAND. I don't feel the need to return there. My most recent WDW trip was October of 2015 and things aren't like they used to be. Mainly the crowds and ride wait times have increased. This won't stop me from returning, I still had an enjoyable experience. I do hope something is done in the future about the crowds and wait times. Ultimately, I think it is about increasing capacity, which hasn't been as much as a priority in recent years as it was in the past. I know things are being built, but I'm not sure it is enough.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Most negative reviews tend to come back to a lack of planning. Lines were too long and they never used Fast Pass. Couldn't eat "anywhere" because they didn't book ADRs. Missed X event because they didn't take into account the transportation being full at peak times. Make your ADRs at 180. Make your FP+ at 60. Read the boards, see what's changed, ask questions. You'll be fine.

I am one week away from a first time, 10 day WDW trip and I would have a very different experience if I hadn't planned.

Vida- could you let him do his own thing? Would he have a better time if he wasn't tied to the family the whole time? My teen loves his solo Disneyland time. He drifts back to us for meals but some days he needs a couple hours to single rider his favorite thing over and over. Our rule (even in CA where the parks and hotel are next to each other) has been that he may not leave the current park without telling us and we set a meet up time. He has a cellphone and it has worked well for us. Don't want to walk in the rain? Okay, stay here and we'll meet you later. Want to stand in the 45 minute line? Sure. We'll go ride something else and meet you here at our FP time. I know there's a temptation to keep the family together on a family vacation but some teens are more pleasant if you give them a little room to be alone. (Mine is now 18. His rules will be a lot looser. Once they register for the Selective Service it's hard to tell them they cannot go back to the hotel alone.)

I offered to let him do his own thing but he didn't want to. He wanted to be with us. I am not a hover mom. I have no issues letting him roam free. lol He has a cell phone and gets plenty of freedom at home and I told him before we left he could have free time. But nope....he wanted to do things with us. He wouldn't even go ride a ride alone while we sat on the bench. The only times they were ok being away from us was when we left them in the room to go to TS and Tambu Lounge. Another night we did Epcot and they stayed in the room and were fine.

The night in MK we had dinner at CM...his favorite place, his pick for the trip. He loved it and had a great time. As soon as we left I saw it was raining and he wanted us all to go back to the room and skip MK. I told him he could go back. We were on the monorail and staying at the Poly. Nope....he wanted to be with us as a family (his words). Once at MK it started POURING and he was more worried about his hair. Oh and his sneakers getting messed up.

The constant complaining is what did me in! That's what annoyed me the most and made me lose it. Every 5 minutes he was complaining about something.

Now after day 3 he shaped up. I did threaten to send him back as an unassisted minor the next day. I was about 95% serious and even called his father and his father spoke to him. My SO also spoke to him. The next day was a rest day, pool time, a nice dinner and the next 7 days went much smoother. Maybe he was on overload and overly tired and that rest day helped him a lot.

ETA: Travel day was a 12 hour flight delay due to mechanical error. It was a very long day and not a nice way to start our trip. The next two days were rope drop days. So he may have just been irritable and cranky and tired. But again...he was offered to sleep in and not do RD but he insisted on going with us.

 

[alopez926]

Overall, I'd say my last trip was my least enjoyable. There were good times, of course. For me it would simply be impossible to go to Disney and not have at least a little fun. Usually, our trips are just my dd, 12 and me, and occasionally, my mom tags along. We've always had a a wonderful time when it's just us and my mom. We have gone back every year for the past 6 years because we love how being at Disney makes us feel. However, this time, my brother and his family came with us. They had never been to WDW and left me to do all of the planning. I sought their input on several occasions, and I accommodated their needs as much as I could. But they kept changing their minds about whether my 18 year old niece was coming with us, and then they changed the day they were leaving to a day earlier than planned. Long story short, my niece arrived in Orlando with no fast passes and I had to scramble to try to and get her plans aligned with the rest of us...no easy feat as the parks were super crowded. I gave up my 7DMT, Splash Mountain, and Toy Story FP+ so she could ride, but I didn't even get a thank you. They were late for everything--ADR's, Fast Passes, agreed meeting times. I had to switch park days all around so that they could do MK on their last day (we were all supposed to be going together the next day, but they decided to leave early as I mentioned). I felt like I spent the entire time on my phone switching things around to accommodate them. To top it all off, the crowds were really dense and my mom needed a scooter for the first time and it was rough going for her trying to navigate the crowds.

I know this trip was a one-off. We won't be traveling with my brother's family again and so I don't have to worry about planning for 8 people in the future. It will be magical again the next time we go back, I'm sure. But we're going to take a breather for a few years.

 

[Baklava]

I offered to let him do his own thing but he didn't want to. He wanted to be with us. I am not a hover mom. I have no issues letting him roam free. lol He has a cell phone and gets plenty of freedom at home and I told him before we left he could have free time. But nope....he wanted to do things with us. He wouldn't even go ride a ride alone while we sat on the bench. The only times they were ok being away from us was when we left them in the room to go to TS and Tambu Lounge. Another night we did Epcot and they stayed in the room and were fine.

The night in MK we had dinner at CM...his favorite place, his pick for the trip. He loved it and had a great time. As soon as we left I saw it was raining and he wanted us all to go back to the room and skip MK. I told him he could go back. We were on the monorail and staying at the Poly. Nope....he wanted to be with us as a family (his words). Once at MK it started POURING and he was more worried about his hair. Oh and his sneakers getting messed up.

The constant complaining is what did me in! That's what annoyed me the most and made me lose it. Every 5 minutes he was complaining about something.

Now after day 3 he shaped up. I did threaten to send him back as an unassisted minor the next day. I was about 95% serious and even called his father and his father spoke to him. My SO also spoke to him. The next day was a rest day, pool time, a nice dinner and the next 7 days went much smoother. Maybe he was on overload and overly tired and that rest day helped him a lot.

ETA: Travel day was a 12 hour flight delay due to mechanical error. It was a very long day and not a nice way to start our trip. The next two days were rope drop days. So he may have just been irritable and cranky and tired. But again...he was offered to sleep in and not do RD but he insisted on going with us.

Freaking teenagers.

 

[lizard1]

I did not enjoy my last trip, I think mostly because of the amount of planning that is required for a trip. By the time I got there, I was over it. The first day we were at MK I was actually wishing I was home at work! For me, it was almost like the most fun part of the trip was securing the reservations for everything and then when I got there it was a big let down. I ended up cancelling a lot of reservations including several for BOG, skipping many FP, etc., just to try to salvage the trip. Add to it the major disappointment from our stay at Beach Club with the loud construction at 9 a.m. and the fact that that mousekeepers decided to clean our room prior to our checkout time on the last day (when we were planning to return to the room after our breakfast and couldn't). Let's just say that after going a couple of years in a row, I am not planning a trip back anytime soon.

 

[DisneyOma]

I was a little disappointed in our last trip, this past August, because every single park seemed to have so many construction walls, closed areas, and worn down/dirty attractions. I know they are investing in the parks now, but Disney let it get really run down and dumpy in some areas, IMO. I usually go every summer, but now I'm thinking they need to finish a lot of projects and spiff up the park before I go back. So now I'm thinking of going back in 2017 or 2018.

Daughter and I are Disney experts, use FP+ quite well, etc. No problems there, just sad that the parks are scruffy.

 

[Annadesu]

I greatly enjoyed my last trip to Disney. The only thing I didn't like is that we went in a large group, and many of the people in the group were "My way or the highway" sort of people. We're going again in May 2016, just the hubby and I, and I'm sure we will have a blast.

 

[Accident]

I have read and heard SO many negatives recently from people on review pages/friends/etc!

This forum is filled with regulars who will notice every flower petal out of place. You'll have a wonderful time! Only thing to know is don't ride pirates if your not ok being soaked.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We go often (we've been 5 times this year and just got back from our most recent trip today). All trips have their ups and downs, but, obviously more ups or we wouldn't go back so often! After going so often, we know what works best for us (a 1/2 day touring plan with an afternoon break followed by dinner and an evening activity) and we make a small list of must-do's so we don't constantly feel rushed or on a strict schedule. As long as we stick with our style of enjoying WDW and are able to go with the flow, the positives outweigh the negatives.