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

[fairygagamother]

Still missing the old fast passes!

 

[DisneyCAL]

This last trip was our family's 2nd trip together, DH's 3rd and my 4th. The last trip was wonderful. But I did a whole lot of research and created a binder for itineraries. This forum was the best thing ever! As the week went along we made changes due to tiredness and bad feet(DH). But you have to go in knowing that some things won't work perfectly like you may think and that's okay. You have to figure out your way of doing things. Are you gung-ho all day long in the park, sleep in and stay late, go early then take a break? Staying on-site this time was an improvement, and we know now to spread out our table service reservations. We also know now to include a resort only day to slow down a bit. We are super excited to think about our next trip with all that we've learned from our last but we won't see wdw again until 2017
Hope your trip goes well... slow down and take it all in.

 

[powellrj]

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.)

Actually, that isn't it as much as the people that have been going since the 70's & 80's miss the way the parks were back then. Before all the cuts were made and service isn't what it use to be. It use to be a much different trip where you didn't feel nickel and dimed to death.

 

[DPickering]

We go every year. Our one bad trip was January 2013. It was crazy cold. I remember hitting Walmart to find cold weather gear and explaining to some dazed Brazilians what thermal underwear was. So many Disney staff were grumpy and short. Crowd calendars were completely out of whack. MK always seemed crazy busy. Upside was on the coldest day we did AK with super light crowds. Our son burned his hand at the Japanese pavilion restaurant, Disney medical were good but overall a trip to forget. 2015 was better.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

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.

We haven't been since the change to FP+, but I'm dreading it. I hate the idea of having to pick my rides months ahead of time. We did plan all our specific parks ahead of time last trip, but I'll miss being able to wake up in the morning & say, "Hey, where should we go today?". And trying to plan where I want to eat 6 months out? Ha! I haven't decided where I'm going to have lunch today & it's 11:30 LOL.

 

[North of Mouse]

We have never had a trip where we didn't enjoy ourselves, but will say that there is a gradual decline in 'how much' we enjoy them. Started off in early 70's with MK, so have been too many trips to count, have used lots of AP's, but after our next trip early Feb. with these AP's, it will be our last for awhile as we go to other destinations more, that we also enjoy that are far less stressful.

Having to plan, schedule, watch the clock, etc. etc. with all the changes Disney has made in the past 10 years, we are getting a little weary. It's taking a lot of the relaxation out of it that we always so enjoyed in the past.

 

[littlbugmom]

We've enjoyed every trip but the first trip had some not-so-magical moments. Why? We expected everything but planned nothing.


We know better now and have so much more fun.

 

[gorkt]

The teenager comment has me worried a bit...my 13 year old DD claims she still loves WDW but she has become....more difficult lately and I do worry that her bad attitude could be a problem on our upcoming trip. Ah well, I can't worry about what I can't predict.

Our family trips have all been very good, mostly because I plan well but keep expectations down. We shoot for going on certain key rides or doing a few specific activities, but other than that, we just play it by ear and keep a relaxed attitude. I have been to WDW probably 10+ times in my life so I am really fine if I never go on a ride or see a certain restaurant. Honestly, my happiest moments I can remember were just strolling through a park with a nice snack, or seeing my kids walking down main street with the castle in front of them, or taking them on a ride I loved as a kid. It's the circle of life.

The worst trip I can remember was our honeymoon. It almost made DH not want to go ever again. We went in June so it was super hot, which he hates, and I got really sick on that trip so I was pretty much sidelined for half of it. It was also really crowded. If I had to do it over again, I would have delayed the honeymoon until fall and probably would have had a better time. We kind of had a wonderful do-over trip for our fifth anniversary which redeemed it in his eyes.

 

[BaltimoreLauren]

The only bad time I ever had in a park was when I went to Disneyland with an ex. I'll likely go back with my new boyfriend to make better memories.

 

[kate_wdw]

Honestly, yes. Our last trip (11/14) felt like a forced march at times. Even though crowd levels were predicted to be low (2-4) during our stay, wait times for attractions were long and Fastpasses were difficult to reschedule.

It was the first time that I wasn't sad to go and eager to plan the next trip.

 

[disnut1149]

We were at POFQ last August and had bedbugs. We had to spend the first day, our MK day at Walmart getting new clothes. They did give us FP's to help out with the rides we missed. It was the first time using FP+ for us and I wasn't happy with it. We got to ride so much more with legacy FP.Then it was so hot. We've been in August before, but I had a hard time with the heat this time. Next time, we'll go at a cooler time of year.

 

[noahdove]

My last trip wasn't the best either as my daughter went from hot to cold in an instance.
I took her and her 2 children and she was a bear ... But, I dealt with it and I am taking
her little boy this August just the 2 of us as I already took her daughter. I won't take her again
tho but my grandson is so excited....I know we will have an awesome time

 

[squirrel]

We haven't been since the change to FP+, but I'm dreading it. I hate the idea of having to pick my rides months ahead of time. We did plan all our specific parks ahead of time last trip, but I'll miss being able to wake up in the morning & say, "Hey, where should we go today?". And trying to plan where I want to eat 6 months out? Ha! I haven't decided where I'm going to have lunch today & it's 11:30 LOL.

I haven't been since they switched to FP+. I go during Free Dining and planning which park I was going to be in and where I was going to each each day was enough planning. Adding in the FP just is too much.

Did DCL for a few years and then they messed with that. I'm more annoyed that they put the alcohol policy in place and people couldn't cancel without penalties. I don't even drink. I'm taking a break from Disney this year. If all goes well this year I may not return.

 

[dalmatian7]

We have been doing one day at MK as part of a longer trip the last few years. I would enjoy things more if we were there longer so I could unwind. I also would enjoy it more if DH would participate in the planning and at least try to understand why I do what I do. I keep telling myself, that once DD is older it will get better. DH tends to get wound up about her getting over tired and cranky (if we get off her schedule) but really it is him that gets cranky. So my advice is to not over plan and take breaks even if it is just sitting in the park on a bench.

 

[KayKayJS]

It's obvious the parks have changed. The days of 10 full park day trips of magic are gone (at least for me). But I've found making a few changes makes a huge difference.

1- Adjust your expectations. I now plan on if it will be crazy busy. When I get there and it is, I'm not upset, and if it's not, I'm thrilled.

2- Who are you traveling with? FP+ has made it almost impossible to travel with anyone who doesn't have the same touring style as you. Keep this in mind if you want to have a smooth trip.

3- Take more breaks/spend less time at the parks. I prefer to do half days now. FP+ has made that part easier. Often we arrive at 4pm and stay till midnight and enjoy the nighttime entertainment and our FP+ then. If your family is full of morning people, go at rope drop, stay till after lunch, go back to the resort and come back and use your FP+ at 7/8/9.

This is what I've done in the past year, year and a half and it's made a huge difference.

 

[lovin'fl]

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.

Teenagers is my big issue too with having a less than stellar time at Disney. One year, 2013, we went with all the inlaws for Xmas. DS was 16 but his cousins were 18 and 20 and they could be out until 2am but we wanted DS in before we fell asleep (11pm...could even stretch to midnight). It was a big struggle. He also isn't all that into rides, shows, fierworks, etc. But we have to buy him park tickets (or even APs) and he will meet us in a park to eat dinner with us and then leave and I feel like it's a waste of money. DDs, who were 16 when we took them this past Oct for F&W, started doing the same...wanting to leave the park 15 minutes after we got there.

Another is INLAWS/family. We do a lot of trips with my inlaws and, honestly, it's not all that bad but just trying to plan ADRs and FPs with a large group has it's frustrations. And there are different tastes in the group...ie: SIL1 (and her fam) prefer to eat at signature places but my DH totally freaks at the mere proposition of a signature place. And FIL likes American, cheap and old timey (like 50s PT, LTT) as well as buffets. So just trying to please everyone is a hair pulling experience. And my own mom, 67, has gone with us a couple times. Last time, Aug 2014, she was so slow that we only did 2 things in the park, ate and then were done. She's slow to get up and dressed, slow to eat, slow to walk, slow to decide what she wants to do.

Another is DH. He likes to go, go, go on vacation while I prefer relaxing. I also like sitting in the sun and he's, well, pale Irish so you know how that goes. Even after a dozen or so trips to WDW, DH tries to go commando and it just drives me bonkers. He also likes to walk everywhere (even crazy like walking from OKW to Disney Springs). He makes it so my body is killing me by day 3 or 4 and I am just miserable and in need of a vacation after vacation.

We have had miserable trips and so-so trips and good trips. Never perfect and part of the draw to go back, for me, is to get it right. Like I think 'next trip will be perfect' but really I don't think it can be. Geez...there is even some Disney reasons (not mentioned in my post) for not enjoying a trip. All this pre-planning takes some enjoyment out of it. And sometimes things go wrong (long ME rides, not getting our room until 5pm, long waits for a bus, crappy service at dinner, MBs not working, rides breaking down...etc). I'll just have to keep going and someday I'll have THE perfect trip.

 

[mcjaco]

When we took the boys on our first trip, it was with the entire extended family. Grandpas, Grandmas, Uncles, Aunts, Great Uncles, and Great Aunts. To top it off, one of the extended families insisted that we could only go the first week of August, even though none of us wanted to go then. They then bailed two weeks out. That trip was hot, we didn't do FP's because we had no plan with two 15 month olds, and a 1 year old.

The heat just did us in. We'd get there by opening, but leave by three, and had no desire to fight the crowds of the heat anymore. That was probably the worst trip.

Last year we went with just one set of Grandparents in November, and it was a ton of fun. We go again, on our own, this October, and I can't wait.

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

No. It would be impossible for me to not enjoy a trip to Disney. It is my favorite place to be! Seriously, the only time I am unhappy there is when we're packing to go home.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

We just went the week after Thanksgiving.

Employees were friendly.

Food is good if you know where to go (tried Wave and Coral Reef for the first time... both great!). We were disappointed with the changes to Pepper Market, but that happened a few years ago.

No problems with the buses.

Didn't have too much of a problem with lines.

But, Disney Springs is a disaster area. I would avoid it completely until 100% of the construction is done.

 

[aripantaloon]

I didn't enjoy our last two trips. We have gone every other year for the last 7 or 8 years. It's funny because after the first non-enjoyable trip (4 years ago), I told the kids that we weren't going again. Then we went again 2 years later (2 years ago) because I forgot what I had said and we (*I*) had another miserable time. It wasn't because of lack of planning because we had all of our ADR's and FP's planned and used. It was because of the kids. They bicker constantly. They are currently 5, 8, and 11, so they have slightly varied interests. Like when we had character breakfasts or visits, my oldest was horrified and embarrassed and wanted nothing to do with them. Fine, but you don't have to sit there and complain bitterly about having to do something that involves characters because you have a little sister who is enjoying it.

Pretty much every ride was an argument. Aside from our FP+ times and the rides that we went to first thing like TSM, for example, we would choose based on what had a short wait time where we were or alternate letting the kids pick a ride in the area that we were in. We didn't have a set schedule. There was always complaining that a kid didn't want to ride that ride that another kid picked because it's dumb, or she didn't want to ride that now, or some other made up reason just to be difficult. The line was always a fight because this kid didn't want to stand by that one or "she was in line first last time." Then there was even more bickering when we got on the ride. They fought about who got to sit next to me (3 kids and 2 sides creates issues) or who got to sit on the outside (and which side of the outside because apparently that matters). I'm not exaggerating when I say that this happened pretty much on every ride. Forget about it when we rode something like BTM and we had to split up. They fought like cats and dogs over who was riding with me. Our youngest pretty much had to ride with an adult since she was just 4 at the time. Our oldest was 10 (so a Disney adult), but at least to the CM at TSM, she was not an adult. We had broken up our family such that DH was with our middle DD, older DD was with youngest DD, and I was alone. After we were in our seats, the CM said that an adult had to ride with our youngest. So DH tells oldest to switch with him since my car was already on its way. She pitched a fit and though she did switch, she literally sobbed the whole ride because she didn't want to have to ride with her middle sister. Seriously?!?! Then she complained that her sisters ruined her ride. No, honey, YOU ruined your ride as well as mine because every time I looked at you, you were hysterical. It's embarrassing. Yes, we talked to them about it and how their constant complaining and bickering was starting to ruin our vacation, but it just continued.

Then I became "that" mom and gave them a tongue lashing about how we paid a ton of $ (10 days club level at the beach club) and they were really ruining our vacation. I once again threatened them that if they didn't shape up, we were not going back. Their attitudes didn't change.

Guess what? We're not going back. This year is the year that we would normally be going to Disney, but I'm not planning another trip. No way. I'm not spending another 10K so my kids can fight just like they do at home. Yes, they do the same thing at home. When we got out to a restaurant, they will fight over who gets to sit next to me. Same thing for the movies or anywhere else that has seats. So annoying!!!!