How can anyone not enjoy themselves at WDW??

[Shih-Tzu]

Certainly there are different personalities - some don't like crowds, some don't like the heat (pick me, pick me) - ANY trip, no matter where is only a good time if you WANT it to be a good time....(unless there is some type of major vacation mal-function). But I love WDW - and it's about the only place that DH is willing to go....but I have seen "unhappy" people....

Some here on the boards will say poor WDW trips are maybe due to poor planning...but I think there's also such a thing as OVER planning too - last year at CBR I saw a younger mom on the verge of tear when she was going over her list of "to-do's". I think she had such a schedule made up that it would have been almost impossible - and then set up expectations that of course caused disappointment when they aren't met - instead of "going with the flow" and "rolling with the punches" - and as they sat in the lounge chairs next to me, I noticed she kept looking at her watch - then announced to her DH - "It's now 7:25...according to today's schedule, the kids have to come out of the pool at 7:30." Poor kids were having a BLAST.....

We plan some, but if something takes a little longer or we run into something that we hadn't planned and would like to watch for a few minutes, we do it...(and of course, not getting everything done that we planned to do is MY excuse for having to go back...)

 

[let'sgo]

I think it's just a personality thing..the people who hate it tend to be the cynical, pessimistic types, IMO. Meaning, when the see a little kid overjoyed to see Mickey, they'll say "isn't it horible how Disney brainwashes people?". They also tend to be the types who are unable to just let go and have fun...they're too worried about what others may think. And the cheapskate people? I think they're the saddest of all. Life is for living, not for squeezing every last penny until it screams.

And sure, everyone likes different stuff. I'd be bored silly on a cruise or a trip to Vegas, for example.

Hey, I have to agree. I have some in-laws that are pessimistic, negative types and they LOVE to remark, "weren't just there and are you going AGAIN?" Why do they feel they have to ask this? It seems as if they know we will be having a great time and they are jealous.

And as for the price, I priced out another vacation and when I was done including the costs for the things we would be doing, it was almost the same as Disney and offered so much less.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I'm enjoying reading this thread.

My DW really dislikes WDW. So much so that I have had to make 4 (soon to be 5) "Boys Only" trips with my DS. It's not hatred, but she doesn't get why I want to go back so often.

With a 5 y/o son (going to be 6 in August) and a princess who just turned 2, I won't be stopping anytime soon. I may have to switch off each year by taking only one (don't know if I could handle 2! )

DW loves WDW and had to "drag" me on our first WDW trip, but now I'm the one who want to do DVC, I'm the one who wants to go every year and I'm the one who's making up excuses to go back. If she had her way we'd go every 2-3 years. Every time we finish a trip, she says "I think I'm done with WDW for awhile" because she's very tired.

It's a very active vacation. DW's an active lady so it's not that big a deal with her, but sometimes she wants to relax.

Which leads into who I can see wouldn't like a WDW vacation: if you're a person who doesn't like crowds and doesn't like an active vacation, I can see where you wouldn't like a WDW vacation.

If you're also a person who likes to sleep in when on vacation and a person who likes to wing it so they have no clue about attractions/best parks/FP, I can see where a WDW vacation would end up being a lot of standing in lines, packed in around a bunch of people, and that wouldn't be very fun at all.

 

[Liltx]

Our first day last summer June 13th at the HS I did not want to go back. My dd6 got pushed down by a group of crazy teenageers running, yes running to TSM. It was soooo hot and I know hot we are from south TX where we had 45 days over 100 degrees last summer. There was NO breeze and the crowds were horrible from rope drop on. Then during the parade it started pouring and the place was a river, seriously the streets were filled and going over the sidewalk! We were so soaked even with ponchos that there was no way we could stay any longer. I thought after that day that I would not go back. But we did and the rest of the trip was wonderful as always. BUT if I only went that day and had no prior experience I probably would never go back again.

The best time we have ever had on a single day is at DL though. The weather there in March is AMAZING. I wish they could move the other parks there then i would never have to go to Florida for anything other than the beach and to catch a cruise.


Monica

 

[dragonye]

A couple of years ago we went with a our whole family for a grand gathering .... 1 sis in law fought with her dh the whole time...made for a fun trip as we all picked up the slack of watching her kids and trying to ignore the fighting couple... MIL had gone to disney for years with younger brother in law and had never had eaten at a table service restaurant but as I planned the whole trip and we had the dining plan I had TS meals each day planned and she told me later it was the best trip ever she never knew you could eat like that at disney! sil may never go back but mil may just for the food!

 

[ImJustHere4TheMouse]

I've had a few family members who were resistant from the start, and one or two who I guess had some strange notion of what WDW was (which was completely wrong, and I can't see why you'd get that much of a false impression, with all the resources out there). One person called it "the vacation from hell". I just had to shake my head. If there's one lesson that I've learned over the years, it's that you should always CAREFULLY choose who you bring with you.

 

[pepe of ohio]

agree and disagree with alot of these posts. When I hear about folks that didn't like it, it came from "over" planning........too structured of a trip. That mentality of "we got to be hear at this time and we have reservations at this time and the parade starts at 3 pm.......just too much structure and stress for us. We've done 43 trips so far and never schedule anything, never do the dining plans ( really hate ADR's) stay on property 9-12 nights deluxe and enjoy the daylights out of our trips and can't wait to go back. These trips rarely run over 2500.00, and yes folks we do everything we want. We always go off season and at value time and use the resort room discount.

We've even said that we could vacation in WDW and never go into a park (highly unlikely) but the resort (deluxe) are so themed, relaxing and over the top, that we could live there. Going to a beach (ocean) resort and staying for a week would drive me nuts but Disney has so much to offer and what I really enjoy is the free transportation (we've never used nor rent a car) at Disney yet. People build so much into a WDW vacation and it's just not possible to get half of it done, they pick the wrong seasons and roast and finally they go during a holiday or peak period and have no discounts and pay peak rack rates and guess what? Come home exhausted, sun burnt and hating WDW. I'd never advise anyone to take a 4-5 day trip to WDW, you'll run yourself ragged to see most, a vacation is supposed to be just that, relaxing. Marathon, opening to close in the parks, are not what we enjoy and really no need to be. We see most and hit the parks in the am for a few hours, return to the resort and enjoy the pool and other amenities and go back to the park in the evenings for a few more hours, we even take a whole day and just goof off but you have to extend your stay past the 5 day time range.

I can see how people can hate it but it has never occurred to us. Each trip gets longer, better and has more magic in it than we can stand but to each their own, we're going to WDW again.

 

[goofyernmost]

My BIL took his family in July one year-the year the castle looked like a big pink cake. No one, including the 3 kids, had a good time. All they had to say was it was hot and crowded, and the castle was ugly.

Many reasons for that-

They stayed offsite, got to the parks after 11, thought you had to pay for fastpass, and did just no research at all on what they were getting into.

That trip was before our family started going so I couldn't have helped them if they had asked. They are completely bewildered by why we go and even after explaining some things to them, they still won't go back.

Just not for everyone I guess -more room for us

I must confess that my first trip was, with the exception of dates, unplanned, unscripted and uninformed. That didn't affect me at all, I still loved it. To this day I cannot rationally tell you why, but I was hooked before I got a quarter of a mile down World Drive. I had never seen anything that impressive and larger than life. I also, due to budgetary restrictions, stay off-site and had no idea what to expect. At that time, no one had ever made mention that a trip to WDW had about the same amount of planning requirements as the Invasion of Normandy.

I still loved it. It is a matter of the mind, I think. If you can let go and let yourself be a kid...you will enjoy it. If you are so structured that any alterations in plans and expectations throws you...you probably won't enjoy it.

BTW, I could be wrong about this but I don't remember fastpass even existing in 1997 (the year of the pink castle)

My first, and so far only, trip to disney wasn't really fun. Unfortunately, it had a lot do with our family dynamic. I was 15, traveling with my 17 year old sister and 10 year old brother and our Mom. Unfortunately our Mother, in an effort to insure we enjoyed all WDW had to offer, drove us from 6 am to 10 pm every day for 6 days (ugh). We were so exhausted by the end of the trip.

Fast forward 20 years, I am going on my first trip since then with DH & DD6. I finally feel compelled to go back, but only because I know my family will enjoy it. I have been getting a lot of flack for the amount of research I have been doing from my DH and other relatives who feel that just going to WDW equals a great vacation.

Since I know just showing up at the gate does not = fun, I do all my research in an effort to make sure that family gets as much out of the Disney experience as possible without driving them to exhaustion. I agree with all the previous posters, a lack of planning can make for an unhappy WDW experience.

Just follow your plans...flex when necessary...open your mind to anti-adultism and enjoy your time with your family. Yes, it's all fantasy but who cares.

That isn't true I am quite cynical but love seing kids enjoy themselves at disney.

There are kids there? Who knew!

 

[harley6464]

most of are friends its about money they say disneys over priced and most of them never been to disney not until they were in there 20s and just not brought up on going there even though we all grew up 2hrs from disney

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

I love WDW... in January. We don't like the heat or crowds so we woud never visit during peak seasons. We live in the arctic, so January in Florida is warm enough for us I know we would hate it in July, I just can't imagine So I guess it's different strokes for different folks

My brother and his family went in July one year because they are teachers in the arctic so they can't leave during the school year. They hated it because of the heat and crowds. We warned them but SIL knew it was the only way her niece would ever see WDW. They said they were glad they did it for her but they won't be back. The little girl was overwhelmed, she had never left the north before a couple of summers ago. They don't have children of their own but they bring one of their neices south every summer. They live in a remote inuit community of 600. The children don't speak much English, but they know about Disney from tv!

 

[danceintherain]

What makes anyone not like something that others love?

It's almost completely personality. If someone spends 80% of their life whining and complaining about something, then they'll do the same thing at Disney. It's possible that a truly remarkable experience could change their minds, but they have to be open to it.

There are A LOT of things not to like about Disney....cost...crowds....over-stimulation. I would think that there are Disney haters at both ends of the spectrum. You have the people with super high expectations and the people who have low expectations refusing to accept being proven wrong.

Super High Expectations: Disney gets a lot of hype from people. It's hard not to talk about it all the time when you love it so much. When you've never been before, then you may find it hard for it to live up to the hype. Then you see the bill...in our World of instant gratification it becomes easy to expect a lot out of something that costs so much. You assume that since you've deemed YOUR precious money worth using for Disney that Disney should make it worth your while. You are completely oblivious of the fact that thousands of other people are thinking the exact same thing.

The Super High Expectation people can be sub-categorized even further
The over planners and the under planners.
The over planners MUST get their money's worth no matter what. They plan every minute of their trip, and push push push. They want to ride every single attraction, see every single show, and meet every single character. The reality of this ambition is lost on them, and they are seen yelling at their children who are too tired to go to that one extra attraction or get out of bed in the morning. Staying in bed watching TV all day HAS to be a better vacation than spending 5 more minutes with their slave driving parent, right? Thus, the parent perpetuates the self-fulfilling prophecy that this will be a once in a lifetime trip for both them and their children.

The under planners EXPECT to get their money's worth with little or no effort on their part. They arrive with very little thought put into this vacation. Some will have at least made hotel reservations, because that Disney obsessed person in their life mentioned that staying on property is fantastic. Others will have ignored that super annoying Disney obsessed person, and arrive whenever they wanted, thinking that of course there will be availability even though its a holiday. Some will find suitable hotels, others will not. They hardly ever wake up before 10 or 11 am, and are incredibly surprised that the parks are packed when they get there. They might brush this off thinking...it must always be like this. They walk up to the first ride they see, and end up waiting over an hour. The ride does not live up to their expectations. Their kids grab everything off the shelves when they exit the ride, so they buy something, and end up carrying it around the park for the rest of the day. They ignore the CM who asks if they want it delivered to their room, or sent to the front of the park for pick up later. The next ride they ride has similar results, except they keep seeing these rude people moving very quickly in a line next to them. Instead of asking what the line is, when their kids complain they say "those are the snotty rich people who paid extra so they can cut in front of you." Maybe they even jump into the fast moving line only to have a VERY rude CM tell ask them for their Fast Passes when they get close to loading.
Then it's lunch time...they walk up to a restaurant at Noon on the dot and ask for a table. They proceed to get into an argument with the CM behind the podium. "No, I don't have a reservation! How long is the wait?" The CM responds with "I can get you in at 2pm." "I don't want to wait until 2pm, my kids are hungry now!" "Our only opening is at 2pm...we are completely booked until then" They look around and only see maybe 20 people waiting. "It's going to take 2 hours for these 20 people to eat!" "Well no, but more people will be here for their reservations soon." They get very frustrated and eat Counter Service for the rest of the trip.
When they return they complain that they spent tons of money and were treated terribly. Of course they don't believe you when you explain the Fast Pass and ADR system to them. That would NOT have made THEIR trip any better.

Then there's the Super Low Expectation people. For these, there was never any hope. They've already decided that they're going to hate it. They'll complain that it cost too much, the lines were too long, the rooms were too small etc etc. They don't understand why an adult would enjoy a theme park centered around children's movies.

I was very worried that my husband wouldn't like Disney before we went. He loves it though. We did have a few bumps in the road. I tried to over-plan, but luckily our trip was 10 days long, so the super intense first few days were balanced by the super relaxed last few days.
My BIL who doesn't "get" animated movies and TV shows even loves Disney.

 

[homebug]

I am a self-confessed Disney Freak!!! I love Disney - I hadn't been in over 18 years when I brought my then 6 and 9 year old last October - I was hooked!!

We were able to bring the whole family to WDW this month - while it was hot, hot, hot and the older boys had troubles dealing with youngers ones (as did dh), we had a great time and are even discussing going back again next year and what we will do differently.

I'm planning to take a solo trip in December - to see the Christmas lights. As much as I would love to take my guys with me, I really want to have a couple of days doing Disney for me, and me alone. I don't think my guys are as obsessed with Disney as I am!!

Now my co-worker (we're both travel agents) has absolutely no desire to go to Disney or any kind of theme park. She also has no desire to have children (even though she still likes to give me parenting advice - which I smile and nod at ). She would much rather go to Europe.

As a travel agent, it is surprising how little people actually know about Disney - including my co-workers. I always recommend the disboards to my clients so they can do some of their own research and have a great trip - nothing worse than having your client come home and complain about how awful Disney was!!

 

[shelemm]

There are plenty of horror stories in the Unoffical Guide, especially the chapter "WDW with Kids." I think it is easy to have a rotten time with long, lines, crowds, heat, hefty expenses, and unfulfilled expectations.

In fact, one of the reasons for this forum is to help people avoid disappointment at WDW.

My only negative experience happened at DL about 1984. I was just out of college and visiting a friend in LA. We are both from Florida and have been to WDW many times. We had a free afternoon, were 'stuck' in Anaheim, and decided to do a half day at DL. The first ride we got on was Big Thunder. Hmmm, that line doesn't look too long...... WRONG! The exterior line vanished quickly, but the snaking line inside was interminable. The next ride also looked 'not too bad.' We kept looking and looking to see if there was any way there could be a 'secret' line, but it really didn't look like it. So we waited on that line. Again, the line did have many hidden twists and turns. The entire afternoon was spent on two lines waiting for 4 minute rides. We left.

 

[mousireid]

I agree, the HEAT can realy zap children and adults alike, and is SO tiring. I admit our first day at AK only lasted until lunch time because the heat and amount of walking really surprised us (and we DID research and lightly plan). We WILL go back at some point, but know that we laughed about it anyway, even if it got a little 'miserable' there for a few moments! Just moved to Plan B (pool/nap). Thankfully we were all able to agree with Plan B!
So, other people may have made the experience Worse - its all how you look at it.

 

[seadd67]

I think really its personal thing,you can love Disney and just not enjoy the Parks!. People with fobies to crowds and large places. Now for us, me and my DS Its what we plan every year and look forward to, this year we are doing both DL and WDW. Now my DS he Is now 17 hes getting to that point where he's not to sure If going to Disney Is for him,but he's still really crank to be going for now. But his love for Disney I think will stay with him forever, maybe just not doing the yearly track to flordia. Its just something you love or not the Inbetweeners are the ones typcialy are the ones that go once or twice and thats It. Now For my self, I could see going It alone,It would be diffrent and hard not to experince It with my DS, but i could see It. The joy the Parks give me has changed how, I look at life, lets me slow down and enjoy It. I appreciate just how lucky I am.

 

[MamaLema]

DH's cousin's family went and said they wouldn't go again. They went during March Break, no planning at all, no knowledge about the existence of fast pass. They said it was too much walking and "too much work"

Disney isn't for everybody. Sometimes it's hard to see that especially on this board

 

[Squidgyness]

So I see that I am among a minority here

In regards to the whole "never used a car" thing, neither have I and I have always stayed off site. Just as you say that people have no idea of fast pass, you have no idea of what to expect when off site.

Im not saying that staying onsite isnt magical, its just that people who have never stayed off site, or stayed in the wrong places, I.E off international drive, dont know what to expect.

In their minds, you are in the Gobi desert, far away from any links to anywhere, few places to eat, tiny rooms. In reality, where we stay we have daily shuttles to ALL the parks, we can catch the I ride (though I have refused to do so as I hate waits) we can call a cab, which is cheaper than you'd think and avoids the issues with public transport, be it off site or on site (heard of a few nightmares on Disney Transport), eat at loads of cheap resteraunts, no ressies needed, and shop outside the parks as well as in. We get a 2 room suite too, a lifesaver if you have more than 4 people or 4 older/younger kids, living room spreads everyone out and can avoid all that stress from being in a small space with you family.

I know I'm repeating myself here.

Bear in mind, im not saying that location of stay does not have a bearing, just that onsite is NOT a prerequisite, especially for the intnl. travellers.

As to planning, we did research, I was too young for the first trip, but after that you get the hang of it. We pretty much know what to do and what not to do, its all in the experience you get on multiple trips.

Having said that, I would feel really trapped by ADR as another poster said above me.

 

[laceemouse]

DH's cousin's family went and said they wouldn't go again. They went during March Break, no planning at all, no knowledge about the existence of fast pass. They said it was too much walking and "too much work"

Disney isn't for everybody. Sometimes it's hard to see that especially on this board

Yep, I hate sports. I have no desire to spend my vacation skiing or anything like that. I hate fishing and I think hunting is barbaric. Camping is yukky. Some people love that stuff, not me.
Also, some people go planning to hate it. They know they will only go once and they just want to get it over with. They go when it is hot and crowded, do no research, and just look at the crowds and the money. Most likely they will not be won over by the magic.

 

[Poohbear123]

Which is great for me, cause I GET TO GO ALONE!!! And meet up with my "other" Disney lovin' buddies! Its a nice vacation for me, it really really really is! Wish I could go EVERY Weekend.

 

[jkh1978]

The first time I wanted to go with my wife, she didn't understand why I was so excited. She went with her family before, but that says more about her family... even the Disney magic can't compete with them.