How do you describe Disney World to some who's never been there?

[twokids0204]

I am trying to explain to some co-workers what a Disney Vacation is all about.

Having never been there, they compare it to local amusment parks (6 flag's type places).

I try to tell them, it's not simply a Amusment Park with Carnival Games, it's an ENTIRE WORLD that encompasses everything you could imagine.

"Yeah, but does it have a triple looping backwards roller coaster?"

Uggggggh, they just don't get it.

So how do you explain to them what Disney has to offer?

 

[Dee77]

Having only been there once so far, I would have to say that it is so much more than "rides", it's the entire atmosphere. The workers are all so friendly and helpful. The parks and resorts are all so clean. Plus so many of my friends and family that are repeat visitors all say that there is still so much more for them to see/do. What local amusement park can say that it keeps you interested for years and years as well as being good for children and adults of all ages.

 

[snow.white]

I am trying to explain to some co-workers what a Disney Vacation is all about.

Having never been there, they compare it to local amusment parks (6 flag's type places).

I try to tell them, it's not simply a Amusment Park with Carnival Games, it's an ENTIRE WORLD that encompasses everything you could imagine.

"Yeah, but does it have a triple looping backwards roller coaster?"

Uggggggh, they just don't get it.

So how do you explain to them what Disney has to offer?

I think the fact that they are asking for a triple looping backwards roller coaster may be reason enough to end it there IMHO.
My experience with roller coaster lovers in WDW is always ,"this place is boring" or how about "that ride sucked".
I can get very upset when people make those comments to me so thats why when co workers/ friends start asking for roller coasters I just send them to universal islands of adventure

 

[BoardWalkBelle]

Tell them it is about magic and wonder. It is about being 45 years old but feeling like you are 10 again. It is about watching you children become wide eyed and giggly at meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time, or 10th time. It is about spending time together with loved ones at the most magical place on earth. It is about staying at a wonderfully themed hotel and experiencing the magic 24 hours a day. It is about experiencing many different dining options.
It is about the stepping on to Main St USA and crying becasue you are so happy to be there. It is about gazing upon Cinderella Castle with marvel about how beautiful it is sitting at the end of main St. It is experiencing the emotionally chargedmagic of Wishes at the end of the day, watching the fireworks explode in the sky above Cinderella castle , and although every body is tired from a long day, you cannot wait until tommorw to do it all again.

 

[erddig]

I give them the facts 4 parks-resorts, tell them it's so much more than "magic", show them a couple of pictures, (my eyes usually well up and if they know me- not a crier-they begin to understand how truely specail it is) I tell them I can't imagine NEVER going again. I tell then they can go with out breaking the bank. Then I always tell them my husband and I never fight there, not even a bicker....but they never really know until they go....then they are hooked .

BUT there are those alien folks who go and don't like it.....

 

[erinbee]

I tell them it is a great vacation because:
- 4 major theme parks together
- 2 awesome water parks
- Awesome restaurants
- Great shopping (well I may stretch the meaning of great here)
-Beautiful resorts with pools and amenities-a-go-go
-Great weather
-Broadway quality shows

Frankly, I think non-Disney people think me a wacko if I start talking "magic" and "wonder" and pixie dust. They don't get it yet.

 

[hoosll]

I usually tell people that they will be AMAZED at just how large WDW is .... that it has its own private road and transportation systems. I also tell them it is NOT like any other amusement park they have ever been to ... the rides are INSIDE buildings so if you do not do your research you will wander around wondering what there is to do ... even the restaurants have themes and you need to have ressies to enjoy them. The hotels are built around themes and it is worth it to find a resort room you can afford so you can stay in the World. How many amusement parks have multiple golf courses, water parks, boats and fishing, and a monorail.

WDW is the only place in the world where I know immediately that I am on vacation, it doesn't take me 24 hours to de-compress ... I cry when I arrive and I cry when I leave.

The best part is becoming a child again so we now love to go without our kids (we used to embarass them!) but I'm looking forward to taking my DGS some day soon so I can see him come under Walt's spell ... we used to take the kids to Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion so I don't think they ever quite got the fantasy of WDW, they wanted roller coasters ... if I had it to do again, we would spend time, watching the classic movies again so they could recognize the characters and re-live the stories.

 

[brightvalleyjrts]

TO me it just magical!!!

The whole experience for me is wonderful. From the cleanliness of the parks and grounds, to the characters, to the wonderful CM's. When we were there in March 2008, I think I cried several times just b/c I was so happy. I have never cried in any other amusement park. LOL!!

And to see it through your children's eyes, is just a whole other level of Magic!!! Ok, I am tearing up talking about it. LOL!!

 

[mossy1]

To me explaining Disney to someone I usually say its all about the details and atmosphere. In todays "instant" world I feel a lot of those type of things are lost by the eye of the beholder. IMO Disney does an incredible job of making magic around every corner(if you know how to find it).

 

[Scraper]

Disney does not build rides they build prductions. There are stories and movies all around you. Fact, Fiction. Romance, action, and adventure and family. It is nothing like any other thing. No one does it like Disney.

 

[disnut8]

I just remind them that whatever amusement park they are talking about can fit into the Magic Kingdom PARKING LOT! If they bring up the roller coaster thing, I mention that Disney World is much more than just roller coasters but if that's all the person wants, then they should just stick to the boring local amusement park that hardly ever changes.

 

[ajleone]

I think the fact that they are asking for a triple looping backwards roller coaster may be reason enough to end it there IMHO.
My experience with roller coaster lovers in WDW is always ,"this place is boring" or how about "that ride sucked".
I can get very upset when people make those comments to me so thats why when co workers/ friends start asking for roller coasters I just send them to universal islands of adventure

This reminded me of a quote I recently saw- "Disney- for those who get it; no explanation needed. For those who don't; no explanation possible." I really think it sums it all up.

 

[Luvamouse]

I am trying to explain to some co-workers what a Disney Vacation is all about.

Having never been there, they compare it to local amusment parks (6 flag's type places).

I try to tell them, it's not simply a Amusment Park with Carnival Games, it's an ENTIRE WORLD that encompasses everything you could imagine.

"Yeah, but does it have a triple looping backwards roller coaster?"

Uggggggh, they just don't get it.

So how do you explain to them what Disney has to offer?

It's not just you. I honestly don't think it is possible to adequately explain it, even to those receptive to the explanation. My DH and DDs watched every planning DVD, YouTube vids of the rides, read all my literature, showed them the map, compared the size of the property to a local town... Well, you get it, everything possible. My biggest explanation is the complete immersion in all things Disney. Yet their jaws dropped when we neared the property and all the Highway signs began to show park and resort names. When the hit the gates the simply stopped talking. After 10 days there, my DD 14 still says there is no way they could have been prepared. She will tell me she never really understood how massive and all "Disney" it was. DH agrees wholeheartedly and says the guys at work "don't get it". I am so happy he does and so moved our trip from 2010 to 2009!!

This reminded me of a quote I recently saw- "Disney- for those who get it; no explanation needed. For those who don't; no explanation possible." I really think it sums it all up.

And there you have it, the perfect explanation.

 

[Cinderella1122]

My experience with roller coaster lovers in WDW is always ,"this place is boring" or how about "that ride sucked".

This was me as a teenager I hated all of the Disney "thrill" rides becauses they were not as cool and as fast as the coasters at the local six flags. Now being in my mid-twenties, you can't get me off of TOT, SM, and EE. I've come to enjoy the Disney trill rides for their storyline and inventivness.

Tell them it is about magic and wonder. It is about being 45 years old but feeling like you are 10 again. It is about watching you children become wide eyed and giggly at meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time, or 10th time. It is about spending time together with loved ones at the most magical place on earth. It is about staying at a wonderfully themed hotel and experiencing the magic 24 hours a day. It is about experiencing many different dining options.
It is about the stepping on to Main St USA and crying becasue you are so happy to be there. It is about gazing upon Cinderella Castle with marvel about how beautiful it is sitting at the end of main St. It is experiencing the emotionally chargedmagic of Wishes at the end of the day, watching the fireworks explode in the sky above Cinderella castle , and although every body is tired from a long day, you cannot wait until tommorw to do it all again.

This is so well put, it made me cry! It's so true!

 

[MonorailDriver]

You can not properly describe WDW to someone who has not been there, but if you are going to try here's what I would say...first warn them that no matter what your description will not do it justice, it's more then just Mickey, it's more then just a castle, it's happiest place on Earth where adults, problems, and stresses do not exist. It's 5 star accommodations and restaurants that serve any cuisine you could imagine. It's 4 theme parks with something for everyone, plus water parks, shopping, mini golf and The Wide World of Sports. It's the kind of place that surprises you no matter how many times you've been there...it's just magical.


I sound like a commercial

 

[summermac]

I don't know how to describe it b/c no matter how well that first time is amazing and overwhelming and breath taking. Ohio is full of amusement parks but none of them compare or even deserve to be in the same breath as WDW. What I love about WDW is just what someone else said, the entire ride is an experience. My mom doesn't enjoy thrill rides but she LOVES going on ToT just for the pre ride stuff. Loves it. It's awesome, what more can I say??

 

[Kitzer]

Disney does not build rides they build prductions. There are stories and movies all around you. Fact, Fiction. Romance, action, and adventure and family. It is nothing like any other thing. No one does it like Disney.

We'll said Scraper! The production of the whole thing is awesome! I love that you don't even see one burned out light bulb. Everything is clean and manicured and in good working condition. My son just returned from Disney college and he told me that the parks are never empty because once the "guests" leave, the entire park is full of staff cleaning, fixing, and preparing for the following days production. Because so much care is taken, it's easy to become a part of those various fantasy's and adventures.

 

[NLD]

IMHO if they are roller coaster lovers, don't try to convince them that Disney is "better" than their local amusement parks.

I AM a roller coaster lover. I also grew up going to Disneyland and loved that. When I went to WDW for the first (and only, so far) time in high school, to be honest... it was disappointing.

Why? Because I didn't "get" what WDW was all about. It started, finally, to sink in the night we went to Epcot and watched Illuminations over the lagoon, standing near the Mexico pavilion. At that moment, I was completely and utterly at peace and so happy to be there.

It's sad that it took me our entire trip to even begin to understand. If someone had just said, "No it's NOT about the rides, it's about immersion in an experience" I think that would have helped. Telling me it's BETTER than our local theme park did not help--not at all. Because IMO, WDW is NOT better than our local park (Hershey) when it comes to thrill rides. In fact, it's immeasurably worse.

So comparing the two doesn't work. But if someone had said, "Look, it's a completely diferent experience from Hershey (not better, not worse--just different)--it's about immersion in an experience, it's about stories, it's about visual details"---THAT would have helped.

Anyway I still love love love roller coasters and thrill rides. I also, finally, "get" WDW (I think) and am excited beyond measure to be going back now, as an adult, bringing my dd for the first time and watching her live the magic that I remember from being a child at DL.

But they really are very different experiences. If people who are coaster lovers are told WDW is "better" than their Six Flags or whatever, I think they'll be disappointed... because they'll be coming from a completely wrong frame of reference/expectations. Tell them it's DIFFERENT, talk about details, the visuals, all of that. Tell them NOT to expect great thrills, but if they go, to slow down and enjoy the stories and themes.

Going to WDW expecting thrills is IMHO a really bad idea. It does lead to disappointment. If you can get them to think about it in a totally different frame of mind though... to go for the details....then it can be okay.

 

[AustinTink]

It's a whole new world.

 

[pennylynn]

My sister-in-law went to WDW for the first time 2 years ago at age 54. She wasn't really sure that she even wanted to go but gave in to her two 8 year old grandsons. After we came home she said that it was like being transported to a fourth dimension. Someplace very magical that was a totally different experience from anything she had ever experienced before.