I feel bad for people who don't research

[gometros]

We are in AK last Friday and rode EE single rider. The standby wait was around an hour. They now have wait times posted for single rider and ours was 10 minutes. While we were waiting we saw two people come off the standby line, both singles. I could only shake my head.

 

[mom2rtk]

No need to feel bad. We all make choices. And there might have been more to it than you saw.

 

[SureAsLiz]

They could have also been FP+ users. The FP+ and Standby lines merge out of view from single rider.
I single ride all the time, but I rarely use the single rider line

 

[Gentry2004]

There will always be people scanning their FP+ for IASW at 9:10am. What can you do?

 

[tlmadden73]

I do too.
Think of all the people that "waste" their Fast Passes on shows ... or half the attractions at Epcot.

The odd thing is .. the more people who DO their research, then the less valuable the research we do is.

If EVERYONE knew that making a FP reservation for most rides between 9-10 am was a waste, think of how much harder it would get to get the mid-day fast passes.
(But on the flip side, how much faster would standby lines go that first hour?)

If EVERYONE knew you really don't need a FP for Living with the Land or The Seas with Nemo and Friends, think about how hard it may be to get other Tier 2 rides at Epcot (oh wait .. is there a Tier 2 ride at Epcot that really needs a FP?)

 

[kmv]

My BFF went to Disney last week and like 3 weeks ago was saying she felt awful for her kids (8, 5 and 4) bc she couldn't reserve a single character meal bc she planned their trip just 2 months ago. I tried to explain the tricks and she got confused....I took her MDE username and password to get ressies for her. She ended up at: Tusker breakfast, Garden Grill breakfast, CP dinner and CRT breakfast. I did it for her bc she couldn't quite get how easy it is if you research how to do things!

So easy if you spend a little time on the boards and googling things!

 

[MKNJ]

If EVERYONE knew you really don't need a FP for Living with the Land or The Seas with Nemo and Friends, think about how hard it may be to get other Tier 2 rides at Epcot (oh wait .. is there a Tier 2 ride at Epcot that really needs a FP?)[/QUOTE]

Got into a huge fight with my wife at Epcot over this. I wanted to wait with our daughter to meet Jasmine and Alladin, but that meant we would have missed our Fastpass to Figment. I reminded her that we don't really need the Fastpass to Figment, we just had it because there was nothing better to use it on. Miraculously, I won the argument, we met Jasmine and Alladin and, afterwards, walked onto Figment. She never did apologize though.....

 

[SureAsLiz]

Think of all the people that "waste" their Fast Passes on shows ... or half the attractions at Epcot.

But what if some did their research and decided that the top attractions were a waste instead of the shows?
I place a lot of value on shows/entertainment and seating for it. I place little value on thrill attractions.

Researching tells me I should be booking my DHS tier 1 pass at Coaster or Toy Story. But as someone who doesn't do well with inversions or 3d those would be awful choices. Instead I book BATB because it's something that 1) I value and 2) won't make me sick.


There's a lot that goes into a Disney trip, and it's easy to get lost in what 'should' be done to have the best trip. In the end, it really only matters that the individual/family/group enjoyed themselves no matter the 'correct' way to experience a park

 

[Annalise H.]

I was at Disney World over the Christmas holiday last year and overheard a frustrated dad from the UK complain that his family had been at MK all day and had only ridden like 3 rides cause the lines were so long. A cast member tried to explain FP+ but I think he was just over it all by then. To come all the way from the UK and not have researched or planned out park days was heartbreaking to hear. Meanwhile, my family and I hit up just about every attraction in the 2 days we spent at MK thanks to planning and using FP+ early in the day.

 

[Klayfish]

I do too.
Think of all the people that "waste" their Fast Passes on shows ... or half the attractions at Epcot.

The odd thing is .. the more people who DO their research, then the less valuable the research we do is.

If EVERYONE knew that making a FP reservation for most rides between 9-10 am was a waste, think of how much harder it would get to get the mid-day fast passes.
(But on the flip side, how much faster would standby lines go that first hour?)

If EVERYONE knew you really don't need a FP for Living with the Land or The Seas with Nemo and Friends, think about how hard it may be to get other Tier 2 rides at Epcot (oh wait .. is there a Tier 2 ride at Epcot that really needs a FP?)

Right. Or some people get FP+ for a line-less ride at 9:10am just so they can start burning through FP+ to get to another one earlier. But not everyone would know that...if they all did, I can only imagine what that would be like.

 

[IrishNYC]

We are in AK last Friday and rode EE single rider. The standby wait was around an hour. They now have wait times posted for single rider and ours was 10 minutes. While we were waiting we saw two people come off the standby line, both singles. I could only shake my head.

You know what's a great policy when it comes to things like this? You do you. Don't worry about why someone else uses their time they way they do. Maybe they wanted to see the queue. Maybe they had a lot of time to kill. Maybe they didn't like the person that entered single rider before they would have. Who knows. You do you.

 

[luvsJack]

I just always assume others enjoy their visit differently than we do ours. Some folks don't ride the headliners. (I don't ride any of the mountains, EE, RnRC, or ToT). Some prefer things like Figment, ISWA, Pirates or whatever so maybe they "waste" their FP+ on those. Some prefer shows so they "waste" theirs there. Before FP+ they would not have worried about getting a fp. Now its almost part of booking a trip. Some don't like to ride singles, they want to ride together (I am guessing the two you saw were maybe riding together?). Some folks only plan to be in the park in the morning and are leaving to go to a beach or to the pool at noon so they use their FP+ in the a.m.

I wouldn't assume they didn't "research". Besides that's one of the things that turns some people off to WDW; thinking you have to do all this research and planning.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I wouldn't feel bad for them. I know plenty of people who go to WDW and don't plan a single thing and have a great time. Most people I know go, stay offsite for a week, do maybe 1-2 Disney parks and other Orlando attractions while there. They don't even plan FP or just do SDFP and they talk about how much fun they had.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

My very best friend at work has heard me talk for years about WDW and how much we enjoy it. She wanted to go very badly, but her husband would just never commit to it. FINALLY they are going. They booked the trip this week to go down next Tuesday. VERY little time to do any advance planning but we are doing our best, and actually got ADR's and FP+ for her.

Her hubby keeps thinking of WDW as Six Flags on steroids and it's just hard to make someone comprehend all the planning that would help. I'm sure they will have a good time but I know they would have had more if we could have a little more time.

 

[Linkura]

Their loss is our gain. While I do feel bad for them, it does make things a lot easier for those who DO plan.

 

[Westcoastwild]

I was at Disney World over the Christmas holiday last year and overheard a frustrated dad from the UK complain that his family had been at MK all day and had only ridden like 3 rides cause the lines were so long. A cast member tried to explain FP+ but I think he was just over it all by then. To come all the way from the UK and not have researched or planned out park days was heartbreaking to hear. Meanwhile, my family and I hit up just about every attraction in the 2 days we spent at MK thanks to planning and using FP+ early in the day.

I'd personally replace "heartbreaking" with "mind boggling stupidity".

Because the way I see it is:

There are websites and blogs and entire guidebooks dedicated to Disneyworld. My research method for Disney is exactly the same as my methods for a trip to Paris, or Pompeii, or Washington DC. Except the Dis actually kind of stresses me out when I'm planning because I tend to second guess myself too much. But this British family lives in Europe, has access to world famous museums and historic sites that, guess what, require planning to visit. There are crowds and lines everywhere. Maybe one could argue that a family from rural Texas who rarely travels outside of Texas would be caught off guard by the amount of planning. I don't know. I wouldn't, because they probably have internet access and they can go to Barnes and Noble. But international visitors from Europe, nope. They just chose not to plan, and had a really frustrating time. Hopefully that was their first day, one of many, and they got the chance to turn it around. Everyone screws up sometimes. I went to Florence on a whim, and for the first few hours was kind of disappointed because the lines were SO long. But then I bought a museum pass, researched that night, and made the next day count.

Plus, it isn't like WDW doesn't make the information available and it's not like it's hard to find touring information on line. In fact- the trip I'm planning right now for Japan? I can actually find more reviews and trip reports for TDL and DisneySea in English that I can for a lot of Tokyo attractions. It's not that there is a shortage of Japanese tourist information in English. It's just that the Disney parks are something that a huge number of American tourists hit and they all write about it. And that is nothing compared to the huge number of resources out there for WDW.

Anyway: You can't fix stupid. I've got some sympathy for the people who make mistakes planning, such as underestimate how long it takes to park hop, or how expenses can pile up, or not taking to account how the weather will impact their touring style. But I don't have any sympathy for people who don't bother to do any research at all on a trip that is probably costing them thousands of dollars.

 

[tlmadden73]

But what if some did their research and decided that the top attractions were a waste instead of the shows?
I place a lot of value on shows/entertainment and seating for it. I place little value on thrill attractions.

Researching tells me I should be booking my DHS tier 1 pass at Coaster or Toy Story. But as someone who doesn't do well with inversions or 3d those would be awful choices. Instead I book BATB because it's something that 1) I value and 2) won't make me sick.


There's a lot that goes into a Disney trip, and it's easy to get lost in what 'should' be done to have the best trip. In the end, it really only matters that the individual/family/group enjoyed themselves no matter the 'correct' way to experience a park

Oh sure .. to each their own, but for those who don't know better, I feel the system can really hurt them. But hey .. if they are happy they skipped a line, then the system works and they will learn for next time.

I know I've been guilty of some inefficiencies in the past as well due to inexperience. (like making a FP to Disney Junior at 9:30 AM ).
I just won't repeat those mistakes.

I personally don't "value" FP for shows (after making some during my first forays into FP+)
1) There is no line to wait in really.. Everyone is usually let in around the same time. You aren't really saving time like you would with a ride attraction.
2) I have never felt I needed better seating at a Disney show.. .*shrug* they are big enough productions.

 

[bnhonest]

I would only say that most first timers don't know what they don't know. And even if they have somebody help them plan it out, when they get there, it's still a lot to take in come to terms with, so they still probably miss a lot. Heck, I would venture to say that it's probably pretty overwhelming for 2nd timers too. 2nd timers know to at least put a plan together, but even then, it's still just a lot.

It gets easier to plan every time though.

 

[SaharanTea]

My very best friend at work has heard me talk for years about WDW and how much we enjoy it. She wanted to go very badly, but her husband would just never commit to it. FINALLY they are going. They booked the trip this week to go down next Tuesday. VERY little time to do any advance planning but we are doing our best, and actually got ADR's and FP+ for her.

Her hubby keeps thinking of WDW as Six Flags on steroids and it's just hard to make someone comprehend all the planning that would help. I'm sure they will have a good time but I know they would have had more if we could have a little more time.

My wife thought the same thing before visiting as a teenager--Six Flags on steroids (obviously before we were married). She didn't really get it and was never very gung-ho on going back. I had been several times as a kid and loved it. We even went once together in college, but we kind of winged it, and it never caught on with her.

We took our kids last year for their first visit. I spent nine months planning that trip. Let's just say the decision to go back this year was not mine.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Most people couldn't imagine planning a trip that costs thousands of dollars without some research. But there will always be those that do just that.

I can't feel sorry for them.