I feel bad for people who don't research

[Koogs]

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.

I don't know about feeling sorry for them or not. But I think most people don't realize the enormity of planning that is needed.
We've gone a few times over the years as a couple, then with my son about 3 years ago. We had good trips each time, however, the first couple we went on as a couple, there was a little bit of planning, but not crazy planning, we had a good time, got to walk in and get served, waited on lines, but got to see things.

Things were different 3 years ago. We planned, but didn't plan a lot and were really didn't know what to expect with our 3 year old. We had a dining reservation or 2, but didn't realize that we'd hit a few restaurants where we couldn't get a table at all on the day of, and not the super popular ones either. Some of the rider lines were crazy. We had trouble working the fast pass situation where you had to go to the ride in advance and come back with the kid in tow. It was eye opening for us a bit. Still had a decent trip, but we did have moments of terrible frustration and missed attractions that we really wanted to see.

We went in Feb, I planned and did reservations. We didn't book 180 days out, so we didn't get all the dining we wanted, but I got a good set. I planned the FPs out too, but even having planned out 30 days in advance, we had to make changes on the week and day of when we reshuffled things due to a delayed flight and switching park days. We had a blast, and it worked, but I still felt like I would totally have planned some things differently and you only realize it by experiencing it and at that time its a bit too late.

I guess my point is, Disney planning for those that don't eat sleep and breathe the parks is very difficult from behind a computer or guidebook. Its unlike any other trip you plan and even those that try and prepare themselves, generally you fall short and can't do everything you thought you were going to and have limited ability to change last minute.

 

[KimBean]

We don't do very much advance planning because we enjoy spontaneity too much, enjoy PH'ing. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to enjoy vacations - even Disney! But, don't feel sorry for us - we leave very happy and relaxed!

We do everything we want. Sure, I make a couple ADR's for don't miss restaurants, FP's that we move around, even the day of, but nothing is 'fixed'. Would drive us nuts! We don't do rope drop anymore, summers, or holidays (never), but we always get any FP that we want, plus lots of short SB's. Just a month ago did short SB's for Frozen, Soarin' and 7DMT, plus our FP's - even day of FP's.

We are all different, so stands to reason our vacations would be also. Planning, scheduling months in advance would stress me out - no way. But, if that's what anyone else wants - that's great for them.

I sure do see a lot of people though rushing through meals, etc. because "we need to get to X at such and such time, so hurry"!! See a lot of unhappy kids too. Many times on these forums people will ask "how long will it take to eat at X because we need to be at XY soon"! Relaxing at Disney's very expensive TS's is part of the experience for us.

Yep, and when we plan to military precision, synchronize our watches, rope drop and squeeze every bit of juice out of everyday we leave very happy and relaxed too. So I completely agree with your point. There is no wrong or right way to enjoy Disney. But I am certainly blessed with a like minded husband and two like minded children. Both my kids are making autograph books (custom) and including their own personal must do lists and lots of stuff to check off, snack credits, characters met, must do rides. Just all of our personalities, so yes, if people are unhappy they should change. But, we have never had an unhappy moment at Disney, we love all the planning in advance.

 

[KimBean]

A spreadsheet? That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!


I had a little notebook


Seriously, I thing my kids had maybe two attractions that they both enjoyed. I had one thrill junkie who thought princesses were "lame" and one character hound who refused to ride anything wilder than Dumbo. The one thing they did agree on was how to pass time in line:
DD: Maaaaawwwwmmmm! He's touching me!
DS: She touched me first!
DD: Nuh-unh, you're always touching me and you're stinky!
DS: (touch, touch, touch)
DD: (well aimed kick)
Me: Stop it, stop it, stop it! If you two don't cut it out we're going straight back to the camper, do you hear me?
DD: No fair! It's not my fault. Quit touching me!!!!!!!
DS: (touch, touch, touch)
LSDH (Long Suffering DH): Do they sell beer here?

So, in the days before FP of any kind I always had a pretty detailed plan. It was the only way to meet Cindy and ride Space Mountain without making a scene. To this day I have an irrational fear of lines.

I have sooooo many spreadsheets I keep finding ones that I forgot I even made. But, I don't carry them with me and they have precisely planned beer stops on them.

 

[KimBean]

True ..

I am not trying to criticize those who CHOOSE to get a show FP. I am criticizing the system.

My point really is that I don't think Fast Passes for shows should exist AT ALL and I feel that newcomers get "duped" into making them without knowing any better that they aren't saving you any time like skipping a LONG ride line does.

The only reason there are Fast Passes for shows is because there simply isn't enough attractions at Epcot, DHS and AK to make it work well without all the popular rides filling up quickly, so they are literally just filler. They exist simply to get people to spread out their Fast Passes .. and those people who unknowingly take those Fast Passes - newcomers who don't know any better.

I mean why does Muppets take a Fast Pass but Country Bears does not? They are essentially the same type of show. You go to a waiting area, after 10-15 minutes you go into a giant theater, take a seat and watch a 10 minute show.

All that being said, I think adding Star Wars and Toy Story attractions to DHS will help immensely (though I bet they will keep the tiering to help divide out the new attractions). Epcot is still hurting though with a lack of "FP-worthy" attractions.

No one wants to see country bears?

 

[Matoskah Poodle]

My DH and his sister decided to go to book a WDW vaca fro themsselves last Sept. DH and I had went in April for his first time and had a blast. I had done my research and have been a few times too. Well they did not want to research anything. No FP+. No ADR. Sister was dead set on just enjoying a schedule free week. "I don't plan my Six FLag trips so why should I plan this?" Yea. Sooooo after spending 2 days standing in long lines and eating quick service they called to see if I could teach them how to book ADR and FP+. Sister changed her tune a litte. "This place is soo much larger then Six Flags" I could only shake my head and wonder how I married into this family

 

[Westcoastwild]

A spreadsheet? That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!


I had a little notebook


Seriously, I thing my kids had maybe two attractions that they both enjoyed. I had one thrill junkie who thought princesses were "lame" and one character hound who refused to ride anything wilder than Dumbo. The one thing they did agree on was how to pass time in line:
DD: Maaaaawwwwmmmm! He's touching me!
DS: She touched me first!
DD: Nuh-unh, you're always touching me and you're stinky!
DS: (touch, touch, touch)
DD: (well aimed kick)
Me: Stop it, stop it, stop it! If you two don't cut it out we're going straight back to the camper, do you hear me?
DD: No fair! It's not my fault. Quit touching me!!!!!!!
DS: (touch, touch, touch)
LSDH (Long Suffering DH): Do they sell beer here?

So, in the days before FP of any kind I always had a pretty detailed plan. It was the only way to meet Cindy and ride Space Mountain without making a scene. To this day I have an irrational fear of lines.

You just summarized every single family vacation I went on with my family as a kid. Except my father would have been more like VCNHH (very cranky nearly homicidal husband) "I NEED a beer, or I'm leaving. do you hear me??"

And people wonder why I enjoy solo trips so much...

 

[Westcoastwild]

My wife and I split up every time on EE. The best use of 30 minutes of her time is 3 or 4 times through the single rider line. The best use of 30 minutes of my time is in the standby queue, which I find really interesting, and one ride.

That's a good point. There are attractions like that that I do standby specifically for the queue and my ride fanatic friends and family would not do that with me.

 

[Westcoastwild]

I was in Disneyland the weekend before last (first time ever!), and before I get to my point, let me just say Disneyland lines are truly a different experience. Most of them stretch outside the ride, into the streets and down the regular walking paths. There’s very little interior queueing. FAR less than Orlando. From what I understand it’s mostly because rain is far less a constant concern in California than it is in Florida (and just because the park is 60+ years old and some queues were built without foresight)… BUT I digress…

On topic, some of these lines would stretch for a whole block beyond the ride building, because there was simply no queue space AT the ride. The one that truly baffled me the whole trip was Matterhorn. It would wrap the bottom side of the mountain, stretch WAY beyond the entrance, out of fantasyland and toward the central hub… It was always 60+ minutes… yet it had a single rider line that was practically walk-on and fastpass availability within an hour all day (IE. You get your fastpass, eat a hotdog or ride the teacups for 30 minutes, then get on Matterhorn)

I could not even fathom for the life of me why anyone, ever, in any situation would stand in that astronomically long and clearly visible line with those two options at their fingertips.

I understand the concept that some groups DON’T want to split up, and I get that, but A) Matterhorn has single seat bobsled cars (like Space Mt. In Florida) so you’re sitting alone either way, whether you’re in the same train as your party or not. If you have a small child I guess I could see where you might not want to split up, but for adults/teens it makes very little difference. BUT OKAY… lets say you don’t want to split.

The fastpass kiosk is RIGHT THERE… and there are A HUNDRED other things to do at Disneyland to kill the 20-45 minutes it takes for the return window to start. Standing in a long line for a Tier 1 attraction is just silly! You could be using that queue time on a smaller rider and walk on the big tickets with fastpass. So much wasted time!

It baffled me continuously throughout the weekend.

I think part of it (maybe) is that DL doesn't push fast passes as much. They're sort of an after thought unless you regularly pull them. Or they might have already pulled their fastpasses and may be just riding it again. I do that pretty regularly for RSR and Big Thunder. (I wouldn't for Matterhorn, I hate it, but there's got to be someone who wants to ride it over and over.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

While we were waiting we saw two people come off the standby line, both singles. I could only shake my head.

I always ride EE as a single. There are times where I will ride it single rider and sometimes where I will ride it with a FP or stand-by. My reasoning is, I really like to ride EE in the front or in the back. I really like the view from the front when you are at the top before going backwards. If I choose to ride it single rider, I don't have a choice where I sit.

My thoughts on single rider are the same for Rock N' Rollercoaster and Test Track. For RNRC, I have always found the FP line faster than the single rider line. For Test Track, I actually like designing the car.

 

[Dismama2boys]

I'm not sure I understand why people really care how others vacation. Is it to feel some sort of superiority? To be able to say "I told you so"? I just can't put much energy into all that. Who cares?

ETA: I'm truly not trying to be snarky. I just really really don't understand.

 

[jsmla]

I'm not sure I understand why people really care how others vacation. Is it to feel some sort of superiority? To be able to say "I told you so"? I just can't put much energy into all that. Who cares?

ETA: I'm truly not trying to be snarky. I just really really don't understand.

I like to read about how others vacation-I'm always looking for new ideas

 

[Westcoastwild]

I'm not sure I understand why people really care how others vacation. Is it to feel some sort of superiority? To be able to say "I told you so"? I just can't put much energy into all that. Who cares?

ETA: I'm truly not trying to be snarky. I just really really don't understand.

I only "care" here and that's mostly for entertainment purposes. I apparently am not paying close enough attention in the parks because it has never occurred to me to notice how people fail at utilizing ADR/fast pass, let alone feel sorry for them.

 

[StraightToDumbo]

I think it's more a symptom of the person. Planning-type people are going to plan. Whether they are in WDW, at the beach, or just a lazy Saturday at home. Don't feel bad for those that don't. They probably would be miserable following some strict regimen anyway. As Pete wisely says, though, "Disney World is not the time for existential experiences." I've helped many people plan trips. Some said they threw out the plan, some stuck to it, but all had a good time.

 

[Auntie_Maim]

I'm truly not trying to be snarky. I just really really don't understand.

I don't really get it either. Everyone has their own way of touring the parks and their own things they prioritize. For example, I don't get fireworks displays - seen one, seen them all. But if others love them and want to make sure they see the current show, more power to them. Maybe someone really likes IASW and wants a FastPass to make sure they ride it; maybe it has special meaning for them or brings back a childhood memory.

 

[SorryI'mNotSorry]

How did you like the smokies and Dollywood? That's on my bucket list. Nearly did it this year but the car rental would have cost a fortune for my dates, so I had to put it off.

We had a great time. I lived there for a year back in 2004 and it hasn't changed at all. It's more of a 4 day trip than a weeklong trip in my opinion. My spouse and kids had never been (except for my thirteen year old who lived there as a toddler and obviously doesn't remember), and they all had a great time (ages 6, 10, 11, 13). We did Dollywood for a day, spent nearly a whole day at the aquarium, spent a day in town (both gatlinburg and pigeon forge) and walked around and checked out shops and played mini golf (tons of mini golf places with tons of themes- very unique places). We went to Cade's Cove and drove through the scenic pass. I believe it's 11 miles long, but you creep through it because there is wildlife and lots of great photo ops. We also did the underground caverns tour. That was amazing. You should also check out the helicopter rides in sevierville, flying over the mountains is breathtaking. One thing to keep in mind is that there were those wildfires last year that took a lot of businesses and buildings down in gatlinburg, I'm not sure what all was destroyed or damaged. Overall, it's great. If you can afford it, rent a mountain cabin instead of a hotel room. Probably $200-300 a night vs hotel at $80-130 a night. You really get to experience the wilderness and "feel" of the smokies better that way. I hope you get to go, you'll love it!

 

[Westcoastwild]

We had a great time. I lived there for a year back in 2004 and it hasn't changed at all. It's more of a 4 day trip than a weeklong trip in my opinion. My spouse and kids had never been (except for my thirteen year old who lived there as a toddler and obviously doesn't remember), and they all had a great time (ages 6, 10, 11, 13). We did Dollywood for a day, spent nearly a whole day at the aquarium, spent a day in town (both gatlinburg and pigeon forge) and walked around and checked out shops and played mini golf (tons of mini golf places with tons of themes- very unique places). We went to Cade's Cove and drove through the scenic pass. I believe it's 11 miles long, but you creep through it because there is wildlife and lots of great photo ops. We also did the underground caverns tour. That was amazing. You should also check out the helicopter rides in sevierville, flying over the mountains is breathtaking. One thing to keep in mind is that there were those wildfires last year that took a lot of businesses and buildings down in gatlinburg, I'm not sure what all was destroyed or damaged. Overall, it's great. If you can afford it, rent a mountain cabin instead of a hotel room. Probably $200-300 a night vs hotel at $80-130 a night. You really get to experience the wilderness and "feel" of the smokies better that way. I hope you get to go, you'll love it!

Ooh, thanks!!

I sure I'll get to it. It's just more that it wasn't the right time. I'm thinking that it may be a better trip with family or when I get around to replacing my temperamental ford. The initial idea was a cross country loop, visit some cousins, see where I was born- but the car has decided it doesn't want to run the a/c if I'm going more than 30 in 90 degree weather, and that has put a crimp in my usual summer road trip plans.

 

[gometros]

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.

And maybe, just maybe, they were uninformed. Not everybody hangs out on DIS.
You know what I did instead? I told them they could ride a second time much quicker if they wanted to.

 

[Westcoastwild]

And maybe, just maybe, they were uninformed. Not everybody hangs out on DIS.
You know what I did instead? I told them they could ride a second time much quicker if they wanted to.

I knew about single rider a long time before I started to hang out on the Dis. But it was nice of you to point it out to them!

 

[gometros]

I think you can be happy doing WDW last minute and planning ahead. We go for Christmas and I plan that one ahead, getting up to get the ADRs and everything else. We decided last week to go for July 4th and I still don't have anything planned. We basically didn't have anything else we wanted to do for summer vacation and I want to see Pandora.

However, I do think there is some misleading information out there and I can see how people can go expecting one thing and not being able to get it. Especially when it comes to dinning / dinning and character meals. I know that for those that research there are ways around it, but come on ... there are people that try to go through security every time I get on a flight that have huge bottles of water ... even though there are ten signs, a verbal announcement and the rules have been the same for over ten years now. Back to my point There are a lot of advertisements on dinning with the princesses, etc. and I could see where it would lead one to believe it is super easy to eat at CRT, like you can just walk up and do it (yes I know some people actually do). Or people get talked into buying the Deluxe Dinning Plan for a trip two months out.

Times have changed. My first trip was in 1989as a last minute decision to tack into a business trip. I knew NOTHING. But there was no such thing as fastpasses or advanced dining reservations then. I remember making a reservation for Coral Reef at a kiosk under Spaceship Earth for that day. Nowadays, with 180 day advanced reservations, you won't starve, but it may not be the restaurant of your choice. And yes, Disney is taking steps to enhance standby queues, but a three hour wait for FoP is still three hours hoy could be doing something else.

Somone mentioned a spreadsheet. I confess I used to be that guy. My kids still make fun of me about that. But now we're fortunate enough to go frequently, so we tend to do a more flexible approach. I've been known to make ADRs at 180 days and then change one or two with weeks to go. But, you can't go totally blind any more. Not unless you have the patience of a Saint.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Times have changed. My first trip was in 1989as a last minute decision to tack into a business trip. I knew NOTHING. But there was no such thing as fastpasses or advanced dining reservations then. I remember making a reservation for Coral Reef at a kiosk under Spaceship Earth for that day. Nowadays, with 180 day advanced reservations, you won't starve, but it may not be the restaurant of your choice. And yes, Disney is taking steps to enhance standby queues, but a three hour wait for FoP is still three hours hoy could be doing something else.

Somone mentioned a spreadsheet. I confess I used to be that guy. My kids still make fun of me about that. But now we're fortunate enough to go frequently, so we tend to do a more flexible approach. I've been known to make ADRs at 180 days and then change one or two with weeks to go. But, you can't go totally blind any more. Not unless you have the patience of a Saint.

I agree mostly, but no one has to wait for 3 hours in any line. I wouldn't do it for Big Thunder, or for Indy and RSR in California. I just wouldn't. Those are my favorites and they are probably the few rides that I'd stand in line for an hour for, but that's my limit. If I can't get a fast pass, I'll rope drop or be fine if I don't do it.