I feel sorry for all the people..........

[JeremyGNJ]

I still love the exhilaration of going to any of the parks with the whole family, and NONE of us needing a map! Now THAT'S freedom!

So I guess I could say I feel sorry when I see a family hovering over a large map trying to figure out how to get from SM to POTC.

That's funny you say that. When my family went to a theme park we'd never been to a couple of years ago....one of the most fun parts was standing there reading the map and picking out where to go!!

For most people going to Disney world is not about "how many rides can we go on". Its just about being someplace that seems larger than life with your family.

It's only when you go to a place over and over again that the "magic" of it dies off into the "efficiency" of the experience.

 

[Bullseye]

Honestly there's so much information out there. If you are going to WDW and don't even "google" it once to check what's up, then that's on you. If anything a first timer might be overwhelmed by all the information and just try wing some parts of it. If you go often, you just pick it up from trip to trip.

 

[sunkissed4]

At this point I'm actually jealous of those people. They have no expectations, won't get upset if they don't do a certain attraction, and don't stress about planning for months.

I keep thinking I'll go in without any FP+ and wing it, but I'm too much of a control freak. Maybe one day!

I don't envy the ridiculously long lines they have to stand in to make FP+ though, I'd avoid that at all costs.

 

[wuzzy6]

In this case, I have to agree that ignorance truly is bliss!

 

[mom2rtk]

I think it can be summed up with

IGNORANCE IS BLISS!

If they don't know what they are missing they can't complain. I bet the people on these boards complain more b/c we know how it can and should be at times.

That being said I'd rather be in the know.

I'm sure that is the case for some.

But I remember one of our first real trips and the utter frustration I felt as I went through the early days. I really had a terrible time. I had envisioned so many magical things in my head and none of them were coming true (None of it complicated. Most of it quite simple like meeting Ariel and riding Dumbo). We spent a ton of money on that trip and didn't have any real fun until the last day or 2 after we asked enough questions to get a bit of strategy going. I can't even imagine doing that trip now amid the mess of FP+.

 

[goofy4tink]

I tend to feel sorry for anyone that goes to WDW with no prior planning or knowledge. Way too many people go to WDW thinking its just an amusement park....so incredibly wrong. I tell everyone I know, those who have never been before, that they have to so their homework. They need to get a good guidebook, they need to go online and find sites like the DIS. They need to do some pre-planning! If they don't, so be it....their trip will not be all that they had hoped for.

 

[mousefan73]

I think some people are going to be happy because they are simply on vacation and not at work or school. I would still be happy hanging out in MK with my family even it that meant not riding one ride.

And I would never feel sorry for anyone who can afford to spend time and money on vacation.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I'm sure that is the case for some.

But I remember one of our first real trips and the utter frustration I felt as I went through the early days. I really had a terrible time. I had envisioned so many magical things in my head and none of them were coming true (None of it complicated. Most of it quite simple like meeting Ariel and riding Dumbo). We spent a ton of money on that trip and didn't have any real fun until the last day or 2 after we asked enough questions to get a bit of strategy going. I can't even imagine doing that trip now amid the mess of FP+.

It's not just ignorance is bliss...It's personality differences and expectations for that particular trip. I had a short trip with a baby, in which I really just wanted to see the castle and ride It's a Small World, but when my oldest could appreciate the park and I spent more money, my expectations went way up.
My close family and friends are, like me, the type of people who would not be happy wandering around without a plan and being content with whatever we managed to do. Type A some might call us. Long before FP, the internet, and crazy crowds all year, my parents took us to MK for two days. On the first day, they wandered and felt very frustrated, so that night they studied the map, thought about what they'd observed, and made a plan of attack. The second day was much more enjoyable and started our love for Disney.
During the days of legacy FP, DH and I helped plenty of frustrated-sounding families rescue their vacations by answering their FP questions, while we saw others happily playing cards in the afternoon Soarin' standby line. I'd really love to hear from FP+ supporters how it makes things better for families who are not content with long lines but uninformed about the system or the attractions that need FP before they arrive?

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think WDW markets itself as a "resort", meaning a relaxing place in a sense...you know, just come on in and have some fun!

Meanwhile, it's almost as complicated as a trip to a major city like New York. Heck, I mean, you even have to figure out mass transit routes!

If you went to NY with no plan, you would have a rotten time, and probably the same for WDW, especially during busy times.

So I'm not sure how much of it is people's fault, or WDW's fault, but on the other hand, I'm not sure what Disney could do differently, other than sending everyone a guidebook (which actually would be a nice touch!).

I do think FP+ will help the first-timer, at least if you are staying onsite and have three rides prebooked a day.

 

[kay1864]

Your typical first-time WDW visitor does no research or guidebooks, sleeps in, loads the kids into the car, goes to the pancake house down the street for breakfast, waits in line for a table, waits for their food, then goes back to the hotel, searches for the sunscreen, dresses the kids, etc.

By the time they drive to the park, ride the tram, buy their tickets, and walk through the turnstile, it's 11 or 1130. They spend most of their day in the hot sun waiting in line, experience a fraction of the attractions that DISers do, and often have a miserable time. For meals they don't understand why they can't get a table at Le Cellier.

And they complain about the long lines. Or think it's "the way things are", and accept them as part of Disney.

 

[goofy4tink]

Your typical first-time WDW visitor does no research or guidebooks, sleeps in, loads the kids into the car, goes to the pancake house down the street for breakfast, waits in line for a table, waits for their food, then goes back to the hotel, searches for the sunscreen, dresses the kids, etc.

By the time they drive to the park, ride the tram, buy their tickets, and walk through the turnstile, it's 11 or 1130. They spend most of their day in the hot sun waiting in line, experience a fraction of the attractions that DISers do, and often have a miserable time. For meals they don't understand why they can't get a table at Le Cellier.

And they complain about the long lines. Or think it's "the way things are", and accept them as part of Disney.

Oh man...you've just described a ton of people I know!!! They are the ones that can't understand why I go to WDW so often. They think that everyone that goes has the same experience they had!

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Your typical first-time WDW visitor does no research or guidebooks, sleeps in, loads the kids into the car, goes to the pancake house down the street for breakfast, waits in line for a table, waits for their food, then goes back to the hotel, searches for the sunscreen, dresses the kids, etc.

By the time they drive to the park, ride the tram, buy their tickets, and walk through the turnstile, it's 11 or 1130. They spend most of their day in the hot sun waiting in line, experience a fraction of the attractions that DISers do, and often have a miserable time. For meals they don't understand why they can't get a table at Le Cellier.

And they complain about the long lines. Or think it's "the way things are", and accept them as part of Disney.

But that *is* the ways things are at Disney. If they all made a plan, and when to rope drop, no one here would have the experience they are expecting.

And that's so of most people's complaint about FP+...it evens the playing field a bit for people who don't plan.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I think it can be summed up with

IGNORANCE IS BLISS!

If they don't know what they are missing they can't complain. I bet the people on these boards complain more b/c we know how it can and should be at times.

That being said I'd rather be in the know.

Totally agree with this. My first trip was our Pre-DISBoards "ignorant" trip and it's still the most fun we've had at WDW.

And, something we DIS'ers don't like to admit... all our knowledge and tricks are completely dependent on there being lots of people who don't know what we do. In order for us to be able to do Disney the way we do, we need lots of people who are clueless. If everyone was "in the know" then we'd lose our edge.

 

[ARAITHEL]

I've been a Disney "guide" for a couple of first-time close family groups in the past couple of years. After catching the ME, using FP and navigating the dining plan they always say, "Wow, I'm so glad we had you! Our WDW vacation would have been a disaster if we wouldn't have had your knowledge about what to do here! This place would be completely overwhelming with no information!" I find myself helping families when I'm on property too. I remember helping an international family in line for ME that looked like they were completely overwhelmed. They said they had no idea what to do next. I tried to help, and I hope I did! Was scary for them, I'm sure, standing at MCO with their resort reservations in hand, having absolutely no clue what to do next. I love helping people at WDW. It's part of my "magic" now.

I did go on two trips where we flew by the seat of our pants. The trips were awesome! I did, however, book ADR ressies for those, but we didn't look at crowd calendars. Just hit RD and had a great time doing whatever. Both of those trips were with a party of two, basically me and another adult.

I am currently planning a Sept trip for 8. 1/2 of the group are first timers. I have tried to include the other mom in the planning. She laughs and says, "No, you just do it! We don't know what's good anyway!"

Now that makes me happy!

 

[GillianP1301]

I don't feel sorry for them, everyone has equal opportunity to do research before they go. Besides, a good majority of them have no desire to research and still have a wonderful vacation, so it's all good.

My very first trip was when I was a teenager w/my parents. I begged for years for them to take me and they finally caved. I don't remember exactly, but I think we did 2 or 3 park days. All I remember is somehow one of those days ended up being July 4th in the MK. So clearly, we did no research because we had no clue what to expect. But you know, we still had a fantastic time and even though we ended up in pretty scary sea of humanity crush leaving the park that night, I still loved the experience and it fueled my Disney obsession.

Fast forward to the trips I did with DH in the 90s and I was still pretty clueless about the parks. I remember standing at the entrance to a ride and seeing people flow through with fastpasses and having no clue what they were and then assuming it was something they paid extra for. I went on blissfully ignorant for awhile, and happy to do so, and then some nice person explained it to me. Once I figured out FP, I definitely used them and enjoyed my experience that much more, but it didn't take away from the fact that I still enjoyed myself before hand.

So yes, I do agree than ignorance can be bliss.

It wasn't until I discovered this board 2 years ago that my Type A, boderline OCD need for planning a vacation really kicked in! Now I have multiple spreadsheets, plans, schedules already set for my August vacation. It's all good though, because I enjoy the planning almost as much as the doing!

 

[2Tiggies]

From what I just heard from my cousin that isn't always the case.

Cousin, his dw, and dd just got back from March Break and their first visit staying offsite and the conversation went as follows ........




He and her are both pretty laid back individuals. It's just my guess but they are both young professionals with lots of disposable income who would be well within the target market of Disney. We went on with our conversation and it struck me that the biggest gripe he seemed to be having was that if your going to have fp+ then it should be for a lot more rides. He likened it to a halfway measure that if your doing it for some it should be for all and make fp+ for all rides , and what I thought was interesting about that is that he seemed to be saying that D would for his tastes have been better without fp+ at all in that at least then the lines would be first come first serve as opposed to 2 lines for everything making all "regular" (standby ) lines longer.

In any event they have ended up as one time visitors who wont likely go back unless dd (who is now 10) begs them....she's pretty spoiled so that could happen....lol !

We planned our trip to accommodate meeting up with various friends during the course of our vacation. We have planned our 'meeting up' days pretty much around what they want to or are able to do. There were three families plus some local friends. One family discovered FP+, set up their MDE account, discovered they can't pre book and were not happy. I encouraged them to plan out their days in the meantime to make it easier and said we would change our FP's on the day to suit them if they can't get what we have. After nearly 2 months of working on it, I got a call the other night saying they have decided to cancel and go elsewhere as it's too much work and makes things too difficult and scheduled for them. One of the other families have canceled their onsite package and booked offsite and now purchased Universal and other tickets. They will meet us offsite for dinner one evening. The other group of friends had booked to stay at the same resort at us and we planned out 3 days together. She had made her ADR's and we were working on FP reservation plans together. I got a message from her via Facebook last night saying she felt too bad about it to even call me to break the news but they are heading elsewhere and have canceled. The rigid scheduling is too much for her and she's been struggling with the website and app. FWIW this is a family who regularly visits and stays onsite so they were not planning in blissful ignorance. We now have one day at MK with one of the families. Aside from that, we are meeting our friends who live in the Orlando area and that's it. I'm disappointed, DD is really sad about not getting to see her friends but what can I say to them? Nothing much. I understand where they are coming from.

Sorry about the long rant about it, but the I am really disappointed about it. The point is, it doesn't seem to matter how often people go or whether it is their first visit, this is one heck of a complex task, planning a vacation with this level of rigid structure. Boo to the new system

 

[JeremyGNJ]

The other group of friends had booked to stay at the same resort at us and we planned out 3 days together. She had made her ADR's and we were working on FP reservation plans together. I got a message from her via Facebook last night saying she felt too bad about it to even call me to break the news but they are heading elsewhere and have canceled. The rigid scheduling is too much for her and she's been struggling with the website and app. FWIW this is a family who regularly visits and stays onsite so they were not planning in blissful ignorance. We now have one day at MK with one of the families. Aside from that, we are meeting our friends who live in the Orlando area and that's it. I'm disappointed, DD is really sad about not getting to see her friends but what can I say to them? Nothing much. I understand where they are coming from.

I guess it comes down to whats more important. Touring the park the way you think is ideal, or spending time with friends.

 

[mom2rtk]

We planned our trip to accommodate meeting up with various friends during the course of our vacation. We have planned our 'meeting up' days pretty much around what they want to or are able to do. There were three families plus some local friends. One family discovered FP+, set up their MDE account, discovered they can't pre book and were not happy. I encouraged them to plan out their days in the meantime to make it easier and said we would change our FP's on the day to suit them if they can't get what we have. After nearly 2 months of working on it, I got a call the other night saying they have decided to cancel and go elsewhere as it's too much work and makes things too difficult and scheduled for them. One of the other families have canceled their onsite package and booked offsite and now purchased Universal and other tickets. They will meet us offsite for dinner one evening. The other group of friends had booked to stay at the same resort at us and we planned out 3 days together. She had made her ADR's and we were working on FP reservation plans together. I got a message from her via Facebook last night saying she felt too bad about it to even call me to break the news but they are heading elsewhere and have canceled. The rigid scheduling is too much for her and she's been struggling with the website and app. FWIW this is a family who regularly visits and stays onsite so they were not planning in blissful ignorance. We now have one day at MK with one of the families. Aside from that, we are meeting our friends who live in the Orlando area and that's it. I'm disappointed, DD is really sad about not getting to see her friends but what can I say to them? Nothing much. I understand where they are coming from.

Sorry about the long rant about it, but the I am really disappointed about it. The point is, it doesn't seem to matter how often people go or whether it is their first visit, this is one heck of a complex task, planning a vacation with this level of rigid structure. Boo to the new system

I'm sorry 2Tiggies.

That really reminds me of our trip in 2012. We live half way across the country from WDW so don't get to do the parks with friends often. But on that trip we had a special day set up with our girlfriends who would be there the same time. Well, turns out they got selected for FP+ testing and we didn't. After an entire year of planning our fun day together, we ended up spending most of that day apart. It really was a disappointment. And the same sort of thing can happen now with some being onsite and some offsite. Or with groups where some do thrill rides and some don't.

For a company that was promoting "Grand Gatherings" very recently, it seems like group dynamics have completely fallen off the radar.

 

[mom2rtk]

I guess it comes down to whats more important. Touring the park the way you think is ideal, or spending time with friends.

But you used to be able to do both.

Just another way this is not a plus.

 

[SpringSprite]

I'm kind of in-between "ignorance is bliss" and "thank goodness I've done my research" I would HATE to show up with no ADR's, no park day plans, no crowd calendar info, BUT I've also found myself lamenting the loss of FP-, and anxious about FP +, just from being here and reading all the threads! I never even knew FP- existed so what is to lament? That's where the "ignorance is bliss" part comes into play...