I'm home. Severely depressed. Spring Break was a nightmare

[OnceUponADisneyTime]

I'm so sorry

We're planning on spring break next year Just curious, what were your dates?

 

[Shanti]

I guess I should be grateful but we aren't rich people and 13 grand is a ton of money for us- a TON. So for our trip to suck, yes to me is a huge deal. I cannot even imagine how the above scenario would ever convince me to go back.
Just trying to say, just because you had a worse scenario occur, doesn't invalidate how awful ours was.
I've had cancer, twice. I dont ever say to people/.... well be thankful you didnt have cancer like I did! Invalidating someone elses experience doesn't make it any less awful.

I'm really sorry this was a rough experience for you. It does seem like you overreached financially for it, and that's what indirectly caused most of the bad feelings (breaking-down van, lots of worry over a lost phone, worries over bills, feeling anguish over wasted money when the trip didn't pan out). Understandable, as you wanted to make a special occasion for the kids, but every vacation must be planned with the knowledge that it might be a bust due to weather, accidents, or other issues. If you absolutely can't afford to spend the money on a trip that might not go well, then you really can't afford to spend that much on a trip.

Our recent trip in January wasn't ideal because of the (literally) freezing weather, but there was no anguish as we hadn't spent years saving for it. If you literally have to spend years scrimping and saving for a trip, and sacrificing other things that you really need (like a reliable car), then you should probably choose a less-expensive destination, as there can be no guarantees for weather or other issues on any vacation.

The bright side is that you still got to spend time together with your 10 wonderful kids, and they at least know you meant well. You're obviously a very loving parent. You shared your love, and that is never "a waste". This situation reminds me a bit of the O'Henry story in which a poor couple make sacrifices to buy the wrong Christmas gifts for one another. Sad in a way, but more sweet and touching, as it showed how much they really cared for one another.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I disagree that saving for years for a trip means you shouldn't go on that trip. By all means I think it is wonderful that OP wanted to give her kids the wdw experience, and that she and her DH saved up for it instead of financing it on credit. I probably wouldn't have completely wiped out my savings though, which might mean a shorter trip, staying off site, eating meals in condo, etc. That to me sounds so stressful that it's no wonder OP had a bummer trip. There was a "I'm broke" cloud hanging over their heads the whole time!

 

[lugnut33]

While none of what you bring up is what I was responding to (read your first post, that's what I was responding to), let's take each one of your new points and break it down:

1) cramming what I presume is 12+ people (10 kids, op, and her sister) into 3 of the smallest rooms on property with 2 double beds per room
When I check the Disney website it does say they sleep 4, but it doesn't say how small they are (260 sq. ft). It does say they are only double beds, so they should know the beds are small. However, kids are small.

2) going during one of the busiest times of year. Any planning guide will tell you that easter week is the on of the worst weeks. I won't even try a holiday week for that reason.
I've done Christmas (and Thanksgiving) week before and did great, but then again we are only a family of 4. We also did Christmas at a time before FP+, which was a much easier time to deal with crowds because so much of today's attractions are devoted to FP+. It forces standby lines to be huge for everything. Everyone knows that FP+ has led to higher standby times (incidentally, I heard many reports of FP+ lines being an hour long during break). Also, I don't see any crowd calendars on the Disney website telling people to stay away during Easter. If they are going to market the parks as being a destination, then they need to make sure guests can be comfortably accommodated. Besides, it's not like a family with kids in school can visit during "less crowded" times. It sure as heck didn't help that Disney didn't extend operating hours during the extremely busy time of the year to help spread crowds out a bit. Disney also cut staff down to bare bones. The crowds descending on WDW these past few weeks (and in the coming weeks) were forced to pay for the overages in Shanghai.

3) putting a $500 phone in your back pocket. That's an easy way to lose it, as OP'S sister found out.
Agreed. I think what she's upset with is the omni-mover vehicle went from the unload area to the load area and the phone was taken in that time. She indicated they noticed the phone was gone almost immediately after getting out of the vehicle. Besides, isn't there a CM that's supposed to look inside each vehicle as it passses?

4) completely depleting your savings to the tune of $13,000, for a vacation. That fact alone would cause me to be depressed.
True, but I think what she's upset with the fact she didn't get her money's worth from the vacation. I'm sure she'd be fine spending that much if the vacation has lived up to its billing. She's probably even more upset now knowing that Disney was making guests pay for the problems in Shanghai.

5) leaving each park after 2-4 rides. I know the crowds can be tough, but throwing your hands up and calling it quits on that expensive of a trip is a poor choice on OP's part, not disney's fault.
Parks are too crowded and FP+ only exacerbates the problem, along with attraction breakdowns. I don't think I've ever seen Disney advertising with video of wall to wall crowds, 3 hour waits and families waiting around for dining reservations.

6) choosing to feed everyone at an exotic eatery (marrakesh), and then complaining that some of the nonadventurous eaters were still hungry. Not disney's fault.
Agreed.

7) giving kids ice cream because you didn't want to wait on your reservation, then getting upset because kids plus ice cream equals a big sticky mess. Once again, not disney's fault.
Maybe if Disney didn't severely overbook their restaurants then long waits wouldn't happen. Honestly, if you have a reservation then why the heck is it acceptable to wait over an hour for a table? That's an hour of vacation time wasted. How much is your vacation time worth? Again, it doesn't help that all restaurants were forced to cut staff and hours to make up for budget overruns in Shanghai.

 

[bababear_50]

Hi Hon
I know it doesn't help much but I am so sorry you and your family had such a bad holiday.
I think a family of any size should have the expectation of:

1.Safety
Disney is just not meeting safe standards by packing way too many people into the parks.
IMHO their 3 parks (AK DHS EPCOT ) are currently in a shambles and can not handle the capacity of people with what each of them has to offer, which has caused MK overcrowding.

2.Ride availability
If they spent money on updating and adding new rides and attraction this would not be a FREQUENT
occurrence.

3.On time dinning reservation--for a system that opens dinning 180 or more days out, they need to have better methods of meeting their targets.

I have so many friends that have recently done the "trip of a lifetime" none of them will return.
I saw and heard a ton of mouthy,rude, and self entitled people on this trip. March 2016. While I don't condone their behavior I understand their frustration at paying top dollar for a substandard product.
I worry that Disney is slowly losing one of it's best customers (Children ,and their children's children).
Hugs to you and your family.
Mel

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I'm sorry you had a bad trip. It is so disappointing to spend months or even years planning a trip, then not have it go according to plan. Disney vacations are especially tough since they are planned so meticulously that it could result in unrealistic expectations. I give you mad props for taking 10 kids on ANY vacation, let alone Disney on spring break! Not to mention spending 13,000....that fact alone may have caused some of the trouble. I don't think I could enjoy myself knowing I wiped out my savings! One day you will look back and laugh, hopefully a few fond memories were made along the way.

 

[ArwenMarie]

There's a lot here that is Disney's fault, namely the crowds. Yes, the crowds are their fault because they don't have the ride capacity to handle the high crowds yet they keep letting people in.
In terms of the disappointment in the hotel, again, that's on WDW. She wasn't happy with the accomodations.
I'm confused on the money argument. So unless you can afford to flush 1000s of dollars down the drain and be ok with that, you shouldn't go?

 

[Planogirl]

Wow, we were there last Spring Break and it wasn't this packed but I know that it has gotten worse. We also didn't have such a huge group which just adds to all of it.

I'm so sorry that you had such a bad trip. The hotel rooms are way too small and the crowds are out of hand. Increasing capacity might help with the crowds but of course that never happens. I do agree that weather and time of year contributed but that doesn't keep this from being a bad trip.

As you can see, some people will try to blame you for this but as they say the best laid plans of mice and men and so on.

 

[Shanti]

I'm confused on the money argument. So unless you can afford to flush 1000s of dollars down the drain and be ok with that, you shouldn't go?

A person shouldn't go on any trip (anywhere) where emotional devastation would occur if the trip didn't go as planned. For example, an acquaintance of mine spent a week in Hawaii, but it rained the entire week, almost nonstop. If she had saved her every spare penny for years for that trip, she would have been devastated, but as it was, she shrugged her shoulders, sighed, and moved on. No one likes to waste or lose money, but if expenses cause real anxiety during a trip, that's a clue that you're overspending. Yes, I do think people should live within their means, partially to avoid sad situations like this.

 

[bbak30]

I'm sorry you had such a bad trip. I can understand your disappointment.

 

[bcrook]

Hi Hon
I know it doesn't help much but I am so sorry you and your family had such a bad holiday.
I think a family of any size should have the expectation of:

1.Safety
Disney is just not meeting safe standards by packing way too many people into the parks.
IMHO their 3 parks (AK DHS EPCOT ) are currently in a shambles and can not handle the capacity of people with what each of them has to offer, which has caused MK overcrowding.

2.Ride availability
If they spent money on updating and adding new rides and attraction this would not be a FREQUENT
occurrence.

3.On time dinning reservation--for a system that opens dinning 180 or more days out, they need to have better methods of meeting their targets.

I have so many friends that have recently done the "trip of a lifetime" none of them will return.
I saw and heard a ton of mouthy,rude, and self entitled people on this trip. March 2016. While I don't condone their behavior I understand their frustration at paying top dollar for a substandard product.
I worry that Disney is slowly losing one of it's best customers (Children ,and their children's children).
Hugs to you and your family.
Mel

That #2 is a doozy. more attractions would have solved a lot of Disney's current problems.

OP sorry about your trip.

 

[Scooterbritches]

Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! It broke my heart to read your report. We just returned last Sunday so I was there when you were. I was trying to use a mobility device and it was crazy trying to navigate through the crowds. Disney is getting to the point where you have to plan like crazy, almost down to the minute and many people aren't aware of how bad its getting so they don't plan. Let me tell you what we did when our children were growing up (we have 6 kids). I really have a hard time trying to go to things like this with a big group. I went once with my daughter's cheer team and their parents and its a nightmare to try to keep everyone together and keep track of all those minor children. So our family always took our kids one or two at a time. My husband doesn't like theme parks so I always got to do it. When I only had two kids at most to deal with it was easier. Maybe when they hit 8-10 or something like that?

Also, if you go FIRST thing in the morning, lines are walk on. Like I said, we just returned and we rode Jungle Cruise, POTC, BTMRR, Splash, HM and BLY before 11:45 a.m. We ran into annoyances along the way for sure, but we had a great time. This was during the same time that you were there. I say this not to "shame" you, but with the hope that you won't give up on it and maybe consider some planning strategies if this nasty feeling leaves you and you end up wanting to try again. Read my report "Adventures with Walter" and maybe something in there might help make another trip better. Disney is doable during peak times, but you do need to have some strategies in order to do it. It's also a ton tougher with large groups.

Again, I'm so sorry that things went south so quickly and seemed to remain that way.

 

[ajc]

SOOOOO sorry for the downer trip; I try to research the rainy season for WDW trips and have found June to September are the rainiest so you got hammered by mother nature.
If you every go back, check out a points rental from David's at ***********.com: you can get a 3 bedroom villa at a deluxe resort (like old key west) with all the amenities and shuffleboard, movies under the stars, and boat rides to disney springs; the villa includes a full kitchen & washer/dryer for about $7000 (ouch) or go cheaper at a off site villa rental for similar amenities (like vacation villas at fantasyworld) or an all suites hotel with transportation included but dependent on the providers schedule.

 

[Lucius Best]

We have a fast pass for Haunted Mansion and can I say, this is by leaps and bounds one of the worst experiences we have there. We are herded like cattle through the entire line queue- and there is literally no space whatsoever between people. Had we been in literally any other situation, people would questionably been accused of assault. My 9 year old son is literally smashed between a womans breasts and my sister speaks up and says something to her about having some decency. The woman says, "No one has room- It's Disneyworld!" and shoves him away from her. I am furious at this point and my non-confrontational side fades away and mamabear's claws come out. I shout back at her, "how would you like it if I shoved YOUR child!?" I was SO upset at this point. I am 100% certain that any state inspector would have shut the ride down. Had there been a fire, people would have died or been trampled. It was THAT packed. The 13 of us in my party were easily smooshed into a tight 5x5 ft square.

This has become standard operating procedure at the Haunted Mansion when the park is busy. CMs will keep cramming people into the stretching rooms even though there is a huge crowd of people and no room in the loading area. When you leave the stretching room there are sometimes hundreds of people already there, waiting to funnel down into single file to board. We have experienced it many times on our recent trips. CMs outside either don't know or don't care that the loading area is beyond capacity.

I would encourage you to send an email detailing your experiences to
wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

 

[mom2rtk]

OP, I'm so sorry your trip was such a disappointment. Crowds continue to be an issue at WDW since they decided to invest so heavily in a ride rationing system instead of adding new attraction capacity to spread the crowds out more.

I think it's great that you saved and tried to give your family a memorable trip. In the end, hopefully that's what the kids will eventually take from the experience.

You're not alone. I was at my hairdressers last week and she told me her friend was at WDW and has vowed never to return.

 

[joannamet]

I really am sorry that your trip was a disappointment but I think your expectations were probably not reasonable. Crowds, weather, waits and problems are simply part of the package. My family enjoys the trip much more if we relax and adjust our expectations. There were a lot of rides that we skipped on our last trip because of long lines but we tried some new things that we really loved. AK's Conservation Station is perfect for families and isn't crowded at all but most people skip it. At MK we choose not to wait for 7DMT and rode Carousel of Progress. DD loved it. You had choices.
One final note, whenever we've had FPasses for a ride that's down, we've gotten an All Day Pass for any other ride. They just show up in MDE.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm so sorry

We're planning on spring break next year Just curious, what were your dates?

I've gone over Spring Break before, and as long as you know what you are getting into, it is not only do-able but enjoyable.

Many posters sleep 4 to a value room with no problem. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like it fit the OP's family style. Not Disney's fault. The value rooms are what they are. They work for some and not for others. I'm not sure if that is something the OP could have known would be an issue ahead of time or not. Still, the best thing to do at that point is try and make it as positive an experience as possible. Make it almost a joke "Boy were are all packed in like sardines, good thing we don't spend any time hanging out in the room!" Thank type of thing.

Going over one of the busiest times of the year and complaining about the crowds doesn't make sense either. The parks do have capacity limits. If they were not hit, then the parks were not too full. I've been over the 4th of July--you wanna talk about crowded??? And still managed to have a good time. I'm sorry the OP didn't, but I also don't think giving up and leaving the park each day after only a few rides helped things.

 

[cruisingtwins]

I think crowds are acceptable to a point. When you are shoulder to shoulder to people everywhere in the park then the park admited too many people. WDW needs more rides to serve the crowds.

 

[tehniqi]

I am so so sorry your vacation was awful. It sounds like a perfect storm of bad luck and just expectations not matching reality. My husband and myself are planning on going in 2-3 years and are saving around 15k so our son can have a complete dream trips... I can completely understand the heartbreak of laying down so much cash only to have everything go bad.

 

[BigAlsGal]

This year was REALLY a bad year to go on spring break because this years spring break ran along side Easter. Isnt Easter the second busiest week next to Christmas? It really was a given that it was going to be insanely crowded.

The rain does suck. I get really bummed when it rains at Disney. That is super unfortunate.

Then you throw in the fact it's hot and fairly miserable for everyone in this over crowded place and that is just a disaster. Really. You hit the trifecta of crap. I really really felt terrible for you reading your story. Im hoping you at least got a pinch of fun at some point. Unfortunately this was just a terrible week to decide to take so many people. I wouldn't touch that place during Easter or Christmas if I was by MYSELF! You really did have a super full plate. I'm sorry.