Just got back and met the most unprepared familly

[CharlesandCamilla]

Met this familly on the boat dock at WL yesterday morning. They'd gotten in the night before and were going to MK for EMH thier first day of thier first WDW trip. They'd made one PS before arriving at Chef Mickey's (didn't think any of the other restaurants needed one) but cancelled it when they found out about EMH. They planned to spend the whole day including wishes at MK.

They had no clue what they were doing. I thought all of this was interesting. But then the last thing she said to me was "Do you think I need to get a park map when we arrive?" I tried so hard not to laugh.

 

[ErinInCT]

I am always shocked when I hear stuff like this!! I am a bit on the other extreme where I have every waking minute planned out & our "path" plotted on a map!! I'm sure there is a happy medium!
I was talking about our trip to dh last night & mentioned FP & he said "what's that?". Gawd, clueless!!! Thank goodness he has me for a wife!!

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

I was also up there this weekend and I think I met the family you're talking about! They were in front of us in line at Spaceship Earth and they had no idea what time the park closed, or what was in the park to do. Get a map! It's not that hard!

Also, when we were walking up the fast pass line at the TOT the next day, we overheard someone saying "why are all these other people getting ahead of us?" It always surprises how many people don't understand the fast pass system as well!

 

[Mymatisse]

Everyone discovers Disney in their own way and there is no need to do EVERYTHING the first time you go. The first few times I went there were several things I didn't see or didn't even know about. The beauty of that was finding something new on my subsequent trips I was always about to find something different and exciting.


So I guess I don't think it's such a terrible thing to go to Disney without having done tons of research.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by Mymatisse
Everyone discovers Disney in their own way and there is no need to do EVERYTHING the first time you go. The first few times I went there were several things I didn't see or didn't even know about. The beauty of that was finding something new on my subsequent trips I was always about to find something different and exciting.


So I guess I don't think it's such a terrible thing to go to Disney without having done tons of research.

ITA

sometimes it's nice just to let "disney lead you" and not plan every day down to the minute.

BUT DH has learned...if he makes he wait until 9pm for dinner, he's going to have one cranky wife on his hands!

 

[mom2cinderella]

Everyone discovers Disney in their own way and there is no need to do EVERYTHING the first time you go. The first few times I went there were several things I didn't see or didn't even know about. The beauty of that was finding something new on my subsequent trips I was always about to find something different and exciting.

I agree with this in theory. Some of the best moments from our trip last year were spontaneous character meetings, etc. However, there have been so many posts lately about friends/family not enjoying Disney and not wanting to go back that I do think some planning is essential.

 

[scrump]

I have to admit, in the beginning I found WDW to be SO overwhelming that I was very tempted to just wing it. I figured, it's a vacation, why should I plan every moment, and there really is no way to get everything in at once, anyway. Now that we've had a couple of trips, I find the joy in planning, but in the beginning it was daunting and almost scary.

That said, if you feel you're only going once in your life, it's probably prudent to do some research, but even after 4 trips in the past 5 years, I am still baffled by some people's ability to stay current with Disney!

 

[debkorb1]

I agree that overplanning can be counterproductive, but just with a little reading and preparation you really can enhance your time so much.

I think to spend thousands of dollars on a Disney holiday and then try to explore the parks without a map is suicide. Becuase I planned so thoroughly, we rarely had to queue for longer than 5 minutes and always had somewhere nice to eat. More importantly we avoided the midday sun and stayed well rested.

Here's to planning in moderation

 

[montblanc]

Some planning is not a bad idea, I do almost no planning and it worked out great on our 2nd and 3rd trips (since we knew the layouts by heart) but the 1st one could have been a little better.

This year we tried doing what the guide recommended which was to visit during the morning, return to hotel for a break then go back in the late afternoon. Very restful and the lines were short almost everywhere. As an experiment for 2005 I am doing extensive planning to see if this makes a difference.

<img src="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/covey620/images/typhoon.jpg" border="0" alt="">

 

[crow11ad]

Planning can be fun. But overwhelming as well. NO matter how much we plan, like we are now, it will change by the time our trip gets here. On our first time to Disney, (this past April) we planned and planned..knew what ride we were going to ride and on to the next one. When we got there we were so in ahhhhh that we took it as it came. Now we didn't get to see everything and do everything and the things we did do we did twice, but that is what is great about planning another trip. Weigh your options and go with what is fun.

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Why is it that everyone sounds shocked at staying in one park for a whole day? That's the way we always do it (with a little planning of course) We arrive just before park opening and leave at park closing, I find hopping wastes chunks out of a day. Still, that's just my personal experience and opinion.

 

[Bill3]

Most people at WDW are there for the first time and have no clue of what they are getting into. There is no reason to get all anal and plan to the hilt unless you realize that is necessary.The first time or two we went we were unprepared( at that time there was only MK). The more went the more we understood what was necessary to plan and what could be left up for grabs.Much depends on what the purpose of each trip is. I try and help those clueless ones if appropriate, but remember it is we Disney freaks that obsess over our trips.

 

[laurajetter]

I agree with Stitch's Greatest Fa that you can stay at a park all day without any major problems. Of course we don't have any kids--I can imagine taking a mid-day rest might really help if you do have kids. We usually slow down the pace sometimes and rest in an air-conditioned restaurant which gives us enough of a rest. I'm just saying that taking a break in the middle of the day isn't the ONLY way to do a WDW park! It can be done the entire day as long as you pace yourself and don't get overworked.

As far as our planning goes, yes, I like to have a lot of stuff planned. We plan which parks we will go on which days, make PS for just about all our meals, book various shows and tours, etc. However, to avoid getting stressed out if something either doesn't work out the way we planned or we just feel like we are running ourselves ragged, we both have the attitude that we can change the plans at any time and not get upset about it. I look at our plans as merely a suggested course of action, but if we can't make a PS because we are having more fun than we planned in another part of the park, then we'll skip it. Obviously we can't skip out on certain things like tours, but by being flexible we still feel like we have the freedom to enjoy ourselves spontaneously if the opportunity arises.

-Laura

 

[hoosll]

OMG - I wonder if they know there are 3 other parks.

I pick up maps of all the parks as soon as I get to the hotel.

What I have found is that most people are shocked by how BIG the world is - they also are expecting to SEE the attractions from outside - they are totally confused that the attractions are INSIDE buildings.

If you do not do the basic map study then you will miss so much, wander into the wrong age-specific things, waste a lot of time.

My pet peeve - people standing in the middle of the sidewalk looking at the map saying "What do you want to go on next..."

All day in the summer heat is a tough one! I hope they discover how easy it is to go back to WL by boat, take a nap and then return to MK. They also will find out that they need PS.

 

[barbeml]

I am a detail-oriented planner, but I always leave a great deal of unplanned time and flexibility in our itinerary. While I would never want to plan every minute, I am amazed at the people who do not take time to educate themselves on the basics--like park hours, ticket media, transportation, etc.

Last year we were on the monorail and overheard some obvious first-timers talking. They had been riding the monorail for about half an hour and were just going to stay on until it took them to the "Movie Studios."

The father was very loud and obnoxious, so I was hesitant to offer them some help, but my desire to share the magic won out. As DH and I were preparing to disembark at the TTC, I politely told them that the monorail does not service Disney Studios, but they could leave the monorail with us and get a bus. As we walked off, the father told his brood "She don't know what she's talkin' about."

I hope they had fun.

 

[missypie]

I always feel sorry for the children of clueless parents, standing in those long lines, not knowing about FastPass. My parents were pretty much of the clueless variety, which must be why I'm such a planner!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I can't imagine spending all that $$ on a trip and not doing some research on it to get the most out of my $$.

 

[zurgswife]

I think I was there about the same time you were and I only my 1 PS and changed it 2 times while I was there without any problems....So, really there aren't lots of times of year that you must have dining PS's....I know some people like to have them all planned out....besides our christmas trip....we usually wing it when it comes to PS's and have never had a problem....

As far as spending the entire day at MK....that's nuts...

 

[CharlesandCamilla]

barbeml - That one's even better.

I did try to help out those people yesterday morning. I gave her the simple rule of thumb of spending time in the park that just had EMH the morning before. It worked for us. I let her know how busy I expected the park to get and it well exceeded my expectations. I also let her know to always call ahead for a PS even if she's on her way there just to make sure. We talked for a good ten minutes. I wish I'd gone back to the room for my UG and given it to her. I didn't need it anymore.

 

[chico]

but the less the rest of "them" know about the parks, the better it is for us!

They can spend their precious vacation time and money wondering what there is to do, and how to do it, or where to go and how to get there - I pity them, I really do- but that just means I can experience more and with less waits than they can.

If everyone knew what we DIS's knew - there wouldn't be any advantage to staying informed and being prepared!

Take FP's for example. If everyone understood them - there wouldn't be any advantage to them, really.

Same for EMH - if everyone who is eligible to take advantage of this perk gets out of bed and into the park for 8:00, the place would be insane!! Let them sleep in and then go to an EMH park at 10:30 - I'll be ready for lunch and on my way over to another park!

Everyone's gotta find there own way to do Disney...