Keeping it Postive...Experiences

[TAK]

I think it's a great idea to share and think of our positive experiences. Love reading this thread!

It's easy to see how sometimes expectations can set you down a negative path, especially when they're a little too high. We hear a lot of great stories about pixie dust on these boards. It's great! But if you go to Disney and you don't experience any of those -- if your room is ready, well, when it's supposed to be ready, if you don't get any free gifts, if you don't get to see characters out of rotation, and so on -- after reading how many other people have, it would be too easy to be disappointed. But don't let that happen!

We were on a Disney cruise for our honeymoon. No pixie dust. Just a good cruise. And my first visit to WDW was last fall. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. But I had a great time. Wouldn't change a thing about either experience.

 

[Bullseye]

Don't focus on the negativity you see here. It's a trap so many people fall into and they feel like the magic is going to be ruined...The magic isn't whether you're staying club level at the Grand Floridian and are greeted curbside by a cast member!

Actually... the master bath in a Kidani or BLT one or two bedroom villa is pretty darn magical to me ...I know that sounds stupid but with only 1.5 baths at home for a family of four, a little luxury goes a long way in making me feel the magic

 

[NavyDad]

We are going on our 5th trip in 6 years next month. Each trip has been better than the last for a few reasons.

1. Each time we have more knowledge and experience. Our first trip we were the family who walked into MK at Noon and spent 4 hours exploring Main Street and the Hub and only rode 1 ride. Now, we have a plan in mind and Josh's cheat sheet in hand so we get a lot more done in the time we have and can relax when everything is crowded because we did want we wanted already.

2. Every trip we experience something new. It may be staying at a new resort, eating at a place we haven't tried, watching a new show or even just exploring an area we previously overlooked. We always have something to look forward to doing this trip and when we leave there is usually something we look forward to for the next trip.

3. We go into each and every trip with the mindset of giving our kids an experience they will remember the rest of their lives. 10, 20, 30 years from now the kids will not remember that Dad didn't get a FP he wanted at the time he wanted, or that Be Our Guest was booked solid or that Mom noticed the public restrooms were a little dirtier today than they were in 1995. They are going to remember riding Space, Splash & Everest for the first time or the 100th time, they are going to remember seeing the baby rhino at AK, they are always going to remember the first time they rode Tower of Terror and the time their dad got teased at the Hoop Dee Doo or the time their sister lost her "glass slipper" and our waiter got down on one knee and put it back on her foot. They will always remember the time they got to be the rebel spy and the time they fought Darth Vader in a lightsaber battle. They are not going to know that Disney spent a billion dollars on MM+ and OBVIOUSLY ruined WDW for everyone because for our family WDW is one of those places where we can have an amazing time together as a family and make memories that will last them forever.

Have fun!

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

Even through I have concerns about the changes, it's the same way I feel about teaching: despite all the stuff that I dislike, I still love it.

We had great experiences on our daughter's first trip last May. We particularly had some amazing cast members. There was a young man working at the FP+ kiosk near Philharmagic when I went to get our second set of FP for the day. When I was nearly done, he asked if I needed any help. I said no and then proceeded to rave about how much we were enjoying the new system (it was our first trip under FP+ and we really loved it). He said it was nice to hear positive feedback and gave us some paper FPs to use later in the day!

That same night, my daughter was talking the ear off a girl working in front of the Dumbo ride (I think the CM's name was Sam). We were waiting for DH to use the bathroom, so we had some time to kill. This CM was so wonderful to my daughter, asking her all about her trip and her princess costume and just everything. At the end of their talk, she wrote my daughter a special certificate for free ice cream! We actually didn't use it and have saved it as a souvenir because it was just so nice.