Mistakes Made On First Trip

[CarolynFH]

Thinking we could fit in more than 3- 4 attractions before aforementioned toddler and older folks needed a nap.

Maybe in future older folks would consider taking toddler back to hotel for said nap, allowing the rest of the party to enjoy more time in the park? That's what we do when we bring family (we're the older folks )!

 

[JESSketeer]

Our two biggest mistakes our first trip were 1. not knowing Fastpass was free! From our experience, like at Six Flags, all 'get to the front of the line' passes or any extra perk like that were always an extra cost. So DH and I were like, OK lets splurge on our MK day, being that we were going to do it on our last park day before departure day, and buy Fastpass! Well we get to the park, ask a CM where we can purchase Fastpass and learn, on our LAST park day, that Fastpass is free! And then 2. Not making any ADRs! We had NO ADRs whatsoever for our first trip. We just didn't know we needed them! We walked straight up to Cinderellas Royal Table, stood in line watching all these families being called, get to the CM taking people's names only to be turned away for not having a reservation (they obviously had no availability)!! It was definitely not funny at the time, but now we can have a real big laugh at how unprepared we really were!

 

[TAK]

We went on our first trip last fall. I don't think there were any "mistakes" exactly, but one thing we're doing differnently next time? Not worrying about the weather. Specifically, rain. I'd heard so much about rainy Septembers I was prepared to build an ark. We were there four days and never saw a drop (apparently it rained once while we were on the Winnie the Pooh ride, but we missed it).

I mean, we'll buy/pack ponchos, we'll bring appropriate gear for different temperatures, but I'm not going to give it much thought. Rain happens. It happens or doesn't whether you plan for it or not. Best to go ahead and plan your plans and not worry about whether it'll rain or not.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I've gone more times than I can count and I still make mistakes. Here are some mistakes we made last trip:

- Going to Disney Springs on the weekend. Disney Springs has become a big local hangout and it'll only get more popular. Stick to the weekdays and it'll have lighter crowds.

- Trying to get breakfast in before heading to the parks. Just eat at the park.

- Waiting too long before seeking a spot for fireworks.

- Taking it slow. We tried this last trip. You really need to find a happy medium. If you go too fast, you tend to burn out. If you go too slow, you'll find yourself at the end of your vacation trying to fit everything in.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

A few others have said their biggest mistake was a 'who'--mine was too! Lucky for me it wasn't DP. She and I have a few Disney trips under our belts. We disagree sometimes but agree on elements that seem crucial to me: how much time and money we devote to WDW trips, what kinds of planning go into it, and what to do if we disagree.

After getting back from our May 2015 trip, a (then dear) friend said going to Disney was a lifelong dream, and we all agreed to plan a trip together for November. There were warning signs that things wouldn't go well (most notably, said friend didn't seem to have any interest in the actual planning--we would suggest restaurants, activities, try to talk about hotel preferences, and she just agreed to everything before quickly changing the subject) but the trip was a bit of a disaster. It's what I imagine travelling with a sullen teenager to be like, except she's an adult who would never explain what was wrong, only pout and passive aggressively complain about things on her phone to her boyfriend at home. Long story a little less long, we were constantly changing plans to suit her but nothing seemed to make a difference. Most nights either DP or I would cry from frustration--one time I actually broke down crying at dinner I was so frustrated (and I'm not a crier!).

DW went on a cruise with a friend and two of the friend's friends a few years ago. One of them kind of "checked out" on the trip like what you're describing. Even though the rest of them felt bad about it, they had to do things without her.

We've done a couple of WDW trips with friends -- the same couple both times; first one without kids, second with. The with kids trip was a little more challenging since we were trying to fit in must-do's for everyone while always staying together. That didn't work so well. We're happy now just to take trips as a family. We've talked about taking a trip with friends sometime again, but only if we agree to some flexibility -- like going to the same park but splitting up for parts of the day.

 

[MamaLema]

Trying to see and do everything on the first trip.

Not understanding how big Epcot really is.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Not getting a flu shot

 

[pens4821]

From my first adult trip two years ago and the trip we just got back from we learned:

-don't over plan. This is our biggest. Have an idea of a few things you want to do per day, and go from there. The first trip was disappointing because we didn't do everything we wanted. We planned less this time and it was so much more fun.

-get hoppers. We didn't last time, and after doing so this time we always will. I know some people don't like them, but it was nice going to one park early, then another in the afternoon. A few days we did 3 parks in one day. It wasn't as time consuming as people make it seem getting from park to park.

-plan less resort dining. From this trip it was too much wasted time. We got everything and more accomplished we wanted to while there, but we figure it took around 3 hours all told just to eat.

-don't plan a relax day. While I did like it last time, it's not that much more to add the day on. We slept in, and headed to the park after noon one day. Another day we came back for a couple hour break. Instead of planning a day, just take some time out all week, and I'd like to take more time next time. Plus, what if your pool day it rains all day?

-stay cheap. This is the hardest for me. I loved the AOA suites and contemporary. I don't want to stay at the all stars (even though it was perfectly fine), but we only slept in the room plus maybe an hour here and there. Why spend triple (or more) when you aren't really even enjoying the resort/room?

There are many more little things, but these to me are the biggest changes we have and/or will make in just our two trips.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I can't really think of any big mistakes. In 2014 I guess it was a mistake, my husband and I decided on a whim to head over to MK, the kids just wanted to hang out at our trailer so we decided to go have dinner at LTT without a reservation. We waited about 40 minutes for a table but you know it wasn't too bad. We had a lovely table and had a wonderful meal and we weren't stressed at all.

I guess even though our trips have never been perfect, we've never had a really bad trip. I am a very stressed out person, I like to plan, plan and plan some more but when I go to Disney I plan and more than half the time those plans get thrown out the window and I'm totally okay with it.

Oh I did think of one mistake. We took a trip way back in 2005 and my mom watched my youngest while we went on a ride at Epcot. She let him play in some little splash pad. Silly me, I didn't bring any extra clothes for him. But he ended up getting an adorable new outfit. So lesson learned, always brings extra clothes for toddlers.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Biggest mistakes on first WDW trip were:

1. Drinking a soda containing caffeine on my arrival night. Couldn't sleep all night.
2. Catching chickenpox (symptoms appeared shortly after getting back from trip).

 

[magical nugget]

Biggest first time mistake in WDW:
-skipping Epcot
-no going to Downtown Disney

 

[JB212]

Only taking one pair of shoes. It rained every day and our shoes never fully dried. By the end of the week everyones shoes were so disgusting and smelly I threw them all away when we got home.
Splitting up so someone could stay with the baby while everyone else rode a ride, then switching. It took forever. Now that the kids are older I enforce a rule with them that you don't have to ride the ride but you have to stand in the line with everyone else. 90% of the time it results in everyone riding anyways. Its so much easier and more efficient now that we stick together for most of the day.
A huge Disneyland mistake was taking the red eye when I know I can't sleep on planes. Then I had to stay up the whole next day and be a parent. Lol. I ended up going 36 hours without sleep and was THE crankiest person on the entire planet. Worst way to start a vacation.

 

[tstidm1]

My biggest mistake of my first adult trip was not getting an ECV for my mom (Late 70's). She realizes this and will be in one during the trip in May.

 

[LtRazor]

Over planning. It was too stressful to have to be somewhere at specific time every day. Now we only book ADRs for every other day and then wing the other days.

Trying to do Disney commando style. Way stressful trying to fit so much into short time

Not taking breaks during day.

Not getting photo pass. I have so many memories in pictures with whole family because photo pass and my all time favorite photo is pic of my 11 year old when she was 4 standing on Main Street with her hands up in the air like I'm here!

Letting rude people get to you. It's NOT worth it, have fun.

We have actually gotten into nice pattern with our trips now. We go every 2 or 3 years so we can save and do it right. We get APs so we can go multiple times (this year went 2 weeks in November, off site, and going back for 2 weeks in May/June and then we won't come for 2-3 years). We do two week trips now (booked SSR for May through RCI two weeks cost me less than $1000 combined for 1br villa!) so we don't have to rush. I can't stress enough that down time NEEDS to be part of trip. We are rope drop people so we do rope drop most mornings, go back to room and pool for lunch and rest and then come back in evening and use FP and do dinner. It's sooooooo much more relaxing and I get my money's worth out of ticket cost! My absolute favorite time is hanging out with my girls at pool and talking about our day. Slowing down our trips has been the best thing we ever did.

 

[TraceyPoppins]

1. Going to MK the day after arrival. Everyone is so excited, we are usually up later on arrival day. Going into a long day full of walking when you are tired is not the way to start vacation!
2. As many have stated, not building in a rest/ pool day to recharge.
3. Not wearing the right shoes. I can let vanity interfere with sensibility and usually wear (better) flip flops. Fine for one day but after that I am ready for running shoes. Next trip (19 days!) I will wear running shoes and toss the flip flops in my bag to change into for dinner or just to flex my toes.
4. Skipping the less popular attractions. We are going over one of the busiest weeks of the year so I've made a list of traditionally "short" wait time attractions to enjoy rather than complain about the crowds

 

[Alice777]

The biggest mistake we made on our first trip? Taking my husband with us.

Thank you for the good laugh! LOL!
That is why my 2 sons and I are not taking him on our upcoming trip in April!

 

[cruisingtwins]

Not building in a pool day.

Scheduling dinners too late with a toddler and 2 older folks. 5:30 pm was apparently too late. Who knew?

Thinking we could fit in more than 3- 4 attractions before aforementioned toddler and older folks needed a nap.

Going to Disney Springs. Waste of time. No one liked it and all agreed it was a waste of time away from the parks. I'm sure everyone's opinion will vary here, but for us it was what I'd consider a mistake.

Upgrading to the Deluxe Dining Plan. Too. Much. Food. And we still had 20+ snack credits left on our last day. It was good to be able to buy souvenirs to bring home, but a waste of money.

Downtown disney used to be so different a million years ago all the stores were unique and had pretty cool stuff now it's the same junk store after store all of which you can find at the parks. So I agree waste of time. The food is better though.

 

[JPKnapp]

Not looking at a map when making FP reservations. I didn't realize how far apart the rides really were and more importantly how many things we'd walk past NOT doing on our way. All I knew was I wanted to do SM, BTMRR, and 7DMT. So I scheduled them all back to back. We wasted so much time walking.

 

[asbyrneva]

DH planed 1st trip when DS was 3. He did a great job, just wished we had bought the photopass package. All that time I spent watching DS's joy at being in WDW and I was doing it through a lens trying to capture the photo. Felt like I missed out on the moments. Even with no ride photos or stopping for many pics I had a hard time buying only a few. I tell all first timers to at least think about buying it.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

I agree that Disney has a big learning curve - still learning! One is a more general mistake, the other is more specific...

First, just underestimating the "Disney Wall" that you (and/or your children) eventually hit during the trip. I like to have a plan but don't like to feel completely tied to it And I tend to do a lot of research, so that I'll contingency plans if things change. I anticipated that we'd all need downtime each day, so generally I divided days into three parts (morning/afternoon/evening, I know that's pretty ground breaking, eh?) making sure that one part was always downtime or generally unstructured, although different parts depending on the day/plans and just to mix it up. But even despite planning in downtime, we all still hit the wall in one way or another. Even though my kids are a bit older at this point (11 &9), I still stick to this general plan and try to anticipate that people will run out of steam at some point!

Second, not checking Disney's calendar of events when planning park days. Despite my research, I somehow completely missed that Night of Joy was happening on our second trip (I think it was the second trip). I knew about special ticketed events, as I think we were doing the Halloween party that year, but not sure if my memory is accurate. But anyway, completely missed that it was scheduled and arrived for our evening in MK about an hour before it closed to people without tickets! The worst part was that we were up in Fantasyland when the CMs began to herd us out, and my then 4YO daughter tells me that she needs to use the restroom, but they absolutely would not let us use a restroom in the park. That was a long journey to the front gate!