Mistakes Made On First Trip

[MammaMoe48]

I think almost everyone here will agree that the biggest mistake we make on our first, second, twelfth, fortieth... trip is to not slow down a bit. There's no possible way to see and do everything in one trip, so enjoy the time you have and experience what's in reach. (And then plan to go back and experience some more next time - wink.)

We are going on our first trip this year and I am heeding the boards regarding overdoing the parks so we are doing a hotel/pool day and even plan on renting a car to catch a Rays game in Tampa. I picked about 4-5 must do's for each park and will FP a couple of things but everything else will be if we have the time and energy. Since my son has no desire to meet Belle or Ariel, nor is he interested in tea with Cinderella, that knocks all the princess stuff off my list. My son is really only interested in doing the Jedi training at DHS, if we do just that one thing during our entire vacation he would be totally happy. What we don't get done this trip, we will do on our next trip.

I should add that this all sounds good in theory but I won't know for sure if my plan will work until I put it into action. Let's hope it does!

 

[yeheyprincex2]

For us Our first trip mistakes back 2002 were staying off site, not having a plan,literally walking in blind we had no clue we need ADR and we waited almost two hrs to eat at Tony's. We also arrived early afternoon at EPCOT and I really have no memory of the day except I took a picture with Snow white and a picture at the fountains in Italy. SMH as I think about our first trip, we laugh about it now.

 

[DisneyHardin]

My biggest mistake of the first trip DH and I took together was inviting my in-laws to come along. They are super nice people, but it was not fun being on vacation with them. They eat on a schedule and it didn't matter what you were doing when the clock struck noon, you had to find a restaurant so they could eat lunch. My FIL complained about EVERYTHING the entire trip and like a little kid, always just wanted to go back to the hotel to swim. It put my DH in a tough spot because he adores his parents, but he could see that they were ruining my vacation. After a couple days, we finally just ended up doing our own things during the day and meeting up for dinner.

 

[bluezy]

I don't know - I tried calling Disney and they would not let me make ADRs with them prior to our arrival (once onsite I could) they kept (they being more than one CM I called a few times) telling me I had to go through our travel agent. I found it to be frustrating so that was our one and only travel agent experience

That's interesting... Since you don't have to have a resort reservation to make ADR's (unless you're taking advantage of the 180+10), there shouldn't have been any reason to even tell Disney that you had a room reservation. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with that TA...they're the type that give all the great TA's a bad reputation by association.

 

[CinderellasKastle]

My first trip to Disneyworld was in May 1998. I lived in Minnesota at the time, and our flight was early in the morning. It was around 40*, so we had sweaters and long pants on. Our first flight was delayed, and we had a connecting flight in Atlanta to meet up with my family from Pennsylvania who we were going to meet up with for lunch. Because our first flight was delayed, our connecting flight was only 10 minutes later. So we ran across the Atlanta airport (which is a sucky airport to have connecting flights in that had been delayed, trust me), didn't get lunch, and we arrived in Orlando to find that our luggage didn't make the connecting flight. So here we were in 80* Orlando, with long sweatshirts/pants on, no food, no luggage. I actually walked into Magic Kingdom throwing up in my Mom's hand because of how dehydrated/hungry/hot I was.

So note to first time travelers that might have a connecting flight: Pack extra clothes and a few snacks on your carry on.

Also my friend came down here and didn't have a "schedule" for her week and told me how miserable she was. They didn't make it to any of their fastpasses in time, they didn't have any dining plans, they didn't stay on site, they didn't have a rental car. The shuttle at their hotel went to Epcot and the Airport. She said it was terrible and she felt like she missed a lot.

I'm a planner. All of my Disney trips following the 1998 trip, my Mom and I had itineraries of what the week would look like. Kudos to those of you that have had successful trips without scheduling a thing, but the idea of that would give me the highest amount of anxiety. Those trips that were planned I had the most fun on because we planned in our days, but also times to relax at the hotel/pool, and made dining reservations way in advance that we wanted. I'm not saying I plan every single thing, every ride that we go on every hour. I'm not that crazy. My plans usually consist of Saturday: Travel from 7 - 1, Arrive and check in to hotel 1 - 3, Magic Kingdom 3 - park close, Sunday: Animal Kingdom until 3, Hollywood Studios in the evening with dinner at 7, and so on. So it's a very "loose" planning system, I guess you could say. But we make sure to take breaks when we need to. Nothing is 100%, we never got upset with eachother that we couldn't get to another park at a certain time.

 

[agavegirl1]

My first trip with my two youngest children, then 10 and 11. Animal Kingdom was in "dress rehearsal" and they gave us free passes to the park which we decided to use on our departure day (we drove). This was an unplanned park day but we wanted to see the "new" park. Meticulous planning was required for all our family vacations as my youngest has ADHD and still does at age 25. The unplanned park morning resulted in a serious meltdown after four days in the other parks. He thought that day would involve sitting in a seat in the van playing video games and was not cooperative in the least. He ran away from the "boneyard" and headed for the fences. After CMs helped us locate him and I calmed him down, we left the park as he settled in to his favorite Mario game.

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

This was our third trip in a row where we didn't really plan a rest day and for real, we are never making that mistake again.

Usually we've been "parks on the first day" people but this most recent trip we changed that and it has firmly convinced me that making arrival day a resort day is the way to go for my crew. It helped that we had several issues that needed fixing, but even so. My kids all liked just wandering around and checking things out.

 

[MickeyPretzel15]

My family's first WDW back in the early 90's was a huge lesson in what not to do.

We stayed off-site, and did a day at Universal with no issue. Being on a strict budget, my parents decided to attend a 90 minute time share pitch for the promise of two free tickets. For some unknown reason, my parents scheduled this the morning of our MK day. They were gone for four hours, and they only got their two free tickets after my father completely lost it and made a scene in their sales office.

My parents were both in a terrible mood, and by the time we strolled into the MK in the early afternoon, the lines were of course outrageously long (and this was in pre-fast pass era). I have a vivid memory of waiting in line for over an hour for IASM while my pre-school aged sister whined and my father just stewed in anger.

We made a few other rookie mistakes that day, like eating during peak dinner time and having to wait in line 30 minutes for a lukewarm CS burger. At the end of the day, my mother announced she couldn't understand why anyone would ever willingly come here, and that she would never be returning. (LOL).

The next day we made it to EPCOT at rope drop, and had a wonderful and much more relaxing day.

We still laugh about that first trip. My mother has been back to WDW many times since then, is now the Queen of ADRs and FP +.

 

[Eastern]

My biggest newbie mistake was paying rack rate for Contemporary Resort in the 90s. Oh how I wish I could pay that rack rate now.

 

[PeasandCarrots]

Our biggest mistake was assuming Disney World was just like any other trip and required the same degree of planning. I know how silly that sounds but we were 30 the first time we went and really knew nothing about it. We had no ADRs and couldn't find anywhere with walk-ups. We went Easter week and had horrible crowds including 2 hour bus lines to get back to our resort. It's a wonder we ever went back but we got the Unofficial Guide to WDW and our next trip was great!

 

[cmarsh31]

1st trip - Planning the day as if we were going back to the resort in the middle to rest and then return in the evenings (we were staying off-site at a Marriott timeshare) - DH hated the hassle of driving/parking etc so we ended up never going back for any night stuff. In hindsight, we should have gone earlier in the morning (instead of 11ish), actually had time to come back by 1pm (it was August) and then returned for dinner.

2nd trip - not enough food planning. I knew roughly what QS we were going to eat at, but I needed a more specific schedule for DH & DS who get VERY VERY grumpy when hungry - after the first two days, I realized that if I handed them both a Mickey Bar every time they got grumpy, we all had a better time!

We didn't plan a pool day at all for the 2nd trip (good choice) and spent our departure morning at DS (great choice - everything was just opening and it was very quiet!)

Next time - pre-opening breakfast at MK!

 

[lennyd]

your 1st trip is a learning experience, you can read all the books you want but nothing beats what you learn on that 1st trip,it sets you up for the next 100trips

 

[PantherPete]

Our biggest mistake was in not having a daily touring plan. We understood that you had to have ADR's and we understood that it is best to know what days we would be in each park. But we had no touring plan in each park once we got there. They had FP's (this was before FP+) so I spent the MK days running around the park getting FP's while my wife and kids met characters and shopped and we spent a lot of time criss crossing to make use the FP's. Things got easier when I learned that you didn't have to get to the ride by the time the FP window expired (i.e. you could still use your 1:05 to 2:05 FP at 4PM, the CM's never enforced it). We got so good at it that we were loading up on FP's in the AM and riding standby while the lines were short, then using all of our collected FP's in the afternoon & evening, collecting more along the way when we could (spare the lecture, I know that this wasn't the fair use of the system). We became so good at using the FP system, that the only time we ever waited in stand by lines were when the lines were near walk on. 10+ FP in a day was not uncommon. Then for one glorious trip, we were part of the FP+ roll out and got to use both systems and we totally took advantage of it. My kids got so spoiled that when we went this past November, they couldn't understand why I couldn't get FPs for everything. The new FP+ system is not nearly as easy to manipulate. Oh well, at least Universal still has EP for deluxe resort guests.

 

[KaSe]

2nd trip - not enough food planning. I knew roughly what QS we were going to eat at, but I needed a more specific schedule for DH & DS who get VERY VERY grumpy when hungry - after the first two days, I realized that if I handed them both a Mickey Bar every time they got grumpy, we all had a better time!

Hey, if someone wanted to hand me a Mickey bar anytime I got grumpy, I'd be in a better mood, too. Maybe I should suggest this at the next staff meeting. LOL!

 

[kristie73]

Our first trip was in 2012, and we are planning our 2nd trip for this Oct. We went in planned with ADRs, great Fast Pass strategies, we had read the DIS boards, we went in with touring plans and we stuck to our schedule well. It helped things go smooth, but it was still flexible we could change things up. So there wasn't really any big mistakes.

1. Should have planned 2 days at Epcot. We couldn't do all we wanted in one day. We have two days planned for Epcot now.
2. Should have planned a day of rest in between. I know some of you say it's not needed, but I want the rest day, pool, Disney Springs, etc. By our last day we were exhausted and didn't feel like walking more. We have more days planned and we are doing a one day at Universal so I think we'll appreciate a rest day.
3. Should have the most comfortable shoes ever for everyone. All of our feet were killing us by day 2. I'm not sure how we'll get around this. We are planning breaks, sit down shows/meals, schedule all rides from one side of a park, etc to help eliminate as much as we can being on your feet. I need to do some shoe shopping.
4. Always bring a change of clothes for your little ones. He fell asleep in the stroller and peed his pants. I did bring a change, but it wasn't his cute outfit for Mickey and Minnie greets.
5. If you let your kids bring a lovey or something into the park with them, keep an eye on it. He left his stuffed Mickey at a bus stop. Probably found and kept by someone else. Everyone felt sad for about an hour and we kept looking for it.
6. We didn't really plan well for viewing fireworks, parades, and light shows. We didn't want to waste time getting an early place but we might try to work that a little differently.

It won't be perfect, but we do our best and plan what we think will be good. Learning the new fast pass system, all the new changes, etc. I think I'm most worried about my feet.

 

[mort1331]

I think I can echo a few posts with its all about who you take on your trip. Be prepared to make compromises and if you can live with them that's great. Its when they start to grind on you or are too afraid to be left alone, then good luck. This is true for all trips, but Disney does take planning and if the wrong people go then there is no contingency that will help.

 

[abja09]

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

OK, OK, that was kinda mean. But he doesn't like crowds, doesn't like all the go-go-go, etc. We had fun, but he was the one most likely to be grumbling midday or ready to head back to the room first (he wouldn't even wear his birthday button! .) He has many fine qualities, and there are other low-key places we can vacation with him, but my daughters & I learned we all had more fun on Disney trips if the three of us went on their fall break while he was still working (he teaches in a neighboring district that's on a different school schedule) -- and he's happy to hug us goodbye, pick us up at the airport, and look at all our pictures when we get home. So, I guess what I'm really saying is be sure your party is made up of people willing to spread the pixie dust and leave Grumpy at home. ;-)

I agree 100% and do the same!! My son and I travel alone to Disney and it is the best!!

 

[book_junkie]

I've learned different things with different trips- what's that quote about always learn something every day?

1. Know what type of tour/plan person you're going with.
My husband is type A so much he'd be the Wikipedia example, and this is from college on. Our first trip together was our delayed honeymoon, and he had things planned, researched, scheduled and everything to the minute. By day 3, I mutinied and shoved him in the resort pool fully dressed. He got somewhat better on subsequent trips, and I made the MUCH abbreviated itineraries, but for a while he was hard wired for schedules.
My mom is the exact opposite, like puppy from Up- oh, squirrel! No plan works as she changes her mind like the weather.

2. Remember that you are NEVER going to see it all.
This was true in 2008, and even more so now with construction and FP+ and everything else. It's going to be OK.

3. Stay where you're comfortable at.
When we stayed on site, we knew what type of resort we'd be comfortable at and what type we wouldn't, and made our vacation choices around that- budget and timing wise. We knew that for us, even though we'd not be at the resort much, values were not for us- we'd rather stretch out our trips and go for a moderate or deluxe. YMMV, but being able to come back and call it "home" for our stay was part of the "Disney Magic".

4. Know your priorities.
On our first trip together, we missed so much that we wanted to do- so on subsequent trips we made a "Top 5" list for each park that we MUST DO, whether it was a ride, restaurant, or show. Now that we're local, we do this with the family and friends that come to visit, and it really helps.

5. Rent a car.
We wasted so much time waiting on buses, boats, and the monorail on our first two trips, so when we drove from TX on our third, we tried driving around. It was so easy, the parking was free as we were onsite, signs are everywhere (let alone GPS), and no waiting for anything or sharing space.

 

[catfan98]

We learned on our first trip that staying offsite, while it may save money on lodging, is not the way to go for us. Going in we thought it would be simple to leave the park in the early afternoon, go back to the condo and rest, and then go back to the park for the evening. We. Were. Wrong. It was not easy, it was not practical, and we missed a lot because of it. Both us and the kids always got hot and tired by early afternoon (June) and once we left and got back to the condo to rest, no one wanted to leave and go back to the parks. It just felt like too much to have to pack up and drive back, park, etc. No MSEP, no Wishes, no Illuminations, no Fantasmic!. It may work for some people, but not for us. My husband said never again. We are staying onsite this time and plan to make sure we get to see the parks at night!

 

[Mikie]

My first trip as an adult (20 somethings, traveled with a group of friends):

- stayed offsite and used their complimentary park shuttle service. We were so restricted by their departure times and they weren't very reliable at sticking to them
- one in my group insisted his early-spring-Midwest-pale skin didn't need sunscreen because he wasn't at the pool!
- another variation of "know your travel companions! Some assumed we'd all be park commando, some thought we could sleep in til noon and still do all we wanted. Future trips, I learned NOT to try to make anyone adjust to the other type - just know who wants what and when to meet up!