My Parents

[rutgers1]

I just got a call from my parents. They are in Disney and are apparently miserable. OK, maybe not miserable, but they aren't happy.

The funny thing is that it is all their fault. They decided to go down only about a month ago. I begged them to make dining reservations, but they didn't. Finally, with only a week or two left before their vacation, I called and made as many as I could - which wasn't a lot. So, here is what happened....

1) They got down there two days ago, thinking that the place would be empty since they didn't know of any American schools with spring break. Nope, it is apparently crowded with tons of Canadians.....They keep missing the reservations that I did make because they go somewhere else for the day and can't get there in time.
2) The restaurants are packed. Considering a vacation is 4/5 food to them, they are miserable. Even restaurants like Trails End are making people wait up to 2 hours.
3) They are mad that waits for rides are long, yet after about 20 trips to Disney they still don't understand how to use the FastPass system. They know it will help them, yet like all "technology", they are afraid of it.

Ugh! Parents! lol

 

[kaffinito]

Poor parents! When will they ever listen to us! I hope their trip gets better.

 

[edk35]

I feel bad for them or anyone that doesn't plan plan plan. I hope things take a turn for the better and they end up having a better trip from here on out.

 

[mom2rb]

Texas is on Spring Break this week. I thought most of the South was too.

 

[lugnut33]

They should rent a car and just eat off property.

 

[ChelleinNC]

I just got a call from my parents. They are in Disney and are apparently miserable. OK, maybe not miserable, but they aren't happy.

The funny thing is that it is all their fault. They decided to go down only about a month ago. I begged them to make dining reservations, but they didn't. Finally, with only a week or two left before their vacation, I called and made as many as I could - which wasn't a lot. So, here is what happened....

1) They got down there two days ago, thinking that the place would be empty since they didn't know of any American schools with spring break. Nope, it is apparently crowded with tons of Canadians.....They keep missing the reservations that I did make because they go somewhere else for the day and can't get there in time.
2) The restaurants are packed. Considering a vacation is 4/5 food to them, they are miserable. Even restaurants like Trails End are making people wait up to 2 hours.
3) They are mad that waits for rides are long, yet after about 20 trips to Disney they still don't understand how to use the FastPass system. They know it will help them, yet like all "technology", they are afraid of it.

Ugh! Parents! lol

Sorry

Are they still going to the ADR's you made and being turned away or just assuming that they won't get in because they're late? Most of the time, you can be very late and they'll still seat you (especially if you go to guest services and call to say you're running late) Only other advice I have is to tell them to try some of the resort restaurants like Turf Club at SSR and Olivia's at OKW. They're usually not too bad to get into and very good

After taking my dad & stepmom, I wanted to pull my hair out. We met them at SSR where they were staying, took them on the bus to DHS and took the friendship boats to BWV (where we were staying) the next morning I assumed (yep you know what that means ) that they could repeat those steps by themselves Nope! Got a call from dad, they were in DHS looking for the boat

Oh, parents!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

It's Spring Break for many of the private schools, personally I tried to get a friend in at the last minute and there wasn't a studio available for this week in any of the resorts! It will be busy through Easter! Sorry!

 

[ClarabelleCow]

They are in the middle of SPRING BREAK! Many states have one break in March, most colleges have break in March. Uggh! I hear March is sometimes worse than February! April is also break time! Too bad they didn't wait until May! Tell them not to give up, many times, you can call in the morning for ADR's and get them, I was told they do hold seats back for "day of" reservations.

February was very busy, key was to get out EARLY!! be at the parks at the drop of the rope. Then leave after lunch. Then go back at night if there are late hours.

 

[Tiger926]

Ummm...many U.S. schools are on Spring Break, and my entire province of Ontario, Canada is on Spring Break as well. Sorry they are experiencing busy times, but a little bit of research and planning would have gone a long way - they should have scheduled their vacation for another time if they wanted to miss Spring Break crowds.

I totally feel for you - my parents and my sis and bil are the exact same way. They think that Disney will just part the way for them when they arrive too - we are exact polar opposites in this regard. They don't plan for hardly anything, and most times, disaster ensues, yet they still haven't learned their lesson. This is why we will never be taking them with us to WDW!

Good luck with your parents - you tried to warn them, so hopefully, you won't have to listen to too much whining about it.

Tiger

 

[Disney_Villain]

Yeesh, at least my in-laws (mid-70s) actually make and attend all their ADRs - and they use FastPass while texting us as to where they are and what they're up to. We never have any big problems with them.

While DH and I were in line for the Finding Nemo show in DAK, my mother-in-law texted us when she entered DAK, asking "where's Nemo?" (She'd never seen the show, and honestly didn't know the location.) Others in line with us thought this was worth a good laugh. We rolled our eyes. To quote DH "only my mother would ask that question".

 

[rutgers1]

So here's the update.....

Just as I thought they had one foot out the door, they call me today and say that they are having a great time. "What happened between yesterday and today?" I asked. Apparently, they ate a meal or two since then and went to Magic Kingdom, where they were able to go on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority ride (Is that what it is called???) about 50 times. Apparently the 9 billion Canadians didn't find that to be as attractive as my parents did. Oh, and one other thing contributed to their change of heart. Apparently my mother left a roll of quarters on the washing machine at Fort Wilderness. She returned an hour later and they were still there.

 

[MinnieGi]

Glad they are having a better time today! But just have to say as others have noted its not just Canadians on spring break right now. Many US schools college and K-12 schools are on spring break right now too - I know several families from our area are down there right now b/c of spring break!

 

[rutgers1]

I know that there are other areas that are on vacation, but I think it is funny that my parents were blaming Canadians for their problems the other day. They thought it was some conspiracy against them, as though Canada decided to release its school children just in time confuse my mother as she tried to navigate around Disney.

I love my parents to death, but I hope that I never become one of those people who let technology - and sometimes common sense - pass them by. Using Fast Pass is not difficult, and neither is making ADR's. On top of that, if you go to Disney, and if short lines are important to you, then you have to be willing to either plan your trip at a REALLY slow time of the year or be smart about when you go to the park. They can't expect to arrive at noon and not see crowds.

The one thing I do agree with them about, though, is that Disney could definitely use to add a few more restaurants. I think they actually lose a lot of money by not having more restaurants. There have been times when I was planning on going to counter service but then decided that I would prefer to sit down, yet when I was told that there was no room for us, I just went back to the nearest counter service. They would have made more had they been able to accommodate me at the restaurant. I realize that the main issue is probably handling the swings from busy time periods to slow time periods. However, I really don't think there are many slow periods anymore. On top of that, any restaurant has to deal with that. Oh well, enough of that rant, lol.

 

[Starr W.]

I know that there are other areas that are on vacation, but I think it is funny that my parents were blaming Canadians for their problems the other day. They thought it was some conspiracy against them, as though Canada decided to release its school children just in time confuse my mother as she tried to navigate around Disney.

I love my parents to death, but I hope that I never become one of those people who let technology - and sometimes common sense - pass them by. Using Fast Pass is not difficult, and neither is making ADR's. On top of that, if you go to Disney, and if short lines are important to you, then you have to be willing to either plan your trip at a REALLY slow time of the year or be smart about when you go to the park. They can't expect to arrive at noon and not see crowds.

The one thing I do agree with them about, though, is that Disney could definitely use to add a few more restaurants. I think they actually lose a lot of money by not having more restaurants. There have been times when I was planning on going to counter service but then decided that I would prefer to sit down, yet when I was told that there was no room for us, I just went back to the nearest counter service. They would have made more had they been able to accommodate me at the restaurant. I realize that the main issue is probably handling the swings from busy time periods to slow time periods. However, I really don't think there are many slow periods anymore. On top of that, any restaurant has to deal with that. Oh well, enough of that rant, lol.

I'm enjoying this, reminds me that I need to track down my sister's neighbor who's going to WDW over Xmas-NYE with her daughter's family. Need to get them clued in so she won't come back whining to sister that your Disney-fied sibling didn't tell us about ADR's, Fastpasses and Tour Guide Mike.

 

[CheapMom]

Texas is on Spring Break this week. I thought most of the South was too.

we have family in the south (TN) and they are on break this week. I hope things look up for your parents

 

[rotary2808]

Alabama's on spring break this week too. Glad to hear your parents trip is starting to look up though.

We used to go during spring break, but not anymore. Although I'm beginning to think that week after Thanksgiving that we go now is starting to get just as bad.

 

[Inkmahm]

So here's the update.....

Just as I thought they had one foot out the door, they call me today and say that they are having a great time. "What happened between yesterday and today?" I asked. Apparently, they ate a meal or two since then and went to Magic Kingdom, where they were able to go on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority ride (Is that what it is called???) about 50 times. Apparently the 9 billion Canadians didn't find that to be as attractive as my parents did. Oh, and one other thing contributed to their change of heart. Apparently my mother left a roll of quarters on the washing machine at Fort Wilderness. She returned an hour later and they were still there.

We rode the TTA yesterday, too, and it actually had a LINE of people waiting to get on! First time ever I have seen that at the MK in all the years I've been going to WDW.

The fastpass system still worked great and we were able to do everything we wanted to yesterday, even with the crowds. ADRs really came in handy, also.

 

[edk35]

So here's the update.....

Just as I thought they had one foot out the door, they call me today and say that they are having a great time. "What happened between yesterday and today?" I asked. Apparently, they ate a meal or two since then and went to Magic Kingdom, where they were able to go on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority ride (Is that what it is called???) about 50 times. Apparently the 9 billion Canadians didn't find that to be as attractive as my parents did. Oh, and one other thing contributed to their change of heart. Apparently my mother left a roll of quarters on the washing machine at Fort Wilderness. She returned an hour later and they were still there.

Oh that is great. YAY We love TTA and ride it multiple times each time we go to MK. We are bummed it will be closed this summer when we go in July. Hope their trip continues to be a fun one for them.

 

[Crystal_27]

I just got a call from my parents. They are in Disney and are apparently miserable. OK, maybe not miserable, but they aren't happy.

The funny thing is that it is all their fault. They decided to go down only about a month ago. I begged them to make dining reservations, but they didn't. Finally, with only a week or two left before their vacation, I called and made as many as I could - which wasn't a lot. So, here is what happened....

1) They got down there two days ago, thinking that the place would be empty since they didn't know of any American schools with spring break. Nope, it is apparently crowded with tons of Canadians.....They keep missing the reservations that I did make because they go somewhere else for the day and can't get there in time.
2) The restaurants are packed. Considering a vacation is 4/5 food to them, they are miserable. Even restaurants like Trails End are making people wait up to 2 hours.
3) They are mad that waits for rides are long, yet after about 20 trips to Disney they still don't understand how to use the FastPass system. They know it will help them, yet like all "technology", they are afraid of it.

Ugh! Parents! lol

That must be miserable for them!! We were there from March 8-14 and we could really really see an increase in attendance from the Sunday we got there (the 8th) to Friday the 13th. And, although all of the teenagers that we saw were incredibly well behaved, there's only so much one can take before it becomes too much. Again, I feel for them!!

ETA: Just read your update - glad to read that their trip is improving!!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I have always thought that camping people were particularly nice
I'm so glad that your parents are finding their trip to be enjoyable!

My DF's and I are probably about your DP's ages and we begin our stay tomorrow. I'm hoping my DF's can roll with the punches, it's going to be more crowded than I thought it would be. We just have general plans, and only ADR's for Sunday before we see Davy Jones!

Bobbi