Not planning and disappointment

[GoofeyAboutDisney]

I wouldn't even call that a lack of planning. She had a map, which clearly shows all of the attractions and the table service restaurants. Even if you haven't planned at all, it's easy enough to see all of the things to do and places to eat on the map. Or ask any CM. Or ask at Guest Services.

It sounds like she just didn't have much interest in seeing the park.

I agree, at the very least, test track is very hard to miss ( or not hear ) even with no planning she should have been able to find the rides. If she was interested

 

[3DisneyFanz]

I just can't imagine having an entire trip laid out months in advance. Where is the fun in knowing what every second of everyday is going to be like. My work week is like that so the concept of vacationing that way just seems miserable. In a time not that long ago you could get away with that going to Disney. Those days may be partially gone but the key to a good vacation isn't rigidity for most people.

 

[maxiesmom]

I just can't imagine having an entire trip laid out months in advance. Where is the fun in knowing what every second of everyday is going to be like. My work week is like that so the concept of vacationing that way just seems miserable. In a time not that long ago you could get away with that going to Disney. Those days may be partially gone but the key to a good vacation isn't rigidity for most people.

There is a difference between being rigid and at least knowing what each park has to offer.

 

[GPC0321]

I agree, at the very least, test track is very hard to miss ( or not hear ) even with no planning she should have been able to find the rides. If she was interested

Somehow she found Soarin' but missed Test Track. Go figure.

 

[akl2004]

I view our ADRs and FP+ as options, not requirements. We can decide the day before what ADRs we want to keep if I make them early. We can't decide to have a pre-park breakfast at BoG the day before if I don't. FP+ has no cancellation penalty, so that's even easier. If we hit Test Track in a short line at 9 am and don't want to go back for our 11 am FP we just don't have to go- but if the lines are 2 hours long we're going to be sorry we didn't make a FP+. A plan is not graven in stone. It's an outline.

Sounds like my philosophy. I look at FP+ as insurance. If the lines are long for my families favorites (which I usually have FP+ for) then I have the guaranteed ride with a shorter line. If, on the other hand, we get lucky and find a reasonable stand by line, then I can always keep the FP and ride a second time, or cancel and get FP for another ride. This plan may not work during peak times, but so far it has in October, April and December.

With ADRs, I do make one for each day because I want to know that we will have a real meal at a place we want, if we decide we want it. Again, it is insurance. Sometimes we decide to change our minds about a restaurant and cancel and pick up another one at a different restaurant and sometimes we just cancel and eat whatever, whereever. But the flexibility is diminished here due to the cancellation policy.

I read the posts about itineraries, spreadsheets, etc. and wonder where the vacation is. I'm not saying those people are wrong, that's how they do it, its what they are comfortable with. I work two jobs 6 days a week and can't get my lawn mowed without squeezing it into my everyday schedule, so on vacation I don't want to have each day planned down to the minute all day everyday. The way we plan works for us, but probably wouldn't for others, just as the strategies and planning that others do wouldn't work for us.

 

[edk35]

We have friends that went to Disney many many years ago. They hated Epcot. They thought it was the worst park at Disney. We love EC and go there more than any park. We tend to end our afternoons/evenings at Epcot even when we go to other parks at rope drop. All three of our kids NOW 25, 22 and almost 17 still love going and always loved going there when they were younger.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I just can't imagine having an entire trip laid out months in advance. Where is the fun in knowing what every second of everyday is going to be like. My work week is like that so the concept of vacationing that way just seems miserable. In a time not that long ago you could get away with that going to Disney. Those days may be partially gone but the key to a good vacation isn't rigidity for most people.

I think it's good to have an itinerary, especially if you don't get to go every year and have must dos. When I started working on ours I made sure to have plenty of open periods of time for winging it and resting. You don't need to plan every second, but I think you have to at least understand the volume of things to do and try to make a list of what you feel is important.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I view our ADRs and FP+ as options, not requirements. We can decide the day before what ADRs we want to keep if I make them early. We can't decide to have a pre-park breakfast at BoG the day before if I don't. FP+ has no cancellation penalty, so that's even easier. If we hit Test Track in a short line at 9 am and don't want to go back for our 11 am FP we just don't have to go- but if the lines are 2 hours long we're going to be sorry we didn't make a FP+. A plan is not graven in stone. It's an outline.

When we were there last December, we walked on a ride we had a fp for, so we cancelled the one we had and made it for something different later in the day. It helps.

 

[Baklava]

I will miss the magic moment of handing strangers FastPasses. Magic Bands are efficient and nifty and all that, but there was something nice about the opportunities to hand FastPasses to people staring at a 90 minute line.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I will miss the magic moment of handing strangers FastPasses. Magic Bands are efficient and nifty and all that, but there was something nice about the opportunities to hand FastPasses to people staring at a 90 minute line.

We actually walked a guy into 7DMT (a CM let us) because we had an extra fp on my DGDs magic band. She missed the ride by 1/2 an inch, so we let this guy with a small baby ride. He didn't want to make his wife wait. Still have some pixie dust to sprinkle!

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

One thing about winging it at a theme park new to you...the sooner you learn it the better. You follow every path and road you see. Don't stop 'til you see either "exit' or "staff only" type things. You go on or in everything that's theree unless there's sound reason not to (gonna get sick, flashing lights etc). I was 49 when I first rode the Dumbos. Itwasn't exactly the time of my life but how did i go so many trips to Disneyland and never rode the Dumbos yet? Unless you're pressed for time, you have nothing to lose,, even if you find the ride/attraction lame and boring.

And you can be missing out I remember people telling me to to bother with 7dmt and had I listened I would not have meet my new fav ride

 

[cijay]

And you can be missing out I remember people telling me to to bother with 7dmt and had I listened I would not have meet my new fav ride

That's right! I wasn't 'disappointed' by 7 Dwarfs but I found it very similar to Thunder Mountain but for the scenery. Glad I rode it because it's beautiful in there but for the ride itself, I'll wave the line up and go on Thunder Mtn.

 

[andiraye]

A guy I work with was visiting his parents about an hour from WDW and decided to visit MK for the day. They left in time to arrive after RD, bought tickets and made random FP's on the car ride over and spent the whole day on line. Said he'll never go back again. We've all heard stories like this.

I think it is partially a question of expectations. Most amusement parks you can just show up and see what's there and have pretty much the same experience as you would have if you researched the heck out of it. Not so WDW. Ah, well, more fun for me!

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I read the posts about itineraries, spreadsheets, etc. and wonder where the vacation is. I'm not saying those people are wrong, that's how they do it, its what they are comfortable with. I work two jobs 6 days a week and can't get my lawn mowed without squeezing it into my everyday schedule, so on vacation I don't want to have each day planned down to the minute all day everyday.

Different perspective: My husband has a schedule similar to yours, so he loves that I've planned everything and written it down. When we get there, he has NO decisions to make all week because I already made them for us. He LOVES our vacations because for one week, he doesn't have to be the decision maker.

 

[akl2004]

Different perspective: My husband has a schedule similar to yours, so he loves that I've planned everything and written it down. When we get there, he has NO decisions to make all week because I already made them for us. He LOVES our vacations because for one week, he doesn't have to be the decision maker.

That's the key to the whole vacation thing. Vacation is supposed to be relaxing. Your husband and I have two different ways of getting the relaxed feeling. But what matters is that we get to that point where we just leave the hustle and bustle and stress of our normal lives behind and are able to enjoy the time we get with our loved ones.

 

[EricInPA]

...They left in time to arrive after RD, bought tickets and made random FP's on the car ride over and spent the whole day on line...

... Most amusement parks you can just show up and see what's there and have pretty much the same experience as you would have if you researched the heck out of it....

This is pretty much the experience at any park. You wait in line, you ride the rides, you go home. I'm not going to disagree that they might not have had a great time (maybe they weren't a fan of Disney-style rides), but simply having to wait in line most of the day is pretty much the base experience of an amusement park.

ETA: I guess this could also mean "online" as in "on your phone all day", or something. Still seems like an odd complaint. Pull out phone, check wait times, put phone away.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

A guy I work with was visiting his parents about an hour from WDW and decided to visit MK for the day. They left in time to arrive after RD, bought tickets and made random FP's on the car ride over and spent the whole day on line. Said he'll never go back again. We've all heard stories like this.

I think it is partially a question of expectations. Most amusement parks you can just show up and see what's there and have pretty much the same experience as you would have if you researched the heck out of it. Not so WDW. Ah, well, more fun for me!

I'm pretty sure this was meant to be in line but either way it is appropriate now. Your either stand in line or stay online trying to avoid standing in line. Backup battery packs for your phone are the new must have for your Disney vacations.

 

[seashoreCM]

A friend of mine recently went to Disneyworld. She and a friend went and just wanted to go at their leisure and not plan anything.
I recently saw her and she was disappointed with Epcot. She thought there was more learning stuff.
They only went on Soarin. They walked around the countries for hours. .

Are you sure your friend didn't get so engrossed in the exhibits (in World Showcase) that the day came to and end before she made it around to finish Future World?

Then she was disappointed because what she saw did not include what she expected to see, such expectation having been forumulated long in advance of the vacation?

My first visit to Epcot (ca 1985) went something like that. I did visit most of the pavilions and went on several rides, but my first impression was, "it was not intellectually stimulating." Because of that I did not go back for several years.

Then my feelings changed and I went back several times in the 1990's. Usually with at least two days in Epcot.

I did not do any of the sit down restaurants because of the higher prices. One restaurant I remember going to a lot was the counter service in the separate building at Japan.

One of the consequences was that I missed Horizons, which I now wish I went on. I think I originally passed it by thinking of "another hokey amusement ride."

 

[andiraye]

I'm pretty sure this was meant to be in line but either way it is appropriate now. Your either stand in line or stay online trying to avoid standing in line. Backup battery packs for your phone are the new must have for your Disney vacations.

Yes, IN line. "On line" was a typo. But the point was they just showed up, gave themselves only one day, spent most of it waiting and not doing stuff and thought the whole experience was "meh."

 

[chicagogrl]

Right. They did not Do much at all. Just Soarin and Nemo I think. She said it was just a bunch of stores.
There are Big signs in front of the exhibits/rides. So I really don't know.