Planning with first timer friends--FRUSTRATED!

[Kriii]

It's probably too late for this suggestion, but a Universal trip sounds like it would be easier to navigate with this family. No fast passes to worry about and no need for ADRs at City Walk either.

 

[quandrea]

It's probably too late for this suggestion, but a Universal trip sounds like it would be easier to navigate with this family. No fast passes to worry about and no need for ADRs at City Walk either.

We are at Universal for two days prior to Disney.

 

[tlmadden73]

With respect, I think that this is overkill. I understand planning ADR's in a little excess until you firm up plans, but to hang onto ADR's in the way that you describe is kind of selfish. I will often book a breakfast in three of the parks, but as soon as I firm our plan for either an early day or a later arrival, the extra is canceled.

It definitely IS selfish, but honestly it is just working within the system they give us. If it is just my own trip (not a group one), I do exactly what you say and free up my other reservations as soon as I can knowing others are looking for it, but even then how soon do I firm up my plans in a month? Two months? Three months? There are a lot of people probably trying to get a reservation at the places I have 'locked up' and going away empty handed because I am "hoarding" them .. even for a short time.
Since there is no waiting list, those people have no idea when the reservations you cancel free up.

Disney is asking us do make dinner reservations at 180 days (and if you don't you lose out at getting a convenient reservation at some of the most popular restaurants), but not being able to make Fast Passes or even know park or event schedules until 60 days or less) is a little frustrating. Most times you won't know your day will look like until a lot closer (maybe even day-of).

 

[J-Dog]

Well, not really. I don't get this argument. I've done Disney with a plan and without. Without means waiting in line and maybe not eating at your absolute favorite restaurants. But a lot of people don't care where they eat, and waiting in line is what I'd be doing at other theme parks anyway. People were moaning a lot about FEA fast pass availability- I got one, it broke down, I stood in standby the next day. 1 hour. Totally normal for a queue at my local coaster park.

Even WDW's planning isn't really worse than similar things in a large city. Don't buy entry tickets ahead of time? Be in line by 6 am to buy day of tickets. Don't make a reservation at a popular restaurant? You'll be eating at a tourist trap instead. Disney did fast pass as a crowd control method. Timed entry tickets at a museum or booking windows for popular restaurants are sort of thing.

Nah. You can do it, you just do it like we did Busch Gardens the first and only time we went in 2011. We didn't plan at all except to look up ticket prices. We grabbed a map when we got there. We waited an hour for a hamburger hot dog type meal. We went on what we could with wait times from 20-45 minutes. We waited about 2 hours for my DH and his friend to ride 2 coasters while the kids went around and around on a small kid coaster that looked like a country fair. (not insulting BG, just what it looked like.) We were tired of the heat (in Dec) but there is no shade and left about 5pm.

You are free to go to WDW and wait in 2 lines for 2 hours and eat QS with no planning at all. It will be exactly a BG experience.

To be fair I've gotten stuck at Universal without a place to eat aside from crowded quickservic or a 2 hour wait and would've preferred reservations.

Also you can easily do all of those parks within a day and that includes "park hopping" at Universal - that's not possible with DisneyWorld.

As much planning as I do I hate HATE having to do it 6 months in advance. I'd prefer 2 weeks in advance where I have a much better sense of weather, time availability and what not.

I totally understand that Disney CAN be done without much planning, but clearly the OP is stressed-out by the planning that Disney requires (or maybe "strongly recommends" is a better term). You can't plan ADR's at UO, for example, nearly that far out. It seems to me that the planning that makes Disney stressful - or less stressful, depending on your POV - is the root of this whole thread. In other words, a thread like this wouldn't exist on the UO sub-forum on the DIS.

 

[Nancyg56]

It definitely IS selfish, but honestly it is just working within the system they give us. If it is just my own trip (not a group one), I do exactly what you say and free up my other reservations as soon as I can knowing others are looking for it, but even then how soon do I firm up my plans in a month? Two months? Three months? There are a lot of people probably trying to get a reservation at the places I have 'locked up' and going away empty handed because I am "hoarding" them .. even for a short time.
Since there is no waiting list, those people have no idea when the reservations you cancel free up.

Disney is asking us do make dinner reservations at 180 days (and if you don't you lose out at getting a convenient reservation at some of the most popular restaurants), but not being able to make Fast Passes or even know park or event schedules until 60 days or less) is a little frustrating. Most times you won't know your day will look like until a lot closer (maybe even day-of).

I am not going to derail the conversation, and I do understand that Disney has complicated the dining process, but this is not how we roll. I have no idea what the answer is because making ADR's are not as much fun as it used to be.

 

[Westcoastwild]

I totally understand that Disney CAN be done without much planning, but clearly the OP is stressed-out by the planning that Disney requires (or maybe "strongly recommends" is a better term). You can't plan ADR's at UO, for example, nearly that far out. It seems to me that the planning that makes Disney stressful - or less stressful, depending on your POV - is the root of this whole thread. In other words, a thread like this wouldn't exist on the UO sub-forum on the DIS.

Well...Disney also recommends staying on property and spending extra on dessert packages and a whole bunch of other things. They're a business. They're all about the money and those TS restaurants make them a boatload of money. Maybe those difficult to get reservations and experiences enhance the trip but they don't "make" the trip. That's my point.

UO doesn't have anywhere that I'd want to plan for. If they were Disney level foodwise I'd understand the comparison. UO has no equivalent of BOG or Ohana.

 

[piccolopat]

We've had many vacations where family has wanted to join us. I'm clear from the start that we will plan what we want to do and book ADR's and fp+ to include them if they want. If they don't like the choices or don't want me to include them in my plans they are free to book other things for themselves. I'm not changing our plans or going crazy when others can't decide. We can always meet up in a park or restaurant.

 

[Delirium]

This is why we try and avoid going with others at all cost.

 

[Nancyg56]

We've had many vacations where family has wanted to join us. I'm clear from the start that we will plan what we want to do and book ADR's and fp+ to include them if they want. If they don't like the choices or don't want me to include them in my plans they are free to book other things for themselves. I'm not changing our plans or going crazy when others can't decide. We can always meet up in a park or restaurant.

We travel as a large group, and we have a planning session before it is time to book ADR's and FP. I dont think that we all need to be joined from start to finish, so we all have the chance to weigh in ahead of time. Once we are there we respect that we all can choose to branch off, and I encourage it. At home we are not together all day, so why would vacation be different?

My DD is in the early planning stages for a 2018 trip that includes my adult nieces. We can tell already that this trip is going to be so much fun because they are involved in the planning. Our resort was chosen specifically to accomodate a diverse bunch who have different travel. And vacation styles.

 

[GillianP1301]

I would have a really hard time with a multi-family large group for these exact reasons. Not having a plan would stress me out and making a plan without input would leave me worrying about whether the other people are having a good time. I think the only way it works is if you're able to directly say, you are booking what you want and will add them to your reservations and if they have any preferences to let you know by x date. If you get input great, if not then you have to stick to your guns and book what you want. Then the trick is to not the it stress you out if others come at the 11th hour requesting changes.

 

[FloridaPixie]

It's 11 hours and 4 pages later and you're still stressing about this? The friend's mom probably thinks you are insane to want to plan everything 6 months in advance. She doesn't understand why you are so insistent and it's simply not a priority for her. I would make your own plans for your family *and* their family at your 180 window without bothering them further. Then, when they get around to talking to you about the vacation you can move things around where you can but at least you will at least have something in place. I would also make sure you have one reservation for CRT and for GG since the mom wants a character meal but won't eat at a buffet (what about 'Ohana breakfast? Does that work?).

It is not that she is still stressing about this or moving the thread along. The thread continues to grow because this is a universal issue that many Disney vets encounter when traveling with others. Some friends you are just not meant to travel with, to WDW or anywhere.

 

[quandrea]

I would have a really hard time with a multi-family large group for these exact reasons. Not having a plan would stress me out and making a plan without input would leave me worrying about whether the other people are having a good time. I think the only way it works is if you're able to directly say, you are booking what you want and will add them to your reservations and if they have any preferences to let you know by x date. If you get input great, if not then you have to stick to your guns and book what you want. Then the trick is to not the it stress you out if others come at the 11th hour requesting changes.

I've made our plan along with the ADRs myself and the kids want. No input from my friend or her daughter. I'm glad knowing something is in place because, as people have said, it's our trip too. Dining at Disney is part of the fun. Yes it's crazy we start planning six months out, but that's where Disney is at right now. At a minimum, I like to know which parks I'll be in so I can turn my mind to ADRs. With dd's allergies, I have to preplan meal time. It's a way of life for us when travelling.

 

[mamamelody2]

Well, good for you! I can't believe she still didn't give any input at all. Don't let yourself be guilted if she doesn't like the plan!

 

[quandrea]

Well, good for you! I can't believe she still didn't give any input at all. Don't let yourself be guilted if she doesn't like the plan!

Thanks! I won't.