Failing to plan is planning to fail.
I remember how I used to enjoy going to the parks and just enjoying myself with my family with little to no planning at all. We'd go in the off season, we'd sleep in, we'd do whatever. We'd wait in lines because "That's just the way it is." We didn't bother with fastpass and honestly thought it was something you had to pay for.
And we were happy to come back every few years and mosey and meander and just go with the flow.
Then, one fateful year (2010) we decided to bring my in-laws with us during the week between Christmas and New Years.
The first day was the very definition of a rude awakening. We got to the park around 10 to find it pretty packed. It was one of those days where they stopped letting people in around noon. We waited like 45 mintues for Mr. Toad's wild ride. We waited about 50 minutes for Gadget's Go Coaster. We headed over to DCA and waited for a long time to ride the Fun Wheel and then forever to ride California Screamin. And we left the park, battered, confused and disappointed because our experience, quite frankly...sucked.
But, oddly enough, I was not angry at Disney. I decided that the onus was on us to make the most of this vacation. The next two days couldn't go that way for me and my family and my in-laws.
So, back at the hotel, while everyone else slept, I researched. I took notes. I even bought a Ridemax subscription and read all the tips that I could find.
And the next two days were magical.
The thing that is hardest about this BG stuff is that you can do everything "right" and still not get on.
But that can happen with other attractions too. They aren't advertising that HM is down for extended maintenance. I doubt they will advertise that Indy is down for extended maintenance when it goes down later this year. If you didn't look at the web site you might show up to the park and discover that your favorite attraction is unavailable.
Or it might be 101 for the day. It happens.
The also don't advertise that fastpasses are needed to get good viewing for the nighttime spectaculars.
Heck, when I scheduled my trip between Christmas and New Year in like March, I had heard that ROTR was going to be open. It was expected that it would be open before the end of the year. If I hadn't done research, I might have gone to the park expecting it to be open.
But I would have been fine. Because a bad day at DLR is better than a good day most anywhere else.
If that had happened, I would have felt that it was on me, not Disney.
Yeah, it sucks that some people don't get to ride, and that some of those people are kids and there are tears and all that. I remember one trip we kept putting off going on Tarzan's Treehouse, and my then 3 year old really wanted to do it. And by the time we got around to it on our last day, it was dark and it was closed. And boy did he cry. All the joy we had for three days for that moment was just ruined. Did I get angry at Disney for closing it? Or did I tell my son that sometimes things don't go our way and get on with our lives?
There is a lot to do at DLR, Rise or no Rise.