Rookie Mistakes

[The Mick]

I did not know about the fast pass.

It's a must. I couldn't imagine doing the popular rides without it anymore.

How it works:
Go to the attraction/ride. They have little podiums where you will insert your admission ticket. It will then give you back your admission ticket along with a Fast Pass ticket. The Fast Pass ticket will give you a time range for you to come back later in the day (sometimes it's an hour or so after, sometimes it SEVERAL hours later - depending on how fast the Fast Passes are going - they run out of them because they are so popular). When you come back within that time range, you show the CM your FastPass ticket and they will send you into the special FastPass line. It is much, much shorter than the standby line. You'll get on the ride much more quickly and it will save you time. Time that can be used for doing other things.

 

[Praise2Him]

Trying to do early entry every morning AND see all the night parade/fireworks shows. By the 3rd day we were all cranky from lack of sleep.

 

[DJ Disney Kid]

BREAKING IN NEW SHOES!!!!!!!!

 

[va32h]

Not understanding how big the parks really are, how big the crowds really are, and how the weather will affect you.

I always tell people that visiting WDW is like giving birth - you can read all the books and make all your plans, but you won't know what it's like that first time, until you actually do it.

And in the future, you will only remember the good parts, and conveniently block out the bad, which is why you keep doing it over and over again!

I was super-organized and planned well for my first trip, but was still totally overwhelmed once I actually got to the parks and saw the crowds. And the Florida heat and humidity in May totally sucked the energy out of me.

 

[Eeyore2003]

Newbies we have taken are astounded by the sheer imensity of the complex. People think it will be "all together" and once your "there", you're "right there". They don't expect a small city where you have to either take transportation or drive from place to place.

Also, not planning. Whether it's just a general structure to make the most of your time and keep you on track, or you go all out and keep track of minutes and hours. Most people think that it's all standing in lines in the hot Florida sun, and have no idea that it doesn't have to be that.

 

[kpk89]

Very simply, not researching and planning.

Too many rookies think they can "wing it" and then they are miserable because they're either running themselves ragged or wandering lost and not knowing what they want to do.

I don't subscribe to the "gotta get your money's worth at all costs" (aka commando with no breaks and no taking time for the "little" things) mentality, but at the same time shake my head at rookies who have no plan and are therefore spinning their wheels a lot.

 

[pennyplanner]

I think the first time I was mostly prepared since I had discovered the DIS Boards and Allears BUT I was still not prepared for the sheer immensity of the world. It was mid November and the weather was just lovely BUT we still took breaks in the afternoon to recharge.

The biggest mistake was not scoping out the CS restaurants. I was just not paying attention to lunch planning at MK. Since we are not big burger eaters and my DH does not eat beef at all it was a small challenge and not being prepared made it worse. We ended up a couple of times back at WL's Roaring Forks. Not bad but in retrospect I'd rather have done CHH or Peco's Bill's.

--penny

 

[The Mick]

Very simply, not researching and planning.

Too many rookies think they can "wing it" and then they are miserable because they're either running themselves ragged or wandering lost and not knowing what they want to do.

I don't subscribe to the "gotta get your money's worth at all costs" (aka commando with no breaks and no taking time for the "little" things) mentality, but at the same time shake my head at rookies who have no plan and are therefore spinning their wheels a lot.

I agree. Gotta have a game plan.

And that includes something as simple as taking park hours into consideration when you're planning your trip. You can plan a longer day at MK or Epcot than you can at Animal Kingdom because they close much later.

For example, you can take advantage of park hours if you're going to have a dinner reservation at a hotel for one night, make it the night you visit Animal Kingdom because it closes much earlier than the rest. Something as simple as that can be overlooked because of lack of preparation/information, and it can be so important to having an even more special vacation where you can take advantage of as many things as possible.

 

[Scot-n-Michelle]

I read alot but really had no plan for our first trip. It seems like we missed so many things there because I was not prepared. While I am not going to plan our trip down to every second - I do plan on going in March with a game-plan.
I also did not find out about this board till after our trip - I have picked up a wealth of info. from here.

 

[GinaGrumpyDwarf]

Not going early enough, not breaking in the afternoon, not catching all the nighttime shows in each park.

Not making ADR's for dinner

Not wearing comfortable shoes

Fast passes

Just a tip for new timers...watch the planning video!! It's fun. We watch it almost every day! Really gets kids used to the rides. DD3 1/2 LOVES it

 

[oxfordcircus]

Here's a rookie driving mistake. We arrived at MK fairly early one morning and parked relatively close to the ticket/transporation center. Instead of heading to the tram, the parking attendants told us to just walk over to the TTC. Since we didn't go to the trams, we didn't see or make note of where we parked. You know how the tram operator always drills it into your head? "remember, Pluto 13, you're parked in Pluto 13, PLUTO 13, YOU'RE IN PLUTO 13, DON'T FORGET!!!!!" You know the drill. Well, we didn't get that drill. When we left the park, we walked around for 30 minutes looking for the car. I (gently) stood on top of pick-up truck beds trying to spot the car. No luck. My wife had to flag down security to drive up and down the rows looking for the car.

All these many words to say: don't make the rookie mistake of "having a general idea" of where you parked. This ain't the Wal Mart parking lot!

 

[The Mick]

Here's a rookie driving mistake. We arrived at MK fairly early one morning and parked relatively close to the ticket/transporation center. Instead of heading to the tram, the parking attendants told us to just walk over to the TTC. Since we didn't go to the trams, we didn't see or make note of where we parked. You know how the tram operator always drills it into your head? "remember, Pluto 13, you're parked in Pluto 13, PLUTO 13, YOU'RE IN PLUTO 13, DON'T FORGET!!!!!" You know the drill. Well, we didn't get that drill. When we left the park, we walked around for 30 minutes looking for the car. I (gently) stood on top of pick-up truck beds trying to spot the car. No luck. My wife had to flag down security to drive up and down the rows looking for the car.

All these many words to say: don't make the rookie mistake of "having a general idea" of where you parked. This ain't the Wal Mart parking lot!

Heh. Good suggestion. Another way to tackle this is to check the lot name/number where you parked and leave a voicemail or text message for yourself reminding you of what it is. You can then check it upon leaving if you forget what it is.

This has saved me a couple times over the years.

 

[MissD]

Underestimating the effects of the FL sun

Of course, now that we live here....

 

[wdwobsessed]

I didn't read the other responses yet so sorry if this is a repeat.

Mistake-o-rama: Not getting up early!

Even though I am not a rookie ee made this mistake on our last trip. I didn't insist on everyone getting up early and most days we ended up with more crowds than we wanted. I can't stress how I learned my lesson this past trip and everyone will be getting up this next trip!

I'm trying really hard this next trip to temper early AM's with sleep in AM's. It is so true that people sleep in and if you go early you reap the rewards!

WDWO

 

[Race the Reaper]

Just a tip for new timers...watch the planning video!! It's fun. We watch it almost every day! Really gets kids used to the rides. DD3 1/2 LOVES it

Planning video? How do we get that?

 

[mking624]

Rookie Mistake for us....trying to do everything. We came home exhausted and wishing that we just took our time while realizing that there was no way we would have been able to do it all.

Our first trip was when we were little kids and we hadn't gone back until our honeymoon...so no, we didn't know much about the parks except for our few memories we could recall, we had no idea about ADRs, etc. But that wasn't a big deal to us. But trying to do it ALL in 6 days was just absurd.

 

[Melwood23]

The biggest rookie mistake I always see is people not knowing how to use WDW transportation. All the time, I see people asking the bus drivers to take them to Universal, or the dreaded "how do I get to Disney World?". Um, you're here!

This is very true! I have heard the other version "Does this bus go to Disney World?" I just sit there and snicker and shake my head....Newbies!!!

Actually had one driver when asked this question, told the person, "no, this bus goes TO Universal"

But to the orig topic, like others have mentioned

Trying to see it all! Just can't do it in one trip.
You have to pace your self, take breaks, hit the pool during the afternoon, naps are a Must!

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

• Not renting a car. We don't use it every day but it sure is nice to have.
• Not knowing our benefits. We were annual passholders but paid for parking one year (while staying off-site) not knowing it was free to us
• Not using the Disney Dining Experience cards. This saves us $300 - $400 every year!
• Only going to the 4 major parks. There are so many other things to do. We now rent a boat each year and cruise the lake.
• Not realizing we were on vacation. Yes, sometimes you CAN sleep in!
• Leaving through the main gate after Illuminations. Find the alternate route We only watch Illuminations after having dined at FF or Spoodles and then leave thru the International Gateway to our parked car at the Boardwalk. If you don't have a car, this obviously won't work too well.
• Taking the boat to the Boardwalk after Fantasmic. Walking will save you 30 minutes unless you're near the front of the line.
• Purchasing the park photos AT the parks. Wait until you get home and do it via internet.
• Not using the swimming pools at the resorts.

 

[zookeeper]

Planning video? How do we get that?

If you go to the official disney website you can request one to be sent to your house. My kids love watching this. Before our first family trip they had already picked out their favourite rides. The best part is the DVD is free!

 

[dixiedizfan]

Biggest mistake was planning to see all four parks in four days, then off to Sea World and Kennedy Space Center. We could not wait to get back down to WDW and see what we had missed. And after four more trips at seven days each, we still have yet to see everything!