Rookie Mistakes

[loriandmatt]

i went thru a travel agent! (no offense to you TA's out there) i had no clue what i was doing, had never traveled out of my 100 mile radius and never ever had a vacation (even as a kid) where we stayed any place other than a relatives house or our camper, much less flew.

and most importantly, i had not found these boards yet.....

We paid out the nose! (not that the TA ripped us off, but there are just so many discounts out there to be had if you dig for them.) for a 7 day stay at the all stars during value season for a family of 3, we paid around 4K. heck we can do the same trip now for less than 2 (much less than 2 if it is our 2nd trip on our AP's or if we are taking advantage of the free dining promo.)

after that 1st trip and we knew we were now junkies, we started looking into how we could get our fix on much less dough. this board helped so much with that.

- lori

 

[lpandorf]

2004 was the first time I had been in about 15 years and back then just did a day trip. Took DD for 3 day trip. We went in October and my biggest mistake was not being up on the MNSSHP and that the park closed at 7pm. On our final day we arrived with the intent to spend the entire evening there and had to leave the park.

 

[Bill From PA]

Before discovering the DIS Boards, we made these errors:

Stayed off site.
Got to the parks mid-morning (the week before Easter no less)
Paid retail for the park passes
Had a TA who put us on a flight that ate up the whole first day
Didn't park hop
Wandered around without a list of things we REALLY wanted to do/see

We still had a ball and vowed to return as wiser vacationers. The next 7 trips we:

Used codes to get WDW Mods for what we paid for AllStar rooms
Got Swan and Dolphin for less than rack rate on a Mod., 5 separate trips.
Got our park passes over the 'net for far less than Disney prices
Got a 14 day pass with unlimited Plusses marketed only to Europeans
Got flights that had us at MCO @ 9:30 am so we ate breakfast at WS by 11
Learned to plan, loosely, our day so as to not waste time
LEARNED TO SMELL THE ROSES! Or at least the Rose & Crown.

Bill From PA

 

[richard_andmel]

I think the two biggest mistakes I see people make are not doing any research, and not resting enough.

We research every holiday we take, not just WDW. There are loads of things all over the world that I would never have seen if I didn't do some research first. I think people assume with WDW that it's all in one small area and Disney will tell them everything they need to know.

Unelss you go in the cool months, you need some rest time built in daily. Otherwise everyone will be grouchy and at some point you will probably have to just take a whole day off to rest because you will be exhausted.

 

[MadToad]

Let's see, I was 3 when I first went so its hard to remember what my mistakes were. My guess is that I picked up something disgusting and ran around with it. I'll check with my grandparents...

Otherwise:

#1 Planning begins before you book the vacation. Why did you pick that month/week? Did you have to? Or did you just pick it out of the blue? I've had friends come back to tell me that it rained on them the whole week. Well, they picked the rainy season (for no real reason). Duh.
Some months have higher capacity, heat, rain, cold, etc. I know that many schedules are dictated to families based on school, work, etc., but not all are. Choose wisely.

#2 Commandos: You're not going to see EVERYTHING. It's designed that way on purpose. I sometimes wonder if people are vacationing or invading.

#3 Don't lose your cool. Have a FLEXIBLE plan, know your must-do's, and enjoy the unexpected magic. Meltdowns are entertaining unless you're the one involved.


#4 Be sure to complain about the closing of Mr. Toad!!!! People will think you've been coming for years!!!

Good luck!

 

[disneyfan19712006]

I see alot of resort guests not taking advantage of EMH. For Rookies that is Extra Magic Hours. We love the evening hours. MK til 3 AM etc. This time is only for resort guests making the crowds alot smaller, wait times less. Toward the end of the evening you can sometimes just walk on rides. We sleep in the next morning then head back to the parks the next afternoon for that nights EMH. We also do the easier rides to get on saving the lines for EMH, unless we are in time to get a Fast Pass.

 

[tink2007]

The biggest mistake I ever made was packing everything I thought my childeren or myself could possibly ever need into a 50 lb back pack and lugged it around the whole week. After 15 years of doing WDW I now carry a tiny pack with hand wipes and tickets.

 

[NMAmy]

We did Disneyland all day--from opening to closing--with a 5yo. Huge mistake. I also took my sister along (who is NOT a Disney person) and had to listen to her complain about being there & she kept trying to talk my 5 yo into going home early.

The next trip, we stayed on-site at DL for 3 days and had my sister (who lives in the area) come and go as she pleased. It worked out so much better for all involved.

By the time we got to WDW in 2000, I was much smarter--I'd found the DIS boards.

 

[funcinderella]

I've got the best (and it wasn't me, it was my boyfriend, before he knew me):

NOT GOING TO THE MAGIC KINGDOM!!

My boyfriend went in 98 with his then wife and stepdaughter (age 7 at the time). He asked people what not to miss, and they said "Epcot, MGM. Universal". When they got there, they saw the brochure for MK, with a little kid looking at the Dumbo ride and figured it was for prechoolers (plus no one had recommended it) so they SKIPPED IT!! This was a one and only trip for them, and when they got back those same people asked them how they liked the MK and when they said they didn't go to that park, they were incredulous! When he realized that he had missed the essence of Disney, he was really upset, but none of them had ever been there before and they just didn't know. Knowing what a big fan I am, it took him months to even admit this to me, and he's still upset to this day. Just goes to show you how unaware people really are!!

 

[DizziDezi2]

1. not making ADRs
2. not seeing the parades/fireworks
3. not allowing enough days
4. going to MK on a Saturday
5. not wearing the right shoes
6. not having some kind of a plan/priorities set
7. not using Fastpass

Someone please tell me what
1) ADR's are..
2) where to buy a fast pass
3) Does DH,DD, and DS stand for Dear husband, dear daugter ect?

 

[Ragnrok23]

Someone please tell me what
1) ADR's are..
2) where to buy a fast pass
3) Does DH,DD, and DS stand for Dear husband, dear daugter ect?

1) Advance Dinning reservation

2) fast passes are free- you put your ticket into a machine outside the ride, and it gives you a "fastpass" ticket with a time to return

3) Disney Husband, Disney daughter......

 

[handicap18]

Pre planning is probably the biggest thing. Your spending thousands of dollars, you'd better know what your getting for the money.

You don't have to plan out hour by hour, but you should have a day by day plan. Know the hours the parks are open and start from there.

First time DW and I went it was my first time and her 4th. She did all the planning based on what she had known from previous trips. It had work out pretty well. On our last trip, our 3rd together, I planned everything and we had a great time. I used this board as well as allears and a few others. Book ADR's with times based on parks we wanted to do on different days and how it would affect the other parts of the days.

In Disney's case, what you don't know can hurt you. I've seen people ask "There is a resturaunt in the Castle?", or at H&V one night "You need reservations to get in?" (it was booked solid the night we went and people had no idea why).

Character meals is another big one. Especially if your on the DDP AND have kids. Your much better off eating dinner at Chef Mickey's than waiting in line in Toontown for over an hour to meet Mickey and/or the others.

Also for my first trip, I had NO idea how many resturaunts there were in the World. Especially at MK. Lots of great choices.

 

[Komplex]

This is all great information. I am planning my first vacation and being thrown to the wolves by going during Spring Break so I need all the help I can get. My wife is the planner in our family but wants no part of this trip so I have to do it all if I want to go. Keep em coming

 

[The Mick]

This is all great information. I am planning my first vacation and being thrown to the wolves by going during Spring Break so I need all the help I can get. My wife is the planner in our family but wants no part of this trip so I have to do it all if I want to go. Keep em coming

Wow, does your wife not want to go to Disney? She will be a convert by the time its over!

 

[Komplex]

Wow, does your wife not want to go to Disney? She will be a convert by the time its over!

She has no desire to see Disney but I am working on her. I have made progress though because she now at least says "when we go to Disney" during conversations with friends and relatives.

 

[Skroops]

Trying to cram too much into our vacation!
We prefer the shorter (but more frequent) visits to WDW. We initially had the mind set of seeing everything with a longer vacation, and it turned out that we ready to go home before our 2 week vacation was over. It was just so overstimulating and high energy for us even with planned resort-only days.
We found that if we go for 5 nights, it is perfect. We take it slow and plan what attractions we don't want to miss, and then see where it takes us. We like the sit down dinners and wandering slowly to enjoy the elaborate landscaping.
For us, we enjoy leaving wanting more! We know we'll catch what we missed on a future visit.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Forcing the kids to stay and "have more fun" regardless of how tired and cranky they are. Thinking, it's more important to get in an extra ride or two than to head back for a mid-day break at the resort pool or a nap in the room.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

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.

You can also snap a digital picture of the parking lot row number and sign. If you can't remember, just browse through your pictures.

If all else fails, Disney keeps track of the exact time they start each row in the parking lot. If you forget where you parked, you can tell a parking attendant the approximate time you got there, and they'll tell you which row to look in.

 

[bexter12]

My family came to wdw in November of 1971 (I wasn't born until May of '72, but I still consider this my first trip.

We came at least once a year until i turned 12 and we moved to Florida. For the six years I lived there, I had season or annual passes every year. I think the official count for how many days I've been to wdw is 150, but its probably more than that.

However, 5 years ago when we took our infant son, I found myself in unknown territory. "There's a baby care center? I can breastfeed there?" Each time we come since my child was born, I feel like I'm a rookie all over again. Each time the kids are at a different stage and enjoy different things.

What I've learned as a parent with kids is to be flexible, slow down and accomodating. As an adult I could go from open to close and be turning cartwheels down maintreet at the end of the day. With kids sometimes you have to walk past the ride with no line and head for the pool to keep everyone sane.

I feel in totally unknown territory for this upcoming trip. We have the free dining plan. I've never enjoyed any of the restaurants becausem they took away from ride time.

I figure when I'm an old lady driving an electric cart around, I'll still find things to be a rookie about.

 

[zipDdoodah]

When we went in 1996 for the first time since I was age 3 in 1977, we only planned to stay for 3 days. After running around commando with my family for 3 days with a group full of "chiefs" and no "indians", I knew I needed to come back with just DH and myself and spend some more time. Needless to say, we booked for the next fall and discovered WL. We've been Disney addicts ever since then!