Taking things with a grain of salt...

[Viking7641]

The main thing I keep thinking is that it's a wonder anyone would go anywhere after spending six months reading possibly every night about what could go wrong there.

I live in Chicago. It's a great town. You really should visit--you'll have a great time. But in the interest of full disclosure: people get killed here!

I keep trying to find jobs in Chicago . Great COL for a major, cool, historic city.

 

[lambdabeta]

I don't mind the buses. I live in an area with great public transportation although I rarely use it. Only for sporting events or going into Philly/NYC/Atlantic City or something like that. Even then I don't mind Disney buses. I would rather use the bus than drive since I drive so much in my regular life. Work full time, a teenager and a tween in activities and PT job, grocery store, etc. It gets old. I'm fine waiting an extra few minutes for a bus rather than having to get into a hot car, burn my butt on the leather seats, almost die of heat exhaustion in the hot car while waiting for the AC to get strong, drive to a park, park just as the AC is getting cool, take the trolley to the entrance, then get back on a trolley at the end of the day and find the car that evening all while melting in the hot car all over again.

Your example of a hot car is perfect. I was talking about using my own car instead of the buses because I didn't want to wait. You were complaining about a hot car. I don't have that problem because I don't go in the really hot months. My experience has been different because of when I go. If I went in the Summer then yes the car would be hot and I would have to take measures to fix that. That is why they have remote starters and window covers to keep your car cooler. So even in this thread when people express their opinions about why they like or don't like something it is with their own bias. We all have had different experiences in Disney that make our trips unique(good or bad). That is why I always take what I read on this board with a grain of salt. The perfect title for this topic.

 

[bluejasmine]

So do you ever wonder if all this planning and reading on the boards help to......RUIN a trip?

What I mean by that ( and believe me this wont change my uber planning and obsessive board reading) that we do all this planning, research and we read so much about it on the boards about the wonderful experiences others have that we build it up and set it up for possible failures..

Then the whole attitude of we spent thousands for a perfect vacation... We have all been there and felt that way at some point but it honestly could happen with any vacation bc lets face it not everything is in our control and not everything can be helped. STUFF HAPPENS. Ive had perfect vacations at Disney and Ive had complete failures but honestly I think some of that stems from what I mentioned earlier in this post, I build it up in my mind, then Splash Mt is closed bc of issues, or the pool at my resort is all of a sudden going through a refurb or my dinner was terrible at the restaurant.

Ive seen so many times kids are whining in line they want to go back to resort and go swimming, parents say no I didn't spend $5k to go swimming! In this case at some point in the day a break would probably solve the whining and be a rest for the parent, we learned as adults that we deal better after an afternoon break, we return to the parks feeling refreshed and ready for more fun..

We cant control what happens at Disney, we cant control the other ppl around us like other guests or CMs, the only thing we can control is how we handle it, behave and think.

I enjoy reading reviews and if Dinner at Le Cellier was disgusting for you, I want to read about it, but Im still going to go.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

So do you ever wonder if all this planning and reading on the boards help to......RUIN a trip?

What I mean by that ( and believe me this wont change my uber planning and obsessive board reading) that we do all this planning, research and we read so much about it on the boards and the wonderful experiences that we build it up and set it up for possible failures..

Then the whole attitude of we spent thousands for a perfect vacation... We have all been there and felt that way at some point but it honestly could happen with any vacation bc lets face it not everything is in our control and not everything can be helped. STUFF HAPPENS. Ive had perfect vacations at Disney and Ive had complete failures but honestly I think some of that stems from what I mentioned earlier in this post, I build it up in my mind, then Splash Mt is closed bc of issues, or the pool at my resort is all of a sudden going through a refurb or my dinner was terrible at the restaurant.

We cant control what happens at Disney, we cant control the other ppl around us like other guests or CMs, the only thing we can control is how we handle it, behave and think.

I enjoy reading reviews and if Dinner at Le Cellier was disgusting for you, I want to read about it, but Im still going to go.

My best trip was my most last minute trip with barely any plans and minimal reading on the DIS. I only read up on a few key points that were new since our last visit.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

So do you ever wonder if all this planning and reading on the boards help to......RUIN a trip?

What I mean by that ( and believe me this wont change my uber planning and obsessive board reading) that we do all this planning, research and we read so much about it on the boards about the wonderful experiences others have that we build it up and set it up for possible failures..

Then the whole attitude of we spent thousands for a perfect vacation... We have all been there and felt that way at some point but it honestly could happen with any vacation bc lets face it not everything is in our control and not everything can be helped. STUFF HAPPENS. Ive had perfect vacations at Disney and Ive had complete failures but honestly I think some of that stems from what I mentioned earlier in this post, I build it up in my mind, then Splash Mt is closed bc of issues, or the pool at my resort is all of a sudden going through a refurb or my dinner was terrible at the restaurant.

Ive seen so many times kids are whining in line they want to go back to resort and go swimming, parents say no I didn't spend $5k to go swimming! In this case at some point in the day a break would probably solve the whining and be a rest for the parent, we learned as adults that we deal better after an afternoon break, we return to the parks feeling refreshed and ready for more fun..

We cant control what happens at Disney, we cant control the other ppl around us like other guests or CMs, the only thing we can control is how we handle it, behave and think.

I enjoy reading reviews and if Dinner at Le Cellier was disgusting for you, I want to read about it, but Im still going to go.

I get what you’re saying and yes, I think that can happen, but on the whole I think reading this board and knowing what’s going on has allowed me to have much better trips. I know so many more things and can plan to do fun stuff that I never would have known about or thought to do on my own. On the whole I think the research, etc has led to much happier vacations for us. But there have been occasional disappointments that we never would have known about if I weren’t here too.

 

[Roxyfire]

So do you ever wonder if all this planning and reading on the boards help to......RUIN a trip?

What I mean by that ( and believe me this wont change my uber planning and obsessive board reading) that we do all this planning, research and we read so much about it on the boards about the wonderful experiences others have that we build it up and set it up for possible failures..

Then the whole attitude of we spent thousands for a perfect vacation... We have all been there and felt that way at some point but it honestly could happen with any vacation bc lets face it not everything is in our control and not everything can be helped. STUFF HAPPENS. Ive had perfect vacations at Disney and Ive had complete failures but honestly I think some of that stems from what I mentioned earlier in this post, I build it up in my mind, then Splash Mt is closed bc of issues, or the pool at my resort is all of a sudden going through a refurb or my dinner was terrible at the restaurant.

Ive seen so many times kids are whining in line they want to go back to resort and go swimming, parents say no I didn't spend $5k to go swimming! In this case at some point in the day a break would probably solve the whining and be a rest for the parent, we learned as adults that we deal better after an afternoon break, we return to the parks feeling refreshed and ready for more fun..

We cant control what happens at Disney, we cant control the other ppl around us like other guests or CMs, the only thing we can control is how we handle it, behave and think.

I enjoy reading reviews and if Dinner at Le Cellier was disgusting for you, I want to read about it, but Im still going to go.

I think it can, especially if one gets their expectations out of whack. And the price tag makes you think you're getting an A+ First Class experience, but it may be more like a B or C average at times. And of course there's people who don't realize the sheer amount of walking and heat and exhaustion that can happen, too. It sounds bad to say let's go swim 3 hours out of the day when you're paying so much for the tickets but it really is a good thing to do if the parks are busy anyway-- especially when at a Disney Resort, they're paying for that too! These days if I hear someone is going I think I'd recommend staying five or 6 nights somewhere affordable (Disney Springs resorts or onsite if they really want to) and go to each park on one day, skip water parks, skip mini-golf, etc. Plan minimally, make some FPs and maybe 1 or 2 dining reservations at most if you have kids. See what you like there, and if you never want to go back, then you've at least experienced it. If you DO go back, you can make changes based on what you did/didn't like or what's new and see where that goes. But once you know, then add on more "planning" to the mix like character meals and such.

 

[Mome Rath]

So do you ever wonder if all this planning and reading on the boards help to......RUIN a trip?

What I mean by that ( and believe me this wont change my uber planning and obsessive board reading) that we do all this planning, research and we read so much about it on the boards about the wonderful experiences others have that we build it up and set it up for possible failures..

Then the whole attitude of we spent thousands for a perfect vacation... We have all been there and felt that way at some point but it honestly could happen with any vacation bc lets face it not everything is in our control and not everything can be helped. STUFF HAPPENS. Ive had perfect vacations at Disney and Ive had complete failures but honestly I think some of that stems from what I mentioned earlier in this post, I build it up in my mind, then Splash Mt is closed bc of issues, or the pool at my resort is all of a sudden going through a refurb or my dinner was terrible at the restaurant.

Ive seen so many times kids are whining in line they want to go back to resort and go swimming, parents say no I didn't spend $5k to go swimming! In this case at some point in the day a break would probably solve the whining and be a rest for the parent, we learned as adults that we deal better after an afternoon break, we return to the parks feeling refreshed and ready for more fun..

We cant control what happens at Disney, we cant control the other ppl around us like other guests or CMs, the only thing we can control is how we handle it, behave and think.

I enjoy reading reviews and if Dinner at Le Cellier was disgusting for you, I want to read about it, but Im still going to go.

I think it is like everything else on the internet; the information is invaluable, overwhelming, and often wrong. I think the comparison is this; there are those on here that have been so many times, and experienced so much and know so much that anyone one of us that falls into that category could sit face to face with someone and really help them without raising expectations or dashing expectations. BUT on here (the 'net) they get everything at once, the best of the best and the worst of the worst. I've helped good friends plan their trips and managed their expectations really well, I can warn them, and get them excited at the same time... but that's because it's face to face and not electronic.

I went to WDW multiple times long before the 'net and had good and bad times there, again, long before the 'net, and I do think that is valuable because aside from reading a book, there were zero comparisons and no overwhelming info. Now I love all the info, but can see the downside if that is all a person gets without talking directly to someone with a lot of experience at WDW.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

I agree the amount of information can be overwhelming; I had a trip last April, then a short one this January, and there was some significant changes just in that short amount of time that I'm so glad I knew about in advance!

For me, researching and seeking opinions/experiences about things is less about building expectations and more about knowing my options and helping me to roll with things on the fly. It helps me manage my expectations and think of options if things don't go as planned. Sure there have been things that haven't met expectations, but usually that's overshadowed by all the great stuff over the course of a vacation. And as a PP said, I've learned about some experiences and such here that I never would have heard/learned about otherwise that either have been super memorable and fun or just helpful and time-saving. But grain of salt always helpful to keep in mind...

 

[revdon64]

I wanted to encourage people who have spent a lot of time reading negative things on these boards. Everyone’s perspective is different. People on the internet can be super negative. I read a lot of things that worried me about our trip. None of them have been proven true so far. But really, we're having a great trip and all the things I worried about were dumb lol.

It's more than just this though. One can have a bad experience or even several bad experiences and still have an overall good trip. Our most recent visit included the now infamous "Early Morning Magic - Fantasyland fail," several crabby CMs, a power outage at our resort, and some lower quality than usual dining experiences. Still, we haven't said we'll never be back and are already thinking about our next trip in 2020. And while I have mentioned some of these experiences in the last month, I don't feel like I come off as completely negative - more of a realist. Stuff happens... stuff's going to happen... make the best of it if you can.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

The main thing I keep thinking is that it's a wonder anyone would go anywhere after spending six months reading possibly every night about what could go wrong there.

I live in Chicago. It's a great town. You really should visit--you'll have a great time. But in the interest of full disclosure: people get killed here!

I visited for work last January. I didn't get shot but man oh man it was COLD!!!!!!!!

 

[disneyvoice]

Am I the only one who has noticed say, over the last 6 months or so, a sudden increase in the number of people with less than 10 posts who write long, rambling posts explaining all the horrible issues they had on the trip they just returned from? Then their post turns into a overall complaint about how the quality of a WDW vacation (and Disney in general) is no longer worth it, and the posts always seem to end with some variation of "from now on my family and my money will be going to Universal."

Although I am a very upbeat and positive person who rarely has a complaint about WDW, I have no problem at all with people sharing their negative experiences. Like the OP said, I always read them with a grain of salt - 99% of the time things people complain about are things that I just don't care about - a bad meal, crowded buses, super long lines, etc. But it seems super fishy to me when people join and then immediately "unload" a bunch of complaints about WDW followed by a redirect to Universal.

 

[Jess_S]

I tend to agree with the OP in spirit. WDW is not perfect. I've certainly had concerns that I've posted about here. But overall I think that the service, value, etc. for WDW is good and I have never had a "bad" trip. I also saw during my time in the college program that there are a subset of WDW travelers who seem determined to be unhappy no matter what. The incident that always sticks out in my mind was a guest who complained that her salad was wilted. I offered to replace it. Nope. I offered to refund her money. Nope. I offered a refund plus any other item on the menu for free. Nope. I asked what the guest wanted. "I just want you to know how awful this salad is and how terrible this restaurant is." Umm. Okay. Have a magical day, I guess?

The number of people screaming at their kids that, "we paid a lot of money so you're going to have fun dammit," while denying their kids bathroom, rest, food, etc. breaks also amazed me.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah. I take bad reviews on the internet with a grain of salt because some of them are surely written by people who set out to have a bad time and then achieved that goal. But that's not to say that I don't value the opinions of people here -- including their thoughts on what could be better at WDW.

 

[belledreamer]

So do you ever wonder if all this planning and reading on the boards help to......RUIN a trip?

To an extent, yes. But I don't consider them the deciding factor.

Some can be bad reviews and I'm not talking legitimate critique. I'm talking 'I couldn't get a same day reservation at BoG for my party of 12, therefore my ENTIRE trip is a failure.'

Some is, in my opinion, self inflicted; i.e. parents who keep their children in the parks far beyond their limits (I can't tell you how many children I saw on our last trip that you could tell were upset from exhaustion) or force them to ride rides they're absolutely terrified of going on (saw this with a little girl who was terrified of ToT to tears and instead of leaving the line, they made futile attempts to convince her that it would be okay. Don't know if they ended up riding or not)

Some is micro-planning to such an extent that if it doesn't go perfectly according to schedule, they fall apart. (Witnessed a grown woman have a complete meltdown due to this.)

And some are legitimate bad experiences where everything that can go wrong did go wrong (terrible weather, got sick, rude CM's, etc.) and they just reached their breaking point.

I think what we all need to remember is that reviews on the DisBoards are, at the end of the day, subjective. Just because one person gave a bad review does not mean that it is legitimately that bad, it just means that person didn't like it. I also agree with a PP who said that we are more prone to share negative experiences over good ones. At one of my prior jobs, there was a saying that we had: If someone has a really good experience, they'll tell a handful of their friends. If they've had a negative one, they'll go out of their way to tell absolute strangers how bad it was.

It's also how we choose to react to negative reviews. Had I kept reading the posts of how crowded our trip was going to be, I would have dreaded it more than did and would have thrown myself into an anxiety attack. Was it crowded? Yes; the most I've ever seen at Disney. Were the negative posts wrong? No, I found them fairly accurate. But if you decide ahead of time that it's going to be bad, it's going to be bad because that's what you've convinced yourself of. I took the information I read, made my plans from what I took as valid reviews and still had a great trip.

By all means, be informed. It can help you make better decisions and improve the quality of your trip. But be discerning as well between legitimate complaints and those who literally have nothing good to say about anything. We've all seen them...