Things That Took Chunks of Our Time

[dixiedizfan]

We were there last week, and even though we weren't touring commando style, I did have plans of what to see and do each day. But sometimes things happen and you just have to go with the flow. Such as: First morning at MK was going great when DS had to use the restroom ... a lot ... for long periods at a time. He wasn't sick; it was just one of those days, but it about killed me to be just sitting and waiting ... and waiting ... when we could have been doing anything else. Second morning at EPCOT we rode Soarin' first thing and it was great. But, DS again (and he's 16) said he felt "chilly" during the ride, and his stomach bothered him, so much so that I was going to take him back to our room. He decided he wanted to just rest on a seat in the Land pavilion until the feeling passed ... which was at least 45 minutes later. I felt so bad for him, but again we just had to sit and wait, while mobs of people poured in right and left. Fortunately though, after that he was fine the rest of the week. Then DD-14 decided she wanted to walk thru Innoventions. Big mistake ... there's lots to stop and check out which wastes mega time. Then we rode Test Track, which had "technical difficulties" while we were in line, and took an extra 45 mts. more of our time. We then exited past showroom cars, of which DH and DS had to examine and sit in each one, and seemed to take forever. And one day DD and I were at MK and left for the monorail to meet DH and DS at Epcot for dinner. We got halfway up the ramp to the monorail and found the place mobbed with people, who had already been waiting there a long time. An announcement over the speaker said the monorail was experiencing "technical difficulty" and we would have to wait longer. We waited a while longer and realized we wouldn't make it back to Epcot in time. DD had the great idea to take a resort bus to the Y&B Club, which we did and entered Epcot thru the back way, making it just in time. And lastly on Saturday morning our resort bus to Epcot was delayed a looong time in mega heavy traffic, because of the marathon that weekend. I thought we'd never get there! So be prepared for anything.

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

The major tip that I tell anyone going to Disney is be prepared to go with the flow, don't have plans set in stone, stop and smell the roses - many times you will find little things that you will remember for a long time that you weren't expecting - and that you will never be able to see everthing at WDW, even after many trips!

Don't be afraid to split up, go off and explore; my wife and I go different ways with our 2 sons many times during our trips.

Many terms are relative - one persons 'waste of time' is anothers educational experience. I had a blast with my 14yo DS in both sides of Innoventions in June, we did every, and I mean every, thing that there was to do in BOTH sides of innoventions - would I have done that with my wife and 3yo DS? No way, but it was just DS14 and me, so we relaxed and enjoyed it.

Relax, you are on vacation!

 

[krismom]

I hear you about those cars after test track. After 3o minutes, I had to say, "c'mon guys we sit in our van with a TV in it all the time- let's go!"
Glad your son wasn't sick-

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Relax, you are on vacation!

I think that is forgotten so many times...

 

[Rudegrle]

Dixiedizfan I know what you are talking about w/ waiting for family We took a trip w/ some extra family members one year and we did a lot of just standing and waiting. You see, they are smokers, and they thought that each smoking area they came across was gonna be their last! I think I spent half my trip watiting for someone to hack a butt

 

[nhpooh]

When I am at WDW I just love to sit and people watch. I do get to do it some times, DH likes to keep moving. You must learn to relax it is a vacation you know.

 

[mommykds]

I sympathize with you. I felt that way at MNSSHP. It was raining so they cancelled the first parade. We had waited almost an hour in our "good" seat. I was so annoyed since we had "wasted" that time & could have been seeing characters or trick or treating. Also since my kids are little & I knew they wouldn't be able to stay up until midnight our time was limited.

Also waiting for the buses to get back to POR from the parks also took "chunks of time up"....but hey I were in Disney...I wasn't on line waiting at a bank or in the supermarket.

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

Dixiedizfan I know what you are talking about w/ waiting for family We took a trip w/ some extra family members one year and we did a lot of just standing and waiting. You see, they are smokers, and they thought that each smoking area they came across was gonna be their last! I think I spent half my trip watiting for someone to hack a butt

We made a rule last trip not to wait for other members of our group - we had cell phones, and we would arrange meeting places and times, but we didn't sit around and wait.

 

[msmayor]

I agree with the sentiments of some of the other posters...'waste of time' is really a relative term.

Maybe walking through Innoventions wasn't your cup of tea, but if your DD enjoyed it and remembers that as something fun she did, how can that be a waste of time?

While I know there's so much everyone wants to see, I personally find it sad to see families rushing here and rushing there, having "Cliff's Notes" fun. The best moments are sometimes the one's we don't script or plan.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

Dixiedizfan, I was cringing the whole way through your post. I feel so bad for you. I hate that waiting around too but like everyone else says sometimes you just have to let it roll off your back. I know that it's hard because you spend a lot of money on your vacation and you want to maximize your time so that your family is able to experience everything. I also liked what the OP said about one person's lack of time is another person's educational experience. That's very, very true.

 

[disneyfreak74]

That's the reason DH HATES to take anyone with us!!! He is MR PROMPT!! You will NEVER have to wait on him. He is the guy that is at least 5 minutes early. The times that we have taken teenagers with us to Disney, he has seemed to be a drill sergeant!!! THEY understand the rules before we leave OUR house. It irks him enough to deal with the 2 year old that wants to be CARRIED everywhere at home or asks for her stroller if you get out of the van at ANY store and then wants to WALK at DIsney!!! Did I mention that she also does this at a pace that rivals on that of a snail!! (And I think she does it just to make him mad!!! she is SOOOOOO like me)

 

[roadtripper]

I sympathize with the OP! I've had those moments when we're there that I feel have been "wasted." Last year, my sis in law had built me up to be the big Disney expert, so every time we waited for anything I felt like I was losing my touch. I spent the first few days frustrated over things that were out of my control (ie Soarin' breaking down while we were waiting for it during the preview period....that wait seemed forever to me!)

Funny thing is, to hear my sis-in-law talk about the trip now, she raves about how we "walked on" all the rides-- shortest wait times for her-- ever.
And reading the post from home, with 6 weeks til my upcoming trip, it's hard not to think "But you were at DISNEY!!" Still, I hear you-- especially about the cars after Test Track!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Why is it that all of us commandos are married to the "smell the roses" people watchers?

I would LOVE for DH to be a mover & shaker! Chop, chop! Time's a wastin'! But he has to poke and dawdle. And poor DS can't decide if he wants to dawdle or plow ahead! His loyalties are divided. They decided they had to stop in the restrooms OUTSIDE the Epcot turnstiles right at opening. Can I just tell you how painful that was? I stood there and counted how many people got in ahead of us while they were in the bathroom. I think it was 110.

Any of you with the commando DH's care to do a "Husband Swap" next trip?

 

[Servants of Evan]

Jacksgirl,

You and me, young lady. We'll see it all and my DW and your DH can see... well, whatever they can manage. See you in August!

 

[marcbelt]

Well, I'll probably stir up trouble with my post, but I can't hold it any longer.

It was probably just bad luck, but it kinda irked me that after fireworks at MK AND at Epcot, the lines for busses were very long to leave the parks. Three times (out of 7 nights) these huge lines had to wait for arriving busses to get handicapped people on and off. This took easily 10-15 minutes each time. Add to that that one would have to wait for 2-4 busses to finally get on, and the wait became annoying. One night, 3 busses lined up for our resort at Epcot because the first two were loading/unloading handicapped people. I saw a couple actually take a cab to their resort because the wait had gotten out of hand (tired kids make it even tougher to manage).

I realize that this was a problem because the parks were packed, but I also think that Disney should have special busses for handicapped people and their parties during these high seasons; particularly after Illuminations, Spectromagic, Wishes and Fantasmic. And I know these handicapped people felt uncofortable because so many people like me were annoyed. Giving these people a special transportation during peak hours would avoid that.

 

[salmoneous]

... Then DD-14 decided she wanted to walk thru Innoventions. Big mistake ... there's lots to stop and check out which wastes mega time... We then exited past showroom cars, of which DH and DS had to examine and sit in each one, and seemed to take forever.

Seems like at least some of the "wasted time" was just your family doing what they wanted, which happened to be different from what you wanted

 

[4theloveofdisney]

Don't you just hate that!!! Sorry to hear...

 

[Markstudy]

Seems like at least some of the "wasted time" was just your family doing what they wanted, which happened to be different from what you wanted

It is good to split the family into groups of people doing what they want. Then meet back together.

Everyone is much more happy that way.

The best thing about my family is that we don't have to be together to have fun
"see you slow pokes for lunch....right-now, I'm out of here!"

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Well, I'll probably stir up trouble with my post, but I can't hold it any longer.

It was probably just bad luck, but it kinda irked me that after fireworks at MK AND at Epcot, the lines for busses were very long to leave the parks. Three times (out of 7 nights) these huge lines had to wait for arriving busses to get handicapped people on and off. This took easily 10-15 minutes each time. Add to that that one would have to wait for 2-4 busses to finally get on, and the wait became annoying. One night, 3 busses lined up for our resort at Epcot because the first two were loading/unloading handicapped people. I saw a couple actually take a cab to their resort because the wait had gotten out of hand (tired kids make it even tougher to manage).

I realize that this was a problem because the parks were packed, but I also think that Disney should have special busses for handicapped people and their parties during these high seasons; particularly after Illuminations, Spectromagic, Wishes and Fantasmic. And I know these handicapped people felt uncofortable because so many people like me were annoyed. Giving these people a special transportation during peak hours would avoid that.

Not to stir either, but this was the first thing I thought of, too, when reading this thread. Things have really changed in the last couple years regarding this issue. Back in 2001, I traveled to Disney with my friend (who has Frederick's Ataxia), and she is completely confined to a wheelchair and profoundly disabled. On most buses, we usually were the only wheelchair on it, and we would help tie down the wheelchair to speed things up. The buses worked well with the wheelchair and we were happy to use them.

But nowadays, almost every bus is loading many, many scooters as well as some wheelchairs. It's a given that each of the two spots will be used on the buses. I seen lines seven/eight deep filled with scooters and a few wheelchairs waiting to board buses. Whether these people need them is irrelevant (that is a different debate!), as I just wonder how Disney can keep things moving along. Loading two scooters/wheelchairs can easily take 15-20 minutes right there. And other scooters/wheelchair users have to wait for bus after bus if there is a line, and they must get frustrated, too.

Getting to and from the parks on Disney buses takes much longer than it used to, and I learned to adjust and add plenty of extra time, especially in the mornings. But there is no way to safely speed up the process, so just everyone has to be patient, I guess.

OK! On a far lighter note, I learned I had to add time for my nieces to watch "Lambert the Sheepish Lion" cartoon loop every morning before we set out!

 

[msmayor]

Just to add to my other post in this thread, hearing about the bus waits being a time-waster...that is precisely why my family uses a car to get around rather than Disney transportation.

I know it works fine for some, but for my whole family we find the waiting, transferring, etc. a huge waste of our time. We'd rather just get to our car and go.