Was I right in helping my friends?

[BobbyDukes]

This Christmas my very good friends a set a sisters and their respective families surprised their kids (all of whom have never been including a 4 and 5 year old girl) that they were going to WDW in April for April Vacation. I couldn't be more happy and more excited for them. Having been there a ton of times and making the journey from Mass to WDW they came to me occasionally to ask questions regarding Disney. However these set of sisters were going to WDW with another Family, this family was the owner of the DVC so they can all stay in a large 3 - bedroom at Saratoga Springs. As I was giving some pretty common and important advise I would constantly get from them and the other family that it was "all set" "we got it", "they are going to plan the whole thing for us". receiving these almost rejections of advise was slightly unsettling but I figured they were in good hands (with that other family). Finally however the day after Christmas I was able to ask a few questions about their plan for their trip, 110 days away and they knew nothing!!! They did not have a confirmation number from the other family, they had no idea about Mydisney Experience, they had no idea about the need for dining reservations. I was curious on why this was occurring why they had no idea about anything at WDW and they simply said that "they were handling it". So I kindly stepped in and told one of them that they need to take control of this vacation here and start planning here and have an understanding of WDW. Comes to find out that this other family has not been together as a family to WDW in 8 years, had no idea about the app, said the dining plan was a complete waste of time and that the whole party can leave Magic Kingdom to eat Spaghetti at the Hotel, they still believed that the hotel would slide a sheet of paper under the hotel door everyday so they can figure out what time the fireworks were occurring that day. Ridiculous statements like this and false information about WDW were coming from this other family "planning" this whole thing. Finally after heavy convincing I turned these two sisters into spectators to Rookie WDW planners and they are loving the planning phase of their vacation now. Asking me tons of questions of great restaurants, how Fast Passes work, and making great dining reservations.

Did I do the right thing here? I want my friends to have the best time possible at WDW.

 

[TDSAXX]

Sounds like they were in serious need of a Disney intervention. The fact that they are asking lots of questions and starting to plan on their own tells me you did the right thing.

 

[sethschroeder]

Did the right thing.

 

[loves to dive]

As long as you just give them the info. and point them in right direction, there is no problem with it. Everyone has different touring styles at WDW and not everyone likes to plan everything out in advance. When people ask me, I give them the basics like what a fast pass is and how you can make one. What an ADR is and how you can make them. Facts about the various Disney transportation options. Different ticket options. Let them decide how much planning they want to make. We don't make advance FPs or ADRs and we eat TS just about every day. We just book them day of and tend to book FPs on the way to the park or while in line. We don't like to be tied down any further than a hour away in case we change our minds. The unfortunate thing about these boards is that it will make it seem like you can not have a good time unless your trip is totally planned out and that's just not the case. Nothing wrong with steering them toward the info. and helping them with any research they may want to do, then let them run with it.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Answer their questions, but please try to keep in mind that there are lots of different touring styles.

I have never made an ADR at 180 days, nor do I feel the lack. For some people, there simply is no "need" for ADRs - they eat out of the park, QS, or chance day-of reservations (which actually are a thing, especially in Epcot). If they're staying DVC, there's a kitchen right in the unit. I see nothing wrong with a family that wants to go back and boil up a big pot of spaghetti rather than take a large party into a sit-down Disney restaurant. We are not DVC members, but one of the things I loved about staying offsite in a timeshare was the ability to go back, take off my shoes, have a drink, relax with a simple meal or take out, and let the kids chill or run around - no waiting for the table to be ready, no policing kids' restaurant behavior, no big bill at the end.

We mostly tend to skew towards planners here, or most of us wouldn't be on the Disboards. I have to remind myself not to let the selection bias here blind me to the fact that many (most) other guests do considerably less planning and still have a good time at Disney.

 

[White Rose]

Right thing. Give them the tools and back off.i had two groups of co workers and family going to WDW at the same time. One accepted my advice and I gave them the tools. The other said no, they would figure it out when they got there. Group A got to do everything, Group B said they would never go again,...long lines and no place to eat...

you can only lead a horse to water....

 

[bryanb]

Based on the results, it sounds like you did the right thing. Kudos! You backed off when you were supposed to back off. You asked questions gently, and you intervened when your intervention was welcome. The fact that the two sisters are now enjoying the planning phase means you did a great job.

I guess the important thing is to know when to back off and when to be helpful. There are many people who don't care nearly as much about planning and maximizing as the people on these boards. My first trip to WDW, I showed up on a whim to the TTC solo after a business trip, and just bought a three day hopper ticket. I didn't even know which park I was going to visit, until the CM asked me, "are you going to check out the Food & Wine Festival?" At which point she directed me to hop onto the monorail to Epcot. And off I went on a fun adventure!

These days, I'll do a bit more planning, but I'm not even up at dawn to get my FPs at T-60. Some other people, they will be terribly upset if they miss out on that one special restaurant they look forward to all year. So it's good to see what people care about and act accordingly.