What do I even say to them?

[reiella]

I'd go with something simple like "That sucks."

Or try to figure out what went wrong and ways to possibly help in the future. But really, it's ok if they didn't like the parks.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'd bite my tongue.

But if it got too out of hand, I think I'd say, "Well if you can't be happy at the happiest place on earth...". and just shrug it off and grin.

 

[Hoosier37]

We call Disney haters "people who aren't ahead of us in line."



Edited to add: LeonaFishback beat me to it!

Love it!

 

[bwang123]

Do you know how bad it would be at Disney if everyone planned. There would be no best parks.

awesome.


Posted from DisBoards Disney Forum Reader for Android

 

[Art 1]

You don't say a thing. Just listen and move on.

 

[mommyto3girls]

For me it would depend on if they are always unhappy or if this is unique. I have a sister in law who is never satisfied and always complains no matter where she goes, eats, etc. So with someone like her I would just ignore her. If she is someone who is reasonable then I would let her vent and share my experience and advice if she wants to try another time.

 

[WillAustin]

I'd say that if our trips were anything like that, we wouldn't continue to keep going back every year.

 

[qv09vvp]

My response is always I'm sorry you had a bad time our trips are never like that, all that planning and research I do really pays off. and then change the subject.

I like this!

I had friends that had 1 teens & 2 preteens... they stayed at BCV (one of my dream resorts!)..... and after going to each park for a little while...they just decided to go to AK for everest everyday & then they would park hop over to DS for Rock roller coaster.

they never saw the lion king show, or visited any of the countries accept to eat.... and Magic Kingdom I think they did like 3 rides.. went to aloha show at poly & mickey's backyard bbq....but nothing else really..

They absolutely hated WDW....... i truly think they would have done better at islands of adventure.... argh... don't go to disney for thrill rides, go for the complete package!!!!

 

[carrie1626]

I have two friends who just returned from family trips to WDW. Both hated it! One only spent one day in the parks and decided not to return. Opting for other area attractions instead. The other spent several days, but swears it was the worst experience of their life. The second is a total drama queen, though. So, it's probably more for show than anything.

I'm tempted to say something snotty, like maybe a little planning would have helped. One quick Internet search would have warned them that Easter break probably isn't the best time to arrive with 5 little ones in tow.

It's just so frustrating listening to them go on and on about what an awful place it is...

Just keep telling them what a wonderful time you had the next time you visit. Other than that- who cares

 

[toddinboston]

some of us drink the disney Kool Aid, some of us don't...doesn't make them bad people...

i had a former coworker take his family to wdw 10 years ago and hated it...hated the cost, hated the crowds, his kids weren't impressed...never been back...

my family's been 4 times since '02 and were going back this fall...

 

[bluejasmine]

I wouldnt say anything unless they just really annoy you, then id tell them your sorry they didnt have a good time but you really enjoy it, we met a family with 2 kids at the Poly one yr who were having a terrible time they ended up staying in their room or swimming after only one day in the park. Then another friend said her kids whined about lines (in Feb!)

 

[Jake & Crew]

I take the approach that no one can ruin our happy place for us but if they want to be miserable about their Disney that is their right and their loss.

Five years ago we went on a trip with my parents, siblings & spouses and at the time 4 kiddos under the age of 6 ~ that would be 8 kiddos if we went today!- anyway do my mother and sister being teachers we went over February vacation which included Presidents weekend and Mardi GRAS time. I spent months planning and making adrs all to be met with push back from everyone except my dad. first day I did it their way and we fought the crowd to,get into mk and accomplish exactly 2 attractions. That night I handed everyone a copy of my itinerary and the adrs and told them this is where would be for the week if they wished to join they were welcome, if not that was fine. One by one they started showing up on my touring plans......they were starving

 

[bigdaddy511]

Well the reality is the first planning most people do other than booking a room or making an adr or two is when they open their map right underneath the railroad bridge at 11am the first time they walk in. .

You hit the nail on the head. We are not uber-planners, but even on our first trip down we had looked at maps ahead of time, read some travel books and had a general idea of what we wanted to see. Even minimal planning alleviates tons of stress.

 

[Lorelai]

We call Disney haters "people who aren't ahead of us in line."



Edited to add: LeonaFishback beat me to it!

That is FABULOUS!!...I am SO going to use that quote! But I will give you the credit

 

[reiella]

I take the approach that no one can ruin our happy place for us but if they want to be miserable about their Disney that is their right and their loss.

Five years ago we went on a trip with my parents, siblings & spouses and at the time 4 kiddos under the age of 6 ~ that would be 8 kiddos if we went today!- anyway do my mother and sister being teachers we went over February vacation which included Presidents weekend and Mardi GRAS time. I spent months planning and making adrs all to be met with push back from everyone except my dad. first day I did it their way and we fought the crowd to,get into mk and accomplish exactly 2 attractions. That night I handed everyone a copy of my itinerary and the adrs and told them this is where would be for the week if they wished to join they were welcome, if not that was fine. One by one they started showing up on my touring plans......they were starving

Especially true if you go during the busier times. Of course, I really have a lot of sympathy for those who don't want their vacation to be a micro-managed schedule-fest [hyperbole]. So different things for different folks.

 

[Annadesu]

If they start giving you a bad attitude about your trips, just tell them that you've never had any of the experiences they had, and that you research and plan well in advance to prevent such things. Otherwise, I don't think you'd be able to get them to change their minds. If they decided it was a bad experience, then that's their own decision.

 

[larryz]

Do you know how bad it would be at Disney if everyone planned. There would be no best parks.

And that, my friend, would be stockholder heaven -- four parks full of cash-rich revenue units.

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

Disney just isn't for everyone.

I have a SIL that wants to go with my family and other SIL's family (we almost always do Disney together) the next time we go to Disney. I just know I'll have to hear it from her for a long, long time after the trip. She is the type that nothing is ever good enough. We had dinner out with them last year and she made the whole meal miserable from start to finish. She pouted and complained about EVERYTHING. She's just an unhappy person in general and I honestly can't imagine her loving Disney. I'm trying to avoid any Disney talk around her for fear that not only she will try to ruin a vacation with us, but I'll have to hear her HATE for Disney for the rest of my life.

 

[fla4fun]

Do you have to say anything? Did they come back and state their case and let it go, or are they harping on about how "stupid" you are to go someplace like Disney? Either way, I wouldn't try to justify your love of Disney. People either get it, or they don't. I don't do a lot of planning for my trips (in fact, going for 10 days next month, and no ADR's, no itineraries, nothing), but I still have a great time. So while a little planning might have helped with crowd control, if they aren't Disney fans, then they just aren't Disney fans.

I'm kind of that way about Universal. Universal is Disney's closest competitor here, and I'm sure if I had any interest in thrill rides, or if I'd seen some of the movies the rides are based on (haven't read or watched HP), maybe I would be more interested. But their parks just don't do anything for me. I spend the whole time I'm there wishing I was at WDW. There are tons of people who love the Universal parks, and prefer them to the Disney parks. But nothing they can say will make me a Universal fan. Been there, done that, didn't want the t-shirt . . . .I have been to the Universal parks three times, during uncrowded times with very short waits for the attractions. But it didn't matter. I just wasn't interested.

So maybe they just aren't Disney fans - and that's OK. More WDW for the rest of us.

 

[Phatoomch]

To the OP: say nothing other than the fact they did go at the most crowded time ... Disney isn't for everyone, my Aunt hates the place and can't think of anywhere worse to go for a vacation. But then her vacations consist of going somewhere with a beautiful beach and sitting on the beach the whole time - which to me would be the worse vacation ever, boring with a capital B!