What makes a trip a bad one?

[klo1335]

My last trip to Disney was in 1998. Before the internet was huge and social media and smart phones, but even as an 18 year old, I still bought the guide books and read up on everything. With all of the information today, people still come back from Disney trips having a horrible time.

What is it that causes their trips to be bad ones?

Do they not plan at all?

Do they try to do too much or expect too much?

Since this is my first trip back in 10+ years, and with my young kids, I am just curious.

Cheers!

 

[Alesia]

My guess it that it's largely caused by unrealistic expectations, but I can't really say for sure - I've never had a bad trip.

 

[ZoZo]

In my opinion, there are lots of reasons, unfortunately.

As Alesia said, it can be because of unrealistic expectations. I've even seen posters here on the DIS getting upset because something didn't go the way they'd planned. Lots of folks want their trip to be "perfect," and that's pretty darn impossible. It's important to be flexible in case something happens.

Some people are over-planners, and run their trips like drill sergeants. Others do no planning or research at all, and end up having a terrible time because they don't know how to use strategies like rope drop, using fast pass, eating at non-peak hours -- all to avoid long lines. Those are the people who say, "I don't understand why people come here - we only rode three rides all day and stood in line for hours."

I've seen angry parents with sobbing children basically saying, "We paid a lot of money for this trip, darn it, and you WILL have fun!" The lines, heat, humidity of Florida can be hard on anyone. It can throw off little kids to be away from their regular routines, and you end up with meltdowns. (Not just kids, but adults, too! )

The list goes on and on. Unfortunately, most people don't realize that a little planning can give you a big pay-off on a WDW vacation. How many other trips do you take where you need to make dining reservations up to six months in advance (for the most popular restaurants), need to make FP+ reservations 60 days in advance, etc.? Without some advance knowledge, it can really impact your trip.

 

[klo1335]

Zozo, everything you've said is spot on. I guess I just have a hard time understanding the people who don't understand.

 

[livinginthecornfield]

I think with the amout of planning that goes into these trips (ADRs, FPs, etc...), it sort of leads people to expect that things will run like clock work...obviously it doesn't. With our two small kids (4 and 2), we had to adhere to the schedule but be flexible at the same. We packed tons of snacks (lots of walking, waiting, people, crazy weather -- hot AND cold AND rain last week -- leads to sensory overload which makes for tired, happy and hungry kids! After an OK first day at Animal Kingdom, we realized that we were expecting to much out of our plans....so we cancelled a bunch of breakfasts And dinners (chef mickey, via napoli, citricos, teppan edo) becuase it was too much of a schedule... We ordered cereal and milk from garden grocers and ate dinner wherever we could find a reservation within our resort. The kids were happier and we were less stressed out. We wound up skipping some FPs (buzz lightyear, aladdin, peter pan, beauty and the beast) because our kids were tired after 4hrs in the park...we'd go back to the hotel and nap for the afternoon, grab dinner and watch the fireworks from our room...my kids also got a kick out of pin trading, so that to them was a lot of fun to search the hotels or gift shops for. Our trip was great once we started to play off of what the kids wanted.

 

[Katholicchik]

When people keep cutting in line repeatedly for hours on a line that hasn't moved in an eternity followed by 1000 degree heat and people jamming strollers into your ankles. Not that it was a bad trip, but those aren't exactly the highlights of my memories KWIM?

 

[Hootch]

The only bad trip I have had was mostly out of Disney's control. Late plane, screwed up rental car situation, lost luggage, screw up on resort room (Disney issue that was fixed after some time talking with the manager), call from my boss telling me I may have to cancel the vacation, laptop shipped so I could work while on vacation.

The next year we were scheduled to go to the beach for our vacation. A couple of months before the trip, I suggested we head back to WDW. We had a much better trip.

I have ran into people that have no idea how to tour Disney, sometimes in line for an attraction. That and not understanding how big and crowded the parks can be is a big problem.

 

[canadiandisneynut]

Don't push the kids. Hit the park in the morning, grab lunch and leave. Or leave and grab lunch by the pool. The kids in the park screaming at 3 pm are spent. We have done this every year and it works brilliantly. We are out of the park by noon and back to the pool. We head back to the park or to our ADR in the evening. Rest is needed. Don't worry that you will miss something if you don't keep going. Trust me you will be back Follow your kid, if they are tired and cranky chances are a dip in the pool would fix it. Plan your FP+ but let the rest fly. Pick an area of the park and then just take it in.

 

[eeyoresmom]

For us, if we don't like our resort it definitely has a much bigger effect than it would for most people. We spend a lot of time at the resort. I love early morning walks or runs follwed by a cup of coffee in a common area while the rest of the family gets ready. We take long afternoon pool breaks and the teens like to hang out at the pool and hot tub after the parks close. There are a few Disney resorts that we just really disliked and it did effect the trip.

 

[davper]

I last went in 2007 and it was the worst time, for me. I was excited to go this time because I was taking my 8 year old godson. 1 week before the trip, my wife injured her leg.
I ended up pushing her around in a wheelchair all week. A motorized chair was not in the budget or not available. I don't remember which. Then after all day at the park, the kid wants to go swimming. Still no rest for me.

I have finally recovered from that trip that I am planning to go spring 2016. I am going to order my klutz of a wife to bed rest 2 weeks prior.

 

[tzolkin]

I think most bad experiences (barring any extreme catastrophe) are due to attitude.

Like many have mentioned, having unrealistic expectations, pushing your family too far, and allowing small setbacks to "ruin" your vacation are probably the biggest factors I can think of.

Our second trip was 12 days of record rain (including flash flooding and tornado watches). It was the same dates exactly one year after our first trip, so I did not expect the weather at all. Our first day we had to go to three offsite stores to find rain gear, I watched the weather forecast on the news, recognized what we were in for, went into the bathroom, sat on the floor, and cried because I was convinced that our trip was ruined. I had an attitude adjustment and we wound up having a wonderful trip with some of our best memories despite the weather. Our last night we sat in the pouring rain for almost two hours while they delayed and eventually cancelled Wishes (two 10-park day trips and we hadn't seen it once), but that was our best memory of the entire trip and one I still remember with joy.

This was from that last night. We ate wet ice cream and all had smiles like this all the way back to the resort.

 

[tanita]

Great question. Thanks to the original poster for posting this question.

I think there are a couple of things that can make a bad trip:

1. Different expectations with your travel companions. Do you want to arrive early and stay late while your companions want to sleep in and arrive at 11? Ahhh...

2. Finding out 2 days before your trip that your kids passports are expired.

3. Being too rushed or trying to accomplish too much.

4. Trying to follow the Touring Plans in the Unofficial Guide.

5. Not having insurance when something bad happens.

 

[may1787]

I know one person, personally, who didn't like it (though didn't hate it). Its because they rushed around to all 4 parks in 1 day, shopped, didn't ride any rides (well, I think they did the Under the Sea ride), and were upset that there were lines to meet characters. Obviously, this person didn't research at all. She's a fly by the seat of her pants sort of person. She went to Universal on another day and said she had a great time (it rained and barely anyone was in the park, so that meant less busy stores and no lines on the very few rides they went on). She ended up saying it wasn't "magical" at Disneyworld. P.S. this person had a childhood somewhat lacking of childhood pleasures and I wonder if that tainted her view of the park. I.e. she wasn't as "up" on the Disney characters and movies, didn't have decades of anticipation for Disneyworld, etc.

Personally, I am a researcher and this helps me on trips, no matter where I am going. Trips with other people always disappoint me. They wake up later than I do on vacation (I sleep in at home, but on vacation there are things I want to DO), they don't want to shell out for meals or tours that I want, they incessantly complain about the weather or strange smells, etc etc. However, I know this and either plan it solo if the destination is important to me or I go in with the attitude of, "these people may make parts of my trip disappointing...so just go somewhere where there is nothing you HAVE to do and there will be less to disappoint you."

Its all about research and strategy all the way from picking the destination, to picking the companions, to planning/not planning the time. I have much better trips when I have more appropriate expectations.

 

[may1787]

Others do no planning or research at all, and end up having a terrible time because they don't know how to use strategies like rope drop, using fast pass, eating at non-peak hours -- all to avoid long lines. Those are the people who say, "I don't understand why people come here - we only rode three rides all day and stood in line for hours."

Yep, they expect it to be like a weekday trip to Six Flags. Six Flags = No planning, Disneyworld = Planning up the wazoo and having alternate options.

 

[tcherjen]

I agree! Research is what makes the trip good. I remember back in the day we just went. No research, no nothing, just went. Miserable times we had! Now it is planned and we have much better times. Also by going so much we don't have to feel like we missed something. We know we will be back.

 

[danygirl]

I think there is a balance between no planning and failing to plan
A few years ago we were there at Christmas. A man had an absolute meltdown in the line for space mountain - we heard it as we cruised by in the fast pass line. he had been in line 3 hours. Had no clue about fast pass.
But overplanning can ruin a trip too - because the best way to experience the parks is to have some flexibility and to take advantage of the oportunities that arise each day.
Exhaustion will ruin your trip as well. Take a break and get out of the sun and off your feet.

 

[sullyfam]

DH has a guy who he works with that took his family of wife and 4 girls last year. DH had talked and talked about the WDW and our family's experiences ahead of time. DH couldn't wait for his friend to get back so they could talk about the trip. He came back ... and he didn't like it! More surprising - he even said his kids didn't like it!

His reasons were: long lines, crowds, food not that great and in general a lot of "hype" and $$ for nothing. It was really surprising.

I also have a friend who did Disney a few times as a young adult and she sort of says the same thing, that it was OK but she was in no rush to do it again. Although hard to believe for us "Disney Lovers" ... I think the reality is that Disney isn't for every one and no matter what, you're always going to have those people who don't enjoy it as much for any number of reasons.

 

[wdwjeffc37]

I agree with most people here; having realistic expectations is the best way to insure a "good" trip. If you expect too much you probably will be disappointed. We have never had a "bad" trip. Sure there were there things that didn't go that well, but that's how it goes. It happens on every vacation. Even when things (like the weather, ride break downs, less than adequate food quality) happen we just roll with it. It doesn't help to freak out or melt down about these things. You can't control these things. You can only control how you react to them. We are Disney fans and we know to expect some less than magical things on our trips, but we're at Disney and it's all good.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

While the amount of research and having unrealistic expectations may add to a bad vacation, IMO, it is all about attitude. A person who typically has a bad attitude will not react well when things don't match their expectations, but someone who typically has a good attitude is more likely to make it work and still have a good time.

 

[clambert1273]

I personally do think it falls into the planning category and going blind.... Us being from California and living out Disneyland's back door (literally), we could pop in any day and do whatever we wanted.. when I decided to plan our trip to Disneyworld - I KNEW in my head that it couldn't be like that just given the more parks situation...

I planned it ALL out - every last day and hour; however, I had wiggle room built in that way if something didn't work out. We let my 7yo tell us what she wanted and we worked it in. We got multiple fastpasses after our original 3 and had an EXCELLENT time. He now calls me the "rage planner" lol We are going again at the end of August and he said he isn't worried about a thing because he knows I will have it all planned out ...

Yes, I am that person lol