Why don't people like WDW?

[rosebery]

My husband doesn't like Disney because he doesn't like pre-packaged, often somewhat cheesy (often deliberately so) entertainment on his vacations. He will tolerate Disney, but it's just not his thing.

He'd rather be somewhere authentic: an actual castle in Germany, an actual cafe in Paris . . . or middle-of-nowhere hiking, white-water rafting, skiing, etc.

So when I go to Disney these days, I go with some subset of the kids and he stays at home. (Similarly, he'll take adventure skiing trips with one or more of the older kids without me along. I'm not a double-black-diamond person.)

 

[disneynewbee]

I think a lot of people don't plan and then are not happy with the results. I actually have a friend now who is a teacher and must go in the summer. She is going to go in July and has not even booked a hotel room yet. She mentioned to me the other day that the only princesses her daughter really wanted to see were Anna and Elsa. So I explained to her the situation with them and that she had better try to get a fp. Then I had to explain what a fp was. I'm thinking she may not love her first Disney experience. I do think there is a lot of people who prefer more natural vacations like skiing, camping. There are also people who do not like anything commercialized.

 

[Fiveisaparty]

My husband doesn't like Disney because he doesn't like pre-packaged, often somewhat cheesy (often deliberately so) entertainment on his vacations. He will tolerate Disney, but it's just not his thing.

He'd rather be somewhere authentic: an actual castle in Germany, an actual cafe in Paris . . . or middle-of-nowhere hiking, white-water rafting, skiing, etc.

So when I go to Disney these days, I go with some subset of the kids and he stays at home. (Similarly, he'll take adventure skiing trips with one or more of the older kids without me along. I'm not a double-black-diamond person.)

This is exactly how my husband is! I am taking the kids with my friend next month for the first time without dad. I think it may be nice because the kids and I love Disney and he is over it so can put a damper on everyone else's fun. He did go 4 times in 4 years, do a DCL and go to DL last october with us, so I figure he has paid his "disney dues" haha.

 

[ArwenMarie]

In the defense of people who are first-timers, don't plan enough, go, and have a bad time...

I think part of this is because of Disney marketing. They market it as a "resort"...if you buy all of the components together in a package (tix, hotel, dining plan), you could come away with the impression that everything is done and included. The word resort has a specific connotation to it. As opposed to visiting a city like NYC, where you can't book packages like that obviously.

 

[bookgirl]

Well my best friend has never been to a Disney park and refuses to even consider it.

"It's just another Six Flags at 3 times the price"

She was vacationing in Branson and didn't even go to Silver Dollar City.

Some people are just not theme park people.

My theory for the majority of the WDW hate is lack of pre planning.

I know that in 2000 my first visit to a Disney Park was DL (pre California Adventure). Know how I planned/prepared for it? I wrote out driving directions from my hotel to the park. That's it. We walked in and just started wondering around. I think we rode maybe 1/2 to 2/3 of the rides. I just didn't know any better. I liked it but wasn't super wowed or anything.

By the time I got to WDW for a 1 DAY TRIP ten years later I had pages of info. (though I still managed to somehow not figure out FAST PASS).

A lot of 1st time visitors just walk in and start walking around the parks. If it's busy or they are frustrated, well they walk away hating it.

 

[CAS239]

Main reason I know why people don't enjoy Disney as much as other parks would be the lack of thrill rides. Disney is all about the presentation and most of the rides telling a story, which is great and everyone loves. But I know I'm not the only one that wishes Disney World has a more adult theme park. Similar to Busch Gardens and Universal/IoA. Expedition Everest, Tower of Terror, and Rockin Rollercoaster just aren't enough to pull in the thrill ride seekers.

That's the big issue with my friends. They'd rather go to Busch Gardens or Universal because the thrill rides are greater there. It's great to have tons of family rides and tell stories, but there's no negative to adding a thrill seeking park. Especially now that Disney owns Marvel

 

[kateandkids]

My husband doesn't like Disney because he doesn't like pre-packaged, often somewhat cheesy (often deliberately so) entertainment on his vacations. He will tolerate Disney, but it's just not his thing.

He'd rather be somewhere authentic: an actual castle in Germany, an actual cafe in Paris . . . or middle-of-nowhere hiking, white-water rafting, skiing, etc.

So when I go to Disney these days, I go with some subset of the kids and he stays at home. (Similarly, he'll take adventure skiing trips with one or more of the older kids without me along. I'm not a double-black-diamond person.)

THIS exactly! I don't think it's the lack of planning at all - that may frustrate people but most learn their lesson and try it again. The true non-Disney people have no use for theme park vacations - they much prefer nature, history, authentic experiences rather than Disney manufactured, etc. I know as soon as my kids are older, I will be done with Disney. I only do it now because they are young and the other types of trips I would want to do are just too difficult with kids. Disney is an easy 2 hour plane ride and super family friendly. I would never do a Disney vacation without kids - there are just too many other wonderful places to see.

 

[tndisneyfan]

A woman I work with and her husband went last year I think. They are a couple, no kids, she's in her mid-late 40's and he's older. I knew she was going but didn't try to advise her, she's the type of person that I assumed would plan on her own. When she got back her complaint was the lines. Lines everywhere. Lines to get in. Lines to eat. Lines to get a fastpass. Etc, etc,....

I didn't ask her too much about it. I don't know how much planning she did. i don't know if she did rope drop, I know she's an early riser so I assume she did. She did go during mid July, so I'm sure it was a crowded time.

 

[siskaren]

I would never do a Disney vacation without kids

I've only done Disney without kids.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

I've not read everything, but my dh hates WDW b/c
a) it is too crowded and
b) the only time we can go is summer and he has issues with the heat.

He also doesn't like the princess emphasis in MK; he enjoyed the HS and EPCOT much, much more.

When we took the boys, it was a real bust, as they were emphatically not interested in the princess stuff and were too old for the other cartoony stuff, but too scared of the more fun rides. And dh was miserable b/c the heat index in the parks in early June was over 100F. A few years later, I took the boys to Universal w/o dh and we had a blast. Much as I hate to say it, I think that will be my theme park vacation motto from now on: go when dh is out of the country on business.

 

[kateandkids]

I've only done Disney without kids.

Please don't cut my comments. I posted that I would not do Disney without kids because there are so many other places I would rather go. It's an opinion and one that may shed some light on what OP asked re why people don't like Disney. To me, it's a family/kids vacation. Just my opinion. Not sure what the point of your post was unless you were trying to stir up trouble implying that I thought others shouldn't do Disney without kids. If so, I didn't say or imply anything of the sort.

 

[disneymac000]

Its exhausting. All the money you have to put out, then all the planning you have to do, then you get there and have to do even more planning to get everyone to do what they want, then your plan falls through when all your niece wants to do is see Elsa and there is a 3 hour line and its hot out and cuts into your BOG fastpass. It just doesn't work well. It got overcrowded and overwhelming.

 

[Luckybee]

I'm in my mid 50's and have been to WDW somewhere around 6 or 7 times . We've travel to the Caribbean annually, and have been to Australia, South Pacific, Europe etc. etc. etc. I mention this because it may give some perspective to those of you who do Disney exclusively.

We're going back to WDW in Sept. We haven't been in a number of yrs. We decided we wanted to do something different this yr from our usual beach and R&R.

Although Im looking forward to it I must admit that had I researched prior to trading our Aruba timeshares and known about all the new "enhancements" I probably wouldn't have decided on WDW.

Holidays for me are relaxing. I don't wish to decide where we're having dinner 6 months prior to a trip. Since we're off site for most of our trip fortunately we don't have to but the jockeying and amount of time I've had to spend on the onsite days imho is ridiculous.

Moreover I sure as heck don't want to decide what rides we want to do 60 days prior to our trip. I know we can go with the flow but Im not about to deal with 1 hr lines so we have no option but to book these rides 60 days out. In past trips we simply showed up and grabbed a few fp's as we went in the parks we went to.

I hate the fact that Im actually planning on changing from my Blackberry to an Iphone earlier than I planned to because I actually should have an app in
a amusement park. Yes I know I don't have to but the fact that it provides a potential advantage is silly imho.

I hate the fact that the rides we used to be able to simply walk onto like Pirates, and its a small world will now likely have lines. Dh will simply not wait in line for rides and I know we'll likely do less in an afternoon or evening than we did prior . We are not commandos by any stretch but would simply jump in where we saw short lines before.

I have spent hours and hours and hours planning this trip. I cant begin to tell you how much time I spent just getting my experience to work right esp syncing our Dolphin res (including 8 phone calls with IT).

I can say I spent less time on a 3 week trip that included Australia, Fiji and Hawaii, where we were able to make decisions as to where to dine, when to lie on the beach, when to sightsee, and when to snorkel the day prior to or the day of. The only things we booked in advance were hotels, flights, and car. And this is our typical trip (although for very popular restaurants we might book a couple of weeks in advance but have the flexibility to change on the fly if we so desire).

Overall any other trip is simply easier to plan and l'm generally a planner but a planner who likes to make changes if the mood strikes us. I don't like the idea of being locked into a plan that will be difficult at worst and time consuming at best to make any changes to.

So yes, while I am looking forward to our trip with some trepidation I can see why others may not want to indulge in a Disney holiday that may look more like work than the vacations they are used to .

 

[eyehartdisney]

Please don't cut my comments. I posted that I would not do Disney without kids because there are so many other places I would rather go. It's an opinion and one that may shed some light on what OP asked re why people don't like Disney. To me, it's a family/kids vacation. Just my opinion. Not sure what the point of your post was unless you were trying to stir up trouble implying that I thought others shouldn't do Disney without kids. If so, I didn't say or imply anything of the sort.

Not sure how that was cutting your comment. You stated you would never do that. She said she would only do that. It was a statement of fact. If she would have said 'You're an idiot for only going with kids, I never go with kids.' That's a cut. I think you're reading far too much into a single sentence.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

My brother HATES Disney. He loves to point out to me that Disney is just a money hungry company. Ummmmm, show me a large, global company that ISN'T looking to make a large annual profit! Duh!!(

This is my middle brother, he went to DL once and loves to point out how crowded it was and how over priced it was. He always gives me a hard time about being a sheep that has bought the illusion of magic from a huge greedy corporation.

I don't think he hated DL, it's more big brother harassing little brother, but I don't think I could get my middle brother to go again even if I paid for everything. He just didn't find anything magical about it.

 

[kateandkids]

Not sure how that was cutting your comment. You stated you would never do that. She said she would only do that. It was a statement of fact. If she would have said 'You're an idiot for only going with kids, I never go with kids.' That's a cut. I think you're reading far too much into a single sentence.

I don't think I am. There is no point to that post otherwise. Obviously people go to Disney without kids. Talk about stating the obvious. The OP asked why people might NOT go. One reason for not going is that Disney is viewed as a family/child vacation.

 

[Lydia91]

My feelings toward WDW are very similar towards my feelings for Las Vegas.

At certain points of my life these are/have been interesting destinations but I could not see going again and again for the foreseeable future.

First time I went to Vegas at 24, I had a great time. When I went back most recently (many years later, after a husband and two kids) for a friend's birthday party, I could not be less enthused. The thought of having to get all dressed up for the bars, staying up late, paying hundreds of dollars to have the right to sit down at a club was just not appealing. After having more expansive life experiences, neither the shows nor the dining quality matched up to the price points being charged.

Right now, WDW works great for us. Our kids are in the sweet spot age-wise for WDW and my primary pleasure in our currently planned trip will be to see their enjoyment of all the things we have planned for them. In a couple of years we'll be touring somewhere in Europe and our trip will be more of a compromise between what pleases me and the husband and what the kids will enjoy.

We will come back to Orlando, but likely only once they are pre-teens interested in Harry Potter/thrill rides -- at which point we'll spend a day or two at WDW and the rest at the other Orlando parks.

One of my friends really dislikes both Las Vegas and WDW -- in her view they are both "inauthentic" experiences. For a little more money, she'd rather go to the real Paris than spend time at a "faux" Paris in Las Vegas or a "faux" France in Orlando.

For our family right now that inauthenticity is a bonus rather than negative. Later things on that score may be different...

 

[disneyguyla]

My opinion on why some hate WDW, is like going to a buffet, just because it's a buffet some think you must eat everything to get your money's worth and in the end you are sick. When my wife and I go we usually always go for a week, but might only do two days at the park, the rest of the time we enjoy all the other things you can do at WDW. We are on vacation, and vacation to us means relaxing , very little planning, we do not care if we cannot eat at certain place or ride certain rides this time, we know Lord willing we always will be back and get it the next time. We also enjoy eating off site at some of the nicer restaurants that in reality cost less and taste a lot better than park restaurants. In the end we have done this many times with our children when younger and still do with just my wife and I and have to say it's been enjoyable vacations. My advice stop and enjoy your family , that is what most important about a vacation.

 

[pigletgirl]

My husband doesn't like Disney because he doesn't like pre-packaged, often somewhat cheesy (often deliberately so) entertainment on his vacations. He will tolerate Disney, but it's just not his thing.

He'd rather be somewhere authentic: an actual castle in Germany, an actual cafe in Paris . . . or middle-of-nowhere hiking, white-water rafting, skiing, etc.

So when I go to Disney these days, I go with some subset of the kids and he stays at home. (Similarly, he'll take adventure skiing trips with one or more of the older kids without me along. I'm not a double-black-diamond person.)

This is exactly how my parents are. I went twice as a kid and they really tried to make the trip magical for our family. They would rather rent a cabin for a week in the mountains or do something that isn't a theme park. He hates being stuck in an environment that is stressful.

Too each is own!

 

[Deanie1]

I have been to WDW 7 times - the first 3 times with DH and our 3 kids. After those my DH and 2 oldest sons were done with WDW. Sons backpack all over the world and ask, "Don't I want to see the real world?" (I do - I have backpacked with each one plus gone on camping holidays and beach holidays). Now I go with DD and brother and sisters. What is weird, is that I seem to enjoy the planning the best. Once I get ther it is like ho-hum, same old same old thing. After a few days, I start enjoying myself but always think that this is the last trip. Does anyone else?