Why dont people plan?

[MickeyMinnieMom]

This is exactly what I've experienced, which is why I'm curious what the pp has experienced that is different.

This is mostly what I've seen as well. There have been times where a character stops and has a brief interaction with someone, though.

 

[maltdizzy]

Just curious, what surprise/wandering characters have you met? I have personally never seen a character wandering.

That is one huge charm of DL, they'll still send random characters out to "roam." (parenthesis because I believe Town hall always knows where to send you to meet them). I bet there are fewer thanks to Shanghai budgeting though.

From what I heard, they tested some roaming characters at MK briefly last year. Ironically for this thread, one of the theories for why characters don't roam anymore is because of...planning. The WDW culture is so heavily ingrained around pre-scheduled and pre-planned experiences

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

That is one huge charm of DL, they'll still send random characters out to "roam." (parenthesis because I believe Town hall always knows where to send you to meet them). I bet there are fewer thanks to Shanghai budgeting though.

From what I heard, they tested some roaming characters at MK briefly last year. Ironically for this thread, one of the theories for why characters don't roam anymore is because of...planning. The WDW culture is so heavily ingrained around pre-scheduled and pre-planned experiences

I don't see the magic in it, so maybe I'm of the WDW culture. Perhaps it's because on the same trip to Disneyland Paris where I mentioned waiting in the 2 hour line for Dumbo, I remember my younger brother getting an autograph book and he approached Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum for his first character interaction and they chose to spend a lot of their set joking with 2 older girls while he kept trying to "step in."

I like knowing that I WILL for sure see the princess or character I most want to meet if I follow the line. It's not fun to hope to see someone and they never "magically" come out while you are there.

 

[maltdizzy]

I don't see the magic in it, so maybe I'm of the WDW culture. Perhaps it's because on the same trip to Disneyland Paris where I mentioned waiting in the 2 hour line for Dumbo, I remember my younger brother getting an autograph book and he approached Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum for his first character interaction and they chose to spend a lot of their set joking with 2 older girls while he kept trying to "step in."

I like knowing that I WILL for sure see the princess or character I most want to meet if I follow the line. It's not fun to hope to see someone and they never "magically" come out while you are there.

Oh, I do...both because it's how I remember the way the parks were in the '70's and '80's and because it just seems cool to have Brer Fox and Brer Bear pop out and entertain people in the Splash Mountain line or see Baloo make a toddler giggle by repeatedly making her balloon off her head while she waits for a parade. Believe me, they have the regular M&G's all day as well, but most of them are outdoors

The staging of the M&G's at WDW is getting cool, but now the characters feel like waiting for an attraction instead of the surprise.

CM's at DLP are "interesting." It's not a Disney-owned park and they aren't Disney employees. I enjoy DLP for people watching because it's just a giant culture clash.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I have seen them walking from one place to another, but have never seen one stop, they are always surrounded by other employees. I never really paid attention on the adult trips, but with my niece and nephew previously, and then last year with my son- I noticed that kids try to run up to them, but are told that "Pooh is going to get honey" etc. and they can't stop.

You know I have seen reviews where people got offended that the characters didn't stop when they were walking. They can't always use the utilidoors (unless it's required due to a parade or show) and at the other parks they don't have the utilidoors. I know why a child may not understand why a character can't stop but an adult..

ETA: Though I do think it's nice if the character is allowed or is actually supposed to stop for a moment or two to interact with someone (as others have just mentioned) it's just not something I expect since they set up the Meet and Greets for that one on one attention.

 

[Lewandowski]

LOL. Let me share my story about my very first visit to Disney World in 2011.

First of all we are a family of four, 2 adults and 2 children who are now 12 and 16 years old but 7 and 11 years old back then. I am actually the 16 year old typing this. But our family planned a disney vacation in July 2011. My mom has been to disneyland about 35 years ago, but otherwise it was our first time going to any amusement park, yes I mean any.

So first of all I thought lines were at maximum 10 min waits, stupidly. My dad also likes to book the week prior to our vacation, and honestly the fact is I never knew it was very important to plan ahead. One good thing is back then there was no such thing as FP+ so we could still use fastpasses.

What we did was we bought a 4 day park ticket about 10 days before going. I never realized the benefits of staying at a hotel, so what we did was because my parents' business headquarters are in orlando, we stayed in one of their rooms, which is about 28 miles away from WDW. We split our stay up into 2 and 2 days. July 15 and 16, and then July 23 and 24. I did look up restaurants there ahead of time especially in Epcot. I wanted to eat at Chefs de France, Tutto Italia, and Biergarten, while my parents wanted to eat in Morocco for one of the meals, I was like hmm, lets decide when we get there. I never even knew about such thing as ADR's. We also wanted to dine with princesses in MK (I never knew what place to do it at, I just knew it was possible in MK), and also Rainforest Cafe in AK.

So here is the story of the real trip now:
P.S. I chose to do the parks in order of: MK, EP, HS, AK (one park per day)

July 15: So we left our place around 9:30am and arrived to Magic Kingdom entering the park around 10.30am. We didn't eat breakfast, so at first we were just looking for a place to eat on the map, and we finally found Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe right next to us, so we decided to eat lunch there. The first thing on my list was to go inside Cinderella's Castle, but then we found out it doesn't open until 6pm, and nothing is that interesting there. We got in line for Tangled as my sister wanted to see her, but then after half way we changed our minds. We were looking for a ride with little wait, so we rode the Carrousel. Dumbo was right next door so we decided to do that next. After that we were across from Snow White's Scary Adventures and that was something huge on my to do list, but before riding it we got ice cream at storybook treats. Snow White was a 20 min wait and we rode it which was the funnest part of the day so far. Then we decided to do Winnie the Pooh but found out it was a 40 min wait, so Dad went to get FP, while my sister, Mom, and I rode Snow White again. We waited a little and our FP for Winnie the Pooh was ready so we rode it. Then my mom and I were trying to work out what next. We decided to do Its a Small World, then Peter Pan, and then go to Frontierland. We rode It's a Small World at a 25 min wait. It was the best ride so far as I enjoyed the song and was very relaxing for my whole family. We went to Peter Pan's Flight after that and saw the wait 55 min, so we just decided to skip it and move on to Frontierland. The Splash Mountain looked fun, but Mom didn't want to do it, but the Big Thunder Mountain was our first target at Frontierland. It was around 3.30pm and we got FP's for BTMR with a return time of 4:25pm. Right after getting them, we went to Splash Mountain and got FP's only to get a sign that we can only do 1 FP at a time so it didn't work. We just waited for our FP to be ready and honestly didn't know what next. Finally our BTMR FP was ready so we started to go through, and then suddenly when we were waiting in line, thunderstorms and rain started to happen, so we waited for a while and then just gave up on that. We decided to have an early dinner, but before that we got new FP's for BTMR with return time around 6.55pm. So we ate dinner at Pinnochio's Village Haus and on our way there, my feet and legs started to ache so bad, I could hardly move anymore. After dinner I felt a bit better, thunderstorms stopped but it was still pouring rain. We weren't sure whether BTMR was running so we debated a little whether to go back to BTMR or try to go inside Cinderella's Castle. We decided to go back to BTMR, and see if they were running it or not. I saw Splash Mountain running on the way so I supposed BTMR would also be running. My family waited under a tent WITH MANY OTHER PEOPLE while I went to check if BTMR was running. I heard it was, so my family and all the other people that heard me started running in the rain to give the FP's and ride the Big Thunder Mountain. We all rode the BTMR and it was fun but in the pouring rain we all got soaked. And after that it seemed like our ride was the last ride for a while because thunderstorms came back just after finishing the ride, so they closed BTMR again. It was 7.30pm and my parents said we had to go back home (I mean where we were staying), and I tried arguing with them, but that was our day done for MK. Honestly I enjoyed it but was really disappointed in what we accomplished. I wanted to do Splash Mountain, but also we never even went anywhere near Adventureland or Tomorrowland.

July 16: As we did the day before, we planned to leave as early as possible. Our plan was to go to Epcot. We left earlier and arrived at Epcot about 10.15am. Honestly it was a nice day that day, and it was less than half as crowded as MK the day before. So after we got the map, my mom and I sat down and made a plan. We completely ignored future world though not knowing it was worth seeing and just decided to go with the world showcase. Something I regret doing long time. We found out that WS opens at 11am, so we just sat in front of the England Pavilion until it opened. I really wanted to eat in France but we needed ADR's so we as a family decided to have lunch at Tangierine Cafe and Dinner at La Catina de San Angel. As soon as the WS opened, we started with Canada and toured around the world. All we did was get the stamp at the Kidcot places and explored a bit. By the time we were in Japan I had a horrible headache and was tired, but still kept moving on. We got to Mexico around 4pm and decided to have an early dinner at La Catina. After dinner we went home as everyone was tired. So there you go, we missed out on all of future world, and also missed out on all the TS places EP has to offer. Again I enjoyed it but was really disappointed on what we missed, especially Les Chefs de France and Biergarten which were two restaurants I really wanted to do.

July 23: We had a better idea on what to expect now as we already had two days there. We arrived at DHS around 10.30am and then my Mom and I sat down to make a plan. We first went to the Studio Backlot Tour which is something we all LOVED. Then we spent like 30 min at Honey I Shrunk the Kids mainly for my sister to have fun. We ate lunch at Backlot Express. Then we went to see the Narnia attraction which doesn't exist anymore. It was mainly for my Mom but she was disappointed in it. Then we saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid and it was a great show as my sister and I loved it, but my Dad fell asleep. My dad and I went to get ice cream after that at Hollywood Scoops, and since we were around we checked out wait times and FP times for Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. It was 4pm by then so we first checked RnR and discovered FP return times were from 9pm and the wait was 55 min. As soon as I found out that the ride went upside down I was too scared anyway, so we skipped it. Although now I am as brave as anyone could be, LOL. My dad and I got FP's for Tower of Terror with a return time of 5.30pm. So until then we all just sat under the huge hat and ran around a bit. At about 5.10pm we started making our way to ToT, and when we were loading on I was so scared and frightened to death, although I still decided to ride it anyway. After we got off the ride I was happy I did it and it was the best ride of the trip so far. After that though we headed back home and had dinner at Outback Steakhouse right across from our staying place. So there you go we missed out on Toy Story Mania, and Fantasmic, which I didn't even know existed back then.

July 24: It was our last day. We arrived at the park around 10.45am, and then there was a lady giving out free FP's for DINOSAUR so our family took four to ride it. Before then Mom and I sat down and made a plan. We decided to eat dinner at Rainforest Cafe, so My dad and I went there in the morning to get an ADR for 6.15pm, and I thought that was easy, but after finding out all of this after the trip, I realized we were very lucky to even get an ADR at that time, and the only reason we got it was probably because RFC didn't accept the DDP at that time. We rode DINOSAUR with FP's then we did Tricera Top Spin which had a really short wait. I then realized that Primeval Whirl was closed and was really sad because it looked like a fun ride to me. We were gonna do Finding Nemo Show, but decided to skip it due to the show being on a time schedule. We ate lunch at Restaurantosaurus, and then went to Asia. We found Expedition Everest had an FP return time around 5.55pm and got FP's for it, but then after my Mom read that its horrible for back problems, she and my Dad said they couldn't do it. I was furious and started to argue, and I was lucky my Mom said that if its a must she will do EE with me when it was time. So after that we strolled through the Maharajah Jungle Trek and honestly I found it boring, but my mom and sister loved it. After that my Dad and I went to grab some ice cream at the Anandapur Ice Cream Truck. That took a long time though. We decided to skip Kali River Rapids because you get wet, but I was disappointed a bit. We then rode Kilimanjaro Safaris with a 30 min wait. It was a fun ride and I loved the train and watching the animals. When we finished it was 4.15pm and we didn't know what else to do, so we decided to go to Rafiki's Planet Watch and check out the Affection Section. That was my sister's favorite part of the whole trip, and she wanted to stay there forever. My Mom and I left early to catch out FP time at Expedition Everest while we arranged to all meet at RFC after that for our ADR. I must say EE was the highlight of the whole trip, I LOVED that ride so much and I was so glad my Mom gave in and was ok to do it with me so I could ride. After that we had dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Then Trip Over. Overall I think we did a lot better at AK than all the other parks but still missed some of the best attractions like Kali River Rapids and the Shows.


So I must say I really enjoyed this trip but was VERY VERY VERY disappointed on what we missed. The good news is though that we are going again in August. Within these past years I found the DIS and joined it as well as did tons of research. Now I feel like a Disney expert after knowing all of these stuff and learning a lot. So this time we already have ADR's. We are doing Biergarten, Yak & Yeti, Tutto Italia, and Crystal Palace. I tried to beg for CRT but my parents thought it wasn't worth the price especially since it increased in the past years quite a bit. Anyway I am happy with the ADR's we have. Also I just made FP+ reservations earlier today. This time we are staying onsite and for 6 days. I can't wait. I am sure this will be 10 times better trip than our last one.

 

[redsbe]

Further...I stess greatly to friends NEVER to make a Disney plan less then 6 months out.....I am not sure if Disney wants that as word of mouth advertising

If you do not need ADRs, you can plan at 60 days out (booking rooms/tickets earlier perhaps depending on availability and time of year). I may book room/tickets at six months but really planning is at 60 day FP window.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Just curious, what surprise/wandering characters have you met? I have personally never seen a character wandering.

Off the top of my head, over approximately the last 5-7 years:
1. Minnie in Epcot
2. Aurora in Epcot
3. Chip and Dale playing in/near the Space Mtn arcade
4. Peter Pan, playing hide and seek
5. A group of rare characters near Morocco...Gideon and Honest John (the fox) from Pinocchio
6. Clarabelle outside MK, walked right up to us!
7. King Louie outside AK, walked up and hugged me!
8. PUSH - no longer around (retired in 2014, I think?)
9. Divine - at AK
10. Bamboo- at AK
11. Flick- not quite wandering, but no line.
12 Mickey and Minnie used to greet guests near the FT BBQ by the bathrooms, and for some reason there was rarely a wait.


In the past year, over at US:
1 the Who's and the Grinch were both wandering Seussland.
2. Scooby Doo met us in the lobby of Portofino.
3. US also has Minions in the end-room of the attraction. It is just like the commercials. During peak hours, the Minions are in a short-line queue, but often they mingle directly with guests and dance around, sometimes with Vector.

 

[maltdizzy]

July 24:

We found Expedition Everest had an FP return time around 5.55pm and got FP's for it, but then after my Mom read that its horrible for back problems, she and my Dad said they couldn't do it. I was furious and started to argue, and I was lucky my Mom said that if its a must she will do EE with me when it was time.

My Mom and I left early to catch out FP time at Expedition Everest while we arranged to all meet at RFC after that for our ADR. I must say EE was the highlight of the whole trip, I LOVED that ride so much and I was so glad my Mom gave in and was ok to do it with me so I could ride.

Shoot, at age 7 and 11, your didn't need an adult to ride it.

We traveled in a relative light week (last week of August). After riding EE the first few times, sat back and let our DS run through the single rider line a few more times. Did the same thing for RnR, he must have rode that a dozen times that afternoon (an earlier power outage had cleared out the park), my 40+ body wouldn't have handled that. He was 6...that was trip when we taught him how to lie about his age, not our best parenting moment. Remember, Lewandowski, lying is bad.

 

[Lewandowski]

Shoot, at age 7 and 11, your didn't need an adult to ride it.

We traveled in a relative light week (last week of August). After riding EE the first few times, sat back and let our DS run through the single rider line a few more times. Did the same thing for RnR, he must have rode that a dozen times that afternoon (an earlier power outage had cleared out the park), my 40+ body wouldn't have handled that. He was 6...that was trip when we taught him how to lie about his age, not our best parented moment. Remember, Lewandowski, lying is bad.

LOL very funny. I don't know what the Disney rules are about it, but my parents didn't want me there alone at that age. Now my sister and I can do that anytime we want, but I was still a little young then though.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

So I must say I really enjoyed this trip but was VERY VERY VERY disappointed on what we missed. The good news is though that we are going again in August. Within these past years I found the DIS and joined it as well as did tons of research. Now I feel like a Disney expert after knowing all of these stuff and learning a lot.

It has been a few years, but I didn't think CRT was worth the $. If you've never been, then 1900Park Fare was a better experience. Both the food and the characters were much better, and last I checked, it also cost less. The only thing the castle has is the sentimental value of the castle itself.

I can't price that for you.

I kind of see things the opposite. I like knowing my way around WDW, but I loved the theme of Up. Reading about a place isn't at the same as discovering it for yourself.

WDW delivers (delivered) that message again and again...

"If you had wings, you could do many things, you could widen your world, if you had wings."

"Now is the best time of your life. Life is a prize, live every minute.
Open your eyes and watch how you win it!"

"Thanks for the adventure- now go have another one! Love, Ellie"

My favorite WDW experiences came when I first discovered a thing all on my own. I actually try to avoid spoilers where new attractions are concerned. I don't want to know anything about the new Kong ride in advance. I want to the experience to be fresh!

 

[Ohana2011]

I was just having this conversation with my Dad and Husband a week ago. A co-worker of my Dad's approached him, knowing that he is a Disney fan and told him that his family was headed to WDW in 3 weeks! Exciting right? He told my Dad where they were staying and that they had gotten the dining plan. My Dad asked where they made ADRs and they had no idea that they needed to make reservations for sit down restaurants in advance. My Dad asked if they had their FPs and the guy was like, "we get those there, right?" People just have no idea. I don't understand how you could go on vacation anywhere without doing some research. But, I am a planner. We came to the conclusion that people think going to Disney is more like going to Six Flags than like going to a major city. It makes me sad though, because I feel like those are the people that come back and HATE WDW. They complain about the lines and crowds and food, etc. But, had they done some research ahead of time, even basic research, they could have had a much better experience.

In all fairness... It's not uncommon for visitors to be caught off guard... My DH & I have been to DL many years ago 90's & 00's)... My last visit to DW was in the 80's before we went down in 2011 w/our DD. Lucky for us, our cousin is a DVC member. The horror in her voice when we told her we were going to Disney. Why horror? She knew we had absolutely NO clue about the changes in the parks... What's a FP? ADR?!?? How many days do I have to book - what?? Had that conversation not taken place, we would have been out of luck on dining and wait times.

I feel it is now my responsibility to educate the newbies and my husband gets a kick talking Disney "shop" with other Dads. It's a bonding experience.

Visitors should definitely take the time to research, but some just don't know where to start or are basing their "knowledge" on experiences they had in the parks decades ago.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

I agree 100 percent about the responsibility to educate newcomers about to expect and plan for. Any time I hear someone say, "We are going to Disney!" I feel the need to offer at least some basic guidance. Or at least offer recommendations of where to look for guidance online.

I feel it is now my responsibility to educate the newbies and my husband gets a kick talking Disney "shop" with other Dads. It's a bonding experience.

Visitors should definitely take the time to research, but some just don't know where to start or are basing their "knowledge" on experiences they had in the parks decades ago.

 

[cjparker0110]

Just got back from a great trip and was shocked to see how many people are clueless at Disneyworld. I dont mean that in a negative way. I just felt bad for people that they spent all this money and dont really know whats going on. Here's a couple examples...

1) SDMT - I saw this couple with their kids ask about the wait time. The CM said its 100 minute wait. The lady said ok where are the kiosk that I can get a fastpass for this ride. The CM said they have been gone for at least 30 days. Further more they debated on getting in line but their youngest daughter was too small. I went over to them and told them about rider swap. The lady was so happy.

2) I also heard a group behing me waiting in line talk about Be Our Guest. They said that looks like a cool place to eat. We should eat there tonight.

3) While at Epcot a couple was getting Fastpasses and asked the CM why Soarin wasnt showing up as an option.

Again I'm just wondering how this happens. There are so many resources out there. I feel that you have to plan to make the most of your trip.

Does anyone else see or hear of these things while at Disney?

I would guess that a lot of these people have been to WDW before but have not been in recent years. Even 10 years ago you could take a trip there without planning every second of your vacation in advance. My last "real" trip to WDW (staying on property in a WDW hotel) was in 2006. I only made ADRs for the Luau (Spirit of Ohana?) and Victoria & Albert's. I made other reservations the morning of or I just walked in and waited for a table (30-45 minutes which was normal for me back home walking into something like Applebee's on a Friday night). I was ablet o get 3-4 FPs throughout the day depending on what time I got there and what ride I chose first. On my Epcot day I only got 2...both for Soarin'. No big deal. Standby wait times varied from 15 minutes to an hour (I was used to 45 minutes-1 hour at almost every amusement park I had ever been to anyway).

So how can people be so "clueless" when they go to WDW? Imagine someone who was able to just wing it 8-10 years ago. Then they got married and had a few kids. Now they are ready to take their kids to WDW for the first time. Remembering that every other time they went they could just show up (which they do at every other theme park in the world) and that even when they went on vacation in Europe they could just show up at any old restaurant to eat, they decide they will just wing it instead of being stressed out with a minute by minute touring plan. I don't think it is so hard to believe that this would happen because people don't expect to have to plan THAT much on a vacation to an amusement park. Especially ADRs so far out! Some people probably don't even book their trip that far out.

The real question is why should they have to plan? We always went to WDW and were able to just enjoy the parks. It was a relaxing time and we never had issues in which we couldn't ride something because the lines were too long. Now it seems like if you don't plan like an invading army going into Russia during the winter, you will waste thousands of dollars to be hungry and stand in line. It should NOT be that way. Or they should inform you at booking that your trip will be a complete waste if you don't preplan. Like seriously make people sign a waiver saying they won't expect to eat or ride anything. Then there would be fewer problems.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I HATE pre-planning. I'm not that sort of vacationer. I prefer to relax, take things as they come, and wing it. I don't find planning fun, it doesn't build anticipation or scratch the Disney itch for me like it does for some. I love all things Disney, but I don't love the way the parks have evolved. Notice that I'm using "I" sentences because some people take offense when others complain about Disney on these boards. These are just statements of my own personal feelings, I'll still go to the parks and deal with the current system, but I find it stressful.

 

[rajak73]

I HATE pre-planning. I'm not that sort of vacationer. I prefer to relax, take things as they come, and wing it. I don't find planning fun, it doesn't build anticipation or scratch the Disney itch for me like it does for some. I love all things Disney, but I don't love the way the parks have evolved. Notice that I'm using "I" sentences because some people take offense when others complain about Disney on these boards. These are just statements of my own personal feelings, I'll still go to the parks and deal with the current system, but I find it stressful.

What a great post! I LOVE pre-planning, any trip, BUT..I'm not going to tell you that you are wrong, that's how you like to do it and I like to plan, just 2 different opinions. Nothing wrong with that. I dont' take offense when others complain about Disney, some of the complaints are justified and some are just petty but hey, it makes the world go around. There's a few posters that constantly complain about how Disney does things, well I would tell them, just go open your own theme park and show Disney how it's done!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

The real question is why should they have to plan? We always went to WDW and were able to just enjoy the parks. It was a relaxing time and we never had issues in which we couldn't ride something because the lines were too long. Now it seems like if you don't plan like an invading army going into Russia during the winter, you will waste thousands of dollars to be hungry and stand in line. It should NOT be that way. Or they should inform you at booking that your trip will be a complete waste if you don't preplan. Like seriously make people sign a waiver saying they won't expect to eat or ride anything. Then there would be fewer problems.

Beautiful post! We can go back and forth all day on the original question, but neglect this key point.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why dining capacity hasn't better kept up with demand. Every time we go to WDW, I see ADR holders standing in front of Crystal Palace waiting and waiting.

Our most recent MK TS meal, lunch at non-character Liberty Tree Tavern, cost us over 2 hours!
We waited 50 min past our ADR to be seated. Another 30 min to get any food. (and we didn't arrive late, we arrived almost 30min early!)


Disney's customers aren't the problem.

Suppose every Walt Disney World customer DID preplan to the fullest extent!

 

[21stamps]

Beautiful post! We can go back and forth all day on the original question, but neglect this key point.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why dining capacity hasn't better kept up with demand. Every time we go to WDW, I see ADR holders standing in front of Crystal Palace waiting and waiting.

Our most recent MK TS meal, lunch at non-character Liberty Tree Tavern, cost us over 2 hours!
We waited 50 min past our ADR to be seated. Another 30 min to get any food. (and we didn't arrive late, we arrived almost 30min early!)


Disney's customers aren't the problem.

Suppose every Walt Disney World customer DID preplan to the fullest extent!

Oh did you wave to me while I was waiting at Crystal Palace?

We arrived 5 minutes before our ADR time, waited over 35 minutes outside. That was the only issue we had though, all other were immediate. Besides Ohana, that was @ 15 minutes which I was kind of expecting.

 

[The Sasquatch]

I am sure its been said in here but I think the reality is the majority of people going to WDW do not plan. These are the same people that come home and say to people like us, I dont see why you go to that place over and over, we "hated" it.

I have an argument all the time with my boss. He shakes his head every time and says "oh thats just what I want to do, eat a hamburger or chicken nuggets for a week and stand in lines."

There is so much at WDW to experience but you need to plan.

I cant tell you how many people i see come up to the podium at a sit down dragging their screaming family and looking for an open table only to be turned away. Or the ones staying 40 min outside of WDW that tell you they didnt experience any "magic".

 

[slbgnb]

I am sure its been said in here but I think the reality is the majority of people going to WDW do not plan. These are the same people that come home and say to people like us, I dont see why you go to that place over and over, we "hated" it.

So very true. I get this from friends all the time. I try to explain to them...that is why I plan it (and go in September). I wouldn't enjoy it either, if I just showed up on a random day in June without any research ahead of time. Of course, their answer is always...they don't want to plan. Fine, but then don't question why I go. I could certainly do with a little less of the insane planning it's come to - but, I choose to do the planning....that way, I won't "hate" it like they do!