Why Don't People Research?

[aubriee]

We just returned from WDW Sunday (12/18). We had a great trip and I even have another one, with just my GD, planned for Jan 2nd-8th. For me the key words for a great WDW vacation is research and planning. I can't believe the number of people who just say they are going to WDW and will decide what to do once they get down there.

A person I work with did just that last April during spring break and came back hating WDW saying it was too crowded, too hard to figure out how to get from place to place, and was upset they didn't get to eat in the castle. She said they heard about it while they were down there, so went by, and tried to wait for a table, getting upset when they were told no walk ups were being accepted .

One day last week we were waiting for the MK to open, when a little girl was asking her mom if they could go up into the castle. The mom said she didn't know if people were allowed up in it, but would see. I told her the only way to get into the castle was to dine at CRT. The little girl got really excited and the mom said 'no problem we'll just go by there early this morning and make a reservation'. I told her she could try, but usually people make ADRs 90 days (now 180, I know) in advance. She couldn't believe it and wanted to know if she needed to make ADRs for all their character meals. She knew about character meals, but assumed they could just walk up and ask to be seated. She then told the little girl that even if they couldn't eat with the Princesses, she was sure WDW wouldn't mind if they just popped into the restaraunt just long enough to get a few pictures and autographs. It was their first day at WDW, but she told me they would be coming back to MK later in the week, so I told her about waking Tinkerbell hoping they might get there early enough to be at the front of the rope drop, so the little girl could at least get a chance to wake Tink. As we talked it was obvious this family had not done any research or planning. They didn't know about the Osbourne Lights, CP, MVMCP, ADRs, riding in the front of the monorail, the Santas at EPCOT, Illuminations, Fantasmic, Wishes, Spectro, Electrical Water pageant, etc. They didn't know DTD or the water parks even existed. Why don't people do a little research before going on a vacation?

 

[annie1995]

My DH gets irritated with me because I get everything so planned out. I tell him nothing is set in stone, and we can change if we need to. He realized that planning is good, the one night we didn't have ADR's for anyplace, we couldn't get in to eat, and ended up eating at a counter instead. Then we had to find someplace to use up our extra table service that we had left over. He changed his tune really fast after that.

 

[nbodyhome]

I agree - I do so much research on vacations, it's like a second job for a while. I mean, if someone has been there before, and wants to wing it - no problem. But first timers? I was in line at the GF guest services/concierge on Sunday, and there was a guy who had the dining plan, with no idea of what he was going to do with it. You really need to learn about the hotel you will be at, what you plan to do, where to eat, etc. - at least to some degree.

 

[harleyquinn]

Beacause, at least when it comes to WDW, they are naive. It drives me nuts too, but some people just assume that if they are paying x amount of money, they'll get to do whatever they want. They don't think that thousands of others are paying x and want to do the same things. I'm a librarian, and everytime someone asks for a disney guidebook, I talk to them. Almost every single time, I can tell that a) they are clueless and b) they probably don't have time (or won't make it) to even read the book they check out. I always try and set them straight

Just think if everyone knew everything like we do, it would be a lot harder for us to get to do the things we want to do!

 

[scanne]

My husband doesn't like to plan and always makes fun of me when I'm planning a Disney vacation. I research for ANY vacation I take so that I can enjoy myself once I am there. I don't want to end up somewhere and be angry that I can't have a nice meal or that I won't be able to get tickets to a show. When we went to Las Vegas in 2001 I suggested to my DH that we get tickets for Cirqu du Soleil before we go. He said no. Well, of course once we were there he wanted to see Mystere. And can I tell you how lucky we got that when we got to the ticket booth, someone had just cancelled and we were able to buy 2 really good seats? Otherwise, we wouldn't have seen it. I told my DH that next time I'm buying tickets/making dining plans/booking a dinner show far in advance. It's SO worth it to do it that way!!!

 

[Piglet54]

The planning is part of the fun for me. I love planning the trip and pouring over what we're going to do, where we'll eat and I love doing something new every trip. Even the very simple things...like making time for a Dole Whip or a hot dog at Casey's is important to me. My husband loves it too....it makes the trip a pleasure. It's so enjoyable to be secure in the knowledge of where things are, how to get there, what's going on and what our options are. We're flexible, but I always make the change in ADRs with Disney Dining...we don't leave it to chance that we'll get in. I can't believe that people will invest so much money in a vacation and not have a clue what is available to enjoy. It amazes me that people don't take advantage of all the available resources before hand. Anytime I talk to someone and they say that they are plannning a WDW vacation, I immediately start quizzing them. Have you made your dinner plans? Do you have a guidebook? Did you know about this web site and that one. Most of the time they don't have a clue and most don't start concentrating on it until a couple of days before they leave.

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

We are planners now, but we haven't always been. And in the defense of a lot of people, WDW has changed TREMENDOUSLY since its beginnings. Someone who went in 1984 may not realize how much it has changed. Although it is hard for us to believe, there are actually people out there who are NOT obsessed with Disney. And honestly, there are so many aspects to planning a Disney trip, it has to be overwhelming to a novice! Also, if you are not choosy about where you eat, and don't know about dining in the castle, anyway, you don't know what you're missing! Not to mention how often Disney changes its policies regarding any given thing (# of days out to make ADRs, etc)... I can understand why many people don't know that they're *supposed* to do all of the things that WE take for granted!

 

[WillCAD]

Let's set something straight - there is a difference between RESEARCH and PLANNING.

Most people on the DIS are planners. And of course, planning cannot be done without research, so most of us are big-time researchers.

But I am not a planner. I research and get to know as much about my destination as I can before I go - but I don't like planning my trip out. I like to do things spontaneously. But the research lets me know which things are possible to do spontaneously, and which are not, like the most popular restaurants and tours.

Knowing WDW as well as I do, I can go for a whole week without an itinerary, without a single ADR, and still have a great time and not wait in many lines.

Try that without knowing WDW very well, and you are guaranteed to have a crummy trip.

I can't imagine going ANYWHERE without at least doing some basic research.

 

[Allison]

Let's set something straight - there is a difference between RESEARCH and PLANNING.

Most people on the DIS are planners. And of course, planning cannot be done without research, so most of us are big-time researchers.

But I am not a planner. I research and get to know as much about my destination as I can before I go - but I don't like planning my trip out. I like to do things spontaneously. But the research lets me know which things are possible to do spontaneously, and which are not, like the most popular restaurants and tours.

Knowing WDW as well as I do, I can go for a whole week without an itinerary, without a single ADR, and still have a great time and not wait in many lines.

Try that without knowing WDW very well, and you are guaranteed to have a crummy trip.

I can't imagine going ANYWHERE without at least doing some basic research.

Wow-that it an interesting distinction and a very good point.

 

[kellyanne731]

I generally hate to be the one to plan things. Just tell me when a where to be and I'm happy. Even planning my wedding was agonizing (which is why I cancelled it ). But for some reason, I enjoy planning WDW trips.

I don't believe in a strict regiment, but I do like to have a plan to help us do everything we want to do.

My family makes fun of me because I put so much time into planning a vacation. Mind you, last year at Christmas my dad and fiance had nothing but praise for me when we were able to do everything we wanted to at each of the parks, and avoid the crowds.

Of course my fiance is teasing me because I'm planning our "tentative" trip for October. How quickly he forgets!

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

WDW is much to big of a vacation to go and not have some idea of what you are going to be doing.

I make ADR's for where we want to eat,but if we cancel them it is no big deal.

People think I am crazy cause we go to WDW year after year. They just don't get it! We love it!

The planning is one of the things I love about my trips.

I am taking my Nephew for his first trip in May! I can not wait to see his face when we get there! I feel like I know my way around well enough that I can show him a good time even if it is crowded.

I think about my trip everyday and what we are going to be doing!

I am always shocked by the amount of people that don't know to get too the parks at opening...Guess it is a good thing. Us Diser's can get a lot done and then go back for a swim while the crowds pour in.......

 

[missminniemouse]

When my brother and his family visited this past year during Easter week, I tried to give them advice, but they wouldn't listen. My brother has been to WDW before, but not for a very long time. As I expected, they got extremely frustrated with the long wait times for attractions. They also didn't have a single nice sit down dinner because they refused to "tie themselves down" with an ADR. My Mother was also on the trip and got totally frustrated with my brother and sister in law's attitudes. I guess some people just feel they already "know it all" and want to "do it their own way" whether it's right or wrong. I'm sure the experience didn't leave a good impression with our niece and nephews.

For us on the other hand, we've been to WDW around 20 times in the past 15 years. I ALWAYS make my ADR's as far out as possible. Yes, we occasionally make a change in our plans, but it still works much better for us to plan that far ahead. Our next trip is coming up in January. We've got a friend going with us and we were discussing where to eat on this trip already last June. And that's when ADR's were only available at 90 days out. Other than that, we don't make a detailed plan of where to go and what to do, we pretty much wing it. After 20 trips we'd better be able to go with the flow a little.

 

[Jynohn]

I think what distinguishes us DISers is that most of us actually ENJOY researching and trip planning. It somehow makes the trip seem to last longer, builds the anticipation, and tides us over to the next trip!

Most people, however, don't realize what a huge and diverse place WDW actually is. The majority of people I know think of it as an obligatory trip they need to take with their kids and not as a wonderful vacation for the whole family. They seem to imagine it as just a glorified amusement park. How many people do you know who meticulously plan a trip to Six Flags months or even in advance?

I remember trips with my family as a kid when we were the the ones dragging through the parks, cranky, tired and annoyed with each other. No wonder my parents hated it so much! It wasn't until last year when my DH was deployed and I took my parents with me instead that they finally realized what makes me go back again and again. They had made fun of me for planning meals, making a general itinerary, etc. but at the end of it all my father finally admitted that Disney World was a pretty cool place, and is actually making plans to go back with my mother next year. So you see, there's hope for those non-planners yet!

 

[nbodyhome]

IMHO, if you are spending thousands to go somewhere, you need to plan. That doesn't mean that you need to plan every second, I think that something is lost when people do that. When we went for two weeks to Europe this year, I did a ton of research on hotels, trasnsport, on where we were going, etc. I booked a couple of tours, and had an idea on some restaurants. I don't always enjoy the planning part, but it makes it a lot easier once I arrive somewhere, to know that the hotel should be decent, and how to get from place to place, etc.

If I go for a couple of days on property, like we did this weekend - if there is anyplace I really want to go (like the Candlelight, or the Liberty Tree Tavern, which we booked), I book it. If not, I don't. With the wealth of information on the internet, including an awesome tool like Tripadvisor.com, there isn't any excuse for the average person not to have some knowledge of what they are doing. Then again, I'd read about hotels with bedbugs or some other bad reviews, and people saying "well, I read the reviews, but I decided to give the hotel a shot anyway". So not everyone even takes into account a horde of bad reviews, which I don't understand. I felt very comfortable when we went to Europe that I had everything in order, and that was the most important thing. We didn't do everything we set out to do, and we did things we hadn't planned - and that is the way it should be.

 

[Marimar]

It was their first day at WDW, but she told me they would be coming back to MK later in the week, so I told her about waking Tinkerbell hoping they might get there early enough to be at the front of the rope drop, so the little girl could at least get a chance to wake Tink.

Have to admit...I am up to date on all the other activities you mentioned, but waking Tink????? Please enlighten me!

 

[scubamouse]

non-researchers and non-planners don't bother me at all! it's because of them that i get to walk onto soarin at 8am or TT as 8:20am. without non-planners, ADRs would be so much harder to get. i'll never see them again and as long as they don't slow my trip down, they can be as uninformed as they want

i spent a ton of time here before my trip planning and researching and there were still things i learned down there that i'll use next time.

i just wish that the non-researchers wouldn't take their ignorance out on CMs by complaining about not getting an ADR

 

[maggiew]

I think this is why Disney is making out with the dining plan. Most people do not plan and end up having many credits left over and/or use the credits at inexpensive places. I think that those of us who try to "maximize" the dining plan are in the minority.

Maggie

 

[pbharris4]

No matter where you go on vacation you should research it and plan at least a little bit. At least the hotel and area where youa re staying and what there is to do. Most people know that WDW is a huge place. I've been to WDW a few times, but our 1st tripas a family (DH and kids) was in early Feb. so we winged it mostly and were able to do so because it was the slow time of year. But I planned our 1st summer trip. Sure glad I did. Now "Plan" doesn't mean a strict itinerary. I make ADRs for 1 TS meal a day and pick which days we are going to parks, and have a small game plan for the parks (i.e. must do rides), but it's all subject to what happens that day. It's a loose plan. If we don't feel like a TS meal then I cancel it. If it rains we go a different day. If my 2 yo isn't cooperating so be it. We plan..just in case, but WDW can be so overwhelming to anybody..it's wise to know some things about it. I don't like to be strict about our plan because that's no fun either. 90% of the time we stick to the Adrs though. So I wonder if the non-researchers own swampland too????If not..I have some I can sell them. Just joking.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

Some people may go to Disney expecting it to be just like every other theme park. After arriving, they discover it is not your average theme park and that reality may be difficult to deal with -- thus the negative reactions to Disney.

 

[philaround]

Just as you enter Fantasyland, passing through the castle, is a Tinkerbell gift shop on the left. A child is picked every morning to "Wake Tink up" for the day.