Worst advice you got

[roxymama]

I was told not to go to Epcot because everything is fake. I asked further for clarification and the response was "fine, go, but you will see."

I wonder if she was mad that there were countries there but she wasn't like actually in Europe/Asia, etc???

 

[POOHsie]

I was told not to go to Epcot because everything is fake. I asked further for clarification and the response was "fine, go, but you will see."

I wonder if she was mad that there were countries there but she wasn't like actually in Europe/Asia, etc???

This made me laugh! Thanks!!


ps: Epcot is my Favorite Park

 

[Magpie]

That's what some ppl say -- they'll just get wet. But what really happens is, plenty of ppl without ponchos dash for the closest store or QS place to hide out from the rain. They block the entrances. They block the aisles. Real shoppers and eaters can hardly maneuver thru the crowds of ponch-less ppl who aren't buying anything and aren't eating anything. Just my experience.

I can attest that we just got wet. And loved it! And rode Splash Mountain and BTMRR several times in a row with no wait, because everyone else was hiding from the rain. We just kept running back and forth between the two mountains - best day ever!

 

[VikingInMouseEars]

I'm an obsessive planner when it comes to vacation, (oddly enough the rest of my life is an absolute disorganized mess), so I purchased several guidebooks and joined the Dis, and can't say that I've ever received any bad advice until MM+ rolled out. The worst advice ever uttered, IMO, is "You just need to adjust your expectations". That and, "If you just give FP+ a chance, you'll love it! Our family did!" Quite frankly, I don't give a hoot about your family, or your opinion. Nor do I expect anyone to care about me and mine.

Why? Why should I have to lower my expectations? The cost of my trip has gone up every year, why should I have to lower my expectations to a lesser park experience, when they are charging me more every year? The burden is on the parks to meet my expectations for the increased cost, not on me to adjust my expectations and accept an inferior vacation experience.

Yes! This! This right here!!

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

Pay attention to crowd calendars.

I seriously never look at the things and am yet to have an issue. IMO, overplanning.

 

[Ava]

Luckily, our youngest has graduated to a booster and we bought backpack/booster combo thing that I think may be one of the best inventions ever for our last trip. Even the TSA agent at MCO thought it was pretty nifty. However, even if we had to bring carseats, I still maintain that renting a car would be more convenient. You can check carseats for free and the time saved and stress on both ends would be well worth it to me. We've had 7 trips to Disney, and 5 "bad" DME experiences. After our first trip, I thought DME was great because everything went smoothly. But now with more experience and only having "good" experiences for under 30% of the time, I'm no longer a fan.

I think this is one of those YMMV situations. We live in NYC and are used to public transportation. To me, renting a car and having to drive in an unfamiliar place is more stressful/inconvenient than waiting for a bus on arrival, or getting to the airport a bit early for departure. And I love not having to handle our own luggage both ways in Orlando. We take a car seat on the plane for our 2yo, so between that and carryons and the 2 kids, it's already a lot. I wish I could hire someone to collect my bags at my home airport and deliver them to my house! (I also wouldn't check my car seat. Way too much chance of it being damaged.)

We tried the dollar store ponchos as well and they were a joke. I found good quality Coleman brand ponchos at Big Lots for $5 a piece. They were the appropriate length with sleeves and an adjustable hood. Also cheap enough that we had no qualms about throwing them out at the end of our trip. However, last trip, we had forgotten them in the room and bought the Disney ponchos in the park when it started raining and they were just as good for maybe only $2-3 more. We've decided to just buy the Disney ponchos when/if we need them on future trips.

Honestly, the DIS constantly tells people to buy ponchos (whether cheap or Disney ones) and drag them around with you in the park. I drank the Kool Aid on that again this year, only I had 5 freaking ponchos to tote around (luckily, we had a stroller). We used them ONCE on 4 summer trips.
We go in June/July. You know what, I'll just get wet. Putting on a poncho is sooooo hot, so I end up cooking in my own juices...and water still gets in from the rain as well.

Hmm, now I'm rethinking my search for good ponchos. We're going at the end of Aug so it is the rainy season, but we're also taking an afternoon break almost every day. Maybe I'll just bring a couple of compact umbrellas in case we get caught out and buy the Disney ponchos if we decide we need them.

 

[itchin2go]

Pay attention to crowd calendars.

I seriously never look at the things and am yet to have an issue. IMO, overplanning.

Eh - it's just as easy to pick the least crowded days as it is to pick the most crowded. Takes a few minutes of my time and probably saves me more over the week of my trip.

I've seen more than one person give the advice on here to NOT buy park hoppers and just use 2 days on a multi-day ticket instead. And every time someone corrects them, they insist it works.

 

[itchin2go]

I can attest that we just got wet. And loved it! And rode Splash Mountain and BTMRR several times in a row with no wait, because everyone else was hiding from the rain. We just kept running back and forth between the two mountains - best day ever!

Again, there's rain and then there's RAIN. If it's garden variety afternoon showers, for sure keep going. IMO, if it's thunderstorms and torrential rain and the forecast calls for more of the same, go back to the resort and watch a movie or read a book. Outdoor rides were NOT running on the day I'm referencing. If I hadn't witnessed it myself, I'd probably think I was exaggerating.

And just to out myself, I did not take my advice. We stayed at the parks during horrible storms, and then went back at night only to experience more horrible storms. My husband thought I had lost my mind. I'm kind of afraid I'm so shell-shocked from it that if the forecast calls for sprinkles on our next trip, I'm going to insist we stay at the resort.

 

[bucky1023]

"Take DME to/from the airport! It's so convenient!" Nope. There is nothing convenient about sitting on a bus for an hour waiting for it to load, not getting your luggage until 7 hours after check-in, or getting picked up 3 hours before your flight home so that you can sit on the bus some more to wait for it to load at various resorts. After renting a car on our last trip and seeing how convenient THAT is, I feel like a fool for buying into the DME myth for so long.

I agree with this. First and only time we took it... landed at 11:30pm so we figured it wouldn't be too bad totally didn't work out for us at all.

 

[aVASTGrl]

I was told not to go to Epcot because everything is fake. I asked further for clarification and the response was "fine, go, but you will see."

I wonder if she was mad that there were countries there but she wasn't like actually in Europe/Asia, etc???

I can't!!

The two pieces of bad advice I've gotten came down to personal preference more than anything: the one time I went without parkhoppers, I HATED it and felt trapped. I discovered I actually do park hop more than I thought, and I won't buy tickets without them again. The second was I was encouraged to only eat CS solo. I quickly figured out that not having someone with me to find a table while I got my food was enormously stressful for me. I made ADRs for most of the rest of my trip and was much happier!

 

[nat8199]

My DH thinks this is a good idea on vacation. Me, not so much, because I'm supposed to be having a vacation, not doing the same work I do at home!!!


I always brought car seats on the plane, because if I buckled my kids into their car seat on the plane (once the were too old for lap fare) then they were comfortable staying in their seat like in the car. No car seat and they felt they should be free to get up and move around. Do they not allow this anymore?

They do allow this. We just have three in car seats, which is a pain. Luckily, our kids like the seatbelt on the plane, and follow the rule of sitting in their seats.

 

[Doug M]

Maybe you have.

Lol, i am NOT clicking that link.

 

[magicbob]

Lesson Learned: Don't try to be early on EMH morning

 

[Magpie]

Again, there's rain and then there's RAIN. If it's garden variety afternoon showers, for sure keep going. IMO, if it's thunderstorms and torrential rain and the forecast calls for more of the same, go back to the resort and watch a movie or read a book. Outdoor rides were NOT running on the day I'm referencing. If I hadn't witnessed it myself, I'd probably think I was exaggerating.

And just to out myself, I did not take my advice. We stayed at the parks during horrible storms, and then went back at night only to experience more horrible storms. My husband thought I had lost my mind. I'm kind of afraid I'm so shell-shocked from it that if the forecast calls for sprinkles on our next trip, I'm going to insist we stay at the resort.

It was torrential. So much so, that it looked like a wall of water at the entrance to BTMRR. But no lightning, which is probably why they didn't shut any of the rides down.

I was soaked down to my undies.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

"Buy the front of the line pass." Hahahaha.

On Disney Cruise (sorry, wrong board): Travel agent said to be aware that soda is not included in the price.

 

[itchin2go]

"Buy the front of the line pass." Hahahaha.

I have overheard people giving that advice. I just kept my mouth shut. I didn't trust myself not to come off as know it all. Plus, you know, you can buy a guidebook, right? Or google it?

 

[momof2n2]

I'm an obsessive planner when it comes to vacation, (oddly enough the rest of my life is an absolute disorganized mess), so I purchased several guidebooks and joined the Dis, and can't say that I've ever received any bad advice until MM+ rolled out. The worst advice ever uttered, IMO, is "You just need to adjust your expectations". That and, "If you just give FP+ a chance, you'll love it! Our family did!" Quite frankly, I don't give a hoot about your family, or your opinion. Nor do I expect anyone to care about me and mine.

Why? Why should I have to lower my expectations? The cost of my trip has gone up every year, why should I have to lower my expectations to a lesser park experience, when they are charging me more every year? The burden is on the parks to meet my expectations for the increased cost, not on me to adjust my expectations and accept an inferior vacation experience.

Yes - yes - this - this - this - this - this.

When the best someone can offer me is to lower my expectations or tell me how their family did everything they ever wanted to do, but stayed 10 days to do it, I just ignore them. Either officially, or by using scroll on the mouse.
I used to be able to count on the DIS for incredibly helpful hints. Now I feel like I get a little bit of useful information, a lot of "you need to relax more, visit more resorts, people watch", and all kinds of threads about buying bags. I DO find that PMing helpful posters (and visiting other boards) still yields great strategies.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Going without a bag in the parks. The 5 minutes I saved not doing bag check wasn't worth the inconvenience of waiting in QS lines for water, having to buy a new poncho when it rained, and walking around with my pockets stuffed full of the few things I wouldn't go without.

 

[DrTiger]

From my travel agent friend: You've BEEN to WDW; you need to go someplace else.

 

[kathy884]

My in-laws think we're Walt Disney Co. chumps because we insist on vacations where we stay and eat (table service meals) on site. In their minds, we're foolishly throwing our money away.

Their vacation style is to rent a condo off-site, buy a bunch of groceries at Costco, go commando between about 10 am and 6 pm, and have breakfast and dinner back at the condo (while brown bagging lunch and snacks).

To me, this is a completely a different strokes for different folks kind of thing (their vacation style, while more economical, just wouldn't be nearly as fun or relaxing for me). But they think their style is objectively superior (and that we've just drunk waaaay too much of the Disney Kool-Aid).

I had to laugh at this one because we are just like your inlaws to the T and love to vacation they way they do when we have our extended family group of 10-12 on a budget. Maybe we're related to you. lol // I totally get doing Disney different ways, though, based on individual preferences, budgets, and what you value.