People underestimate Disney

[DisLiss]

No arguments from me on that. You should absolutely do at least a bare minimum of research if you're going anywhere that costs money.

Except that every so often that works against you. We went to an amusement park once and we got online and asked out kids which rides they wanted to go on because you could decide ahead of time to pay in advance for a special ticket that would save you money if you were going to ride a whole ton of things (thrill & kid/family rides) as opposed to just kid & family rides. My one son, who had been super brave on rides at our last amusement park, wanted to ride everything, so we paid for the special pass. The day arrives, and suddenly DS is afraid of nearly everything and only rode a handful of rides! It would have been cheaper had we never known about the special pass, LOL!

Overall, though, doing some advance planning is definitely my style, but the phrase "best laid plans" exists for a reason, too. Sometimes you can perfectly plan and things go very differently than how you planned. But I definitely understand that planning isn't enjoyable for everyone and they like going places where you can just arrive and have fun. I like that too....but I'm cheap, and pre-planning for me, is a way to control costs---except for when it doesn't work, LOL!!

 

[NH-to-FL]

Here's my current Disney planning story: At 45 days out my brother decided to join the end of his wife's early March business trip to Tampa for a weekend visit with us here near Disney. Of course I asked if they wanted to spend a day at Disney. As I expected, his wife did and the only thing she really wanted to do was visit the Beast's castle. So I got them MK tickets and started searching for a lunch reservation at BOG. After about a week of trying I finally got a reservation for 2. Now I am trying to switch the reservation up to 4. At this point I think my only hope is for a last minute cancellation. But at least I managed to deliver on the primary request. And at 30 days out I did get some reasonable FP+'s, HM, PoC, and Small World. So I think the day should go fairly well.

 

[JakeAZ]

Now I am trying to switch the reservation up to 4

This is one my biggest complaints. Once you get something, you are basically locked into it. It's almost impossible to add someone to your dining party or fastpass party.

 

[yorkieteacher]

This is definitely why people hate Disney. Right or wrong, Disney requires a lot of planning to get the most out of your time. But I'll never understand people that do no research at all prior to a vacation. How do you know what things to see or do? Good places to eat? I cannot imagine just showing up for any vacation we have ever taken-including cruises, trips to the national parks, etc. I have researched them all.

This! It costs as much as a trip to Europe! Don't you want to know what to be sure to see to get your money's worth? Don't you want to know the best places to eat? Goodness, I research on TripAdvisor if I am going to eat out in a town near me!

 

[Heather07438]

It's true... tons of people visit with no real idea of what's offered. Heck my first trips were like that, though it was only after we learned the ropes that we returned frequently.

Last year my boss' wife popped in on the way to the airport. She was taking 2 daughters to look at Florida colleges and mentioned they were going to MK tomorrow. She knew nothing and I only had 5 minutes to help. We set up her MDE. She thought you only get FPs once in the park and didn't know to reserve 3 beforehand. I only told her 1 other thing - Resort Monorail. They loved the monorail trick and still thank me when we see each other

I also had a co-worker a few years ago mention they were going to Universal and also visiting MK for 1-2 days. Knowing she and her daughter loved animals and FoP was the coolest new ride, I suggested they visit AK and get FoP FPs. AK ended up being the highlight of their whole trip. A million thanks

 

[nco91590]

This might be the funniest post ever written on this site! I love it. I can't stop laughing thinking about it.

Why is that so funny? People do just show up and expect to ride on all the rides they want and sit down at a restaurant. And per my second paragraph—which you left out in your post making fun of me—good or bad that is NOT how it works at WDW anymore.

 

[Toolulu22]

I'm the 1% haha

I've done tons of planning and research for our upcoming trip. All of this planning has totally turned me off from wanting to do it again. It's just too much. And I got everything I wanted, so it has nothing to do with not getting my top choices.

Agree with this. We had a great time on our last vacation, but it was too much with the obsessing over FP and reservations. We got everything and more on our last trip and had so much fun, but it was overkill in the planning. For our next trip, I will not be doing the DP and look forward to less planning in general.

We just spent this winter break not at Disney (except a last minute lunch at Homecoming- we got a Thursday reservation for a Saturday lunch) but at the Daytona 500 and then St. Augustine and checking out the beach areas of Northern Florida’s east coast for future possible retirement. I did little planning, except booking hotels and a general scoping out of each cities’ layout.

In Daytona and St. Augustine we ate anywhere we wanted to- and both places were filled with tourists. We just walked around and said “let’s eat here” and the most we had to wait was 10-15 minutes. That is for high end places as well as more casual places. That is what many people may be used to on vacation and why they get frustrated that they can’t get any kind of reservation at a sit down place at Disney unless they go online. I’ve seen those people when I’m checking in and feel bad for them.

I really liked this vacation and the lack of planning more so than feeling like I have to plan out every detail of my vacation months in advance and then not even stick to it (I have been known to change plans once on site). Don’t get me wrong, its nice to know you have a dinner reservation, but I like the more relaxed approach better. As much as you should research places you vacation, there is something to be said for getting a recommendation from your bed and breakfast host, or just trying something out that looks appealing to you- spontaneity.

 

[Thecouch]

Why is that so funny? People do just show up and expect to ride on all the rides they want and sit down at a restaurant. And per my second paragraph—which you left out in your post making fun of me—good or bad that is NOT how it works at WDW anymore.

I think that was there point. People should be able to just show up and have a great time without planning. But all the people here know those days are gone

 

[JakeAZ]

Why is that so funny? People do just show up and expect to ride on all the rides they want and sit down at a restaurant. And per my second paragraph—which you left out in your post making fun of me—good or bad that is NOT how it works at WDW anymore.

I wasn't making fun of you at all. I thought the post was awesome because I thought you were being sarcastic with that line.

I know the majority of people just show up and think they can do those things. The majority of people on these boards know you can't do that, so I thought you were making a hilarious connection between the two.

 

[Heather07438]

Why is that so funny? People do just show up and expect to ride on all the rides they want and sit down at a restaurant. And per my second paragraph—which you left out in your post making fun of me—good or bad that is NOT how it works at WDW anymore.

I'm not sure, but think it's laughing with you Your statement is 100% true and funny at the same time.

 

[DrummerBoy523]

We went to the beach last week (we live 20 minutes away) and a lady with her kids asked where we were from. I told her we were local and she said they were on vacation from Ohio. She said they did one day at Disney and won't ever be going back. I asked her if she planned her dining and fast passes ahead of time and she said she didn't know you could do that. When I took Dh on his first Disney trip 4 years ago I read an 800 page book about Disney/Universal to help me plan everything. I would say 99% of the people I've heard complaining about Disney are because they didn't plan at all. I've heard so many people say "I hated waiting in line all day and didn't want to pay for that fast pass thing".

Again, I'm so thankful for people like this. They'll spend $200/day on a ticket and wont even bother to spend an hour doing research. Funny thing is that when we go to the beach, I spend time looking into parking situations, lodging, food options, other recreational activities, beach chair rentals, etc. Why people don't spend just a little time researching Disney is a head scratcher.

 

[Tormania]

Back in Sept our friends called us and wanted to know if it was doable to plan a WDW vacation for Thanksgiving or early December. I told them basically no, 2 months is no where near enough lead time for getting rooms, ADRs, hell they were already inside the 60 day FP window. So I explained how we did our two previous trips and then let them do a little research. She called back two days later....they would plan to go next year instead and hinted that it might be fun to go together. WOOHOO!!!! Fast forward a few months and I walked them through getting rooms through renting DVC points so we are staying together at AKL, booked at the 11 month window. We also booked on-property rooms at USO for that part of our trip as well to take advantage of the free Express Pass. Last week we purchased all of our park tickets at UT to beat the price increase. Later this spring we'll settle on a rough park touring schedule so we can book any needed ADRs. But this way our friends are going to get a much more enjoyable WDW experience then if they had tried to squeeze it in with only 2 months of lead time AND we get to go too!!!! (We would NOT be going to WDW this year if not for our friends going and inviting us along)

 

[DrummerBoy523]

It's interesting to me how many people do have the perception that they have to pay for fast passes at Disney. That's true at many other parks, but not WDW. But I've heard that line, too.

The more people who think this - the better off those of us who know the truth are. I heard two ladies talking about it a few weeks ago. I didn't have the heart to tell them. They were so mad that people could just "buy a way to cut in line"

 

[JakeAZ]

I'm not sure, but think it's laughing with you Your statement is 100% true and funny at the same time.

Yes, this!

 

[nco91590]

I wasn't make fun of you at all. I thought the post was awesome because I thought you were being sarcastic with that line.

I know the majority of people just show up and think they can do those things. The majority of people on these boards know you can't do that, so I thought you were making a hilarious connection between the two.

oh ok. Sorry. I was being serious when I said that lol. I know it sounds crazy as people should expect to eat and go on rides at an amusement park....but not at Disney I guess lol

 

[DrummerBoy523]

I only told her 1 other thing - Resort Monorail. They loved the monorail trick and still thank me when we see each other

what's the "monorail trick"?

 

[HuskieJohn]

Planning both a 10 day WDW vacation and a 10 day Iceland road trip in a camper van for this year...

I spent about 20hr researching the Iceland vacation total...that’s for a place I have never been and didn’t know anything about.

I have spent the past 5 years keeping up with the news and data for WDW for a place we were at 5 years ago. Easily spent over 40hr researching just in 2020 (I count the Dis board as researching) and much more since 2016 when we knew we were going back “as soon as Star Wars land was finished.”

This will be our last WDW based vacation and will only return only after Epic is open.

 

[Someone28624]

Why is that so funny? People do just show up and expect to ride on all the rides they want and sit down at a restaurant. And per my second paragraph—which you left out in your post making fun of me—good or bad that is NOT how it works at WDW anymore.

I think it's the irony of it all. People want to go to Disney to ride rides and eat all the food. But without planning riding the E ticket rides and eating at the hot table service restaurants is going to be a challenge.

 

[Upatnoon]

Some people love to plan every of their vacation, while others just want to spontaneously enjoy the magical time they saw on that TV ad.

The proliferation of planning at Disney isn't just bad for nonplanners. Because you are forcing more people to plan, every resource gets snapped up earlier and earlier.

A balance has to be found or no one will be satisfied.

 

[Kestryl]

The planning is intense. But I do not understand how people just don’t spend half an hour on Google to at least know what FPs are and why they should make dining reservations.

A few years ago, we had the honor to visit Skellig Michael, the UNESCO heritage site that was in Star Wars. This was after Force Awakens had come out. We went in July, and booked the tickets in March. Bookings for this trip sell out immediately. The operator we used posted his tickets; his entire season were sold out within 24 hours. So we’re at the boat docks, and a couple showed up and requested to go the landing tour. One of the operators just started laughing, and another explained that there weren’t any available. Nope, not today. Not tomorrow. Not all week. You can try coming early to see if there are no-shows. And there’s the line for no-shows- 10 others got here before you, so you’re behind them. It looks like we may have one spot.

The couple was pretty angry about it, but maybe they should have spent 5 minutes looking up how to actually get tickets.