Dissappointed my family had a dissappointing time at WDW!?!

[stevehousse]

Ok, so my brother and sister in law just took their 2 kids, ages 4 and 1 to disneyworld for their first Disney vacation. Mind you their 2 day stop at Disney was in the middle of a longer Florida vacation that had them driving and staying all over the state...ok...not my choice of vacay, but whatever...

They asked me a few questions before they went but were very minimal in their interaction about it. Then my brother in law goes, I have no idea what's going on at Disney other than the wife booked and he didn't even want to know how much they spent. They had a 2 night stay at AOA cars suite and 1 full day at MK.

The day they were at MK, they kept posting tons of photos and all looked like they were having a blast! I asked 3 questions to them the whole day;

1. Are the crowds ok and are you getting on a good amount of rides?
2. Are the kids enjoying themselves?
3. Did you all like it enough to go back again for a longer vacation next year?

I didn't ever get an answer to any!

Apparently asking those 3 simple things got me labeled as annoying according to my wife, who spoke to them the next day and said I was annoying for asking them and that they would not be joining us at all for next years vacation!

Ok side story real quick. My mother in law was trying to plan a huge family vacation for everyone since she is retiring next year! (We can't wait to go)

Ok so then my kids and my mother in law face timed them to ask if they had a good time. My kids asked if they went on this ride and that ride, etc(they are Disney crazy like their parents) Well I wish I could share my mother in laws expression on her face when she proceeded to tell me of their Disney adventure! LOL she loves disney too and has been several times with us.

Apparently pirates was shut down for a little bit but they never checked to see if it reopened! They didn't let the one year old really go on anything because they were too afraid to let him on! (Even though I told them he could go ok everything except the mountains)! The lines were very long and they didnt make any FP+ selections because they said they didn't know what they would want to ride! They didn't go on Buzz Lightyear ride because they thought it was a video game arcade that had a really long line to get in!?! (My mother I. Laws face when she told me this was just too much! Lol) Thru never met Mickey Mouse or any characters because they didn't see any out! They were p.o. d the electric parade got cancelled cuz of rain.

I was just floored! It's evident that they did not do any planning what so ever and with how disney is the way it is now with all the planning, this is the typical experience newcomers are gonna have and it just frustrated me that they didn't ask me more questions or did more research to make sure they enjoyed themselves more...I will add that they are a little on the weird side to begin with so it doesn't suprise me that they didn't enjoy being there. Heck, their cousins were there at the same time to celebrate a honeymoon and they had too much fun! I understand wdw isn't for everyone, but it makes me curious to see how all the preplanning and MM+ over planning is really putting a huge hinderence on first timers visiting...

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

If you go ANYWHERE on holiday for the first time - you have to do your research. Where are the best places to stay and eat, what is there to do while you're there.
WDW requires that same planning. Its not a theme park - its a huge expanse of land. Liken it to a small state with four main towns - you have to research everything.

Failing to plan is planning to fail

 

[alissafalco]

They sound like the type of people that wouldn't enjoy themselves anywhere.

 

[s&k'smom]

I totally get it. I dont' know why folks think you don't need to plan a trip to WDW. If you were going to Hawaii or Europe you would research and plan. I had a friend of a friend who did that and I asked the same questions and I'm like yup someone who thought they knew it all and went and were totally disappointed. Didn't make one dinner ADR, did not check weather, lines.

 

[Sudcaro- Sudcaro]

Sorry they had a bad time.
Honestly, if I plan to go somewhere and have family/friends who have already been, then I ask questions! And work from there.
For our upcoming, also first WDW trip I already have tons of info (found on the web, especially here!). And I have studied the park map a lot already, so I know where the attractions are so that we don't end up all over the place and stressed out.

 

[skishlee]

I couldn't go on any holiday without planning - unless I knew the place back to front.

I've got my first trip to WDW in April next year and I'll also be spending 3 more weeks in the US. I've planned nearly every inch of my trip and have studied maps of the cities we are visiting to get a general idea of where things are. My Dad actually picks on me a bit, he is convinced that I'll end up scheduling toilet breaks. I've actually had people suggest to me that I should just book everything once I land in LA - they're probably the type of people that would end up doing what your brother and sister-in-law did.

 

[The Mom]

They sound like casual visitors who view WDW as an attraction incorporated into a larger trip, rather than a destination. That's the way it was 30 years ago, but not anymore.

It's like a trip to Washington, DC, or New York. You decide the location, and where you'll stay, but you still have to plan what you want to do and see once you arrive. You may have heard about a great restaurant, but you can't just walk up without a reservation and expect to get in. The same with the Smithsonian - you can't really see it all in one day, so you have to pick and choose. The same with attractions - just as you would have to decide which shows you want to see, you have to decide which attractions you want to experience. Not quite the same, but you get my drift.

The days of walking in without a plan and still being able to see and do most everything are long gone. Even in the 80s, you needed to at least have a touring plan in mind to get the most from your trip.

 

[copcarguyp71]

To play devils advocate here I have to interject that planning a Disney vacation these days is tantamount to planning a trip to the moon. In trying to maximize their profitability and maintain marketing demographics Disney is really in the process of alienating any casual travellers and folks who just want to try and freestyle. Even our family (with 9 trips under our belt) has gotten to the point of disgust with the insane amount of pre, pre, pre planning. It used to be fun to try and plan your days but honestly the level of stresses involved now with ADR's, FP+ and crowd levels has gotten to the point of subversive insanity.

I agree that the OP's relatives would probably have had a bad time no matter what, but on the flip side even if they had gone in with best intentions and an adventurous spirit they would have been disappointed at some level because the degree of planning required to get the most out of one day in the MK is not really what I would call reasonable for first timers. Also, in my very own opinion taking a one year old and expecting to get anything close to value for your dollar on a one day park ticket is a very poor choice to begin with though

 

[Nemo14]

To play devils advocate here I have to interject that planning a Disney vacation these days is tantamount to planning a trip to the moon. In trying to maximize their profitability and maintain marketing demographics Disney is really in the process of alienating any casual travellers and folks who just want to try and freestyle. Even our family (with 9 trips under our belt) has gotten to the point of disgust with the insane amount of pre, pre, pre planning. It used to be fun to try and plan your days but honestly the level of stresses involved now with ADR's, FP+ and crowd levels has gotten to the point of subversive insanity.

I agree that the OP's relatives would probably have had a bad time no matter what, but on the flip side even if they had gone in with best intentions and an adventurous spirit they would have been disappointed at some level because the level of planning required to get the most out of one day in the MK is not really what I would call reasonable for first timers. Also, in my very own opinion taking a one year old and expecting to get anything close to value for your dollar on a one day park ticket is a very poor choice to begin with though

I was about to post something similar. I think the amount of planning required now to take your kids to WDW is totally ridiculous. In this case, you're talking about planning a day in an extremely busy park for a 1 year old and a 4 year old. We did take our kids when they were that young, and we did plan somewhat, but our biggest plan was to plan to be flexible. FP+ and all the other stuff that is now required to plan a trip makes it nearly impossible to be flexible. If my kids were that young now, there is no way I would take them to WDW and expect to have as much fun as we did back then.

 

[copcarguyp71]

I was about to post something similar. I think the amount of planning required now to take your kids to WDW is totally ridiculous. In this case, you're talking about planning a day in an extremely busy park for a 1 year old and a 4 year old. We did take our kids when they were that young, and we did plan somewhat, but our biggest plan was to plan to be flexible. FP+ and all the other stuff that is now required to plan a trip makes it nearly impossible to be flexible. If my kids were that young now, there is no way I would take them to WDW and expect to have as much fun as we did back then.

Somehow in the minds of the geniuses in marketing you are supposed to know exactly when your kids moods will swing and when they will hit the proverbial "wall" where you have to turn around and get out of the parks for a couple of hours for some nap or pool time back at the resort. You should know 180 days out somehow that your 5 year old would rather have pizza than a sit down at BOG and then when you drag your unwilling kid into the ADR you booked at 6AM t-minus 180 days you end up having a bad time trying to make the best of a cranky pants kid who just wanted to have french fries on a park bench.

It is kind of a convoluted plan they have put together where if you are an adult and complain about the lack of E-tickets then you get flamed for not admitting it is a park for kids but then when you take exception to the fact that the logistics are not laid out such that you can tour with kids you are told you were not willing to research and plan enough for the vacation. I feel totally bipolar about the parks these days. One moment I think about the parks and get excited but then in the next moment I think about the logistical nightmare and stress factory involved and the happy feeling leaves me.

 

[Nemo14]

Somehow in the minds of the geniuses in marketing you are supposed to know exactly when your kids moods will swing and when they will hit the proverbial "wall" where you have to turn around and get out of the parks for a couple of hours for some nap or pool time back at the resort. You should know 180 days out somehow that your 5 year old would rather have pizza than a sit down at BOG and then when you drag your unwilling kid into the ADR you booked at 6AM t-minus 180 days you end up having a bad time trying to make the best of a cranky pants kid who just wanted to have french fries on a park bench.

It is kind of a bipolar plan they have put together where if you are an adult and complain about the lack of E-tickets then you get flamed for not admitting it is a park for kids but then when you take exception to the fact that the logistics are not laid out such that you can tour with kids you are told you were not willing to research and plan enough for the vacation. I feel totally bipolar about the parks these days. One moment I think about the parks and get excited but then in the next moment I think about the logistical nightmare and stress factory involved and the happy feeling leaves me.

Exactly! Great post!

 

[stevehousse]

I dot think it's that crazy taking kids that little. Mine are young and we always have taken them that young, but the wife and I are very well versed in vacationing at WDW and always have a blast! Our youngest that was just born will 1 when we go back to wdw next year and we will be celebrating her birthday somewhat on the trip!

But like everyone stated, preplanning is a Must now to visit wdw...

 

[R W B]

I'm 27, my fiancé is 25 and we have no kids and 5 of our 8 trips have been just is and I still find it a PITA to have to plan everything. Our last trip with the MM+ was very annoying having Disney dictate where I'll be in the parks and at what time if I wanna ride anything decent. I don't blame you're family for not having an enjoyable time, its getting to the point where I don't either sometimes and I know exactly what I'm doing there. My thought process is this, it's a vacation, don't make me work for it. A vacation is suppose to be easy and enjoyable but WDW is getting closer to the point where its getting hard to do that.

 

[FutureCEO]

The different between a regular vacation vs a Disney vacation now is planning every minute. Your going to Disney for fun not to be an event planner. Sure, you would plan normal vacations but not to the extant Disney wants you to plan theirs.

And yes, Disney does need planning but planning for fastpass is plain stupid.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

Yes... I think when one decides on a vacation spot some planning must be done. If I am going to say Hawaii... I would want to review hotels and find one that best suits my family wants and needs. I would also find out what activities, entertainment and tourist sites we would want to see and possibly buy some of the tickets in advance(like folks buy park tickets at WDW). But I certainly would not plan on what time I need to eat at what local restaurant, what I need to eat, what time I need to go to local aquarium and what time I want to see the jumping dolphin show or tour the coral reef exhibit(just an example to compare to FP+ ride ressie). It is a vacation that I want to move at my pace. IMO... WDW has gone way past the expected amount of planning that should be done pre-trip... especially for newbies who do not know how crazy WDW is.

 

[DisneyDaver]

It seems that all recreational activities require a lot more planning now than 30 years ago. My parents complain that at their local outdoor theater venue they used to be able to decide on the event day if they wanted to buy tickets, but now the events get sold out weeks (or months) in advance. It is the way of the world now. In order to get the most of any vacation or event, a fair amount of advanced planning is required.

 

[BrianV]

I think you need to plan some, but not every moment. We maybe plan one ADR a day. And eat where we can the rest of the meals. And the day before our ADRs we often cancel if our moods or the weather looks bad. We plan to get up and in early. But if we don't we're fine with that.

The trick that many have said is you must plan some. This is not a "feet up" vacation where you just sit back and everything comes to you. And really it never has been. More so now, however.

 

[stevehousse]

I think what irked me the most was not bringing the 1 year old on any rides! I thought it was just silly. I know Disney isn't for everyone but still...I thought it would be an amusing situation to share in light of all the MM+ stuff.

I'm just glad my mother in law an wife agreed in thinking their time there was just weird! LOL

They did though, enjoy their stay at AOA car suites and the Nemo pool.

 

[4disneylovers]

Hey Steve! It's your brother and I heard everything you just said! Just Kidding .

Seriously though, congratulations that you won't have to put up with them on your vacation.

I totally agree with you that they didn't plan appropriately. If I was going somewhere like that for the first time and had someone that knew their way around I would drive them nuts asking questions for planning. I totally agree that newcomers will get frustrated because by the time they figure it out their trip will be over. I am frustrated with having to plan every moment and I am definitely not a newcomer.

The person who used the example that they would plan a trip but not every meal at a particular local restaurant and what time they would be at the aquarium and what time they would be....was exactly correct.

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

I wish Disney still marketed the parks the same way they did 15-20 years ago. Back when they seemed to care about/believe in EVERY attraction and it wasn't'the exclusively all about "E-tickets" and M&G. I believe that would help. A lot. Maybe not in this family's case. But nonetheless.