Disney World Planning is far too complicated (CNBC article)

jaklgreen

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
Ayla said:
I've been to Hawaii and Alaska and Mexico and Canada - and traveled around the US. Not one of those destination took the amount of work or planning a Disney trip requires. So stop with the disingenuous "iT rEqUiReS PlAnNinG" nonsense.
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There is a big difference the amount of planning that you actually do, and what you SHOULD do to be informed when you travel. And ask yourself, when you went to these places, did you spend all day on various entertainment? And if you were to do various activities all day or you trip, you would have to plan them obviously. I think that you are being disingenuous to try to prove your point. For example, most people that go to the beach are sitting at the beach, where there is no planning necessary. Too many also think that just booking a hotel/car/flight is all that it takes to plan a trip. And yet those are the same that come back, see something about their destination that they would have loved to do "if only I would have known". You do realize that there are people who go to WDW and do not buy Genie+ or ILL by choice and still have a great time. None of it is necessary. And some of you sound as if you are spending months planning your WDW vacation. You are going to the busiest tourist destination in the Country and are expecting it to be like going to the beach. LOL The fact that views on this are so divergent shows that there is exaggeration going on about how much planning it takes.
 
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Eric Graham

Well-Known Member
jaklgreen said:
There is a big difference the amount of planning that you actually do, and what you SHOULD do to be informed when you travel. And ask yourself, when you went to these places, did you spend all day on various entertainment? And if you were to do various activities all day or you trip, you would have to plan them obviously. I think that you are being disingenuous to try to prove your point. For example, most people that go to the beach are sitting at the beach, where there is no planning necessary. Too many also think that just booking a hotel/car/flight is all that it takes to plan a trip. And yet those are the same that come back, see something about their destination that they would have loved to do "if only I would have known". You do realize that there are people who go to WDW and do not buy Genie+ or ILL by choice and still have a great time. None of it is necessary. And some of you sound as if you are spending months planning your WDW vacation. You are going to the busiest tourist destination in the Country and are expecting it to be like going to the beach. LOL The fact that views on this are so divergent shows that there is exaggeration going on about how much planning it takes.
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You are definitely right. Ive been to Hawaii, England, and Scotland etc. and it didn't take near the amount of time to plan those trips as it did for Disney.
 
jaklgreen

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
Eric Graham said:
You are definitely right. Ive been to Hawaii, England, and Scotland etc. and it didn't take near the amount of time to plan those trips as it did for Disney.
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The issue here is that people just love to complain about something. 25 years ago it was " the lines are too long". Then they introduced the paper FP then it was "If I don't get to the park early, all of the FP are gone". Then they went to being able to pre pick 3 ahead of time, then we heard "I don't want to plan so far out". It seems like there are just some people that will never be happy and will always find something to complain about. How horrible for all of those people that have to spend a bit of time planning a vacation. I am sure the people who will never be able to afford to go are crying for all of you.
 
Ayla

Ayla

Well-Known Member
jaklgreen said:
There is a big difference the amount of planning that you actually do, and what you SHOULD do to be informed when you travel. And ask yourself, when you went to these places, did you spend all day on various entertainment? And if you were to do various activities all day or you trip, you would have to plan them obviously. I think that you are being disingenuous to try to prove your point. For example, most people that go to the beach are sitting at the beach, where there is no planning necessary. Too many also think that just booking a hotel/car/flight is all that it takes to plan a trip. And yet those are the same that come back, see something about their destination that they would have loved to do "if only I would have known". You do realize that there are people who go to WDW and do not buy Genie+ or ILL by choice and still have a great time. None of it is necessary. And some of you sound as if you are spending months planning your WDW vacation. You are going to the busiest tourist destination in the Country and are expecting it to be like going to the beach. LOL The fact that views on this are so divergent shows that there is exaggeration going on about how much planning it takes.
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You definitely didn't do your research if you think the whole of Hawaii is nothing more than sitting on a beach.
 
jaklgreen

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
Ayla said:
You definitely didn't do your research if you think the whole of Hawaii is nothing more than sitting on a beach.
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I never said that. Anyone who claims to do more "work" planning a WDW vacation compared to Hawaii, or anywhere else, is not doing enough planning for everywhere else. ALL vacation destinations take planning and research. WDW is no different than anywhere else.
 
AndyS2992

AndyS2992

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
Nothing says “leisure” like a spreadsheet.
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As already pointed out, it’s more of a list. Dates with what parks we’ll be visiting that day and where we’ll be eating. It’s hardly complex 😂 Parks booked almost a year out and dining reserved 60 days out. Takes all of a few minutes to plan out.

People have different ideas of what a Disney vacation should be. For me, it’s banging through as many rides as possible and getting as much bang for my buck as possible. Other people like to waltz in to Magic Kingdom midday, grab a Dole Whip and find a bench and watch the World go by, that’s not for me. Of course my style requires more planning than someone who plans on doing the latter.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
AndyS2992 said:
As already pointed out, it’s more of a list. Dates with what parks we’ll be visiting that day and where we’ll be eating. It’s hardly complex 😂 Parks booked almost a year out and dining reserved 60 days out. Takes all of a few minutes to plan out.

People have different ideas of what a Disney vacation should be. For me, it’s banging through as many rides as possible and getting as much bang for my buck as possible. Other people like to waltz in to Magic Kingdom midday, grab a Dole Whip and find a bench and watch the World go by, that’s not for me. Of course my style requires more planning than someone who plans on doing the latter.
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I’m just yanking your chain.

I think we all do it. The Issue/non-issue is why should we have to? And we do.

A debate for another day
 
LSLS

LSLS

Well-Known Member
jaklgreen said:
I never said that. Anyone who claims to do more "work" planning a WDW vacation compared to Hawaii, or anywhere else, is not doing enough planning for everywhere else. ALL vacation destinations take planning and research. WDW is no different than anywhere else.
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You go to Hawaii, you might look up cool places to go visit, things to eat, other things to do. You go to Disney, you may look into restaurants, different rides you want to try, different parks. That was what it used to be, and I agree, that isn't anything over the top. But I don't need to research historical trends to tell me the best day to hit a museum or the beach on an island. I don't need to plan out the exact time I'm going to eat months before we leave if I plan on just sitting down and relaxing for a bit with a meal. I don't have to sit on my phone constantly trying to get reservations to do a 2 minute activity throughout the entire day. And I don't have to know the ins and outs of the phone app just to ensure I am able to not stand in long lines with kids all day. Yes, planning is involved in every vacation to an extent. The problem is Disney takes a TON more than others now, and it's not all planning so that you are prepared and can just relax. You plan, then you need to constantly refresh and adapt to what is available, what is open, etc. Genie and ILL have added a lot of complexity to it.
 
MagicRat

MagicRat

Well-Known Member
Eric Graham said:
Well, when I'm visiting Hawaii or basically any other trip. My day doesn't start at 7am to start my day. that's the difference . . .
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Yeah you are right, everyone is normally up around 4:30 am the first few days because of the time changes and just when you are settled in, it is time to fly back home :)
 
V

Vclguy90

Well-Known Member
Remember when you could just drive there, and park, and walk up, and buy a ticket, and go in, and wait in-line for a ride, and eat whereever you want, and watch a show without any issues or preplanning at all? Those were the simpler times that everyone remembers.

For all of you saying "it's not that hard." You're right it's not. That's because we all in this community know what to do because we breath this stuff. However, you should be understanding that we are a tiny percentage of the tourism that visits Disney Parks in which they still believe you can drive to MK, buy a ticket and walk right in. That's the issue. I mean, if they want this system to work and be inclusive for everyone don't you think it should be advertised better. Out of all the Disney Park commercials and promos, name one that says "Park Ticket Reservations Required for Entry." That is not a known fact around the world that every family should be familiar with just to go to a theme park.
 
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Villains0501

Villains0501

Well-Known Member
ADRs have been a thing for decades - I remember rising early in the AM in the late 90s to dial into Disney to book a table for breakfast at Cinderella Castle. I expect having to plan and prep for booking dining and the like; we like to do the same in Europe, so that's no issue.

The biggest slap in the face to me is still the park pass reservations. Those are nonsense and totally unnecessary, and are indeed yet another silly hoop guests have to jump through to begin enjoying their vacation. But many guests (myself included) have been conditioned to bend to the will of the Mouse, not the other way around.

We've now been on two major WDW trips since the introduction of Genie+. We've never used the service. I couldn't imagine being a first-time guest today. :oops:

But we're lucky/privileged in that we've been so often, missing an E-ticket or two doesn't phase us. Still haven't been on Rise, but Kylo Ren is completely unappealing to me, so who cares? We're the type that are happy parking on a Main Street rocking chair for the afternoon and people watching.

But even we've now realized this is a hefty sum to pay to people watch, so no more Disney World trips for us for the next few years, after going annually for 25 years...I think? Maybe 26. Just feeling like a very stale and incomplete experience lately. But the CMs are still wonderful - they are indeed the magic.
 
Andrew25

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
One of the major points of stress/complication during a WDW trip is FOMO.

While you may not care if you miss out on one of the mountains at MK, because there are so many other options, you will feel that stress at DAK or DHS if you miss out on Flight of Passage or ROTR.

With the limited options at DHS for example, if you have kids, they have to experience Slinky Dog and Toy Story Mania... and that's about it? Unless they care for Star Wars, not many other options to fill up your day outside of shows.

Don't want to wait 90 minutes for Peter Pan's Flight? No worries, go to PhilarMagic, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, etc.
Not tall enough for Fight of Passage? Navi, Safaris... maybe Kali River if you want to get wet.
 

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