Don't you hate it when...

[musketeer]

...when someone is planning a Disney vacation but doing it ALL wrong. And you know it's going to be a disaster. And no matter what you say, you can't convince them otherwise. Here's my example. A co-worker of mine is taking his wife and kids down to Florida. His kids are 1 and 3. Disney isn't the main part of their trip.

Here is their plan. Drive down, from Michigan, go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for two nights. Go to "Disney World" (he means the Magic Kingdom) for one day, then spend the next 6 days at a condo somewhere near Fort Lauderdale. No one in his family has ever been to disney, except for when his wife was 2, 30+ years ago. I said, "well, if you plan ahead, you can get quite a lot of stuff done in one day if you are prepared." I told him they need to get to the park 30 or more minutes before it opens. He said, "well, we probably wouldn't get there til around 11am."

They are going the first week of april, prime spring break time, so it'll be crowded. I don't know why they are going then, his wife doesn't work and his kids aren't in school, so why they don't go at a less crowded time, I have no clue.

I already know what is going to happen. They are going to hate it. They are not going to know how to use the fastpasses, or know which rides to go to first. They aren't going to see much. And I'll feel partly to blame because I talk so highly of it. I told him that the best way to go there is when you really understand how the whole place works, and that the only way to do that is to go there often.
Oh well...maybe it'll turn out better.

Oh, I forgot, he didn't realize there was a distinction between Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge...oy.

 

[DfromATX]

Well... it's their vacation. He probably will come back with all kinds of complaints. Nothing you can do about it. All you can do is give him a "told ya so"...

 

[jharvey]

Tell him to pay ur way and you will handle it.. As crazy as he sounds to me and you, we sound just as crazy with our planning. Heck, i have planned and revised our next trip twice already and we are not going back until September 2014.

 

[bsiev1977]

Tell him to pay ur way and you will handle it.. As crazy as he sounds to me and you, we sound just as crazy with our planning. Heck, i have planned and revised our next trip twice already and we are not going back until September 2014.

I know what you mean. I booked my December 2013 trip last November, and I'm going completely mental planning it. I figure most people would think I'm nuts for the amount of detail I'm putting into planning my trip.

For the OP, all I would say is try to get your friend to understand what the crowds will be like, and maybe teach them a bit about FP.

 

[Figgy1]

Don't worry it's not your fault!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You tried!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those who fail to plan, plan to fail!! If you really like them get them a copy of the unofficial guide!!

 

[Master Yoda]

I have learned to just enjoy the schadenfreude when people refuse to listen to experience.

 

[keylimesqueeze]

...when someone is planning a Disney vacation but doing it ALL wrong. And you know it's going to be a disaster. And no matter what you say, you can't convince them otherwise. Here's my example. A co-worker of mine is taking his wife and kids down to Florida. His kids are 1 and 3. Disney isn't the main part of their trip.

Here is their plan. Drive down, from Michigan, go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for two nights. Go to "Disney World" (he means the Magic Kingdom) for one day, then spend the next 6 days at a condo somewhere near Fort Lauderdale. No one in his family has ever been to disney, except for when his wife was 2, 30+ years ago. I said, "well, if you plan ahead, you can get quite a lot of stuff done in one day if you are prepared." I told him they need to get to the park 30 or more minutes before it opens. He said, "well, we probably wouldn't get there til around 11am."

They are going the first week of april, prime spring break time, so it'll be crowded. I don't know why they are going then, his wife doesn't work and his kids aren't in school, so why they don't go at a less crowded time, I have no clue.

I already know what is going to happen. They are going to hate it. They are not going to know how to use the fastpasses, or know which rides to go to first. They aren't going to see much. And I'll feel partly to blame because I talk so highly of it. I told him that the best way to go there is when you really understand how the whole place works, and that the only way to do that is to go there often.
Oh well...maybe it'll turn out better.

Oh, I forgot, he didn't realize there was a distinction between Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge...oy.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

[rodserling27]

...when someone is planning a Disney vacation but doing it ALL wrong. And you know it's going to be a disaster. And no matter what you say, you can't convince them otherwise. Here's my example. A co-worker of mine is taking his wife and kids down to Florida. His kids are 1 and 3. Disney isn't the main part of their trip.

Here is their plan. Drive down, from Michigan, go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for two nights. Go to "Disney World" (he means the Magic Kingdom) for one day, then spend the next 6 days at a condo somewhere near Fort Lauderdale. No one in his family has ever been to disney, except for when his wife was 2, 30+ years ago. I said, "well, if you plan ahead, you can get quite a lot of stuff done in one day if you are prepared." I told him they need to get to the park 30 or more minutes before it opens. He said, "well, we probably wouldn't get there til around 11am."

They are going the first week of april, prime spring break time, so it'll be crowded. I don't know why they are going then, his wife doesn't work and his kids aren't in school, so why they don't go at a less crowded time, I have no clue.

I already know what is going to happen. They are going to hate it. They are not going to know how to use the fastpasses, or know which rides to go to first. They aren't going to see much. And I'll feel partly to blame because I talk so highly of it. I told him that the best way to go there is when you really understand how the whole place works, and that the only way to do that is to go there often.
Oh well...maybe it'll turn out better.

Oh, I forgot, he didn't realize there was a distinction between Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge...oy.

I can't tell you how much it bothers me when people don't "plan" or "do" WDW right. ARRGH! Reading your story borderline infuriated me. Some people just don't care to do their research, and you are absolutely right - he will go and have the worst time ever and then tell everyone how awful Disney is, ha! Newbies, doing one day in MK, arriving at 11am during spring break season with two little kids...a recipe for disaster.

 

[musketeer]

I can see it now, "oh look, the line for Peter Pan doesn't look that bad!"

 

[MattC]

I agree with above post. I offer help, but if people refuse, oh well. Sucks for them.

 

[DfromATX]

...when someone is planning a Disney vacation but doing it ALL wrong. And you know it's going to be a disaster. And no matter what you say, you can't convince them otherwise. Here's my example. A co-worker of mine is taking his wife and kids down to Florida. His kids are 1 and 3. Disney isn't the main part of their trip.

Here is their plan. Drive down, from Michigan, go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for two nights. Go to "Disney World" (he means the Magic Kingdom) for one day, then spend the next 6 days at a condo somewhere near Fort Lauderdale. No one in his family has ever been to disney, except for when his wife was 2, 30+ years ago. I said, "well, if you plan ahead, you can get quite a lot of stuff done in one day if you are prepared." I told him they need to get to the park 30 or more minutes before it opens. He said, "well, we probably wouldn't get there til around 11am."

They are going the first week of april, prime spring break time, so it'll be crowded. I don't know why they are going then, his wife doesn't work and his kids aren't in school, so why they don't go at a less crowded time, I have no clue.

I already know what is going to happen. They are going to hate it. They are not going to know how to use the fastpasses, or know which rides to go to first. They aren't going to see much. And I'll feel partly to blame because I talk so highly of it. I told him that the best way to go there is when you really understand how the whole place works, and that the only way to do that is to go there often.
Oh well...maybe it'll turn out better.

Oh, I forgot, he didn't realize there was a distinction between Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge...oy.

I can see it now, "oh look, the line for Peter Pan doesn't look that bad!"

Does your coworker know there's 4 parks and that Disney World is huge? It's like its own city!

 

[Mawg]

It sounds to me like they are really going to the beach for their vacation and thought they would take a look at Disney for a day. Theme parks are not for everyone and some people find the beach much more relaxing. They may find they love Disney World and want to go back and spend more time or they may find they hate it. They should really go earlier than 11 am. But, a Disney vacation is a huge investment. Since they have not been before they don't know if it is worth it. Going for one day for a newbie is a good idea, if they don't like it they did not invest a whole week in it. If they like it, they know it'll be a great vacation next time.

 

[WondersOfLife]

And this is the reason why all my teen friends think disney sucks. The few thrill rides they have are always so crowded so they don't want to wait in line for half of them leaving them with the not-so-good rides that are 5 minute waits (stitch, imagination, ect.)

I swear I plan to take every one of my friends with me in October one day and show them how to manage around a theme park -_-

 

[Allygator]

...when someone is planning a Disney vacation but doing it ALL wrong. And you know it's going to be a disaster. And no matter what you say, you can't convince them otherwise. Here's my example. A co-worker of mine is taking his wife and kids down to Florida. His kids are 1 and 3. Disney isn't the main part of their trip.

Here is their plan. Drive down, from Michigan, go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for two nights. Go to "Disney World" (he means the Magic Kingdom) for one day, then spend the next 6 days at a condo somewhere near Fort Lauderdale. No one in his family has ever been to disney, except for when his wife was 2, 30+ years ago. I said, "well, if you plan ahead, you can get quite a lot of stuff done in one day if you are prepared." I told him they need to get to the park 30 or more minutes before it opens. He said, "well, we probably wouldn't get there til around 11am."

They are going the first week of april, prime spring break time, so it'll be crowded. I don't know why they are going then, his wife doesn't work and his kids aren't in school, so why they don't go at a less crowded time, I have no clue.

I already know what is going to happen. They are going to hate it. They are not going to know how to use the fastpasses, or know which rides to go to first. They aren't going to see much. And I'll feel partly to blame because I talk so highly of it. I told him that the best way to go there is when you really understand how the whole place works, and that the only way to do that is to go there often.
Oh well...maybe it'll turn out better.

Oh, I forgot, he didn't realize there was a distinction between Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge...oy.

And he will come back and say to you that he doesn't understand why you go there so much because its not that great as what everyone makes it out to be.

 

[JillC LI]

Don't you hate it ...when someone is planning a Disney vacation but doing it ALL wrong. And you know it's going to be a disaster. And no matter what you say, you can't convince them otherwise.

Yeah, my sister! But then I have to remind myself that what her family wants out of a Disney vacation isn't remotely the same as what my family wants out of it. Her family wants to relax at the resort, go on a handful of kiddie rides in the parks, see some princesses for the kids, and eat a nice meal or two. Our family, on the other hand, wants to go go go, from sun up til sun down in the parks while enjoying great dining and snacks every day. Just give us a bed, park tickets, and the dining plan. LOL. If our trip resembled my sister's family's trip in any way, we would consider it a complete disaster. But she doesn't.

 

[Britt]

UUUUGH. Sooooo frustrating.

Not a whole lot you can do babe, but I totally understand why you'd be annoyed! And then they'll come back, trash the place, not understand why you go so often and "it's a waste of money"....obnoxious.

 

[juniorthomas]

...when someone is planning a Disney vacation but doing it ALL wrong. And you know it's going to be a disaster. And no matter what you say, you can't convince them otherwise. Here's my example. A co-worker of mine is taking his wife and kids down to Florida. His kids are 1 and 3. Disney isn't the main part of their trip.

Here is their plan. Drive down, from Michigan, go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for two nights. Go to "Disney World" (he means the Magic Kingdom) for one day, then spend the next 6 days at a condo somewhere near Fort Lauderdale. No one in his family has ever been to disney, except for when his wife was 2, 30+ years ago. I said, "well, if you plan ahead, you can get quite a lot of stuff done in one day if you are prepared." I told him they need to get to the park 30 or more minutes before it opens. He said, "well, we probably wouldn't get there til around 11am."

They are going the first week of april, prime spring break time, so it'll be crowded. I don't know why they are going then, his wife doesn't work and his kids aren't in school, so why they don't go at a less crowded time, I have no clue.

I already know what is going to happen. They are going to hate it. They are not going to know how to use the fastpasses, or know which rides to go to first. They aren't going to see much. And I'll feel partly to blame because I talk so highly of it. I told him that the best way to go there is when you really understand how the whole place works, and that the only way to do that is to go there often.
Oh well...maybe it'll turn out better.

Oh, I forgot, he didn't realize there was a distinction between Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge...oy.

Even if they don't ask for assistance, I provide some. If they aren't going to take their vacation seriously - which yes, I understand they have the right to do - I'll at least try to give them a better time while they're in The World.

 

[Britt]

Even if they don't ask for assistance, I provide some. If they aren't going to take their vacation seriously - which yes, I understand they have the right to do - I'll at least try to give them a better time while they're in The World.

Right? Type up an itinerary or something and pass it to his wife...haha

 

[juniorthomas]

Right? Type up an itinerary or something and pass it to his wife...haha

Done that.

Typed up a two page document for someone heading down there for a day.

I'm ridiculous and I'm completely okay with that fact.

 

[thomas998]

Frankly their kids aren't both old enough to really enjoy it, so I'm not sure if anything would make the trip great... You have to remember that you are thinking in terms of what works for you and your family. Every family is different and there isn't a perfect plan that can be used for every family. I would think however that if they are planning on 2 days at the animal kingdom lodge which they think is also the animal kingdom that they might want to rethink how much time you can spend in the animal kingdom with small kids.