How do you plan for a friend when they are going at a horrible time?

dopeylover

Well-Known Member
Good friends of ours are going to WDW for the FIRST TIME next Thanksgiving (a week before us)- Looks like they're doing Wed- Sun. She has asked for my help, and I am more than willing/happy to offer!

However- Is this not a CRAZY time of year to go? She is a school teacher, so I don't think she can take off the whole week and go when we go, which is far less busy. My concern is that the crazy crowds will totally turn them off, but I also don't want to rain on their parade w/ comments about it being to capacity and whatnot. Their plan is to be in MK on Black Friday!

What is the best thing to say/best way to help them make the most of a busy time?
 

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Honestly, I think they will have a great time. I do not think a couple would invest the money into going to WDW especially during a holiday period if they did not know what to expect. I assume they are staying on property - so encourage them to use morning and evening EMHs to avoid the crowds. I have been at WDW the entire thanksgiving week and while it is crazy - it did not get crazy until Thanksgiving day. But with adequate planning it will work. I would also suggest planning a nice romantic dinner somewhere - it would be nice to get away from the crowds and experience disney magic alone.
 
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luv

Well-Known Member
Give her a UG and tell her about this site and touringplans.com

And don't assume that she will have a terrible time. Let her know it is busy and to do some work. :) Remember that they may have a great time, all the same. :)

Also, don't get sucked in. Don't plan their trip. It will make you wig out, accepting responsibility for their fun. You'll pester her with questions until she's sick of you. And after you do all the work and plan the best trip you can for them, they probably will toss it out the window.

Do yourself (and your friendship!) a favor and let her plan the thing. :)
 
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dopeylover

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Honestly, I think they will have a great time. I do not think a couple would invest the money into going to WDW especially during a holiday period if they did not know what to expect. I assume they are staying on property - so encourage them to use morning and evening EMHs to avoid the crowds. I have been at WDW the entire thanksgiving week and while it is crazy - it did not get crazy until Thanksgiving day. But with adequate planning it will work. I would also suggest planning a nice romantic dinner somewhere - it would be nice to get away from the crowds and experience disney magic alone.

I wish I could tell you that they know it will be crazy...But they literally have no idea. None. They have no idea about anything WDW, truly! I just want to make it great for them b/c they will have their DD with them! And I don't think anyone wants a bad WDW experience for anyone!
 
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dopeylover

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Give her a UG and tell her about this site and touringplans.com

And don't assume that she will have a terrible time. Let her know it is busy and to do some work. :) Remember that they may have a great time, all the same. :)

Also, don't get sucked in. Don't plan their trip. It will make you wig out, accepting responsibility for their fun. You'll pester her with questions until she's sick of you. And after you do all the work and plan the best trip you can for them, they probably will toss it out the window.

Do yourself (and your friendship!) a favor and let her plan the thing. :)

Thanks! I guess I just didn't title my thread right! I don't think they'll have a terrible time (how could you really? ;)) but I just get nervous b/c I know it will be super busy and I want them to love it. But you're absolutely right, I will have to take a step back b/c I can be an obsessive planner!
 
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disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Give her a UG and tell her about this site and touringplans.com

And don't assume that she will have a terrible time. Let her know it is busy and to do some work. :) Remember that they may have a great time, all the same. :)

Also, don't get sucked in. Don't plan their trip. It will make you wig out, accepting responsibility for their fun. You'll pester her with questions until she's sick of you. And after you do all the work and plan the best trip you can for them, they probably will toss it out the window.

Do yourself (and your friendship!) a favor and let her plan the thing. :)

This is the best response you can get. I have made the mistake several times of planning trips for WDW novices and it has backfired every time. I have planned their vacations down to the milisecond and give every scenario possible and when a line is 20 minutes too long; or the weather is too rainy or hot than expected - then I get numerous texts about it being the worst vacation ever. I would suggest maybe going out for drinks or dinner and have a one conversation set up where you can talk about disneyworld. Then give them as many resources as possible and let them be. They are a couple so I am sure there are things that they would want to do vs what you think they may want to do. Lets be real - it will be crowded regardless. Even in the off peak season you still have brazillan groups who are disrespectful, etc. They will have a great time.
 
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dopeylover

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This is the best response you can get. I have made the mistake several times of planning trips for WDW novices and it has backfired every time. I have planned their vacations down to the milisecond and give every scenario possible and when a line is 20 minutes too long; or the weather is too rainy or hot than expected - then I get numerous texts about it being the worst vacation ever. I would suggest maybe going out for drinks or dinner and have a one conversation set up where you can talk about disneyworld. Then give them as many resources as possible and let them be. They are a couple so I am sure there are things that they would want to do vs what you think they may want to do. Lets be real - it will be crowded regardless. Even in the off peak season you still have brazillan groups who are disrespectful, etc. They will have a great time.

You are absolutely right! I think we'll just set up a couples dinner, buy them the UG, give them my two cents that night alone, and leave it at that. I too spent time planning a family members vacation in the past, only for them to totally disregard everything I told them, which in turn had them miss out on a lot, but I they didn't know the difference, or they did know and didn't care, I guess. Now when you talk to them, they're the Disney 'experts' lol.
 
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dopeylover

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
[quote="Tomi-Rocket, post: 5572332, member: 69941"]Be sure to tell them it's gonna suck. Then if it doesn't they'll have fun OR they'll see that they really want to go back to do/see more at a better time of year. But if they know ahead of time what they're in for (I've heard of 2 hr waits for some rides) no complaining is allowed.[/quote]

Your response cracked me up! For sure I will let them know it's going to be busier than usual, and I'm going to take everyone's advise too and just speak to them once and leave it at that.
 
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polynesiangirl

Well-Known Member
We went for thanksgiving one year. I was sick for part of that trip so I don't remember it super well now, but I do recall:

A) it wasn't as crowded as I thought it might be, but we went in expecting it to be insane so we didn't try to get on too many rides, just went with the flow and accepted that we wouldn't necessarily get on to every single thing we wanted to see;

B) it was pretty chilly. We took a boat ride one night that was really brisk with the wind hitting us (still nothing like winter at home, but definitely cold.) So make sure to tell them to watch the weather forecast while packing -- I think a lot of people figure, "it's Florida, it's always at least kind of warm..." and then don't pack appropriately. I remember a lot of people buying WDW sweatshirts because they didn't bring warm enough clothes.
 
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dopeylover

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We went for thanksgiving one year. I was sick for part of that trip so I don't remember it super well now, but I do recall:

A) it wasn't as crowded as I thought it might be, but we went in expecting it to be insane so we didn't try to get on too many rides, just went with the flow and accepted that we wouldn't necessarily get on to every single thing we wanted to see;

B) it was pretty chilly. We took a boat ride one night that was really brisk with the wind hitting us (still nothing like winter at home, but definitely cold.) So make sure to tell them to watch the weather forecast while packing -- I think a lot of people figure, "it's Florida, it's always at least kind of warm..." and then don't pack appropriately. I remember a lot of people buying WDW sweatshirts because they didn't bring warm enough clothes.

Thanks!! We went on our honeymoon end of October/beginning of November, and I too remember being chilly at night! $50 later I had a Goofy sweatshirt to keep me warm!
 
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englanddg

One Little Spark...
Good friends of ours are going to WDW for the FIRST TIME next Thanksgiving (a week before us)- Looks like they're doing Wed- Sun. She has asked for my help, and I am more than willing/happy to offer!

However- Is this not a CRAZY time of year to go? She is a school teacher, so I don't think she can take off the whole week and go when we go, which is far less busy. My concern is that the crazy crowds will totally turn them off, but I also don't want to rain on their parade w/ comments about it being to capacity and whatnot. Their plan is to be in MK on Black Friday!

What is the best thing to say/best way to help them make the most of a busy time?


I helped a friend plan a trip over the dreaded Christmas through New Years time frame.

I gave her advice on where to stay (few different options, she ended up choosing Boardwalk, which then I gave her other tips, like the International Gateway to EPCOT, which they utilized a ton), and very general tips (such as how to manipulate the FP system.

I also prepared her to EXPECT crowds, and what sort of wait times she should expect, as well as how to snag good seats for parades by utilizing non-peak areas (for example, watch the parades from Frontierland, or near Star Wars (for DH)...

I also stuck them on the Dining Plan, and guided her ADRs and Park days. But, mostly, I told her to relax, and have fun. It's a first trip.

Since she walked in expecting crowds, she wasn't blown away by them, and was not turned off. She had a blast, as did her whole family.

Those of us who go a lot, and know exactly what is there (and where it is) try and obsess sometimes a bit to much, in my opine, about making each trip "perfect"...we forget that for someone who doesn't go a lot, or has never gone, the things we take for granted sometimes, are amazing experiences for them.

For example, while we may gripe about how we didn't get center seat for Wishes and the fat lady next to us used her iPad to film the whole thing while sitting on her Walker Rentals scooter taking up way to much space in front of the Castle and blocking the view...a first timer would think...

"WOW! THESE FIREWORKS ARE AMAZING!"
 
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Hot Lava

Well-Known Member
I do not think a couple would invest the money into going to WDW especially during a holiday period if they did not know what to expect.

I think there are a LOT of people who go and have no idea about anything. I can easily believe they may not know what they are getting into. It also makes me cringe if it is anyone I know that I know is already on the fence about Disney anyway. I don't want to hear the screeds about how awful WDW is.

Give her a UG and tell her about this site and touringplans.com
I completely agree with this. Give her some warning and point her to UG and tp. They are not blindsided, but they determine how prepared they are for it.

I went to WDW in Spring of '98, and a cold snap hit the entire East Coast. Even though it had been 85 just a day before, it never got above about 55 during the day. I was very glad I had brought a sweatshirt. There were a lot of people caught unaware (we saw tons of girls at PI still sporting tiny outfits, even though it was, at best, 40 at night. They were freezing!)
 
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dopeylover

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I think there are a LOT of people who go and have no idea about anything. I can easily believe they may not know what they are getting into. It also makes me cringe if it is anyone I know that I know is already on the fence about Disney anyway. I don't want to hear the screeds about how awful WDW is.


I completely agree with this. Give her some warning and point her to UG and tp. They are not blindsided, but they determine how prepared they are for it.

I went to WDW in Spring of '98, and a cold snap hit the entire East Coast. Even though it had been 85 just a day before, it never got above about 55 during the day. I was very glad I had brought a sweatshirt. There were a lot of people caught unaware (we saw tons of girls at PH still sporting tiny outfits, even though it was, at best, 40 at night. They were freezing!)

That's the truth! If you're not into it and have never gone, and you're just getting into because you have a little one, you could be COMPLETELY overwhelmed and lost. I think some of us forget that b/c we breath it each and every day! My husband had never been and had no interest before I begged to go for our honeymoon. He did not get it AT ALL. He thought we were going to some place like Six Flags or something for two weeks and thought we'd be bored out of our minds! I had to assure him over and over that was not the case.
 
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real mad hatter

Well-Known Member
It's true @real mad hatter, if I had the means and time, I'd go whenever, no matter how busy!
Yeh...So I open up my post and there's a letter from WDW....Congratulations Mr Hatter..We will give you 14 nights accommodation and park hoppers from December 20th ..You just pay for your flights and transport..."Oh Honey,it's gonna be hectic,crowds pushing,etc.Do we have to go." :eek: .." Yeh honey,your right.You just stay at home,I'll phone you when I arrive,now get outta my way." :mad:
 
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dopeylover

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yeh...So I open up my post and there's a letter from WDW....Congratulations Mr Hatter..We will give you 14 nights accommodation and park hoppers from December 20th ..You just pay for your flights and transport..."Oh Honey,it's gonna be hectic,crowds pushing,etc.Do we have to go." :eek: .." Yeh honey,your right.You just stay at home,I'll phone you when I arrive,now get outta my way." :mad:

Ask them to forward that letter to me!
 
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