I get it now......

[kangaand2roos]

I never understood how people could say they don't like WDW. I finally got it today. I have a acquaintance in WDW now and it's her first time going. They are staying in a condo off property. She made some comment on how they were headed to Hollywood Studios this morning at 10:30ish. Then she proceeds to update her Facebook status about how hot and crowded it was there and how they can't find a place to eat, how they have to wait so long in line for everything etc etc. A lightbulb then went on in my head thinking, yeah I'd hate Disney too if it were almost 100 degrees had two kids w/me that want to ride rides and had no strategy about where to start and end for the day. I guess I just kind of thought people would research where they were going to vacation and not just show up and figure it out as you go. I feel bad for her kids because she showed up so ill prepared and they will be the ones that suffer from it.

 

[becanya]

Yeah, I'm with you. I love going to Disney...but we go in the fall when it isn't miserably hot. We have a plan, but are flexible enough to abandon it if something better comes up. We do the Deluxe Dining Plan so we have a sit-down meal with reservations in the AC where we can recharge and get ready to go out again. ANd we know that we'll go back so we don't try to do everything. We quit moving when we get tired and go back to the WL to rest. We set firm rules with the kids on how much we will buy (like 1 major thing each), so they know not to pester us at every stop to buy something else. It's one of those times that my OCD planning skills are an asset instead of a liability. I seriously don't know how some of the people I encounter survive their trips.

 

[Monty]

I've had a few friends who went and hated it. I offer advice but they want to "wing it" or they ask for advice and ignore it. Some people think that wherever they go they can grab a guide map and decide what they want when they get there. For a lot of vacations that's doable, it may not always be the ideal approach but they manage to enjoy themselves. At WDW that simply can't work but some refuse to accept it.

I had one friend who decided not to go when I suggested he should start planning as far in advance as possible but at least six months ahead. He said no vacation was worth that.

I've also had friends who asked for and took my advice and came home overjoyed and thanked me effusively for saving them from disaster because they saw the miserable souls who hadn't planned.

Help those you can and pity those you can't.

 

[Krack]

I had one friend who decided not to go when I suggested he should start planning as far in advance as possible but at least six months ahead. He said no vacation was worth that.

In many ways, I sympathize with your friend. It wasn't always like this and, imo, it shouldn't be like this. I've never experienced this in California (although I moved away before World of Color and my understanding is that WoC has started the reservations and planning encroachment at DLR).

I'll admit, while at one time in my life I had the patience to play Disney Commando, I just don't have the patience for it anymore; the amount and length of my trips to WDW have suffered as a result. There has to be a better system. A first-time visitor to EPCOT should be able to walk past a restaurant, say to themselves "Ooh, this looks good. I'd like to eat here," and have a reasonable chance at getting a table within 15-20 minutes. I think the current system hurts Disney more than it realizes in the long term (as evidenced by your friend's comment).

 

[becanya]

Honestly though, I think this is why I love Disney so much. For me, anticipation has always been 75% of the fun (well...the percentage might differ depending on the trip). Disney makes it so easy to anticipate and plan and scheme. For our trip in two weeks to St. John, I'm not that excited yet because there just isn't that much information out there about the island! I can't picture myself there, or anticipate my meals, or any of the things I love to do in the buildup to a vacation.

Even the first year we went to Disney, as far ahead as I planned (at least 9 months out), I was totally unprepared for the trip. It wasn't until I came home that I got bit by the disney bug and started to obsessively plot our return. Now so much of our life revolves around Disney that even my professors refer to me as a disney freak.

The only trip I have EVER been on that was better for winging it than obsessively planning was our trip to Ireland. That is definitely a trip where it's better to just go with the flow. But I swear, I thought the anxiety of not knowing where we were going to stay every night was going to kill me.

 

[Bri1121]

The last trip we sort of winged it! I booked 3 weeks before we left. I was able to score a few reservations for breakfast and dinner and just hoped for the best. We were only there a short time so it wasn't bad. It was new years day when we arrived and the weather was great! 80 degrees! We really didnt have much of a plan and decided our parks according to out reservations. It worked! We had a great time!! Love Disney!

This time I have some more time to plan and I love doing it!!

 

[WDW2010]

It all depends, last year in February 2010 it was my first time ever going to WDW. Honestly, I never researched much about WDW at all, which yes it was a bad idea and I HIGHLY recommend that everyone does before a trip that has never been. BUT, for whatever reason my girlfriend and I had a game plan right when we got into the parks when we got our maps and figured things out.

 

[ParkMan73]

I see this both ways...

A couple of visits ago, we couldn't find a place for dinner. The kids were hungry, my wife was frustrated, and all I wanted to do was find a place to eat in Epcot. We ended up at the CS at the China pavilion and then stood in line for 45 minutes. It was terrible. So, I do think this ADR business is not all it's made out to be.

On the other hand, I think the OP's friend went with an unfortunate mindset. I think to do Disney & really enjoy it, you have to leave your frustrations at home. Be prepared for long lines, crowds, hot weather, etc. and LOVE it. You're there to have fun, so enjoy it and don't sweat the small things!

 

[redshoesrock]

I've had a few friends who went and hated it. I offer advice but they want to "wing it" or they ask for advice and ignore it. Some people think that wherever they go they can grab a guide map and decide what they want when they get there. For a lot of vacations that's doable, it may not always be the ideal approach but they manage to enjoy themselves. At WDW that simply can't work but some refuse to accept it.

I had one friend who decided not to go when I suggested he should start planning as far in advance as possible but at least six months ahead. He said no vacation was worth that.

I've also had friends who asked for and took my advice and came home overjoyed and thanked me effusively for saving them from disaster because they saw the miserable souls who hadn't planned.

Help those you can and pity those you can't.

A Disney vacation is much different from other kinds of vacations. It requires a lot of planning that something like going to the beach or camping for the weekend does not. Hundreds of rides, shows, and attractions; dozens upon dozens of restaurants; resort after resort after resort each with their own unique theming and style. It's a lot to keep together, and it's perfectly logical to see that for some people it's overwhelming. Heck, I can think of at least three different Orlando-based businesses who sole job it is to plan your entire Disney vacation, pick you up, drive you around, and guide you in-hand through every theme park.

 

[Rob562]

I've had a few friends who went and hated it. I offer advice but they want to "wing it" or they ask for advice and ignore it. Some people think that wherever they go they can grab a guide map and decide what they want when they get there. For a lot of vacations that's doable, it may not always be the ideal approach but they manage to enjoy themselves. At WDW that simply can't work but some refuse to accept it.

Precisely. Too many people approach a trip to WDW the same as they would their local amusement park... They just walk in, *maybe* grab a park map, and then decide where to go and what to do. Sure, as a Disney veteran I tour the parks without much of a plan, but people really need to know what there is to see and do in the first place.

I equate a Disney trip to your first trip to France (the real one, not World Showcase)
Would you go to Paris without knowing ANYTHING about the city? Sure, you might know there's the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Louvre somewhere in the city, but you'd at least do SOME research as to how to get around, what else to see, etc.

-Rob

 

[cheezbat]

I understand the 'winging it' mentality of many guests...it's just such a shame that in this day and age it doesn't really work well at Disney anymore...I think that is something Disney needs to think about...how to cater to folks like that. Because there are plenty of them out there, and if they had a horrible time because of being unprepared, well, Disney may have just lost a guest.

 

[Krack]

Because there are plenty of them out there, and if they had a horrible time because of being unprepared, well, Disney may have just lost a guest.

Not just "a guest", but potentially the kids and their future families. That's what I mean when I say I feel the company is not thinking about what is best in the long-term. These parks are successful because kids get hooked and keep coming back over and over again over their lifetimes (hooking their kids and continuing the cycle). If a set of potential "lifetime addict" adults get aggravated and won't return, you run the risk of losing out on generations of future addicts (the kids and those kids' kids). That's not the kind of thing that's easy to show in a balance sheet (unlike a 2% increase in food sales for a particular year), but it is potentially just as important (if not more important) to the value of the company in the long-term.

 

[rct247]

These are the same guests that ask every attraction greeter what the attraction is (without reading the sign or looking at a guidemap). If it is a ride, they decide to ride based on wait or ask if it has Fastpass or if it is a show they skip it. As a result they get frustrated that not every attraction has Fastpass, they have to wait in between Fastpasses, the lines are too long, and that there aren't enough rides.

Their loss.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I understand the 'winging it' mentality of many guests...it's just such a shame that in this day and age it doesn't really work well at Disney anymore...I think that is something Disney needs to think about...how to cater to folks like that. Because there are plenty of them out there, and if they had a horrible time because of being unprepared, well, Disney may have just lost a guest.

Very true! A previous poster noted that you wouldn't go to France without extensive research and planning, but lots of people skip that by going with some big commercial tour group. i.e. let them take you to the hot places at the right times for a premium just so you can see as much as possible without much effort from you. We saw this all over Europe as well when we were in Yellowstone and Grand Teton a few years ago. If done at Disney- I guess instead of big tour buses, you could have highly certified Disney land guides who could take tour groups from ride/attraction to ride/attraction as well as fast pass booths and they decide in advance where you dine to take out all of the choice/guesswork. It's not the way I'd want to do it, but I know people who would eat this up.

 

[Silver Figment]

Yeah, things most likely won't turn out for the best if you don't go in with some sort of plan.

 

[CaptainWinter]

She made some comment on how they were headed to Hollywood Studios this morning at 10:30ish. Then she proceeds to update her Facebook status about how hot and crowded it was there and how they can't find a place to eat, how they have to wait so long in line for everything etc etc.

It's also probably worth mentioning that if you are going to wing it, heading to DHS on a hot midday is just about the worst possible scenario.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I wouldnt go anywhere, not even a city break without a rough plan. A guaranteed way to get ripped off or miss a one off opperchancity.

 

[stratman50th]

A first-time visitor to EPCOT should be able to walk past a restaurant, say to themselves "Ooh, this looks good. I'd like to eat here," and have a reasonable chance at getting a table within 15-20 minutes. I think the current system hurts Disney more than it realizes in the long term (as evidenced by your friend's comment).

I can't agree more. It really has changed the way we do our Disney vacations. This is the first year ever that I have ADR's for all but one night of our trip, and I am not on a food plan. I just want to be assured to be able to eat at a decent sit down restaurant! I didn't quote you, but I'm not a commando any longer either. I want to do my vacations at a slower pace now. My 16 year old daughter can be part commando, but even she enjoys laying out by the pool during the week.

I understand the 'winging it' mentality of many guests...it's just such a shame that in this day and age it doesn't really work well at Disney anymore...I think that is something Disney needs to think about...how to cater to folks like that. Because there are plenty of them out there, and if they had a horrible time because of being unprepared, well, Disney may have just lost a guest.

This is a really good point. Do they have a "Disney World vacation for Dummies" book? I've been reading a few of them lately and they're set up as a reference guide. You don't have to read them from cover to cover in chapter order to get what you need/want. Disney should do something like this for the non-planner. A kind of guide book where you really could pick it up in the beginning of the day and use it. They would do well to think outside of the box. Disney can't rely on people to be able to do this all by themselves. Believe me, I run a help desk and the things people can't, or more importantly "won't" do for themselves is amazing. There's a lot of folks out there that just want to be spoon fed. Right or wrong, these people also have money to spend.

I've had friends that stayed outside the parks. Had a surprise in having another family with kids (they were sister-in law, same age, kids also the same age) show up as tag a long's a week before departure time. One of those, "oh, we can get off then, we'll just all go together!" Won't it be great!........................... Um, no, it won't, and wasn't.
They never got out the door before noon. They didn't get into the parks till 1:00ish. It was hot, the kids were cranky. They didn't know where to go or what to do. The two families didn't have the same taste in what they liked to do, so basically they did nothing but walk around. The were back at the condo by 6:00ish. This was a week long vacation (yeah right, a vacation). Needless to say he couldn't understand what my family thought was such a big deal about Disney. Surely not some place to go every year!.

I've also had cousins that went down and said it wasn't anything to get excited about. Well, no. Not if you went to Orlando to see how many malls and outlet stores you could hit in a week. The really hilarious thing is one cousin's In laws live down there and the FIL, retired, works at the MK gate collecting tickets! To be fair, the kids do go to visit their grandparents alone now and do get to go to the parks and enjoy.
But truly, first impressions can really color your opinion and make it so you aren't interested, but spread the word that the place is no fun.
Oops, sorry. Sometimes I get on a roll and go on and on.

 

[thewhitequeen]

There are a lot of people that don't like it, but it doesn't make it wrong. People have different tastes.

I agree with Krack regarding the reservation system - I liked Disney much more years ago.

 

[allgar]

Planning is certainly important when hitting the World, and I wholeheartedly agree that the anticipation and excited built through planning is really such a big part of the experience for me.... BUT! I'm also one of these people who does like some spontaneity, i don't want to be on a schedule from this place to that place, get over here for a reso at this time, yada yada yada.

To help with that I do a couple of things, I choose to visit the parks at lower volume times (generally May), and I make strategic ADRs to the places I just don't want to miss, and let the rest fall as it may. I adopt a "hakuna matata" attitude that wherever I eat is fine and rarely do I find significant waits. When i do encounter a large wait for a restaurant, well, I make a decision, do I really want to eat here, or is there something else that i would like to have. If i really really want the place with the line-up, then I wait, and the reward is all the greater when I do get it.

That said, low volume time or not, if you want to ride rides, and get the most out of your day in the parks, you can't really show up at 10:30 and expect to not wait in lines. You can, of course, but you will be very disappointed and you'll only have yourself to blame for long lines and waits. Get there early, learn to use fastpasses and all of a sudden your day is filled with rides and attractions, and significantly less waiting around.