Most incredible thing you've heard when dealing with a Disney newbee.

JustInTime

JustInTime

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
I'm looking for some stories of things that you dealt with either by friends that were going to Disney for the first time, had just been or thing that you heard or dealt with in the parks themselves.

Mine was a friend that was going, just she and her husband, for their first trip to Orlando. She knew that I had been many times and wanted my advice. This was a few years back so it was considerably less complicated then it is now. Anyway, I gathered all my books, video's, brochures and paraphernalia together and let them read through it. They made a good choice and decided to stay 5 nights at the Poly. Back then ADR's really didn't exist...you made your reservations when you got there. I also spent one on one time with them trying my best to explain what they could expect when they got there. Long story short...they went and when they returned I asked them how they liked it. The reply was..."it was the most boring time we have ever had anywhere". When I asked why...what did they do... the response I got was. Well, all you do is walk around, there's nothing there to do except a few kiddie rides and a lot of buildings that we weren't interested in. When I asked about PoTC, or HM etc. they just looked at me funny. I said, didn't you go into any of the buildings and they said... No, those were just gift shops and we didn't want to buy anything. So they went for 4 days, if I remember correctly there were three parks at the time and never went in any of the rides or even knew they were there. They must have been listening really close when I talked to them.

They told me that the NEXT YEAR they were not going to waste anymore time or money they were going on a cruise. It wouldn't surprise me at all it they just stood on the dock and waved as the ship left port and came home and complained about how there was nothing to do on a cruise.
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What is crazy is that when I was a kid, the same thing happened to us! My parents didn't bother with a map and we only rode the rides that were visible from the outside!

Then, I took a friend for her birthday and July and she could not figure out where all the rides were! I kept having to point them out to her when we would enter a land.

I think the problem is that people are so accustomed to Six Flags and stuff that it is hard for people to wrap their heads around a show building and queue.
 
JustInTime

JustInTime

Well-Known Member
neoshinok said:
Got this exact kind of story from a co-worker who visited Epcot for the first time last year.

Me: Did you have a good time?
Him: Not really, just a lot of walking.
Me: What did you ride?
Him: The only ride I saw was Test Track and it had an hour wait, so I didn't go.
Me: What about Spaceship Earth? Inside the big ball?
Him: THERE'S A RIDE IN THERE!?
Me: Didn't you get a map?
Him: Didn't want to buy one.
Me: They're free!
Him: Oh, well that's pretty cool...

Seriously, how does this happen to people?
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Shockingly, I think this happens a lot more than we think! This was how my first Disney trip went in 1996. Except we only managed to find Wonders of Life and spend all day there. We didn't even know the World Showcase existed.
 
Mawg

Mawg

Well-Known Member
I think this is an overall problem for newbie’s. Disney World has its share of complexities that require quite a bit of research that a lot of newbies don’t know they need to do. Things like ADR’s 180 days out, Fast Passes, Child Swaps, touring plans, maps, busses and transportation. And the parks are so well themed it’s easy to miss attractions because they blend in so well with the lands. I think by the second trip of even the second day in a park things become easier and more enjoyable. Like getting there early can sure make the day more fun. Disney does their best at trying to educate people of these things but only if you book through them. If you stay off site and buy your tickets at the gate you don’t get their information packet. Any advice to give newbie’s from me would be research, research and research. Look at the maps before you go plan out your days at least tentatively, including where you’re eating and when, what parks you want to go to on what days, what shows you want to see and the show times and what order do you want to do the lands in. I wish it was not so complicated for newbies but it is.
I'm reminded by my recent trip to DL. We went to DIsneyland the first day and had no problems, the second day we went back to Disneyland but in the evening hopped over to California, I just wanted to get a feel for the park for the next day. We caught World of Color, but everything we tried to do that evening was kind of a bust. Rides were closed due to WofC, we missed shows left and right, standby lines were too long for some attractions. But the next day we went we knew our way around, knew what we needed to get fast passes for and knew which shows we still wanted to see. The second day in California adventure was much more successful, mainly because we got the feel for it the night before.
 
rufio

rufio

Well-Known Member
real mad hatter said:
I had a friend who went for the first time with his wife and 6 year old son.They just went onsite for five days,out of their fourteen and when they got home they said five days was long enough.He said I thought there was animals to see,I said in AK. Where is that located in MK. Yep,you guessed it.They thought MK was WDW. Never knew about the other three parks.Almost as nutty as one guy I know who got the train for the first time and visited Glasgow,says to me when he got home," What a city,it's covered in glass so if it rains,you don't get wet" He hadn't left the railway station.
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This much idiocy hurts my head! How do these people go to Disney World and have no idea what's there? I went for the first time in 2009 for 5 days, did very little research, and somehow made it to all four parks and both water parks... No, I didn't see everything, but that was due to time limitations.
 
WDW 3

WDW 3

Well-Known Member
Honestly I think some travel agents are to blame. With the exception of our wonderful forum members:)
We've known a few families that make arrangements that include off site condo, rental car, tickets to Universal, Seaworld and WDW and try to do everything and the pool at the condo. They come home having had a miserable time because there was too much to do and they didn't have time to wait in any lines because they paid for it and had to do it all. It's no wonder they are confused about all the parks blurring together.
 
B

Bob Saget

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
When I asked about PoTC, or HM etc. they just looked at me funny. I said, didn't you go into any of the buildings and they said... No, those were just gift shops and we didn't want to buy anything.
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Gift shop? Alriiiighty then.
Because if anything suggests: "T-shirts & Souvenirs at Value Prices", it's this place. :confused:
hm.jpg
 
dopeylover

dopeylover

Well-Known Member
When we were planning our Honeymoon, my husband had never been to WDW and really didn't know a lot about it. When I said we should stay for 10 days, he said, "I don't want to stay at an amusement park for 10 days! I can get through Six Flags in 8 hrs.!" :D

Proud to say he's a complete convert.
 
dopeylover

dopeylover

Well-Known Member
A personal favorite was trying to help a family member plan their very first visit during Christmas week. After sending them a 3 page e-mail, the response I received: "Thanks, but I think we'll just take it as it comes, we don't need to plan it out like that."
 
Goofnut1980

Goofnut1980

Well-Known Member
I get two... We are going to Disneyland, Epcot, MGM and Animal Kingdom... Uh don't you mean, Magic Kingdom, not Disneyland... and Hollywood studios.. not MGM...

The other is... We are going down to Disneyworld and can't wait to see Harry Potter Land
 
crispy

crispy

Well-Known Member
I was helping a friend and her husband plan their trip. Her husband asked, "So the Epcot park is located in the ball (mean Spaceship Earth), right?" I laughed and asked him how big he thought that ball was? I told him that I was going to quote him forever for asking that, and he was a good sport about it. :)
 
HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
I tried to help a coworker plan ONE ... yes, just ONE day at MK for a 14 day trip to central FL. We had several conversations that were just one facepalm after another.

ONE
ME: So, how many days are you planning on going to the Disney parks.
Her: Oh, just one.
ME: Um, OK- well, which park?
Her: Well, Disney World OF COURSE!:rolleyes:
ME: OK, the Magic Kingdom...the one with the castle, right?
Her: Yes, that's the one.
ME: Well, that should be fun. There's a lot to do there for the kids and the adults.
Her: Oh, we're only bringing our youngest and leaving the rest with the family that day since it's a kiddie park. :confused:

TWO
Her: So, are there any last minute tips you've got? I've planned out everying (shows me binder), but I figured maybe you have one or two little pointers.
ME: Well, what's your plan for Wishes & MSEP?
Her: What do you mean? The park closes at 8pm. Everything is closing early that week.
ME: Um, it's summer and the park is open until midnight.
Her: No, it can't be. I checked four times.
ME: Here's the calendar right here, Wishes at 10pm.
Her: Well we can't stay out that late...we have Sea World the next day, but maybe.

THREE (day before they are departing...toddlers in their group)
Her: Oh, what's the best way for getting our wagon around?
ME: You can't bring a wagon in the park.
Her: Sure you can.
ME: No, I'm really sure you can't.
Her: Why not?
ME: Does it really matter? I mean, there wouldn't be exceptions.

FOUR (upon their return)
ME: So, how was your trip?
Her: It was good, but I think we'll skip Disney next trip.
ME: Why? What happened?
Her: There's just really not much to do there.
ME: Well, what did you do?
Her: Well, we are always up super early but decided to eat breakfast with family and didn't arrive until nearly 10:30a.
ME: OK, so what did you do when you got there?
Her: Well, it started raining so there really wasn't anything we could do.
ME: Did you bring the ponchos like I suggested?
Her: No, we really didn't need them and my daughter didn't want more than an umbrella.
ME: A number of the attractions are inside.
Her: You don't understand- it was REALLY RAINING. So, we just waited at CRT for lunch.
ME: So, how was that?
Her: OK I guess, but the princesses seemed to ignore all of the kids but my daughter.
ME: So what did you do after lunch?
Her: We rode two rides, but it was still raining so we decided to leave.
ME: What time did you leave?
Her: Sometime between 2 and 3...the rain was just so bad.
ME: Did you go back later for fireworks?
Her: We probably should have since the rain cleared up, but we wanted to be well rested for Sea World. And to make matters worse, Sea World was a rain out the next day.
ME: Well, that's too bad...maybe next time.
Her: I doubt it...we made sure our youngest got on all of the big kid rides at Universal and she doesn't want to go back to Disney b/c it's for babies. :mad:

***I'd also like to note that this was her daughter's first trip to any Disney park...4 yrs old. :(
 
dopeylover

dopeylover

Well-Known Member
HouCuseChickie said:
I tried to help a coworker plan ONE ... yes, just ONE day at MK for a 14 day trip to central FL. We had several conversations that were just one facepalm after another.

ONE
ME: So, how many days are you planning on going to the Disney parks.
Her: Oh, just one.
ME: Um, OK- well, which park?
Her: Well, Disney World OF COURSE!:rolleyes:
ME: OK, the Magic Kingdom...the one with the castle, right?
Her: Yes, that's the one.
ME: Well, that should be fun. There's a lot to do there for the kids and the adults.
Her: Oh, we're only bringing our youngest and leaving the rest with the family that day since it's a kiddie park. :confused:

TWO
Her: So, are there any last minute tips you've got? I've planned out everying (shows me binder), but I figured maybe you have one or two little pointers.
ME: Well, what's your plan for Wishes & MSEP?
Her: What do you mean? The park closes at 8pm. Everything is closing early that week.
ME: Um, it's summer and the park is open until midnight.
Her: No, it can't be. I checked four times.
ME: Here's the calendar right here, Wishes at 10pm.
Her: Well we can't stay out that late...we have Sea World the next day, but maybe.

THREE (day before they are departing...toddlers in their group)
Her: Oh, what's the best way for getting our wagon around?
ME: You can't bring a wagon in the park.
Her: Sure you can.
ME: No, I'm really sure you can't.
Her: Why not?
ME: Does it really matter? I mean, there wouldn't be exceptions.

FOUR (upon their return)
ME: So, how was your trip?
Her: It was good, but I think we'll skip Disney next trip.
ME: Why? What happened?
Her: There's just really not much to do there.
ME: Well, what did you do?
Her: Well, we are always up super early but decided to eat breakfast with family and didn't arrive until nearly 10:30a.
ME: OK, so what did you do when you got there?
Her: Well, it started raining so there really wasn't anything we could do.
ME: Did you bring the ponchos like I suggested?
Her: No, we really didn't need them and my daughter didn't want more than an umbrella.
ME: A number of the attractions are inside.
Her: You don't understand- it was REALLY RAINING. So, we just waited at CRT for lunch.
ME: So, how was that?
Her: OK I guess, but the princesses seemed to ignore all of the kids but my daughter.
ME: So what did you do after lunch?
Her: We rode two rides, but it was still raining so we decided to leave.
ME: What time did you leave?
Her: Sometime between 2 and 3...the rain was just so bad.
ME: Did you go back later for fireworks?
Her: We probably should have since the rain cleared up, but we wanted to be well rested for Sea World. And to make matters worse, Sea World was a rain out the next day.
ME: Well, that's too bad...maybe next time.
Her: I doubt it...we made sure our youngest got on all of the big kid rides at Universal and she doesn't want to go back to Disney b/c it's for babies. :mad:

***I'd also like to note that this was her daughter's first trip to any Disney park...4 yrs old. :(
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I've heard similar things, and I guess it's not for everyone. I don't know her from a hill of beans, but from what you said she seems like someone who you can't tell her anything she doesn't already know. Even trying to help someone like that is an exercise in futility. Put your expertise elsewhere! ;)
 

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