The “wealthy” is not going to work

[kalel8145]

The planning doesn't particularly bother me because I like Disney. When it comes to, say, making a dentist's appointment, that will sit on my To Do list for an average of 4 months, ha ha, so I think motivation is definitely key - if I found planning for Disney about as fun as doing my taxes, I can see how the planning would be overwhelming.

I actually don't think it's the planning that overwhelms people, I think it's the research. Once you know what you need to do it's not too bad, but figuring everything out would be a lot for someone totally unfamiliar.

I think it also a change of philosophy for me as well. My younger self was go go go. Having a kid slowed that down. As I have aged i tend to do more strolling then power walking through the parks. I'll get there when I get there.

 

[DisneyHead123]

I think it also a change of philosophy for me as well. My younger self was go go go. Having a kid slowed that down. As I have aged i tend to do more strolling then power walking through the parks. I'll get there when I get there.

Kinda same, kinda the exact opposite for me. The way my life was structured pre-child, I had lots of free time. Post baby, I have both slowed down (instead of flying through paperwork in the evenings, little man might want me to sing the Little Baby Bum "boo boo song" about 50 times) but life has sped up a lot. Right now I am busy at work and trying to coordinate my part for the themed 'days' that his daycare sent home for Teacher Appreciation Week - from what I hear it only gets wilder once they get into soccer, music lessons, having homework, that type of thing! People say Disney is more complicated now - I say it's all of life. All of life is just more complicated in 2022!

 

[kalel8145]

Kinda same, kinda the exact opposite for me. The way my life was structured pre-child, I had lots of free time. Post baby, I have both slowed down (instead of flying through paperwork in the evenings, little man might want me to sing the Little Baby Bum "boo boo song" about 50 times) but life has sped up a lot. Right now I am busy at work and trying to coordinate my part for the themed 'days' that his daycare sent home for Teacher Appreciation Week - from what I hear it only gets wilder once they get into soccer, music lessons, having homework, that type of thing! People say Disney is more complicated now - I say it's all of life. All of life is just more complicated in 2022!

I hear that. This year the son is 21 so a whole new adventure starts this trip.

 

[Trackmaster]

Hi- I am honestly not being argumentative. And this is not directed to you, just saw this in your post.

I don't understand when people mention endless planning. We(My group of 4) are going in June with my sister and her family (our mother and sister's family of 4, so total of 9 people). We took one Sunday and booked our resort, bought park tickets and such through the web site, coordinated flights, all in about 1-2 hours. When it got to 60 days out, we booked a handful of dining reservations, and our park reservations while texting each other and on the app.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind planning, and I actually enjoy it a lot. My point is just that most people seem to hate it for some reason. When I engage in discussions and work towards finding the truth and creating solutions, I try to leave personal preferences out of it. The first step to determining why people hate Disney so much is understanding that this is one of the many reasons that people are angry.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Hi- I am honestly not being argumentative. And this is not directed to you, just saw this in your post.

I don't understand when people mention endless planning. We(My group of 4) are going in June with my sister and her family (our mother and sister's family of 4, so total of 9 people). We took one Sunday and booked our resort, bought park tickets and such through the web site, coordinated flights, all in about 1-2 hours. When it got to 60 days out, we booked a handful of dining reservations, and our park reservations while texting each other and on the app.

We are done with all our planning. We will meet up at the airport and ride to WDW together. We literally planned the whole thing in a matter of about 4 hours between 2 days. All that's left is to enjoy the trip. What is everyone planning that I am missing?

We are not newbies. A trip at least once every other year, and 3 in the last 2 years. Booked tons of dining, fast passes when they still had them, tours (behind the seeds, wonderful. Hope it comes back.) , never felt stress from it and was always done rather quickly. With most of our trips in the middle of summer cause of school. This is has always been a mystery to me.

I feel like I am missing out on something I should be doing. I don't wanna miss out.

Now that we have Genie +, there is LESS advance planning.
You won't be able to get the LLs you want when you get there when they are all gone by 7:03AM but that's all by design.

 

[Jrb1979]

My family has never been planners for vacation. The only planning we do is our flight, hotel and rental car. It's a big reason we are down on Disney. Too much planning required to enjoy it. It's why Universal is so appealing to us. It's much more relaxed atmosphere.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

I think it depends on your particular circumstances (big group with mixed ages vs. small group of adults or older kids; 'easy' booking straight through the website or some manner of speciality booking, etc.) Also, I don't know about you, but I know that my job involves doing elebenty billion reams of paperwork on my laptop. So what seems like another day of clickety-click-click-clicking away as usual to me can see like a big task to people in my family who aren't used to that. Even the idea of making a park reservation seemed like a lot to some people - it kind of made me laugh because I am used to sitting in meetings where the 'meeting' goes dead silent because it's a bunch of people sitting around filling out forms on their laptops, going "Ok, if you'll just bear with us for a minute, we're just completing a few forms..." So no, to me, making a park reservation didn't feel like a lot, but to my family members who don't understand why Panera doesn't take orders over the phone anymore and makes you use that daggone app, it feels like a lot.

Currently planning, and I have already spent a looooot of time planning due to research and being on hold though. Again, that might not apply to someone doing a very straightforward, 'easy' trip. For example:

- Preliminary research regarding the best rate for us (which can really take some time).

- Needed a special conference rate. Had to call for that. On the phone for elebenty billion hours.

- Must have gotten a newbie on one of those phone calls, because the tickets we purchases just - disappeared. Poof. On the credit card statement but not on anyone's account. On hold for about 40 minutes at a time with about 4 or 5 different people until someone could locate them and link them to the My Disney Experience (keeping in mind we've been before and have that set up, to a newbie learning My Disney Experience and getting a large group registered and linked would be a whole 'nother project.)

- Very large party, and, as always, someone's account refused to link up with the rest of the group on MDE. Another call, got everyone linked, linked our tickets, our resort, made park reservations.

- One family mentions they are going to go to two different parks on a particular day, because the average person isn't aware of different ticket types. Drat. Back on the phone for elebenty billion hours to change them to park hoppers because with our tickets that can't be done on the website.

- I start playing around with dining reservations even though our window isn't open, and realize I can't book a large party at CRT. Double drat. Hop online to research why this is the case and if I should try booking two tables online or risk calling a CM who might be able to get us one table (but by the time we get through to them the restaurant could be full, on the day reservations open.)

- Somebody needs a birthday cake. Don't want the standard mouse ears cake. Long rabbit hole of research. Supposedly there are resort bakeries but for whatever reason those numbers are hard to find on the actual Disney website, although there are threads devoted to them (with the needed numbers) on Disney message boards.

- Do we want a cabana on the aforementioned birthday? How the heck do we reserve it? Back to the laptop to figure that out. Think we have it figured out when I realize that half day rentals are no longer available and there is a limit to the number of people allowed in each cabana, with unclear rules about how flexible that limit is. None of this information is prominent or clear on the Disney site, it takes digging to find.

- Somebody wants Bippity Boppity Boutique. Not sure if it will be open. If it is open, not sure what the process for making reservations will be. Currently watching like a hawk.

- Somewhere in there, remember to add stroller rentals and PhotoPass.

- Research transportation from the airport. Sunshine Flyer is super cute - that's a go, right? Let's just spend more time reading some reviews. Oh... wait. They may or may not have luggage handling by the time of our trip. And angry reviewers are saying they don't even send the cute train buses sometimes even though you think that's what you're paying for, for your kids. Mears? Ride service? But what about carseats? We'll come back to that one.

I haven't even gotten to the following tasks:

- Make ADRs for each day the second our window opens (which involved me figuring out what my work schedule is going to be months from now to make sure I would be available).

- Add Genie to our tickets and watch video tutorials on how to use it, so that our fingers are ready to fly at 7:00 am on our first park day to score a good ride.

- Same for watching Lightning Lane tutorials.

- Make a rough plan of how we will tackle the parks each day in terms of target Genie+ ride, possible LL ride, areas where we will be focused (elderly members of the group can't walk far,) nap times, mealtimes. Of course Genie or LL could throw a big wrench in that as you can't pick your time on Genie and on LL it might change on you, but really nothing we can do about that.

To be fair, part of this is probably due to the fact that when people do these huge family trips, they usually go somewhere easy and open ended, like the beach, where the general plan is "wake up, head to the beach at some point, kids run around, figure out dinner in the evening." If you were trying to take a huge group of mixed ages to, say, Europe, that would no doubt be pretty complex too. So I don't think this is 100% on Disney - but I do think they are trending towards making the process more complex, not simpler.

Your post gave me anxiety just reading it. I'd rather go to jail than go to WDW and have to go through this. LOL

 

[Disstevefan1]

My family has never been planners for vacation. The only planning we do is our flight, hotel and rental car. It's a big reason we are down on Disney. Too much planning required to enjoy it. It's why Universal is so appealing to us. It's much more relaxed atmosphere.

Universal Orlando is great! if you stay at the Hard Rock. Portofino, Royal Pacific, you get FREE express passes with your stay including check in day and check out day!

 

[Trackmaster]

Now that we have Genie +, there is LESS advance planning.
You won't be able to get the LLs you want when you get there when they are all gone by 7:03AM but that's all by design.

I think that people are referring to park reservations, dining reservations, stuff like that. This is all motivated by lean management business practices. Disney wants to provide as little staffing and resources as possible in a given day to get through each park day. That requires help from the guests to give Disney a heads up.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Disney roll out an option to upcharge people for more spontaneity and to offer discounts for pre-planning in the future. That would be more economically fair.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Your post gave me anxiety just reading it. I'd rather go to jail than go to WDW and have to go through this. LOL

That’s just the planning through Disney - not securing matching family shirts on Etsy, airline toddler kits, planning an in-room surprise party, maybe sending the niece and nephews a pre-trip package “from Mickey and Tink”…

(Develops muscle tick and eye spasm) So… much… FUN!!

 

[jasminethecat]

That’s just the planning through Disney - not securing matching family shirts on Etsy, airline toddler kits, planning an in-room surprise party, maybe sending the niece and nephews a pre-trip package “from Mickey and Tink”…

(Develops muscle tick and eye spasm) So… much… FUN!!

I feel like you're dramatizing your planning just a bit compared to what the typical family of 2-4 experiences. Clearly you like planning stuff out in your own life, but realize that your life does not need to be so busy now or when your kids get a little older. It's a choice and you don't need to keep up with anyone else to be happy.

But if you're still looking for more ways to plan, why not make custom 365-day countdown photo calendars personalized for each family member going? Maybe you could pick out entrees for every meal in advance, and also select alternative meals in case the first choice meal isn't available! Or start tracking everyone's bowel movements 90 days out and plan appropriate bathroom breaks for each person by age group. I bet you could do that in MS Excel and maybe make a slide deck out of it with emojis!

I am not trying to be mean, I am just saying that you seem to be complaining about stuff which you are clearly taking upon yourself. There is nothing wrong with the stuff you're doing, just don't think all of those things are needed to have a successful Disney trip. The real magic is watching the kids (and the kids-at-heart) you all bring along light up at both expected and unexpected moments.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Everytime I read the title to this thread my brain reads it as "The wealthy will not work"

 

[eliza61nyc]

That’s just the planning through Disney - not securing matching family shirts on Etsy, airline toddler kits, planning an in-room surprise party, maybe sending the niece and nephews a pre-trip package “from Mickey and Tink”…

(Develops muscle tick and eye spasm) So… much… FUN!!

Hey don't laugh, I know a mom that THRIVES on this type of stuff.
I've seen her throw together a last minute Disney trip for 15 across 3 different resorts for 7 days without skipping a beat.
She is an alpha planner, I'm trying to convince her to monetize that quirk and open up her own business. She'll do well

 

[Lilofan]

Everytime I read the title to this thread my brain reads it as "The wealthy will not work"

If some get to wealth status through hard work, savings investing and or your money works harder than you do, ( real estate, long term investor in markets etc ) why the need to work. they FIRE. ( Financially Independent Retire Early ). There is the Show Off Wealth , and the Stealth Wealth ( The millionaire next door ).

 

[DisneyHead123]

I feel like you're dramatizing your planning just a bit compared to what the typical family of 2-4 experiences. Clearly you like planning stuff out in your own life, but realize that your life does not need to be so busy now or when your kids get a little older. It's a choice and you don't need to keep up with anyone else to be happy.

But if you're still looking for more ways to plan, why not make custom 365-day countdown photo calendars personalized for each family member going? Maybe you could pick out entrees for every meal in advance, and also select alternative meals in case the first choice meal isn't available! Or start tracking everyone's bowel movements 90 days out and plan appropriate bathroom breaks for each person by age group. I bet you could do that in MS Excel and maybe make a slide deck out of it with emojis!

I am not trying to be mean, I am just saying that you seem to be complaining about stuff which you are clearly taking upon yourself. There is nothing wrong with the stuff you're doing, just don't think all of those things are needed to have a successful Disney trip. The real magic is watching the kids (and the kids-at-heart) you all bring along light up at both expected and unexpected moments.

So this is a trip for four families spanning 3 generations, and like I said, I think that this is part of what gets referenced when people complain about how hard it is to plan for Disney. Many don’t realize that this may be the only time they’re planning a structured trip for very young children or very large groups - and so it seems like “Disney” planning is uniquely difficult. I also said, though, that I still think planning has trended towards being relatively more difficult. More steps, website not updated to keep up with needed info, less customer service.

Regarding just winging it vs. uber planning - I feel that’s a good approach if you’re youngish and child free. I had my winging it years in life. With a lot of young kids, though, I think the planning does pay off. Does it amount to spoiling them? Maybe. That’s a legit criticism, I think. (But probably every generation worries about how much more the next one has, in a prosperous society.) But they do love having all the special activities and they don’t know the planning that goes into it. Again, I do worry about the “upping the ante” effect there - the more kids see their friends and cousins and people on YouTube doing something, the more they think they need to as well. But it’s not like we’ve tried the character meals, in room parties, cakes and such and they’ve turned out to be all hype - quite the opposite. They really do love that stuff. So to me it’s worth it to plan - I’m a working mom of a toddler, I’m busy all the time either way.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Hey don't laugh, I know a mom that THRIVES on this type of stuff.
I've seen her throw together a last minute Disney trip for 15 across 3 different resorts for 7 days without skipping a beat.
She is an alpha planner, I'm trying to convince her to monetize that quirk and open up her own business. She'll do well

I will sign on as an employee if she does! I am the same way, I have planned trips to cities I never even visited, I'm the kind of guy who reads travel guides for leisure reading lol.

 

[Trackmaster]

I feel like you're dramatizing your planning just a bit compared to what the typical family of 2-4 experiences. Clearly you like planning stuff out in your own life, but realize that your life does not need to be so busy now or when your kids get a little older. It's a choice and you don't need to keep up with anyone else to be happy.

But if you're still looking for more ways to plan, why not make custom 365-day countdown photo calendars personalized for each family member going? Maybe you could pick out entrees for every meal in advance, and also select alternative meals in case the first choice meal isn't available! Or start tracking everyone's bowel movements 90 days out and plan appropriate bathroom breaks for each person by age group. I bet you could do that in MS Excel and maybe make a slide deck out of it with emojis!

I am not trying to be mean, I am just saying that you seem to be complaining about stuff which you are clearly taking upon yourself. There is nothing wrong with the stuff you're doing, just don't think all of those things are needed to have a successful Disney trip. The real magic is watching the kids (and the kids-at-heart) you all bring along light up at both expected and unexpected moments.

Exactly. The posts that people were making where they go through all of the planning that you need for a Disney vacation are highlighting the planning that people choose to do, and the planning that would be unavoidable regardless of what Disney did. I also think that people make the mistake of bringing groups that are too large. Keep the groups as small as possible, and try to only bring people who want to do similar stuff as you at parks. If you want to ride until you drop all day, maybe try to avoid bringing human cargo who will just sit on the curb and wait for you and sulk the whole time.

 

[EngineerMom]

When you got people attending the theme parks for 2 hours just so they can get a Figment popcorn holder -- to then sell and turn a profit -- then it's clear something could use some tweaking. WDW "should" be making money off that customer, not the other way around.

WOW that is SO SAD!
DH keeps saying he misses the paper fastpasses.
We used them most of the time but if we decided to leave the park we would give them away. It was spreading the Disney magic and people were so happy. I cannot image selling them and I never saw anyone selling them.

 

[Chef Mickey]

There is plenty of movement between economic classes. You will more likely than not be both "poor" and "wealthy" in your lifetime.

Talking about groups in generalities grossly misunderstands the progression through economic status of most Americans. You aren't entitled to a trip to Disney anyway.

 

[eliza61nyc]

There is plenty of movement between economic classes. You will more likely than not be both "poor" and "wealthy" in your lifetime.

Talking about groups in generalities grossly misunderstands the progression through economic status of most Americans. You aren't entitled to a trip to Disney anyway.

Tell me about it!

I will say that is the genuine behind Disney marketing people now feel that they have to get to Disney at least once.
And I am stunned at how many people are personally, seriously mad that they can't afford to go. Do that many people here really get everything they want?