They just never listen...

[Figaro928]

My sister-in law and her family went to the world six months before we did & started planning around the same time. We have the same family dynamic (two young kids) and were both going in an off season and both staying at value resorts. But man did we have different experiences! It drove me nuts because she is usually an uber control freak and I'm usually more laid back. All I wanted to do was talk vacation planning with her and compare itineraries but she just kept saying, "Nahh, We are just going to wing it" shudder.... No ADR's; no idea what FP's were; no plan of which park to go on which day...

When she saw our pictures she was amazed by how many characters we got to meet - she had no idea about character meals. They barely used their dining plan and when they did - they didn't make the most of it. Didn't go on half the rides they could've because they weren't sure if they'd be too scary for the little ones. Didn't know about rider swap so went on no E-tickets. AND completely skipped Epcot because it's "an adult park"

 

[LAKid53]

In agreement with all the comments. Given how overwhelming WDW can be for first timers, it is best to plan, get the right accommodations for your group, and most importantly, have fun and don't sweat the small stuff. But to spend the time and money to go to the Mouse House and see and do so very little to me is puzzling. You can go anywhere and swim at the pool. Disney is SO much more than a pool....and shopping at DTD.

I was in a similar situation. Gave the best advice I could to someone at work and she came back hating Disney and won't go again. That's what she got for ignoring my advice and expertise.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I helped my coworker plan a trip to Disney. Gave him all the resources. A book, list of attractions that need FP+, a chart with all his dining options (plus how to make reservations, best character dining etc.), gave him a schedule with all the park hours including EMH, and a schedule of all the parades, fireworks, and shows.

Well he just got back today. I was so excited to hear what he had to say.... He said "it was ok". That's it? I asked what he did, he said the first day they walked around MK, AK, and DHS just to see what they have. What??? He's only there for 4 days... Mega waste of time. He said it got too hot walking around all those parks, so they just went shopping in DD. Again, what??? I asked if he rode anything that day, he said no.

The next day he went to MK for the full day, I asked about pirates and HM, he had no idea what I was talking about. He said he rode the train, BTMR, SM, saw the parade and fireworks, and ate at the crystal palace. That was it.

Next day they went to epcot, stayed an hour, got bored and went back to the hotel to swim. That's it for day 3.

Next they went to DHS for the day. Didn't get the TSM FP+ like I suggested, nor did they get the fantasmic dining package, nor did they even see fantasmic! instead his wife shopped and they rode the ToT and the great movie ride. That's it.

Last day was AK. They rode the KS and the train. I asked about dinosaur and EE.... He said they didn't get to those rides. -_- but they did love the rainforest cafe.

So overall he liked the experience but found the rides boring with very little to do -_- They barely made any ADR like I recommended and found it difficult to get them the day of... Hmmm.

However, he had nothing but great things to say about the service, the CMs, and how they take care of everything for you.

So many people come back from Disney with this same attitude. I've seen it countless times with people I've tried to help. Now, I just skip helping and let them figure out.

Bottom line: People don't listen. People think they are smarter. People think they "know" what to do even if they've never been. Not only do they think they know what to do, they think it was just "OK" when they come back because they are convincved they saw and did everything the right way. If you ask about something they didn't do, they'll just say it was lame or some other stupid excuse.

People really don't get it and don't care to put the effort in planning or listening to the advice of others more experienced.

I had a person ask me what's so great about it? They didn't even know the difference between Disneyland and DisneyWorld. They never even saw the Haunted Mansion or knew it existed. When I told them about it, it's just like, "Oh, I wouldn't like that anyway." Pirates was "nothing like the movie."

In the end, it's just ignorance and arrogance that prevents people from truly having a good experience at Disney. I don't care who you are...if you go in thinking it's hot, crowded, "kiddie" and boring, you're going to exactly that out of it. If you go visit the Tiki Room expecting to be thrilled, it's going to disappoint you. If you think Disney is Cedar Point, it will disappoint you. If you think it won't be crowded, it will disappoint you. If you don't want to plan anything, it will disappoint you. If you are too arrogant to see the Hall of Presidents, The American Adventure, or SSE because they are too "boring," you will miss out on what Disney has to offer.

Sure, Disney might not be for you, but you have to go in with the right mindset and be willing to see everything. Try it. You may enjoy it.

It's the new instant gratification, ADD, what does it do for ME, culture we live in.

 

[tlev]

My husband's cousin called me in March for some Disney tips for the trip she planned spur of the moment that was coming up in a few days. Anna and Elsa were still at Epcot and meeting them was a priority. I explained to her how we had met them when we were there a couple of weeks eariler (Akershus ressie at 8:05 and getting in line for the meet and greet before rope drop). I told her that if she could not get a reservation then she needed to be at Epcot 30 minutes or more before rope drop and head straight to Norway when Epcot opened. Otherwise the line would be CRAZY long. I also provided her with several very useful websites. Anyway, I later learned that she did not listen to a single thing I said. She thought that Anna and Elsa were at Akershus so she stalked out the reservation table for cancellations and ended up getting a 9:30 reservation only to learn after getting in there that surpise surprise Anna and Elsa were not there. (Meanwhile the line for them kept growing and growing) She claimed that she asked two people and were told by both of them that Anna and Elsa met inside Akershus. Whatever! Should've listened to me. They ended up waiting 4 1/2 hours to see them. I have no sympathy. Why bother me for advice if you are not going to listen to what I tell you.

I had another situation with a very good friend. She and her family decided to go to Disney World the day after Christmas. I tried to tell her that this was the worst possible time to go especially for her first trip, but she did not listen. I also tried to tell her that she needed to stay at a Deluxe resort. (She and her husband are extremely wealthy and I knew what they would like.) Well she did not listen and booked Art of Animation. Don't get me wrong. This is a cute place and I've stayed at a value resort 3 times, but value is not there style. Needless to say they hated the resort and hated the crowds. They spent very little time in the park and did not accomplish very much at all. Basically they had a "decent" time and did not understand why I go to Disney World every year.

 

[Chip off the Dale]

Those that can, do. and plan great trips. Those that can't are doomed to misery and thats ok becasue the rest of us will find entertainment in that scenario. I have a friend who I let plan my trips because he know the parks and reservations like no bodies business, only way to go...

 

[Chef Mickey]

This mentality is true for so many things. People are experts today. They think whatever they experience is the reality and can't be questioned.

People just don't want to be wrong or admit they messed up. They'll just go to Disney and get in a line. They walk right by the best things Disney has to offer and they top it all off with, "It was too expensive."

 

[scoobygirl39541]

My husband's cousin called me in March for some Disney tips for the trip she planned spur of the moment that was coming up in a few days. Anna and Elsa were still at Epcot and meeting them was a priority. I explained to her how we had met them when we were there a couple of weeks eariler (Akershus ressie at 8:05 and getting in line for the meet and greet before rope drop). I told her that if she could not get a reservation then she needed to be at Epcot 30 minutes or more before rope drop and head straight to Norway when Epcot opened. Otherwise the line would be CRAZY long. I also provided her with several very useful websites. Anyway, I later learned that she did not listen to a single thing I said. She thought that Anna and Elsa were at Akershus so she stalked out the reservation table for cancellations and ended up getting a 9:30 reservation only to learn after getting in there that surpise surprise Anna and Elsa were not there. (Meanwhile the line for them kept growing and growing) She claimed that she asked two people and were told by both of them that Anna and Elsa met inside Akershus. Whatever! Should've listened to me. They ended up waiting 4 1/2 hours to see them. I have no sympathy. Why bother me for advice if you are not going to listen to what I tell you.

My cousin is taking her family down in July and her main priority is getting them to meet Elsa and Anna... Yeah. I keep telling then FP+, they NEED FP+. I hope they listen. Heck I'll even book it for them if they'd let me lol

But here's another disaster waiting to happen. They ask for my help, but will they listen? Probably not. But at least they're staying at BLT. That should be nice. Now to make everything else work for them lol

 

[Obi]

i've been asked to help plan trips in the past, like many of you. some listened and were grateful. some didn't and had a lousy time. i even had one text message me, while they were in disney, asking for tips. glad i could help them out.

i will plan out my trip months in advance. even as much as i plan, read and learn here from others, when i end up in the parks there is always something else/new that i learn while there and i add it to my knowledge for future trips. i find that it helps in planning what to do/see with who i am going with.

for instance, the last trip i went on was mostly about my 2 grandnieces, ages 2 and 3 at the time. it was their first time ever at disneyworld. i know that a lot of what we would do and see would revolve around them. so, i planned a lot of it geared towards them, with a little bit set aside for the adults in the group as well.

this upcoming trip, in october, will be my disneymoon. just me and the future wife to be. now, our trip will be more adult orientated. still will have just as much of a magical time as i did on the trip before...

 

[thomas998]

I helped my coworker plan a trip to Disney. Gave him all the resources. A book, list of attractions that need FP+, a chart with all his dining options (plus how to make reservations, best character dining etc.), gave him a schedule with all the park hours including EMH, and a schedule of all the parades, fireworks, and shows.

Well he just got back today. I was so excited to hear what he had to say.... He said "it was ok". That's it? I asked what he did, he said the first day they walked around MK, AK, and DHS just to see what they have. What??? He's only there for 4 days... Mega waste of time. He said it got too hot walking around all those parks, so they just went shopping in DD. Again, what??? I asked if he rode anything that day, he said no.

The next day he went to MK for the full day, I asked about pirates and HM, he had no idea what I was talking about. He said he rode the train, BTMR, SM, saw the parade and fireworks, and ate at the crystal palace. That was it.

Next day they went to epcot, stayed an hour, got bored and went back to the hotel to swim. That's it for day 3.

Next they went to DHS for the day. Didn't get the TSM FP+ like I suggested, nor did they get the fantasmic dining package, nor did they even see fantasmic! instead his wife shopped and they rode the ToT and the great movie ride. That's it.

Last day was AK. They rode the KS and the train. I asked about dinosaur and EE.... He said they didn't get to those rides. -_- but they did love the rainforest cafe.

So overall he liked the experience but found the rides boring with very little to do -_- They barely made any ADR like I recommended and found it difficult to get them the day of... Hmmm.

However, he had nothing but great things to say about the service, the CMs, and how they take care of everything for you.

You know there is a good chance that "he" didn't really want to go. It is entirely possible that he was forced to go by his wife and when you force someone to do something the end result is they will go through the motions but that is about it. If you go to anyplace because you want to you'll have a better experience than if you were forced to go. For me that is the part that is left out of the story... did he want to go in the first place or was he going because he was being told he needed to.

 

[docdebbi]

i'm reading this thread and wondering how people don't learn about places before they go.
i like to take the grandkids places.
lots of places,
lot of NEW places.
i get my tail online and research and research and research.
then, oh yeah, make plans from that research.

it's not just disney that you need to research and plan to get the maximum benefit. before the age of the internet, we use to buy guidebooks or go to a travel agent or AAA and get info and then, oh yeah, make plans.

the internet makes it so crazy easy that when folks don't bother to plan ahead, i don't even feel sorry for them. and if someone actually sits and teaches them, and they ignore it, they get what they deserve!

 

[thomas998]

I, like many others here, have offered advice to those heading to WDW who are not experienced in all the things needed to make to make it a memorable trip.

Last year I worked with a friend who was treating her son, DIL, two grandkids, her Exhub and his new wife, and her brother and his wife to a trip. I tried to talk her into renting a villa at DVC, but she went off property. I sat with her many days going over how she should handle things, making ADRs, planning fast pass, etc.

I knew going in that she had very high expectations for the trip and kept going over ways to make it all happen. I drove her and her husband to the airport and even as I did that I was spouting advice..(I should have just went along as a tour guide).

Anyway, all my advice went out the window as her ex was 'bored' and just wanted to stay at the hotel. Her son was a wet rag and didn't want to plan out anything, and did his best to undermine the entire trip. (As an aside, after the trip the son stopped talking to his father and barely speaks to his mother....)

When she came back, you could tell the trip was not what she had built up in her mind. She wanted to do everything right, but the ex and the son made the trip a nightmare. I felt horrible for her - knowing how great a well planned trip with a group who wants to do things and bond can be and how her trip was anything but....

I am heading back in September with a few friends....and they have told me straight up that I am planning and they are doing - whatever I have for them to do they know they will enjoy and have a great time.

The key to having a good time is wanting to have a good time. Sounds like the ex and son would have found a reason to poop on the parade no matter where or what it was.

 

[slappy magoo]

When I talk to people about movies, one sentiment that always makes my blood boil is when someone tells me a movie I thought was dumber than a sack of wet hammers was a movie I REALLY could have enjoyed if I let myself enjoy it. "You just gotta turn your brain off sometimes and then the movie's really good. Sure it doesn't make any sense and the acting's bad and the script is worse. But you know, if you just turn your brain off..." My philosophy is, a movie doesn't need to be an award-winner or art-house-y. I like plenty of z-grade horror flicks. But those movies had something going for them that turned my brain off for me. I enjoyed it so much I didn't have to will myself to be stupid to enjoy it.

But that's the way some people roll. THEY WANT TO TURN THEIR BRAINS OFF. Whether it's from watching a movie or drinking 3 pitchers of beer or partaking in some other relaxant...or going on vacation. They don't want to think, they don't want to plan. They just want to flip the switch and let things happen as they do.

Those people often hate a Disney trip. Sure, some of them will go with the flow and continually find things they enjoy doing with no plan, luck into restaurants that had a no-show and be happy with the results. But more often, planning ensures they can do things they might want to do. But because they don't plan at all, they don't think about what they might want to do because they don't want to think on a vacation. They don't know where rides are, they don't know about fastpasses, they don't know about the water parks and they don't want to know, because they're on vacation. They want to turn their brain off, lounge until they're ready to get up, eat when they're hungry (not when their reservations tell them it's time to eat), sleep late or stay out late or both (they usually go together). They want to go with the flow and in a place like WDW there are tens of thousands of individual flows all going in different directions at different times.

And don't get me wrong - it's OK to want that out of a vacation, just like it's OK to want that out of a movie, even though I personally can't stand it. Sometimes you just gotta engage and make things work, and sometimes it's that preparation that helps make everything seem to run so smoothly your brain turns off itself.

 

[SagamoreBeach]

I'm not one to plan that much detail into my vacations. I pick where I'm going and then I go. It works for me and I always enjoy myself.
Now...several years ago I took some friends to my place in North Conway, New Hampshire for the week. I picked out a day - Wednesday - and said I will be doing absolutely nothing on this day. This is my day to relax. You have brochures, maps, and a car filled with gas....leave me alone please. Well, they spent the whole day just staring at me like a bunch of bumps on a log. Never again, I said. LOL!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Theres more than one way to skin a cat, and just because you skin your pussy one way doesnt mean the way I peel my moggy is wrong, if it works for me.

 

[LAKid53]

I plan our trips. Now that we can get FP+, I bow to my daughter's desire to "I'm on vacation, I want to sleep in [okay, but your posterior will be up by 8:30 at the latest]" and make sure our FP+ aren't before 10:30. We make them for the rides we always want to ride in any of the 4 parks. Once done, we think about lunch, do a little wandering/shopping and then head back to the resort for a nap and the pool. Then it's back out for dinner, fireworks, EMH until we head back for some sleep and start all over again the next day. We've been enough times that we know what we want to do, ride wise, but I'm always finding things in our "let's just wander around the park" time that I've never seen/done before - that's how we found out there is a dino land in DAK. Our trips are planned but flexible for spontaneous things and changes we may have to make. And if we didn't do something planned, we always know we will be back in a few months (usually 2-3) and can do it then. However, like I said, our FP+ are done and ADRs chosen as soon as possible - some ADRs done way in advance.

As a Disney frequent flyer, I'm always willing to give advice to those first time visitors. But if you really, really want to visit in the middle of summer when half the planet and their kids are visiting, the temperature mirrors Mars, and want to "wing it", do not blame me OR Disney if you had a miserable time. And don't want to go back. Thanks. Because that means Disney will be just for those of us who love it and know how to handle it.

 

[Figaro928]

i'm reading this thread and wondering how people don't learn about places before they go.
i like to take the grandkids places.
lots of places,
lot of NEW places.
i get my tail online and research and research and research.
then, oh yeah, make plans from that research.

it's not just disney that you need to research and plan to get the maximum benefit. before the age of the internet, we use to buy guidebooks or go to a travel agent or AAA and get info and then, oh yeah, make plans.

the internet makes it so crazy easy that when folks don't bother to plan ahead, i don't even feel sorry for them. and if someone actually sits and teaches them, and they ignore it, they get what they deserve!

I research EVERY trip too. we are taking a mini vaca to a much smaller park in Lancaster PA this summer. It's bugging me out before there is so much LESS info out there for me to plan with as oppose to our WDW trip.

WDW vacationers are almost spoiled with how much information in out there when it comes to trip planning. Between word of mouth, mommy blogs, travel sites, youtube videos and awesome info sites like this, it amazes me that people don't take advantage of at least a little of it.

 

[docdebbi]

@catfury

that wouldn't be dutch wonderland would it?
we live nearby.
could tell you anything you want to know

 

[scoobygirl39541]

You know there is a good chance that "he" didn't really want to go. It is entirely possible that he was forced to go by his wife and when you force someone to do something the end result is they will go through the motions but that is about it. If you go to anyplace because you want to you'll have a better experience than if you were forced to go. For me that is the part that is left out of the story... did he want to go in the first place or was he going because he was being told he needed to.

oh no, he 100% wanted to go and it was his idea. He actually brought it up to his family because I talked so much about it at work. I never said he had a "bad" time. To him it was a good experience. However, we know he didn't have the best experience possible, but he didn't know any better, so to him it was ok. He's a pretty laid back guy to begin with.

 

[CheshireCat12]

@catfury

that wouldn't be dutch wonderland would it?
we live nearby.
could tell you anything you want to know

I've been there- isn't it more or less for little kids?

 

[jlsHouston]

You know....there's something to be said about vacationing with little planning. I'm not sure WDW is really a good candidate for that type of a trip, especially if you have never been there before but some people just aren't big planners. I can see how if you went to WDW during a very busy time with little planning and knowledge of your surroundings you would end up doing very few attractions, having difficulty finding availability at restaurants and just kind of missing our on a lot of the experience the parks and resorts offer.
After 3 years of multiple trips over multiple days there are still many rides I have either not gone on over my "fears" or because I get so focused on what I want to do, I walk by rides and attractions and don't even realize it until I get on this board and read about them.
I think what boggles our minds on the guests that spend the money for the trip and come away with a "meh" response to WDW, is we can't fathom how they could have missed the magic the place holds for all of us.
My first trip was nothing but 4 days of MK and character dining over 4th of July holiday. Was totally packed and hot and a blast. We did enough research to book a character dining for each day of our stay and after one hot day at MK we flipped our days and did MK at night the other 3 days so the heat was bearable. We didn't feel like we missed a thing avoiding the other parks. It was kind of tough walking out to the bus every day going right by that pool and they kids whining to swim and us saying not now we have to get to MAGIC KINGDOM!
Anyways, I am glad, I found this board after my 3rd trip to WDW, because it has really enhanced my experiences and unfortunately for my pocketbook I have become more and more of a disney addict. I've made so many great memories and I look forward to making a few more at WDW...