Why is WDW so stressful, expensiv and overcrowded these days? The fear of dissapointment from a 2020-First-Timer

[BraveGirl]

I admit I chuckled when I read that you want to sleep in but also don't want to deal with crowds. I think this might not be the trip for you.

I haven't read through all 6 pages of posts so I don't know if this has already been suggested, but I would say your best bet - instead of complaining about the parties - would be to GO to the party. Don't bother buying a park ticket for that day. Just get the party ticket. You can get into the park a little before 4 and stay till midnight. You'll be able to ride everything you want during that time (most likely) and you don't need to wake up early.

 

[thomas998]

My only piece of advice is that you should suck it up and get to the parks right at park open. If you wait till 10 or 11, you will have given up 2 to 3 prime hours of park storming, when the lines are much shorter. By 11am the full crowd will be there, and you'll experience long lines everywhere. You can get so much done in that first couple of hours of touring. I love to sleep in, but would never do it on a Disney park visit.

Very true. Not to mention the Florida weather is more conducive to getting to the parks early, and then taking a break mid day when it is more likely to rain or at the very least will be hotter than you know where. We've done all sorts of times from rope drop to close and everything in between... and overall I think we've decided that an early arrival with a mid day break is the best option for WDW at that time of the year.

 

[thomas998]

Going in with a negative attitude is a quick way to ensure a negative experience. If you are worried about park hours at Magic Kingdom you shouldn't be going during party season. October - December is full of party nights. It's been this way for years. If the Magic Kingdom is the main goal consider visiting during the summer or spring. Otherwise plan your day accordingly. October is a very busy month at Walt Disney World and has been for quite some time. It's Food & Wine Festival, the peak of convention season and Halloween. On party days at Magic Kingdom if you get there at opening it's possible to do everything with short waits. The closer it gets to the party time the busier the park gets. Keep that in mind. Epcot is packed Fri - Sun during the month of October as well. With a little planning though it's still possible to have a great time.

Of course the flip side of that is if you go in with big expectations you will almost certainly be disappointed. I think the OP's biggest problem is they are planning a trip where they already know that what they want isn't what they will get. Sleeping in late and going to a relatively uncrowded park would be possible if you went to a different place. DL might actually give them more of what they are looking for as far as being able to sleep late and not have huge crowds. We've done DL in October and during the week days it really didn't seem to get horribly crowded until the AP folks started to show up in the evening as for whatever reason the local don't seem capable of getting bored with Fantasmic.

Of course the problem with DL is that you couldn't spend 14 days there and not be bored out of your mind. You would need to plan some side trips to other places in SoCal... but frankly the more I think about it the more I think they would have a much better time at DL than WDW.

 

[mouse_luv]

Eek, green is not a very becoming color on you. Besides, the OP was simply expressing concern over what has become a complicated, stunningly expensive, trip to WDW.

Had they planned it out, it wouldn't be so shocking. It's Disney, not a trip to the beach, these things are known ahead of time. I'm not the only one that reacted the way in which I did, yet everyone jumps me. Nice.

 

[mouse_luv]

Maybe you should read ALL my posts - not just the first one -before you attack me....that would be nice

Again: I don't hate it and WDW is a childhood dream (and more) for me! I just have the fear, to be overwhelmed by the masses and the stress because of FP etc.

And I wanted to start a conversation with all of you (the pros ) because I had the feeling that I'm not alone with this emotions. But this IS a little controversial I guess

When you are spending thousands of dollars for a 14day WDW-experience..... it is normal to hope ("expectation" would be too much), that the trip will be unique and wonderfull!
With the same amount of money.... we could have 2 vacations at the maldives at a 5*-all-inclusive-hotel.

But yeah, of course it was our desicion

We are 80-90% sure, that it will be wonderfull! Simply because it is WDW!

And I didn't attack you. Disney if you know how to properly look at everything and plan is not stressful and everything you have said it will be, especially for 14 days.

 

[tohoyoho]

Had they planned it out, it wouldn't be so shocking. It's Disney, not a trip to the beach, these things are known ahead of time. I'm not the only one that reacted the way in which I did, yet everyone jumps me. Nice.

Well, I plan a lot for years now. So I'm absolutely aware of it- theoretically!



So I can see, that (especially) the hours in the MK have been cut enormously. On the other hand.... the hours for HS this year were much more than the last years... we hope, that this will also be that way in 2020
Check out the opening hours 2016 or 2017. At non-party-days the MK had closing times at 11 p.m. - sometimes at midnight. At a few nights even at 2 a.m.
Since 2018 they reduced the hours. And that makes a huge difference

However, I really thought about it and made a plan for us, as the trip would have been in October 2019.
There are 4 days.... there we would had to get up at 6-7 a.m. so we can be at Rope Drop in the parks. (2 days MK and two days HS)
Then we would enyoy the park and the rides there and go back to FQ between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., take a 3-4 hours break and after that go back to the park at 5-6 p.m. that depends on the closing hour.

The other days would be the same game, only with the difference that we would get up at 8 a.m and be in the parks at 9-10 a.m. The breaks would have been 2-3 hours

That calmed me down a bit now.

Since the parking times are not so accurate 180 days before, we would then possibly make a little more park hopping....

The most important thing for us is to be really flexible and not stressed.

Therefore .... we book "only" 3 dessert parties, the BOG-breakfast and the Celebration at the top-Party.

 

[tohoyoho]

You are handling this challenging thread so gracefully!

Personally, I think it's good going into it being aware of the potential negative aspects. It helps you measure your expectations so you aren't let down when something less than magical happens.

My advice would be to use jet lag to your advantage and plan some earlier days toward the start of your trip. You'll probably find yourself waking up before six without even wanting to. I am also not a morning person, but there is something so pleasant about being at the parks when they open. Everything is fresh, the parks are less crowded and the weather is usually more pleasant than later in the day.

I hope you have an enjoyable and relaxing trip!

Thank you so much! This is really nice!

the jet lag isn't there anymore because we already are at florida for like 2 weeks at that time

 

[Dog Ate Mouse]

Okay here is from a 56 year old's perspective. Our daughter is married and I have a beautiful grandson. The darling wife and I have been going to WDW by ourselves as a couple for years now. There is so much to do and see. First off, crowds at times due get a little overwhelming at a park or two and so that is why we always purchase our park hopper passes. When the crowd is way to large at one park we hop to another. Then we jump back or go to the park that we jumped from on another day. Never had an issue or a bad or negative experience ever.

All our meals we do plan out and have reservations for places to eat in advance and just show up to where we are eating and get seated in very reasonable fashion.

Your resort is next to Port Orleans Riverside where you can rent bikes and boats and go on fishing excursion or catch a boat right from your resort to Down Town Disney (Sorry but Downtown Disney is an old habit that I still prefer to use). At DTD there are places to eat and shop and you can go get tickets for Cirque or go bowling or go see a movie.

Trust me, you will be tired at the end of your days from all the walking and things to do. Never a dull or boring moment. What makes Disney a downer is showing up with a negative attitude from the start that you will not like it or why did we come here. I honestly feel that you will go on vacation to WDW and have your mind blown as a first timer. I have had this experience twice in my life at WDW. Once with the kids when they were smaller and again as the first time the Wife and I went as a couple by ourselves. WDW is honestly what you make of it, but if you allow yourself to be a kid again and just let loose and have fun, you will see and enjoy all WDW has to offer and experience the magic that is truly there. So honestly just go, have fun, get a picture with Mickey and Minnie, go in the haunted Mansion, experience the shows and all the attractions and eat at great dining experiences. Just go and have fun and when it is all over and you are going back home from your vacation, I think you will have a big smile on your face and a lot of questions why didn't I do this or eat here and so on. And that is how future WDW vacations start all over again.

 

[Djsfantasi]

You can only fast pass a few rides and most of the really good rides are booked.

Complain, complain, complain!

I book my fastpasses one after another in the morning. There is sufficient time between them to experience an attraction between them. I ALSO arrive first thing, and get another popular attraction with no wait. Then, one my fastpasses are all used, while I am waiting in line for the next fastpass, I book a fourth. Then a fifth...And so on and so forth!

Another planning technique is to buy a Park Hopper. DON’T book fastpasses for your morning park. Go early when the lines are short. You’ll get to see a couple of premier attractions and a couple of other attractions. Then go to a second park for which you’ve booked fastpasses. You can see 7-8 E ticket attractions and 5-6 C-D tickets in one day!

 

[WheelsUpRN]

I didn’t read all of the other posts so I’m sorry if I’m repeating what’s already been said...

I would not arrive at the MK at 10-11 am. That is absolutely the beginning of the most crowded hours of the day.

I suggest doing RD (which means arrive at least 45 minutes BEFORE park opening) at MK on a party day. It tends to be less crowded on those days.

If you arrive early, you will be able to do most rides with zero to little wait. You will be amazed at how much you can get done.

Choose your fast passes for 9, 10, 11 and you can get another one after you tap into the fast pass line of your 3rd FP.

After your third FP ride, have a nice lunch, use your 4th FP if you chose to get one and go back to your hotel and enjoy the resort. Choose evening activities elsewhere.

If you want to experience MK in the evening, go on a non-party night with plans to get dinner, do a little shopping, and watch the fireworks (from the hub - worth the crowds at least once).

As for the other parks, since you’re not an early riser, plan on getting to the parks at 3 or 4 and plan your fast passes accordingly.

Honestly, we have always toured partial days in the parks. We like the balance of parks, resort time, and Disney Springs.

Try to focus on enjoying your trip and not reading negative posts. Passporter and The Official Guide are great books that get you excited about going and teach you how to plan your days.

Have a great vacation!

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Since the advent of forums like this and articles focusing on must do Disney vacations people's anxiety and disappointment in their vacations has gone up. It used to be you went to WDW and had your fun and came home hopefully pretty happy. Now, if you go in here and read all the advice and about others experiences you think if you miss this restaurant or that ride, or the meet and greet isn't quite as magical as another posters you are missing out on something. It feeds this ultra planning, I learned on my last trip to relax a bit, I guess we have been enough times that missing a ride or two and not eating at every favorite restaurant is no big deal.

 

[larryz]

Please adjust your sleep schedule and go to every park at rope drop.

They won't have to. They're coming from Germany, where they're already 4 or 5 hours ahead of East Coast time.

 

[larryz]

Since the advent of forums like this and articles focusing on must do Disney vacations people's anxiety and disappointment in their vacations has gone up. It used to be you went to WDW and had your fun and came home hopefully pretty happy. Now, if you go in here and read all the advice and about others experiences you think if you miss this restaurant or that ride, or the meet and greet isn't quite as magical as another posters you are missing out on something.

So it's not your fault if you don't enjoy your trip... it's ours.

 

[tohoyoho]

They won't have to. They're coming from Germany, where they're already 4 or 5 hours ahead of East Coast time.

No, "sadly" not. "We already are 2 weeks in florida by this time. So the JL isn't there anymore.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

So it's not your fault if you don't enjoy your trip... it's ours.

I don't see "fault" I am nearly explaining the mechanism that causes these expectations. Yes, you and I are part of that.

 

[Djsfantasi]

So it's not your fault if you don't enjoy your trip... it's ours.

So “fault” is such a strong word, with connotations which I personally believe are unwarranted.

One contributes to the problem by not recognizing there are options and not recognizing that if one chooses not to avail themselves of these ameliorative options, this choice may have negative consequences.

Also, we must recognize that our forum participation may contribute to an environment which contributes to stress.

Neither of these imply any fault on their own!