Friends didn't enjoy their WDW trips

yaya74

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Just want to share an interesting observation.. For most of us here on Dis, upon returning from a WDW trip, we couldn't wait to go back to WDW. HOWEVER, the fact isn't so in my circle of friends in the real world. Several of my friends went to WDW recently. They were all excited about the trip before leaving.. But when they came back, they had nothing positive to say about their trips!! Some of them are first timers and some haven't been since childhood. They complained about the price, the food, the wait and the amount of walk!! In the meantime a few other friends who haven't been to WDW all dread about the thought of going to WDW and hope their children won't ask to go.

Does anyone else get the same observation as mine??
 
I get so bummed if my friends don't like their trip b/c then they can't understand why we love it SO much and think we are crazy for going back. But it's those families who don't plan or care to research. They walk into an unknown, get overwhelmed and then complain. My friends are coming home today and I cannot wait to hear about their trip.......just hope they enjoyed!
 
I'm sure there are thousands of stories like these every day. Disney World does not need everyone to love the place. In fact, they are trying to drive many people away using their high prices. They get at most 30 million people in the parks every year, and I think that that number is actually way too high. The US population alone is over 300 million, and that is ignoring all the visitors from Canada and overseas. Disney does not need everyone to love them. They need about 5% of people to really like them, and then another 2-3% to try them out just once.
 
Well - I can also complain about the price, the food, the waits and the amount of walking. The difference is that I still can't wait to go back.

I did an online search and I'm intrigued in the various "vacation personality" quizzes that exist on the web that propose to determine what type of vacation you would most enjoy. I have a feeling none would come back and say go to WDW, but who knows.
 
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Just want to share an interesting observation.. For most of us here on Dis, upon returning from a WDW trip, we couldn't wait to go back to WDW. HOWEVER, the fact isn't so in my circle of friends in the real world. Several of my friends went to WDW recently. They were all excited about the trip before leaving.. But when they came back, they had nothing positive to say about their trips!! Some of them are first timers and some haven't been since childhood. They complained about the price, the food, the wait and the amount of walk!! In the meantime a few other friends who haven't been to WDW all dread about the thought of going to WDW and hope their children won't ask to go.

Does anyone else get the same observation as mine??

Big brother won't let you stray from the company line, or you'll get moved.
 
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With both prices and crowds up, is it really that shocking that some people don't want to go? Everyone values different things in their vacation experiences.
 
I have had several friends who have reported that they didn't enjoy WDW after they returned. However, all of them went during very busy, very hot and humid times and none of them did any pre-planning, so they didn't have any FPs or ADRs, slept in and strolled into the parks during very crowded times at 10:00 am or later. I'm sure some of them think we are nuts for going all the time because they don't know the experience can be very different.
 


I’d say our social circle has a mixed bag of reactions to Disney.

Most of our friends are in the “young family” phase of life where we’re exploring ways to vacation as family / with young kids. Figuring out what works, what doesn’t, what’s fun, what’s a good use of vacation dollars.

Some come back saying they had a lot of fun, some come back with the “glad I checked that box so I don’t have to do it again” mindset.

Oddly, the ones I ‘assume’ will hate it come back loving it, and the ones I figure will love it come back saying never again! So go figure. :-)
 
Yes, however, in my experience, overwhelmingly, the number of people that did not enjoy their vacation, did not plan anything important.

I'm not sure how they spend so much money, and then think Mikey or Pluto is gonn a come out and be their personal assistant or whatever their mindset is...

"It's so hot and humid" (umm, who goes on vacation and doesn't even look at the weather?)

"Early Morning What?" (Yeah, it's that thing you paid for by staying at the Contemp, but you missed because you let your kids watch some cartoon they've already seen 23 times, and then you got to MK at 9:30 am and it was SWAMPED.) How did that Walkup to BOG work out?

Actual quote I heard: "Fantasmic is that parade down Hollywood blvd at night."

Actual quote I heard fro a mother to her kids while they were waiting in line for a walkup to CM's: "Shut up! we are NOT here to see Mickey Mouse. We are here to EAT!"

"What's a Fastpass? I'm not paying for those things!"

Anytime I see someone uncrinkle a map and the family gathers around, I IMMEDIATELY think; "Griswolds."

"There aren't any 300 foot tall rollercoasters, what's the big deal?" ( Ummm, you have a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old.)

"You guys like Italian Food? This Tony's place has spaghetti!" (Tee hee)
 
Well there is an insane amount of walking.

Then there's FL--which is warm for a long portion of the years with months of it being downright hot hot hot so that impacts things

Depending on where they eat I would agree on the food cost part-some places I find the food reasonable and others I wouldn't go to because they are way too expensive.

It is pretty pricey. You can cut things here and there but not everything. Some people also don't want to have to cut things here and there to make it work.

If you haven't gone since childhood there may be a disconnect for some based on what it was then vs what it is now. Have you ever watched a movie you did as a kid and now as an adult you're like "I liked that? really?" It can happen.

Disney isn't nor should be for everyone and there's nothing wrong with that.

Also doesn't mean people did things wrong. We all vacation differently and sometimes places just don't work out. We hated Myrtle Beach and we did a good amount of planning for that, we got rained on for majority of our TX trip and for the most part was miserable with a few things here and there that were good and we did a good amount of planning for that too.
 
"It's so hot and humid" (umm, who goes on vacation and doesn't even look at the weather?)
There's humid...and then there's FL.

We get humidity here in my area. But it doesn't mean I'm not going to have a moment to get used to or try to get used to FL's humidity when I'm there in September. Heat and humidity can be tough for people including their tolerance for things-even the ones who are very used to humidity even FL's humidity.

The weather...is also not something anyone tells anyone to actually rely on. Have you not seen the threads "OMG the forecast says rain, what do I do" and everyone says "just wait til it's closer the weather can change". As far as storms, it can be raining in MK and not in AK or Epcot or DHS. It happens.

"What's a Fastpass? I'm not paying for those things!"
That's a common one but think about it....if you're outside an attraction and can snag a FP for it are you really going to complain that people in the SB line didn't know that FP was included in their ticket?

They should know, as that is a basic thing, but realistically it works out to someone's advantage to have people not realize this.

Anytime I see someone uncrinkle a map and the family gathers around, I IMMEDIATELY think; "Griswolds."
We love to look over the map and we do a ton of planning for trips in general. I just like looking at maps.
 
I was very disappointed when some friends that I helped plan their family trip at a cooler weather time etc. came back saying "Never again"! They said they enjoyed some of the rides and attractions but big theme park vacations like Disneyworld were not for them. Then the husband got a free trip to attend a convention in Anaheim with some tickets thrown in and he convinced the family to try Disneyland. They loved DL!!! They've gone back to DL since but still won't retry DW.
 
Disney World isn't for everyone, even with careful planning. Many people have the one and done theory about it, especially after the trip. I've been going since 1985 and I do miss the days (1990's) when you could almost wing it (no fast pass, ADR etc...). As the years have gone by almost every moment has to be planned down to exact time or hour long window. To some, this is part of the enjoyment. To others that isn't a "vacation" and I do understand that. I will admit, my yesteryear trips were much more enjoyable and relaxing. Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE Disney World, but some of the enjoyment from spontaneity and most certainly the AFFORDABILITY is missing, at least for my family. Our income increases do not match the inflated resort rates/fees and park ticket cost increases. Also, is there an uncrowded time of year anymore?! Sure doesn't seem like it. This is just my personal opinion and experience. Disney must be doing something right! They are attracting more and more visitors to the parks and resorts. And we are still going, however we stay at the value resorts now and our trips are a bit shorter as well.
 
I have heard all of the reason the above posters have said and more but at least at my temple word has gotten around if you want a good time come to me. I sit people down and explain all of this and will actually spreadsheet a plan out for them. I am surprised at the number of people who actually listen to me although every year I seem to get a few people who "We just can't get up on vacation before 11".
 
Those are people I would instantly tell to not go to Disney World. Just like if someone came to me and said "we go to bed by 8 pm every night", I would not suggest they take a trip to Las Vegas. Different strokes for different folks.
Oh I totally agree with you. I have caused a couple of marital spates over this. For a pair of couples I do all the planning for the wife and kids and they do rope drop and hit the parks commando style. The husbands? Sleep in and still complain about all the rides they miss because of the schedule.
 
I am surprised at the number of people who actually listen to me although every year I seem to get a few people who "We just can't get up on vacation before 11".

Not my touring style at all but BIL and family NEVER go to the park until late afternoon. They take their time with breakfast, spend some tie at the pool, arrive in the evening as the weather cools and the crowds thin and then close the parks. They love this touring style. Again, not for me.
 
I always have people asking my wife and I how they should plan. We give them ideas of what we do, show them our "trip calendar" with our ADR's, FP+ times, park times etc on it and we say that you can "wing it" or you can plan a lot and hopefully enjoy the benefits of planning. I tell them things I would do, but I tell them also they should do what they think will work for them. One of the managers that works under my wife is taking her daughter and 2 grandsons soon. She told them a lot, but said you have to make sure you plan your FP+ and meals accordingly and at the time windows or you may not be happy with what happens. She listened and did most of this on her own. Her daughter wanted to go and "wing it" and did not see why they had to plan so much out ahead of time. I hope them the best and will be curious to hear how the trip goes for them.

Even when my kids were small, we got up and got to the parks. That was the whole reason to be there. I can stay at resorts all over the US that have themed pools for a much lower cost than Disney. We do take breaks and are usually zigging when others are zagging. From our very firsts trips, we read a lot prior and learned all we could from books and online. From there, we developed a plan and adjusted each trip as WDW changed too. We have some friends that go more than us and love every trip. We love talking to them about it. Others have went and never bring it up again. I think I know how they felt about the trip.
 
So, literally, just before I found this thread, a co-worked came by my office and was asking me if Animal Kingdom was only open to people who stay on property or have a restaurant reservation.

Apparently, her son arrived at AK with family in tow and was told by a CM that the park was only open for resort guests or people who had a reservation.

After a long tortuous conversation with her, I figured out that he must have arrived during EMH and the CM told him that the park was only open for resort guests etc and maybe left the "right now" unspoken - or the son just didn't her that part.

So, the son made a breakfast reservation so he could go the park that day. And then he complained about the expense.

I tried to tell her that her son most likely misunderstood but she is convinced that the CM told him, for sure, that the park was only for resort guests and diners.
 

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