Do people leave Disney World disappointed?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I feel like every vacation can be disappointed if that’s the mind set. My last two vacations we had a tour I was looking forward to the most of the whole trip cancelled due to weather. I was disappointed! But tried not to let it ruin vacation. Probably my most disappointing vacation was when we went to Ireland and foot and mouth broke out so they closed all the national historical/cultural sites anc all the national parks! But we could still drive around and look at sheep. And drink beer. I still hope to go back and see the archeological sites.

This is OP. I had a tour cancelled on my last vacation also, and it was disappointing, but I am mostly okay with that because I didn't cause it and couldn't have predicted it, so we pivoted to something else that was also fun.

I think the thing that's bothering me about Disney is it seems like you theoretically can control it all, but then controlling it all is all on me. I don't want that pressure and stress. I travel for freedom from having to be so scheduled all the time and Disney seems like setting myself up for failure.

I know I could create a packed minute-by-minute itinerary for Chicago, for instance, but I never would because I'd be in a bad mood all the time. Maybe "in a bad mood" and "stressed" are what I really mean by disappointed.

I posted above about winging it when we'd be in Orlando to see family. Schedule things up to a point, and then just be comfortable going with the flow. My kids were just as happy at the hotel pool as they were in the parks, especially when it was hot out.

Mine too. I left feeling like why am I dragging myself around in the heat to wait in lines and spending $1K a day?

My favorite memory from Disney is when we didn't do the parks and went resort hopping to see the Christmas trees and the huge gingerbread house from Disney Springs using the free bus and my kids loved the free cable car rides and we got to see fireworks from the hotel where the gingerbread house was. We spent the day between wandering around Disney Springs and resort hopping to see all the fancy resorts, had ice cream in one. Disney Springs was magical during the Holidays.

I will tell you that it was horrific yesterday. My teenager was like, Mom I don't think I've seen so many people. And he visits Tysons often.

Terrible week to go. Don’t go Christmas, New Years or President’s week either. Some of the busiest weeks of the entire year. No clue why people go this week.

Not PP, but it's hard to find time off between work and school to go so everyone converges on those high traffic weeks of the calendar.
We are trying to avoid crowds and have limited availability to go, so we are going to suffer through August heat this coming summer. We'll try to make the best of it and I'm sure the trip will be memorable one way or another.

I agree it’s tricky to find a good time to go, but you can’t go one of the four busiest weeks and then be shocked it was extra crowded. August will be hot but significantly less crowded/far easier for lane lines and food. Other options to pull kids out of school. Or just go when it’s extra crowded.

Also do some small amount of research before you go. It's weird to try to buy the Lightning Lanes the same day then getting surprised there are none available. Everyone else bought them 3-7 days ago. You can't be both spontaneous and then disappointed that your lack of planning resulted in longer waits and frustration at peak times.

For the prices they charge, I think it’s fair to question why one needs to reserve a place in line for an amusement park ride many days in advance. It should not require that much planning.

This. My kids are older, so our Disney days are over, but with the premium pricing, everybody should have a premium experience. It shouldn’t be reserved for those that pay even more exorbitant fees.

Our Disney experience…. We went twice. Our kids were younger, so we took them out of school and went during a non-peak time. The trips were fun. Seeing the kids have fun was the best part. No desire to go back to Disney. We have probably been priced out and if we have the urge to go to an amusement park- Hershey, Busch Gardens or King’s Dominion is preferred. Don’t have to mortgage the farm and the rides are actually better.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I'm the poster that is on day 4 of the parks all of which I've been terribly sick for and sad that even 5 days in advanced I couldn’t get lightening lanes or the premier pass (sold out). For those that don't know even when you hit the exact timeframes, there are experiences that sell out / book out instantly. Bippity boppity boutique and Cinderella's castle are two that it was true for us. Tiffin and some other restaurants are equally competitive. Don't bother trying for day of reservations.

Well our kid vomited all over my husband while they were waiting in line and cast members jumped on it like you wouldn't believe.

They came with towels, offer to buy him and the kid new shirts. They were awesome.

Your window opened up 7 days before your trip. If you waited until 5 it was too late. Your lackadaisical attitude causes the disappointment. The illness is just bad luck.

I will never understand die hard Disney people!
I really do think a lot of them like logging in at exactly 7 days to pay more for whatever pass it is and “work the Disney system”.

Ok. Have you ever seen people log in right on the dot to sign up for a camp or other program? Make a hard to get dinner reservation? Buy tickets to a concert or show? Early bird gets the worm. It’s not “Disney” people, it’s organized people who go after what they want.

Except it isn't just one experience that sells out - its all of them. I feel bad looking at the 12x lines 10 people deep trying to get food. Knowing that family will spend 2 hours alone trying to get crappy food because they didn't know better that Disney can't actually serve all of the customers that come into the park. So if you didn't sign up 60+ days in advance you'll leave the park starving.

Heck it was a 20 minute wait just to buy a drink from a drink stand yesterday. It shouldn't be that hard.

Because once your window opens up you can book all the LL for the duration of your trip so if you have a 5 day trip, you have 12 days jump for planning your last day and you get the best times, not so much for the 1st day of your trip. Also there is mobile ordering where you place the order while you’re elsewhere and then mosey on over to pick it up when it’s ready so you don’t stand in line.

Mobile ordering was working about 50% of the time on our trip so far. Hence the long lines.

50% is hardly nothing. But you just want to be Debbie Downer and take no responsibility.

My mobile ordering pretty much at any major chain works 99.99% of the time. Disney somehow brainwashes people to think this is normal and you should pay for the privilege for it.

What shocked me was how dated Magic Kingdom is in places. Like "it's a small world" is the same as when I went 40 years ago and had lots of broken parts. Absolutely some of the newer rides are amazing, but the little kid area of Magic Kingdom shocked me at how not nice it is. And people will still line up for those rides.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I'm the poster that is on day 4 of the parks all of which I've been terribly sick for and sad that even 5 days in advanced I couldn’t get lightening lanes or the premier pass (sold out). For those that don't know even when you hit the exact timeframes, there are experiences that sell out / book out instantly. Bippity boppity boutique and Cinderella's castle are two that it was true for us. Tiffin and some other restaurants are equally competitive. Don't bother trying for day of reservations.

Well our kid vomited all over my husband while they were waiting in line and cast members jumped on it like you wouldn't believe.

They came with towels, offer to buy him and the kid new shirts. They were awesome.

Your window opened up 7 days before your trip. If you waited until 5 it was too late. Your lackadaisical attitude causes the disappointment. The illness is just bad luck.

I will never understand die hard Disney people!
I really do think a lot of them like logging in at exactly 7 days to pay more for whatever pass it is and “work the Disney system”.

Ok. Have you ever seen people log in right on the dot to sign up for a camp or other program? Make a hard to get dinner reservation? Buy tickets to a concert or show? Early bird gets the worm. It’s not “Disney” people, it’s organized people who go after what they want.

Except it isn't just one experience that sells out - its all of them. I feel bad looking at the 12x lines 10 people deep trying to get food. Knowing that family will spend 2 hours alone trying to get crappy food because they didn't know better that Disney can't actually serve all of the customers that come into the park. So if you didn't sign up 60+ days in advance you'll leave the park starving.

Heck it was a 20 minute wait just to buy a drink from a drink stand yesterday. It shouldn't be that hard.

Because once your window opens up you can book all the LL for the duration of your trip so if you have a 5 day trip, you have 12 days jump for planning your last day and you get the best times, not so much for the 1st day of your trip. Also there is mobile ordering where you place the order while you’re elsewhere and then mosey on over to pick it up when it’s ready so you don’t stand in line.

Mobile ordering was working about 50% of the time on our trip so far. Hence the long lines.

50% is hardly nothing. But you just want to be Debbie Downer and take no responsibility.

My mobile ordering pretty much at any major chain works 99.99% of the time. Disney somehow brainwashes people to think this is normal and you should pay for the privilege for it.

What shocked me was how dated Magic Kingdom is in places. Like "it's a small world" is the same as when I went 40 years ago and had lots of broken parts. Absolutely some of the newer rides are amazing, but the little kid area of Magic Kingdom shocked me at how not nice it is. And people will still line up for those rides.

It not changing is the entire point in the old section. People go for nostalgia sake and to show their kids. If they did a complete overhaul and updated it there would be outrage.

[Anonymous]

Whether you choose to spend your vacation at Disney or not, surely other aspects of your lives require planning, organization, and $$$.

*No one mentioned it yet, but there are apps you can purchase to book your lightning lanes for you, if it's too laborious for you.
*Using the multi-pass and single lightning lanes (where applicable) are much easier than the previous system which required getting up and booking exactly @ 7 AM the day of. The 7 day + option to at least book 3 LLs is much less burdensome.
*I've purchased the premier passes before too, and they do take away all the planning burden, for a pretty hefty price. On peak days, the ones for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios do tend to sell out, so Disney does limit them somewhat, and plenty of people are willing to pay the price.
* Yes, Disney is pricing out people who can't shell out the $$, but the same is true for many non-Disney hotels, restaurants, flights, cruises, skip-the-line attractions and tours. None of these are basic needs, so that's just the way the things work now.

[Anonymous]

Disney is now too much work for the expense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disney is now too much work for the expense.

Too bad more people don’t agree! It wouldn’t be so crowded,

They have not yet found the price where demand meets supply. Demand is still more.

[Anonymous]

My kids are 13 and 16. We never did Disney and never will. It’s too expensive and I can’t stand any kind of heat or crowds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disney is now too much work for the expense.

Agree 100%. They’re making a profit though so they’re gonna keep doing what they’re doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disney is now too much work for the expense.

Agree 100%. They’re making a profit though so they’re gonna keep doing what they’re doing.

Record profit. More profit than ever before. Even though we are still not back to 2019 attendance numbers, profit per person is so much higher that total profit is up. And now they manage staffing levels based on attendance numbers they know in advance (thanks to dated tickets and park reservations which they did not haw before COVID.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 13 and 16. We never did Disney and never will. It’s too expensive and I can’t stand any kind of heat or crowds.

Thanks for sharing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disney is now too much work for the expense.

Agree 100%. They’re making a profit though so they’re gonna keep doing what they’re doing.

And that's ok, they just priced out most Americans, unless people are taking on credit card debt to go to Disney.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I am convinced that outside of Ikea, it is #1 business that directly causes divorces. It is filled with midwestern families that save for years to take their kids. Then they have to deal with the reality that after airfare, hotels, park tickets it is still a lot more than they budgeted for. They are stuck staring at a world of spray painted styrofoam, kids screaming and the reality that they will only be able to ride 3 rides a day because they couldn't afford fast passes. And the only thing they are both thinking is FML.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disney is now too much work for the expense.

Agree 100%. They’re making a profit though so they’re gonna keep doing what they’re doing.

Record profit. More profit than ever before. Even though we are still not back to 2019 attendance numbers, profit per person is so much higher that total profit is up. And now they manage staffing levels based on attendance numbers they know in advance (thanks to dated tickets and park reservations which they did not haw before COVID.)

They were not staffed appropriately for the crowds this week. 20 minutes to purchase a beverage, 20 minutes or more to "meet" random characters in the park (so not the insanely popular ones). It felt like everything you wants to do was a line, wait, etc. Put vending machines in. They work faster than people...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to Disney 20 years ago before kids. We had Park Hopper passes and reservations at one character meal and Victorian & Albert's. We pretty much just wandered around and had fun. Meanwhile my friend with kids had a travel agent with a packed written agenda, which sounded like torture to me.

Now it seems like the only way to go is even more complicated than the travel agent's agenda with various tricks and constraints. Can you go without a carefully curated plan? Have you been disappointed, whether with or without a detailed plan?

I did not feel disappointed. Loved it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I am convinced that outside of Ikea, it is #1 business that directly causes divorces. It is filled with midwestern families that save for years to take their kids. Then they have to deal with the reality that after airfare, hotels, park tickets it is still a lot more than they budgeted for. They are stuck staring at a world of spray painted styrofoam, kids screaming and the reality that they will only be able to ride 3 rides a day because they couldn't afford fast passes. And the only thing they are both thinking is FML.

Nice fantasy but they are the ones who go year after year.