Do people leave Disney World disappointed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I have learned from 14 pages of this thread is that Disney people will defend Disney like there's no tomorrow and just can't understand that some people aren't as into it as they are.

Yeah, and the reverse is true also.

It's odd. I don't like all inclusive or cruises, so I don't go into those threads to talk about them. The haters seem like they actually do want to go but won't admit they were wrong. They can't look away.

[Anonymous]

I think maybe they leave shell-shocked. From the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think maybe they leave shell-shocked. From the cost.

NP. I don't mind the cost. It's the lines. I waited 70 minutes for Ariel!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can see how if you are unfamiliar with the system and don't do some research, you will be disappointed when you get there.
I have never been, but we are going soon, and I am very much Type A so I familiarized myself with the parks, the hotels, the reservations system for dining and LLs, etc before I even booked the hotel. And I hired a Disney travel agent to talk through options, what she thought was best for our family, and to eventually book our stay.

Figuring out which parks to visit on which day, where we wanted to eat, if the dining plan is worth it, etc, etc was fun for me. (WDW Prep School is a great site!!) It took me a few hours to figure out while watching TV once the kids were down for the night - exactly the same amount of time it takes me to plan a week long trip overseas.

To me, this is not a trip where you just "wing it". If you do, I think you're setting yourself up for failure.

I'm a very type A person that had done absolutely all the advanced planning and still had a terrible experience. You can't plan around hotel rooms that are poorly maintained (including at their nicest level of on site hotels), buses and other transit that break down or aren't running, hoards of rolling ride closures, poor crowd control and insane lines for everything, or a Disney app that continually stops working so you have to keep going back to customer service to get it working again.

I totally would have had the patience to deal with hiccups here and there. But it really felt like every single thing we did was a giant hassle. From the beginning to the end of the trip. Our hotel room was a problem. Getting to the parks was a problem. Getting on a ride was a problem. Getting food was a problem. Getting out of the parks was a problem. Then we would get back to our hotel room and that would still be a problem and maintenance wouldn't have fixed things. So we decided to go to the pool to get out of the room while they came to do repairs and the pools would be closed because those had also been shut down.

I know this can sound like it's a me problem, but we don't have this on other vacations. We've traveled all over the world and have done vacations in all sorts of places and never had these sorts of problem before.

I have super fun memories of Disney as a kid, but was super disappointed about my experience more recently. It just wasn't fun. My sense was that Disney knows that people will come and pay anything so they've stopped investing in maintenance, quality or customer service.

[Anonymous]

Disney has always rewarded planning and touring strategy. Many of the tips I learned for my first trip in 2004 are still applicable today - wake up early, hit your “E ticket” must do attractions early, save the hot afternoons for shows and dining and relaxing, and use LL during peak seasons. If you don’t care for fireworks or parades, use those times to knock out more must do attractions.

Now that I’m a parent, it helps to be familiar with the park IP and to have kids (or memories of being a kid) where seeing your favorite character or ride come to life feels truly magical. People are right when they say the rides are better elsewhere. What Disney does best is theming and family entertainment, and they truly are the best in the business at what they do.

I think people get disappointed when they stay offsite, show up at 11 am during peak times, plan to “wing it”, and still expect to ride everything. Or they spend thousands of dollars on extras like Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and Cinderella’s Castle for their single park day and then wonder where the time went. Or they over schedule their kids well past their limits. Or, they discover for the first time at Disney, that their families simply do not enjoy theme parks and get sick on every ride. Go visit Busch Gardens or Kings Dominion for a day first to see if this sort of thing is even fun for you! It’s not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can see how if you are unfamiliar with the system and don't do some research, you will be disappointed when you get there.
I have never been, but we are going soon, and I am very much Type A so I familiarized myself with the parks, the hotels, the reservations system for dining and LLs, etc before I even booked the hotel. And I hired a Disney travel agent to talk through options, what she thought was best for our family, and to eventually book our stay.

Figuring out which parks to visit on which day, where we wanted to eat, if the dining plan is worth it, etc, etc was fun for me. (WDW Prep School is a great site!!) It took me a few hours to figure out while watching TV once the kids were down for the night - exactly the same amount of time it takes me to plan a week long trip overseas.

To me, this is not a trip where you just "wing it". If you do, I think you're setting yourself up for failure.

I'm a very type A person that had done absolutely all the advanced planning and still had a terrible experience. You can't plan around hotel rooms that are poorly maintained (including at their nicest level of on site hotels), buses and other transit that break down or aren't running, hoards of rolling ride closures, poor crowd control and insane lines for everything, or a Disney app that continually stops working so you have to keep going back to customer service to get it working again.

I totally would have had the patience to deal with hiccups here and there. But it really felt like every single thing we did was a giant hassle. From the beginning to the end of the trip. Our hotel room was a problem. Getting to the parks was a problem. Getting on a ride was a problem. Getting food was a problem. Getting out of the parks was a problem. Then we would get back to our hotel room and that would still be a problem and maintenance wouldn't have fixed things. So we decided to go to the pool to get out of the room while they came to do repairs and the pools would be closed because those had also been shut down.

I know this can sound like it's a me problem, but we don't have this on other vacations. We've traveled all over the world and have done vacations in all sorts of places and never had these sorts of problem before.

I have super fun memories of Disney as a kid, but was super disappointed about my experience more recently. It just wasn't fun. My sense was that Disney knows that people will come and pay anything so they've stopped investing in maintenance, quality or customer service.

It sounds like you got really, really unlucky your trip. I would message Disney. Any one of these things would be annoying, but the sheer amount in one go is just unacceptable. They probably won’t give you anything but this sort of info is good for them to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can see how if you are unfamiliar with the system and don't do some research, you will be disappointed when you get there.
I have never been, but we are going soon, and I am very much Type A so I familiarized myself with the parks, the hotels, the reservations system for dining and LLs, etc before I even booked the hotel. And I hired a Disney travel agent to talk through options, what she thought was best for our family, and to eventually book our stay.

Figuring out which parks to visit on which day, where we wanted to eat, if the dining plan is worth it, etc, etc was fun for me. (WDW Prep School is a great site!!) It took me a few hours to figure out while watching TV once the kids were down for the night - exactly the same amount of time it takes me to plan a week long trip overseas.

To me, this is not a trip where you just "wing it". If you do, I think you're setting yourself up for failure.

I'm a very type A person that had done absolutely all the advanced planning and still had a terrible experience. You can't plan around hotel rooms that are poorly maintained (including at their nicest level of on site hotels), buses and other transit that break down or aren't running, hoards of rolling ride closures, poor crowd control and insane lines for everything, or a Disney app that continually stops working so you have to keep going back to customer service to get it working again.

I totally would have had the patience to deal with hiccups here and there. But it really felt like every single thing we did was a giant hassle. From the beginning to the end of the trip. Our hotel room was a problem. Getting to the parks was a problem. Getting on a ride was a problem. Getting food was a problem. Getting out of the parks was a problem. Then we would get back to our hotel room and that would still be a problem and maintenance wouldn't have fixed things. So we decided to go to the pool to get out of the room while they came to do repairs and the pools would be closed because those had also been shut down.

I know this can sound like it's a me problem, but we don't have this on other vacations. We've traveled all over the world and have done vacations in all sorts of places and never had these sorts of problem before.

I have super fun memories of Disney as a kid, but was super disappointed about my experience more recently. It just wasn't fun. My sense was that Disney knows that people will come and pay anything so they've stopped investing in maintenance, quality or customer service.

It sounds like you got really, really unlucky your trip. I would message Disney. Any one of these things would be annoying, but the sheer amount in one go is just unacceptable. They probably won’t give you anything but this sort of info is good for them to know.

We did speak to Disney guest services at the end of the trip and they offered us replacement tickets. But neither my husband or kids were willing to go back. It really was just terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was just too crowded and too complicated for us. I didn't have much in the way of expectations but it's definitely not our vibe.

Universal is a little better for our family dynamic.

Agreed especially for tweens and teens. More thrill rides. Way less hassle and planning. We stayed at one of their deluxe hotels which included an unlimited fast pass for each of us. My sister just went into the park early took a break mid day at the and went back to the park at night without a fast pass. They said that worked well too although both visits were pre Epic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can see how if you are unfamiliar with the system and don't do some research, you will be disappointed when you get there.
I have never been, but we are going soon, and I am very much Type A so I familiarized myself with the parks, the hotels, the reservations system for dining and LLs, etc before I even booked the hotel. And I hired a Disney travel agent to talk through options, what she thought was best for our family, and to eventually book our stay.

Figuring out which parks to visit on which day, where we wanted to eat, if the dining plan is worth it, etc, etc was fun for me. (WDW Prep School is a great site!!) It took me a few hours to figure out while watching TV once the kids were down for the night - exactly the same amount of time it takes me to plan a week long trip overseas.

To me, this is not a trip where you just "wing it". If you do, I think you're setting yourself up for failure.

I'm a very type A person that had done absolutely all the advanced planning and still had a terrible experience. You can't plan around hotel rooms that are poorly maintained (including at their nicest level of on site hotels), buses and other transit that break down or aren't running, hoards of rolling ride closures, poor crowd control and insane lines for everything, or a Disney app that continually stops working so you have to keep going back to customer service to get it working again.

I totally would have had the patience to deal with hiccups here and there. But it really felt like every single thing we did was a giant hassle. From the beginning to the end of the trip. Our hotel room was a problem. Getting to the parks was a problem. Getting on a ride was a problem. Getting food was a problem. Getting out of the parks was a problem. Then we would get back to our hotel room and that would still be a problem and maintenance wouldn't have fixed things. So we decided to go to the pool to get out of the room while they came to do repairs and the pools would be closed because those had also been shut down.

I know this can sound like it's a me problem, but we don't have this on other vacations. We've traveled all over the world and have done vacations in all sorts of places and never had these sorts of problem before.

I have super fun memories of Disney as a kid, but was super disappointed about my experience more recently. It just wasn't fun. My sense was that Disney knows that people will come and pay anything so they've stopped investing in maintenance, quality or customer service.

How does customer service get an app working? If it's down doesn't that affect everyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if you are disappointed you are doing it wrong or didn't really want to go. There's always something that doesn't go right - like a ride is down or it rains - but that is with any travel. It is expensive, but so is everything - a concert ticket seems to start at $100 now, a ticket to a football game is more. The parks are open all day, you can do a mix of fancy restaurants and packing lunch. You can pick some top things to do and then easily roam around for the rest of the day.

Completely agree especially WRT the cost of concerts, plays, sporting events. Nosebleeds at KC (RIP) were $129pp.

People I talk to who didn’t like it were the same people dreading the trip in the first place.

I understand you’re comparing other events but there’s not much else my family goes to that’s $900 a day just for tickets.

You have a family of 8-9 people? That's like the size of 2 families so for a normal sized family of 4, $450 a day isn't obscene. They have a special now that is $109pp per day (4 park, 4 day).

That’s a very discounted price

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disney has always rewarded planning and touring strategy. Many of the tips I learned for my first trip in 2004 are still applicable today - wake up early, hit your “E ticket” must do attractions early, save the hot afternoons for shows and dining and relaxing, and use LL during peak seasons. If you don’t care for fireworks or parades, use those times to knock out more must do attractions.

Now that I’m a parent, it helps to be familiar with the park IP and to have kids (or memories of being a kid) where seeing your favorite character or ride come to life feels truly magical. People are right when they say the rides are better elsewhere. What Disney does best is theming and family entertainment, and they truly are the best in the business at what they do.

I think people get disappointed when they stay offsite, show up at 11 am during peak times, plan to “wing it”, and still expect to ride everything. Or they spend thousands of dollars on extras like Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and Cinderella’s Castle for their single park day and then wonder where the time went. Or they over schedule their kids well past their limits. Or, they discover for the first time at Disney, that their families simply do not enjoy theme parks and get sick on every ride. Go visit Busch Gardens or Kings Dominion for a day first to see if this sort of thing is even fun for you! It’s not for everyone.

Or you wake your kids up at the absolute crack of dawn to get in line for rope drop. And you're at the front of the line for the Disney Skyliner just like they advise on every Disney blog. Only for Disney to announce 20 minutes after it was supposed to start running that the Skyliner was going to be closed that morning. So then thousands of people run to the buses to try to take buses to the parks. But Disney hasn't adjusted their bus schedule so there aren't nearly enough buses. So you spend the next 3 hours in line trying to get on a bus to the park. Your kids have now been up for hours and have waited in hours and hours of lines with massive crowds that are not being controlled or organized at all with people shoving to the front and yelling. Your kids have been run over or hit by at least three motorized scooters who were shoving to the front to try to cut the line to get on a bus. Your kids are also hungry and have to use the bathroom. But if you get out of line you will never ever get on a bus. Then you get to the park and there's still another giant line to get in. And then every single ride at the park has a line because now you're no longer rope dropping, but are at the peak of crowds. Good thing you stayed on site and got up early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can see how if you are unfamiliar with the system and don't do some research, you will be disappointed when you get there.
I have never been, but we are going soon, and I am very much Type A so I familiarized myself with the parks, the hotels, the reservations system for dining and LLs, etc before I even booked the hotel. And I hired a Disney travel agent to talk through options, what she thought was best for our family, and to eventually book our stay.

Figuring out which parks to visit on which day, where we wanted to eat, if the dining plan is worth it, etc, etc was fun for me. (WDW Prep School is a great site!!) It took me a few hours to figure out while watching TV once the kids were down for the night - exactly the same amount of time it takes me to plan a week long trip overseas.

To me, this is not a trip where you just "wing it". If you do, I think you're setting yourself up for failure.

I'm a very type A person that had done absolutely all the advanced planning and still had a terrible experience. You can't plan around hotel rooms that are poorly maintained (including at their nicest level of on site hotels), buses and other transit that break down or aren't running, hoards of rolling ride closures, poor crowd control and insane lines for everything, or a Disney app that continually stops working so you have to keep going back to customer service to get it working again.

I totally would have had the patience to deal with hiccups here and there. But it really felt like every single thing we did was a giant hassle. From the beginning to the end of the trip. Our hotel room was a problem. Getting to the parks was a problem. Getting on a ride was a problem. Getting food was a problem. Getting out of the parks was a problem. Then we would get back to our hotel room and that would still be a problem and maintenance wouldn't have fixed things. So we decided to go to the pool to get out of the room while they came to do repairs and the pools would be closed because those had also been shut down.

I know this can sound like it's a me problem, but we don't have this on other vacations. We've traveled all over the world and have done vacations in all sorts of places and never had these sorts of problem before.

I have super fun memories of Disney as a kid, but was super disappointed about my experience more recently. It just wasn't fun. My sense was that Disney knows that people will come and pay anything so they've stopped investing in maintenance, quality or customer service.

How does customer service get an app working? If it's down doesn't that affect everyone?

Apparently there was something wrong with our account so they would unload and reload it and it on their end so it would work again. But then it would stop working after we rode a ride. So we had to go back between each ride to wait in line and reinstall the app if we wanted to use a LL rider swap. We also had to wait in line to get it reinstalled to open our hotel room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can see how if you are unfamiliar with the system and don't do some research, you will be disappointed when you get there.
I have never been, but we are going soon, and I am very much Type A so I familiarized myself with the parks, the hotels, the reservations system for dining and LLs, etc before I even booked the hotel. And I hired a Disney travel agent to talk through options, what she thought was best for our family, and to eventually book our stay.

Figuring out which parks to visit on which day, where we wanted to eat, if the dining plan is worth it, etc, etc was fun for me. (WDW Prep School is a great site!!) It took me a few hours to figure out while watching TV once the kids were down for the night - exactly the same amount of time it takes me to plan a week long trip overseas.

To me, this is not a trip where you just "wing it". If you do, I think you're setting yourself up for failure.

I'm a very type A person that had done absolutely all the advanced planning and still had a terrible experience. You can't plan around hotel rooms that are poorly maintained (including at their nicest level of on site hotels), buses and other transit that break down or aren't running, hoards of rolling ride closures, poor crowd control and insane lines for everything, or a Disney app that continually stops working so you have to keep going back to customer service to get it working again.

I totally would have had the patience to deal with hiccups here and there. But it really felt like every single thing we did was a giant hassle. From the beginning to the end of the trip. Our hotel room was a problem. Getting to the parks was a problem. Getting on a ride was a problem. Getting food was a problem. Getting out of the parks was a problem. Then we would get back to our hotel room and that would still be a problem and maintenance wouldn't have fixed things. So we decided to go to the pool to get out of the room while they came to do repairs and the pools would be closed because those had also been shut down.

I know this can sound like it's a me problem, but we don't have this on other vacations. We've traveled all over the world and have done vacations in all sorts of places and never had these sorts of problem before.

I have super fun memories of Disney as a kid, but was super disappointed about my experience more recently. It just wasn't fun. My sense was that Disney knows that people will come and pay anything so they've stopped investing in maintenance, quality or customer service.

How does customer service get an app working? If it's down doesn't that affect everyone?

Apparently there was something wrong with our account so they would unload and reload it and it on their end so it would work again. But then it would stop working after we rode a ride. So we had to go back between each ride to wait in line and reinstall the app if we wanted to use a LL rider swap. We also had to wait in line to get it reinstalled to open our hotel room.

*use a LL or rider swap

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I have learned from 14 pages of this thread is that Disney people will defend Disney like there's no tomorrow and just can't understand that some people aren't as into it as they are.

And people who hate Disney or who haven’t even been won’t pass up an opportunity to bash it, it’s a two way street!

I actually haven't seen any bashing. I've seen people answering the question truthfully and I've seen pro-Disney people (actually probably one person) going on and on about how they're just not doing it right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I have learned from 14 pages of this thread is that Disney people will defend Disney like there's no tomorrow and just can't understand that some people aren't as into it as they are.

If you’re not into it why would you go?

Please just stop. Obviously people come back from a vacation and can think "Oh that wasn't as fun as I hoped it would be". But you don't know that until after the vacation.