If you had a negative experience traveling to Disney, can you share why?

[Anonymous]

I think the real issue is that Disney is so expensive and such a splurge for so many families, which puts a lot of pressure on the trip to maximize every second.

We took our kids a few times when they were young. Each time I witnessed kids having meltdowns and parents losing it en masse.

I suppose travel with kids always has some inherent stress, it just feels amplified at Disney.

[Anonymous]

[twitter] Jo

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Anonymous wrote:All of the discussions in this thread literally prove beyond a doubt now terrible it is to go to Disney. Look at how much work you all describe it being just to go there.

This. Why the hell would I look forward to spending an insane amount of money after spending 50 hours pre-planning the visit. International travel is far easier and cheaper.

I find it hard to believe there isn’t a lot of preplanning involved with an international trip.

Exactly. You don't just show up in Paris or Rome without planning and getting advance museum tickets, tour tickets, etc.

I mean I usually do. I’ve never pre booked anything for a trip except hotels. There’s always plenty to see and do and explore without scheduling ourselves ahead of time. Much nicer to take each day as we feel like.

With Paris and Rome, I do all the pre planning before hand. My problem with Disney is the stress of lightning lanes and genie plus which means you can’t know your ride times until the day of. And that may or may not work with special meals or Disney events scheduled. I don’t like throwing a wrench into my plans last minute nor do I like being on my phone organizing my day while on the vacation.

This is a valid critique. I felt like it was basically impossible to plan restaurant reservations and get all the value out of the park ticket. But at the end of the day, we didn’t really go there to eat at restaurants. I can see if you were doing a character meal, that might be hard to plan around. It would be nice if you could reserve at least 1 LL in advance every day.

You will get a LL ride first thing at 7 if you book one. You just can't be such an anal planner that you want to do them in an exact order. You have to be somewhat flexible and just take them as they come. If you your first choice isn't the best time then take your 2nd choice and rope drop the one you didn't get. It's not impossible. Trying to plan each minute of the day on a strict schedule will be your undoing. And planning multiple sit down meals is a waste of time and money for mediocre food if you want to ride the rides.

We always stay club level so breakfast and dinner are provided for us. We make lunchtime reservations at each park and have never had a problem timing/scheduling rides. It’s all about finessing the LL’s, rope drop, extended park hours, and getting in line exactly at park closing time.

You can spend your time finessing all that, or go to Paris and Rome. That was the original point in this thread - that unlike Disney, I CAN plan those activities around my meals well in advance and not have to “finess” on the day of, which I don’t want to do!

You miss the point, which is that at Disney there’s so much to do that every choice has an opportunity cost. A better analogy would be a foodie who obsessively plans what to eat when & where in Paris and Rome.

European cities have choice as well and I’m not sure how you can reasonably deny that. But I can pre plan what I want to see and do and not have to juggle it the day of like Disney. This isn’t a complicated concept despite your repeated pushback.

But do you have to plan 60 days out? That seems like a real hassle and obstacle for some people.

You only have to plan nice sit down meals 60 days out. If you want to do quick service there’s no planning necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[twitter] Jo

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Anonymous wrote:All of the discussions in this thread literally prove beyond a doubt now terrible it is to go to Disney. Look at how much work you all describe it being just to go there.

This. Why the hell would I look forward to spending an insane amount of money after spending 50 hours pre-planning the visit. International travel is far easier and cheaper.

I find it hard to believe there isn’t a lot of preplanning involved with an international trip.

Exactly. You don't just show up in Paris or Rome without planning and getting advance museum tickets, tour tickets, etc.

I mean I usually do. I’ve never pre booked anything for a trip except hotels. There’s always plenty to see and do and explore without scheduling ourselves ahead of time. Much nicer to take each day as we feel like.

With Paris and Rome, I do all the pre planning before hand. My problem with Disney is the stress of lightning lanes and genie plus which means you can’t know your ride times until the day of. And that may or may not work with special meals or Disney events scheduled. I don’t like throwing a wrench into my plans last minute nor do I like being on my phone organizing my day while on the vacation.

This is a valid critique. I felt like it was basically impossible to plan restaurant reservations and get all the value out of the park ticket. But at the end of the day, we didn’t really go there to eat at restaurants. I can see if you were doing a character meal, that might be hard to plan around. It would be nice if you could reserve at least 1 LL in advance every day.

You will get a LL ride first thing at 7 if you book one. You just can't be such an anal planner that you want to do them in an exact order. You have to be somewhat flexible and just take them as they come. If you your first choice isn't the best time then take your 2nd choice and rope drop the one you didn't get. It's not impossible. Trying to plan each minute of the day on a strict schedule will be your undoing. And planning multiple sit down meals is a waste of time and money for mediocre food if you want to ride the rides.

We always stay club level so breakfast and dinner are provided for us. We make lunchtime reservations at each park and have never had a problem timing/scheduling rides. It’s all about finessing the LL’s, rope drop, extended park hours, and getting in line exactly at park closing time.

You can spend your time finessing all that, or go to Paris and Rome. That was the original point in this thread - that unlike Disney, I CAN plan those activities around my meals well in advance and not have to “finess” on the day of, which I don’t want to do!

You miss the point, which is that at Disney there’s so much to do that every choice has an opportunity cost. A better analogy would be a foodie who obsessively plans what to eat when & where in Paris and Rome.

European cities have choice as well and I’m not sure how you can reasonably deny that. But I can pre plan what I want to see and do and not have to juggle it the day of like Disney. This isn’t a complicated concept despite your repeated pushback.

But do you have to plan 60 days out? That seems like a real hassle and obstacle for some people.

You only have to plan nice sit down meals 60 days out. If you want to do quick service there’s no planning necessary.

I get that but the European posters are acting as if they don't have to plan anything in advance, or at all. Maybe they are all on some Viking cruise where all the excursions are planned for them.

[Anonymous]

It’s not comparable to any other vacation in that there are so many unique aspects of Disney. But it is comparable in the sense that people have limited vacation time and budget and have to choose how to spend their time and money. So would I rather spend it at Disney or in Rome is a valid question and comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not comparable to any other vacation in that there are so many unique aspects of Disney. But it is comparable in the sense that people have limited vacation time and budget and have to choose how to spend their time and money. So would I rather spend it at Disney or in Rome is a valid question and comparison.

Ok but that doesn't answer the question as to why they had a negative experience at Disney. Disney vs Rome is a topic for another thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not comparable to any other vacation in that there are so many unique aspects of Disney. But it is comparable in the sense that people have limited vacation time and budget and have to choose how to spend their time and money. So would I rather spend it at Disney or in Rome is a valid question and comparison.

Ok but that doesn't answer the question as to why they had a negative experience at Disney. Disney vs Rome is a topic for another thread.

Who appointed you hall monitor?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I’m just not interested in competing against SAHMs who have time to learn all the hacks and systems. I’m busy, so it sounds like way too much work.

I work full time and know most of the good hacks - it’s really not that hard. It’s just like planning a regular vacation. Most of the actual “work” is time on the phone getting LL’s when you’re actually there.

Not 100% sure why you tried to make this a SAHM vs. working mom issue.

I don't understand PPs point about working/not working but there are some serious Disney fanatics (of all types) a newbie is up against and it can be very overwhelming for a first time visitor to get up to speed which sucks the fun out of a vacation.

I do. Disney is a perfect for vacation with a SAHM with a lot of time on her hands. A woman who is type A and doesn’t have an outlet for it. I see HS classmates who are SAHMs taking Disney vacations and it’s perfect for them.

You would be shocked at how many childless adults are Disney addicts then. You clearly don't understand the fan base.

It's perfect for anyone who is type A, loves to plan, and has time on their hands to do all that planning - not matter of they have kids or not.

Sounds like a horrible way to vacation!

DP. I don’t think the amount of planning for Disney is really much different from the amount of planning you’d do for any vacation where there are a lot of different activities and you have to choose between them and maybe know in advance which you prioritize. The real issue is that there is so much to do in a limited time period so you have to plan, if you have preferences. It’s not like there’s some place just like Disney, but requires less planning. And the Genie+ app actually is quite easy to use.

About the only “trick” you really need is to understand that you need to get right online at 6:59 for those few super popular rides, or plan to “rope drop” them. You can have a perfectly great time even without that. But just like you wouldn’t expect to waltz into the hottest restaurant on your vacation with no reservation, you do have to plan if you want to ride the most popular rides.

This is a terrible analogy. When I go on vacation there are maybe one or two activities I need reservations for and I can get those reservations (or know I haven't gotten them) weeks in advance, and plan around that. I'm not spending my vacation trying to get reservations for the things I want to do.

It’s an active vacation with lots to do. If you don’t like fast paced, action packed, multiple experiences offered such that you can’t possibly do them all, then it’s not for you. My family would be bored sitting on a beach all day with little to do.

Beach vacations can be active. Kayaking, swimming, walking, wander for food, see local history and sights, charter a boat, fishing, live music, parks, different beaches mean different character, shops, sunset, family
Football/frisby/whatever. None of that I have to wait in line for. I can call the day before and make a reservation without worry nothing being available. I don’t have to get to at 7 to do it.

I just don’t get posts like this. If you don’t like Disney, you don’t go. I don’t jump on Antarctica Travel Forums and tell people that there are better ways to spend their time/money, and how horrible the Drake Passage is and who really wants to go to a continent made of ice? Some people dig it. Some people don’t. The only thing I get out of your post is that you somehow need people to know that your way is better. It’s not - it’s just different.

This isn’t a Disney Travel Forum. It's a post on a Travel Forum asking why people don’t like Disney.

Actually OP asked for experiences where people’s kids didn’t like Disney (she herself was a Disney fan). And then we get this screed about how active beach vacations are better. It was pretty pointless.

Akshually what happened is someone claimed that Disney vacations are just like any other vacation because you can’t expect to walk into a popular restaurant without reservations.

I have friends who like Disney and if you like Disney too that’s great, but it’s weird to me to act like the only difference between Disney and other vacations is that there are more things to do on a Disney vacation.

umm that’s exactly one of the main differences between Disney and any other kind of vacation. there are hundreds of things to choose from.

No, there are hundreds of things to choose from to do on a normal vacation. On a Disney vacation, there are hundreds of things to wait in line for.

Right. Because nobody ever waited in line to see the Sistine Chapel or rushed to save a beach chair at 630am anywhere. You can walk into everything with no reservations, tickets, or waiting.

There are very, very few other vacations where every element of the vacation is oversubscribed. Even if you end up waiting at the Sistine Chapel and are then running late, as per your example, you will still be able to sit down for dinner at a nice restaurant in Rome. Every single sit down restaurant doesn't book up 60 days out. And the next day you can do hundreds of things that aren't oversubscribed at all, so it's just one day of crowds. I also don't have to refresh an app hundreds of times per day to schedule each activity or walk a half mile to talk to customer service when something goes wrong.

there are no other vacations where the entire point is to choose from 100s of options within a defined space that you buy a single-entry ticket to. it’s FINE if that is not your thing - but silly to act like maybe there is something just like Disney that is better than Disney. If you’re here to make detailed comparisons between theme parks, that’s more on point. but do not go to Golden Corral and complain it’s not KFC.

Yet you missed the entire point of the thread. OP asked why people don't like Disney. You explaining why we're complete idiots to dislike Disney doesn't address OP's question. It just makes you sound like an ass.

It is you missing the point. The question asked: Can you share any experiences where your kids didn’t like disney and why?

Instead we have people rambling on about what makes Paris so great and how they don't like carnivals or having to use a cellular phone for any reason on vakayshun.

Title is “if YOU had a negative experience.”

If you had a great Disney time, this isn’t the thread for you.

If you have never been to Disney nobody cares about what vacations you prefer. People aren't talking about their neg experiences they are talking about what else they would rather do.

I don’t see any responses here from people who haven’t been to Disney. What are you talking about?!

It’s clear to me some people have no idea what they are talking about.

Lol. Because some people hate Disney you think they haven’t been?

People are telling you why Disney sucks, over and over. The planning. The lines. The garbage food. The heat. The scramble to get passes at 7 am. The 60 day out reservations. The expense. Their kids aren’t into characters. All of these are negative experiences. While there are hundreds of things to do, very few of them appeal to some families.

You are obsessed with arguing about why Disney is so great. It happens every Disney thread. So people push back. Not everyone has to like Disney!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most kids don’t like standing in long lines and navigating crowds. The rides are mediocre and most geared towards very young kids. The food is terrible. There’s nothing relaxing about waking up early to rush to rope drop and go go go all day long. Exhausting.

Having said that, my kids enjoyed it. But they much prefer the Disney cruise which is much more fun without dealing with lines.

I completely agree with you about Disney cruises vs. Disney World visit.
The shows, great food, private island visit, port stops, etc. make a Disney Cruise a much better option.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I’m just not interested in competing against SAHMs who have time to learn all the hacks and systems. I’m busy, so it sounds like way too much work.

I work full time and know most of the good hacks - it’s really not that hard. It’s just like planning a regular vacation. Most of the actual “work” is time on the phone getting LL’s when you’re actually there.

Not 100% sure why you tried to make this a SAHM vs. working mom issue.

I don't understand PPs point about working/not working but there are some serious Disney fanatics (of all types) a newbie is up against and it can be very overwhelming for a first time visitor to get up to speed which sucks the fun out of a vacation.

I do. Disney is a perfect for vacation with a SAHM with a lot of time on her hands. A woman who is type A and doesn’t have an outlet for it. I see HS classmates who are SAHMs taking Disney vacations and it’s perfect for them.

You would be shocked at how many childless adults are Disney addicts then. You clearly don't understand the fan base.

It's perfect for anyone who is type A, loves to plan, and has time on their hands to do all that planning - not matter of they have kids or not.

Sounds like a horrible way to vacation!

DP. I don’t think the amount of planning for Disney is really much different from the amount of planning you’d do for any vacation where there are a lot of different activities and you have to choose between them and maybe know in advance which you prioritize. The real issue is that there is so much to do in a limited time period so you have to plan, if you have preferences. It’s not like there’s some place just like Disney, but requires less planning. And the Genie+ app actually is quite easy to use.

About the only “trick” you really need is to understand that you need to get right online at 6:59 for those few super popular rides, or plan to “rope drop” them. You can have a perfectly great time even without that. But just like you wouldn’t expect to waltz into the hottest restaurant on your vacation with no reservation, you do have to plan if you want to ride the most popular rides.

This is a terrible analogy. When I go on vacation there are maybe one or two activities I need reservations for and I can get those reservations (or know I haven't gotten them) weeks in advance, and plan around that. I'm not spending my vacation trying to get reservations for the things I want to do.

It’s an active vacation with lots to do. If you don’t like fast paced, action packed, multiple experiences offered such that you can’t possibly do them all, then it’s not for you. My family would be bored sitting on a beach all day with little to do.

Beach vacations can be active. Kayaking, swimming, walking, wander for food, see local history and sights, charter a boat, fishing, live music, parks, different beaches mean different character, shops, sunset, family
Football/frisby/whatever. None of that I have to wait in line for. I can call the day before and make a reservation without worry nothing being available. I don’t have to get to at 7 to do it.

I just don’t get posts like this. If you don’t like Disney, you don’t go. I don’t jump on Antarctica Travel Forums and tell people that there are better ways to spend their time/money, and how horrible the Drake Passage is and who really wants to go to a continent made of ice? Some people dig it. Some people don’t. The only thing I get out of your post is that you somehow need people to know that your way is better. It’s not - it’s just different.

This isn’t a Disney Travel Forum. It's a post on a Travel Forum asking why people don’t like Disney.

Actually OP asked for experiences where people’s kids didn’t like Disney (she herself was a Disney fan). And then we get this screed about how active beach vacations are better. It was pretty pointless.

Akshually what happened is someone claimed that Disney vacations are just like any other vacation because you can’t expect to walk into a popular restaurant without reservations.

I have friends who like Disney and if you like Disney too that’s great, but it’s weird to me to act like the only difference between Disney and other vacations is that there are more things to do on a Disney vacation.

umm that’s exactly one of the main differences between Disney and any other kind of vacation. there are hundreds of things to choose from.

No, there are hundreds of things to choose from to do on a normal vacation. On a Disney vacation, there are hundreds of things to wait in line for.

Right. Because nobody ever waited in line to see the Sistine Chapel or rushed to save a beach chair at 630am anywhere. You can walk into everything with no reservations, tickets, or waiting.

There are very, very few other vacations where every element of the vacation is oversubscribed. Even if you end up waiting at the Sistine Chapel and are then running late, as per your example, you will still be able to sit down for dinner at a nice restaurant in Rome. Every single sit down restaurant doesn't book up 60 days out. And the next day you can do hundreds of things that aren't oversubscribed at all, so it's just one day of crowds. I also don't have to refresh an app hundreds of times per day to schedule each activity or walk a half mile to talk to customer service when something goes wrong.

there are no other vacations where the entire point is to choose from 100s of options within a defined space that you buy a single-entry ticket to. it’s FINE if that is not your thing - but silly to act like maybe there is something just like Disney that is better than Disney. If you’re here to make detailed comparisons between theme parks, that’s more on point. but do not go to Golden Corral and complain it’s not KFC.

Yet you missed the entire point of the thread. OP asked why people don't like Disney. You explaining why we're complete idiots to dislike Disney doesn't address OP's question. It just makes you sound like an ass.

It is you missing the point. The question asked: Can you share any experiences where your kids didn’t like disney and why?

Instead we have people rambling on about what makes Paris so great and how they don't like carnivals or having to use a cellular phone for any reason on vakayshun.

Title is “if YOU had a negative experience.”

If you had a great Disney time, this isn’t the thread for you.

If you have never been to Disney nobody cares about what vacations you prefer. People aren't talking about their neg experiences they are talking about what else they would rather do.

I don’t see any responses here from people who haven’t been to Disney. What are you talking about?!

It’s clear to me some people have no idea what they are talking about.

Lol. Because some people hate Disney you think they haven’t been?

People are telling you why Disney sucks, over and over. The planning. The lines. The garbage food. The heat. The scramble to get passes at 7 am. The 60 day out reservations. The expense. Their kids aren’t into characters. All of these are negative experiences. While there are hundreds of things to do, very few of them appeal to some families.

You are obsessed with arguing about why Disney is so great. It happens every Disney thread. So people push back. Not everyone has to like Disney!

Yes I think some of the people haven't been. When you say the rides are all just for kids you give it away. Nobody cares if you don't like Disney. The parks are overcrowded as it is. So please, never go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[twitter] Jo

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Anonymous wrote:All of the discussions in this thread literally prove beyond a doubt now terrible it is to go to Disney. Look at how much work you all describe it being just to go there.

This. Why the hell would I look forward to spending an insane amount of money after spending 50 hours pre-planning the visit. International travel is far easier and cheaper.

I find it hard to believe there isn’t a lot of preplanning involved with an international trip.

Exactly. You don't just show up in Paris or Rome without planning and getting advance museum tickets, tour tickets, etc.

I mean I usually do. I’ve never pre booked anything for a trip except hotels. There’s always plenty to see and do and explore without scheduling ourselves ahead of time. Much nicer to take each day as we feel like.

With Paris and Rome, I do all the pre planning before hand. My problem with Disney is the stress of lightning lanes and genie plus which means you can’t know your ride times until the day of. And that may or may not work with special meals or Disney events scheduled. I don’t like throwing a wrench into my plans last minute nor do I like being on my phone organizing my day while on the vacation.

This is a valid critique. I felt like it was basically impossible to plan restaurant reservations and get all the value out of the park ticket. But at the end of the day, we didn’t really go there to eat at restaurants. I can see if you were doing a character meal, that might be hard to plan around. It would be nice if you could reserve at least 1 LL in advance every day.

You will get a LL ride first thing at 7 if you book one. You just can't be such an anal planner that you want to do them in an exact order. You have to be somewhat flexible and just take them as they come. If you your first choice isn't the best time then take your 2nd choice and rope drop the one you didn't get. It's not impossible. Trying to plan each minute of the day on a strict schedule will be your undoing. And planning multiple sit down meals is a waste of time and money for mediocre food if you want to ride the rides.

We always stay club level so breakfast and dinner are provided for us. We make lunchtime reservations at each park and have never had a problem timing/scheduling rides. It’s all about finessing the LL’s, rope drop, extended park hours, and getting in line exactly at park closing time.

You can spend your time finessing all that, or go to Paris and Rome. That was the original point in this thread - that unlike Disney, I CAN plan those activities around my meals well in advance and not have to “finess” on the day of, which I don’t want to do!

You miss the point, which is that at Disney there’s so much to do that every choice has an opportunity cost. A better analogy would be a foodie who obsessively plans what to eat when & where in Paris and Rome.

European cities have choice as well and I’m not sure how you can reasonably deny that. But I can pre plan what I want to see and do and not have to juggle it the day of like Disney. This isn’t a complicated concept despite your repeated pushback.

But do you have to plan 60 days out? That seems like a real hassle and obstacle for some people.

You only have to plan nice sit down meals 60 days out. If you want to do quick service there’s no planning necessary.

I made reservations at table service restaurants at 3 parks during spring only 2 weeks out this year. Lunch at about 1:30 at each place. Group of 4. Are people talking about the situation right at the end of Covid? Because the situation was extreme then. Otherwise I’m going to assume some of these responses are fabricated. It just wasn’t bad this year.

I think part of some of the insanely negative reactions to Disney come from people expecting too much of it. It’s just some parks. Go, ride some rides, eat some food, have some fun, go home. Or don’t and be cool with the fact that other people like it. You don’t need to be weird about it. We aren’t huge Disney people but we’ve gone twice and enjoyed it fine. Probably won’t do it again.

Also, for the people who complain about the crowds and cost and need to plan ahead—where do you live? In DC, things are crowded and expensive and you need to plan ahead for really good stuff. I think if you are from somewhere more suburban or rural that going anywhere that requires a little more hustle might seem overwhelming. I’m not sure that can be blamed on the place you have chosen to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the real issue is that Disney is so expensive and such a splurge for so many families, which puts a lot of pressure on the trip to maximize every second.

Very true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Here's the thing about Disney-you don't HAVE to plan every second.

I'm a relaxed Disney visitor. I tend to have one or two particular things of importance to me, and the rest is just go with the flow. I'm never on my phone all day there-although the food/snack ordering options are great, you get there and don't have to wait. I'm ok with waiting in line. If there was a ride I really really wanted to ride, maybe I'd book that one.

You don't have to plan every second. Sometimes the best times are spontaneous.

Most people aren’t, and that’s ok.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I’m just not interested in competing against SAHMs who have time to learn all the hacks and systems. I’m busy, so it sounds like way too much work.

I work full time and know most of the good hacks - it’s really not that hard. It’s just like planning a regular vacation. Most of the actual “work” is time on the phone getting LL’s when you’re actually there.

Not 100% sure why you tried to make this a SAHM vs. working mom issue.

I don't understand PPs point about working/not working but there are some serious Disney fanatics (of all types) a newbie is up against and it can be very overwhelming for a first time visitor to get up to speed which sucks the fun out of a vacation.

I do. Disney is a perfect for vacation with a SAHM with a lot of time on her hands. A woman who is type A and doesn’t have an outlet for it. I see HS classmates who are SAHMs taking Disney vacations and it’s perfect for them.

You would be shocked at how many childless adults are Disney addicts then. You clearly don't understand the fan base.

It's perfect for anyone who is type A, loves to plan, and has time on their hands to do all that planning - not matter of they have kids or not.

Sounds like a horrible way to vacation!

DP. I don’t think the amount of planning for Disney is really much different from the amount of planning you’d do for any vacation where there are a lot of different activities and you have to choose between them and maybe know in advance which you prioritize. The real issue is that there is so much to do in a limited time period so you have to plan, if you have preferences. It’s not like there’s some place just like Disney, but requires less planning. And the Genie+ app actually is quite easy to use.

About the only “trick” you really need is to understand that you need to get right online at 6:59 for those few super popular rides, or plan to “rope drop” them. You can have a perfectly great time even without that. But just like you wouldn’t expect to waltz into the hottest restaurant on your vacation with no reservation, you do have to plan if you want to ride the most popular rides.

This is a terrible analogy. When I go on vacation there are maybe one or two activities I need reservations for and I can get those reservations (or know I haven't gotten them) weeks in advance, and plan around that. I'm not spending my vacation trying to get reservations for the things I want to do.

It’s an active vacation with lots to do. If you don’t like fast paced, action packed, multiple experiences offered such that you can’t possibly do them all, then it’s not for you. My family would be bored sitting on a beach all day with little to do.

Beach vacations can be active. Kayaking, swimming, walking, wander for food, see local history and sights, charter a boat, fishing, live music, parks, different beaches mean different character, shops, sunset, family
Football/frisby/whatever. None of that I have to wait in line for. I can call the day before and make a reservation without worry nothing being available. I don’t have to get to at 7 to do it.

I just don’t get posts like this. If you don’t like Disney, you don’t go. I don’t jump on Antarctica Travel Forums and tell people that there are better ways to spend their time/money, and how horrible the Drake Passage is and who really wants to go to a continent made of ice? Some people dig it. Some people don’t. The only thing I get out of your post is that you somehow need people to know that your way is better. It’s not - it’s just different.

This isn’t a Disney Travel Forum. It's a post on a Travel Forum asking why people don’t like Disney.

Actually OP asked for experiences where people’s kids didn’t like Disney (she herself was a Disney fan). And then we get this screed about how active beach vacations are better. It was pretty pointless.

Akshually what happened is someone claimed that Disney vacations are just like any other vacation because you can’t expect to walk into a popular restaurant without reservations.

I have friends who like Disney and if you like Disney too that’s great, but it’s weird to me to act like the only difference between Disney and other vacations is that there are more things to do on a Disney vacation.

umm that’s exactly one of the main differences between Disney and any other kind of vacation. there are hundreds of things to choose from.

No, there are hundreds of things to choose from to do on a normal vacation. On a Disney vacation, there are hundreds of things to wait in line for.

Right. Because nobody ever waited in line to see the Sistine Chapel or rushed to save a beach chair at 630am anywhere. You can walk into everything with no reservations, tickets, or waiting.

There are very, very few other vacations where every element of the vacation is oversubscribed. Even if you end up waiting at the Sistine Chapel and are then running late, as per your example, you will still be able to sit down for dinner at a nice restaurant in Rome. Every single sit down restaurant doesn't book up 60 days out. And the next day you can do hundreds of things that aren't oversubscribed at all, so it's just one day of crowds. I also don't have to refresh an app hundreds of times per day to schedule each activity or walk a half mile to talk to customer service when something goes wrong.

there are no other vacations where the entire point is to choose from 100s of options within a defined space that you buy a single-entry ticket to. it’s FINE if that is not your thing - but silly to act like maybe there is something just like Disney that is better than Disney. If you’re here to make detailed comparisons between theme parks, that’s more on point. but do not go to Golden Corral and complain it’s not KFC.

Yet you missed the entire point of the thread. OP asked why people don't like Disney. You explaining why we're complete idiots to dislike Disney doesn't address OP's question. It just makes you sound like an ass.

It is you missing the point. The question asked: Can you share any experiences where your kids didn’t like disney and why?

Instead we have people rambling on about what makes Paris so great and how they don't like carnivals or having to use a cellular phone for any reason on vakayshun.

Title is “if YOU had a negative experience.”

If you had a great Disney time, this isn’t the thread for you.

If you have never been to Disney nobody cares about what vacations you prefer. People aren't talking about their neg experiences they are talking about what else they would rather do.

I don’t see any responses here from people who haven’t been to Disney. What are you talking about?!

It’s clear to me some people have no idea what they are talking about.

You are assuming that the people who don’t want to plan or spend their vacations on their phone maximizing genie plus don’t know what they are doing. I’ve done Disney multiple times and know perfectly well how to do it. I don’t WANT to do it any longer because it has gotten so complicated. I remember how Disney used to be (and frankly, not even that long ago) and think they have gone in a bad direction. Don’t assume that people who prefer Paris haven’t done Disney and haven’t done Disney “right.”

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Anonymous wrote:I’m just not interested in competing against SAHMs who have time to learn all the hacks and systems. I’m busy, so it sounds like way too much work.

I work full time and know most of the good hacks - it’s really not that hard. It’s just like planning a regular vacation. Most of the actual “work” is time on the phone getting LL’s when you’re actually there.

Not 100% sure why you tried to make this a SAHM vs. working mom issue.

I don't understand PPs point about working/not working but there are some serious Disney fanatics (of all types) a newbie is up against and it can be very overwhelming for a first time visitor to get up to speed which sucks the fun out of a vacation.

I do. Disney is a perfect for vacation with a SAHM with a lot of time on her hands. A woman who is type A and doesn’t have an outlet for it. I see HS classmates who are SAHMs taking Disney vacations and it’s perfect for them.

You would be shocked at how many childless adults are Disney addicts then. You clearly don't understand the fan base.

It's perfect for anyone who is type A, loves to plan, and has time on their hands to do all that planning - not matter of they have kids or not.

Sounds like a horrible way to vacation!

DP. I don’t think the amount of planning for Disney is really much different from the amount of planning you’d do for any vacation where there are a lot of different activities and you have to choose between them and maybe know in advance which you prioritize. The real issue is that there is so much to do in a limited time period so you have to plan, if you have preferences. It’s not like there’s some place just like Disney, but requires less planning. And the Genie+ app actually is quite easy to use.

About the only “trick” you really need is to understand that you need to get right online at 6:59 for those few super popular rides, or plan to “rope drop” them. You can have a perfectly great time even without that. But just like you wouldn’t expect to waltz into the hottest restaurant on your vacation with no reservation, you do have to plan if you want to ride the most popular rides.

This is a terrible analogy. When I go on vacation there are maybe one or two activities I need reservations for and I can get those reservations (or know I haven't gotten them) weeks in advance, and plan around that. I'm not spending my vacation trying to get reservations for the things I want to do.

It’s an active vacation with lots to do. If you don’t like fast paced, action packed, multiple experiences offered such that you can’t possibly do them all, then it’s not for you. My family would be bored sitting on a beach all day with little to do.

Beach vacations can be active. Kayaking, swimming, walking, wander for food, see local history and sights, charter a boat, fishing, live music, parks, different beaches mean different character, shops, sunset, family
Football/frisby/whatever. None of that I have to wait in line for. I can call the day before and make a reservation without worry nothing being available. I don’t have to get to at 7 to do it.

I just don’t get posts like this. If you don’t like Disney, you don’t go. I don’t jump on Antarctica Travel Forums and tell people that there are better ways to spend their time/money, and how horrible the Drake Passage is and who really wants to go to a continent made of ice? Some people dig it. Some people don’t. The only thing I get out of your post is that you somehow need people to know that your way is better. It’s not - it’s just different.

This isn’t a Disney Travel Forum. It's a post on a Travel Forum asking why people don’t like Disney.

Actually OP asked for experiences where people’s kids didn’t like Disney (she herself was a Disney fan). And then we get this screed about how active beach vacations are better. It was pretty pointless.

Akshually what happened is someone claimed that Disney vacations are just like any other vacation because you can’t expect to walk into a popular restaurant without reservations.

I have friends who like Disney and if you like Disney too that’s great, but it’s weird to me to act like the only difference between Disney and other vacations is that there are more things to do on a Disney vacation.

umm that’s exactly one of the main differences between Disney and any other kind of vacation. there are hundreds of things to choose from.

No, there are hundreds of things to choose from to do on a normal vacation. On a Disney vacation, there are hundreds of things to wait in line for.

Right. Because nobody ever waited in line to see the Sistine Chapel or rushed to save a beach chair at 630am anywhere. You can walk into everything with no reservations, tickets, or waiting.

There are very, very few other vacations where every element of the vacation is oversubscribed. Even if you end up waiting at the Sistine Chapel and are then running late, as per your example, you will still be able to sit down for dinner at a nice restaurant in Rome. Every single sit down restaurant doesn't book up 60 days out. And the next day you can do hundreds of things that aren't oversubscribed at all, so it's just one day of crowds. I also don't have to refresh an app hundreds of times per day to schedule each activity or walk a half mile to talk to customer service when something goes wrong.

there are no other vacations where the entire point is to choose from 100s of options within a defined space that you buy a single-entry ticket to. it’s FINE if that is not your thing - but silly to act like maybe there is something just like Disney that is better than Disney. If you’re here to make detailed comparisons between theme parks, that’s more on point. but do not go to Golden Corral and complain it’s not KFC.

Yet you missed the entire point of the thread. OP asked why people don't like Disney. You explaining why we're complete idiots to dislike Disney doesn't address OP's question. It just makes you sound like an ass.

It is you missing the point. The question asked: Can you share any experiences where your kids didn’t like disney and why?

Instead we have people rambling on about what makes Paris so great and how they don't like carnivals or having to use a cellular phone for any reason on vakayshun.

Title is “if YOU had a negative experience.”

If you had a great Disney time, this isn’t the thread for you.

If you have never been to Disney nobody cares about what vacations you prefer. People aren't talking about their neg experiences they are talking about what else they would rather do.

I don’t see any responses here from people who haven’t been to Disney. What are you talking about?!

It’s clear to me some people have no idea what they are talking about.

You are assuming that the people who don’t want to plan or spend their vacations on their phone maximizing genie plus don’t know what they are doing. I’ve done Disney multiple times and know perfectly well how to do it. I don’t WANT to do it any longer because it has gotten so complicated. I remember how Disney used to be (and frankly, not even that long ago) and think they have gone in a bad direction. Don’t assume that people who prefer Paris haven’t done Disney and haven’t done Disney “right.”

I'm not assuming anything. It's clear people in here are merely reacting to what they have read without any personal experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m just not interested in competing against SAHMs who have time to learn all the hacks and systems. I’m busy, so it sounds like way too much work.

I work full time and know most of the good hacks - it’s really not that hard. It’s just like planning a regular vacation. Most of the actual “work” is time on the phone getting LL’s when you’re actually there.

Not 100% sure why you tried to make this a SAHM vs. working mom issue.

I don't understand PPs point about working/not working but there are some serious Disney fanatics (of all types) a newbie is up against and it can be very overwhelming for a first time visitor to get up to speed which sucks the fun out of a vacation.

I do. Disney is a perfect for vacation with a SAHM with a lot of time on her hands. A woman who is type A and doesn’t have an outlet for it. I see HS classmates who are SAHMs taking Disney vacations and it’s perfect for them.

You would be shocked at how many childless adults are Disney addicts then. You clearly don't understand the fan base.

It's perfect for anyone who is type A, loves to plan, and has time on their hands to do all that planning - not matter of they have kids or not.

Sounds like a horrible way to vacation!

DP. I don’t think the amount of planning for Disney is really much different from the amount of planning you’d do for any vacation where there are a lot of different activities and you have to choose between them and maybe know in advance which you prioritize. The real issue is that there is so much to do in a limited time period so you have to plan, if you have preferences. It’s not like there’s some place just like Disney, but requires less planning. And the Genie+ app actually is quite easy to use.

About the only “trick” you really need is to understand that you need to get right online at 6:59 for those few super popular rides, or plan to “rope drop” them. You can have a perfectly great time even without that. But just like you wouldn’t expect to waltz into the hottest restaurant on your vacation with no reservation, you do have to plan if you want to ride the most popular rides.

This is a terrible analogy. When I go on vacation there are maybe one or two activities I need reservations for and I can get those reservations (or know I haven't gotten them) weeks in advance, and plan around that. I'm not spending my vacation trying to get reservations for the things I want to do.

It’s an active vacation with lots to do. If you don’t like fast paced, action packed, multiple experiences offered such that you can’t possibly do them all, then it’s not for you. My family would be bored sitting on a beach all day with little to do.

Beach vacations can be active. Kayaking, swimming, walking, wander for food, see local history and sights, charter a boat, fishing, live music, parks, different beaches mean different character, shops, sunset, family
Football/frisby/whatever. None of that I have to wait in line for. I can call the day before and make a reservation without worry nothing being available. I don’t have to get to at 7 to do it.

I just don’t get posts like this. If you don’t like Disney, you don’t go. I don’t jump on Antarctica Travel Forums and tell people that there are better ways to spend their time/money, and how horrible the Drake Passage is and who really wants to go to a continent made of ice? Some people dig it. Some people don’t. The only thing I get out of your post is that you somehow need people to know that your way is better. It’s not - it’s just different.

This isn’t a Disney Travel Forum. It's a post on a Travel Forum asking why people don’t like Disney.

Actually OP asked for experiences where people’s kids didn’t like Disney (she herself was a Disney fan). And then we get this screed about how active beach vacations are better. It was pretty pointless.

Akshually what happened is someone claimed that Disney vacations are just like any other vacation because you can’t expect to walk into a popular restaurant without reservations.

I have friends who like Disney and if you like Disney too that’s great, but it’s weird to me to act like the only difference between Disney and other vacations is that there are more things to do on a Disney vacation.

umm that’s exactly one of the main differences between Disney and any other kind of vacation. there are hundreds of things to choose from.

No, there are hundreds of things to choose from to do on a normal vacation. On a Disney vacation, there are hundreds of things to wait in line for.

Right. Because nobody ever waited in line to see the Sistine Chapel or rushed to save a beach chair at 630am anywhere. You can walk into everything with no reservations, tickets, or waiting.

There are very, very few other vacations where every element of the vacation is oversubscribed. Even if you end up waiting at the Sistine Chapel and are then running late, as per your example, you will still be able to sit down for dinner at a nice restaurant in Rome. Every single sit down restaurant doesn't book up 60 days out. And the next day you can do hundreds of things that aren't oversubscribed at all, so it's just one day of crowds. I also don't have to refresh an app hundreds of times per day to schedule each activity or walk a half mile to talk to customer service when something goes wrong.

there are no other vacations where the entire point is to choose from 100s of options within a defined space that you buy a single-entry ticket to. it’s FINE if that is not your thing - but silly to act like maybe there is something just like Disney that is better than Disney. If you’re here to make detailed comparisons between theme parks, that’s more on point. but do not go to Golden Corral and complain it’s not KFC.

Yet you missed the entire point of the thread. OP asked why people don't like Disney. You explaining why we're complete idiots to dislike Disney doesn't address OP's question. It just makes you sound like an ass.

I AM going to die on this hill, because I am such a Disney stan.

Yes absolutely - if you hate lines, rides, being around other people, and very scheduled vacations, and you have no interest in Disney themes- then Disney is not for you. Obviously. The point I was trying to make is that there’s not some other vacation that is the same genre as Disney but better than Disney. (We can discuss Disney v Universal later people!) Saying “I prefer Rome over Paris” makes sense. Saying “I prefer Rome over Disney” makes no sense (unless all you are saying is that you don’t like Disney, period.)

It’s not like the Disney experience has been set in stone. Over the years there have been a lot of changes, from the way fast pass first rolled out to the pricing to the pay-up lightning lines. So don’t say “Disney isn’t for you” to the people who have seen Disney the way it used to be and compared to what it is now. We haven’t changed, the experience of Disney changed.