Disney World: please please research

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:OP here. Some folks actually enjoy the planning but it isn't for everyone. Definitely stay home if you can't put time into planning. Lots more places to spend your money. Lots of sour faces and kids getting yelled at in the parks.

Half the enjoyment of taking a vacation is planning it! That way I don't only enjoy the actual days there, but I daydream about my vacation while tweaking my plans. I don't understand the people who leave it all to chance.
But then I'm a research scientist. This is what I do anyway

+1

I do both. I plan for months and line up all of the set things (like where we're staying, flight times, ADRs you can't get last minute) and then have a loose plan for each day. There are apps that will recalculate ride schedule on the fly to work around FPs for high wait rides, but there's no need to obsess about sticking by a set schedule.

And the best WDW vacation we had was 2yo, 5yo, and me. We didn't go on all the rides because of height limits for the 2yo, but we had a blast and it wasn't stressful at all. The last time we went was more stressful but that was mostly because it was 10 degrees warmer than average that week.

I do want to say there's a lot of room between pre-planning everything and yelling at your melting down toddler, though. If you're of the mindset that you have to do everything, then you should probably pre-plan that.

this alone speaks volumes. go see the grand canyon. the trevi fountain. the air and space museum. absurd.

You know they are not mutually exclusive, right? My kids have seen all those places and a whole lot more. But sometimes they just want to go on a roller coaster.

Check our privilege.

J.F.C.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Lol at grand Floridian being called a "decent" place.

you do realize how pathetic you sound, right?

We're poor and can't even the Grand Floridian, but it's not a decent place. It's a fake Disney hotel.

Just stop. They aren't "fake." They are great hotels, by any standard. with what would be considered to be great service outside of Disney.

People are ridiculous.

I like Disney and we've gone a few times, but the hotels, even the deluxe ones, aren't great. Crappy towels, not that many amenities, and while not dirty or anything, not what you expect from a room costing $400 a night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol at grand Floridian being called a "decent" place.

you do realize how pathetic you sound, right?

We're poor and can't even the Grand Floridian, but it's not a decent place. It's a fake Disney hotel.

Just stop. They aren't "fake." They are great hotels, by any standard. with what would be considered to be great service outside of Disney.

People are ridiculous.

I like Disney and we've gone a few times, but the hotels, even the deluxe ones, aren't great. Crappy towels, not that many amenities, and while not dirty or anything, not what you expect from a room costing $400 a night.

I guess I don't get what is "fake." They get your luggage at the airport for you and deliver it to your room. You check in by waving your wrist at someone. They accommodate room requests as much as possible. The rooms are clean and comfortable. The exteriors and lobbies and hallways are fully decorated/themed. Anything you ask for they will bring you. The pools are great and if the weather is bad the lifeguards set up games indoors. There is transportation right outside to all the places you want to go. There are plenty of things to do right there--arcades, camps, cafes, restaurants, stores, playgrounds. They are well staffed and they will help with anything.

I get that it's Disney, but you sound like the princess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been to Disney a couple of times and did not do research or worry too much about it. We stayed at decent places (Grand Floridian last time) and went to and from the parks when we wanted. I did make some character dinner reservations in advance. I think it's a frame of mind, which probably applies to all travel.

This exactly. I can see if it's your one and only ever trip to Disney, then planning every detail may make sense. Otherwise, pick a park, make a few dinner reservations and go from there. It is a vacation after all !

[Anonymous]

We went to Disney last October and planned very little (got a few fastpases the week before we went) and we had a great time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a high HHI and have taken our kids to all kinds of places. Our trip to Europe was way more relaxing and leisurely than Disney. Much more of a "vacation" than Disney. Disney was loads of fun and I'm glad we went, but it was LOTS of work. Planning and daily time management.
Not to mention very expensive. Easily as expensive as Europe.

We have traveled all over the world and I agree. Disney is so popular -- its mobbed. For someone without military etc , even the tickets are expensive. We paid $1400 for 4 5-day hopper, and that was long ago. $400/nt to stay at Disney "upscale " hotels (very small!) and so on ... easily $1000/day +

[Anonymous]

Because I did research, we were able to find a deal for $3000 for the 4 of us for 7 nights at the Polynesian plus 6 day park hoppers. Spent additional money for airfare and food but it was still very reasonable as far as this kind of vacation goes.

By the way, if you think that the OP and others on this thread are crazy about Disney, I happened upon a FB disney group with about 100k members (it's called Disney Junkies). Now those people are obsessed. Suggesting people research doesn't = obsessed.

[Anonymous]

Here's a story about the guy that started the FB group.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/family-visits-disney-world-5-times-week-article-1.2232049

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol at grand Floridian being called a "decent" place.

you do realize how pathetic you sound, right?

We're poor and can't even the Grand Floridian, but it's not a decent place. It's a fake Disney hotel.

Just stop. They aren't "fake." They are great hotels, by any standard. with what would be considered to be great service outside of Disney.

People are ridiculous.

Of course they are. They're artificially set up with a theme. That's like the definition of fake. Yo can go spend $500 a night on a much nicer hotel without the Disney brand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol at grand Floridian being called a "decent" place.

you do realize how pathetic you sound, right?

We're poor and can't even the Grand Floridian, but it's not a decent place. It's a fake Disney hotel.

Just stop. They aren't "fake." They are great hotels, by any standard. with what would be considered to be great service outside of Disney.

People are ridiculous.

Of course they are. They're artificially set up with a theme. That's like the definition of fake. Yo can go spend $500 a night on a much nicer hotel without the Disney brand.

So, some people would see the Polynesian and think -- wow, we can imagine we're in the south Pacific! And others will think -- who are they kidding, we're in central Florida. The people in group B should probably not bother going to Disney. Lots of people enjoy the effort Disney puts into making the hotels an immersive experience and consider it worth the cost.

[Anonymous]

We priced it out for this Thanksgiving, 7 days offsite but campground reservation to get the perks, plus park tickets and food should run us about $2,500. We are going to drive down (trying it once, flights around then are $500/each then another $500 for a rental car), so another $200 in gas/tolls.

But I am a planner, and would rather put in a few hours before the trip knowing we then had everything organized and ready to go once we're there. It really is only a few hours in total of "planning" time... Not sure what all the fuss is about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My family goes to WDW probably 3x a year on average. We just love it. However, I can understand folks hating it who go down without doing research because it's theme parks. I see families fighting and getting all upset over the missed details of planning this type of vacation. Buy a guidebook, listen to podcasts, get an authorized Disney travel agent... But don't go blindly!

This is truly a sickness. And you have way too much disposable income.

Branch out, try new things for a change.

[Anonymous]

I have three siblings, two of which are in the Disney time share cult. We have never been able to all vacation together because they always end up using their time share. My family and sibling #3 are immune to their pleas to join their cult. It's a shame seeing all the money they're throwing away and the other experiences they're missing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have three siblings, two of which are in the Disney time share cult. We have never been able to all vacation together because they always end up using their time share. My family and sibling #3 are immune to their pleas to join their cult. It's a shame seeing all the money they're throwing away and the other experiences they're missing.

If they are happy then why are you judging them?

[Anonymous]

Cool story, bro.