What do people love about Disney? We took our sons a few years ago, and none of us thought it was amazing. The lines were out of control, the food was expensive (as was everything else), and you even had to wait in line to see any of the characters. I left wondering what exactly people seem to love about it. It was not magical (perhaps because I have sons who don't know much about the princesses), and for all the money we spent, we could have gone to Europe! Busch Gardens Williamsburg is actually a lot more fun for all of us.

I think everyone has to do Disney with their kids at least once. I don't get the people who get joy out of going there very year or have time shares there.....

Took dd to Disneyland once when I had a conference in Anaheim. I'm not a big amusement park fan but it was worth seeing just to see how well organized it was, how effective they were at providing service, and selling lots and lots of stuff no one needs. Someone once said that our amusement parks will be our pyramids. As a country and a culture, we are very good at building and running amusement parks. I fear for our country that we care so much about these things but I was still in awe of how well done the whole thing was.

Maybe you can think of it as a learning experience and that will help? Good luck! Oh and 12:35 mentioned the pool. After one or two days at Disney, dd actually preferred to hang out at the hotel pool with a friend she met.

Meant to add that the pools at Orlando resorts can kind of spoil you, because now when I am looking to book a hotel type vacation I look at their no-waterslide, no zero-entry boring pools and think "hmmph, they call this luxury?" Look at what they did at Lansdowne, Omni's Amelia Island Plantation, etc. as far as renovations in the pool areas. It seems like Disney is forcing them to step up their game.

Since one of the best parts of a Disney vacation is goofing around with your kids at a ridiculously fun pool, I would pick a time when it was slightly warmer. A sweet spot would be in March before the spring break rush. late April AFTER the spring break rush, or early October. My DH went grudgingly and had a great time. But we only went to the Magic Kingdom, for one day, and did one of our meals at the Cinderella castle with 2 little girls who were at their peak of happy cuteness.

Anonymous wrote:LOVE DISNEY! I think anytime but the summer is ok. Especially early December...not bad at all.

Hope you change that attitude OP.

TouringPlans.com has a crowd calendar that will show you the crowded vs. not-crowded times. Generally, avoid summer, 4th of July, Spring Break, Easter, Thanskgiving, Christmas week, President's Day, and any school holidays.

Good times: the Tuesday after Labor Day to mid-November; early December, late January, the first week of February.

My favorite time is early October. It's warm, but not too hot and not too crowded.

First or second week of December. The park is decorated for the holidays, but the holiday crowds have not arrived. I have been in mid - late January, and it was cold. Temperatures can vary of course, but overall the temps are a bit warmer in December-- the kids could swim most days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lobotomized masss love it!

Disney is fun, and not just for the "lobotmized masss."

We love Disney, and we love other places too. Most of our vacations have been to more "intellectual" places like National Parks where my kids learn about nature or history. My most recent vacations have included the Czech Republic, China, New York City, and Canada--but I still love to go to Disney every few years.

The added "s" is for STOOPID!

Anonymous wrote:LOVE DISNEY! I think anytime but the summer is ok. Especially early December...not bad at all.

Hope you change that attitude OP.

Agree. Just don't go, OP, if you are going to ruin the fun for everyone else with that stink-faced attitude of yours.

LOVE DISNEY! I think anytime but the summer is ok. Especially early December...not bad at all.

Hope you change that attitude OP.

November. There is usually a week (not thanksgiving- crowded) where there is a three day week of school or two half days. Great weather and low crowds.

I was dreading it before our first trip. I'm glad I gave it a chance, though, b/c my child had a blast and it was really an easy trip. We've gone at the end of Jan. and it's not crowded at all. I couldn't imagine going during the peak periods, but it's easy to do with kids if you take advantage of the amenities (magic express, stay on resort, rent strollers so you don't have to worry about them).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lobotomized masss love it!

Disney is fun, and not just for the "lobotmized masss."

We love Disney, and we love other places too. Most of our vacations have been to more "intellectual" places like National Parks where my kids learn about nature or history. My most recent vacations have included the Czech Republic, China, New York City, and Canada--but I still love to go to Disney every few years.

You must be so low brow. Just imagine how high brow her children must be.

For the "lobotomized" poster-- I can assure you that my well traveled children who have done stints on four different continents over the last 11 years, including needing new passports due to running out of pages for visa/entry/departure stamps, love to be part of the lobotomized masses at Disney. My favorite is how we did Ankor Wat then flew directly to Disneyland. Within hours of arriving they had forgotten "those old buildings" and could only talk about mouse ears. It is ok PP. I promise, sometimes it is ok to do what your children want and not make everything a learning experience. The kids will still be able to get into a GT program so you can brag to all your high brow friends!!

Anonymous wrote:The lobotomized masss love it!

Disney is fun, and not just for the "lobotmized masss."

We love Disney, and we love other places too. Most of our vacations have been to more "intellectual" places like National Parks where my kids learn about nature or history. My most recent vacations have included the Czech Republic, China, New York City, and Canada--but I still love to go to Disney every few years.