Why, oh Why Dont they Listen???

[AzzySpazbourne]

I actually had one person say to me that honeymooning at Disney was "disgusting" because "there are children there." Umm...what?

People who judge others' honeymooning and vacationing choices are disgusting. We wouldn't trade our WDW Honeymoon memories for anything. Had a blast.

 

[kwdw]

We did my "non-planning" boyfriend's approach one day at MK. After being faced with long lines and huge crowds, he was suddenly on board with asking me what I had planned for the next day and how could we maximize what we could get done. How do we avoid the crowds and lines? What did I have planned? Should we add another ADR? What time did we really need to leave the resort to be there at RD? Should we do this or that? Suddenly - he believed me.

Sometimes those non-planners figure it out another time!

 

[Lesverts]

I'm a travel agent. I plan peoples trips for a living. I've had to deal with people not telling me where they wanted to eat until 2 weeks out and then getting mad that I can't get them into any place. I've had people come in a month before they want to go and think I am ripping them off when I tell them its 200+ for a value. A women argued with me that there was a hotel in Cinderella's Castle and that is where she wanted to stay. But thankfully I would say that well about 50% of people listen to the advice. But I also try to see what kind of people they are. No sense recommending a commando vacation when they are leisurely just happy to be here Cory's.

Plus I never recommend blow by blow down to the minute plans. I just generally recommend to have a list each day of the things you want to accomplish and go from there. I am not a super-dooper-uber planner. But I also know the need to get familiar with the place you are going.

 

[elaine amj]

Like everyone said, MOST ppl get overwhelmed. One friend planned a Disney trip and i was so excited I think I overwhelmed her. She ended up doing the MNSSHP one night and then 2 days at Universal. I don't think they ended up liking WDW all that much.

Another time a coworker mentioned he was going and I gently asked a few questions about his plans. Realized they were staying onsite at a value AND going during free dining. I immediately recommended that he add free dining. He was so excited when he realized just how much he would save. I handed him the Dis list of snack credits. He was so funny - he told me he printed out the list and carried it around with him through the parks! I gave FP- tips and gently suggested using a crowd calendar, but he wasn't really interested so I didn't push it. He had an awesome trip (and loved QSDP).

Most recently, close friends went for their first trip. They came to me a few months out for advice. For the first time, I had people ACTUALLY INTERESTED and willing! They found the actual planning overwhelming and complicated, but were completely happy to have me craft their touring plans, use a TA I recommended, and basically have me design their entire trip. I even got to sit the whole family down one evening to watch the Disney planning video - that REALLY helped me figure out what was important to each family member. It was SO MUCH FUN for me. I discussed everything I did with them and re-emphasized multiple times that it was totally fine to go "off plan", that it was their vacation, and that the most impt part was to have fun together. I asked for feedback and redesigned their plans a couple of times based on their feedback. I even made all their FP+ reservations for them and set them up with a BOG lunch.

They finished their trip last week and said that my touring plans went very smoothly. They did skip a couple of FP+ when the timing didn't work out, but overall, they found my plans easy to follow.

Sure love it when folks listen and "get it"

 

[Quellman]

I actually had one person say to me that honeymooning at Disney was "disgusting" because "there are children there." Umm...what?

Sometimes there are children after honeymooning at Disney. Must be the pixie dust! That poor person just has different expectations. But Honeymooning is a connection and a celebration!

 

[Tash87]

I actually had one person say to me that honeymooning at Disney was "disgusting" because "there are children there." Umm...what?

Me and my husband honeymooned at WDW with our 3 year old daughter! I wouldn't of had it any other way

 

[king kamehameha]

We have family members with small children heading down next week for their first trip ever. The temps. look like 90 to 95 with 100% humidity and they have made so many rookie mistakes. They have never even mentioned fastpass plus and say they are going to "wing it". The funny part is that we have been going to Disney every year for as long as I can remember and consider ourselves very knowledgeable about Disney World. I haven't said anything because they think they have it all figured out. I will just sit back and wait until the complaints start when they get home. I couldn't believe they didn't ask us one question.

 

[chainkid]

I'm taking my Grandson with his parents(LOL) and the other set of newbie grandparents for the first time in early Dec. My son who is a veteran Disney visitor is loathe to make any plans with a 2 year old . He wants to wing it. He always has a wonderful time at Disney because my advance planning allows him to think he is winging it when in fact I get the best dining reservations etc. Planning with a toddler is about setting things up with the goal of letting him set the pace each day for what he wants to do. I booked BOG breakfast all week as we will spending a great deal of time in fantasy land . All dinners were at child friendly venues around 5PM . Mid day we plan to be at resort or pool for nap time. The newbie grandparents on the other hand will have fast passes for must see attractions as well as some dining options for just the adults. If I didn't plan anything then I can see the melt downs now . If you have things in place you can either chose to use them or not. Dining is tricky but as long as the majority show up you are good . I also chose to use a car this time when normally I don't as a toddler can go from content to ballistic in seconds and I'd rather go by car then suffer thru multiple transportation stops. I scoured the boards looking for helpful advice from other families with young children and have adopted a lot of their suggestions in my final planning. The best part is that no matter what I don't sweat it as I have seen it all and done it all so the little one is mine when he is worn out and everyone else can still enjoy the parks while I get to snuggle with my sweetie. I wouldn't attempt to just wing it and when I'm no longer in charge of my points then they can find out just how far winging it will get them LOL

 

[maxiesmom]

One of my bosses at work went to WDW last year. She knew I go at least once a year, but didn't ask any questions. When they got back I heard a bunch of ranting and raving about this and that, but the one that really stuck is how upset she was that the resorts don't have buses that go back and forth from resort to resort. She couldn't understand why while she was at POFQ she couldn't just hop on another bus to visit other resorts, and complained about how stupid it was.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think its perfectly acceptable to go on an unplanned trip. I've had friends who go last minute and they have a great time. They have different priorities... One of my co-workers went and her goal was to ride Dumbo like she did when she was a child. She got to do that - she instagrammed it - and she was completely thrilled with her time at WDW.

My concern for the original post - it sounds like this person WANTS to do a lot. By the number of TS reservations she is familiar with - she should be able to do some of those.

Unfortunately because of a bad travel agent... This is not going to happen.

This is why Tony's Town Square and The Plaza Restaurant in MK can be so mediocre... because that is where these poor folks wind up.

I think it breaks our hearts because we know they are spending a lot of money, and could be having a higher quality and more enjoyable time for those large amounts of cash.

Umm, I happen to love The Plaza. It is very tasty food for a price comparable to quick service. I can't believe you dare to lump it in with that disgusting Tony's!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My neighbor listened - she decided she didn't want to deal with ADR's, FP+ or figuring out which park on which day. She cancelled her trip and went to the beach instead.

One of my sisters is talking about wanting to go to Disney World with her 3 kids. I figure if she asks me for advice, I'll help her otherwise I'm keeping quiet. Her kids are known as the wild bunch and I don't know that they'd do well at Disney - they barely listen at home.

 

[Micca]

I share the frustration with those who try to help and are ignored. The only thing I can think is that until you've seen WDW in person, it is a bit difficult to wrap your head around the enormity of it.

 

[nat8199]

My in-laws are going to Paris in October and outside of their airfare, hotel room and a rough idea they want to go to Disneyland Paris that's it. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law who have been multiple times are "helping" them plan and that's actually been what they encouraged. It's hard to relax and enjoy the scenery and where you are when you're tied to watching a clock the entire time.

My and DH's trip to Paris involved researching the cheapest way from the airport, the best place to stay with his points, which museum/sites were open on which days, which were in the same general area, what metro pass to get, the best places to eat on a budget near each site we would be at during meal times, etc, etc, etc. I loved our Paris trip and we saw a lot of amazing things because of our planning.

My 5 city rail trip in Italy when I was in college (a depressing number of years ago) involved a lot of planning as well.

With any location, Disney or Paris, the amount of planning you are willing to do increases the amount you will see/do/experience while there. You can do any of them on the fly, but need to be willing to accept that you will do less. Neither is right or wrong.

 

[nat8199]

I'm not sure that's exactly true. It depends where you want to go and what you are doing and how big your group is. I am planning a girls weekend in New York and you'd be surprised how many places are already booked more than a month and a half out. We wanted to do afternoon tea at this place on the Upper East Side. The times we wanted were already full. We wanted to reserve a table in the bocce room at Il Vagabondo. Sorry, booked. We want to see the new Whitney Museum - fill out a form and "request" the time you want and they'll let you know if you can get in. Oh - and pay in advance. Seriously. Yeah, we could certainly go and do other things and probably be happy but if you want to do specific things and eat at specific places it's always smart to research in advance.

Exactly. DH and I wanted to see the Washington Monument on a trip planned a month in advance. Not possible. I bought tickets three months ago for a trip we are taking the kids on two days after Christmas. Now we get to see it. All because I planned in advance.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Our next door neighbors moved in a few months ago so I don't really know them that well yet. Last week as I was putting the garbage cans down by the curb the wife passed by as she was finishing up a walk with one of her little girls. She made a comment about how hot it's been here and I replied that it wasn't as bad as the heat & humidity we experienced while we were in WDW a couple of weeks earlier. I mentioned we usually go in October but went in August since DD started college. She said they were probably going to go to Disney in October this year - for their first trip. From the way she talked it didn't sound like they had any plans or reservations yet. Yikes.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

Whenever someone tells me they're going to WDW and haven't been before, I tell them to check out easywdw and look at the cheat sheets. From there, one of three things will happen -- 1) they'll ignore it and wing it (and maybe it does work for some), 2) they'll use the cheat sheets and nothing else and probably be okay, or 3) they'll figure out from the sites that there may be more planning in order for them to do what they want and act accordingly. The latter group usually comes back with specific questions. If I can answer them I do. If I cant, I direct them here to you fine folks who love to help.

 

[BethanyRichardson]

SOmetimes it is best to just let people plan their own trip and hope they have fun.

Yes, that probably is the best. Plenty people manage to go last minute with little planning and still, shockingly, have a great time. Heck, a lot of those difficult ADRs are a lot easier the night before than they were at 180 days. And if you don't get them, well, you eat elsewhere. Maybe even at McDonald's. And a good time can still be had. Even if they don't vacation exactly like you do.

The fact that most people don't do much planning is what makes it possible for other people to get what they want by planning ahead. Just think if everyone was actually in the know, or cared to be.

(Yeah, I know I'm about 4 pages too late...)

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I've had this problem as well, but I'm a person who actually enjoys the planning part. Pricing things out and deciding where to go and when is one of the best parts, in my opinion! Although I have had a few people I know who can't understand why an adult would want to go to Disney. I actually had one person say to me that honeymooning at Disney was "disgusting" because "there are children there." Umm...what?

Some people crack me up. Disgusting? It's not like they were going to use MK as a whoopie hut or something.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I only talk Disney planning with one friend and she happens to love Disney as much as me. The only way I would give anyone else advice would be if they asked for it.

 

[CanadianMerida]

Some people crack me up. Disgusting? It's not like they were going to use MK as a whoopie hut or something.

That's what I thought! She made it sound like people were gettin' it on in the middle of Main Street, although I'm sure there have been some occurrences in the parks.