jaded and confused [Archive]

redleg96

11-12-2009, 11:44 AM

SBETigg

11-12-2009, 12:01 PM

I would consider staying off message boards instead of canceling vacations. I could be wrong, but I think you're getting that impression from seeing so much discussion on it rather than from actually being at WDW. If you're canceling, you're not getting there to know how it really is.

I was nervous about going in April with school break crowds, but I formed a strategy that worked for me and crowds were very manageable. We went Deluxe Dining that trip, and it was a little much for us, but it all worked out. I think it's not Disney's fault for making deals to draw crowds. Our emphasis was definitely not on dining over our family experience.Dining angst can easily be avoided.

Bottom line: If the crowds were truly that unmanageable, you wouldn't see deals coming out. And how does getting a vacation cheaper actually cheapen your experience? I don't think that way. Also, the dining can be a little crazy in free dining periods, but even then-- it's only as crazy as you let it be for you. You make your own angst. You can also make your own plan and decide not to worry about certain things like crowds and dining. If you want the vacation, you find ways to deal-- WDW will always have crowds. If you don't like crowds, yes, maybe it's not for you. Instead of feeling like you have to fight for the most popular dining venues (which, honestly, are not actually the best that WDW has to offer), try something new and not so crowd-endorsed. There's always a way. It seems like you're scaring yourself off before you even arrive. Maybe, sometimes, less information is more. Perhaps if you weren't constantly reading about crowd levels and dining plan woes, it might not even occur to you to worry about such things. Take a few weeks off from Disney message boards and see how you feel then. I love it here, but it's not for everyone and sometimes, "helpful" advice can actually be discouraging.

Ms. Mode

11-12-2009, 12:02 PM

You know, my DH told me the other night that he likes to go to WDW because WE (me and DD) love it there so much. For me, it is exactly as you described "a family" thing when we are together without any outside worries.

I'm not sure how these discount deals work, so far we have not been eligible for any of them. I find myself wondering how people afford to go more than every few years.:cool:

We are going in January, I hope that the magic is the same....I'll keep you posted...lol

vicster

11-12-2009, 12:12 PM

We go every year and have had free dining the past few years. The dining experience is a part of the whole Disney experience. They have some great restaurants. We live in the Chicago area so you know we have some great restaurants but we do enjoy Disney restaurants. We don't feel the free dining "cheapens" the experience - it just helps our wallet.

cajundisneyfreak

11-12-2009, 12:38 PM

Disneyworld is the most magical place on earth.Me and my family absolutely love it.When you are there you have no cares,no worries.It's all about feeling like a kid again and having fun,fun,fun.I love the dining plan.I just wish they still included the tips.Also it would be nice if you could choose between an appetizer or dessert.The last trip I was sick 5 days out of the 10 I was there.I didn't let that get me down.I went with the flow.When I got home I went to the dr.and got a shot and medicine.When the parks get crowded you can do other things.The surrey bikes,speed boats,horseback riding are all fun.I want to go parasailing and ride the hot air balloon.Maybe next trip.You also have to go with a positive attitude.Realistically you will not see or do everything while you are there.Relax and enjoy!!!!!!!!

wilcat

11-12-2009, 12:58 PM

Sorry you are feeling that way. I am on this board several times a day reading all the posts and I never really let the discussions influence me one way or the other. The one year we did the dining plan but we don't do it anymore as it make the trip too structured. For us the best part of being at WDW is about getting away and enjoying time together. We don't worry about crowds or food. When we are hungry we eat counter service and if a park is crowded we move to another or go back to the resort and relax in the pool. Each vacation is what you make it. Some folks go commando style some go with the flow. Don't let the opinions of others sway you against going. I went this summer in June and it was hot, humid and crowded but we had a blast. Just go and enjoy all that WDW offers, you can't go wrong.

Buddy08

11-12-2009, 01:21 PM

Are you cancelling your own Disney vacations or are you some kind of travel agent. I know for myself and my family we make plans to go to Disney and if there is a deal to be had all the better. We still plan on going whether it is "cheaper" or not. We love Disney. It is our favorite vacation place and whether it is hot, crowded or whatever we still love to go and look forward to every trip. The planning part is also fun for us. We try to make one ADR per day so only one meal has us tied down to a certain place. We spend most of our time there together and just enjoy ourselves and each other.

rubato

11-12-2009, 01:28 PM

All,

Please don't take this as a 'downer on Disney' but I'm having doubts. I've been cancelling more vacations to disney than I ever could have imagined, and its not for financial reasons. With all the 'deals' out there now, it almost seems that the experience has been 'cheapened'. What makes it worse it the way crowds have been and the emphasis on the dining experience instead of a 'family experience'. Anybody else feel this way? I'm open to your thoughts. I realize that many of you will not agree, I'm not trying to start a 'blog war' so it that's your intend, please don't bother replying. With that said, I'm open to thoughts.

I understand your worries. I keep hearing that there aren't any more down times at DW. We go in Jan or Feb to avoid the crowds, but it sounds like it might even be busy then. And, yes, the food has become the focus, but only because it's so hard to get reservations. This will be my first time with the dining plan. I feel like all we're going to be doing is eating. Before, we would make 2 or 3 TS reservations (at cheaper times like breakfast and lunch), and eat when we were hungry all the other times. I told hubby that we would try the plan this time, but would be going back to the old way from now on. And, people don't seem to understand that free dining isn't "free". You are paying full price for your room and tickets, which can override the dining costs sometimes. But, Disneyworld is still magical and I hope that you can find your inner child again!!!!!:mickey:

Dawn,DeniseandDiane

11-12-2009, 01:49 PM

We are fortunate enough that we can get away to WDW almost every year. We usually do the dining plan and really enjoy it. We are not too structured, nor do we tie ourselves down. We take our time as we go, discovering all the "magic" that WDW offers us. We never really ever notice how busy or crowded things are when we go. We are so... selfishly focused on each other that we believe WDW is what you make it! We have enjoyed every single trip and have never worried about not having a good time. We hope that you can enjoy a wonderful trip too.

Dawn,Denise&Diane:wave::wave::wave:

Seasonscraps

11-12-2009, 02:51 PM

All,

Please don't take this as a 'downer on Disney' but I'm having doubts. I've been cancelling more vacations to disney than I ever could have imagined, and its not for financial reasons. With all the 'deals' out there now, it almost seems that the experience has been 'cheapened'. What makes it worse it the way crowds have been and the emphasis on the dining experience instead of a 'family experience'. Anybody else feel this way? I'm open to your thoughts. I realize that many of you will not agree, I'm not trying to start a 'blog war' so it that's your intend, please don't bother replying. With that said, I'm open to thoughts.

I am down on Disney but not for the reasons you mention.

All the promotions makes it more affordable for families to go to Disney. I think it's great for people that want to go and may not have the means to go if they had to pay the premium disney charges during peak seasons. I don't understand how more people being there can cheapen the experience.

As for the emphasis on dining...It's pretty well known for repeat Disney vacationers that ADRs are a must and it's the only thing left to plan while you wait for vacation to start. I think planning family dinners for a family vacation only enhances the family experience.

And every few weeks there are threads about allowing older kids go off in the park buy themselves and there are always a bunch of "this is a family vacation, we stay together" respones. This is evident in threads with other topics as well.

I think the family experience is alive and well in DW! :mickey:[

tazlikesrobots

11-12-2009, 03:52 PM

I work for a school system, which limits my vacations to the peak times at WDW. What I've found that crowds are meanlinless if you have a good plan of action in place.

This means knowing when parks have EMH, park trends (what days are the least crowded), getting there before rope drop, and have a plan on what to do once you enter the park. Also I found that the parks were not as crowded as it sounded to be, so it is still somewhat of a guess on the crowds.

We've managed to do everything we wanted to do on our trip last July (2nd to the 8th) and still had time to go back to the hotel and relax. If nothing else, just remember you are on vacation. Go with the flow and you'll be surprised how much of a good time you will have. Some of our most memorable WDW moments were not planned :)

redleg96

11-13-2009, 05:13 PM

SandmanGStefani24

11-13-2009, 08:46 PM

i think (at least based on my trips) that WDW is exactly what you make of it. I have gone with family, friends, and solo and have had the best time every time. The focus of WDW shifts from time to time, and I never pay too much attention mostly because I have my own agenda and am frankly having too much fun. The trip needs to be 100% about you having a great time and not worrying about anything other than that. I get where you're comming from, but I think you can enjoy your trip if you don't sweat the small stuff or whatever WDW feels like promoting this week. :beer:

I LoveJack

11-13-2009, 09:13 PM

I like going to Disney at least once a year, and living so far away it doesn't help. I love getting a better than normal deal on a vacation because then I can spend more on the kids in other ways. I went this past Oct. with the free dining plan. The money I would have spent on food we spent on an upgrade from a value to mod. resort. I got the pirate rooms at CBR which thrilled my kids to no end. I love planning out the meals and all before the trips. That's half of the fun to me.
And with DL offering buy 3 get 2 free, I'm going out there for Spring break in March. So any discounts I deeply appreciate. Now there we don't have any set dining plans, so a little more laid back, but I still basically know where we will be eating at and all.

Genie1953

11-13-2009, 10:29 PM

14 years in the Army and counting.....tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan and getting ready to go back.

Thanks for all you do for our country! I have a son in law who is in the Army....he is getting ready to deploy to Iraq in a couple of months....will be his 4th tour. Having seen him go through these multiple deployments and since I also work for the Veterans Medical Center I understand completely how difficult Army life is. Thanks again!

stitchaholic

11-14-2009, 07:00 AM

I travel solo with my 2 kids,and it is a place with something for all of us, we also do not love crowds, so when it gets to be too much,we head back to the resort for some pool and down time before we head out again.
we love to stroll DTD for a change of pace.
We also enjoy the dinning, we have been to so many interesting places and it is fun, we all get to pick a place we want to go, this year the rule was,all new places for us, so it doesn't get old.
we are extremely excited to get there in jan!

mrsgaribaldi

11-14-2009, 10:50 PM

I just got back today and the crowds were very light.

TheVBs

11-15-2009, 08:33 PM

I think the suggestion of avoiding the discussion boards for awhile is a good one. When you feel ready to give WDW a try again, book it and still stay away from the discussions! Decide what you want the vacation to be for you and your family. Avoid things that you think will cause you stress, like if you think the dining plan would be too structured. Decide what would make the trip magical for each of you and make those things your priority. Until that happens, try other destinations, like national parks, other theme parks, cool cities, etc.

WDWNut02

11-16-2009, 11:40 AM

For me and my family dinner time is a time when we catch up with one another, be it about how our work day went or anything else. It's no different for us while we are at Disney. We talk over dinner about all that we have done, what we still want to do, in what direction should we head next. It can be just as fun as being on rides :mickey: Not to mention the food is soooo darn good!

BluewaterBrad

11-16-2009, 03:55 PM

I just want to say "Thank-You" for Your service. God Bless You!! Please come home safe and sound!:mickey:

Marilyn Michetti

11-17-2009, 09:54 PM

Thanks for all you do for our country! I have a son in law who is in the Army....he is getting ready to deploy to Iraq in a couple of months....will be his 4th tour. Having seen him go through these multiple deployments and since I also work for the Veterans Medical Center I understand completely how difficult Army life is. Thanks again!

Why not get the five day Military Salute ? It goes through Dec. 23.
:thumbsup:

Marilyn Michetti

11-17-2009, 10:00 PM

I'm an old lady, and forgot what I meant to post. Anyway, there are some "scare tactics" put out that cause people to panic. For example, "you won't get into the Candlelight Processional without a dinner package". NO. Another is, "you have to have ADR's to get good food." Another scare. The CS dinners are more for us because we can eat where we are, and when we're hungry. We've never starved, and don't need $50 dinners everynight.

You go and have a good time. Stay loose, and don't cave in to anybody else's bad news.:thumbsup:

Sylvia

11-18-2009, 12:04 AM

redleg96 - Thanks for your service. I'm a long-time DoD employee (Defense Logistics Agency), so I understand how difficult service life and deployment can be. May God bless you and bring you home safely from your next deployment.

I don't take advantage of the free dining plan - for several reasons. I'm an annual passholder, so I usually have a passholder room discount. I don't eat at TS locations every day. I don't want to plan every minute of every day of my vacation - I prefer to "play it by ear" as my late Mother used to say.

If I decide to see if one of my favorite TS locations has space available, I always have a backup plan, just in case I'm not able to be seated. I've actually had some great luck as a walk-up at the 50s Prime Time on many occasions.

For me, over-planning takes too much work. I prefer to have a general plan, always subject to change. I don't like deciding where I'll eat dinner 3 or 6 months into the future and on what day. With so many options these days at CS locations in the parks and at the resorts, mealtime can become an adventure. As an example, in September I had a delicious grilled salmon dinner at, of all places, the food court at AS Music.

As for some of the negative comments on discussion boards, I don't let them get me down, and you shouldn't either. Don't get me wrong; I get just as frustrated as many others when a particular favorite attraction "goes away". I miss some of the old attractions which are now just pleasant memories. But, I grew up on Disney, I still enjoy everything Disney, and I'll keep going back to WDW (with an occasional trip to DL) yearly as long as I'm breathing. I love being able to act like a kid without feeling embarrassed. Every vacation is a new experience.

I realize it may not always be practical to "wing it", but try not to overplan and, most of all, do it your way. I hope your next WDW vacation will be magical.

redleg96

12-05-2009, 03:16 PM

I think one of the big factors is...I would love to 'wing it'; my first Disney vacations were all at Disneyland while we were stationed out at Fort Irwin, CA for two years. We were able to go during off peak times due to my schedule and being a homeschooling family; we never made dining reservations except for three times - twice for character breakfasts and once for the restuarant located inside the pirates of the carribbean ride at DL; ---I've only been to Disney World once, in summer of July 2008 - it was hot, crowded, and if you didn't have an ADR, you weren't eating at a TS...thankfully I'm a Type A Planner and since we were on the DDP, we had ADRs for every day and were at no risk of being underfed....

The 'vibe' was much different at Annaheim as well....yes I know it's smaller and you don't get the animal kingdom, epcot, HS, or the water parks but many of the headliner rides can be found at California Grand Adventure (like Tower of Terror and Soarin').

We are planning on visiting after I get back from Afghanistan, possible do a wedding vow renewal while there and I'm sure by that point, I'll be ready to go back.

Thanks to all for the advice.

MushuGrl

12-05-2009, 07:29 PM

I find myself doing this, going online and seeing something that might possibly make my vacation "less perfect" and I stress over it and stress over it. Then I remember all the times I've stressed over it and forgotten what I'd stressed over as soon as I got there. It's never perfect and I'm always ready to go back anyway.

I'm with you on the "winging-it" though. We're an "eat when you get hungry" type group. I don't like having to leave a park when I'm having a good time because I have to be on the other end of the World for dinner. I have made friends with QS meals, LOL.

redleg96, thank you for your service! We will be praying for you to come home to us safe and SOON! Hope to buy you a dole whip someday!

vicster

12-07-2009, 09:12 AM

We are planning on visiting after I get back from Afghanistan, possible do a wedding vow renewal while there and I'm sure by that point, I'll be ready to go back.

Thanks to all for the advice.

Come home safely and thanks for all you do! I grew up an "Army Brat" whose father was in Viet Nam so I do understand what military families go through. You'll have your next Disney trip with your family to look forward to - be safe.