Anyone's trip NOT live up to your expectation?

[Gregandmel]

I was just curious if anyone's trip wasn't what they "dreamed" it would be - and if so - what were the factors that made it that way? We went this past October and it truly went as smooth as could be and it was honestly everything we wanted. There was a ton we didn't do, but we kept it at a pace that was good for us. It was such a great trip that I can't wait to plan another one!! However, I can't tell you the number of families we saw (usually with little kids) who looked completely stressed out, angry, and had an "I'm never doing this again" look on their face. One lady (back at the resort) had her two kids (one in each hand) and said "NOT RIGHT NOW!! Mommy needs lots of water and some aspirin" I was just curious if anyone came back dissapointed (usually with the circumstances and NOT WDW itself).

[#1donaldfan]

...so far not yet, and if it ever happens, then it'll be quite awhile before going back...but currently we can find no fault and keep planning trips, waiting for our next arrival "home".....:thumbsup:

[afowl1017]

I have never been completely disappointed with a trip to WDW. My family can't wait to plan the next trip! :cloud9:

However there have been moments when I have been completely astonished with something or someone, maybe even have to deal with a accident. I believe that it is just the way it works....you can either be upset the rest of the trip or shake it off and move on. There are plenty of other magical moments waiting for you to experience but you can't if you are holding on to a bad one.

[PETE FROM NYC]

Our last trip in March 2007 was almost a waste of my time.
We took my DWs family with us for their first trip.They left all of the planning to us, said we would be the group leaders.We spent more time looking for them that we did not have the time to do alot of what was planned.We were on thr DDP and missed several of our ressies because we were trying to find the group.One day they wanted to sleep a bit late saying they would meet us at MK later.A few hours later they call my cell saying they cabbed it to Universal.
Never again with a non-Disney family!

[Luv Eeyore]

The only time a trip was disappointing was one a couple of years ago, and it was only because DS got sick while we were there.:ill: Unfortunately, he and I had to spend much of our vacation in the room while DH and DD got to go have fun without us.

[afowl1017]

Never again with a non-Disney family!

I have to agree with that! Make sure family or friends you take to WDW are fans. I have heard a bunch of family or friends say they would rather go some place else. :confused:

[betteratmk]

:mickey: I think alot of people stress so much about what not to miss, they end up having no fun at all. It is almost impossible to see and do everything Disney has to offer in one week. We have always said what we don't do this time will happen on the next trip. I always feel sorry for those little ones who are tired, hungry and just want to stop and smell the roses for a little bit. I know it's alot of money but relax a little!!!

[TikiGoddess]

I did one trip with my (then) DD3 and some family members. It was not the most magical trip because of two reasons.

1. illness (:ack:)
2. trying to do too much -- not slowing down

Kathy

[diz_girl]

:mad:
I was just curious if anyone came back dissapointed (usually with the circumstances and NOT WDW itself).

Heck, yeah! That was my last trip to WDW in the first week of December. It was the first trip ever where I couldn't wait to get out of there and I wasn't sad when I left. The bad trip was no fault of Disney's. They were great and I don't have a bad thing to say about the trip, other than the view of my room at WL (2031). I paid for a Courtyard view room and my view was of Artists's Point, and nothing else. Woohoo...

I'm actually a laid-back person who normally lets things slide, but I couldn't on this trip. We didn't even try to do everything. We did MK for two days, EPCOT for two days and AK for one day. We stayed at WDW for six nights and tried to have DS in bed every night by 8.

I love road trips, but traffic (Thanksgiving weekend) was horrible the further south you went. The drive back was great - without a hitch, as usual. Next time, I'll take the Auto Train - I don't care what it costs. I hate flying, so don't even try to tell me how great flying is.

We took SIL with us and she was getting over a cold, which she gave to me and my DS. Here's a tip, if you're sick, don't stick your face in front of a baby's, please. We both wound up with a fever and were sick for most of the trip. So I was dragging around a sick, cranky toddler while I was sick (and using lots of Purell so I wouldn't spread my germs on to various surfaces). Not fun. :mad:

At AK, I wanted to push the stroller on the Pangani trail for my DS to take a nap. Well, my sister wanted to go to Raffiki's, but I wanted to do a trail because I needed a place to walk and didn't want to get stuck pushing a stroller around in a circle. She's pushy and bossy, and insisted that Rafiki's had a trail, so I caved and tried to get DS to nap, but there's isn't a good place to walk there. Five minutes after DS fell asleep, she and her family finished up a Rafiki's, got on the train and left. I then wound up pushing a stroller in a circle for an hour. :mad:

DH set the alarm for 5 am, so that he could wake up for a run. Of course, that woke up DS, who had already woken up three times during the night because of his cold. I couldn't get back to sleep after that. I was fuming.:mad:

I scheduled Segway tours at EPCOT for Sis, BIL, SIL and DH. I told them when they need to be at the bus stop to get to EPCOT in time for their tour. Did they listen to me? No. Did they miss their time for the tour? Yes. Did they get in at a later time? Yes. Was I still annoyed? You bet.:mad:

DS and her family backed out of all breakfast reservations and some of the dinner reservations that I made (after I got their input on them). Out of 18 meals over 6 days, only 7 meals had ADRs. They made three of them and I had to cancel or modify the rest while trying to handle a sick, cranky toddler. At least we weren't on the DDP. :mad:

On our last night, at 'Ohana, BIL went out for a smoke and did this whole 1/2 hour long ordeal to buy a painting in that gallery downstairs, pulling three other people from the table, while the remaining three adults had to rein in the kids until they returned for dessert. :mad:

Amazingly, my Mom, who is bossy and a control freak, along with my Dad, who is not, were my two favorite people on the trip. Not demanding or inconsiderate at all. Yeah! Maybe next time I'll just take them, DS, and no one else. I actually can't wait to go back, and I hope that my next trip is better.

It sounds like I had a lot to be annoyed about, but when I came back from my trip, I logged onto Intercot, saw a post from someone who just experienced an unimaginable loss, and everything that I just mentioned above became extremely unimportant.

[Marilyn Michetti]

Dec. of 2006 - the trip from Heck

I was a volunteer at a hospital here in Mesa for years until mom got sick. The head nurse in the O.R., was lots of fun and a Disney freak. Well, sometime in June, I said, "why not come with us"? That's the kind of thing everybody says off-handedly once and awhile, but two weeks later, they said YES!!!

Long story short, she turned out to be an obnoxious drunk, - nothing was right - melt downs all over the place. Her hubby was a sweet teddy bear of a guy, and didn't say much, but was over 400lbs, and had several health issues that had us worried.

My DH said to me, "IF YOU EVER" !!! Get my drift?

Other than that, all our trips have been terrific.:mickey:

[Aggie97]

A few days into a 10-day trip in December 2000, I got really sick. We had a doctor come to our resort room, hoping that it was just the flu or a bad sinus infection.

I was determined to still do everything we wanted, but the trip was a total blur for me. I don't remember much of it, and I look just awful in all our photos!

By the time we returned home, I felt even worse, so I went to the doctor and learned I had bronchitis and pneumonia. I wasn't back to full speed for weeks! :ill:

[betteratmk]

:noway: it just goes to show you don't really know someone until you vacation with them!!!

[kakn7294]

Yes, I've had several that haven't BUT, it's not the fault of anything Disney did or didn't do. Well, I take that back. Nobody told me not to travel with my sister or FIL's wife....:D (some of you will remember Debbie - unfortunately, she's still around!)

[pink]

Kind of not for me but for my DBF. We went in September and don't get me wrong we both had a great time but after every thrill ride he would say "I thought that was going to be scarier."

He was still upset when we had to go home though. :mickey:

[LauraleeH]

Yes, at MIckey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2007. Every cast member we had contact with screamed at us for no reason. We ended up leaving early, only to have more cast members yelling at us on our way out with me in tears. Never again will I go to a MVMCP.

[mouseketeer mom]

Our very first trip with the kids years ago didn't go well. I was a nut trying to show everybody everything Disney has to offer, that we ran and ran and exhausted ourselves. The trip was very tense, and my son got a fever and sore throat for a few days of it. I vowed never to do that to my family again.

[goofysbabe]

My very first trip to the world was HORRIBLE!!!! We went during Spring Break 2002. The decision to go at that time was a family reunion being held at Ft. Wilderness. I was new to Disney and didn't know anything about it or the boards at that time. I have a sister that is in a wheelchair and both my little ones in a double stoller (which I drug along with me) we camped at Ft. Wilderness - the bus system was just awful - wasn't until the very end that one of the drivers took the time to explain which bus to catch (they were always full and we had a wheelchair). We were at MK one day and took the little path that goes from HM to BTR while the parade was going on - BIG MISTAKE - people were walking over my children in the stoller!!! We didn't get to see or ride anything that my sister in the wheelchair couldn't go on - waits were over 2hrs. because of that my oldest hates Disney - we've been back 4 times since and he will not go. I cried that trip - I just knew thats not how Disney is suppose to be - so on the way home I told my family I'm going back in 3 years and I'm gonna know more and we're gonna have a good time well...... 3 yrs. later we went the day after Thanksgiving and stayed the first week of December - it was just heaven!!!:cloud9: I learn more and more each trip we take - and since I've found this board and two others I know if there's something I need to know before I go - just ask - This past trip we braved the dreaded Christmas crowd - and guess what it was one of the best trips we've taken to the world. :thumbsup:

[BedknobsandBroomsticks]

When I go with others outside my own direct family I always make it understood that 1. we are not joined at the hip. 2. we will not wait for you and miss dinner or rides, you snooze, you loose. Our son got sick one year, we had Disney take us to the doctor, he still remembers that. He rode and slept around WDW in his stroller on some cough syrup for a day or two and then felt better. Thank God is wasn't worse. DD has had asthma issues many times there, change in weather I guess. We just try to roll with it. That lady should always have an analgesic with her. I carry it for me and kids as hot weather and long days can result in foot and headaches. Many a meltdown has been saved by a dose in the afternoon. What's that old boy scout motto, "be prepared". That is what intercot is great at. You don't have to make all those mistakes to learn, you can learn before you go and have a wonderful time. We do have our moments of sniping at one another, we're type A, but we try to say we're sorry afterwards. I wouldn't say any trip has been bad or ruined, you make the best of it. Last trip, it rained alot! DH got cranky and wanted to stay in the room. I said, I'll be darned if I came to WDW to sit in this room. It is warm so who the heck cares if we're wet. We donned our slickers and off we went. Pretty soon daddy realized there was no use sulking and he came to. Even my mom 72 in her wheelchair had a great time. We went to Chef Mickeys looking like drowned rats but we went.

[BMan62]

Although there is almost always something that doesn't go quite right, I have yet to have a trip to WDW that has not lived up to my expectations.

Of course, my expectations are simply to have a good time, be away from home and work, and de-stress.

Even when things don't go quite right - a SIL who does not break in her new shoes before making the trip and is whiny the whole time; a DW who is more worried about getting an "A" ticket on our SW flight than enjoying our last night in the parks; weather that does not cooperate; crowds in parks and bus stops that think they are entitled to pass us by for closer access; etc. - I try to take it all in stride and just 'stop and smell the roses,' because we never know if and/or when we will be able to make the trip again.

[Mousemates]

Our family has had a few less than memorable moments at WDW...but those have usually been the result of one of two things:

First: Trying to tour the parks with someone who's idea of a good vacation was very different than the majority of our family group...or who instead of enjoying the "complete immersion of staying on property" was fairly repulsed by it. (Word of caution...if you are an intercotee, make sure your fellow vacationers like the Mouse...otherwise you will quickly tire of their constant criticism of how WDW is just "big marketing ploy designed to make children beg their parents to spend too much money.")


Second: Trying to do too much...early on in our visits there was a lot of self-induced pressure to "do everything" in order to "get the most out of the money." Finally we figured out the best way to get the most out of our money was to make sure we actually relaxed and enjoyed ourselves...which for us meant slowing down a bit and taking time to enjoy the details of the parks, resorts, etc.

CONFESSION #1:

The person who made WDW miserable for my family with constant complaints about the "in your face" marketing was actually me. For while we went to WDW several times, I really only went (and very reluctantly) for our kids...they liked it. i did not. In my mind, we would go to disney, spend a lot of money and I would come back so tired that I needed a vacation to recover.

CONFESSION #2.

The person who wanted to make sure we did everything, everytime, was my wife. For her WDW was love at first sight......(for me, obviously, in my adult life, it has been more of an acquired taste) and when she got there she was energized...and ran a hundred miles an hour from the opening ceremony to the castles "kiss goodnight." Then it was back to the room for a few hours sleep and then back to the parks to repeat the process over and over again. (shampoo, rinse, repeat as necessary until exhausted).

So how did I go from hater to lover...well, it was really just one big thing....we slowed our WDW vacations down a bit by building in a resort/pool day here and there...I know it drove my wife crazy the first time we did it...(I mean to be at WDW and miss time that could spent in the MK was maddening to her)...but it gave me a chance to unwind and decompress from a pretty stressful job...and when we slowed down I started to notice some of the sublteties of the resorts and began to appreciate the efforts of some of the CMs we encountered....and now some four years later...I am the primary poster for our intercot name and look forward to what have become rather frequent visits to the Land of the Mouse.

[grumpyguy]

i have never been dissappointed with a wdw vacation.that's some heavy praise when you consider some important things...
#1.)i am not rich.i work a very hard 55-60hrs per week.so,my bang for the buck is under a microscope.
#2.)i have ultra high expectations.i am in a customer service type industry,so when it comes to people taking care of me for a change i am very critical.
anytime i have observed anyone not having the time of their lives at wdw the following conditions have been consistant.
#1.)it's been hot outside
#2.)their's been little,little children involved.
#3.)a group of people.
c'mon everybody gets cranky when it's hot.
parent's need to remember "their" the adults.
i would never go to a large scale anything with more than 3-4 people,too many opinions,feelings and ideas on what to do.
can't make everyone happy and still enjoy myself.
two things that should be not allowed:
#1.)double wide strollers (evil invention)
#2.)smokers,let allowed smoking outside the designated areas,if i couldn't smell it i wouldn't care if you choose to slowly kill yourself,just don't take me with you.didn't mean to open a can of worms.i know the smoking topic is a beast all it's own.
lighten up....it's "the happiest place on earth".
if that's not what you're experiencing,look in the mirror.

[Disney Doll]

Yep. Vacays with relatives can be awesome or horrible. We've experienced both. MIL & SIL once accompanied us to the world and it will be a while before we do that again. MIL requested connecting rooms and afforded us absolutely no privacy. SIL expected everyone to wait for her in the mornings and was always about 45 minutes late in getting ready even though we agreed on a time to leave the night before. SIL also needed to stop for smoke breaks, again more waiting. SIL and MIL fought like cats and dogs the entire trip. They just bicker non-stop. Now that I've been around them more I know that's how they always are. Now that I'm older and wiser I know how to vacation with extended family. We do what we normally would. No connecting rooms, , no 24/7 togetherness, no waiting around, we just plan what we like and invite people to meet up with us or join in us as they chose. It works much better!

[meldan98]

I guess for me out last trip to WDW was a little disappointing. On our first day, my dd got a little sick from the humidity. We are from a dry area and in December I just didn't realize it could be humid. My dd turned 4 while we were there so I booked her for BBB. I thought she would love it, but she looked misserable the entire time and never once smiled, but she says that her make over was the best part of the trip...go figure. We went with my parents and my mom is the type of person that will settle and agree on anything and never give her opinion on ANYTHING!!! That made for a frustrating trip on so many levels. My dad would make us late for a lot of things, because he would forget things, change his mind on stuff or go wandering off, so we would just end up waiting around for him. I'm normally a huge planner, but with this trip, I just planned which parks we would go to on which days and then did one ADR a day. My family expected that I would have every little detail planned out and when I didn't they couldn't make up their mind on what they wanted to do. All in all it was a good trip, however, I don't look forward to my next trip to the World with my family.

[kemps@wdw]

The only thing that disappoints me about WDW is having to leave! :D

[Tinkerfreak]

Yes, I've had several that haven't BUT, it's not the fault of anything Disney did or didn't do. Well, I take that back. Nobody told me not to travel with my sister or FIL's wife....:D (some of you will remember Debbie - unfortunately, she's still around!)

It's funny but whenever I hear about someone having difficult relatives or friends on their trip with them, your experience with Debbie always comes to mind.:D

[afowl1017]

The only thing that disappoints me about WDW is having to leave! :D

Love that....you are so right! :thumbsup:

[wilcat]

I can't say any of my trips to WDW have been bad but sometimes I leave with the feeling I didn't do something right. My DH is not a big fan of WDW so I do my best to make it feel like it is the best place to vacation. I think I spend so much time making sure he is having a good time I forget about me. I have missed a lot of things in the parks because he wants to go back to the room early or doesn't get up until late. We usually stay off site (big mistake) which means I have to wait around for him to get moving. Don't get me wrong we have been married 32 years and I love him to death but sometimes he just doesn't get it. Our last trip in December was suppose to be a very relaxing trip filled with new things like MVMCP, but again I worried about what he wanted the entire week and when I got back home I cried :sad:because I did not feel like I enjoyed myself at all. I told him the next trip I take is going to be solo but since he has been laid off since December I don't know when I can get back.