Are Some WDW Visitors Just Plain FOOLS?

[LVT]

Folks, I know some sort of political correctness says everyone is entitled to their opinion etc. etc. etc. but

On our last and previous trips to WDW we have struck up bus conversations with more than one family, bright shiny faces, happy excited children... how long are you here for?... a week ... 2 days left... then...

Have you been to EPCOT? No! Yuck! It's educational isn't it. I didn't take my kids outa school a week to go there myself! And isn't part of it foreign? That has no appeal to me at all.

and/or

Are you going to the Animal Kingdom? No! it's just some sort of zoo or something isn't it? Smelly animals. We've been to the zoo back home.

I gotta tell you, I like Dumbo and Corn Dogs as much as anybody but I always find unique and entertaining things for all ages and interests when I take family and friends to any of the Disney Parks.

Can a person who hasn't walked through the gate at EPCOT or AK or DHS know they won't like it? Is that an opinion or a guess?

Sometimes we feel tempted to reply with words like Natazu and Nemo and Soarin' and Dinosaur and Everest and Mulan and Belle but usually we just wait out the rest of the bus ride.

I guess these people go home and tell their friends WDW is a nice place but there's not enough to do there to stay a whole week...

I perfer they stay away from AK and Epcot to
keep them for myself.

[S-A-M]

I perfer they stay away from AK and Epcot to
keep them for myself.

AMEN!

[Dsnygirl]

I guess a lot of times it comes down to people's expectations of a vacation.

I have a friend who took her family/kids down for the first time last year, and I helped her a lot with information on the different parks, rides, etc.

While she enjoyed watching her girls interact with the characters and liked the rides, she felt she wouldn't go back b/c it just wasn't relaxing for her. A beach, some sun & sand, not moving in the sun for 8 hours? That is relaxing to her. (Something I enjoy, as well, but wouldn't find relaxing after the first 4 hours... then I wanna DO something... )

They skipped a lot of things I thought they and their girls would enjoy -- AK was "just animals" and Epcot was just "learning about countries they didn't care about" -- yet when she looked at my pictures from the same places, she was like, "Where is that? Oh, I might've done that!"

So, preconceived notions based on what they've heard from the uneducated (okay, and unbiased, unDisneycrazed... ) masses definitely affect what they expect and plan to do, and if you're idea of fun isn't what Disney offers, you'll be sorely disappointed and bored outside of (and maybe even within) MK.

Sad, but like Ian said, shorter waits for us if those folks never go, or never return...

[Gator]

If you go to WDW and hit 2 parks, then you're a fool. You might as well go to Disneyland Resort. DL has more rides than MK, and CalAdv has plenty of fun rides. But without Epcot and AK, it's not nearly as fun of a trip. With four parks, you can really escape reality...which is why I go to WDW (3000 miles away) vs DL (300 miles away).

[caryrae]

I can't imagine all the great things I may miss out on in life if I didn't do things because I think I may not like it.

[pixiesmimi]

The first time we went to WDW we didn't fully enjoy the World Showcase at Epcot because we really didn't know what it was about. We walked around the countries and went in some of the shops but didn't go into the main buildings of the countries and decided it was too long a walk around and not enough to do. Same with AK and it was very hot with no place to sit down and rest out of the heat. But after I bought a book on WDW and started reading all the ins and outs of the parks, I got excited and we decided we would explore more the next trip. That was the beginning of our obsession. I didn't figure that DH would want to watch the DVD but when I started watching he became very interested in it all. So everytime we have gone since, we try to do something different that we have never done and we get very excited about going again every year. I could go every month and not get bored but DH says once a year is enough. If he could fish down there every time (too expensive) he would go every time I wanted to go. Maybe the answer is to hand a book and the DVD to those who are clueless and think there isn't anything to do down there and watch them change their minds if they don't want to listen to our advice about it.

[TheVBs]

Definitely to each his own!

But, I do have to say that everytime I hear someone describe AK as just a zoo, all I can think is - "I wanna go to your zoo!!" I've been to big city zoos and little itty bitty zoos. And while I love them all, I have never seen one that even comes close to what AK is.

[RocknBev]

I believe the correct terminology is ignorance. They just don't know any better. Fools know better and do not act on their knowledge. Of course it seems to be foolish not to take advantage of the resources available to them but if they view the WDW in 2009 like the WDW of 1973...they will be lost and confused and will waste a good deal of their money!

I agree with the pp who said...shorter lines for us!

DH and I have been WDW visitors since the 70's (separately since we were both kids). He never wanted to go to Epcot so it took me years to talk him into it. Now it is one of his favorite parks.

He still doesn't care of AK but he did try it. I need to change his mind about going to see shows...he hates that for some reason...and I love them...who better to put on a fabulous stage production than Disney?!
Although I have seen quite a few...it typically take the twisting of an arm to accomplish it!

[NYChica23]

I know what you mean. As someone who only gets to go to WDW once every few years, I agree that things are better when you have a plan. The last time I went with my family in September 07, I had gone to Barnes and Nobles and bought a WDW guide a couple of weeks before departure day, so I was familiar with all the parks and knew all about Fastpasses, which restaurants to eat at, which rides to go on, which shows and parades to see, and how to get from the resort to the parks. Even though I only had 4 days to tour the parks, I got to go on all the rides I wanted and all the shows I had planned to see because I did my research ahead of time

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Let's look at it another way.
2) Before Disney, I knew
. . . Cedar Point
. . . Toledo Zoo and Cleveland Zoo
. . . Ringling Brothers
3) But never guessed what I would see at Magic Kingdom.
4) And this was BEFORE Epcot was invented.
5) I was also surprised by Epcot when it finally opened.
6) Boy, was mind blown! (Still is!)
7) These people are probably in the same position.
8) One day, they will have their opinions changed.

NOTE: It was unfortunate that we visited Magic Kingdom, then Epcot when it opened, and was blown away both times. I got a little disappointed at MGM and AK necause they were not as well thought out or planned as MK or Epcot.

[wdwfansince75]

We (I, DW, DS#1, and DD's # 1 & 2) on our first trip to DL in 71, were lost, bewildered, and confused......but by noontime, I had picked up a park map and daily schedule....So over lunch, I planned the rest of the day......And do at least some research for every trip to WDW.....DW laughs at my obsession with planning, but depends on my knowledge of the parks and WDW every day on our trips.

On almost every trip, I have had the chance to share my park maps and times guides with people who looked lost.....bewildered, but not frustrated... Or when I hear them talk about the long line at Splash, and whether they should just wait, I ask if they know about fast passes....
I never leave our resort without Park Maps and Times Guides for my destination park(s)....and often share them on the bus or monorail.......From time to time, I see the same families later in the trip, and had them thank me for how much my tips helped their trip. And, yes, I have met families who didn't realize that there were 4 parks (How do they miss that?), or don't know that you can ride the Monorail even if you aren't a WDW Resort guest, or that there are Character Meals at the resorts.....And I share my opinions of what to do, and when to do it....

[crltkcagle]

Too bad for them thats more room in the parks for us!

[Imagineer1981]

The worst is when people ask you, "why do you keep going back, don't you want to go to the beach or see the world". I then proceed to tell them, I can do that right at WDW!!!!

[Ksmith75]

We always stay for 9 nights - that way we have 2 days at each park - one full day each and then highlights as we see fit. I could stay there for 3 days in each park if we could. I get the whole - Disney - why it is just a theme park....other people are so wrong.

[SueQ]

My sister and her family don't usually go to Epcot. She's one of the "too educational" ones. I love Epcot. And I cannot imagine someone not wanting to go to AK. Especially if you have kids.

I love everything about Disney and hate to miss anything while there.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

We love all the parks! Like people, they each have a different personality.

That being said ~ AK is alot nicer if you like animals; Epcot is far more enjoyable if you love to wander, snoop and EAT !

When I give trip recommendations or tour with newbies ~ we describe Epcot as a great place to "investigate". Take the time to wander and observe, or avoid, your choice.

Quick cute story ~ when we went with my cousin and her REALLY ride oriented kids, she had told me that they were going to pass on Epcot because it looked 'boring' to the kids. Like any true WDW addict, I made them go and see it the way we tend to "do" Epcot! After they got back home, she was shocked to hear from her kids how much the enjoyed Epcot, had a blast and it had been their favorite of all the parks! Go figure!

[Familyof4]

I agree with you as well. But, I will say that ANimal Kingdom, for example is not one of my most favorite parts of my WDW vacation. However, we go every time we come to the world because you never know what you might see. I think that goes for every park. We have our favorite spots and we visit them more frequently. But every park is a must see. ANyway, even though we are all entitled to an opinion, it doesn't mean you have to try and bring someone down while you are expressing it:-) MAybe try chatting with your own party--sometimes that is a better conversation. The bus driver is also a good choice. We always find out cool things from them.

[clou1028]

Wow, I love Epcot, I can't imagine missing it! And it has some of the best rides, even if someone isn't into the "educational" aspect of it. I love Test Track and Soarin'. HISTA, UoE, their are so many wonderful things there!

Everytime I go to WDW, I go for 5 days/4 nights (with the exception of my honeymoon which was 10 days), so you know with that shorter amount of time, I can't do everything. And it's always so hard picking what to do because I love all the parks so much for different reasons.

[mudpuppysmom]

Little story.....my sister and her family were with us in December for our trip....we decide to go on Living with the Land ride.....when it was over I whispered to my then 3 yr old niece if she liked it or not and she SCREAMED, "I LOVE IT LETS DO IT AGAIN!!!".....My sister plainly said, and I quote, "gee, that was educational"

The kids loved it, my sister hated it....I think it's great that the kids loved it! Why did they miss school......well, I spin Disney as an educational field trip to my DS#1's principal(s). His kindergarten year it was just signed and no homework assigned to him; this past year they got a new principal and I spoke to him personally about how he felt about my take on this being an educational field trip....he absolutely 100% supported the idea -- we talked about the animals and conservation at AK; all the different cultures in WS in Epcot as well as FW and use of your imagination and where that could take you. MK he did say was just for fun, but you have to have some of that he said....and MGM he was was a history lesson regarding movies.

So for us it's fun learning -- my son does not even realize half the time that he IS learning something while he is having fun and using his imagination! When we got back in December he had to give a little presentation to his class on what he did and the principal attended his "talk" and said he was quite impressed with how much we do while we're there and the ground we cover!

I'm glad we have a principal and teachers that are onboard with this idea.....I try to schedule our trips when DS will miss the least amount of school, like when they have breaks or inservice days, etc......so we don't miss a full week, usually 3-4 days max

So to answer OP's question if people are fools.....I think to each his own opinion. Everyone wears different strengths of glasses and sees different things.

[Lakin]

Look at it this way ... less people in line in front of us!

That's the spirit!