Are Some WDW Visitors Just Plain FOOLS?

[mudpuppysmom]

I just returned from the World on 12/16 after planning for MONTHS an extended family vacation with my sister and her clan.

I don't exactly time things to the minute.....but I do plan a park day -- as in "we're going to this park today what do you want to do"....that is how I plan our days.

That said, I have a formula that works for US well...I said US b/c I know that kids will have opinions all the time and try to sway me, but my son and husband just go along with me when I do all the planning and they know I try to get everything they want to do into our days. It is only seven SHORT days.....we could stay much longer!!

Anyway, we were at Epcot one afternoon and I waiting for our FP for Soarin to come up so we went on Living w/ the Land....the line was short so we jumped on. At the end, I said to my nieces....."Did you guys like that??" The three year old exclaimed she wanted to DO IT AGAIN!!! I asked my sister if she and her boyfriend wanted to go again and she just said, "Boy that was educational".....I took that as a no. Now, my family has been on this ride and we've also taken the tour! DS#1 and I have been on the tour THREE times!! Once by ourselves, once with my cousins from Daytona and once we took DH (when he came with us on vaca ). DS#1 asked the girls if they wanted to go on the tour....I fully intended on paying for them too.....but my DSis said it would be boring and that was that -- the girls didn't want to do it.

I don't know that they ever really made it to WS where I know my older DN wanted to go to a few of the pavilions (Italy specifically).....and I'm kinda sad for them, but they had their vacation their way.

As for AK.....they went to Rafiki's and never got off the train -- my DSis didn't realize there was anything else to do there.....they went on the Safari and did one of the walking trails....I'm not exactly sure what else they did though for the remainder of the day there, but they were back at AKL before 5 pm and had left around 11 am, so you do the math......

As for staying at the AKL.....I will say that even though we got an upgrade to a savannah view room (hey, I was happy we weren't looking at cars or a tree out our balcony!!). When she went out and saw we really had no animals to look at, unless you count the official animal of Disney World -- the giant construction crane -- if you count that, we did see an animal.....what we did see all week were two ostriches two days and two giraffe's the same day.....that was it for the week! My DSis said that is where they put the people they don't know what to do with.....in the rooms no one else wants......again, I was GLAD we weren 't looking at a car or a tree out our balcony and i pointed that out when we were at the pool......how would you like THAT room....literally a tree in front of your eyes!!

Bottom line is that everyone vacations differently......some of us are just so darn addicted to the World we can't help ourselves, but we also can't judge others for their vacation styles.

Yeah, we didn't do alot of the things that I had wanted us all to do, but oh well.....it's over.....about 2/3 of the way thru our week I finally tried to relax b/c I realized we were not going to get to half the stuff on my "plan". Plus it was busier than I had anticipated (A LOT busier).

We'll be back......much sooner than my sister will I think, even tho she says they are going to go back next year (meaning 2009)....we all even checked into the DVC thing!

I can say my family are park commandos.....my DSis' family......they are NOT park commandos! These two styles clash badly!

On a separate note.....we were at a party a few days ago and someone asked where we were on vaca....when I told them DIsney their reply was "Why do you go there all the time?" I told them that just about every time we go the trip is different.....DS#1 is getting older and we do different things each time....for instance during the holidays there is so much more to see and do!! So again, some people just don't catch the Disney bug like some others do.

[AdventurerKim]

On a separate note.....we were at a party a few days ago and someone asked where we were on vaca....when I told them DIsney their reply was "Why do you go there all the time?" I told them that just about every time we go the trip is different.....DS#1 is getting older and we do different things each time....for instance during the holidays there is so much more to see and do!! So again, some people just don't catch the Disney bug like some others do.

We get the "Why do you go all the time?", and we have resorted to saying that it's because we like it a lot and always have a great trip since the real reasons escape non-WDW people which is that going to WDW is a true escape from our lives and we get to ride our favorite ride rides, have fun, and goof around and relax. Plus, there is magic in WDW! We too always find something new to do whether it's a new ride or eat at a restaurant we haven't before.

In the original post, the person who said that he/she didn't want to be "educated" on vacation is his/her right, that person has a right to be close-minded and not open to new experiences, even if they're "educational". I guess that the classroom is the only place where education should take place, according to the original post. I feel sorry for those kids.

And I absolutely agree that people like that will make the lines shorter for the rest of us!

[PETE FROM NYC]

My wife and I are WDW nuts.We try to visit as often as we can.
A couple of years ago,her family wanted to go with us.Consisting of DW's sister in law,her adult daughter and her 2 kids 912,and 14 yo.They are all total rookies in all things Disney.
DW and I were to do all the planning,and be the group leaders.We did all of the research,made the bookings,ADRs, etc.
DW and I wasted more time looking for the others that we could not enjoy ourselves.We are in our mid 50s,in not so great health and we still ran all of them into the ground.
One day,they wanted to sleep late,saying they would meet us in MK around noon.Around 1 PM,we got a cell call,they cabbed it to Universal instead,not only losing the days admission to WDW,but fowling up our ADR for that night.
This thread asked about fools.
After that trip,DW and I were both fools for vacationing with a non-Disney family.
NEVER AGAIN!!!

[caryrae]

So I can chime in with personal experience now! A friend JUST told me this morning 'We are planning to go to Disney World and Epcot. Is there anything else to do there? She really had no clue that there are four parks that are all part of WDW, and of course she means "the Magic Kingdom" when she says Disney World.

and not to mention all the things to do outside the parks like DTD, water parks, mini golf, all the dining, other resort activities, dinner shows, ect.

[Zawadi]

...

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.

...

We all have the ablility to learn from everything that we do/experience in life. Therefore everything is educational.


It's a pity that people don't take these opportunities and get rid of xenophobic ideas. May be then the world would not be as messed up.

[Goes4FastPass]

...It's a pity that people don't take these opportunities and get rid of xenophobic ideas. May be then the world would not be as messed up.

My hope is, United Statesers who visit EPCOT/Futureworld would find the theme park "min-countries" and more importantly, the smiles of international cast members from the host countries to be a motivation to travel outside the US.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

You make a good point...we had friends who were there during our stay and since Magic Kingdom was at capacity New Years Eve they just went back to their hotel...they said they only do one or two things at Animal Kingdom...I found out they've never seen Legend of the Lion KingI tried to convince them they were missing out but to no avail....and Epcot is so awesome its like a mini international vacation in one park

[playdead88]

there are just some people out there that are fools - and i mean fool by having information available but choosing not to either read or listen - im a nurse and i have patients that choose not to know the name or dose of their medication - seriously - they take the blue pill for blood pressure - OMG! im certain that if any of them took a trip to disney they would bypass epcot and animal kingdom - which is fine by me b/c maybe when i go the line for soarin' will be a bit shorter and i won't have to do CPR on the guy who left his blue pills at home

[Imagineer1981]

I can't tell you how many people I know who skip Fantasyland because they think its just for kids and a waste of time!!!!

[sneezyone]

I agree!

I've had people ask my WHY we go at least once a year...

gee....

it's the ONE place on earth where time goes backwards and insted of being "middle aged" you're a kid. There's wide eyed wonder around every corner and every trip has something special.

This being said....

I also had friends ask me what is "good" to do...I've given them advice based on may be a dozen visits...those that considered it...had fun and fell in love.

Those that didn't ended up getting stuck in lines and generally not having much fun

I wonder why they bothered to ask me what to do?

[MickeyChick]

Ugh, I am dealing with one of those people right now. My FIL wants to take the whole family (MIL, BIL, DH and two stepkids) to WDW in August. Awesome! We were going to go anyway but it's cool to have someone else offer to pay.

Except, he wants to drive from PA to FL, taking 2 days of vacation each way and is INSISTING on staying at one of the chain hotels on International Blvd. Um, no thanks! We want to stay at Pop, like we did when we took my sons and take advantage of all the amenities, perks and Magic of staying at a WDW resort.

We've tried explaining our reasoning to him a million times and he's like a #*%$&% mule with the stubbornness.

He thinks that if you stay at a Disney resort, you can't go to Universal or Sea World. I don't really want to so that's no issue for me, but they're DRIVING here so they don't even have to worry about Mears or taxis. Shrug. Whatever.

[Ksmith75]

We have found some people who dont go to epcot either. We love epcot...granted it is just my husband and I but we love it. I love the worldshowcase - we spend so much time there. Then again, I know people who ask me how I could spend 9 days at Disneyworld too without kids, they are all like "Um, dont you get bored"....NO - We never have enough time!

[bdm@pga]

Here's my opinion, it boils down to people just not having a clue as to what they are about to experience. We live 30 minutes from Hershey Park, an amusement park in PA. People think that when they go to Disney World, its like going to Hershey...lets just go and wonder around and ride some rides. Disney is nothing like this! You need a plan, you need knowledge, you need to research, and then you may find that you will experience everything Disney has to offer if you plan on staying more than 1 day in each park. My daughter is 5. She has been there 9 times and we still find things for her to see for the first time. Its amazing to me how people just think they can show up and not have a plan and see everything....now heres the kicker as it refers to the original question:

When these people show up and not have a plan, they can't possible experience everything, so when they are asked about EPCOT and they reply thats its an "educational experience" its because they haven't taken the time to find out what its really about.

What kills me even more is that people spend thousands of dollars to go on a vacation in which they really didn't experience all that it had to offer, and then make opinions based on their stupidity....ok, done with my rant.

[4ubie1]

What I find most interesting is people's lack of want to be prepared. I love planning my vacations...especially to WDW. I love finding out what all I can do and see. It helps build up the excitement level.


Side Note: If I come across an individual who doesn't know much about WDW and wants help, I am more than happy to set the record straight. But if they are those " know-it-all" types that don't really know it all, I just laugh and move on.

[Goes4FastPass]

Yowza! 73 replies and 3,161 views.

Let me say again, I certainly don't think all or even most WDW first-times are "fools".

I was just surprised to meet a (another) family staying at week at WDW with MYW admissions and not going near 2 of the WDW theme parks they had never been to because of preconcieved assumptions (Epcot=educational, AK=zoo).

I don't expect every family that visits WDW to be hyper-planners. Remember, "fan" is short for "fanatic" and while I enjoy hanging out with other WDW fans on Intercot, I don't expect everyone to be a WDW fan.

Several of you have written about taking friends and relatives on their first WDW visit -something I enjoy doing also. When I take 'newbies' I (and my wife!) tend to bombard our guests with, "You gotta see this and you gotta ride that and you must taste this..." etc. I think that kind of "guiding" can be to much for many visitors.

I believe first timers should get an overview, a feel for the scope of the world but they should also have time to wander and wonder. Grandma Nancy asked for time to revist and explore Epcot WS on her own. We gave her IntGateway-boat-DHS directions to meet us there later in the day. It worked great. She later said she had no idea she's spend so much time in the department store in Japan.

What's my point? Heavens, I don't know. I think it's perfectly OK for a person to look at the Teacups and say, "Spining isn't plesant for me." but a person who decides to skip the MK entirely because they guess it's just for kids is missing out.

[tinksmom02]

I understand (and agree with) your point. It's one thing to research something and then decide it's not for you, but quite another to just briefly glance at it and make a snap judgment without really giving it a chance.

I would have to say I fell into the category of "fool" on our first trip as a family. I had a guidebook and knew we wanted a couple sit-down meals, called when we arrived to make PS (this was I think just as the dining plan was getting started). BUT I didn't do any research into park hours, etc. and we ended up only going to MK once during the week.

However, we still had a great time, and WDW has seeped into our blood...so I can definitely say I learned from my mistakes.

I want to go to AK on our next trip, to ride E:E and see the Nemo show, and that's it. We like AK enough, but we're not crazy about it. I can say that having 3 trips under my belt. I would certainly never discourage someone from visiting, and I would never insult someone who claims AK as their favorite park. I can appreciate what AK has to offer, it's just not for our family.

Kind of a ramble, I know, sorry.

[2Epcot]

Epcot is a half a day and outta there.

No Im not a fool

I agree. I don't think I'm a fool because I've done everything Epcot has to offer at least once and it just doesn't interest me.

If you've been to the parks and that's how you feel, that's OK. I think that's what many people are saying. (For me Epcot is 2 days minimum). What people find strange is those who have never been to certain parks and dismiss them all together.

I had been a huge disney fan long before my first trip to WDW, so I was quite prepared when I finally when there in the mid 80's. On every trip I try to do as much as I can, and see and do anything new that I missed the last time. When I give anyone planning advice on WDW it is from first hand knowledge. If I don't like something, I won't do it again, or maybe not on every trip, but I'm going to experience it for myself at least once.

[lockedoutlogic]

Many people in general are just plain fools....

So i would have to answer the original question YES

[jakeybake]

I wouldn't call anyone "fools" because I think at some point we were all in that same boat.

The first time I ever visited WDW was on my honeymoon in '91. We stayed a week at the CB and a week at the GF (thank God we stayed at the CB first!!) and when I think back at all the time we wasted it makes me cringe.

We were completely un-educated on all things Disney back then and wasted a ton of time doing things that we would never dream of doing now. A night on International Drive, another night at some mall in Orlando, eating at some restaraunt we got a free dinner at with our honeymoon package etc. Just loads and loads of wasted time. I'm sure to others we seemed like "fools" but over the years we have become WDW "experts" and are now the go to people for all of our friends and family who are planning trips. I'm sure you all get the same thing, "where should we stay?", "where should we eat?" etc. We have saved more trips than I can count.

So I think of all these so called "fools" as people we once were who will come to be experts someday as we have done.

Jay

[thejens]

There are many people who just won't ever "get" or appreciate Disney and I personally feel sorry for them. I don't especially like the educational stuff in Epcot (innovations feels like a trade show to me) but I just wait outside (while my kids lap it all up) looking at the flowers, watching the fountain, listening to that awesome Epcot music and smile a goofy smile. Every moment in the World whether it is in the resort or park or restaurant just makes me happy. I feel sad to see cranky folks somehow unable to feel the magic around them. I guess I understand them since I am a type A cynical type in my real life...but as soon as I walk through the park entrance I am a kid just like the Disney commercials show you. Planning and knowledge helps to be sure, but I think you need to have a certain openness. Maybe some people just aren't in touch with that inner child anymore?