Any MISTAKES made on past trips?

[ConnecticutNonna]

Well, if they all come, there will be 16 of us total, so either we'd all be in different rooms, or we'd rent a big house off property. We've all stayed in the same house together before, and it was fine, but yeah, I don't think we could spend all day at the parks with them. Thanks for all the tips!

There would probably be a death in the family if I had to stay with SIXTEEN people, who were not people I birthed or was married to! Lol!
I give you a lot of credit, you must have an amazing disposition!

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Nope can't share credit between two different rooms. If you paid for 4 people to be on the dinning plan and you are taking 8 people to eat you can only use enough credits to cover 4 people even though you have more credit to use.

Not true...
We have used our dining credits multiple times for people other than ourselves. Disney doesn't care how you spend your credits.

 

[happymommy]

Biggest mistakes are #1 going with extended family! We have different likes and styles of vacations. My sister and her 4 kids go go go. But didn't understand Disney since they hadn't been. Me, I know Disney and what we like. My folks - hate Disney, hate crowds and only reason they went was out of a sense of obligation (and to pay for my sister's family's expenses). NEVER again! Even having my folks drive over from nearby one trip and join us for one day in a park years later was a mistake. They insisted on going to Denny's for breakfast the day we were going to Animal Kingdom park. I'm like, we can get food there, but no. UGH.

I will NEVER again go with a large group or with my family other than my husband and kids.

Best thing: going alone with either both my kids or just my daughter. The less people, the more fun to me. We do what we want and don't worry about someone else having fun or not.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Biggest mistakes are #1 going with extended family! We have different likes and styles of vacations. My sister and her 4 kids go go go. But didn't understand Disney since they hadn't been. Me, I know Disney and what we like. My folks - hate Disney, hate crowds and only reason they went was out of a sense of obligation (and to pay for my sister's family's expenses). NEVER again! Even having my folks drive over from nearby one trip and join us for one day in a park years later was a mistake. They insisted on going to Denny's for breakfast the day we were going to Animal Kingdom park. I'm like, we can get food there, but no. UGH.

I will NEVER again go with a large group or with my family other than my husband and kids.

Best thing: going alone with either both my kids or just my daughter. The less people, the more fun to me. We do what we want and don't worry about someone else having fun or not.

I honestly hate going to WDW with anyone except DH now that we're old. We have taken all of our DGC at some stage of their life (alone) with great success and the youngest (who is now only a year) will be going with us in 3 years. (My rule, they have to be potty trained). The oldest is 21, and he just got engaged at the castle at Christmas. I'm so glad I have no other extended family and that DHs family never had any desire to go! If they had, someone would be dead and someone else in jail! Lol! We love our family so much, but Disney is off limits!
You're smart to limit it now, before it gets ugly! (Or should I say "uglier", Denny's really?!?)

 

[Corbinator]

--Mistakes--...Learning experiences:

#1. Letting DH pack...(he wound up with 2 shirts, besides the one he was wearing at the time... i wound up doing laundry... which turned into kind of a good thing.. i got to "escape" after DS (5) and he had crashed.. walked to the laundry building, started them up, and did some shopping in the gift shop (blessedly alone), then put them in the dryer and spent some time pool side, on a warm november night.

#2. Having to buy $14.00 batteries because I left my replacements IN THE HOTEL ROOM! DOH!

#3. Thinking that higher price equals better food. It seemed the more expensive the food, the less appetizing it was. Our best meal: Burgers/Fries/Chicken at Starlight Cafe. Our best buffet: BOMA Our least favorites: Portabella Yacht Club, Rose & Crown.

#4. Taking a 5 year old to Epcot.

#5. Not a mistake, but something I will do in the future, is buy one (or two) more smart discs for my digital camera. I had to purchase two kodak picture CDs so that I could save my photos I'd taken the first three days. (and I have the largest memory size smart discs).



Things we did right:

#1. Not taking our huge fold up stroller. Cant tell you how many dads and moms we saw wrestling with their stroller getting it on and off the buses, trams, trains, etc...

#2. Using the buses. Even though we stood up for about half the trips we took, the relief of not having to navigate, use gas, find parking, etc. was soooo worth it. It was nice to get on the bus after a long day, and just relax too.

#3. Bottomless mugs as the Resort. DH is a major "coke head"...

#4. Not buying any souvenirs until the last few days.

#5. Using our Disney Reward Dollars for the bulk of the trip (our resort/ticket package, and about half our food).

#6. Stopping at Ormond beach on the way down for a few hours. As anxious as we were to get to WDW, it was a nice relaxing retreat before hitting the crowds. I think next time we'll do this on the way down, AND on the way back.

#7. Finding a good deal on a dorm refrigerator and borrowing a friends mini-microwave, for our week long stay at AllStar Music. Packing breakfast, snack, and lunch foods saved a good bit of money, and kept us from being too hungry and snacking too much in the parks.

#8. Not trying to do "everything" everyday. In fact, our first evening there we decided not to do a park, and instead went to DTD. We ended up not using two days worth of park tickets because we didnt want to PUSH all the time.

#9. Letting our son (who turned five while we were there) set the pace, and destination more often than not for "his day" in the MK. We only vetoed his choices when safety was an issue or when we knew something he didn't understand. We wound up having a very special moment with him and Mickey at the end of the evening in MK one night. This is the kid who refused to have anything to do with the characters.. wouldn't talk to them, get photos taken with them, or associate with them... so after trying to get him to "meet" several of them the first half day, we gave up... when picking the "next place" to go, he wanted the Judges Tent. We tried to tell him what it was, but he insisted... so off we went. He was tentative at first, but wound up shaking Mickey's hand, getting pictures with him and talking to him. Amazing!

#10. READING THE DIS BOARDS and listening to the DIS PODCAST!!

Sorry if this got answered later in the thread...why didn't Epcot work well for him??

 

[YawningDodo]

The big mistake we made on our fall 2015 trip was to push too hard without a rest day. We had six full park days, plus we went to a park on the morning of our departure. I don't regret the departure day park since that was pretty short and low key (just hit a few favorite rides and had some ice cream), but six full park days in a row? Ouch. Two of those were Universal, and we later figured out that we probably could have done everything we wanted at Universal in one day if we'd paid for their line-skipping upgrade. One day with the upgrade would cost about the same as two days without, so doing it that way would have freed up a day.

The result was that we were very, very sore and we never particularly took advantage of staying at the Dolphin -- we never even got to use the water slide because we weren't there when it was open, much less when other activities were going on. Midway through the trip my feet and ankles swelled up like crazy, but thankfully it happened on the night we had HDDR booked and were planning to a.) sit for several hours for that meal/show and b.) go right to bed after. In future, any WDW trip I plan with more than four park days is going to come with a resort day planned in.

 

[Corbinator]

Not booking a non-stop flight! I have never booked a flight myself so I was somewhat of a newbie. We are flying into MCO and out of Miami, so I had to find an airline that could accommodate that.

We are departing at 8 AM and arriving to MCO at 2:30 PM. I feel like it's a day wasted! Although we are doing an evening ADR and some evening MK time, I would've preferred to get there at 10 or 11 AM and have the whole day to spend there.

Not scheduling enough time in WDW. We have 4 major park days, plus our arrival day (a few hours in the parks) and a MNSSHP day. At first I thought that was plenty - now I wish we would have done a bit longer of a stay with some breaks in between where we wouldn't be as rushed.

We'll see though - we leave Saturday!!

Ditto. With our kids and 4 suitcases, my husband would be a basketcase if we had a stop. We booked the last nonstop on the schedule 7 months in advance because we didn't know if any more would be added this year. Price was fine but getting there nonstop was undeniable nonnegotiable. I could be a snob but it matters greatly. We've spent hours laid over before. Separated too. My husband travels for work constantly so the thought of his vacation getting delayed was enough for him to say yes dear to this issue.

 

[YawningDodo]

Jealous that nonstop flights are an option for some of you...that's simply not something that can be done when coming from Montana. I do count my blessings that leaving my front door to getting to the gate at our tiny airport typically takes a whopping twenty minutes, though. Win some, lose some.

 

[Corbinator]

Jealous that nonstop flights are an option for some of you...that's simply not something that can be done when coming from Montana. I do count my blessings that leaving my front door to getting to the gate at our tiny airport typically takes a whopping twenty minutes, though. Win some, lose some.

Oh I hear you. It's an hour drive for us, so you are right, it evens out. I just meant instead of waiting, searching, hoping, or trying for some rock bottom smokin' hot airfare deal... I chose the peace of mind option and I won't even dare look at the flights to tempt myself or see what I may have missed. If my husband didn't travel so much I would be a lot more open minded, but his family time with us is sacred.

 

[Clumsy_Chica]

I'm generally understanding that people smoke, but I'm gonna have to say that my worst mistake was going to MK for a daytrip with two chain smokers .

My husband's father and stepmother went with us to MK, and wanted to have breakfast together before driving the 2 hours over to the parks. Oh, but we need 3 cigarettes before we eat... and again after.... We didn't get into the parking lot until 11:30. Then they needed to smoke again because they'd been in the car for so long. Then they needed to find the nearest smoking area after getting into the park because the lines were long. Okay, we rode space mountain, where is the nearest smoking area? And it went on like this ALL. DAY. Crisscrossing the park to get to the few smoking areas every 45 minutes was driving me nuts. We couldn't split up to do our own thing, because they wanted to spend the day with us, but invariably husband and I ended up standing far away for 20 minutes while they smoked because of our asthma. I've never felt so trapped in a Disney park

 

[CaoilinnsMom]

taking too much, i want to pack lighter next time

 

[Amanda999]

Best thing: going alone with either both my kids or just my daughter. The less people, the more fun to me.

I agree! I always say the fewer opinions at Disney, the easier.

 

[noahdove]

A few years ago, a friend came to me and asked me to help her plan their trip.
Well, I did, I have folders with all info in them. They had never been and were only
going to be there for a few days, so in my mind/schedule I set a few important
things to do in 3 parks. Well, they totally wasted their time there as the children
were on vacation and liked to sleep in, and I mean sleep in. They got up at 11
and ate and then headed off to the park I chose for the day, and they were disappointed
as the park was in full swing and they didn't take advice to get fastpass and the kids wouldn't
wait in line so they miss so many awesome things...I make sure we are up and out early and
to bed at a fairly decent time. I value the mid day rest time....and it makes for happy children...

 

[DVCjj]

Not making ADR's on several days because we planned on doing Food & Wine. It ended up being much too crowded to be enjoyable and balancing food standing up because there is an insane lack of places to sit and eat. Plus it was hot & humid (and I usually like hot weather).

We ended up walking aimlessly from country to country to see (beg) if there were any walkins available. Nope.

Thank goodness, we went to Japan's Katsura Grill several times. In all honesty, it was hot & sticky outside (late September) but very cool and relaxing inside. We even had Udon Soup.

We will be there in late September again but, believe me, I've made ADR's this time.

 

[baildrk]

If your going in a bigger family group, say with the inlaws and other extended family know what they think about Disney first, on my first trip there(was also my 2 daughters first trip) with the inlaws we were bombarded with how "stupid" Disney is now and etc... so when we got back and my girls were talking to my parents about it they started telling them how stupid Disney is now compared to 15 years ago I almost passed out, together they barely had been alive for 15 years so now on our next trip we happen to be going with my extended family and they are Disney crazy so we shall see how that goes......

 

[HooksFanGirl]

Being the pack mule. I went in 2012 with a friend and her two kids, and became the pack mule. It was uncomfortable, my back often hurt by the end of the night, and it made me cranky that I was carrying around a full backpack, while shewas free to move about without anything. My next trip in 2013 was with my own kids. Everyone had their own small lightweight backpack with a couple of snacks, a hat, and an empty water bottle. They could each carry their own purchases (or if it was too large, we had it sent to the resort). It was so much easier, and did not leave my back hurting at the end of the day, or feeling frustrated.

We go this August, this time with my friend and her kids again. I am going to politely suggest they bring 1-2 lightweight backpacks so we can distribute everything better.

Another tip- don't over plan every moment. You lose out on the fun of just being there and enjoying your time, if you are worried about getting from A to B to C on time. You will be a lot less stressed, too, or upset i something goes wrong. I see people complaining all too often that being late to X ruined the entire vacation. That tells me they were way too stressed to be enjoying themselves if late arrival ruined everything.

 

[bluezy]

Being the pack mule. I went in 2012 with a friend and her two kids, and became the pack mule. It was uncomfortable, my back often hurt by the end of the night, and it made me cranky that I was carrying around a full backpack, while shewas free to move about without anything. My next trip in 2013 was with my own kids. Everyone had their own small lightweight backpack with a couple of snacks, a hat, and an empty water bottle. They could each carry their own purchases (or if it was too large, we had it sent to the resort). It was so much easier, and did not leave my back hurting at the end of the day, or feeling frustrated.

We go this August, this time with my friend and her kids again. I am going to politely suggest they bring 1-2 lightweight backpacks so we can distribute everything better.

Another tip- don't over plan every moment. You lose out on the fun of just being there and enjoying your time, if you are worried about getting from A to B to C on time. You will be a lot less stressed, too, or upset i something goes wrong. I see people complaining all too often that being late to X ruined the entire vacation. That tells me they were way too stressed to be enjoying themselves if late arrival ruined everything.

I wouldn't even "politely suggest"...I'd say, "Make sure to bring a back pack to carry any supplies your family needs in the parks. I only carry a tiny bag and don't really have room for anything extra." And then pack an extra back pack for her to use in case she "forgets" hers. I've been the pack mule (though never anything bigger than a crossbody bag) but a few trips ago realized we never used 95% of what was in that bag. Now we go bagless with just a few things in our pockets.

 

[Linleedo]

We now realize that everyone needs time to relax! You can't keep going with your plan without a break. We plan on returning to the resort after a ride or two following lunch. It allows pool time,and chill time for a drink or nap. After the first day of trying the plan( especially in the September heat), everyone looked forward to it.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Don't laugh at your wife when she is having a quiet little cry walking down Main Street on the first day there. It may not go well for you - as my husband found out.

I did forgive him - because Disney isn't somewhere to hold a grudge - but I wasn't happy.

 

[noahdove]

I guess this could be a "mistake". A few years ago I went to Disney with 2 of my
very dear friends. I warned them that I cry after Wishes. Well, my one friend said
she never cries when she leaves and she had been there way more times than i have.
Well, once I started to cry the other friend joined in and needless to say, I am a leader
and we ALL ended up crying The family next to us, watched us with compassion and the older
gentleman had tears in his eyes, not splashing over tho...it was a trip of a life time...