I'm home. Severely depressed. Spring Break was a nightmare

OP, I am so sorry that you had such a terrible time. I'm over trips to Disney in the heat and high crowds. We still enjoy every trip but not as much as we could with lower attendance and milder weather.

Tips are so unhelpful now but I too wish that you had come here before to get some tips and warnings. You needed super early mornings and a disciplined touring plan both of which would be really difficult with that many kids. I've planned trips for 10 and 21 in the summer. We followed a detailed touring plan and had a great time but we had a lot more adults so people could break into smaller groups, take breaks, etc...

One thing that does stick out to me is the cost. Am I the only one that doesn't think $13,000 is all that crazy given the group size? Disney trips are usually around $1,200 per person for us if we have to buy plane tickets and around 1K if flying on points. I'm sure the OP's grocery bill is also staggering but it goes with the family size.
 
I also don't think $13K is unreasonable at all for such a large group vacationing.

I just booked spring break for just me and my son. Used miles for flights, 1K room (Pop Century). Our tickets will be over 1K as I'm getting an AP, he's getting a 6 day hopper. Meals will only run maybe $500 (we share a lot and don't do table service other than maybe once). So that's roughly $1,500 per person, staying in the cheapest room on site for only 6 nights.

Booked me and my husband for a week in May, Beach Club villa is $600/night. Flights were cheap, buying him an annual pass. Meals will be more, since it’s our anniversary. That trip will run at least $3,500 per person.
 
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Question.....when you buy you WDW tickets are they for a specific day/days (I really don't remember). If so, it is really Disney's fault when the park gets overcrowded. They should only sell "x" tickets per day. On the other hand, if the tickets are for any day/days, the only way to control crowds would be to "close the gate" when the limit was reached. How would a family feel after driving all that way to find out they couldn't get in (I think that's a Chevy Chase movie).

I agree it would help if Epcot had more/better attractions to spread the crowd out more. Maybe premium pricing would help too...charge more for holiday weeks and weekends, less for weekdays. Maybe a half-day ticket for entry after 4.
 
Question.....when you buy you WDW tickets are they for a specific day/days (I really don't remember). If so, it is really Disney's fault when the park gets overcrowded. They should only sell "x" tickets per day. On the other hand, if the tickets are for any day/days, the only way to control crowds would be to "close the gate" when the limit was reached. How would a family feel after driving all that way to find out they couldn't get in (I think that's a Chevy Chase movie).

I agree it would help if Epcot had more/better attractions to spread the crowd out more. Maybe premium pricing would help too...charge more for holiday weeks and weekends, less for weekdays. Maybe a half-day ticket for entry after 4.

They actually do this now. Single day tickets are tiered, low medium and high, depending on the season. High season costs more.

Guests staying on site are given priority once capacity is reached. This happens over the week from Christmas to New Years Eve. It's nothing like spring break (I've done both many times).
 


Question.....when you buy you WDW tickets are they for a specific day/days (I really don't remember). If so, it is really Disney's fault when the park gets overcrowded. They should only sell "x" tickets per day. On the other hand, if the tickets are for any day/days, the only way to control crowds would be to "close the gate" when the limit was reached. How would a family feel after driving all that way to find out they couldn't get in (I think that's a Chevy Chase movie).

I agree it would help if Epcot had more/better attractions to spread the crowd out more. Maybe premium pricing would help too...charge more for holiday weeks and weekends, less for weekdays. Maybe a half-day ticket for entry after 4.
That's a rather fascinating thought - but then what would the point of selling Park Hopper tickets be? ;)

If you have Hopper tickets and MK is too crowded, so what, you go elsewhere. They rarely have to close the Parks to further entrance IF IF IF somehow, between all the Parks, the waterparks, the shopping, and all the other options, the guests have nowhere to go to. If you didn't buy Hopper Tickets and the Park you are in is insane....well go back and enjoy your resort :)
 
In over 25+ trips spring break has had the worse crowds and Ive been there the week before Christmas, and in June...

It always rains in florida especially in spring and summer...

I hope you do give it a try, at least now youll know what works and doesn't for your family...
 
First, I recognize that this thread is from April 2016, and was no doubt only brought up because it was featured on the bottom of the main page (that's what brought me here). (that's the silliest feature ever, by the way, oh Dis gods...)

Second, I wish the OP could have figured out what her original name was (that she couldn't log into when she got back) so we could find the people who told her spring break would be just fine!

Question.....when you buy you WDW tickets are they for a specific day/days (I really don't remember). If so, it is really Disney's fault when the park gets overcrowded. They should only sell "x" tickets per day. On the other hand, if the tickets are for any day/days, the only way to control crowds would be to "close the gate" when the limit was reached. How would a family feel after driving all that way to find out they couldn't get in (I think that's a Chevy Chase movie).

Single day tickets are more expensive depending on when you go.

They absolutely DO close the gates in a specific order as crowds increase. Just because you are in the middle of crowds in one place doesn't mean another place is going to be that crowded. Someone early in the thread was there *at the same time*, went early, and obviously was in different places during the afternoons, because they didn't have the same problems as the OP. It's silly to think that just because Tomorrowland is shoulder to shoulder, Adventureland will be the same. Disney closes gates based on TOTAL people in a park. When it hits a threshold they limit entries to certain groups. When it hits another threshold they limit it more. It's really only xmas and NYE when parks might hit the totally closed mark. Not spring break.
 


I'm sorry you did not have your dream trip. I hope you get a chance to give it another go at some point. I wouldn't let this get me down too much, your savings will eventually grow again, and you are blessed with a beautiful big family.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your trip. I used to work at Disneyland, and I know what a nightmare it can be when the parks are so crowded. It stresses me out just thinking about it! And the idea that you should be "blamed" for taking your kids to Disneyworld over their spring break is ludicrous! As others have pointed out, it's Disney's fault for allowing the parks to become so crowded. Yes, they do close the gates when the parks reach a maximum capacity, but their "maximum" is way too high. The quality of the experience is severely degraded at an attendance number way lower than their maximum.

But this trip will go down in family's history as one experience you'll never forget. It'll be a storm you all weathered together, and who knows maybe someday you'll even be able to laugh about it (not anytime soon though, because $13K is a lot of money!)

But also I want to commend you for making the sacrifices necessary to save up that much money to try to give your kids a wonderful trip. I wish you luck and happiness in the future!
 
Let me preface this by saying, in total we spent slightly over $13,000 for our Disney vacation. I have 10 children, and we stayed at Pop Century for 6 nights. (3 rooms- 2 of my children are under 3 babies)
I am looking back in horror as day after day we had terrible experiences and realizing I could have just spent all that cash on a car. My savings account is completely depleted and I have nothing to show for it but bad memories, 15 loads of laundry and grumpy kids.

I consider myself to be the eternal optimist, always looking for silver linings and whatnot. After the 5th day I believe it was, I found myself spending a half a day sleeping alone in my hotel room crying over how terribly bad this trip had gone.

Let me start off by saying, this was a total surprise to my kids. They came home from school and thought they were going to be spending a night or two bear watching at a nearby local cave system. (Spring Break)

The trip down, we traveled in a 15 passenger van. We encountered 11 different delays for accidents from Ohio to Florida via I-75. Aside the delays and antsy kids, it was an okay trip down. It rained the entire time and there were tears of joy as we pulled past the welcome to Disney World sign. -- Our air conditioner went out in the van right after we arrived. Thank God we stayed on property and rarely had to get in the van for anything until we left.

First night there, we check in and I have to say were literally packed like sardines in Pop Century's rooms. I would not suggest them for more than 2 -3 people. We went into the Magic Kingdom. HUGE mistake. Ive been to Disney over a dozen times in my life, and never ever have I seen crowds as horrible as they were. We were herded like cattle through main street and into Tomorrowland. We had literally no other choice to go anywhere else. The very first ride we go on, my sister had her Samsung Galaxy phone in her pocket- a phone she spent over $500 on complete with a beautiful swarvoski crystal case. 20 seconds after she steps off the ride she turns and says, Oh no! my phone must be on the seat, its slipped out of my pocket!-- the cast members check each car as they come in... and surprise, surprise.. someone has picked that bad boy up and kept it. These first few events cast a dark shadowy mood over the first few days of our trip. We go to get on the next ride because we have a fast pass and its down. The wait times are all way too high to actually wait in line anywhere if we want to make it on the NEXT ride for fast pass. So we meander around a bit and wait for our fp time for mine train. At that point, the rest of the party gets in line and I walk our double stroller around with the two little ones in our party. I stayed to the far right at all times and attempted to stay out of everyone's way. At one point, a woman stomps past me, turns and yells, "I'm sick a G-d d*n tired of all these strollers and cars being in my way!" right in my face. I'm feeling like, this is certainly NOT the happiest place on earth. My party exits the ride and we all agree to just go back to the hotel. Everyone is feeling disappointed and let down by our experience. 6 hours in the park and only 2 rides the first day in. We stop at City Hall and pray someone has turned the phone in. Of course not.

Second day we went to Animal Kingdom. It rained and was unseasonably hot- 87 degrees in March. The crowds are again, absolutely obscene. Once again one of our FP rides is down during our fp time, so we end up riding the safari and dinosaur. That. is. literally. it. We went to our restaurant and waited for well over an hour even though we had reservations before we finally said forget it and bought some ice cream from a cart. The kids were covered in melting sticky ice cream so we decide to just scrap the day and head back to the hotel to wash up and swim. No one wants to go back. They actually get very upset when we even talk about going back.

Third day we were at Hollywood studios. The lowest crowd levels we encounter anywhere. We ride Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Toys story- eat at the commissary and catch a Muppet show and then call it a day. It rains for several hours.

Fourth day was Epcot. The crowds, again, off the hook bad. It rains- badly. We ride The living seas, and half our party gets separated after we get off- there are so just SO many people everywhere, lining the walls of the observation area- and we lose our 7 year old who we got separated from for a good 10 minutes. I was nearly hysterical before we finally were reunited. We did space ship earth and the land. We go to eat at our restaurant and its once again overbooked. Everyone is hungry, its raining. We dip into Marrakesh Moroccan place to eat. $180 later and we still have several hungry people who couldn't stomach the food. We take the ferry across the lake and high tail it back to our hotel. By this point, some of the kids are on the bus crying about how this is NOT what they were expecting. I am heartbroken and disappointed. Every single opportunity we can, we are trying to lighten the mood- play fun games, buy little treats and souvenirs. Its lightning and raining so badly, we cannot swim. The kids stay in the room watching tv the rest of the day.

Fifth day we are back at Magic Kingdom. It rains again. I send the rest of my party into the park without me for the first 3-4 hours. I am in bed, literally depressed out of my mind at how bad this entire trip had gone. After housekeeping stops by a 2nd time and notices my flushed, obvious I-had-been-crying face, she gave me a big hug. I decide to suck it up and make the best of whats left. I meet up with my family. We have a fast pass for Haunted Mansion and can I say, this is by leaps and bounds one of the worst experiences we have there. We are herded like cattle through the entire line queue- and there is literally no space whatsoever between people. Had we been in literally any other situation, people would questionably been accused of assault. My 9 year old son is literally smashed between a womans breasts and my sister speaks up and says something to her about having some decency. The woman says, "No one has room- It's Disneyworld!" and shoves him away from her. I am furious at this point and my non-confrontational side fades away and mamabear's claws come out. I shout back at her, "how would you like it if I shoved YOUR child!?" I was SO upset at this point. I am 100% certain that any state inspector would have shut the ride down. Had there been a fire, people would have died or been trampled. It was THAT packed. The 13 of us in my party were easily smooshed into a tight 5x5 ft square. A couple of the kids were crying, "no nevermind we dont want to go on this"- not because of the theme, they were fine with that, but because of the scary way we were all packed so tightly together. (For the record, later that night near 11pm, I take the older 5 kids on that ride again to assess the situation once more and the crowds were absolutely no where even halfway as bad. We all had acceptable space between us.) After that very first ride, a couple of the kids beg to go back to the room. One even says, "I just dont like this place. Its not like how it was in the videos"- a few of the kids stay behind with an adult and watch youtube videos the rest of the day.
We ride another 2 or 3 rides then head back, as the rain is too heavy to continue in the park- even with ponchos. We return that night with the oldest kids to ride space mountain (where 3 college aged boys in front of us made fat jokes obnoxiously about every overweight person they saw for 90 minutes and shined a laser pointer in everyones eyes) then splash mountain, which they genuinely loved- despite the rain.

The last day we are there, again it rains for a few hours in the afternoon. The crowds arent as bad as they had been the prior few days but still thick. We ride a handful of rides, grab a bite to eat and head back to the room to return later since the park was open until 2 am. That night we come back briefly, but apparently so does the rest of the park and lines are once again very long. By 1 am, we leave- completely defeated.

The ride home, we encounter many more accidents. Forcing us to stay in Georgia just south of Macon. We are woken up at 7am-ish as a tornado passes through. I felt a little like Alanis Morissette... isn't it ironic? at this point, nothing could surprise me anymore. Until I get home and realize our card had been charged several times for various purchases at the art of disney, and the pizza place in Disney. The hotel in Georgia, overcharges each of our rooms by $55 each room as well and being Sunday I cant do anything about it. I total up the amount spent (assuming we get duplicate charges removed from our debit card-) $13,155 for a week of absolute hell and disappointment.

I love Disneyworld, but its very very likely we will never ever return.

In the meantime, we are out a ton of money. We paid up front for everything and had been saving for this trip for over 2 years. I feel absolutely robbed.






I know this post is a couple years old, but I stumbled upon this and I wanted to respond, seeing as there are some very valid reasons to be upset, and other reasons just a little silly, but still very very understandable.

The weather can definitely get you down, seeing as everyone considers Florida to be this beautiful state with amazing sunny weather. I've visited Florida multiple times, 5 Disney trips and 4 cruises being on that list, and I can genuinely say I've been considerably lucky. It has definitely rained here and there, but nothing like what is being described here. I feel awful that you ended up with those circumstances. We all end up with the short end of the stick sometimes, and I feel your pain in that regard. The rain can be muggy, sticky, sweaty, can shut things down. I can understand how that would really put a damper on your day(s) spent in the parks. Although it is out of anyone's control, it is an understandable complaint.

As for safety issues and people being crammed into lines, I myself don't know if that is necessarily on Disney's behalf or if people don't understand personal space...I know first hand I have had to ask people a couple times to back up a little bit due to how close they were standing. I understand that Disney World isn't the place to expect excessive amounts of personal space, but I certainly do think keeping a healthy distance is appropriate and should be demanded if it is not being given. If your speculation about safety codes being violated are true, I think think is something that should be reported. That is deeply frightening that we are being jam packed into attractions that have electronics and mechanisms that could set on fire.

The phone and the accidents and the charges on your card are all very unfortunate, but come with the territory of traveling. i also think travleing with 10 people plus 2 adults is a recipe for disaster. That is just way too many people, in my opinion, especially during a peak time such as spring break.
 
I read the first couple pages of this post, then skipped to this one and didn't realize until now that this was a couple years ago. I think I may have been there that week in March because I remember the crowds being high and exceptionally warm for that time of year. Except for solo trips, I've also been "stuck" going when schools are out since DW teaches, so I've learned to adjust to the crowds a bit. I know its more difficult when not going frequently, but I try not to base my satisfaction on how many rides I'm able to hit in a given time. Sure its nice to get that occasional 7 or 8 fastpass day (probably at MK), but equally nice, for example, is cruising around World Showcase, riding nothing.

The one thing that stuck out for me in the original posts and many of the replies was the size of OP's party. I think Disney does a lot of things well, and the way they handle crowds is studied by many. But one place I think they fall short is accommodating large families. The idea of trying to put so many (13 was it?) into 3 Pop rooms made no sense to me. I get the advantages of staying "inside the bubble", but with a group that large, I'd be looking into a 5 or 6 bedroom villa that would be just a short drive and would cost a LOT less money, even in spring break weeks. Plus, you could save even more eating breakfasts in and maybe a pizza night or two. The other thing about a party that large is that it doesn't make sense to attempt to keep the entire party together. You're always moving at the speed of the slowest person and I have to imagine keeping a group of 13 together in the park would be a challenge, even during "slow" times, if they exist anymore. I didn't read carefully on the age makeup of the group, but I would think a better time would be had by all if they broke into a few groups of 3-5 and meet up for meals and share their stories.
 
I read the first couple pages of this post, then skipped to this one and didn't realize until now that this was a couple years ago. I think I may have been there that week in March because I remember the crowds being high and exceptionally warm for that time of year. Except for solo trips, I've also been "stuck" going when schools are out since DW teaches, so I've learned to adjust to the crowds a bit. I know its more difficult when not going frequently, but I try not to base my satisfaction on how many rides I'm able to hit in a given time. Sure its nice to get that occasional 7 or 8 fastpass day (probably at MK), but equally nice, for example, is cruising around World Showcase, riding nothing.

The one thing that stuck out for me in the original posts and many of the replies was the size of OP's party. I think Disney does a lot of things well, and the way they handle crowds is studied by many. But one place I think they fall short is accommodating large families. The idea of trying to put so many (13 was it?) into 3 Pop rooms made no sense to me. I get the advantages of staying "inside the bubble", but with a group that large, I'd be looking into a 5 or 6 bedroom villa that would be just a short drive and would cost a LOT less money, even in spring break weeks. Plus, you could save even more eating breakfasts in and maybe a pizza night or two. The other thing about a party that large is that it doesn't make sense to attempt to keep the entire party together. You're always moving at the speed of the slowest person and I have to imagine keeping a group of 13 together in the park would be a challenge, even during "slow" times, if they exist anymore. I didn't read carefully on the age makeup of the group, but I would think a better time would be had by all if they broke into a few groups of 3-5 and meet up for meals and share their stories.


I definitely agree. I think something that not all families but some families cling to is the idea of doing every.single.bloody.thing. together. But I assure anyone who has these intentions that you WILL not be happy with the outcome. Not unless everyone in the family has the same exact interests, which is rare. Breaking up into groups allows for you to navigate the crowds more quickly, get through lines faster, sat down at a TS more easily, etc. It doesn't mean you can't share these moments together, but making one parent responsible for xyz and the other parent responsible for abc will help cut down the stress. Breaking up into groups is also good if these kids like these attractions and these kids like those attractions, then you're not forcing anyone into rides they don't like.
 
Let me preface this by saying, in total we spent slightly over $13,000 for our Disney vacation. I have 10 children, and we stayed at Pop Century for 6 nights. (3 rooms- 2 of my children are under 3 babies)
I am looking back in horror as day after day we had terrible experiences and realizing I could have just spent all that cash on a car. My savings account is completely depleted and I have nothing to show for it but bad memories, 15 loads of laundry and grumpy kids.

I consider myself to be the eternal optimist, always looking for silver linings and whatnot. After the 5th day I believe it was, I found myself spending a half a day sleeping alone in my hotel room crying over how terribly bad this trip had gone.

Let me start off by saying, this was a total surprise to my kids. They came home from school and thought they were going to be spending a night or two bear watching at a nearby local cave system. (Spring Break)

The trip down, we traveled in a 15 passenger van. We encountered 11 different delays for accidents from Ohio to Florida via I-75. Aside the delays and antsy kids, it was an okay trip down. It rained the entire time and there were tears of joy as we pulled past the welcome to Disney World sign. -- Our air conditioner went out in the van right after we arrived. Thank God we stayed on property and rarely had to get in the van for anything until we left.

First night there, we check in and I have to say were literally packed like sardines in Pop Century's rooms. I would not suggest them for more than 2 -3 people. We went into the Magic Kingdom. HUGE mistake. Ive been to Disney over a dozen times in my life, and never ever have I seen crowds as horrible as they were. We were herded like cattle through main street and into Tomorrowland. We had literally no other choice to go anywhere else. The very first ride we go on, my sister had her Samsung Galaxy phone in her pocket- a phone she spent over $500 on complete with a beautiful swarvoski crystal case. 20 seconds after she steps off the ride she turns and says, Oh no! my phone must be on the seat, its slipped out of my pocket!-- the cast members check each car as they come in... and surprise, surprise.. someone has picked that bad boy up and kept it. These first few events cast a dark shadowy mood over the first few days of our trip. We go to get on the next ride because we have a fast pass and its down. The wait times are all way too high to actually wait in line anywhere if we want to make it on the NEXT ride for fast pass. So we meander around a bit and wait for our fp time for mine train. At that point, the rest of the party gets in line and I walk our double stroller around with the two little ones in our party. I stayed to the far right at all times and attempted to stay out of everyone's way. At one point, a woman stomps past me, turns and yells, "I'm sick a G-d d*n tired of all these strollers and cars being in my way!" right in my face. I'm feeling like, this is certainly NOT the happiest place on earth. My party exits the ride and we all agree to just go back to the hotel. Everyone is feeling disappointed and let down by our experience. 6 hours in the park and only 2 rides the first day in. We stop at City Hall and pray someone has turned the phone in. Of course not.

Second day we went to Animal Kingdom. It rained and was unseasonably hot- 87 degrees in March. The crowds are again, absolutely obscene. Once again one of our FP rides is down during our fp time, so we end up riding the safari and dinosaur. That. is. literally. it. We went to our restaurant and waited for well over an hour even though we had reservations before we finally said forget it and bought some ice cream from a cart. The kids were covered in melting sticky ice cream so we decide to just scrap the day and head back to the hotel to wash up and swim. No one wants to go back. They actually get very upset when we even talk about going back.

Third day we were at Hollywood studios. The lowest crowd levels we encounter anywhere. We ride Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Toys story- eat at the commissary and catch a Muppet show and then call it a day. It rains for several hours.

Fourth day was Epcot. The crowds, again, off the hook bad. It rains- badly. We ride The living seas, and half our party gets separated after we get off- there are so just SO many people everywhere, lining the walls of the observation area- and we lose our 7 year old who we got separated from for a good 10 minutes. I was nearly hysterical before we finally were reunited. We did space ship earth and the land. We go to eat at our restaurant and its once again overbooked. Everyone is hungry, its raining. We dip into Marrakesh Moroccan place to eat. $180 later and we still have several hungry people who couldn't stomach the food. We take the ferry across the lake and high tail it back to our hotel. By this point, some of the kids are on the bus crying about how this is NOT what they were expecting. I am heartbroken and disappointed. Every single opportunity we can, we are trying to lighten the mood- play fun games, buy little treats and souvenirs. Its lightning and raining so badly, we cannot swim. The kids stay in the room watching tv the rest of the day.

Fifth day we are back at Magic Kingdom. It rains again. I send the rest of my party into the park without me for the first 3-4 hours. I am in bed, literally depressed out of my mind at how bad this entire trip had gone. After housekeeping stops by a 2nd time and notices my flushed, obvious I-had-been-crying face, she gave me a big hug. I decide to suck it up and make the best of whats left. I meet up with my family. We have a fast pass for Haunted Mansion and can I say, this is by leaps and bounds one of the worst experiences we have there. We are herded like cattle through the entire line queue- and there is literally no space whatsoever between people. Had we been in literally any other situation, people would questionably been accused of assault. My 9 year old son is literally smashed between a womans breasts and my sister speaks up and says something to her about having some decency. The woman says, "No one has room- It's Disneyworld!" and shoves him away from her. I am furious at this point and my non-confrontational side fades away and mamabear's claws come out. I shout back at her, "how would you like it if I shoved YOUR child!?" I was SO upset at this point. I am 100% certain that any state inspector would have shut the ride down. Had there been a fire, people would have died or been trampled. It was THAT packed. The 13 of us in my party were easily smooshed into a tight 5x5 ft square. A couple of the kids were crying, "no nevermind we dont want to go on this"- not because of the theme, they were fine with that, but because of the scary way we were all packed so tightly together. (For the record, later that night near 11pm, I take the older 5 kids on that ride again to assess the situation once more and the crowds were absolutely no where even halfway as bad. We all had acceptable space between us.) After that very first ride, a couple of the kids beg to go back to the room. One even says, "I just dont like this place. Its not like how it was in the videos"- a few of the kids stay behind with an adult and watch youtube videos the rest of the day.
We ride another 2 or 3 rides then head back, as the rain is too heavy to continue in the park- even with ponchos. We return that night with the oldest kids to ride space mountain (where 3 college aged boys in front of us made fat jokes obnoxiously about every overweight person they saw for 90 minutes and shined a laser pointer in everyones eyes) then splash mountain, which they genuinely loved- despite the rain.

The last day we are there, again it rains for a few hours in the afternoon. The crowds arent as bad as they had been the prior few days but still thick. We ride a handful of rides, grab a bite to eat and head back to the room to return later since the park was open until 2 am. That night we come back briefly, but apparently so does the rest of the park and lines are once again very long. By 1 am, we leave- completely defeated.

The ride home, we encounter many more accidents. Forcing us to stay in Georgia just south of Macon. We are woken up at 7am-ish as a tornado passes through. I felt a little like Alanis Morissette... isn't it ironic? at this point, nothing could surprise me anymore. Until I get home and realize our card had been charged several times for various purchases at the art of disney, and the pizza place in Disney. The hotel in Georgia, overcharges each of our rooms by $55 each room as well and being Sunday I cant do anything about it. I total up the amount spent (assuming we get duplicate charges removed from our debit card-) $13,155 for a week of absolute hell and disappointment.

I love Disneyworld, but its very very likely we will never ever return.

In the meantime, we are out a ton of money. We paid up front for everything and had been saving for this trip for over 2 years. I feel absolutely robbed.

Hats off to you for including all your family. That is the good news and also the bad news! The Disney prices are now bordering on greed and in the past it was always costly but not enough to be angry about it. The cards are definately stacked against your family trying to do this over spring break when the ride waits are just crazy and Disney packs guest in like sardines throughout the whole park. You have a real challenge on a low attendance day to keep your crew happy! Given your ordeal, I understand your reasoning about "never again". A shame it cost 13 K to get educated.
 
I definitely agree. I think something that not all families but some families cling to is the idea of doing every.single.bloody.thing. together. But I assure anyone who has these intentions that you WILL not be happy with the outcome. Not unless everyone in the family has the same exact interests, which is rare. Breaking up into groups allows for you to navigate the crowds more quickly, get through lines faster, sat down at a TS more easily, etc. It doesn't mean you can't share these moments together, but making one parent responsible for xyz and the other parent responsible for abc will help cut down the stress. Breaking up into groups is also good if these kids like these attractions and these kids like those attractions, then you're not forcing anyone into rides they don't like.

This is why I'm going with my two sons and leaving DH and our daughter home this fall. The boys are a smilier age and like similar rides; it's easy to take them to a theme park by myself. DD is much younger, and doesn't handle noises well, and has been freaked out any time she's seen a character (she's only 2). I'm considering a whole family trip next year after she turns 4. I know there are families who specifically do Disney before kids turn 3 so they don't have to pay for the ticket, but I'd rather be more certain that she'll be able to get something out of it. And by that I really mean, I need her to be old enough that she won't ruin the trip for everyone else. When we all go, I know we will still be splitting up sometimes to account for the age/preference differences, but at least there will be some things we can do together and other things we can enjoy separately.
 
This is why I'm going with my two sons and leaving DH and our daughter home this fall. The boys are a smilier age and like similar rides; it's easy to take them to a theme park by myself. DD is much younger, and doesn't handle noises well, and has been freaked out any time she's seen a character (she's only 2). I'm considering a whole family trip next year after she turns 4. I know there are families who specifically do Disney before kids turn 3 so they don't have to pay for the ticket, but I'd rather be more certain that she'll be able to get something out of it. And by that I really mean, I need her to be old enough that she won't ruin the trip for everyone else. When we all go, I know we will still be splitting up sometimes to account for the age/preference differences, but at least there will be some things we can do together and other things we can enjoy separately.

I definitly think taking children when theyre a little older is the best!
 
See, it's this type of post i just don't understand. You absolve Disney of any blame, but then talk about planning choices (we all know Disney is ridiculous to plan for nowadays and I can't even imagine trying to plan for a large family), crowds (simply they allow too many guests for the almighty profit), and ride breakdowns (good chance maintenance issues since they have reduced those budgets for years now). All of those issues are Disney's problem, not the person paying money.

I agree that this is not Disney's fault. Rides go down, Disney allows you to pick another ride for fast pass if you have a fast pass for that ride when it goes down, rain isn't Disney's fault, many people push through the rain and stay in the parks. Haunted Mansions que isn't terrible. I have been during very busy times and while it can be crowded, its not horrible. long waits for dining can happen, there isn't a lot Disney can do about diners taking a long time to eat (probably waiting out the rain). I have 6 children and would never think of taking them all and only having 3 rooms at a value. This time of year is BUSY.... you must have a solid plan or you will not have a good time.
 
My post was in NO WAY a defense of Disney, sorry you took it that way. I just stated fact. It was simply impossible to pull off a successful vacation with that many children at any time of the year, especially during the most crowded time to go! In my opinion, Disney does NOT care about the customer experience at their theme parks. Folks keep visiting WDW anyway,
I read the first couple pages of this post, then skipped to this one and didn't realize until now that this was a couple years ago. I think I may have been there that week in March because I remember the crowds being high and exceptionally warm for that time of year. Except for solo trips, I've also been "stuck" going when schools are out since DW teaches, so I've learned to adjust to the crowds a bit. I know its more difficult when not going frequently, but I try not to base my satisfaction on how many rides I'm able to hit in a given time. Sure its nice to get that occasional 7 or 8 fastpass day (probably at MK), but equally nice, for example, is cruising around World Showcase, riding nothing.

The one thing that stuck out for me in the original posts and many of the replies was the size of OP's party. I think Disney does a lot of things well, and the way they handle crowds is studied by many. But one place I think they fall short is accommodating large families. The idea of trying to put so many (13 was it?) into 3 Pop rooms made no sense to me. I get the advantages of staying "inside the bubble", but with a group that large, I'd be looking into a 5 or 6 bedroom villa that would be just a short drive and would cost a LOT less money, even in spring break weeks. Plus, you could save even more eating breakfasts in and maybe a pizza night or two. The other thing about a party that large is that it doesn't make sense to attempt to keep the entire party together. You're always moving at the speed of the slowest person and I have to imagine keeping a group of 13 together in the park would be a challenge, even during "slow" times, if they exist anymore. I didn't read carefully on the age makeup of the group, but I would think a better time would be had by all if they broke into a few groups of 3-5 and meet up for meals and share their stories.

I agree, the parks are way too crowded all the time, even what we used to call "off Peak" times. Anyone who has gone to WDW over the years has seen the decline of the customer experience in all areas; over crowding, decline in food quality, less cast member presence everywhere, operating hours cut so they can add more Hard Ticket Events. And don't get me started about FastPass Plus!!! It turned attractions that used to be "walk- on" that did not even need a fast pass, into attractions with long standby lines...

I have been to Disney in the past 4 years 3 times I am a family of 7 I went when I had 2 kids under 3 and went with my sister who has 4 kids (set of twins under 3) So 9 kids and all little. Each time we had a blast. I felt like Disney was the only place we could eat together, go to places together and no one looked at us like we had 100 heads. Back home wait staff show their disappointment when we arrive. In Disney we were treated like royalty. We didn't do everything together and split up depending on the children's needs. We enjoyed ourselves and like I said repeated these trips often (two more currently in the plans) I feel bad for the OP who didn't have our experience, but I in no way think it's Disney's fault thinking they don't accomodate large families. I never felt this way. As for them having 3 rooms with 13 people, I thought that was reasonable being that so many were young and 2 to a bed seemed okay. Granted my sister always stayed at DVC resorts and I will in the future. In the past I stayed off site in 2-3 bedrooms or even at value and moderate resorts. A suite fit my family at one point when they were infants, not the case now. Just hope the OP sees that a large family can go and enjoy themselves and gives it another try someday they might be pleasantly surprised.
 
I have been to Disney in the past 4 years 3 times I am a family of 7 I went when I had 2 kids under 3 and went with my sister who has 4 kids (set of twins under 3) So 9 kids and all little. Each time we had a blast. I felt like Disney was the only place we could eat together, go to places together and no one looked at us like we had 100 heads. Back home wait staff show their disappointment when we arrive. In Disney we were treated like royalty. We didn't do everything together and split up depending on the children's needs. We enjoyed ourselves and like I said repeated these trips often (two more currently in the plans) I feel bad for the OP who didn't have our experience, but I in no way think it's Disney's fault thinking they don't accomodate large families. I never felt this way. As for them having 3 rooms with 13 people, I thought that was reasonable being that so many were young and 2 to a bed seemed okay. Granted my sister always stayed at DVC resorts and I will in the future. In the past I stayed off site in 2-3 bedrooms or even at value and moderate resorts. A suite fit my family at one point when they were infants, not the case now. Just hope the OP sees that a large family can go and enjoy themselves and gives it another try someday they might be pleasantly surprised.

It's always great to hear the successful trips with so many little kids. Great job! Do you have any tips for other families who will visit WDW with a large number if little ones?
 

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