Worst advice you got

[Pookaloki]

I advised my husband to try the Beverly.. Bwahahaha!

 

[MommaBerd]

It's like trying to explain to my 70+ year old parents (who are quite spry and "with it" but still...) that Hollywood Studios isn't Universal Studios. Nor is it MGM Studios (which is what it was last time we were there). Mom keeps saying, "When we're in Universal Studios," and I keep saying, "We're not going to Universal Studios, Mom." And she says, "MGM, whatever." And I say, "It's called Hollywood Studios now, Mom." And she says, "What happened to MGM? Did they close it?"

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (LOL!)

AAAAAAAND it's rumored they are going to change the name again! That will be good times for you, I'm sure!

 

[Halefamilyof6]

I couldn't agree with you more about the rope drop myth!

For our first WDW trip I did a HUGE amount of research & every one of the 5 guide books I read, as well as just about every "mouse centered" website I browsed, advocated that you absolutely MUST be at rope drop or else risk having completely wasted your ticket for the day due to the enormous queues that would have supposedly formed prior to your arrival & you subsequently getting to ride/do nothing at all.

Our first trip turned out quite miserable because of this advice: we were up at the crack of dawn each day, mostly skipped breakfast & was diligently at rope drop each morning just to be greeted by loooong lines of very impatient & often quite rude people who constantly shoved, pushed, bumped you with strollers & scooters from all sides... it astounded us every morning to experience how people completely lost all their manners in their haste to hop from attraction to attraction as if their lives depended on it! Another downside to being their at rope drop is that the days get incredibly long if you still want to hold out to see the fireworks at night. We really had very little fun doing Disney that way...

We've now been back to WDW 3 more times since then. We do it very differently now & really get to savour/ enjoy our Disney trips without ending up constantly grumpy & exhausted. We sleep in, have a leisurely brunch, do some shopping if we feel like it & then make our way to the parks during the afternoon hours once the rope droppers have exhausted themselves & have either already left the parks or are busy on the other side of the park. We never experience that insane shoving battle for the attractions anymore & we can stop to take a photo without someone cursing at us for slowing them down.

For the majority of the attractions we're interested in, the queues are never too hectic & if we feel it's not worth waiting that long for a particular attraction, we get a snack, find a shady spot & just take in the Disney ambience or watch the people... we're on our hard earned vacation after all, so what's the fun in rushing it just for the sake of ticking another thing off the list (touring plan)? We'd far rather just actually ENJOY the attractions we do get to do, than to do more attractions & end up enjoying it all much less... and we finish every evening with the spectacular fireworks shows that we now actually have the energy left to enjoy!

This is great to hear!! I've only read that how rope drop is necessary. And it's one I'm still considering as our six year old is sensitive to heat (we'll be there from Memorial day weekend through June 10th). But, the fact is, we're slow in the morning. We like to wake up, make breakfast, hang out, and then get going. So, I'm trying to juggle the lesser of two evils. I plan to hit MK over several days - one to two lands per day and that's it. We have a lot of days in the park but don't plan to be there more than four or five hours. So, we haven't decided for sure what to do, but it's nice to hear that there are people who enjoy WDW without having to do rope drop!

 

[marthachick]

This is great to hear!! I've only read that how rope drop is necessary. And it's one I'm still considering as our six year old is sensitive to heat (we'll be there from Memorial day weekend through June 10th). But, the fact is, we're slow in the morning. We like to wake up, make breakfast, hang out, and then get going. So, I'm trying to juggle the lesser of two evils. I plan to hit MK over several days - one to two lands per day and that's it. We have a lot of days in the park but don't plan to be there more than four or five hours. So, we haven't decided for sure what to do, but it's nice to hear that there are people who enjoy WDW without having to do rope drop!

I would try to skip EMH days if you're coming in later.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

I would try to skip EMH days if you're coming in later.

^^^ What she said! Totally, totally agree!

 

[drwadadli]

This is great to hear!! I've only read that how rope drop is necessary. And it's one I'm still considering as our six year old is sensitive to heat (we'll be there from Memorial day weekend through June 10th). But, the fact is, we're slow in the morning. We like to wake up, make breakfast, hang out, and then get going. So, I'm trying to juggle the lesser of two evils. I plan to hit MK over several days - one to two lands per day and that's it. We have a lot of days in the park but don't plan to be there more than four or five hours. So, we haven't decided for sure what to do, but it's nice to hear that there are people who enjoy WDW without having to do rope drop!

I have been going to WDW for close to 20+ times and have to admit that I have NEVER done rope drop. My wife and I are planning a trip this December and again we feel we don't need to do rope drop. For some people it is that THING to do but for us, it isn't.

 

[SA mom]

My BIL told us to skip Epcot, the kids (then 6 1/2) would absolutely hate it. It's too educational and too much reading.

This is based on a trip we made when his kids were younger (8, 11, 13) and the day at Epcot was a short day, our last day, everyone was sick and exhausted and we never made it to the World Showcase.

We spent 2 1/2 days in Epcot during a 9 day trip.

 

[scrapquitler]

Last week I saw what I'm pretty sure was bad information on a local community FB page for my town....someone was asking about WDW travel agents, and one lady (not at TA) posted that she recommends staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek because "it's walking distance to almost everything" Now, I've never stayed there, but I know that even the Poly isn't "walking distance to almost everything".....

 

[5Hfan]

our first trip we followed the advice to hop to HS late evening because the line for Jedi Training and Toy Story Mania would be short! Um no, Jedi Training only went during the early day, and Toy Story mania had almost a 2 hour wait! BWAHAHAHAHA we wised up real fast after that!

 

[TiffanyA]

Worst advice - plan, plan plan. And plan some more.

Not really direct advice per say, but I'm on disboards, I read about other people planning everything to a tee and I start to freak out that I don't plan. I realized pretty soon after I tried one time that that's not how my family likes to tour the parks. We have one dinner ADR and usually one or two big must do rides, but we like to do what we feel like otherwise.

After FP+ rolled out I got antsy again (since it was NEW and UNKNOWN) and did what I told myself I wouldn't do again: PLAN. I only succeeded in exasperating my family who more than once told me to take a chill pill during our first day at MK. The straw that broke the camel's back came on just the second day of that trip. We ran to the World Showcase as soon as it opened to get some tea I wanted. When I found out they no longer carried that tea, I literally starting crying and it was NOT because of the tea. My husband convinced me that at WDW, it's perfectly acceptable to start drinking at 11AM. After that, I threw out any notion of planning.

I have issues with expectations. If I have a plan and things don't go accordingly, I stress out. Neither I nor my family need that on vacation. But as so many previous posters have said, it's all about how YOU tour. We also like park hoppers because we like to be able to go where we want when we want to. And water parks for all but the coldest (for Florida) days of winter. We also love Le Cellier. So YMMV.

 

[Ava]

I have been going to WDW for close to 20+ times and have to admit that I have NEVER done rope drop. My wife and I are planning a trip this December and again we feel we don't need to do rope drop. For some people it is that THING to do but for us, it isn't.

The only park I think its worth it to do rope drop at least once per trip is Magic Kingdom. The first time we ever made it was on our 2014 trip, and we loved the opening show. Seeing Mickey & all the characters ride in on the train and open the park is really fun for the kids (and the grown ups). And then we hang back and let everyone else push their way into the park to run to 7DMT & the A&E meet. For the other parks, I like showing up right at opening time - you miss all the "rope drop" crowds waiting to go in, and it's early enough that lines for most of the rides are still short.

 

[drwadadli]

The only park I think its worth it to do rope drop at least once per trip is Magic Kingdom. The first time we ever made it was on our 2014 trip, and we loved the opening show. Seeing Mickey & all the characters ride in on the train and open the park is really fun for the kids (and the grown ups). And then we hang back and let everyone else push their way into the park to run to 7DMT & the A&E meet. For the other parks, I like showing up right at opening time - you miss all the "rope drop" crowds waiting to go in, and it's early enough that lines for most of the rides are still short.

Maybe we will try it this trip. We typically arrive at AK for EMH (am) right as the gates open or we are back far enough that we don't see anything.

 

[WIcruizer]

Worst advice - plan, plan plan. And plan some more.

Agreed. I would maybe give that advice for someone going the first time, but only if they're the type of family that had limited time, felt like they needed to "check off" everything, etc.

The extent of our planning is FP+, and one ADR per day (of we're on DDP.) Otherwise, we just play it by ear. I find we still end up doing/seeing almost everything each day, and 100% of the attractions we really wanted to do. I see so many groups (especially at MK) that look completely stressed out. Alpha leader is barking instructions, everyone looking at their written out plans...no...not for me.

 

[chelynnah]

I heard they are in the process of building a monorail from the Orlando airport to Disney World.

Scarily i think I heard that one almost 40 years ago on my first visit when I was 10. I think we'll be seeing real flying elephants before that happens

(Edit to insert correct original quote)

 

[leebee]

Worst advice: Charge everything to your room, then go down the night before you leave and pay off the balance (using gift cards and/or VISA rewards dollars). Sounds OK on the surface, but what I didn't know (and it wasn't mentioned) is that different resorts have different charging limits. When you hit the limit, they automatically roll the balance onto the credit card you list when you check in. I was standing there with an almost-zero balance and $500 worth of VISA rewards that would expire before our next trip because we'd hit the limit earlier in the day. Yes, the CM credited our credit card and then used our rewards points to pay off the balance, but it took over an hour and was a major headache/worry on the last night of our vacation!

 

[Robo]

Scarily i think I heard that one almost 40 years ago on my first visit when I was 10.
I think we'll be seeing real flying elephants before that happens

I'm lost.

Before WHAT happens?

 

[chelynnah]

I'm lost.

Before WHAT happens?

Whoops, sorry, somehow the wrong post got quoted, my iPad must have jumped when I hit reply. It was supposed to be the one about the monorail from the Airport to WDW. Off to find the original post and fix the quote.

 

[niffer5150]

people have insisted that stitch was not even worth it if you were just trying to escape the crowd and have a sit for a minute. my husband and i were actually quite amused by it. i don't know if it's because our expectations were suuuper low tho.

and split stays... i was told it was glorious. it took hours to get packed up, moved, checked in, resettled. yeah a new hotel was neat but OMG it took so much longer than i thought it would. i don't think i'd ever do it again unless i was staying weeks. i just can't imagine sacrificing park time for it.

 

[chelynnah]

There was once a lady I worked with that was always messing with people with jokes and all. She was going for a week and was never there before.

To get even I told her, " whatever you do, don't miss the Tiki Birds. It is the best attraction ever built."

When she got back she came right up to me and said "You dirty rotten (expletive) of a (expletive). We ran to that ride as soon as the park opened and I couldn't figure out how to find the door to leave!"

That was some bad advice!

Priceless!

 

[CoolMom2112]

and split stays... i was told it was glorious. it took hours to get packed up, moved, checked in, resettled. yeah a new hotel was neat but OMG it took so much longer than i thought it would. i don't think i'd ever do it again unless i was staying weeks. i just can't imagine sacrificing park time for it.

^^^^ Split Stays. Did that last December on our 1st Girls Only trip. Never. Again. We lost so much 'magic time' moving between resorts. We stayed at 3 (Pop, OKW, AK kidani) in a 6 day period. I won't make that mistake again. It never felt like we got 'home'. :-(