Please help me to not hate Disney!

[FLA]

When are you going exactly?

First of all, he is 4. He will barely remember Disney, so keeping up with his peers is not an argument right now.

I really think if YOU hate Disney and you can't go off-season, you might consider putting more energy into going when he is older so that he can remember it better.

If you're only going to go once for your child, wait til he is older and taller so he can experience more. 4 he won't remember and he won't be able to appreciate what he is seeing.

I love Disney despite hating corporate Disney. Everyone who learns I love it are shocked, I am not the type. That being said, I will never go back unless it is the off season like October or May. August was so bad, I can actually say DD and I did not have a good time overall. I am hoping she still loves it in a few yrs when she gets out of college in the Spring and we could go then.

If you go, ride Soarin' a lot and you may start to not hate Disney.

We ate at Sweet Tomatoes, amazing salad bar place with coupons like 3 adults for $20, we love it there for casual fare. We like Texas de Brazil with a coupon as a treat but now we have that at home.

If you want to make your trip as pleasant as possible, read the Unofficial Guide to WDW. Follow his plans to a T and use the app and you won't spend all day in a line as most people do.

[Fishindude77]

I would just about rather have a root canal than go to that place also.
That kind of stuff just isn't my cup of tea. Not much of a fan of heat, sun and crowds.

[disneysteve]

Not much of a fan of heat, sun and crowds.

I realize not everyone likes Disney World, but I get so tired of hearing this as the reason.

Don't like heat? Don't go in the summer.
Don't like sun? Well, that one's a little tough to avoid since you will be outdoors a lot.
Don't like crowds? Don't go over Christmas break or other peak seasons.

We are in Disney World right now. The temperature Monday morning when we left the house was 40 degrees. The high for the day was about 57. Heat was not an issue at all. Tuesday was cloudy all day, so no sun to contend with. And we've been able to walk on to most rides this week with no more than a 10-minute wait, and often less than that.

If you don't like Disney, that's fine, but if your only issues with it are truly heat and crowds, it is not hard to avoid that.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I don't get spending $150 on a meal for 2 adults and a kid but that was last year' post. I have to comment that DH and I traveled all over with our kids and rarely do we need to spend $150 to get cool food on the road. We just eat whatever the locals eat. Sushi in Michigan? Nah. Tried brats and beer instead. delicious.

I think that some of the problem with traveling is people want to eat 'Cuisine' instead of what maybe a local will eat.

I am still trying to figure out when to hit disney timing and kid wise.

[Reece102]

I'd LOVE to go! haha

[97guns]

I was at Hong Kong Disneyland this past June and was pretty disappointed, it was a very small park compared to the California Disneyland that I know and live so much. So many rides were closed for maintenance, was especially disappointed with the haunted house and park train closing. No pirates of the carribean and no autopia, our favorite ride was Winnie the Pooh adventure at least it was only $50 to enter

[bennkar]

You were upset with the parks being hot and crowded but you chose to not go in until 2pm, which is the time when it is the hottest and most crowded of the day. A much better plan is to go in when the park opens at 9am, stay until about 1pm when both the crowds and temperature reach their peak, then head back to your hotel to relax and unwind, and return to the park after dinner when it is again less crowded and cooler.

Just one more follow up on my visit - this year (and maybe previously?) there was a special lounge at Epcot setup for Disney branded Chase credit card holders. This was only available during the food festival
(runs in the fall I think). I made a point of getting the CC for that perk (it comes with other perks like priority meet and greet with certain Disney characters - not that I wanted to do that). It had free drinks and a nice cool lounge - we stayed there maybe 30 minutes and helped to get our energy up for the remainder of the day (and just made us feel special ). If you're going to Disney, you should keep an eye out for these types of deals.

[disneysteve]

there was a special lounge at Epcot setup for Disney branded Chase credit card holders. This was only available during the food festival

Yes, the Chase lounge at American Adventure is just there during the Food & Wine Festival. There are free Coke Freestyle machines and wine also (maybe beer?). There's not really anything else to do up there and no snacks which would be nice but it's a nice place to get a free drink and sit down for a bit.

[FLA]

I am still trying to figure out when to hit disney timing and kid wise.

my kids and the school balked at missing any school from 2nd grade on. So we did Feb break 2 or 3 times. Crowded but still more pleasant than August, we used the Ultimate Guide strategies to avoid long lines as much as possible and it was fine.

If you can take your kids out, I liked May the best as school was winding down or I like Oct but that felt too soon in the year to take my kids out. In the end, I think I only took them out once and the school was great about it, the kids were little, they did work on the trip that the teachers were nice enough to prepare. But the policy on taking kids out is strict here after Kgarten and 1st gr. The kids would get unapproved absences on their record and teachers were unlikely to provide work.

[bennkar]

Yes, the Chase lounge at American Adventure is just there during the Food & Wine Festival. There are free Coke Freestyle machines and wine also (maybe beer?). There's not really anything else to do up there and no snacks which would be nice but it's a nice place to get a free drink and sit down for a bit.

Nether of us wanted to get any alcohol during our visit so we didn't even go to that room. I don't know how good of an idea drinking alcohol is when you are going to be on your feet a lot during the day. I guess if you like that stuff, and the kids are out on their own for an hour or more, then maybe. My ex would have loved it, but then again she's my ex for a reason

[bennkar]

But the policy on taking kids out is strict here after Kgarten and 1st gr. The kids would get unapproved absences on their record and teachers were unlikely to provide work.

I can't say I am happy with that. If the kid can keep up with school work, what's the problem. I took a week vacation with family 4 times in middle / high school and would return and take the missed exams (or upcoming ones) and would still be at the top of the class each time. Its the new world we live in I guess.

[disneysteve]

I can't say I am happy with that. If the kid can keep up with school work, what's the problem. I took a week vacation with family 4 times in middle / high school and would return and take the missed exams (or upcoming ones) and would still be at the top of the class each time. Its the new world we live in I guess.

I agree. This is always a big debate in the Disney fan community. Some schools are simply insane on this matter. I can understand it in high school, maybe in middle school, but to tell a parent they can't take a 7-year-old out of school for a few days is ridiculous.

[QuarterMillionMan]

One of my workers has the annual pass ($40 a month) after $99 down for California Disneyland. She said she goes twice a month to try to maximize the value but even if she only goes once it still seems better than the $100 admission for a one park admission or $150 for a 2 park hopper. Different tier levels also exists according to her. She indicated that the $69 a month annual plan includes free parking ($18 value) but I'm not sure what other benefits are also included in the higher tiers.

Does anyone else purchase the annual passes to either Disney World or Disneyland?

[Like2Plan]

Does anyone else purchase the annual passes to either Disney World or Disneyland?

We used to buy APes for both DL and WDW. Then, they offered a Premier Pass that included both parks (they upgraded my family for free when they introduced the pass because we held both DL and WDW APes at the time of implementation--they gave us an expiration date of the latest of the passes which was a pretty awesome deal.).

We bought the Premier pass for a couple of years after that, but then ran into difficulties. You have to go in person to buy the pass (no advance purchase vouchers), but we like to buy the vouchers in advance to lock in the price. (And, we got a smoking good deal for the WDW only passes with our Disney timeshare--which they used to "bridge", so we could activate the voucher--use it once and then get the current ticket price of the AP credited to an upgraded pass--which they don't do anymore).

Sooo, our last annual passes were staggered APes. DL Jun 2014-2015 and WDW Dec 2014-2015. We were thinking of going back to the Premier when the WDW passes expired, but, the latest price increases has made me rethink our ticket purchase strategy. We might just go with fewer park visits and then use the salute to the military passes. We used to go over New Years Eve every year (one of the block out times for the salute tickets), but we don't have reservations for this upcoming NYE. I think we could get by with the salute tickets with what we have planned.

[Like2Plan]

Yes, the Chase lounge at American Adventure is just there during the Food & Wine Festival. There are free Coke Freestyle machines and wine also (maybe beer?). There's not really anything else to do up there and no snacks which would be nice but it's a nice place to get a free drink and sit down for a bit.

They also have a place to recharge your phones--which is nice. And, in the past they have given out wristbands (while supplies last) for a preferred viewing area at illuminations and priority entry to the eat to the beat concerts.