By Dopey Diva
What?!? What do you mean Disney World isn’t perfect? Hopefully this title has not kept you from reading this very informative article. I am in NO WAY putting Disney World down, I am actually preparing you for your Disney World experience. I know many, many people plan their Disney vacation with the assumption everything will go according to plan, thinking nothing can possibly happen to ruin their perfect plan while they are at the happiest place on earth. Most of the time everything will go according to plan BUT when it doesn’t you need to be prepared and not let the situation make you unhappy or angry or regret that you ever came to Disney World.
First of all let me tell you this…IT DOES RAIN AT DISNEY WORLD! Some people are under the assumption that Disney World has some type of dome over it and therefore it will not rain. They would be wrong. I know this first hand and luckily I had come prepared with ponchos (HUGE TIP: Pack ponchos). Disney World experiences the same weather as the rest of FL. It is very hot in the summer so be prepared for that. It rains, and it can even get chilly or cold in the winter months. Cast Members do NOT control the weather. If you are upset that is too hot or too wet don’t complain to them, it is not their fault and there is nothing they can do to change it. They can NOT turn the sun down any more than they can stop the rain. So remember to pack accordingly.
Disney World is known to have some amazing restaurants that serve delicious foods. There are several great table service and quick service restaurants located in all 4 parks as well as certain resorts. I have had some of the best meals of my life in Disney World restaurants and that is what most people expect. But Disney World restaurants, like any other restaurants, aren’t perfect. There may be a certain food item you order that you think could have tasted better. You might have had an advanced dining reservation for 6:30 and find yourself still waiting to be seated at 7:10. You may have ordered your food and 30 minutes later are still waiting for it to show up. Sometimes these things happen. You may never know why or they may offer you an explanation and hope you are understanding about the situation. Whatever the case may be don’t assume every meal or every restaurant will be the exact same way. In fact I ate at Mama Melrose’s a couple years ago and it took a VERY long time for us to get seated and my husband and his friend did NOT like the food they ordered. I could have said I would never go back to that place but instead I gave it another try this past year and was pleasantly surprised. We were seated almost as soon as we walked in and our food was fantastic! So don’t let one bad experience keep you from trying the same place twice. You never know how great it might actually be.
So what can be worse than waiting for months to get to Disney World to ride your favorite ride only to find out it is closed? Luckily there are websites that will let you know ahead of time what rides will be closed for refurbishment during your stay at Disney World and for that you can at least be prepared but sometimes a particular ride may be experiencing technical difficulties and have to be shut down. Normally this will only last a short time but on a rare occasion it could last the entire day…and it just might be the last day of your trip. Again, this is not anybody’s fault, these things happen. The cast members at the entrance of the ride will let you know what they know but that’s all they can do. If they don’t know a specific time the ride will reopen begging or yelling at them to give you a time to come back won’t help matters because odds are they really don’t know. If you had a fast pass for the certain ride that broke down odds are you will be able to use it later or allowed to choose a fast pass for another ride.
Character meet and greets are another great attraction at Disney World. When you walk into a park make sure you grab a times guide, this will give you the location and times where you can meet your favorite characters. Keep in mind the times guide even states “Park hours and information subject to change without notice”. I have had a couple disappointing character meet and greets. One was this past July when I saw Dopey was out with Snow White. I was so excited because I love Dopey! I got in line only to be told they were leaving and would be back later in the day. When I returned only Snow White was out and no Dopey. I was disappointed but it didn’t keep me from having a great time at the park! Another time I had been in line with my sons waiting to meet Woody and Jessie. My youngest son was so excited to meet Woody, he happened to have his Woody shirt on that day. When it was our time in line the characters had to take a break (which happens frequently, but they come back soon). After a few minutes only Jessie came back and we were told Woody would not be with her. Very disappointing to a 3 yr. old. He went and had his picture made with Jessie but he was not very happy about it. It was still a fun meet and greet, especially since my oldest son had on a Buzz Lightyear shirt and Jessie tried to leave with him. So even though you may not get to see the exact character you want you can always make the best of the time with the ones available.
Also keep in mind Disney World is always changing. There may be rides or shows you absolutely love to see on every trip but in time they may get changed or replaced with something new. You might be disappointed by the changes but at least you have the memories, and hopefully pictures, of some of your favorite moments spent in Disney World. Plus it gives you something new and exciting to look forward to on your next trip!
This is such a great post! Disney World might be the best place in the world, but it is still just a place, and like any other place, it has faults and flaws, that are a lot of times out of the control of the Disney company. Sometimes people can have expectations that are so high for their trip that they miss some of the most fun moments! Some of my favorite memories of WDW are riding People Mover in the pouring rain – there’s always something fun to do!