- Thinking you can do it "all" in one trip. I probably felt this way once such as in 1994 when DHS was MGM and Animal Kingdom was under construction, but I quickly learned that although you may want to "try" it is not possible to see it all in one trip. I have been to WDW nine times and I can truthfully say I have NOT seen it all. I usually tell people who ask me for advice about a WDW trip to realize you could vacation at WDW for one year and still not see it all. That might be an exaggeration but it the point is the same. Do not try to see it all because you will miss what is right in front of you, and what is right in front of you at WDW is usually magical.
- I call this "mistake" NEW SHOES... What I mean is this, you will walk more in a day at the parks then you walk in a week, unless you are a door to door salesman or a mail carrier, you get the idea. I one day had a pedometer on in the Magic Kingdom and I hit the ten mile mark about mid-afternoon and then it was sat down somewhere and I forgot to retrieve it. I conservatively estimate that I walked another five that day. New shoes, or those that have not been broke in are murder on your feet. Also, WDW is not the place to go for glitz on your feet, unless it is comfortable glitz. Comfort is the key, or blisters, rolled ankles, and miserable times await you. I suggest if you want to get a new pair of shoes for your trip get them weeks ahead and begin walking in them right away.
- Leave the parks right away when it begins to rain. Rain is a way of life in Central Florida, most of the year (especially summer months) but it usually lasts about an hour and then clears up. This is the time to swim (sorry for the ironic choice of words) against the onslaught of visitors leaving the park to your favorite attraction, inside or out, and get in the much smaller lines. Attractions do not shut down for just rain, it is rare that they shut down for weather at all (except hurricanes) also lightening might cause a ride to shut down briefly.
- Think you have to eat at noon... Dining at the peak times is ludicrous, in my opinion (IMO), even with reservations. Plan your meals at odd times. Also take advantage of the "quick service" areas or even snacks in which you can dine and maneuver around. If you are one of those people who need to sit down and eat at least one meal a day, like my wife, have either a late breakfast or a late dinner, IMO.
- Failing to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours (EMH) Each park have on certain days EMHs either before the park officially opens or after the park officially closes. This perk is for those who stay on site. We usually plan two days at EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. Especially at the Magic Kingdom we do one day where there is an EMH early and one EMH that is late. On those days that we arrive early we feel we don't have to stay as late and vice versa.
- BIG IMO, Park Hopper, let me explain, especially for your first time at WDW ... Going "hopping" from one park to another is time consuming. Transportation usually consists of a bus taking you back to your resort and then you catching the bus to one of the other parks. As of this writing "I am not aware" of direct travel from one park to another. The closest is from MK to EPCOT and vice versa but you have to switch monorails at the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC). We had it once and we did not utilize it except once or twice although we paid for it everyday. My suggestion to you if you "need" to "hop" parks one day of your trip add the option to that day only.
- Not being prepared for the weather (especially the temp...). We live in a day and age where we are updated with every bit of information that we ever wanted or "not", I find myself putting in a lot of parentheses and quotation marks, wanted to have. One of the easiest things to find is the weather. With the weather app on my phone I know what it is doing in Lake Buena Vista, Florida as well as where I am or might be traveling to in the near future. Plus it also tells me the fifteen day forecast. There really is no excuse for anyone to not know about the weather. Rule of thumb is that it will be "HOT" in the spring, summer, and fall. Plus it will rain (see earlier "mistake" sometime during your stay. I always pack a sweatshirt if I am traveling anywhere between November-early April, mainly for the nights and sometimes even the days at WDW. However, remember for those of us who are used to cold weather what they call cold weather in Central Florida is actually humorous.
- They plan either too little or too much... You should have a plan, you would not visit anyplace without a plan but some go to WDW and feel they can wing it or they have a schedule so tightly packed that they are thinking about what comes next than what is right now in front of you and as I have said before "... what is right in front of you at WDW is usually magical. I love to plan trips almost as much as I like going, okay that is a lie I LOVE TO GO TO WDW I only like to plan to go. You have to plan the when you go and for how long as to where you will stay... Plus I would also plan which park on which day and your Fast Passes plus at least one dining experience but don't pack in so much "planned" time, times to be flexible need to be entered into the equation, because inevitably there will be hiccups along the way.
- Not staying hydrated... You need to drink plenty of liquids, preferably non caloric liquids, you will sweat and the aforementioned heat will dehydrate you. You can bring water into the park in non-glass containers and for you Pepsi drinkers, you can bring in your favorite non-alcohol drinks such as diet Pepsi (they only sell Coke products in the parks). But remember to stay hydrated...
- Thinking you are "entitled" because you spent all of that money... guess what? We all spend money to get to WDW...You see it sometimes in the park where someone will remind a cast member how much they paid and that they are to cater to them and all of their wants no matter how stupid they are. I have even heard someone say I wish I had a handicapped kid so I could get to the head of the line... (needless to say he was lucky I was in my happy place or I would have given him his wish to having him having a handicapped person in his group "him") We have all heard about how cast members do special things for certain visitors and how they give away "stuff." It is true sometimes those things happen and sometimes we, my youngest Wyatt has a brain disorder and wears a helmet for seizures, have been allowed to do things we wouldn't have been able to do if it were not for Wyatt. He has called out the bears at the Country Bear Jamboree, he has been given trading pins by cast members, and he has been given a pair of shorts and tee-shirt at a souvenir shop (the last one was because he wet himself) not because we asked for these but because his infectious smile and good demeanor, also he is so darn cute when he wants to be.
- Thinking WDW is "just for kids!" I will admit my age, at being 52 years old, I have been to WDW nine times during my lifetime and plan on number ten this June with just my wife of twenty-four and a half years. If it is "just for kids" why would I go without my kids? The flat out lie is that it is just for kids. There are five-star restaurants, shows of Broadway caliber, golf courses, spas, fishing, parasailing and things too numerous to list. People get engaged in front of the castle, they celebrate anniversaries, and they get to act like a child (the good way not a bratty child). They ooo and aaaah at fireworks, they gasp at the first sight of the castle as they turn the corner onto Main Street USA and they remember the good times.
I know there are more "mistakes" that I could write about but I have made a blogging "mistake" and written too long already so maybe in a future post I will pick up this topic. Here is to hoping you get to make some of these "mistakes" because that only means you are having a magical time at Walt Disney World...
