How Do You Disney?
My dad once told me that sometimes the best advice is the advice not taken. It wasn’t until I got older that I fully began to understand what that meant. It doesn’t matter if you are buying a car or trying to decide on a restaurant for dinner, someone is going to be there to tell you how you just should do it. But remember advice is only good as the person giving it. If you are a mom of three you probably would want to take advice on car shopping from a 19 year old with an affinity for street racing. The same is to be said about planning your vacations. This may come as a shock but taking travel tips from your nephew who just got back from spring break in Cancun may not help you as much with planning your next family vacation as you think. You always have to consider the source. Now I know right now I am not clueing you in on some ground breaking discovery here. We all know this but yet we throw all caution out the window when we plan a Disney vacation. (Here comes the Disney “Experts” again). Disney has the reputation as being a safe bet for a family vacation but to be honest can be a bit scary . So typically first time Disney people seem to lean on the advice and wisdom of experienced park hoppers. These are the people who are going to tell you were to stay, where to eat, what to ride, and all the Disney “secrets” they know. The options in a Disney vacation can be almost limitless and overwhelming, thus we take the “expert” advice without giving a second thought of where it came from. After all we can trust Aunt Edna and all of her planing experience of taking 9 children to Disney every year to give you real sound advice on going to Disney for your honeymoon (makes since, right?). This even applies to the friends you have that are pretty much in the same boat as you. You are both about the same age, with the same amount of kids, and both love chicken wings. Still may not be the best idea to let them plan your trip for you. Disney is such a unique experience to each and every guest that walks through those magical gates. They truly do have something to offer to (almost) everyone. For some people Disney is a once in a life time trip, so why not plan it that way. The advice is great but you have to remember to take it in pieces and not just plan to ride Tower of Terror 16 times because everyone you know says its the best ride even though you get motion sickness on the escalator. When people ask me for advice I always try to ask them questions to see what they are looking to get out of a vacation. From there I try to suggest some things that I THINK they may like, all the while urging them to take what I say with a grain of salt. After all I love Disney, but don’t consider myself to be much of a ride person. In fact I am fairly sure many of my friends would hate it if they ever came on a trip with me. Not because of anything other than the fact the your Disney experience is so customizable to your wants and likes, that their is no way my Disney would be your Disney. So my best advice for you would be to make a list of what you like, and start from there. A good next step would be contacting your travel agent. Their advice is going to be quite different from that of your coworker, not to mention true information. They book vacations for many different types of people and families each day they are trained to listen to your needs and can better help plan a vacation that will better suit your needs and truly be a once in a lifetime experience.
Nick Poche’
Avid Disney fan, husband to Tiffany, father of three, Brock, Bailey, and Brennan. Lover of travel and blogger for the We Dream of Disney and Beyond Blog.