Disney requires too much planning? Are they shooting themselves?

[Gussie Granger 1969]

I have been a master planner for about 8 years now and I love it. It brings me joy that I think only people on this message board can understand. I love the research and organization of it. I also like being prepared and know all the latest info. My husband loves that I find out little details that not too many people know. I keep impeccable notes and update constantly. I know the info on every ride, when it’s most busy and the best time to ride it. I know the secret orders to ride certain rides with no wait times. I told this particular ride order to 2 people that just went and neither did it, haha and that’s why it works!

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Planning is all fine and dandy if you can do it. When living in FL, most who live close don't plan 180 days out when they want to go eat at one of the parks. That makes it hard for us to get into a restaurant. Disney should set aside some seating and fastpass selections for residents who don't plan months out

 

[Toolulu22]

Before there was My Disney Experience, there was Frommors and other Books that one could purchase or borrow from the library to help plan your vacation. I used to love these books. They worked pretty much the same way as the online version of travel sites, except you couldn't make reservations or get peoples opinions.

Point being, research and planning is not an internet phenomena. There are people who love to learn as much about the place they are going, and mapping out an agenda, so they can enjoy their trip and not spend a lot of time trying to figure things out once they get to their destination.

Some need to plan out their daily activities to a lesser extent, but they still get the basic information ahead of time, so they have the gist of what is going on when they get there.

People who don't take any time ahead of a trip to discover the layout of the resort, theme parks, transit system, etc. are setting themselves up for a steep learning curve upon arrival, and potentially some snafus along the way: being shut out of restaurants, long waits, etc.

Question though. If you are planning a trip to Disney, aren't you totally stoked and going online looking around at what is there??
You would think the person, or someone in the group would be interested enough to try to find out what is there, what's going on!

 

[CHEMISTSP]

This is a really great thread with a lot of thoughtful posts. The cost of Disney has not priced me out, and I am guessing you are going to see a record increase in cost for Annual Passes over the next three years and park tickets as high as $200 within 5 years. An argument can be made that Disney is actually under-charging for tickets presently, especially considering the volume of people they are getting into parks. With all of the new additions over the next few years (Star Wars Land, Tron Coaster, Guardians Coaster, Ratatouille ride) and the increasing popularity of Run Disney and the year-round schedule of Festivals at Epcot, and the 50th Anniversary approaching, you are going to see record attendance over the next few years.

I was last in Disney in 2012 and am coming this August for 2 weeks (in a vacation broken up between Disney & Universal). My first vacation I did plan, and utilized the old check-in FastPass system, and generally did not like it, but rolled with it. Looking back, I had under-planned and could have been more efficient and knowledgeable to increase the amount of things we could have done in every park. For this trip, I have been breathing Disney through podcasts, daily web-browsing, and following this board religiously (thanks to everyone for that BTW). Like many, I enjoy the planning but have 2 major complaints:

1. If you require me to make ADR's 6 months out, commit to park hours in that window as well so I can properly plan around the real hours of a park. If I make an early breakfast reservation, I want to make sure that it will not turn into a EMH after I make the reservation.

2. I HATE FastPass+. I think it is ridiculous to have to micromanage your vacation to the hour around attractions. I hope it someday evolves into something different because it is just too much, and really puts a lot of stress on someone trying to plan a vacation. I am friends with a lot of Disney veterans that "play the game" and make fake, longer reservations and do all kinds of crazy stuff to increase their reservation window. It is hard to fault them, but to me it is as equally frustrating as trying to get concert tickets in this modern era where you are rewarded by having a specific credit card and when the window opens to the public, there is so little left.

The last point I want to make is that I think these stresses regarding planning and the cost of the parks also strongly contribute to the bad behavior that has been seen by guests more frequently over the the last few years. It is so disappointing to plan so much or not plan and be easily overwhelmed, and feel like your vacation is slipping away and getting ruined. I think this happens frequently and is a reason for such an uptick in both bad behavior and negative reviews. On my vacation, I am going to do my best and try to balance things for our group of 5 the best I can to the circumstances I am faced with - whether it be crowd size, weather, ect...

Thank you everyone for such a great thread and I truly hope you all enjoy your vacations in the future

 

[indoshakespeare]

WDW is the only Disney Resorts to have the FP+ system though. My family have been going to HKDL, TDR and even Anaheim Disneyland. In all those places, we can just plan our FP in the morning or the night before. They wouldnt have known that WDW FPs have to be reserved 60 days in advanced.

 

[lunasea]

My family planned for 5 *years* before going on our trip in 1996. Everyone we knew who went to WDW bought or checked out books and did a lot of planning. We went to the travel agent three times before making our trip plans. But I have heard more and more of people nowadays doing less planning when going, which seems to be at odds with how easy it is to plan right from your phone. I'll sometimes think the easy access to technology and information seems to have made people lazier.

 

[Aliceacc]

I think that even at its most basic level, a WDW trip DOES require more planning than a typical vacation.

Our anti-Disney vacation is a week on Lake George in upstate NY. All we plan is the hotel. That's it. We show up, park our car, get our room, and decide what to do. When it's time for dinner, we decide where to eat, walk there, and get seated. Any daily activities are decided that morning-- go to the outlets, play mini golf, go to a local amusement park, rent a boat, whatever.

That's not Disney. If you want to eat in a table service restaurant during typical dinner hours, you'll need an ADR-- and the popular ones are gone a good two months before arrival. If you want to avoid waiting an hour or more for the popular rides during the summer, you'll want that FP+, and you'll want it at 60 days out.

We did a family reunion in 2014, and my niece and I took the lead on getting opinions. MY SIL wasn't terribly enthusiastic about all those choices months before our arrival, and I think she was getting annoyed at all the pre-planning. But she was SO VERY happy on our arrival to see the results of all that pre-planning, and turned to me for help when they returned in April of this year.

I'm a planner by nature, so this stuff is right up my alley. But not everyone is, and not everyone realizes how important it is for a WDW vacation.

So, what to do?

Well, if you're working with a travel agent, he or she should be filling you in. They could even offer standard types of planning-- one set of ADR/ FP suggestions for families with young kids (character meals, lots of fantasyland...) and another for honeymooners, another for families with teens and tweens. Narrowing down the choices and using standard suggestions would at least get those families to make some of the choices.

But as to the people who call Disney, book a resort for a week, and think they're all set... that gets trickier. Most probably don't want to deal with a spiel on the phone about all the work they really should do.

I don't know-- perhaps a mailing with suggestions? But they would have to have different mailing, so as not to discourage people who don't book 90 days out. Disney wants the money of the last minute crowd every bit as much as they want my money.

Perhaps an ad campaign of "It's not too early to book for that Christmas trip to Disney... book now and get your choice of top character meals" released before 90 days out?

 

[Becky Mouse]

Definitely. But I think the problem is, from what I'm seeing, a lot of people don't realize that.

I think Disney does a good job with the emails, though. They email you to let you know when you can make dining reservations, and they email you to let you know when you can make FastPass reservations. I get that some people ignore those things. My family is the type of people who get stressed by planning, so I can totally see them disregarding something like that. Still, that's not Disney's fault...

 

[mshanson3121]

I think that even at its most basic level, a WDW trip DOES require more planning than a typical vacation.

Our anti-Disney vacation is a week on Lake George in upstate NY. All we plan is the hotel. That's it. We show up, park our car, get our room, and decide what to do. When it's time for dinner, we decide where to eat, walk there, and get seated. Any daily activities are decided that morning-- go to the outlets, play mini golf, go to a local amusement park, rent a boat, whatever.

So much this. We just finished 9 days in the White Mountains. The only planning was where to stay. The rest we decided on the fly. Ate at a couple nice restaurants without any reservations necessary. Decided in the morning to go to a theme park, and enjoyed similar rides as Disney offers (obviously without the theming), but with average waits of only 5-10 minutes. And certainly no needing to "book" the rides. And we were able to ride favorites several times, often 2-3 times in a row. Two of the activities we did required reservations, which we made either the morning of or the evening before without any issue.

A friend of mine went to France. That trip took less planning than Disney. I've heard similar sentiments from several other people who have taken rather extravagant vacations. I know some have said their trips elsewhere required the same amount of planning, but I think that boils down to personality (and wallet). If you're anal about planning, and only plan on dining at fine dining restaurants etc... then I can see how other trips require the same amount as Disney, but I would wager hard money, that that type traveler is NOT the average one that visits Disney, and therefore that does put them at a bit of a disadvantage.

The only reason we knew anything is I stumbled across this board. As someone staying off-site, we received no emails reminding us to do this or that etc...

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Does Disney require too much planning? No. I don't think so, anyway. If you want to pack a day full of attractions and food, you have to plan that no matter where you are going. I think it is a lot to ask people to know where they want to eat 6 months ahead of time, but to ask that they plan a reservation is not excessive. I think that you can be as granular as you want with Disney planning and have a down to the minute itinerary. Or you can just book your FP and ADRs and then spend the rest of the day wandering and just doing whatever looks fun/has a short line. People talk about doing that all the time on here.

As far as "newbies" going for the first time having a bad time because they didn't know they needed to plan. . . That's the "newbie's" fault, not Disney's. I feel that most people know someone who has been to Disney. As soon as I mentioned that I was going to Disney to people, the ones who had been before immediately began to tell me "make sure you get your fast passes" or "make sure you book your restaurants" and all of that. (Of course, I already knew all of that because I RESEARCHED). I find it hard to believe that most newbies don't tell anyone they are going to Disney. I do NOT find it hard to believe that people ignore all the advice they get. Then they get what they deserve.

I may be harsh, but it's downright foolish to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation and not do a simple google search of what to expect. I googled just now "Planning a trip to Disney World" and the second result gives a comprehensive list of what you need to do and when you need to do it. (The first result was Disney's booking site).

I mean, to blame Disney for making it too difficult for newbies to plan. . . What do you expect Disney to do? Plan it for them? Oh wait, you can have someone plan your trip for you. FOR FREE! I don't get it. I really don't.

 

[CHEMISTSP]

Does Disney require too much planning? No. I don't think so, anyway. If you want to pack a day full of attractions and food, you have to plan that no matter where you are going. I think it is a lot to ask people to know where they want to eat 6 months ahead of time, but to ask that they plan a reservation is not excessive. I think that you can be as granular as you want with Disney planning and have a down to the minute itinerary. Or you can just book your FP and ADRs and then spend the rest of the day wandering and just doing whatever looks fun/has a short line. People talk about doing that all the time on here.

As far as "newbies" going for the first time having a bad time because they didn't know they needed to plan. . . That's the "newbie's" fault, not Disney's. I feel that most people know someone who has been to Disney. As soon as I mentioned that I was going to Disney to people, the ones who had been before immediately began to tell me "make sure you get your fast passes" or "make sure you book your restaurants" and all of that. (Of course, I already knew all of that because I RESEARCHED). I find it hard to believe that most newbies don't tell anyone they are going to Disney. I do NOT find it hard to believe that people ignore all the advice they get. Then they get what they deserve.

I may be harsh, but it's downright foolish to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation and not do a simple google search of what to expect. I googled just now "Planning a trip to Disney World" and the second result gives a comprehensive list of what you need to do and when you need to do it. (The first result was Disney's booking site).

I mean, to blame Disney for making it too difficult for newbies to plan. . . What do you expect Disney to do? Plan it for them? Oh wait, you can have someone plan your trip for you. FOR FREE! I don't get it. I really don't.

Ouch - I think that is a but harsh because I feel people generally do not ignore advice, but maybe are not fully aware of all of the resources that are out there to help them. My first Disney trip I DID research things out, I had a travel agent and planned a lot (mostly through Disney.com). That said, even though I thought I had researched it out thoroughly and had a plan, I did not know that I was getting into a vacation that required the amount of commitment and nuance that it takes to plan for a great Disney experience. It is so much more then getting ADR's & Fastpasses - it is now learning about positioning those reservations in a way to make it efficient to reach your vacation goals. Disney is so much more then just a park full of rides - there are character meet & greets, parades, firework shows, character meals, differentiating between ride attractions & show attractions, transportation between parks & resorts.... It's not like planning out a day at a Six Flags - there is so much more to it.

For a "Newbie", they can research the Disney site and get their dinner reservations & Fast Passes at the time they open up - but imagine their frustration when they go to book FOP on Day 1 or Day 2 of their trip and they see there are none there. Then they book all of their ADR's in the order of their trip, but Magic Kingdom was on their last day so Cinderella's Royal Table & Be Our Guest are now gone. These are things the average person does not know. Is it fair to call them lazy if they were up at 6:00 AM doing their ADR's but did not know the tricks of getting the high priority restaurants? If they don't follow the DisBoards or a similar information site, there is so much they will not know. I was not even aware of the DisBoards or Touring Plans for my first trip - and I would not call it a disaster but it was hardly the experience it could have been had I known what I know now. And I know what I know because I have put 100's of hours listening to podcasts & reading these boards - that is a lot to expect a casual Disney fan to do. I assume that if you are reading this post, you are a passionate fan. Most people are not.

People spend more money on a lot of other vacations that require much less preparation. I would agree that there are some that are lazy, but a lot of people are just spontaneous and that is reflected in their vacation planning, but do not realize how difficult that is for this type of vacation until they experience it first-hand. I do not have a problem placing some of the blame on Disney because they created an ADR system where you have to map reservations out before they are willing to commit to park hours for that day & forcing us into a system that requires Fast Passes 60 days in advance, which forces some people to manipulate their resort reservations to max out their reservation window. How could that not turn a Newbie off? I am actually surprised that Disney does not receive more criticism and backlash for making us jump through these hoops.

Finally, a lot of people do not like to deal with travel agents even though I think they would benefit greatly having one. I used a travel agent for my 1st trip and that did help - but it did not get me the great vacation I know I can achieve now armed with a lot of research and tools that requires a lot of work before the vacation. I could see some people using a travel agent and still having a disappointing vacation. Is that the Newbie's fault who thought they were doing everything they should? Though I agree with some of your points, I think you are being a little broad and harsh in your criticism of others.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Ouch - I think that is a but harsh because I feel people generally do not ignore advice, but maybe are not fully aware of all of the resources that are out there to help them. My first Disney trip I DID research things out, I had a travel agent and planned a lot (mostly through Disney.com). That said, even though I thought I had researched it out thoroughly and had a plan, I did not know that I was getting into a vacation that required the amount of commitment and nuance that it takes to plan for a great Disney experience. It is so much more then getting ADR's & Fastpasses - it is now learning about positioning those reservations in a way to make it efficient to reach your vacation goals. Disney is so much more then just a park full of rides - there are character meet & greets, parades, firework shows, character meals, differentiating between ride attractions & show attractions, transportation between parks & resorts.... It's not like planning out a day at a Six Flags - there is so much more to it.

For a "Newbie", they can research the Disney site and get their dinner reservations & Fast Passes at the time they open up - but imagine their frustration when they go to book FOP on Day 1 or Day 2 of their trip and they see there are none there. Then they book all of their ADR's in the order of their trip, but Magic Kingdom was on their last day so Cinderella's Royal Table & Be Our Guest are now gone. These are things the average person does not know. Is it fair to call them lazy if they were up at 6:00 AM doing their ADR's but did not know the tricks of getting the high priority restaurants? If they don't follow the DisBoards or a similar information site, there is so much they will not know. I was not even aware of the DisBoards or Touring Plans for my first trip - and I would not call it a disaster but it was hardly the experience it could have been had I known what I know now. And I know what I know because I have put 100's of hours listening to podcasts & reading these boards - that is a lot to expect a casual Disney fan to do. I assume that if you are reading this post, you are a passionate fan. Most people are not.

People spend more money on a lot of other vacations that require much less preparation. I would agree that there are some that are lazy, but a lot of people are just spontaneous and that is reflected in their vacation planning, but do not realize how difficult that is for this type of vacation until they experience it first-hand. I do not have a problem placing some of the blame on Disney because they created an ADR system where you have to map reservations out before they are willing to commit to park hours for that day & forcing us into a system that requires Fast Passes 60 days in advance, which forces some people to manipulate their resort reservations to max out their reservation window. How could that not turn a Newbie off? I am actually surprised that Disney does not receive more criticism and backlash for making us jump through these hoops.

Finally, a lot of people do not like to deal with travel agents even though I think they would benefit greatly having one. I used a travel agent for my 1st trip and that did help - but it did not get me the great vacation I know I can achieve now armed with a lot of research and tools that requires a lot of work before the vacation. I could see some people using a travel agent and still having a disappointing vacation. Is that the Newbie's fault who thought they were doing everything they should? Though I agree with some of your points, I think you are being a little broad and harsh in your criticism of others.

I think that if you get your FPs and ADRS, the rest is up to chance, not planning. Positioning those FPs and Reservations to have an "efficient" vacation to meet your "vacation goals" is not a priority to people who don't want to be granular with their planning. Plenty of people who visit multiple times a year, on this very website even, go from there and just "wing it." And they can have a great time. It doesn't have to be difficult.

Even seasoned Disney vacation planners miss their favorite ADRs or FPs. It's got nothing to do, at that point, with whether or not you've done it before. A simple google search will tell you that you need to be up and on MDE at the appointed time for both ADRs and FPs. From there, it's a matter of expectations. I don't understand why someone who has never been to Disney and didn't research it much would be devastated by not getting the FP or ADR they wanted.

If someone doesn't want to take the time to plan their own vacation and then at the same time refuses to use a free travel agent, that is, again, their fault. If they use a TA and still have a disappointing vacation, then at that point, it's just bad luck and probably would have been the case regardless of who planned the trip.

If you want to have fun at Disney, you HAVE to put in SOME work. And a simple Google search will tell you that.

 

[tcufrog]

My family is currently on a month long driving trip through England and Scotland. It’s been a lot of work to plan but now that I’m on the trip I appreciate how much more flexible our plans are than they are when we go to WDW. After this trip I think we will wait until the Galaxy’s Edge hubbub dies down a bit before we visit WDW again.

 

[Aliceacc]

I think, though, that no one who is on this site could really understand the mindset of someone who just doesn't think to plan. It's simply a mindset that we don't possess-- if we did, we would never have found the disboards.

So the issue is how Disney can get the word out without alienating those free spirits who simply don't want to plan and are happy to let serendipity lead the way.

 

[Burgundy Rose]

I think it all depends on how much research you want to make. I'll take myself as an example.

We're going for the first time this year in a week. All I had to plan was 1/ what parks we were going to be in which day 2/ table service restaurants 3/ FP+ reservations.

The first is unavoidable, I think, but doesn't take much time (I knew we'd like to see Magic Kingdom first but then the rest was chosen randomly).

The FastPasses didn't take very long at all either, I just looked at what the most popular attractions were (and their respective waiting times) and chose a FP+ in the morning.

The only thing that took forever in terms of research was booking the restaurants, and that's only because I'm a foodie and I spent months and months listening and reading reviews and perusing the menu of every single thing, looking up pictures of specific items, etc. My boyfriend doesn't care what's on his plate so had he been in charge, we would have eaten at whatever QS locations we found nearest us all trip, which is what we do whenever we go to a non-Disney theme park as I never expect much of the food.

Then again, I stopped short of looking up which park would be 'best' which day, when the EMH are and where, what time the day shows are, what restrooms are near which ride and which rides are nearest each other. I don't need every minute of every day planned, I just needed to know that at 11 we'll need to be here, here it is on the map, now let's go explore.

 

[Sysyphus]

Like most here, I enjoy a good plan. Our 9-day Platinum plan AKL stay 10 years ago was planned in fairly minute detail...

Totally different this time around, had been contemplating a road trip with DD15 down to visit family in Tampa and make some more use of our Sea World/Busch Gardens passes... plan A fell through last week leaving me a three night hole in our accommodation schedule... what started out as a quest for a cheap place to stay for three nights has now turned into a 3 night Ft Wilderness Camp with two days of park hopping...

I've just started to grapple with the mysteries of FP+, which although not that new, is completely new to me. Having not booked until today, just 21 days before arrival, obviously I've missed the boat on the prime FP+ choices... have to say I find the whole system really cumbersome and frustrating and I'm longing for the familiar good old-fashioned walk up and grab a ticket type fastpasses... so we're just going to have to troop the heck out of rope drop, EMH and single rider lines...

Fortunately DD was already there in the spring for a school musical thing, so she has done most of the rides. Guessing we'll just have to wait til next time for Slinky Dog

 

[Haz23]

When DBF and I went for our first time three years ago, our TA never mentioned to us how important planning is, they just casually talked about MDE and a couple of websites we should look at. I was glad when I discovered this site and realized that we would need a lot of planning to get the most out of our trip as first-timers. A lot of what we had planned changed once we were there due to both of us getting sick early on, but thanks to the helpful tips on this board we had a couple of free days so were still able to make up the time we had lost in the first week and do the attractions etc we wanted to do.

I found the planning really fun and exciting - I'm a planning type of person anyway, and DBF just let me get on with it! It may seem tedious trying to decide where you want to eat 180 days out but everyone in your party will thank you for it when you get there. Our next trip isn't until summer next year but we're already starting to pull together an outline of what we'd like to do each day and researching different restaurants. We've definitely learned from last time to not plan every minute of everyday, but as it gets closer we may change things around once EMH are released etc. Don't over-plan, but also don't under-plan.

 

[eleda72]

Hello from Norway
I just talked about this with DH yesterday and thought I would write something.
First time we wen`t to WDW was back in 2001 and DD was 5 years old.. I like to plan so I did my research...
We had a great time, and the trip who was supposed to be a "Once in a lifetime trip", became the first of many trips.

The 2 last trips have been mother/daughter trips, so DH has not been there in about 6-7 years.
Last summer DD and I had no time to plan because we decided to go around 3 weeks before our trip (Late June 2017)
Needless to say that we missed out on some great things... But that was not Disney`s fault, it was ours..
We still had a great time, but it would have been even more great if we had done our "homework"

So... THIS YEAR I do plan... and started VERY EARLY... We are going in November (DH and I) and have been planning like "crazy"
Last night DH said... why can`t we just go and have fun...?!? REALLY?!?
I tried to explain to him that Disney has changed since last time he was there and we need to plan A LOT MORE to make this a MAGICAL VACATION

I am the planner in this family and enjoy it a lot...
So, the only thing I wanted DH to do was read about the Restaurants and let me know where he want`s to eat. (We are on the DP)
+ Tell me what attractions, shows etc he wants to see....
Hmmm... apparently that was WAY TO MUCH "LOL"

I made him a list (translated from English to Norwegian) with all the Character dining and surpassingly he actually read that one
BUT, he just said they all look okey, so I did not get any further on that one.. except I am not sure he wants to eat at 1900 Park fare or Ohana..
Okey... one step closer....
Are we finished yet he said.? Do you need to plan more now?

I have tried to explain to him several times that our plans can still change, but he does not listen.
Well, I am determent to have a GREAT vacation so I will go on with my planning... and I think DH would appreciate all my work once we are there.
And he will see with his own eyes that planning is a good thing.

I think planning is a part of the trip and we get even more exited for our vacation....
Next year we will be traveling with my Show Choir (age 7-17) and their parents and I will tell them over and over and over again how important planning is so our trip would be special. Some of them has been before, and a few of us are "Veterans" so we know.
We had an audition so we are going to sing at Disney Springs and have a Work Shop, but it is the rest of the trip planning that worries me.

I am sure I will be using this boards a lot.
Disney has A LOT to offer and compare to the parks here in Norway they are not very pricey... (And NOT comparable at all)
The food is much more expensive in Norway also...

We do like Universal too, but only for a day or two....

Hope my english is okey so you understand what I mean

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

Wait times, crowds, fast passes are part of the busy theme park experience.

What I feel is unacceptable for a vacation destination is that unless you are going to make a reservation (in advance or day-of via smartphone) there’s barely any walk-up opportunities for sit down dining. I’m not talking about high-demands places like BOG or CRT. If there’s SOME places that are reservation-only, fine. But I’m thinking about my 60 -something year old parents who spent their whole lives going to Disney and in the past 10 years suddenly its get a reservation or starve (or balance a tray and your cane). If they happen to land themselves at 6pm in Italy in Epcot, sorry, out of luck. Pass to France. Sorry buddies. On to U.K. No room for you. Fine, let the seniors starve then. Never mind they just dropped how many thousands on a trip. It’s just not tasteful and not classy. You’re spending a lot of money on a vacation and I just don’t think Disney is RIGHT in making you make ALL of your decisions in advance. They are telling you where to walk in the park and at what time. I’m a super planner. I don’t mind this, but that doesn’t make it right.

 

[mrcase77]

Does Disney require too much planning? No. I don't think so, anyway. If you want to pack a day full of attractions and food, you have to plan that no matter where you are going. I think it is a lot to ask people to know where they want to eat 6 months ahead of time, but to ask that they plan a reservation is not excessive. I think that you can be as granular as you want with Disney planning and have a down to the minute itinerary. Or you can just book your FP and ADRs and then spend the rest of the day wandering and just doing whatever looks fun/has a short line. People talk about doing that all the time on here.

As far as "newbies" going for the first time having a bad time because they didn't know they needed to plan. . . That's the "newbie's" fault, not Disney's. I feel that most people know someone who has been to Disney. As soon as I mentioned that I was going to Disney to people, the ones who had been before immediately began to tell me "make sure you get your fast passes" or "make sure you book your restaurants" and all of that. (Of course, I already knew all of that because I RESEARCHED). I find it hard to believe that most newbies don't tell anyone they are going to Disney. I do NOT find it hard to believe that people ignore all the advice they get. Then they get what they deserve.

I may be harsh, but it's downright foolish to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation and not do a simple google search of what to expect. I googled just now "Planning a trip to Disney World" and the second result gives a comprehensive list of what you need to do and when you need to do it. (The first result was Disney's booking site).

I mean, to blame Disney for making it too difficult for newbies to plan. . . What do you expect Disney to do? Plan it for them? Oh wait, you can have someone plan your trip for you. FOR FREE! I don't get it. I really don't.

In their defense, a lot of them think they can more or less just show up because at quite literally each and every other theme park in the country (and probably the world), that’s what you do. If you went to Disney World 20 years ago, that’s what you did. If you went to any other Disney park in the world today, that’s what you would do. It’s not hard to understand how people get taken off guard when all of their previous experiences with theme parks tells them they can read up on a few rides the night before and then just show up and let their mood guide them through the day.

I don’t think Disney is evil for having their parks become this popular. And it seems like they’re trying to help people who get in this boat out. But, I also don’t think every guest who gets blindsided is lazy or stupid.