What did you do that you thought was a waste of money?

[MinnieSweetheart]

Please DON'T skip Memory Maker if you are going with a child. As opposed to photopass in years back, you now get ALL of the ride pictures and the character meet and greet pictures. There will be a lot of great pictures of your kid and you will want to be living in the moment watching your kid talk to Mickey rather than worrying about taking pictures of it. You can buy your memory maker when you get home, you have up to 30 or 45 days. That is what we have done before and they will usually send you a 15-25% off coupon to get you to order memory maker. Last time I used the coupon, it only cost me 10 dollars more than buying ahead. To us, if you are going to meet characters OR ride thrill rides, then you will quickly get your money's worth. Also, you should NEVER wait in line for castle pictures. There are 8 photographers set up along main street at any one time, just go to the next photographer.

ETA: I can't justify the Dessert Parties since we don't like illuminations and we can get a FP for Wishes.

 

[kalamazoo]

I agree with a lot of what pp's here have said. Regardless of budget, especially if you have young children, there is no need to do a lot (or any) add-ons when visiting WDW. There is too much to do and see just visiting the parks. Not to mention, don't be surprised if your kids want to linger at the most unforeseen activities (or non-activities) which might drive you crazy if you are trying to get to that $$$, non-cancellable character ADR where your kids will eat a handful of grapes and a spoonful of mac and cheese. We use our park hoppers more now but when our kids were young we never park hopped even though we had the option. Just make sure everyone is comfortable and rested and you will have a great time.

 

[mrsp1030]

Biggest waste of money is paying an adult price for a 10 year old to eat at a character meal....Biggest reason we are only doing fewer buffets as the kids get older!

 

[Disneyliscious]

What did you do during one of your trips that you thought was a complete waste of money?

This has probably already been said but staying off site will save you a TON of money and it will be more relaxing than a cramped hotel room. You can get a condo with 3 BR for $60 a night. Cook breakfast in the condo. Have chili dogs for supper, etc.

Also, packing your own lunches can save you a fortune. You could do PL or BBB for the cost of a meal alone.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Having an ADR for the Crystal Palace. I had been wanting to try it since I first went to WDW. Took over an hour to be seated and the food, etc was very disappointing.

 

[Mikie]

For my family:

Park Hoppers - to those who ask "what about DHS and AK?" This fall, we spent more time in DHS than ever before, doing some attractions we'd skipped in the past. After being there open through a 7:30 Fantasmic, we were plenty tired to be done for the day. AK same - we slept in a little, were at the park 10-5 (in every area of my life outside Disney, 7 hours certainly constitutes a full day!) then a Boma dinner with a little exploring of Animal Kingdom Lodge, and back in our rooms to chill at 9:30 or so. Those who weren't tired yet swam.

Breakfast ADRs - we like character dining, but it's as much for an A/C break as for characters and food. Obviously at breakfast we are not in need of a break, and we're not early risers, so we don't do 7 or 8 am breakfast and we are therefore eating during prime (lower crowds and tempos) touring time

Photopass once before it included ride photos and we didn't make any effort to seek out photographers. With Memory Maker, though, we get ride photos, stop a bit more for group photos (not enough that anyone ever complained about stopping *again*) and traveled with extended family, all of which made it VERY worthwhile.

Otherwise, I echo some PPs who say that you don't need extras to have a jam-packed awesome trip! I have NOT done hard ticket events, BBB, etc and have NEVER left a Disney day thinking "I still have energy but nothing left to do" or "well, I was busy all day, but it wasn't fun enough!"

 

[Arden01]

I don't regret any of the extras we did on our past trips. I'm glad we did them once. However, there are things I wouldn't repeat, even though they seemed worth it at the time. Below are all things my kids enjoyed very much, but I would not spend money on them again:

CRT-mediocre food and felt rushed. We were given one plate of appetizers for 4 adults, not even enough for one small portion each, and when we asked for another plate, it never arrived. Paid $$$ for lunch. My daughters loved it though.
BBB-those buns and hairstyles were too tight and my daughters ripped them out within an hour. Also felt chaotic and stressful in there.
Park Hoppers-had them the first trip and used them only twice. And then only because I consciously made the effort to hop to Epcot two evenings. We stayed at the Beach Club so this should have been a no brainer. This trip we didn't have them and didn't miss them.
Frozen Premium Package-total waste of money, but my daughters loved it.

Not really a waste of $, but a realization-
DDP-we got it free this summer, but paid rack rate for rooms. Found out we don't enjoy the dining plan and would rather try for a room discount in future instead.

 

[LaidBackDad]

As several others have mentioned this is largely a subjective question. Park Hoppers, Memory Maker, and hard ticket events like MNSSHP can be huge waste of money depending on your vacation style. But, hands down, the most indisputable waste of money is easily the Disney Dining Plan. There is virtually no redeeming quality to the DDP. At $60 per day, per person that breaks down roughly to $40 for TS, $15 for QS, and $5 for a snack. You can pay OOP and order the most expensive thing on the menu (character meals included) at almost every restaurant and still not spend $60 a day (if you stay within the DDP rules). Throw in the strict rules, limited menu options, the amount of waste built into the DDP, and the fact that is virtually impossible plan you vacation so you don't run out of meal or snack credits or have too many left over at the end of the vacation and you can see why it is such a waste. The DDP is no more convenient than pre-purchasing gift cards and using them for meals, plus you are able to order what you want without the waste with the gift cards. While some people may find more value in character meals than others it is easy to do the math and see how much money is wasted on the DDP.

 

[whitney37354]

Water park & more option.

 

[maryj11]

Chefs de France to much and did not like the sides. The meat was good but it was a waste of 40.00 a person.

 

[patrickpiteo]

I had to think about the OP question quite a bit, as the first thing that popped into my head was the Universal Halloween party, back in the 90s, mobbed so that you couldn't get anywhere and full of rude, line-cutting teens. Never again. MNSSHP sounds better, but it's too early for us to decide whether to go for it.

As for WDW, I finally remembered our lunch at CRT, probably late 80s or maybe early 90s. Very disappointing, with meh food and nothing particularly special about eating inside the castle. I don't remember if it was character-meal back then, but that wouldn't have been important to us.

Universal HHN is totally different then MNSSHP. We do both every year. Universal's is really fro adults with drinking and more rowdy stuff going on. To us both are worth the $$$.

 

[patrickpiteo]

Is the GF not worth it because of the $500 a night? A single monorail stop sounds awesome to me.

Stayed at the GF it was just ok prefer and thought BLT was awesome..

 

[patrickpiteo]

Our biggest so not worth it was the Villain's Soiree (I think that's the name of it) last year. It's a sit down snack/dessert type thing inside the castle with the villains during MNSSHP. It was a total waste of time & money, IMO.

WOW we thought that it was an awesome experience to be up close and personal with all the villains. Definitely missing it this year ..

 

[Randi Morse]

MNSSHP was definitely something I wouldn't do again - yes, the characters were amazing and being winked at by Captain Jack was fantastic , but by "limited amount of people" they mean 10,000 of your closest friends - was far more crowded than it had been earlier in the day!

 

[tlmadden73]

I'd say Disney Junior Play N Dine at Hollywood and Vine.

$39 (I think?) for a decent buffet, but nothing special.

Why does a Disney Junior character meal have a fancy buffet that costs so much?
It just didn't seem to fit the theme (Disney Junior) or the venue (A 50's style diner-style looking restaurant). Nothing says "fine dining" then a Disney Junior dance party going on every 15 minutes. Shouldn't it be a hamburger or hot dog bar and about half the cost? Some milkshakes for desserts instead of chocolate covered strawberries?

I know you pay a premium price for a character meal, but it just didn't seem to fit. I've had great character meals (and better buffets) at Tusker House and Crystal Palace.

It didn't help that my 3-year old son (who I had booked the meal for) was scared to death of the characters (despite loving Disney Junior and enjoying the puppet show earlier that morning). We think that seeing "human" looking characters but with GIANT heads scared the heck out of him.

 

[grnflash]

We've only been to WDW once, 3 years ago first week of August. And to be honest, I can't think of one thing we booked that was a waste of money to us. I agree with others, that a lot of times it's about making the right choices for your family upfront because it is easy to get drawn into all the extras even if they aren't ideal for your family. Expectations also matter.

- We didn't get parkhoppers since being our first time we knew we'd have lots to do at each park.
- We added a waterpark day - got lucky, they were calling for thunderstorms which never happened. The park had low attendance and stayed open all day.
- We stayed at POR, it was a great choice for our family and our bellman got us an upgraded room upon seeing the construction across from the room we were originally given.
- We only booked a few ADR's and were happy with all. The food at Chefs de France was average but we booked to see Remy. We were the first table he hit so it was perfect. We did Wishes dessert, again average food-wise but great viewing without staking out a spot. We had a railside table but it absolutely did not bother us that people came up from behind and stood next to us. Everyone is booking with the intent to see the fireworks so I don't think people need to stay at their table, which is just luck of the draw anyway. We also did Crystal Palace, first ressie of the day before park opening. Still average food but all the characters made it to us and we were out in an hour with a hop on regular ropedroppers.
- Obviously we also made same day reservations to eat. Nothing stood out as being exceptionally good or bad. Granted we are comparing to downtown restaurants near us but we know that and had a good time enjoying the Disneyness of the restaurants.

All in all a great trip and no expenses we were dissappointed with.

 

[tmoo]

Definitely Mickey's Very Crowded Christmas Party. They limit the amount of people in the park...I believe they limit it to the occupancy allowed by the state fire marshal! It would be worth it if you were actually able to move.

BBB on the other hand, the makeover they do it totally NOT worth it. However, the way your child is treated by CMs the rest of the day IS worth it. Make sure to do it as early in the day as possible and plan to do your character meet and greets that day. The CMs in the parade will even wave and point to your child if the are in BBB garb. I guess the severe hair style makes them easy to spot. Consider buying the dress before you come to make sure it is comfortable.

Like others said you don't really need that many extras for a trip.

 

[BarbieGal457]

If you had asked me before our last trip, I wouldn't have an answer, but after this summer I have one big giant glaring Waste Of Money!!

Akershus breakfast!

I know LOTSSSS of people love it, but we were really, really disappointed. We had a pre-opening one and that was just about the only thing we enjoyed. We can usually find a lot to eat at buffets, even with my extremely picky boyfriend, but the food was just all so blah (but maybe it was an off-day). We were only two adults so I didn't expect the princesses to fawn all over us, but they were so curt with us to the point of being rude. I had on my birthday pin (not that that should make a big difference at all in treatment) but they barely said anything to us and barely stood still enough to get a picture before walking away. I don't think we exchanged more than 10 words with any of them besides Snow White, who was absolutely awesome. I honestly didn't expect more than like 30 seconds with each princess but it actually was really uncomfortable in the end to even ask for a photo based on how very uninterested they seemed.

When we realized we spent over $100 on a very mediocre breakfast and both agreed we will most likely never do the breakfast there again.

 

[smiths02]

During our last trip, I thought the character meals were worth the money because our 2 year olds were both "free" and our older son was 9. Other times, we have been on the DDP. However, just paying OOP, most of the character meals or AYCE/buffets are really not worth it. While the character interaction was fine at the meals, it was rushed and the food was rushed (and usually serve yourself, which is not relaxing while you are trying to time characters). You can meet characters for free in the parks, and the interaction is better.

 

[boomgoesthemickey]

Most people will disagree with me but my biggest waste of money was Park Hoppers! Got them our first year because I kept reading you absolutely had to have them in order to get anything done. So I bought them. NEVER used them!! Wasted $250!!! Have not bought them since and have never missed them! Especially on a first trip where you have so much to do in each park, they're really not necessary. And if you have little ones, it can be more hassle than it's worth trekking from park to park.

The other one that doesn't count was the Villains party last year. $60-something per person and totally a mess! But Disney realized how bad it was and refunded a lot of tickets! So I guess that wasn't really wasted money--but lots of wasted time!

I don't think its disagreeing just finding what best fits who you are with on your trip and where you are staying. Last trip me of gf stayed at por and had hoppers and although we utilized them somewhat we definitely did not get the most bang for our buck. This upcoming trip however we are staying at beach club so we'll be walking distance to two parks which will come in handy when we want to book adrs for the days we primarily do ak and mk.