10 Things We Won’t Do At Disney World Again…
Much like every fan has a bucket list, there are things that we never want to do again at Walt Disney World. This isn’t like our list of easy first-timer blunders. This list is personal, containing things we’ve done and after which said to one another, “wow, that was a mistake.” (Last updated November 25, 2018.)
Truthfully, there are very few things at Walt Disney World that we’d never do again. Not only are our bucket lists far longer than our “never again” lists, but most things are worth of a second chance. Menus at restaurants change, hotels are redecorated, and attractions are tweaked or re-imagined over time.
In fact, since we originally published this a few years ago, a lot has changed. In the original incarnation of this post, both DisneyQuest and Stitch’s Great Escape made the list. Neither of those exist anymore…and now you know who to thank for that! Kidding, of course, because if things I disliked cease to exist at Walt Disney World, Dino-Rama would’ve been wiped from existence years ago. We’ve also removed “Spending July 4th at WDW” from the list since we have done that again, and it was a much better experience.
Still, there are some things we think are beyond redemption that we won’t be doing again. (Lesson: just because something looks awesome in the free Walt Disney World vacation planning video doesn’t mean it actually is! 😉 )
Unfortunately, we don’t have elephant-caliber memories…or we try to convince ourselves that “it’ll be different this time” (for reasons unknown), only to have history repeat itself. So maybe this list is one of those ‘do as we say, not as we do’ type of things.
What won’t we do again at Walt Disney World? Here are the top 10 things in no particular order…
10. Pandora Attractions Without FastPass+ – Nothing struck me as a more “important” new entry than visiting Pandora without FastPass+. We know the importance of making FastPass+ in advance, so we usually don’t mess with popular attractions without FastPass+ as it’s just not worth it to us.
Nevertheless, there have been times when we couldn’t score Flight of Passage FastPasses, so we decided to do the attraction at rope drop or at the end of the night. Both experiences were chaotic, and not something we intend upon doing again. While it is possible to experience Flight of Passage with minimal wait at the beginning of the morning, it’s just too much of a hassle. We’d rather be more dedicated to playing the My Disney Experience “refresh game.”
We’ve never even messed with Pandora during the middle of the day, aside from Satu’li Canteen for lunch. The warning sign outside of Flight of Passage that there aren’t restrooms in the line should be enough of a clue that it’s not worth it. This is doubly true when it’s the summer months and the line spills out into the outdoor queue, which seems like it’d be a brutal experience.
Going forward, this advice is likely going to apply to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, too. It will be utter insanity, and you very well may not even be able to enter the land (period) without a FastPass.
9. “Christmas” in Mid-November – I am most definitely not one of those people who loudly proclaims “Turkey Before Tree!” (I won’t call them Thanksgiving zealots, but I also wouldn’t chastise anyone who wanted to call them that in the comments.) I absolutely love Christmas, and if it were socially acceptable, I’d put up our tree on November 1.
Each year, we’re inevitably faced with the dilemma of visiting Walt Disney World in mid-November to attend a less-crowded Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party or to wait until all of the holiday offerings have started. The week starting immediately after Thanksgiving used to be our go-to, but we’ve chosen mid-November a couple of times recently.
Never again. Not only have we missed out on Epcot’s Christmas entertainment and some resort decorations, but both trips have been downright warm. I might complain about it at the time when I pack only shorts and polos like a doofus, but I love celebrating Christmas in chilly weather–and that holds true to Florida.
It just feels right. I love putting on a coat and taking an early morning walk around Crescent Lake or Seven Seas Lagoon, enjoying a cup of coffee as steam rises from the cool lake water. I love warming up in front of a Wilderness Lodge fireplace…without having to pretend that it’s not 85º outside.
(November 2018 Update: We’re here now for a late-November Christmas at Walt Disney World, and it is spectacular. This year almost everything started early, so you could miss most of the Thanksgiving-week chaos and still not miss everything, but many of the resort hotel decorations have just gone up in the last day or two.)
8. Summit Plummet – This is the only attraction on this list, and the reason for that is that we think people should judge attractions for themselves, because everyone has different preferences. (For example, there are probably a few of you who don’t like Country Bear Jamboree.
That’s fine–some people don’t like masterpieces like The Godfather and Citizen Kane, either.) Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach water park is something I enjoyed to a moderate extent…but once was enough. From the insanely long line to the feeling of pure terror to the crazy wedgie, I’m good on it for one lifetime. Actually, I’ll probably do it again when I’m 65 just to fool myself into thinking I’m a badass. 😉
7. Food & Wine Festival on a Weekend – We want to start out by saying that we really enjoy Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival…but we don’t love it on weekends. Ever been to a UCF frat party? Well, if you answered “no”, it’s not too late!
Weekend evenings are prime time for college students with disposable incomes to descend upon the Festival to get sloshed. For them, it sure beats drinking Old Style in a dank basement (like we did in college), but that atmosphere plus the huge crowds can make this the least pleasant time to be at Food & Wine Festival.
Weekdays during the festival are far more enjoyable. It’s also far more enjoyable to attend Food & Wine in mid-November when the temperatures and humidity are more bearable, but we invariably attend in September because that’s usually when we visit for Halloween.
6. Rainforest Cafe – How this restaurant still has multiple locations around the United States, much less multiple locations in Walt Disney World, defies logic. The food is awful, and the ambiance reminds me of 1980s-relic ShowBiz Pizza Place, but “modernized” for the 1990s and devoid of character/charm.
The dark cloud that hangs over Rainforest Cafe almost extended to cast a shadow over T-Rex Cafe for me. Fortunately, I gave that a chance because dinosaurs, and was pleasantly surprised. If you are thinking, “but our kids love Rainforest Cafe!” consider taking them to T-Rex instead.
5. Overpay – There’s no denying that Walt Disney World is an expensive vacation, but we’ve learned soooo many ways to make it cheaper since our first time going as adults. This is such a vague one, but it’s really important to us now, especially as costs rise across the board at Walt Disney World.
In terms of specific things we do or recommend doing now, purchasing park tickets from an authorized vendor and buying discounted Disney gift cards to save 10% off all vacation costs and renting Disney Vacation Club points, and much more are all highly recommended. While it’s not “Disney” directly, we also use Airfarewatchdog alerts for airfare, and pretty much plan our travel dates around when we can find bargains on airfare. That has enabled us to effectively fly for half price (as compared to average fares).
By the way, we cover all of these tips in our free 54-page Tips for Saving Money at Walt Disney World eBook, which you will receive when you sign up for our free monthly newsletter. Upon confirming your free newsletter subscription, you’ll receive a link to download the eBook!
4. Chef Mickey’s – We do a lot of things that we’d otherwise have no interest for the sake of blogging about them. Sometimes–like with Cinderella’s Royal Table–we are pleasantly surprised. Other times, the experience defies our lowest expectations and manages to be even worse than anticipated.
Such was the case with dinner at Chef Mickey’s. We rarely feel ripped off at Walt Disney World, but we certainly did with this meal. If we ever give this restaurant another shot, it’ll be at breakfast.
3. Epcot on New Year’s Eve – I won’t be surprised to see New Year’s Eve, generally, in the comments, but we actually love New Year’s Eve at Walt Disney World. Just not at Epcot. Alcohol exacerbates other annoyances (geez, we probably sound like bitter teetotalers), like lines for restrooms and those infernal noisemakers they hand out to every guest. We love you, Epcot, but we will spend New Year’s Eve next time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios or the Top of the World Lounge at Bay Lake Tower.
(November 2018 Update: Literally two days ago, after seeing the superlative IllumiNations: Peace on Earth tag, we started talking about return for the last New Year’s Eve of IllumiNations. So I guess we might end up doing this one again, but in fairness, that’s in large part because it’s the farewell run of IllumiNations, and we plan on seeing it as much as possible before our favorite fireworks show at Walt Disney World is replaced. Can you blame us?!)
2. Go to Bed Early – Nighttime is when the parks come alive with beautiful lighting and enchanting ambiance. It’s also when the weather starts to cool and lines start to die down. One of my favorite “attractions” is strolling through World Showcase after IllumiNations, just soaking up the ambiance, listening to the background music, and seeing the stunning architecture.
If I had to choose, I’d rather do this for an hour than spend 8 daylight hours in the park. Same goes for wandering along the Rivers of America in Magic Kingdom. The corollary to this is “sleep in,” but we seem to stress that so much on the blog that it’s probably becoming cliche. Basically, we would never not be tired at Walt Disney World again. 😉
1. Value Resort During Pop Warner – When the Pop Warner Championship is in town (first weekend of December), there are literally thousands of teen football players and cheerleaders staying at the Value Resorts. Assembling this many under-supervised teens in one location is like feeding a Gremlin after midnight.
There’s some sort of chemical or hormonal “thing” that happens, and then all hell breaks loose. Due to the reputation and complaints over the years, Disney security has done a better job in dealing with the teens in recent years (midnight football games are quickly broken up so I no longer have the need to literally yell “get off my lawn” to the kids), but this is still a scene to be avoided.
Beyond a couple of other restaurants that are blacklisted (for now), attractions we avoid for personal reasons, and lands that are dead to me *cought*Dino-Rama*cough* that’s about it. Hopefully you can learn from some of our mistakes…or find solace in knowing that we have made these same mistakes as you. Think of this as a support group for those who have been awoken at 2 a.m. at All Star Sports during Pop Warner or who have dropped $200 on a family “dinner” at Chef Mickey’s. Share your own “NEVER AGAIN!” items in the comments–venting can be therapeutic!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our list? Would you do any of these things again? What things would you never do again at Walt Disney World? Share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts you have in the comments!
This past year we did the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno at Boardwalk this past September. Our trip started out “cursed” during FP selection 60 days before our vacation so our expectations were pretty low considering the week we had (swollen feet, cc misunderstanding, raging mom with stroller making us miss the boat, the stomach flu that passed from member to member of our family while in a pop up camper and the list goes on and on! This was our checkout day and afterwards we were leaving to go home so we were all feeling a little better and ready for a fun breakfast. It was highly disappointing….. Not only did Flynn Ryder get replaced with Merida, but the characters were so quick at our table and did almost no interacting with my girls save for taking a picture. Prince Eric gets props for actually talking to them for a minute! The food was so-so but nothing to write home about (except for the table pastry plate which had a few gems). We won’t be doing that again!
Avoid 24 hour events. The park is overcrowded and good luck getting onto a ride even with a fast pass.
Steer clear of the Japanese restaurant in Epcot. Not worth the money or time. Basicly they throw a bag of salad on the hibachi table. Crack a few tired and lame jokes. Make the obligatory volcano, toss a few shrimp in their chef hat and then very miniscule shrimp and chicken chunks in, there you go. Salad? Extra. Complaining fall on deaf ears. Or all the sudden speak no English. Contacted credit card company and you think we asked for a new car. Customer service is very rude when it comes to their participation. Stay away, far away.
While I typically follow your suggestions, I strongly disagree about Rain Forest Cafe. We loved it! We are returning this summer, we chose not to update our free dining plan & won’t be doing table service. All four of my kids asked that we pay out of pocket to go to Rain Forest Cafe. The food was good, they loved the waterfall, the animals & hearing “VOLCANO” every couple of minutes.
I would say no to breakfast at Chef Mickey’s too. We used to love it. We had eaten breakfast there every time we had been…..with toddlers and/or on the dining plan. The last time we went my boys were 11. They were past caring about characters and were full paying “adults”. Yep, we had a $200 breakfast for myself (and I am vegan), my husband and 2 just turned 11 year olds. Those were VERY expensive tator tots. Never again…….. 🙁
I love Disney. We have vacationed 6 years running now. We usually go in Oct but this year we decided to try the week before Christmas. The parks were beautiful and our room at All Star Sports was excellent. We tried the quick service plan this time and glad we did, worked out well.
We had good fast passes and enjoyed them all. But That’s all we could do. The wait times for every thing else was horrible. I guess three rides is all your going to get if you don’t want to wait 2 hours or more. Toy Land could have been larger. What I mean is there is no room to walk, it’s so narrow. A few more feet wider would have been great. We purchased the Mickey Very Merry Christmas party and we did have a good time. We were able to pick up the rides we missed out on earlier. Thunder Mountain is a different ride in the dark. The parade was wonderful. We were able to find a spot close to it’s beginnings.
I’m just so surprised that every year the crowds have become more rude. We all pay pretty much the same as every one to attend, I didn’t know some folks money was better than mine. It can’t be helped, it’s just the way people are now. I kept wanting to tell people, slow down. The amount of Photo Pass photographers down the center of Main Street has gotten out of hand. The congestion it has caused is horrible. I know every one wants a picture in front of the Castle, but what a mess.
I won’t be coming back for awhile, pretty sure a break is needed, and that’s okay. And try another time to visit. I still love Disney.
I agree with Chef Mickeys, but I would also add Hollywood & Vine and Garden Grill to that. Those three were the worst restaurants we had the misfortune to dine in. We barely ate the food at Garden Grill. It was that bad. The other two aren’t far behind. We went back to both Chef Mickey’s and Hollywood & Vine for a 2nd and 3rd chance. Didn’t matter which meal or which year, they were bad every time. Never again.
I also agree with the Pop Warner week, but I wouldn’t limit it to just the Value resorts. Those teenagers will be at the parks and at Disney Springs, too. We went to the T-Rex breakfast with Santa buffet this past December. There were (I kid you not) 150 cheerleaders of all ages there. It was a mess. We barely got any food…at a buffet!
And DEFINITELY have to agree with Food & Wine Festival on the weekend! We made that mistake in 2017. When they’re walking past your sloshing their drinks all over the place because they can barely stand upright, and your 9 year old asks why Disney’s still serving them because they’re drunk, you know it’s time to leave the “family friendly” park.
My husband and I wrnt to Disneyworld this Nov. It was our third time. The first two times were so wonderful! We are both 66 years old. Our biggest complaint was there wasn’t enough signs to tell you where to go in each park!! There wasn’t one employee that spoke english!!! We didn’t land in Florida, we landed in Mexico!! We would ask them where to find this ride,etc. They would just look at us! At our age it is very painful to keep walking when you don’t know where to go. Walt Disney would NEVER let this happen! One day they sent us around in a circle for over an hour! The Safari ride we stood in line for 3 hours! They should have closed the line well before. When we got to the ride it was dark! Never saw one animal nor get pictures.The sign at the beginning of the ride said wait time 1 hour! The french restaurant cost us $110.00 for two. You couldn’t cut though the bread. We went though 3 loaves and couldn’t cut though them. The pastry was horrifying! They only had one boat at Epcot going across the lake. Very painful to walk all that eay. There wasn’t enough smoking areas. Smokers pay money too to go to Disneyworld. But alcohol was everywhere! The tshirts were horrible, Very poor quality! 90percent of everything in the stores were for girls! Poor Walt would turn over in his grave if he could see what’s happening.I am a shareholder, and am selling my shares now and not coming back. This is Florida not Mexico. Please remember that!
Not sure of what do you mean by “This is Florida, not Mexico”. Let me begin by saying that not every Spanish speaking person is Mexican, Disney has people from all over the world and one of the requirements to work as CM at WDW is to speak English, although some accents might be harder to understand (that happens a lot with non native speakers!)
You were at the happiest place on earth, next time I suggest you take the time to enjoy the journey, you might learn from different cultures!
Thank you for saying something to these old cranks. They do need to stay away from WDW where so many cultures come together. I was just at WDW with my husband and my son’s family. We have been there many, many times and really don’t know what the heck this person was talking about. I feel I can speak to these issues since I am a senior who had knee replacement surgery just four months prior to my visit.
Oh Annette, your Mexico comments are awful. I’m so thankful there’s few places for smoking. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so difficult to walk at your age, which isn’t old at all at 66, if you stopped smoking. Disneyworld hires cast members from around the world. They also have paper maps as well as incredibly detailed maps on your phone. Please remember that!
Yikes. I didn’t see Annette’s comment when it was originally posted, or I would’ve marked it as spam for the thinly-veiled racism it is. I can’t delete it at this point without the contextless replies remaining, but I’m glad to see the responses have tactfully admonished it as such.
Smoking is not only something that is basically outlawed from every workplace, public space and even company properties, Disney world is full of children and children who don’t deserve to be exposed to cancerous cigarette smoking.
Can someone tell me what the Pop Warmer thing is that everyone keeps referring to? I’m curious because it’s referenced A LOT in the comments. Thanks!
Hi Molly — ESPN Complex hosts many events and competitions throughout the year, in particular cheerleading (pop warner) and dance competitions. You can google for the schedule. Some resorts are more popular for the teams/groups than others.
Pop Warner is youth football, prior to high. Like Little League is to baseball.
We just ended our most recent visit leaving Pop Century on Saturday, Dec 1. What surprised me was how quickly the pop warner people showed up and took over the resort starting on Friday. I’m so happy that we only had to experience this for one night. In that span of time I started to see many roving security guards who I had never seen in previous days. The resort dining became even more congested and chaotic. There were kids and adults alike outside their rooms with doors open. The worst was seeing an adult clearly over intoxicated struggling to walk down the side walk, at times veering into the parking lot, apparently on the way to his room. All this is to say heed the words and stay far away from the value resorts during pop warner. We had considered staying during pop warner and are so very thankful we didn’t. It’s amazing how quickly the resort has the feeling of not as family friendly once it starts.
We accidentally stayed during Pop Warner. My niece’s Birthday is Dec. 1st, my brother took his family down then my mother and I drove down to meet them. Four months ahead of time I could only find a Disney property reservation at the Animal Kingdom Resort in a room with a lanai looking out at the animals and for four nights it was going to cost me over $3000. I decided to take my chances at Disney Springs at a chain hotel. I easily got a room at the Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs. Another, never stay there again place. It is a Disney comparable resort, so they do have buses running to the parks every thirty minutes. Disney Springs is across a bridge.
When we checked into the Whyndham, our bathroom was infested with small bugs. I notified the front desk who said they would send someone up to look. I said no, I want another room. After waiting for someone to call me back, my mom went to the front desk, butted in front of people waiting to check in and asked what they were going to do about the infestation of bugs in our room. The attendants said they had no idea what she was talking about. So, who did I talk with that answered the phone “Wyndham Gardens Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs, how may I help you?” ? Immediately, they started working on getting us a new room, “an upgrade.” My mom told them she didn’t want another room in that building. So they did put us in another building on the second floor. To get there from the lobby, we had to go down one elevator to the parking deck, walk around a corner, then take another elevator up to the second floor to our “upgraded” room that looked exactly like the old one, just no bugs. Someone did come to the room to look at the bugs, he told me they were roaches. They were not. Not like any I’ve ever seen. Still, he admitted they were roaches. Ugh. My mom did find a different bug in one of the beds.
I do not recommend going this time of year to the parks. The Pop Warner kids, their parents, grandparents, siblings, cheerleaders, and all of the supporters are there. It’s packed. Even if you have fast passes, you still wait a while. My husband and I went during the second week of September, we were able to walk on Flight of Passage in Pandora without a fast pass. A much better time to go. Not too hot either.
Table service meals. Maybe it’s because I’ve travelled for business, staying away at hotels where eating out is a necessity rather than something special.
The Food and Wine Festival from late afternoon and into the evening is horrible, awful, terrible. It’s impossible to navigate through the huge crowds of drinkers to get to anything in the “World”. Absolute wall-to-wall people! The sheer number of intoxicated people sucks all the fun out of being at Epcot. This event absolutely ruined my first experience at Epcot.
Mickey’s Backyard BBQ!!! So appalling I can’t even begin to describe it. Character interactions were good, but the rest was worse than terrible. We left without seeing all the characters, because we just couldn’t wait to get away.
We saw Pandora on passholder preview. While there wasn’t a line to go through, we still had to trek the entirety of the queue. I cannot fathom going through those lines with people when the wait is 1.5+ hours. My husband loves playing the fast pass refresh game and we always manage to nab one for either attraction.
Only other thing I’ll (probably) never do again is the turf club restaurant. I know it was probably a bad idea going as a vegan (we were crossing it off the list of places we’ve been), but that was the least accommodating restaurant I’ve been to since going vegan (which isn’t too many yet, but I’ve read great things). Their allergen menu made no sense, and they made no offers to modify any plausible dishes. The ambiance and service were lackluster as well. Didn’t think I could ever be disappointed by a Disney restaurant.
Also the bug’s life ride. Never again. Don’t like bugs, don’t like feeling like they’re crawling on me.
I would never do Minnie Halloween party at Hollywood and Vine again. We had to wait half an hour after our reservation to be seated. The food was truly awful, cast members were miserable and the organisation to get a photo with Minnie was chaotic. I couldn’t wait to leave.
The rides at Toy Story Land were so totally worth the wait. Hubby and I went without kids on 9/19 and waited 45 minutes in line for each ride. However, I agree with not waiting for the rides at Pandora. We waited 1 hour for the N’avi River Ride. I will never wait that long again for another visually stunning, yet boring boat ride.
Agreed. Waiting for the N’avi River Ride for over an hour and a half was so depressing. Some of it was pretty cool, but it was otherwise boring after just getting off of the Flight of Passage ride that was so unbelievable. One cannot begin to compare the two.
Cinderella’s royal table was NOT that impressive. We thought she came tablet to table, she did no. No princess did. In fact Cinderella came to the room once … say ‘hi’ to everyone and then she left. The food was over priced but you could forgive that if you got to see her and get pictures, never again. Not worth it I promise…
Every time we’ve been to CRT each princess has come to our table and while we found the food just ok, the interaction with the princesses has always been priceless.
You meet Cinderella as you enter the castle and get a photo, then as you eat you typically have 4 Princesses, usually Snow White, Ariel, Aurora, and Jasmine each come to your table. I’ve heard a few complaints that sometimes only 3 princesses go around to the tables (which means a character cast member probably called in, etc), but I’ve never heard of your complaint. I’d think the Disney blogs would blow up if NO princesses came Table to table at CRT. Are you sure you weren’t at a different character meal? We eat here every time, and not because the food is good, but because of the character interactions and early park admission.
Oh man, we loved the food! And all of the princesses came to our table, after we met Cinderella in the lobby. Someone even came to check that we had seen all of them.
I have trouble believing this actually happened. We did CRT for breakfast and the food was really good but the characters were amazing. It was two years ago and my daughter still talks about it. You meet Cinderella on the way in not in the dining room and then the others come around while you eat. A staff member came around as well to make sure they had all visited our table. I just really doubt this is true and if it is then you should have spoken with a management person to see what was going on.
Is spring break insane to think of? Better in June? OUr kids are 10 and 13. too old?
We are 70-ish. Never too old for Disney!
June and July are hot hot hot, if you are able to go in May I suggest it, but June over July for sure, July is one of the busiest I’ve seen. I’m 25 and I LOVE going, I plan a trip every two years now.
We did spring break last year. Definitely doable. Just make sure you use your fast passes wisely and as soon as you can and get ADRs as soon as they’re open for your dates. Just walk around the plethora of clueless folk and know where you’re going and you’ll be fine.
We will never for Brown Derby again. Food quality was not worth 2 credits and quantity was so small it was silly. After spending all those credits, we left hungry. Never again.
We always use the Deluxe Dining plan. On our last trip, we decided to try Hollywood Brown Derby in Hollywood Studios. This is a Signature Dining restaurant, which costs 2 dining credits — signature dining experiences are usually more than worth the extra dining credit. Unfortunately, Hollywood Brown Derby was an incredible disappointment. The food was mediocre and the drinks were awful. Signature restaurants usually requires tasteful attire, flip-flops and tanks are not permitted for example, and are generally more sophisticated experiences than counter-service dining. At the table next to ours, they sat a family with a man wearing a white tank top and a baseball hat with a hand-towel over his head. We won’t be wasting our dining credits here, again.