The Negatives Of Walt Disney World

I vote we pick WDW up and just move it away from Orlando. Or maybe it would be easier to move Orlando away from it? Oh never mind...

Price is definitely a negative.

Too few table service restaurants. I know it seems like they have a lot of them, but when you look at individual parks and resorts, you realize they're not evenly distributed. So maybe not "more", but more evenly distributed?

Not enough (or any!) adult-only resorts, activities or areas on property. There really needs to be a few places of refuge on property where adults can escape from kids.

Too little variety in nighttime entertainment. I could go for more live music venues on property, comedy shows, that sort of thing. (Yeah I know, they just got rid of all that! Clearly they don't care what I think.)

Getting around between resorts and parks can sometimes seem like one of those logic problems you find in crossword puzzles if you're reliant solely on Disney transportation. ("If we want to get from resort A to resort B by 7:30 and we have to take a bus from resort A to park C to catch a bus to resort B, what time do we have to leave?") The solution: Monorail service between ALL parks and resorts! (Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?) Yeah, I know: Rent a car.

I agree with the nightlife and transportation comments. There's NO really fantastic nightlife that I know of. I was a Jellyrolls addict for quite some time, but the smoke in the bar and the inconsistent crowds (sometimes it's packed with cast members, sometimes it's DEAD) are downers.

Transportation is impossible without a rental car, I find. Now, yes, you can manage it, but once you realize you're spending 2-3 hours per day (at least!) of your hard-earned vacation "commuting" from park to restaurant to park to hotel, the cost of a rental car quickly becomes insignificant.

One big negative for me of WDW trips is that once you're there if the crowds or weather are awful, you're stuck there and it can be hard to predict either.

I hate to say it, but those can be both good and bad... The threat of hurricanes cause trip cancellations, which drastically reduces crowds at times.

One negative of WDW is that a lot of the food IMO has a "similarity" about it. So if you've been eating Disney food for a week or so you start to want something else.

You can't swim in the lakes! Boo-hiss!

I think I see the isolation of WDW as a big plus. It really does feel like you've gone to a "different land." But certainly if you are someone who wants to go into the city regularly that can be a big deterrent.

I think the biggest negative is all those other pesky people who are in my way!!!!!! (Adults and kids both. Usually, if a kid is annoying me, I blame the parents for not doing what the kid needs to, like a nap, or for not raising a more polite kid, if the kid is older). That is really the thing that takes the most planning to manage, IMHO. I enjoy the isolated feeling of being in another world and I'm not a big nightlife person, so those things are not important to me. DH and I chose to rent cars a couple of trips ago....sometimes WDW transportation is great, but it can be unpredictable and take a lot of our precious time. Oh, yeah, if they could take away the heat and humidity...
Unfortunately, I work in a school so I can only go when the kids are off! We have done a few long weekends in Jan or Feb (using 2 personal days). Otherwise, it's summer for us. So there are a lot of people who are in my way. (NEVER any of you folks, tho')

Wow...I now have even MORE empathy for poor teachers and others who work in schools. You're forced to go to WDW with the crowds of kids. Although at least you have a few months to work with instead of the 2 weeks we usually get. How much time do you typically get off in the summer?

Jason is a teacher too and makes Disney trips not as much fun...no chance to get away from kids for him!

He "gets" two months, but with committee meetings and all that stuff, it really goes down to maybe a month to plan a vacation during. It sucks to not have another option since we know it will be crowded when we are there. I would LOVE to go for Food and Wine, but until he is no longer teaching, it just can't happen

what kind of vacation do teachers get during the year? just sick days? or do you just wind up using those up on things that come up?

That stinks. Maybe you guys can snag a long weekend like Dopeyandme during the Food and Wine Festival sometime.

Being relegated to Spring Break and Summer is a total bummer But that month in the summer where he doesn't have to get up and go to work has to be nice!

Have you seen what that sleepy little town looked like before Disney came along? Honestly, if it wasn't for Disney Orlando wouldn't be the city that it is. The city has grown with the tourism industry down there.

Ok, I gotta ask, How much more do you want? besides Disney there's Universal, Sea World, Tones of other tourist activities and bars. And If you drive another 45 there is THE BEACH, and another slew of activities.

So what is it missing?

(Change Tones to Tons, the editor won't let me change it)

Certainly there's plenty to do there in that vein. I can understand how some people wish there was more to do in Orlando. I might just be unaware, but I generally think of the parks as oases and if I have to venture out into the real world it is only in the direst of circumstances. Scott Joseph has given us some restaurants to try next time, but generally I've had bad luck finding good places to eat for example.

There's definitely no lacking of theme-park-style entertainment. That's for sure.

Anyone have any good beaches that they like?

The thing with working at an office job is that, when you're "out" or sick, the place doesn't grind to a halt. If you're a teacher, you've got 30 or more kids that someone has to do something with! Huge responsibility.

Yeah, we teachers (and now I am an administrator!) can't complain because we do get a lot of time off....but we don't get to choose WHEN it is! It is great being off between Christmas and New Year's and having a week for spring break. As a PP said, w get 10 sick days per year and 2 personal days.

Plus, we get to do what we love.....we do put in extra time during the school year (working at home, etc), but it's nice having the summer break. And what a cool job, how do people work at anything else? OK, I know I was lucky enough to find my passion and make a living at it......If only I could go to WDW whn the crowds weren't there, life would be perfect! Well, it's pretty darn good as it is........

it's like colridge: "water water everywhere but not a drop to drink"

you have 2 months free, but if you go to disney world there will be kids everywhere!