Your One Regret

[Belle1082]

I guess I've learned in my last couple of trips that we need to relax and enjoy our time there more. Just because we aren't in a park at a certain time, doesn't mean we can't soak up every little detail of the Disney magic. Since we will never NOT stay on property - we are always surrounded by disney at all times and that is completely part of the fun and the magic. I've learned [in my old age of 29] that that is part of what makes a disney trip so special. So I've learned to not rush through the parks and try to cram every little thing into every single day and enjoy every moment.

I'm definitely with you all on not taking enough pictures. I always seem to have every intention of taking a ton of pics and end up being so enveloped with my surroundings that I forget to take as many as I would like! I'm hoping that by my next trip in October, I will be able to afford a REALLY nice camera and will live it up trying to take as many snapshots and artistic photos as I can.

Another regret i ALWAYS have is that I wait until the last minute to do my shopping!!! When I'm in stores I'm always thinking - oh I'll have time for shopping later, or I don't knwo what I want I need to look at more stores, etc. And then the last day comes and I'm scrambling to buy everything I see! lol Next time - make purchases THROUGHOUT the trip!

[dstrawn9889]

AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED TO YOUR HOTEL...so you are not weighed down by them the whole day through

[Belle1082]

AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED TO YOUR HOTEL...so you are not weighed down by them the whole day through

SERIOUSLY! They make it so easy for you to not have to carry around your bags all day, yet every time I STILL wait until the last minute! ha
Especially because the past 2 trips, I have started to buy the black, white, red and yellow mickey kitchen collection, so I know what I want to buy! I guess I should go online and try to figure out what more we actually need for the kitchen. I guess I always just want one of everything it is hard to decide!

[Wizzard419]

AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED TO YOUR HOTEL...so you are not weighed down by them the whole day through

That's why I liked staying the beach club, you didn't even have to do the room delivery from Epcot, you just had to walk it back (no transport needed) and you were back in the park within 10 mins.

[MmeLeota]

I also wish that we had more pictures from when my parents took me to Disneyland as a kid. I did not like characters so I do not have many pictures with characters at all, but my parents firmly believe that a picture should have at least one of us in it and so they do not take random pictures of attractions or atmosphere. But I was such a scaredy cat as a kid, it's any wonder why we kept going to Disneyland. Though I always liked IASW and Tiki Room...and mom says I was never scared of the Haunted Mansion (go fig).

I would think you would have been scared of the Haunted Mansion then ~ weird...
We don't have many photos from our first WDW trip either. It was a different age though ~ you had to buy film and pay to develop it so you didn't randomly snap photos like you can with digital. I guess that's progress for ya

Yeah, tell me about it. I think I had 1 or 2 rolls of film for the 1992 trip so that's why I didn't take more pictures...but these days I agree with Len. There's no such thing as too many pictures.

Yeah, I know it's weird...but I'm not really surprised. I've had oddball fears and quirks my entire life. It was always said that I march to the beat of my own drum...

As long as we're talking about photograph-related regrets... one regret that surfaced over and over when we were going through all these slides this past weekend was the number that had none of us in them. It's almost like my dad shooed us all out of the picture. Sure, there are some, but it's about 1/10 or maybe 1/9 of all the slides. Looking through the photographs I have taken, I've tried too hard on our family vacations to make the pictures "artistic" or "high quality" and haven't captured our family memories enough.

That's going to change this next trip.

Yeah, my husband and I realized that recently...so we have vowed to change that as well. (even though I don't like myself in pictures)

[momeja]

Last trip, we had only one regret: eating at Coral Reef!

[mindflipper]

Last trip, we had only one regret: eating at Coral Reef!

My last meal there years was VERY regrettable. And I have no regretted going back ever since.

[Jacca5660]

Last trip, we had only one regret: eating at Coral Reef!

My last meal there years was VERY regrettable. And I have no regretted going back ever since.

Baloo and I have had wonderful meals at the Coral Reef. It has been a few years back though.

[momeja]

Last trip, we had only one regret: eating at Coral Reef!

My last meal there years was VERY regrettable. And I have no regretted going back ever since.

Baloo and I have had wonderful meals at the Coral Reef. It has been a few years back though.

Jacca, that restaurant has sadly changed.

Mindflipper, I look forward to many future years of not regretting not eating there.

[cy1229]

Last trip, we had only one regret: eating at Coral Reef!

My last meal there years was VERY regrettable. And I have no regretted going back ever since.

Baloo and I have had wonderful meals at the Coral Reef. It has been a few years back though.

Mom and Stepdad #1 ate there in 2001 and loved it. Girls and I ate there in 2008 and it was just ok. Nothing to get excited about, nothing too tragic. Just... there. Which, if you think about it, is sad, because it could be such a great experience, given its location, and the tanks, and the potential for amazingly fresh seafood (which we do NOT get in Indiana!!).

[Jacca5660]

That is so sad to hear!! What is it with Disney and it's downward spiral??

[dstrawn9889]

That is so sad to hear!! What is it with Disney and it's downward spiral??

Disney execs... 'lets add more rooms on-site... more money per night for us!' '... but would'nt that place more strain on the parks daily?' '... nah, the sheeple love being crammed into the parks, look at em'... pulls back curtains to show Main street, ...'see look at how happily they give us their money to stand in line for hours! its like we have a money printing-press!'

[momeja]

That is so sad to hear!! What is it with Disney and it's downward spiral??

Personally, I think that too many young parents thought that Coral Reef was a good place to take their toddlers. Coral Reef used to be a restaurant for Disney execs, but execs and toddlers don't mix, so they downgraded Coral Reef and moved the execs over to Brown Derby (where you can see them almost every lunchtime). Now, CR is just a has-been.

[mindflipper]

That is so sad to hear!! What is it with Disney and it's downward spiral??

Personally, I think that too many young parents thought that Coral Reef was a good place to take their toddlers. Coral Reef used to be a restaurant for Disney execs, but execs and toddlers don't mix, so they downgraded Coral Reef and moved the execs over to Brown Derby (where you can see them almost every lunchtime). Now, CR is just a has-been.

I thought I even remember seeing they had character dining there at one time too. You're right, somehow changing the target diners downgraded the quality of the menu...

[cy1229]

That is so sad to hear!! What is it with Disney and it's downward spiral??

Personally, I think that too many young parents thought that Coral Reef was a good place to take their toddlers. Coral Reef used to be a restaurant for Disney execs, but execs and toddlers don't mix, so they downgraded Coral Reef and moved the execs over to Brown Derby (where you can see them almost every lunchtime). Now, CR is just a has-been.

I thought I even remember seeing they had character dining there at one time too. You're right, somehow changing the target diners downgraded the quality of the menu...

It's too bad if Disney thinks families with young children don't care about the quality of the dining. I've been taking my girls to "fancy" restaurants since they were old enough to be talked to - the older one all her life, and the younger one since she was about 3, due primarily to temperament and how well they complied with my requests. Anyway, they don't EXPECT a great meal, but they've come to realize the value of a good meal in a nice place. Aside from the families who let their young children do whatever, whenever, wherever, seems to me that Disney is missing an opportunity by downgrading experiences that appeal to young families.