Are You The Expert?

Love this post.
I am the resident Disney expert in my family AND at work.
And I love it.
I love looking for more information!

My "goodbye hug" is always the same!

Bring me home a picture of Pooh bear!

When it comes to Walt Disney World, yes, I am the expert. Everybody else would just show up and wander around wondering what to do next.

For all of our travels, I'm the one that is the "expert". That is only because I indulge my OCD, and scour the internet looking for tips, info, things to do and see, etc. Hubby likes to think that we are incredibly lucky, and our trips always just work out really well by chance. After this trip to WDW though, he is beginning to understand that the planning is what makes our trips stress free, and he has promised to stop giving me a hard time about my managerial skills.

We are the one that others will call to ask questions but we are not experts. There are still so many resorts and restaurants in which we have never stepped foot. We are the ones that are just wandering around wondering just what it is that we are going to do next.

While I am far from an "expert", I am the one that friends and family call to ask opinions or help them with planning and I LOVE IT! Helping someone else with their planning - it is the next best thing to being there for me!

Great post ! It does seem that I'm the expert in my circle. I actually talked a co-worker into buying a DVC membership, before I actually joined myself. Just about everytime we work together, he's always asking about this, and that, regarding WDW ( and now DCL, even though I haven't taken my cruise yet).

Wish there was a like button

I am with Scrappy and Belinda, I am far from an expert per say but all of my friends and family come to me for the help and advice. I try learn new things about the parks and Walt every chance I get. I have always said I have enough "useless" facts stored away I could conduct the Keys to the kingdom tour and I have never even been on the tour. Ok the fact are useful and interesting to me, but useless in everyday life if you don't work for Disney and even people that do work for Disney some times are interested in my info.

I love to share my knowledge and love for Disney whenever I can, whether it is here or somewhere I love to share the magic and help other make theirs. Like Belinda said helping people plan is the next best thing to being there. Helping people plan is how I landed up going on my last two trips.

The 2nd this! Agreed 100%!

I am the party planner..holiday organizer...travel researcher....organizer- right down to folders..photo copies and spreadsheets happily included! Lucky for me.no one else wants the job and I relish in it

Yeah... we are as well. Ive had a couple people on Facebook especially ask me questions because of certain pictures and such.

This summer a friend from college was going to MK and only was spending a day there. I literally was the tour guide via text message to him. I live in KY and he would ask me what to do next and they had the best day. I have become a disney expert but my family follows the same plan and tricks and tips and we have for at least the past 10 years. I love it though. Heading to WDW in 12 days with 2 sorority sisters and we are on limited time so I have the trip completely laid out! Hoping to post a pre trip report soon!

I've had the same problem,..I had a lot of 'splaining to do,... oh,.. wait,.. you meant Disney Pics,.. sorry, my bad..

I'm definitely the WDW expert among my family and friends. Everyone always asks me what they should do and when they should do it. On this trip (just got back last night and feeling blue ) my family told me they were glad I was there because they never could have done everything they did without my knowledge and expertise leading the way. Then they toasted me. Too sweet!

I wouldn't say I'm an expect but I have had a couple of people recently ask me questions about Disney. One of co-workers is going in December and he asked me for suggestions. Him and his wife had been but it had been several years.

Well apparently I have a reputation at work at being an expert. A friend from work asked me if there was a Disney store in the area. She knew the one in the mall near work closed. I told her where the closest one is. She said "someone told me that you would probably know".

My wife is the expert. I just cook the food and drive the car.

I am defiantly the go to person for Disney planning with my friends & family. Even though i don't have a trip in my near future, i am still always keeping up on what's going on, and am always willing to give advice, recommendations. This is for WDW & DL. Have been to both twice, and the next trip will likely be DL for the little guys 4th birthday.

I am sort of the resident expert. Have helped some good friends avoid the pitfalls, but mostly I am not sure anyone really gets that having some prior idea of times and distances and little tips will add so much to their experiences.

A coworker told me that she doubted my advice to go back to the resort in the afternoon to rest, swim, relax, eat, etc., and THEN go back in the evening. They didn't do that the first day and all of them (two adults and three tween/teens) had melt downs. The rest of the trip, they did what I suggested AND followed a couple more tips for rides and meals. . . She said that it saved their vacation and the boys still talk about it!

My other friends who know I love WDW sort of look at me funny and only sort of ask/listen.

Of course we also have traveled extensively in Europe and most of our friends and coworkers don't get that either. We travel to see history and culture and to learn about the countries. We don't go shopping or spend too much time on great dining; we eat cheap, sleep cheap, and see as much as we can.

Now all of you know that we don't approach our trips to WDW that way. . . We go slow, enjoy dining out, and try to soak up the magic.

same here plus my co workers are always asking for my advice as well

Hi Experts!!! I need ideas!!! I'm going in Jan to run Goofy with my mom (mom is my cheer squad!)
We made all of our dinner reservations (none are in parks, so we are flexible on which days to go to parks).
Arrive Thursday and will check in and go straight to expo then dinner.
Friday, We'll go to a park (but I would prefer a laid back park for the day before the half) suggestions?
Sat, run the half and then will most likely be lazy for day - early downtown Disney dinner.
Sun, run the full and then based on my legs... What park???
Monday... All day which park???
Tuesday, our flight is 3 - where should we go until we have to leave for airport?
It's just the 2 of us and we're staying at the poly - love to hear all suggestions???

In 2008, we were planning our first family trip to WDW when my health took a sudden, really scary, turn for the worse. I had lots and lots of sleepless nights.

There were two options when another Nick at Night episode of Three's Company would have sent me from the room screaming: research breast cancer or research Disney. I chose Disney, and spent a LOT of time learning everything I could.

One mastectomy, some radiation and reconstruction and 3 Disney World trips later, and all is well. And Disney research is still one of my favorite hobbies. It got me through a difficult time, and it allows me to help family and friends enjoy their trips as much as we enjoy ours.

So I'm very happy to be the source of info for family and friends. It's kind of a running joke at work, but that's OK. I never claim to be "THE EXPERT" since my personal knowledge is limited to the resorts and times of year we've experienced. But I know enough to help others find the direction they need, and I'm happy to do so.

I've been to Disney 25+ times and I'm not even the expert in my family.

This one hit home! I was diagnosed April 2012 (age 39). We were supposed to be going to Disney in May but had to cancel as I was starting Chemotherapy. Also had Mastectomy and radiotherapy. We have cautiously rebooked for November 2013. I spent ALL my time when I was in hospital and recovery doing Disney research, and found this wonderful site! I hope you are well on your way to full recovery x I could say so much more but you already know

sorry, I have no idea why that quote copied three times!

I'll take it as a compliment from the internet gods

Whenever I hear of anyone with a scary diagnosis, I recommend a Disney trip or something like it. For me, part of what kept me pretty upbeat was the absolute knowledge that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. We were going to Disney World, and we had the reservations to prove it. I desperately needed that secure knowledge that there WOULD be an after, that the black cloud WOULD go away and things like ADRs and rope drop would matter. That knowledge really did help me more than I can say.

OK, I just double posted. So instead of editing, I'll add what I forgot to post: Make this trip as wonderful as ours have been. You and your family deserve a fabulous trip.

Prayers for your continued good health... the word "Cancer" has to be one of the scariest in the English language.