Was your first Disney trip "commando" or relaxed?

Our family trips were commando from the start and have never been any other way. I'm going to try the relaxed approach next week...the problem is I'm not sure I know how to do that!

Every trip is commando for us. There's so much to see and do and it's so long between visits it would be a shame to waste any time.

Relaxed..because we had nooo idea what we were doing!
We arrived at MK after 10 and left around 4...and we thought we had a full day! We made no ADR's..we didn't even really understand how many dining options there were on property! It was burgers and fries the entire time! We came home hooked though..we started planning our next trip on the drive home!

We barely even went in a park on our first trip. We only went for a few days and I think we went to MK for one EMH night, went in to AK just long enough to ride Expedition Everest. I don't really remember doing much else.

Wow, I didn't know you were that recent a convert.

My first WDW trip was commando. I didn't even know what ADR's were. We rushed from e-ticket attraction to e-ticket attraction and didn't pay attention to anything else. Trips are exponentially more fun now.

My first trip was commando, too. We could only do the parks for a short time, so we just tried to hit everything. It was exhausting, but we had a really good time. We also avoided a lot of the rides with outdoor lines -- it was just too hot to do that! Have you ever realized how much of Splash Mountain's line is outdoors?

Tell me about it. My first two trips (as an adult) were in August and last year was the third week of September when it SHOULD HAVE been a bit cooler. All three were almost unbearably hot, but we've managed to have more and more fun with each trip. Can't wait to go in December this year.

December will be great. Are you guys doing the Candlelight Processional?

As for my first real WDW visit (not going for one day during a beach vacation with parents), we got all four parks -- and all fastpass attractions -- into two days!! It was busy, but we had a blast. I had a crash course in planning and haven't been able to stop since.

Our first trip was commando. It really was not to bad though because Disney was not very big back then. Epcot had opened but the World Showcase had not. We could walk around back there but there was really not much to see.

I wonder if the Norway Potties were there...

http://progresscityusa.com/2009/12/03/retro-neverworlds-the-lost-potties-of-denmark/

Yes, but I opted not to do a package.

Well, after doing a little research on the opening of Epcot, I see that most of the countries must have been open. Funny, I remember a lot of construction still going on. I will have to try to dig up some of the pictures from that trip. That was before digital pictures though so what we do have will not be that great.

I was four when my parents first took me, so I don't know, but knowing my Dad, I'd imagine it was commando. I've done it both ways, and by far the better is a longer, more relaxed pace. Of course, that requires the money to do so. And I still always feel like we NEED to be doing SOMETHING most of the time!

I think I'd rather cut some things off the list than pick up the pace. If we don't have time to see everything we want, we'll see it next time.

Both my trips were commando. I just can't help myself.

Aren't you from Vermont? Aren't you guys supposed to be calm and relaxed?

Our first trip was no question commando+. It was opening day in 1971 and Nixon was there to cut the ribbon. At least that's what we were told. Never saw him. The kids were 4,5,10 12. (I think!). When we got home (Del Ray Beach, Fl.) the local newspaper sent over a reporter to ask what we thought about this 'new' Walt Disney thing. I swore it was so congested I would never go back. We didn't go back until our first grand child was 4 years old. That was only a concession on my part. We didn't go back until he was a Cub Scout. About 1994. Since then we go about 2 to 4 times a year and never to the parks.
Joe

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So have you not been to the parks at all since '94?

We struggle with the the feeling that we're paying a lot of money to be here, so we should be doing something out there in the parks or elsewhere on Disney property. Every once in a while we have to slow ourselves down and remind ourselves that we're on vacation, and we're paying the money to relax, not feel more stress

We have not been in the parks since 1991. We did go to blizzard Beach when it opened because we got free passes but only that one time. We have never met anyone else that does Disney the way we do and is so fanatic about it. This trip coming up will be our 56th. We will be there 6 days and will get to every resort in WDW and ride every form of transportation. We will eat at many resort counter service restaurants and never table service. It's the only way we can afford to go 4 times a year. And it's wonderful to find the Disney Magic thrill in the simplest of ways.
Joe

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Yeah, I'm from Vermont. Can't say I'm much like everyone else here. I just like to see and do as much as possible when I'm paying a lot of money for a trip. Something about "getting my money's worth".

my first trip was 7 days - not long when you come from the UK, 7 days to do EVERYthing in orlando wasnt long at all, we went to MK, MGM, Seaworld, Wet&Wild, Shopping day, slueths & something else, though can't remember! the whole week was so rushed, but i knew i wanted to come back.

TBH I fell in love with WDW before I ever went, in the UK they had a big marketing campagne over here with a little girl on holiday with her granddad and I wanted that to be me and my granddad (Or Papa as I called him). He was my best friend and one day he told me he was going to take me to WDW My parents were going to new zealand to see my uncle for his 40th birthday, i hate my uncle so he said why dont we go to WDW while they go there.... I'm sure you can imagine how loud my squeals were! I was so excited
Unfortunately he had a heart attack a few months before we were going to go and he died
So my aunt & her husband (who couldn't have children) wanted to take me so i could still go. In the end my parents came too but could only afford to go for a week so thats all we did.

That was over 12 years ago. Whenever we go to Orlando i feel closer to my papa, all because of Disney's clever marketing ploy i guess but also cause he knew how much i wanted to go and he was going to take me - he had no interest in going at all, he was going just because he loved me

Wow Joe! What a great story that you were there on opening day!!!
It's awesome that you and your wife have found a great way to enjoy the parks..I say what ever makes you happy..do it!

This sounds crazy but I relax a lot more if I have a plan. If I know what I'm doing (or at least think I do) I then don't have to think. I can just be in the moment. If I don't have a plan then I waste a lot of time figuring out what to do and that takes away from my fun. So to answer the initial question when I went on my first trip 16 year old me planned the meals and the parks. My family only had 4 days to get it all in. Just having that little bit of a guideline made the trip fun for my whole family. I hope the magic strikes again with the trip I'm going on soon.

We usually have a general idea and we have some things we definitely are going to do -- Parties, Some EMHs and of course Dining. But ultimately if we start to feel tired or stressed out, we make sure we're okay with the idea of just taking a nap or even watching what passes for TV in the rooms. It's fortunate that we've seen most everything, so there's no feeling that there's anything we have to see.