When I was younger I always went to Disney World with my family. The group was mixed depending on the trip. It was almost never just my parents and my sister. Often my grand mother, cousins, aunt, childhood friend, or brother in law was also along for the ride. I think the smallest group we ever had was five people.
On my last trip it was just my wife and I. That leads me to ask the question: Is it better to go to Disney with a group or not?
There are pros and cons to both. Logistics are easier without the group. Less time is wasted without the group. Dining is easier without the group. Other than those three things, the group tends to win out.
Why is that?
Keep in mind that Disney was planed with families in mind. It was designed with a group mentality. You might not notice this until you visit Disney World in a group. Here are some areas where the group is better:
Dinner Shows and Character Dining: When there are just two of you these are ok. When there is a group of you they go beyond that. When one person gets picked on by a character or picked to do something in a dinner show, it can be funny. If it was just my wife it wouldn’t be that funny because she doesn’t like those things. Even if they left her alone she wouldn’t like it because she’d be left alone if I got invited to do something interactive. She doesn’t even like it when I volunteer to do something like that. Now put yourself in the group. For every person in the group it makes it that much better. Each person acts as a multiplier. It goes from amusing, to funny, to outrageous. Plus years later the group can reminisce about it. It’s not that easy to reminisce if you only have two people involved.
Ride Photos: The best ride photos involve the group. Two of the best I’ve ever scene involve were group photos. My wife and I had one funny one from our last trip. What made it funny were all the other people in it. We didn’t even know them but they were all so whacky it ended up being a great photo.
Flexibility: You might wonder how a group could be flexible. Look outside the box. A group and fracture into small groups if there are people who don’t want to do something. Think about it. If a bunch of people don’t want to go on the teacups, they don’t have to. The people who want to, can without having to do something alone. Everyone else can take a break or go do something else. Then you can all meet up after. There is also the peer pressure thing. The lone man out will tend to cave if everyone else wants to do something.
Pictures: Not ride photos but pictures. They tend to be better with more people. When you think about that it is because if you take a bad photo, you won’t standout as much in a group. Plus they help people remember. The picture isn’t really for you it’s for everyone.
People pay a lot of money to go to Disney World. Some people feel they are entitled to act like a total boob because of that. You know the people I’m talking about. No matter when, where, or what location you run into those people.
For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, there is a good chance you are one of them. I’ll help you out and detail some of the tell tale signs that you are a total jerk when you’re on vacation.
Here are the vacation commandments:
- Thou shall not pick ones nose in public: Honestly this should always be a rule. What possible reason do you have to stuff your finger up your nose in public? When I see this I have ask – What are you going to do with the booger? Chances are there is no correct answer because if you are picking your nose in public I doubt you have a tissue with you. I guess that means you’ll be flicking it, wiping on the bench your sitting on, wiping it on someone else, or worse. Please don’t recycle it if you catch my meaning.
- Thou shall not stand on top of other people: There is one of these in every crowd. It’s the guy who stands within inches of you. Most of the time he’s so close you can tell he had onions for lunch. Worst part is if you move to give yourself more space, they typically move with you. I also wonder why people like this tend to have chronic BO. I hate to say it but I’m not beyond setting off a W.M.S (weapon of massive stench) when someone like this is behind me.
- Thou shall pay attention in line: Keep moving and listen to the cast members. Ever wonder why some lines seem to take forever to get through? It’s because there are people like you in it. You can talk to people but most people can talk and walk at the same time. Imagine that!
- Thou shall chew with ones mouth closed: I like food but I do not like it when it’s in your mouth and I can see it. I also don’t need to hear you eat. Oh and if you have kids, the same goes for them. Don’t stop while chewing and start talking to me either. I won’t be able to pay attention because I’m too concerned about something flying out of your mouth and landing in my lap.
- Thou shall not abuse the cast members: Cast members are there to assist you in enjoying your vacation. Included in that are making sure you don’t hurt yourself, hurt others, or ruin another guest’s vacation. Typically when they ask you to do something there is a reason for it. Also keep in mind that it is not nice to take out your frustrations on someone who is trying to help you. Chances are you are frustrated from lack of planning, lack of intelligence, or something that is not controllable. There will be times when you have a legitimate complaint. When that happens, you can be civil and explain your position in a dignified manner. You do not need to revert to a rabid gorilla on a bender.
- Thou shall not cut in line or send one person into a queue to secure a spot while the rest of a group arrives: If your group hasn’t arrived yet, don’t enter the queue. That is just another form of cutting. I don’t think I need to say don’t cut. That’s common sense unless you have the IQ of a slug. If you have the IQ of a slug; please do not visit Disney World. Disney has a legal way to cut. It’s called
- Thou shall not give dirty looks to people in the
- Thou shall not take a big drag off of a tobacco product and then exhale it as you enter an enclosed space: There are smoking areas for a reason. It’s so you can smoke in them. That is why they are called smoking areas. These areas are open and ventilated. Holding in a big puff of smoke and blowing it out as you enter a non-ventilated area is about as nice as farting in a car with window locks.
- Thou shall not speak loudly or talk on your phone during attractions: The call can wait or you can wait to get on the ride. Also, loudly is defined as someone else being able to hear you while on the attraction. If you don’t like that, I could assist you by throwing your phone into the
- Thou shall remember that bathing suits are for water parks: Even if you have a beach bod it doesn’t mean everyone wants to see it all the time. There is a reason its call a beach bod. If your outfit results in people having to explain the birds and the bees to their kids or if you need two hairdos to wear it, it is inappropriate.
- Thou shall not pick ones butt in public: It is sad that I even have to mention this one. I wouldn’t mention it if it wasn’t a problem. I don’t want to see you scratch your behind. If it’s itchy maybe you need to address that in a restroom. If it is because of a thong, maybe you shouldn’t wear a thong or pick it out of sight.
- Thou shall control ones children: You should know when you need to control your children. For some reason a number of you have a hard time with that concept. I’ll help you out a little. If your kid is trying to kick Mickey in the crotch – stop him (the kid not Mickey). If you kid is climbing something that is not part of a play ground – stop him. If your kid is screaming bloody murder – remove them. You can bring them back once they have calmed down. If your kid is making obscene gestures at other people – stop him. Get the idea?
- Thou shall not tell people you don’t know personal stories: I’m not talking about starting a friendly conversation about where you are from or stuff like that. That can be nice sometimes. However, if I’ve never spoken to you before I don’t need to know – how many times you’ve been married, that you have hemorrhoids, that you had diarrhea after eating at the
I know there are other rules that could and should be stated but there is one thing you have to remember. Someone who is too numb to grasp the above concepts can’t remember more than a few at a time. Their head is too full of old Duke of Hazards episodes to fit anything else in.
