Disproving Some Common Myths About Disney... Or Why You Should Ignore Your Facebook Friends' Advice!

So, you're ready to take the plunge and take that trip to Disney World. You've done some reading online, found 8,000 chat boards, and 10,000 Pinterest boards. You posted on Facebook, and all your friends have opinions and tips for you. You mentioned it at work and suddenly all your co-workers are Disney experts and so is your neighbor! Are you feeling overwhelmed yet?

Who do you trust? While they're all well-meaning, your co-workers, neighbors and Facebook friends may not be up to date on the latest at Disney... but do you know who is? A Wishdrawals vacation planner!

Not convinced yet? Have you heard any of these?

1. When you yell "Andy's coming!" while meeting Woody and Jessie, they'll stop and lie down. Well, not any more! This was cute the first few times it happened, but characters can't be constantly falling on the ground and getting back up! We can, however, tell you where to meet Woody and Buzz and when is the best time to do that! Jessie is currently not in the parks.

The Royal Sommerhus in Epcot--
where you actually find Anna & Elsa!

2. You MUST get a FastPass for Anna & Elsa at Magic Kingdom!  Anna and Elsa are not only no longer in Magic Kingdom, but they also no longer have a FastPass option. If you took this advice, not only would you be frustrated trying to find Anna and Elsa at Magic Kingdom and their FastPass option online, but you could have very disappointed little girls.

3. When you go to Hollywood Studios, don't miss Harry Potter or the Skull Island: Reign of Kong ride!  Now, I know die-hard Disney fans are laughing right now, but this happens. Someone saw a commercial or their friend mentioned it or, even worse, they went to Universal Studios and NOT Disney World and have them all mixed up! This one is just funny, but a Wishdrawals vacation planner can make sure you have a great day at Hollywood Studios AND can get you to Universal Studios to see Harry Potter and Skull Island: Reign of Kong, too!

4. Don't get the dining plan! It's not worth it! (OR) You HAVE to get the dining plan! It's so worth it! Neither of these is the wrong answer, but neither is the right answer either! In many cases, the answer is--it depends! Do you have a villa and will plan to eat breakfast and dinner there every day? Are you planning to be in the parks all day every day? Do you have very picky eaters who are 10? Do you want to eat at multiple character meals? All of these can help determine if a dining plan is beneficial for your family and which one is best. There's no "one size fits all" here!

5. Animal Kingdom is just a zoo--you should skip it.  I don't know how many times I've heard this! There is an amazing safari so cleverly designed that the animals look to be all living in harmony on the savanna! Really, Disney has created separations that keep the animals safe (no lions eating gazelles on THIS attraction) but allow guests to see the animals in as natural a habitat as possible. There are also multiple walking trails with animals some of which you can find in a zoo. You know what else is there? The World of Pandora with two unique attractions and an entire land that feels like you are ON Pandora. Two truly fantastic live shows--Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo: The Musical. How about Expedition Everest--a super fast roller coaster that even goes backwards for part of it! Or Kali River Rapids (a fun wet ride) and DINOSAUR (an attraction that will send you back millions of years to the time of the dinosaurs)? Does any of that sound like a zoo? You might miss out on a fun day by taking bad advice!

Preparing to ride Finding Nemo and having a
great time at Epcot!

6. Skip Epcot with the kids; there's nothing there for them to do. While we agree there are great things for adults to do in Epcot (great food, drinking around the world, Food & Wine Festival), there is so much for kids. Let's see... Finding Nemo, Turtle Talk, Test Track, Soarin', Living with the Land, Pixar Short Film Festival, Journey into Imagination AND the new Frozen Ever After ride and the Anna & Elsa Meet and Greet in addition to at least a dozen character meet and greets around the park and the updated green version of Mission: Space! Don't forget Agent P's World Showcase Adventure (with Phineas and Ferb) and KidCot stations in every country in World Showcase! Maybe you want to reconsider those social media recommendations.

7. You can take the monorail to all the parks! No. Just no. Don't be unprepared and ready to ride the monorail all week from your resort to Animal Kingdom. It's not going to happen! However, your highly trained Wishdrawals agent WILL tell you the best way to travel each day either using Disney's transportation (boats, buses, and, yes, monorail!) or your own vehicle.

While your friends, your dental hygienist and your realtor's aunt may all be lovely people, they may not have the most up to date or accurate information! You can trust that your Wishdrawals travel agent will be though! We are highly trained and experienced to know all your options and will make sure that your Disney vacation is designed to best fit your family or traveling party!

Susan Burks is a Disney travel planner at WishdrawalsTravel, a military wife, and a homeschooling mom to a chess-playing, history-buff 12 year old!  

She and her family love visiting Disney World and taking Disney cruises. Having completed many, many Disney World trips and seven Disney cruises to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Panama Canal and Norway, she is now preparing to embark on a eighth and ninth Disney Cruise--this time back to the Caribbean and then the British Isles--and planning her next Disney World visit, too!