Trip Reports....WHY?

[WDW Peak Seasons]

This is my weekly blog from my newsletter this week. I would love to hear your thoughts.

I am sure many of you have seen people post their trip reports on various message boards. At first I am sure you thought, “Why would someone post a summary of their trip on a website?” Then you probably thought, “Why would anyone want to read about someone else’s trip?”

Many people ask our family, “Why do you go to Disney all the time….isn’t just the same thing over and over?” Believe it or not, Disney is constantly changing and evolving. New rides and shows pop up throughout the year, and each season at Disney, offers unique experiences. Disney offers seasonal shows and parties such as for Halloween they have Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, which only takes place from mid-September until Halloween, which makes a trip to Disney during this time much different than if you went in February. Christmas Season offers a Christmas Parade, and special shows that run from Mid-November until the New Year. The parks are also different during each season, as they are decorated for each time of the year. If you visit during the fourth of July you may find some patriotic themed merchandise and decorations. Christmas is probably the most themed, as all the parks and resorts put guests in the holiday spirit by their decorative spirit.

So why would people post trip reports and why would someone want to read them? If you are someone who cannot visit Walt Disney World during a certain season, you may want to at least read about what it is like. Sure many of the rides and shows are the same throughout the year(s), but the experience is different. Reading someone else’s report can make you better understand what the season is like in case you are able to visit in the future. It also gives you an idea of crowd sizes, weather, and what worked and didn’t work for that family. You can learn from others’ successes and mistakes, which will only help improve your trip.

One final thought is that creating a trip report can help that family remember what their trip was like. Trips reports can be as detailed as what you did each day, or just an overall listing of your experiences. If you are like most people, you take pictures, and maybe even videotape some of the trip. The problem is pictures are great but don’t give you specifics. And unless you are part of a reality show which is videotaping you 24/7, you aren’t recording all the small details. A trip report can help fill in the gaps. It allows you to write comments, feelings, thoughts about what worked or didn’t, what was funny, or what you didn’t like.

We had never done a trip report for our first five trips. On our ride home from our sixth trip we figured we had 18 hours in the car, so why not write down some stuff. We wrote down the funny things, dumb things we did, what we liked and disliked, where we ate, and anything else that pertained to our trip. About a month later we were looking at pictures but we really laughed at our trip report. It had so many more details than what our video or pictures provided. Ever since, we have created a trip report, and it has become a tradition for our family.

[Parisi]

Nice blog...

In response though, I would say that I like to look at trip reports because someone who has gone to WDW and taken pics might have had a completely different perspective of the park than I might have had... Someone may have taken the perfect shot of the castle at night, while someone else might have gotten that perfect shot of the Haunted Mansion. Its all a matter of perspective.

For the amount of time I have been on this site, and reading several trip reports, I can honestly say that I have never read any 2 that were alike. Everyone who visits WDW has their own take on the property. Some might favor one park over on another. Thats whats great at WDW, the choices you have.

So why do I like to post and read trip reports? Because it gives me an insight into the people who wrote it. What they like. What they dont like. Who their favorite character or ride is. Its just fun to read what other people like.