Are You a Disney Snob? 9 Red Flags to Spot

A Disney trip is bound to be a great experience no matter how you choose to go about it, but there are so many decisions you make along the way that can make a difference in your trip, from the hotel you stay at to which type of parking you choose.

There are several little luxuries and upcharges that can elevate your trip, but fans are often divided on whether or not these are actually necessary. You may be a “Disney snob” if you find yourself exclusively wanting all of the best things and spending money left and right on the luxuries and conveniences we mention below. That being said, many do consider these conveniences to be worth the cost during your trip, though deciding what is “worth it” during your Disney trip can be very subjective.

Keep reading to see how many ways you may be a “Disney snob” during your vacation! Keep in mind that this is all in good fun, and you should spend your own money however you’d like to, but we’ll discuss some of the alternatives you may want to consider for the luxuries mentioned below.

Getting Genie+ Every Day of Your Trip

Genie+, the paid service that allows you to skip the line for some of the most popular attractions at the parks, can be a great convenience during your trip to help you make the most of your park time. However, the cost can add up extremely quickly, especially if you have a larger family or are enjoying a multi-day trip.

Some guests will treat Genie+ as a given no matter what, but the service is not always necessary depending on the circumstances of your trip. If you manage your time well, have a solid strategy, and are visiting during a time that is not extremely crowded, you can definitely get away with skipping this service for the day and still get on a lot of attractions. Lines are an inevitable part of any theme park experience even if you do have Genie+, and for many guests, waiting a bit longer for attractions is worth it for the money you’ll save. You can see our itineraries for 1-Day Disneyland itinerary without Genie+, 1-Day Disney California Adventure itinerary without Genie+, and our 3-day itinerary without Genie+ for everything you need to know.

In our guide to Genie+ at Disney World, we discuss which parks you should purchase Genie+ for and which you should skip. While Genie+ is more essential for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, it may be a better use of your money to skip the service for Animal Kingdom and EPCOT and pay for Individual Lightning Lane entry on the most popular attractions.

Speaking of Individual Lightning Lane entry, it’s always smart to know when to purchase this and when to skip it, which leads us to our next point…

Always Buying Individual Lightning Lane Entry

Disney snobs will automatically purchase Individual Lightning Lane entry for any attraction that offers it, even if there is a better alternative. Individual Lightning Lane entry can be purchased at a separate a la carte price (not included in the regular Genie+ offerings), and it can easily amount to a big expense if you are maxing out at two Individual Lightning Lane purchases each day of your trip. This can be especially expensive if you're visiting during a peak travel time or have a bigger party you're purchasing for.

While there is a time and place for individual Lightning Lane purchases, there are ways around it for certain attractions. For example, we don't recommend purchasing Disneyland Individual Lightning Lane entry for Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure because you can reduce your wait time dramatically by using the Single Rider line.

Individual Lightning Lanes aren't always necessary if you know how to game what time of day to ride popular attractions. As we mention in our Disney World Individual Lightning Lane guide, you can get onto some rides with Early Entry in the mornings or before park closing with a much shorter wait time.

All of this being said, there is a time and place when purchasing Individual Lightning Lanes makes sense, and we cover all of this in our Individual Lightning Lane guides above. For example, if you're enjoying a 1-Day trip to Disneyland, it may be worth it to purchase the higher-priced Individual Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance so you can make the most of your limited park time.

Only Staying at Luxury Hotels

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Disney snobs will only stay at nicer hotels during their trip, whether this means the Deluxe tier of hotels at Disney World or the official Disneyland Resort hotels and some of the luxury Anaheim-area hotels near Disneyland. These experiences can be a huge expense during your Disney trip and are not always worth it depending on what your priorities are. Disney snobs will refuse to stay at anything except the nicest hotels, even if they don't intend to take advantage of their offerings.

If you're planning on enjoying a parks-focused trip where you spend the entire day out and about and only return to your hotel to sleep and eat breakfast in the morning, then it would be a wiser option to stay at a cheaper hotel. We consider these to be the “Sleep, Disney, Repeat” hotels that are clean and comfortable places to stay but may not offer some of the more luxurious amenities that other options do.

If you're planning on spending a day off from the parks to spend at your hotel, then this may influence the hotel you choose if you're looking at what has the best activities, pool, restaurants, etc. This is especially true for a Disney World vacation where you are likely enjoying a multi-day trip. However, even if you're taking a day off from the parks, you can still stay at a more affordable property and “resort-hop” to the Deluxe hotels to explore and see what they have to offer.

Taking Ubers instead of Disney Transportation or Art Shuttle

Another red flag that indicates you're a Disney snob is if you default to taking Ubers to get around the resort area instead of utilizing the complimentary Walt Disney World-run transportation or the ART Shuttle at Disneyland. Even with cheap or free transportation available, Disney snobs will always pay for the convenience of an Uber.

At Disneyland, getting an Uber is often not worth the cost as so many hotels are within easy walking distance of Disneyland. Several hotels are also located close by a stop for the ART Shuttle, which provides service to and from the Anaheim area hotels and the resort at an affordable price. As we discuss in our guide to Ubers at Disneyland, if you're calling an Uber to get to the parks at the start of the day, coming back for a mid-day break, returning to the park, then going back to your hotel at the end of the day, the cost can really add up, especially for a multi-day trip.

Disney World offers complimentary transportation around the resort via bus, Skyliner, Monorail, and boat. There is also a service that takes guests from Orlando Airport to Walt Disney World for a fee called Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine which tends to be cheaper than taking an Uber from the airport.

Despite the alternatives, guests will automatically opt to pay for the convenience of Uber at Disney World. Ubers are one of the easiest and fastest ways to get around the resort and provide you with a direct trip to your destination, but one major disadvantage is surge pricing which can go into effect when the drivers are near capacity. Uber can be a good backup option if you are running behind and don't have time to use the complimentary Disney World transportation, but in general, it's worth it to carve out some extra time so that you can avoid this expense.

Always Eating Fancy Meals

Disney snobs will always want to eat at the nicest table-service restaurants during their trip and will often overlook some of the best quick-service restaurants the parks have to offer. While iconic restaurants like the Blue Bayou Restaurant at Disneyland or Be Our Guest and Space 220 at Disney World are popular for a good reason, you also don't want to exclusively dine at table-service restaurants and miss some of the best quick meals at the park.

Disney snobs may, at their own loss, look down on many of the “theme park foods” that Disney has to offer. They may not agree, but a classic Corn Dog is still without a doubt one of the best Disneyland foods and can often make for the perfect meal!

If you're always skipping out on the grab-and-go meals, you're likely missing some of the best of what Disney has to offer. While many of Disney's table-service restaurants offer excellent meals, some of our favorite food we've ever tried has been quick-service.

Not Packing Your Own Food

Whether you're dining at table-service or quick-service locations, dining can add up to be a major expense during your Disney trip. Disney snobs will often not even consider packing their own food and will exclusively eat at Disney's theme parks and hotels during their vacation.

Many guests choose to plan ahead and pack meals like sandwiches ahead of their trip so that they have more room in their budget for when they do enjoy a Disney meal. Bringing snacks to the park can be an especially smart move to keep you full between meals, as you will be able to conveniently access these and will avoid breaking the bank on snacks that may not be as healthy as you'd like. We recommend bringing some easy snack items ahead of time at a cheaper price that will do the trick in keeping your family energized throughout the day.

While bringing your own food to Disney can be a great way to save money, it's also understandable to want to treat yourself during your vacation by eating mostly Disney foods if it's within your budget to do so. However, if you're blowing a substantial portion of your vacation budget on dining experiences just for the sake of having all Disney meals and look down on those who pack their own food, you may be crossing into Disney snob territory.

Buying Park Hopper Tickets for Every Day of Your Trip

Disney snobs may default to Park Hopper tickets no matter the circumstance of their trip figuring it will give them the most value out of their day, but this is not always the case. Paying the extra cost to get a Park Hopper ticket is generally worth it if you are enjoying a short trip, but those who are on a multi-day vacation would be much better off getting one park per day tickets so they can spend some time at each park fully enjoying its offerings.

You can get away with not purchasing Disney World Park Hopper tickets during your visit and still have a great experience visiting one park at a time. It's important to keep in mind that if you don't end up making good use of the ticket, you're throwing away that extra money that you spent on upgrading to a Park Hopper. If in doubt, we recommend leaving it off of your ticket, as you can add it later on.

At Disneyland, park hopping is a little bit easier to do as the parks are so close together. In our Disneyland 3-Day itinerary, we recommend spending Day 3 visiting both parks in a day after enjoying Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure for your first two days.

Ultimately, whether or not you get Park Hoppers is dependent on your personal preferences, but you should avoid seeing it as the go-to option and consider the circumstances of your trip first to ensure you're making good use of the more expensive ticket type.

Getting a Dining Package Instead of Waiting for the Best Viewing

Another sign you may be a Disney snob is if you always opt to get a dining package over spending time staking out a spot for the best entertainment viewing. If you prefer not to be spending your park time saving the best spot for the nighttime spectaculars and parades, dining packages allow you to pay for the convenience of a meal and access to a reserved viewing area. However, these packages are often quite pricey, and some may provide better experiences than others. Getting a dining package may be worth it in certain cases, but you can also save a lot of money and still secure great viewing if you are willing to spend some time securing a spot for a show.

At Disney World, dining packages can be a hit or miss depending on which show you are seeing. In our experience, the Candlelight Processional Dining package is absolutely worth it to ensure you get a seat, and the fireworks dessert parties are also very popular with guests, but we've not found much else to be very worth the price. There is often so much space for seating that you can still enjoy good viewing for entertainment without getting a dining package.

At Disneyland, certain dining packages may be worth the cost to your family—we recommend the World of Color Dessert Party for example as it is the only option that offers seated viewing for the show. For the parade dining package, there are so many good places to watch the parade from that you can avoid the expense of a dining package by spending a little bit of time staking out a viewing spot.

Not Buying Souvenirs Before Your Trip

The final red flag that you may be a Disney snob is if you'll exclusively buy souvenirs from Disney rather than getting some items for your trip ahead of time at a more affordable price. Disney snobs may look down on those who purchase items like ponchos, toys for kids, and Disney apparel ahead of time, but doing this can be an effective way to save money and prevent impulsive spending.

In our guide to Disneyland on a budget, we recommend buying items like glow sticks, Disney t-shirts, princess dresses for kids, Mickey/Minnie ears, etc. before your trip to avoid the high prices for these items in the parks. It's worth it to think of any items that you may gravitate towards during your trip and see if there is a more affordable alternative you can grab ahead of time. This can also apply to any items that you may end up needing to get out of necessity like ponchos for rain or water rides, cooling towels and portable fans for the summer heat, etc.

Of course, it's not a bad thing to get a Disney souvenir that you'll treasure, but it's very easy to go overboard as soon as you enter the parks. It's never a bad thing to look ahead and see where you can save in this area!

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