Disney World Fans Are Sharing 5 Tourist Traps To AVOID When Traveling to the Parks

By Samantha Kendall
Posted on Posted on March 22, 2024

Planning a Disney World trip can be difficult enough without having to worry about being swindled in the process.

Whether it’s before, during, or even after your Disney World vacation, we’re sharing some of the tourist traps you should look out for so you don’t end up in a sticky situation!

We headed over to our Facebook page to ask our readers what sort of tourist traps they’ve run into during their Disney World trip, and here’s what they said!

NBA Experience

Tourist trap or not, if you didn’t already visit the NBA Experience in Disney World — you’re out of luck (or incredibly lucky, depending on who you ask). We had a few replies that mentioned this former Disney Springs attraction arguing that it was a tourist trap in and of itself.

The NBA Experience opened back in 2019, taking the place of DisneyQuest on the West Side of Disney Springs. The spot was home to 13 different basketball challenges for visitors to try out, but it didn’t take off quite like Disney hoped and, apparently, made itself a tourist trap in the process.

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Genie+

We saw this one coming! Quite a few of our readers think that Genie+ is a tourist trap, and we can see their point. It’s easy to just jump into immediately thinking you need to shell out for the service if you haven’t done your research. Genie+ is a paid service that allows people to skip the standby line at popular attractions.

Some folks might think it’s a necessity — and on busy days it can absolutely help. But you can still ride plenty of attractions and have a great day in Disney World without paying for it! Consider getting to the parks right as they open or staying late!

Buc-ee’s

Okay, this one might be an actual tourist trap. Buc-ee’s is basically the Disney World of gas stations, and for good reason. This Texas-based chain is quickly spreading through the US and is even planning an Orlando location.

There are hot meals, snacks, drinks, merchandise, entertainment, and yes — even a character meet and greet. But, some of our readers just don’t get the hype!

Gas Prices

If you’re driving to Disney World, make sure you top up on fuel long before you get anywhere near the parks. You might find yourself paying an arm and a leg for gas for no good reason!

One of our readers found themselves in a bind and ended up having to pay nearly $8 per gallon during a trip once because they didn’t realize how expensive gas was the closer you get to Disney World (and pretty much any other major tourist destination).

Discount Tickets

You’ve probably come across ads (whether online or in person) about discounted tickets to Disney World. BUT — most of the time they’re too good to be true. Sure, there are some reputable discount sites out there, but if we’re talking about a side-of-the-road sign promising something that sounds perfect, chances are it’s probably the opposite.

You might be able to walk away with discounted Disney World tickets, but more often than not you’ll have to sit through a long timeshare presentation that might pressure you into making a big purchase. Don’t fall for the signs or ads you see when driving around Disney World and Universal Orlando!

But, if you are looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

Stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney tips, tricks, and news!

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Have you ever been caught in these traps? Tell us in the comments.