How to handle travel disappointments: The answer: You adapt, stay flexible, and embrace the unexpected.
No matter how much you plan or how detailed your itinerary is, travel has a way of throwing unexpected challenges your way. From closed attractions to logistical errors—or even forgetting something as critical as your passport—bad travel days happen. And while those moments can feel frustrating in the moment, they offer something valuable: lessons you’ll carry into your future adventures
During our 30 Day tour of Europe, we were DINKs and Disney adults (this is a nerd blog after all). Visiting Disneyland Paris was supposed to be a highlight of the trip.
On our trip to Disneyland Paris and Zurich in 2010, we faced more than a few hiccups: poor planning, exhaustion, and unexpected expenses.
During our trip to Disneyland Paris and Zurich, we faced plenty of setbacks—some small, some big—but those moments taught us how to embrace the unexpected. In the end, the things that didn’t go as planned became some of our favorite memories (even if they didn’t feel that way at the time).
Below is a snapshot of the original blog we wrote about our trip, where we recounted the ups, downs, and unexpected joys of traveling unedited except for some grammar. After that, we’ll share the key lessons we learned about handling travel mishaps and turning them into memorable moments.
Traveling: The Lost Days of Disney and Zurich
Wow, did we plan poorly when we decided to go to Disneyland Paris. We should have gone to Disneyland, then to Paris. To travel to our next destination, Zurich, we needed to leave from Paris. We set up to where we had to travel to Disneyland, a forty-minute excursion from Paris, go to the parks, sleep, then ride the train back to the train station to go to Zurich. Not a wise move on our part.
Getting to Disneyland was easy though. The train, while slow-moving, was comfortable and not crowded. We had a little trouble finding the hotel, mainly because I decided to ask where the hotel was in French. Apparently, my accent was pretty good because the woman didn’t hesitate to answer me in French. Very fast French. Luckily, she was an expressive talker and I could discern some directions from her hand motions.
After we placed our backpacks in the hotel rooms, we headed out to the park. By the way, my backpack was getting lighter from the throwing away of socks and underwear. Cristina’s was getting heavier from the buying of souvenirs.
Now, why did we go to Disneyland instead of spending another day in Paris? Well, we both really like the Disney Parks. Cristina has been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld. I have only been to the one in Florida. We are both the sort of people who leave our disbelief at the turnstile. We buy into the Disney manufactured magic and we don’t care. Call us corporate sell outs, if you must, but we always have a good time at a Disney park.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The park is amazing and I would go again!
It was just the wrong time for us. We picked a bad day. We were worn out. Our legs hurt from all the walking the day before. It was colder than we expected. We were grumpy, not happy (get it?).
The first thing I remember doing was riding the Haunted House. We, of course, got in line right after a bunch of English school children who were in a very hyper mood. Then we rode the ride. I don’t want to give spoilers away, but that was one strange ride. For no explainable reason, there is a time and place warp right in the middle of the ride. I I really wanted to ride it again to just to see if I could follow the plot better the second time.
We then got some lunch and headed to the Indiana Jones ride, the ride I had been looking forward to the most. I really wanted to ride this ride. It was closed. (With apps, this wouldn’t be a problem now). However, Pirates wasn’t thankfully. This version of Pirates was so good it was worth the price of admission.
Some of the other highlights of Park: C3PO speaking in French (which shouldn’t have been a surprise since he can speak over 6 billion languages and dialects), and It’s a Small World (really). The low point for us was Space Mountain 2.0.
It was too rough for our exhausted bodies. The French version has the layout and speed of Rock’ n’ Roller Coaster in Florida, with the turbulence of Space Mountain in Disney World. It might be for some people, but it wasn’t for us.
The park, however, was gorgeous. The food was probably the best we have had in a theme park,and if I were to do it again, I would look to do more shows.
At this point, we couldn’t stay awake. It was eight o’clock. We just went to the hotel, packed, and slept. I don’t think we even ate.
The next morning we had to get up early and take a train to the train station. We then had to find the place to activate our Eurorail pass. We never got the “ugly American” attitude a lot of people say they get in Europe and especially in France. One of the reasons why is that we made sure we learned certain words and phrases in French, German, and Italian. A simple hello and thanks in their language will help you in most situations especially since most Europeans can speak English. If you try to speak their language, just a little, they take it as a sign of respect for their culture. We went to the wrong place first but they helped us find where we had to go quick and easily.
On boarding the train, two gentlemen were in our seats. We complained, and they said it was their seats. They weren’t but that turned out to be a bit of good luck as now we had seats next to the window. Train rides are good for three things: journaling, napping, and seeing the countryside.
When we arrived in Zürich we were probably at our most lost. I couldn’t make sense of their tram service nor did we have exact change to buy tickets at the automated system. We decided to walk. My directions were wrong. The hotel was further than it was on my map. The walk was miserable. We had to switch bags due to hers being heavier than mine. We walked some more. We then get to the hotel. We were only staying one night so we picked the cheapest hotel room with the company we were dealing with. It was still more than most of the other nights we stayed in Europe. We rested for a little while. We then went search for something to eat. We ended up in a sandwich shop. We spent about twenty American dollars each on our sandwiches. We went back to the hotel and watched TV for a little. We then slept with the noisy sounds of Zürich coming through our hotel window since we didn’t have AC.
The next morning we called for a taxi. Our taxi was a Lexus, and it was one of the cheaper looking taxis. The ride cost us around thirty dollars. It wasn’t that long of a car ride. In fact, we took much longer rides in Rome for half the cost.
These two days might not have been the best of the trip but that was mainly due to our mistakes. Had we planned Disneyland before Paris, we would have enjoyed it a lot more. If we had done more research on the tram system of Zürich and how expensive Zürich could be, we could have enjoyed that Swiss city more. But that’s what return trips are for. And besides, we were about to embark on a journey to what ended up being one of our favorite European cities: Florence.
Here’s how we handled our travel mishaps and what you can do when your plans go sideways.
How to Handle Travel Disappointments
Reflecting on those two days, we realized that the key to handling travel disappointments isn’t just about “fixing” the problem—it’s about how you react. Here’s what we learned about turning a bad travel day into something manageable, or even memorable:
1. Accept the Situation
When things go wrong, your gut reaction might be to panic, get angry, or blame yourself. When Indiana Jones was closed and we were freezing in Disneyland Paris (remember where we are from…50F is cold), we could’ve let the frustration ruin the day.
Instead, we took a deep breath and reminded ourselves: This isn’t the end of the world.
On our trip to Disneyland Paris, we underestimated how tired we’d be after a full day of walking and didn’t factor in how the colder-than-usual weather would affect us. By acknowledging these oversights, we learned to plan better for future trips by building in rest days and checking the weather more carefully.
How to React:
- Take a moment to acknowledge what went wrong and let yourself feel disappointed. It’s okay to be upset—but don’t dwell on it.
- Focus on what you can control. In our case, that meant shifting our energy to attractions that were open, like Pirates of the Caribbean.
2. Find the Silver Lining
Many travel mishaps stem from poor planning, and ours were no exception. At Disneyland Paris, we didn’t account for the long travel time to and from the park, which left us rushing through the experience and too exhausted to enjoy it. In Zurich, not researching the tram system left us wandering unfamiliar streets with heavy bags.
These mistakes taught us to prioritize logistics: double-checking transportation plans, allowing extra time for transitions, and researching local systems before arrival.
How to React:
- Look for the small wins in the situation. Even if the day isn’t going as planned, there’s always something to salvage.
- Reframe your mindset: Instead of focusing on what you missed, focus on what’s still ahead.
3. Laugh at the Absurdity
Some travel mistakes are so ridiculous, they become funny in hindsight.
Take Space Mountain 2.0: a rollercoaster that left us bruised, sore, and questioning our life choices. At the time, it felt like a disaster, but now it’s one of the stories we love to tell.
Reflecting on these moments not only helped us laugh, but also gave us valuable insights, like doing more research on attractions (and avoiding rides that could double as a chiropractor’s nightmare!).
How to React:
- Find humor in the chaos. Laughing about how bad things are can help lighten the mood and move forward.
- Share the experience with your travel partner—venting together can turn frustration into bonding.
4. Rest and Recharge
Exhaustion was a major theme of our trip to Disneyland Paris and Zurich. In hindsight, we realized we’d crammed too much into the itinerary without accounting for how tired we’d feel.
This taught us to be more realistic about our energy. Now, we build in buffer days for rest, avoid back-to-back travel days, and prioritize quality over quantity in our itineraries.
How to React:
- If you’re too tired or overwhelmed, permit yourself to pause. Resting isn’t failure; it’s part of self-care.
- Adjust your expectations. Focus on simple wins (like getting to the hotel!) instead of pushing yourself to do too much.
5. Learn for Next Time
Many of our travel challenges came from not being fully prepared: forgetting to research Zurich’s tram system, underestimating how tiring Disneyland Paris would be, and not bringing weather-appropriate clothing.
These experiences taught us to double-check the essentials—like transportation, weather forecasts, and our packing list—before every trip. But we also learned that flexibility is key: even the best plans need room for adjustment.
How to React:
- Take note of what went wrong and how you could handle it differently next time.
- Remind yourself: Mistakes are part of the adventure.
Final Thoughts: Turning Chaos Into Stories
Not every travel day will be magical, but every travel day can teach you something. Whether it’s finding humor in chaos, making the best of what you have, or simply resting when you need to, how you react matters more than what goes wrong.
The next time your plans fall apart, remember:
- Accept the situation.
- Find the silver lining.
- Laugh at the absurdity.
- Rest and recharge.
- Learn for next time.
Travel isn’t about perfection—it’s about the stories you create along the way.
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