We're taking the kids to Disney World at the end of the month. Should be fun, if a little hot, right? Well, in an effort to make things easy for us, they have made things utterly, utterly baffling.

First, there's the reservations process. If, like me, you're traveling with an odd number (there are five of us) you're already in trouble. Travel was made for even numbers - especially families of five. If you don't want to get stuck with a second room (and our kids are really too young for that) your choices are limited. Booking online with Disney is an event. At first, it seems like an Expedia process. Not too bad. But you see that they conveniently tack on some higher prices - like the rooms with the better view, the highest priced ticket packages, and a new meal package that I still can't figure out - three days into the process.

When I checked out the prices at the Contemporary for a week, the first quote was - prepare yourself - $9,000. I was ready to stay home. Then I noticed that I could "save" about $4,000 by opting out of the suite they had chosen for me. You really have to navigate around their choices to find the prices you wanted to pay in the first place.

We finally found a resort within our price range that one screen said accepted five people. Only the checkout screen said "maximum 2-4 people." So I called. The helpful woman said "there are rooms with a trundle bed, so you need to request those." Only there is no place online to indicate you want the rooms with the trundle bed. Further, she couldn't help me. I was calling "after hours." 

So here you have me, a customer who wants to purchase something. And I am being turned away at every step by the confusing process. I am being upsold without my approval. When I finally figure out my choices - I can't even make them. I go to one screen that says my choice is available, only to find a second screen that says it is not.

Back to that dining plan.

And I defy you to figure it out without a degree in advanced calculus. Apparently you pay a lot of money up front, and if you do it right, you save about 30% on food.

You get:

1 table service meal

1 quick service meal

1 snack

If I've added that correctly, that means no lunch.

This for $38 for adults and $10 for kids, per day. I've consulted a number of friends, and they recommend the plan. It does seem to require a lot of planning (it's recommended you make dinner reservations), which goes against the spirit of vacationing. But it is Disney, after all - and relaxing is pretty much out of the question. The meal plan is probably Disney's attempt at making your vacation like an "all-inclusive" resort trip. Except that tips aren't included. What's the tip on an apple?

The meal plan goes by points, and reminds me about the old days of "E" tickets. There are tickets good for one point worth of a "sit down" meal. Other tickets are good for "snacks." Some meals require two points. Or something like that. How many points for cotton candy? Or those ice creams shaped like Mickey, but in a really eerie way?

(If any of you have any experience with this inscrutible plan, please let me know. It's above my pay grade. I'll throw in a copy of Terry's book. email: ssafran@ar-d.com.)

This is a classic, classic example of confusing your audience. When I go to your website, I have a specific task in mind (in this case, booking a vacation). I don't care about your goal (upselling me). I want a damn trip. I am willing to spend. But think of how many people must simply give up rather than do business with sites like this.

It's a small world, after all. There are plenty of nice, relaxing beaches.