Has Planning Disney Vacation Made You Rethink Going?

[yensid67]

Planning a Disney vacation to Disney World USE TO BE ENJOYABLE AND FUN. but the executives have made changes that has sucked the magic out of planning! It is more of a CHORE than a Magical Journey of discovery. With all the pre-planning from dining reservations to special events to park reservations to GENIE+ and not to mention always having to check your phones during your vacation...IT'S ALL RIDICULOUS! and not necessary!
I wouldn't mind making Park Reservations, but the only thing that bugs me about that, is that DIsney will not release their CAPACITY LIMITS!! They say park reservations make the guest experience as good as it can be by limiting capacity, but won't tell you what "capacity" limit is! (Since I am a Former Cast Member, I know what AT CAPACITY crowds look like, and the crowds I am seeing ARE INDEED AT CAPACITY CROWDS PRE-PANDEMIC!) I think Disney wants guests to "THINK" they are keeping capacity low for guests' enjoyment while lying the guests. If they were keeping capacity lower than FULL CAPACITY, the Parks would be more tolerable and less crowded.

So, has all the changes that Disney is making to the parks make you rethink ever going to a disney park again?

 

[wajo]

Planning a Disney vacation to Disney World USE TO BE ENJOYABLE AND FUN. but the executives have made changes that has sucked the magic out of planning! It is more of a CHORE than a Magical Journey of discovery. With all the pre-planning from dining reservations to special events to park reservations to GENIE+ and not to mention always having to check your phones during your vacation...IT'S ALL RIDICULOUS! and not necessary!
I wouldn't mind making Park Reservations, but the only thing that bugs me about that, is that DIsney will not release their CAPACITY LIMITS!! They say park reservations make the guest experience as good as it can be by limiting capacity, but won't tell you what "capacity" limit is! (Since I am a Former Cast Member, I know what AT CAPACITY crowds look like, and the crowds I am seeing ARE INDEED AT CAPACITY CROWDS PRE-PANDEMIC!) I think Disney wants guests to "THINK" they are keeping capacity low for guests' enjoyment while lying the guests. If they were keeping capacity lower than FULL CAPACITY, the Parks would be more tolerable and less crowded.

So, has all the changes that Disney is making to the parks make you rethink ever going to a disney park again?

YES AND YES. same things you said well and more.

 

[SaucyBoy]

We're here this week and have only gone to Epcot and MK, the rest of our trip has been spent at the Boardwalk relaxing in the room or by the pool. The reservations and park hopping restrictions have made us less interested in the parks (but we've been coming since 1996, so it's not like we are dying to do anything).

 

[BeanCounterBob]

It has not, but it has been a chore to keep up on how to get into the parks. I miss the old days of making that decision day of and just going. Now the entire trip is planned out far ahead of time. My big problem is the point restrictions, still in place, for DVC. We are going on a huge trip next September and I may not get the trip I want (and can afford with my points) because they are restricting what I can use. The last year has shown that the top execs have no idea what an actual guest experience is. All they care about it the bottom line. They are just like every other company though.....trying to recoup all the money they lost over the pandemic. As long as bean counter bob is still in place things will just keep going downhill

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

No.
In fact I plan less now than ever before and still find it enjoyable.

 

[Club34]

Yep. The notion that I would pay the mouse thousands of dollars for lodging and tickets and now I have to "reserve" a park on top of having already bought my ticket to get in is beyond INSANE. On top of that, you are rolling the dice on getting on E ticket/new attractions unless you want to pay on top of that. It is INSANE. And is the latest rumor that you have to reserve a park hop?! You can't even say 'hey, let's trek over to WS for a snack' at the end of your day?!?! What TF am I paying for?? I give that mouse thousands and he should say 'have a magical day' and hold the door. This is nonsense. And I hope the business takes a hit, but it won't which bring me to my last reason. On top of all the money and hoop jumping insanity, you are going to be shoulder to shoulder throughout your trip. The crowds are absolutely crushing.

Although I love Disney and have been going since I was 1 back in '72, I see no trip on the horizon. I won't say I will never go. But it will be some years. I will let some of the current projects build out and then go. I was an every year guy or at least every couple of years. I went just before the pandemic and it would appear it will be several years or more 'til I am up to dealing this garbage again.

 

[NeilHoytPA]

My family and I went in 2018 and had a magical stay at yacht club. It was our first time at YC and the proximity to Epcot and HS was so convenient which made the trip all the more enjoyable. It was a week full of park hopping....sometimes 3 parks in a day (HS opened at 7am that summer!!) No park reservations system, no 2pm restrictions on park hopping, no genie+. It was an absolute trip to remember, just how walt wanted things to be for families coming to wdw. We've talked about going again but every time we discuss the changes that have recently come about, it completely kills the vibe of going back to the "most magical place on earth." I'm the planner for the family and I honestly say that I don't enjoy the thoughts of being stuck on my phone for a week at wdw. I'll agree though there are many other ways to enjoy wdw such as resort time, pool time, DS, water parks, etc. Just have weigh out how much we're willing to bend to the current situations unfortunately.

 

[MickeyCB]

My big problem is the point restrictions, still in place, for DVC

This.
I had to beg for some points for our upcoming stay at Aulani. The first CM told me I had to buy them and luckily I wasn't ready to book. When I called back later that day a different CM said she could probably get her supervisor to allow the 23 extra I needed to come from the ones I already had. It worked and saved me over $400.
The first CM inferred that they were getting ready to take that restriction away, but it could be a bus driver intel type thing.
Oh and a few months ago I had a DVC CM get huffy with me as she tried to explain how it was to my advantage that they were restricting borrowing and I called BS on that.

 

[BeanCounterBob]

I have been very vocal about how unhappy I am with this point restriction. Everytime I complain about it I get the corporate bs about how they are covered under this bullet point section 1.3.2.1233458. I hope that it goes away, and pretty soon. I book at the end of October and I do not want to deal with possibly switching rooms, or begging to use what I have. It is good to hear that you can have a supervisor override the system and give you extra points. I need 11. All the hell I have raised over 11 points that I have!

 

[LuvtheGoof]

So, has all the changes that Disney is making to the parks make you rethink ever going to a disney park again?

Nope. We still go 2-3 times every year. Our planning use to consist of making resort reservations at 11 months, ADRs at 180 days and FP+ at 60 days. The only differences now are that we make park reservations as soon as we are able to and ADRs at 60 days. It's still enjoyable. We have been twice since the start of Genie+ and not bought it at all, and still rode what we wanted. For us after so many years and trips, the parks are almost secondary. We spend a lot more time doing other things - pool, relax in the room, visit old friends in the many lounges, go to DS, etc. We rarely look at our phones when we are there, so not sure why someone says you have to be constantly on it. Guess that's just us.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I dont like the pre planning that we must go through to get the trip we want. Its getting more frustrating to ensure all the details are in place. And Ive always enjoyed the planning phase, just not to this extent. The ever increasing crowding which takes away the ability to get things done in a park that we once could easily do has bothered me more than anything. That being said, we havent rethought going but are going to be more choosy about times of year if possible and maybe not do as many Disney days, incorporating more Uni days or travel off into Orlando sites. We may just decide to stay at Uni and do side trips to the Dis parks. It definitely is making us decide where we will be spending our money and time for the most enjoyment we will get.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I dont like the pre planning that we must go through to get the trip we want. Its getting more frustrating to ensure all the details are in place. And Ive always enjoyed the planning phase, just not to this extent. The ever increasing crowding which takes away the ability to get things done in a park that we once could easily do has bothered me more than anything. That being said, we havent rethought going but are going to be more choosy about times of year if possible and maybe not do as many Disney days, incorporating more Uni days or travel off into Orlando sites. We may just decide to stay at Uni and do side trips to the Dis parks. It definitely is making us decide where we will be spending our money and time for the most enjoyment we will get.

Serious question. Did you not make ADRs at 180 days and FP+ at 60 days before? If yes, then you were already making park reservations, even at 180 days out depending on the restaurant (NOT defending the park reservation crap as we don't like it at all). Just curious.

 

[Greg in TN]

Yep. My concerns began when Disney started charging to park at the resorts--then all the other "nickel & diming" for things that previously were part of the price.

It's a completely different feel now, if I think about "planning" another trip. I continue to read and participate on message boards like this because of the fantastic memories I have from previous trips. We used to be at least every other year visitors, sometimes every year (occasionally multiple times per year). We were planning our next visit before we got home from our current trip. But it's going on three years now since we've been to the parks, and we have no desire to go back unless things change ... A LOT.

I have heard many people come back from a recent trip with the attitude of, "OK, so now we've checked that box." Rather than being excited about how soon they can get going on their next trip.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Serious question. Did you not make ADRs at 180 days and FP+ at 60 days before? If yes, then you were already making park reservations, even at 180 days out depending on the restaurant (NOT defending the park reservation crap as we don't like it at all). Just curious.

Sure I was but scaling ADR's back to 60 days makes it less of a guarantee that you get what you want. Again with the increase of guests competing for the same number of tables, the timing of it can limit availability. Locking me into a particular park again limits my decision day to day of what I want to do. Once you are locked into a park choice with PH's time restrictions its limiting my choice of how to go around the parks.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Sure I was but scaling ADR's back to 60 days makes it less of a guarantee that you get what you want. Again with the increase of guests competing for the same number of tables, the timing of it can limit availability.

We decide long before 60 days what places we'd like to get. Then at day 60, we make what we know will be the harder reservations for later in the trip, as we get 60 + 10. Then the easy ones after that. Haven't missed a single one during the 60 day window. Yes, requires a bit more planning, but in reality, only about 5 minutes if you know what you want.

Locking me into a particular park again limits my decision day to day of what I want to do. Once you are locked into a park choice with PH's time restrictions its limiting my choice of how to go around the parks.

180 day ADRs and FP+ already may have locked you into a park anyway. I completely agree with you that it limits how you go around the different parks, but we just adapt and move around differently than we used to. Do we like it? NO. But we make it work because we have no other choice right now.

 

[Chi84]

After our most recent two trips, I can say that the park reservation requirement was even worse than the ILLs and Genie+ (and that's saying a lot). Previously, if a favorite ride was down or you missed it for some reason, you could try again another day even if it meant losing your FP+ selections. We were often able to get adequate replacement selections even if we couldn't replace all of the original FP+.

Now you don't have that choice. We went the last week of April - well after spring break and Easter vacations with relatively low crowd levels. Despite this, we were not able to change our MK day to HS after missing both Rise and ToT due to issues with the rides being down. We had ADRs in the evening so even the park hopper would not have helped. After using Disney's new system twice, I can say that for us it was more inflexible than any previous system. For us, not for everyone.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Do we like it? NO. But we make it work because we have no other choice right now.

And thats the difference from what was and now what is, which makes the OP set up the question. We are being forced due to circumstances that Dis has created to alter what we once did to make a trip enjoyable. If we have to question whether the trip can be a success or determine other options, Disney is losing out. They shouldnt even be giving us this as a second thought. There were trips in the past that we took that a day to Uni or a day off site never entered my mind.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Dont get me wrong. Im still a loyal Dis guy and have refused to flame Dis for whose in charge and the policies theyve put in place, despite how others have posted intense hatred. I still see enough value to what they deliver and am willing to go back. DW and I are at this moment discussing the possibilities of a trip sooner than later. But they have made decisions that have planted the seed of doubt. Our usual trips are 2 weeks....we were thinking 3 weeks to a month this time.... this may now be scaled back greatly.

 

[ryguy]

It's been really bad and certainly not guest friendly. I am sure the suits think its great, but for your average guest the last 5 years has been a step backward in customer service.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

And thats the difference from what was and now what is, which makes the OP set up the question. We are being forced due to circumstances that Dis has created to alter what we once did to make a trip enjoyable. If we have to question whether the trip can be a success or determine other options, Disney is losing out. They shouldnt even be giving us this as a second thought. There were trips in the past that we took that a day to Uni or a day off site never entered my mind.

Uni holds nothing for us, so we never even thought to go there.