the old feeling is gone.... or at least reduced a lot..

[Disstevefan1]

I was able, at the time to buy 10 day, no expiration tickets and could decide on any given day to pack up and leave the next morning. I'd, strictly on impulse, decide to go for 2 or 3 or more days. I didn't have to make reservations for what park I wanted to see or even if I wanted to visit any of them on any given day. That decision was make shortly after I woke up in the mornings. Sometimes at breakfast I made that decision (I stayed and ate, except for lunch, offsite).

That is the way I like to travel and WDW stopped me from enjoying my entire trip by making it a singularly inflexible

In my opinion THIS stuff is a breaking point for a lot of people.

Having said that, there are MANY, MANY more who must plan their vacations out of necessity.

They are OK with how WDW is manipulating the planning process.

 

[John park hopper]

Well I guess if you go with

you are likely to have a good time. You are Bob's favorite guest.

 

[Goofyernmost]

In my opinion THIS stuff is a breaking point for a lot of people.

Having said that, there are MANY, MANY more who must plan their vacations out of necessity.

They are OK with how WDW is manipulating the planning process.

I'm not sure about what you mean by "out of necessity". I think it means that they have to go a certain times because of kids in school or job obligations. If that is what you meant the only time I went there on a whim was after I retired and my kids were grown and married on their own., Previous to that and all the time we had to plan a trip around school breaks.

Fortunately, in Vermont we had what was called a mid-winter vacation that came at the end of February. It was a perfect time for us because for one thing it got us out of the stationary open air freezer of below zero temperatures but also coincided with town meeting days so it afforded an 11 day window (including two weekends) to make the trip to Florida. We didn't plan anything except the day we were leaving home, the day we were leaving Florida and reserved our hotel for the time we were going to be spending there. That afforded us the time to visit WDW and the ginormous number of other things to see in central to southern Florida.

Right from the very beginning we split up our time between WDW and whatever other attraction venue that tickled our fancy. You can't do that now because you have to decide the days you are desiring to be in a specific park. We could decide that in the morning on the way into the grounds. Of course, in the beginning it was easier because there were only two parks to see until the end of the 80's when Disney/MGM studios opened.

One of my daughters who became a spreadsheet Disney traveler had planned her trips with her family practically down to the second, but with the new system and the massive planning required and if days available are numbered do not have the flexibility to deal with weather, illnesses or other distractions. She has given up and no longer finds it worthwhile and she went there with me a number of times and even she and her husband on their honeymoon. They've lost quite a few very loyal fans/visitors over this stuff.

 

[Jrb1979]

Disney is not alone in this. I have seen regional parks start putting in the pay for front line access, and their food prices have increased even more egregiously than Disney has. But comparing Disney to Sears or even social media is not really an apples to apples argument. I think k they will continue to pack em in, what will change though is that some of the parents might not fall in love like they used. More first timers going and saying "oh that was fun. Not sure it was amazing..." so you won't have those Disneyheads being manufactured the same way, just doesn't happen.

Regional parks have had front of the line access for years now so it's nothing new. Disney was just last to the table. It's not so much the increase in prices that people complain about. It's the loss of a lot of perks that is more the problem.

 

[marni1971]

am hoping the best for genie+. If I can get one good ride per day, then I'll consider that a positive.

It was included 3 years ago. Now you have to pay extra. That’s a negative.

 

[mightynine]

It was included 3 years ago. Now you have to pay extra. That’s a negative.

Bingo. It was one thing when I had to "work the app" to try and get an additional Fastpass+ - usually unsuccessfully or for something I either didn't have an interest in or didn't need because wait times were low.

I have no desire to pay for that experience to have a crapshoot at the start of the day.

 

[Jrb1979]

It was included 3 years ago. Now you have to pay extra. That’s a negative.

It's why they should have went the Universal route when they made it a paid system.

 

[StarshipDisney]

It was included 3 years ago. Now you have to pay extra. That’s a negative.

Concur fully. But it is all they have now, so may as well give it a try.

I have no desire to pay for that experience to have a crapshoot at the start of the day.

Concur again. I hate that part. But I feel that if I try it once then it may make it easier to forgo in the future.

At least I won't have to buy it every night as well. To me, that just fully makes it into a kid's game.

 

[WondersOfLife]

It's why they should have went the Universal route when they made it a paid system.

Or... Paper Fastpass or no Fastpass at all....


....in a perfect world...

 

[chrisbarry]

DH and I just returned from WDW and had an excellent time. Please be careful about believing "each and every bit of Disney news" especially from people who haven't been there recently. The trips we took during COVID restrictions were much less enjoyable than this last one. On this trip, the parks were not overcrowded and were beautifully very clean, none of the rides went down, the food was pretty good and portion sizes actually seemed to increase from our last trip. The CMs were fantastic - our hotel room was a few minutes late being ready and they gave us vouchers for two quick service meals and were able to get us exactly the type of room we requested. They also helped us figure out to do when we found a nail in the tire of our rental car. The other guests appeared to be happy and having a good time.

I agree with you about the downward spiral Disney management seems to be on now. We own DVC and are continuing to go to WDW as long as we can still enjoy it, but the folks running Disney now seem to be hell-bent on destroying any goodwill they've built up over the years. We're going to take what we can while it's still there.

That said, if you can't approach your trip with a positive attitude going in, it's going to be almost impossible to have a good time. Maybe your money would be better spent elsewhere.

Beautifully stated. My last two trips over the last four months were wonderful in every way.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Oh good. Yet another “Disney sucks” thread on a Disney fan board. Just what we needed. Ya know, there are a ton of other vacation destinations for all you haters to spend your dollars on, and then you never have to worry about Disney sucking again.

 

[JoeCamel]

Oh good. Yet another “Disney sucks” thread on a Disney fan board. Just what we needed. Ya know, there are a ton of other vacation destinations for all you haters to spend your dollars on, and then you never have to worry about Disney sucking again.

Orrr you know what your alternative to getting mad at people is?

 

[BuddyThomas]

Orrr you know what your alternative to getting mad at people is?

Mad? I have better things to get mad about than people who come on a Disney fan website to whine about how bad Disney sucks. Hardly mad. Just baffled, and either way, I couldn’t care less.

 

[JoeCamel]

Mad? I have better things to get mad about than people who come on a Disney fan website to whine about how bad Disney sucks. Hardly mad. Just baffled, and either way, I couldn’t care less.

But you take the time to post about it over and over...... I think you care more not less

 

[BuddyThomas]

But you take the time to post about it over and over...... I think you care more not less

No, I really don’t care, but I really would like someone to answer the question of why all these people who hate Disney are blathering their hatred over and over again on a Disney fan website. Just go to the freaking Bahamas or something and shut up (not you).

 

[JoeCamel]

No, I really don’t care, but I really would like someone to answer the question of why all these people who hate Disney are blathering their hatred over and over again on a Disney fan website. Just go to the freaking Bahamas or something and shut up (not you).

Why does it matter, people gonna people and that is how the world goes round.
I've never been to the Bahamas but I do like a good beach.....

 

[BuddyThomas]

Why does it matter, people gonna people and that is how the world goes round.
I've never been to the Bahamas but I do like a good beach.....

You seem to take this personally, which is odd, since I was not referring to you and I have never seen you whining about how Disney sucks, but whatever.

 

[JoeCamel]

You seem to take this personally, which is odd, since I was not referring to you and I have never seen you whining about how Disney sucks, but whatever.

I whine about how the management sucks I figured out the parks sucked years ago and stopped giving the mouse money. I don't have to tell people on a message board about it though......

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Perhaps they should be using this song now in their marketing for the resort..

 

[marni1971]

No, I really don’t care, but I really would like someone to answer the question of why all these people who hate Disney are blathering their hatred over and over again on a Disney fan website. Just go to the freaking Bahamas or something and shut up (not you).

Because they don’t “hate Disney”? Perhaps because they just “hate” the way the resort is being run?

You can still be a fan and dislike the management.