I'm soured also. Drove a couple hours down from the coast where we live to spend a day at AK and finally see it at night. I'll keep it short and sweet.
1. Arriving at POR, the guard says "go straight to your room". But we don't have wristbands or a map of the resort. So we head to check in to get those. This is noon on a Wednesday, hardly peak check in time. Line is backed through the building. They have a grand total of two employees doing check-in. It looks like a half hour wait at least, so we dig out old wrist bands and make sure they are linked to the account we made this reservation on. Amazingly, we get in the room that way.
2. Fastpasses for the new Avatar flying ride were gone before we even made the reservation.
3. When we did show up to use fastpasses, the fastpass line was snaked out through Avatar land or whatever they're calling it. Sounds like they issue too many. 15 min wait.
4. Disney's wifi never worked with the Disney app on two separate phones after the first log-in.
5. We could get 4g for other use, but it would also not work with the Disney app.
6. When I tried to log on and add another fastpass after using my first, it said "you've used all yours for the day". Is this how it works now? You get three fastpasses and that's it?
7. Lunch stop at Flame Tree BBQ. I walk right up, wait a minute, then place my order. This is not peak lunch time but 2pm. My wife heads to get napkins and straws and I wait for the food. And wait, and wait, and wait. I timed it. 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the area they're working in is packed with employees, they're just inefficient, their system is inefficient, and apparently people who ordered via the app are getting served before people standing in line, because they're shoving plates out that window one after the other.
8. The person filling drink cups is filling one cup, walking 20' accross to where she's place them, then shuffling back, filling one one, etc, etc. Maybe try filling two at a time there hotshot? She's just stacking them on a tray, not handing them out, anyway. Disney could learn a lot from McDonalds about ergonomics and work flow.
9. The food is good, but sharing a sandwich as usual we noted that the portions continue to shrink over the years. No big deal.
10. The Avatar area is hopelessly crowded, and at night is almost dangerous as you're bound to walk on something uneven or step on someone in the dark. I would have hoped they'd learned their lesson and opened up the area vs the rest of the park's congested narrow walkways.
11. We had a great two runs on EE (one fast pass, one walk on near closing) and one on Dino just walking on.
12. The nighttime Safari was much more interesting than I expected. At least the second half. For the first half we didn't see anything, it was pretty funny.
13. The new fastpass system makes it difficult to plan a tight schedule and we found ourselves criss crossing the park a lot.
14. Back at the room, exhausted, we ordered the delivery service. The "homemade chips" with the sandwiches were a bag of lays. Two sandwiches and a dessert $60 plus $10 tip.
15. Even though touring plans showed a 3 on the crowd calendar for AK, it was more like a 6. They may be closer on actual ride times, but if people are wall to wall, it's still harder to do things like walk. One thing in recent years I've learned is that the parks are practically never quiet anymore except right before closing sometimes or very early for half an hour. I think this destroys Walt's dream of a relaxed place to enjoy with the family. It's a fight for survival just to find a place to stand and check your map sometimes.
Overall, I got the impression in various other ways that Disney is just doing the bare minimum. It's very different from when we started going in 2001. We have about 5 days left on a 10 day we bought a few years ago, we go about 1-2 days a year. But after that I probably would not pay the $100 or so they want for the experience. The $270 for a basic motel room doesn't help, either.
The long distances traveling from place to place inside the World, and the constant waiting are more appropriate for Six Flags and Disney's 1980 price levels than the current premium price. It's their cash cow and as long as people keep paying they have no incentive to improve, I realize. But I find it a poor value relative to about 10-15 years ago. $600 for an adult couple to see 8 attractions...pass.
I look forward to hitting Busch Gardens, as the animal content at AK is lower anyway. And I can park close, walk in, and zip around w/o the huge crowds.
