Did Entitled Guests Kill the Magic?

[ParentsOf4]

I see so many people talking about costs today vs 1983 but that was 30 years ago. Minimum wage was probably half what it is today. Prices change and we can't be angry at Disney for what it charges. I feel like it is what it is and if you don't feel the price justifies the experience then that is your opinion and you don't have to go. I happen to think that a trip is a fantasic deal compared to the memories we make. I too have never gotten a towel animal nor a room upgrade. And I haven't been to TSI in years. But I can tell you where I'll be every January - at WDW!

Minimum wage in 1983 was $3.35/hr. Minimum wage today is $7.25/hr.

A 3-day hopper ticket at WDW in 1983 was $35, 10.45 hours of work at minimum wage.

A 3-day hopper ticket today is $299, 41.24 hours of work at minimum wage.

 

[FettFan]

I asked did anyone go to all 4 every day.

What I'm getting at is they have the ability to. You get bit more freedom than you do with Universal's two parks.

Two parks that either have Harry F. Potter or ripped out Jaws to make room for Harry F. Potter.
God I hate that little cretin.

 

[rct247]

The magic isn't dead by any means however, three things may have changed the way people view the magic:

1. Budget Cuts / Money / Profits & Efficiency over Show & Service
2. Guest Entitlement / Behavior / Manners / Expectations
3. Legal Changes / Lawsuit Prevention / Safety to the Extreme

Some may say that one number may be more than the others, but overall, that's what it boils down to. From rude, poorly informed, lazy guests to decaying attractions and vacant buildings; merchandise mania to safety measures the spoil the fun. For some, its the abuse of flash photography and GAC cards for others it is the fact that they can't ride in the front of a monorail or swim in a lake on property and then there is the group that points out burnt out light bulbs, closed restaurants, broken animatronics, and bad, recycled parades.

Trust me, there is still plenty of amazing things to do and see. The magic is still there, but many people have their reasons on why it may have declined.

 

[Nicole]

I think this is a valid point. My first WDW trip was in 1997. I bought the Birnbaum's guide and picked the brain of a friend of mine who was the first "Disney nut" I ever met. They might actually have been in the DVC at that time? But that was it. We had a fabulous time. Thought of it as our "trip of a lifetime."

Then we lived overseas for a while and I didn't get back to WDW till 2003. That's when I found this forum. That trip I bought the UN-official guide. Started reading at All Ears. Started finding out about some of the "secrets." Started hearing about all the amazing cool experiences that other people have had.

I have had room upgrades (though they've been inconvenient - twice I've been moved to the Yacht Club for one night because my room at the Moderate was taken - but then had to spend the time the next day moving back to the Moderate.) I've had Magic galore. Been in parades, sung to by Guitar Dan, been the "Great Movie Ride Family of the Day", all sorts of little things that I didn't expect to happen. Even occasionally a towel animal or two.

But there are always people who EXPECT that they'll get those kind of things on every single trip. Every day, even. Because they've read about it happening to someone else. And when it doesn't happen to them, they're not just disappointed, they're mad. Those would be the "entitled guests" who are disgruntled.

I think the Magic is still there. It just can't be that special every single visit for every single guest. There are still going to be guests who get a surprise private meet and greet with a character, or who ride with Alice and the Mad Hatter on the teacups. But it's not so much a "surprise" anymore. There isn't much Disney can do that hasn't been done - and that hasn't been blogged about. So that "wow factor" is lessened to those of us who follow the stories.

The people I feel bad for are the ones who don't know where to find the insider info. Those who don't realize you can't walk up and get a dinner reservation at Cinderella's, or stroll into Epcot at 3 pm during Spring Break and get a FP for Soarin'. They never would have found a paintbrush on Tom Sawyer Island, because they didn't know to look for it. Because not only do they not get the "special" things, they miss out on some of the things I take for granted. Not sure if that makes sense?

But I'm positive that there are still Magical things happening all the time at Disney. But the odds of them are lower and lower as the number of guests goes up.

 

[Goofnut1980]

I don't feel like the rooms at Disney are that much smaller than the norm. I stayed at a Hilton hotel and conference center a few weeks ago. It was about $110 for the room and it was smaller than most Disney rooms I've stayed at. Also it wasn't in the middle of a popular vacation destination and did not have theming. I think Disney is becoming a bit expensive, but I don't think the rooms are too small. I think most hotels build them with the idea that you won't spend much time in them any way.

I agree. I have stayed at POP, POFQ, Contemporary, Car Beach, Wilderness Lodge and a room is a room... I do not notice a significant size difference in any of the rooms. Yes the more you pay the bigger they are... It really comes down to the luxuries you want in that little room.

I am now DVC so those rooms are a tad bigger, but we pay for them in our payments and dues. I am not complaining at all, I love being DVC.

 

[Avenger117]

I agree. I have stayed at POP, POFQ, Contemporary, Car Beach, Wilderness Lodge and a room is a room... I do not notice a significant size difference in any of the rooms. Yes the more you pay the bigger they are... It really comes down to the luxuries you want in that little room.

I am now DVC so those rooms are a tad bigger, but we pay for them in our payments and dues. I am not complaining at all, I love being DVC.

I'm jealous! I haven't stayed in any of the DVCs but from pictures they look spacious. It is expensive, but thats how it goes. If you want a big spacious SUV you pay more than a sedan. People sometimes complain about the prices and the rooms, but I think they know its a good value thats why they do it. As far as service I think Disney does a good job. We went to the Yacht club last month and were just kind of looking around to see if it was where we wanted to book. one of the CMs asked if we needed help and we said we were just checking out the property. Then he took us on a tour and showed us some of the rooms. I think the service and the rooms good.

 

[Minnie1976]

I don't start topics too often, but I keep seeing posts about how Disney is no longer the magical place it used to be. Fingers are always pointing to the powers that be, and I do understand those arguments. There are maintenance issues and WDW itself seems to be in a bit of a holding pattern. I would argue, though, that some of the magic has been lost because guests have unreasonable expectations.

Take the paintbrushes for instance. I visit many Disney websites and have seen people talk about how they would race to Tom Sawyer's Island so that their child could find a paintbrush first. Then I've seen threads where people were mad because someone else had raced to Tom Sawyer's Island and found all the paintbrushes so their children didn't get to find one. I've seen rants about not getting towel animals in the room even though they left Mousekeeping a tip in a personalized envelope. I've seen rants about how someone's child didn't get enough attention from the characters even though their child was wearing a customized Disney outfit that they paid $300 for. I've seen threads from people asking if they should request a room upgrade and the various strategies for getting one. I could go on and on and on and on.

It seems that when Disney does something nice and magical, there are always guests who hear about it and try to take advantage of it. They try to "create" magic for themselves, and by doing so they end up destroying it for everyone else. Why have paintbrushes when you have people fighting over them and probably abusing cast members in the process? Why would you give anyone a room upgrade when you are going to have other guests demanding them?

I have been to Disney about 15 times. I went for the first time as an adult, and I have been hooked every since. My husband and children now love it as much as I do. We have never gotten a room upgrade, we have rarely had towel animals, we have never found a paintbrush, and we didn't win a single thing during the Year of a Million Dreams except an ice cream (and I was buying it for someone else! ). You know what? We still go to Disney because it's fun and it's a wonderful place that my family loves. Disney doesn't create the magic for my family - we create the magic by having fun and appreciating what we are experiencing. The few times when something special has happened like getting special seating at The Lion King Show and watching my daughter's participate in the Princess Parade at Downtown Disney are just icing on the cake. Maybe if people stopped trying so hard to create "magic" they would be more likely to enjoy the magic that's already there.

To quote POGO, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

I have been over 20 times since 1976. i can't say I ever had a bad trip. I go to enjoy and not look for what's wrong. If we go during a special event in our lives, I may ask to get special seating to see the fireworks at a restaurant,etc. I always say thank you when I ask and if it happens I say thank you. They can't always accommodate everyone's wish, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Sometimes you don't get seated immediately, but if you are willing to wait they maybe able to accommodate you. I never knew about the paint brush until recently. We probably wouldn't have done it anyway when our children were small or with the grandchild now. I don't like reading the negativity. Of course, I don't notice everything. When we started going, there was only the MK, we have seen WDW grow. We have seen favorite attractions disappear, but we enjoy what is there and have new favorites. WDW is a magical place for me that I can forget the real world for just a little while and enjoy being a child again. I have had wonderful experiences and CM's who have gone out of their way to help us or be accommodating.

 

[Bob Saget]

Minimum wage in 1983 was $3.35. Minimum wage today is $7.25.

A 3-day hopper ticket at WDW in 1983 was $35, 10.45 hours of work at minimum wage.

A 3-day hopper ticket today is $299, 41.24 hours of work at minimum wage.

^And here lies the problem. If Disney keeps outpacing the national inflation rate so drastically, it will eventually come back to bite the company in the you-know-where. Maybe not in 5 years, maybe not in 10 years. But eventually, it will hurt them to keep escalating at such a pace. Not saying prices shouldn't go up, that's life...that's inflation anywhere. But to go leaps & bounds beyond normal inflation rates is a very dangerous game (especially when the product you sell isn't a necessity).

 

[LorangeJuice]

I've always lived close to WDW, so we basically only paid for gas and admission. I was also an only child. When I was little, I asked my mom why other guests acted that way. I'll never forget it. She said that some people take weeks off of work and school, pack up their whole families, and fly from other states or even countries thus costing thousands of dollars. As a little kid I thought hundreds of dollars was enough to fill Scrooge McDuck's money bin!!! She also told me that since some of them lived so far away, they feel like they have to rush to see as much as possible, i.e., they don't get to come back as often.

Anyway, it really stuck with me. I realize now as an adult, that's no real excuse (especially for taking free stuff back to the room), but when I see it now, I just remember what she told me, and it's easier to brush it off. You never know how much of a sacrifice someone is making for their family. Just some food for thought.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I completely understand what you're saying crispy.

I don't think the magic is dead, and I do think you can make your own magic in Disney. However I have noticed a lot of the "extra magic" things slowly been disappearing. The paintbrushes being taken away is sad, and I'm not certain why that happened. But I have seen angry people who didn't find a paintbrush, and I don't know if that's why they did away with them or not. I do think that "Waking Up Tinkerbell" was discontinued because of the amount of people who supposedly raced down Main Street, and fought over it. We were just talking about that in another thread as something that was kind of cool that's been discontinued.

The pulling the sword from the stone ceremony with Merlin is another one I miss. A lot of the smaller, more secretive things that Disney fanatics like ourselves loved are disappearing. I can't say why, but I can see how entitled guests may have lead to some of these downfalls.

I'd love to see some unknown secrets added back in, but I keep seeing them disappear. =(

 

[YoungNY]

Far too many people have a false sense of entitlement about far too many things.

 

[bella1620]

I don't start topics too often, but I keep seeing posts about how Disney is no longer the magical place it used to be. Fingers are always pointing to the powers that be, and I do understand those arguments. There are maintenance issues and WDW itself seems to be in a bit of a holding pattern. I would argue, though, that some of the magic has been lost because guests have unreasonable expectations.

Take the paintbrushes for instance. I visit many Disney websites and have seen people talk about how they would race to Tom Sawyer's Island so that their child could find a paintbrush first. Then I've seen threads where people were mad because someone else had raced to Tom Sawyer's Island and found all the paintbrushes so their children didn't get to find one. I've seen rants about not getting towel animals in the room even though they left Mousekeeping a tip in a personalized envelope. I've seen rants about how someone's child didn't get enough attention from the characters even though their child was wearing a customized Disney outfit that they paid $300 for. I've seen threads from people asking if they should request a room upgrade and the various strategies for getting one. I could go on and on and on and on.

It seems that when Disney does something nice and magical, there are always guests who hear about it and try to take advantage of it. They try to "create" magic for themselves, and by doing so they end up destroying it for everyone else. Why have paintbrushes when you have people fighting over them and probably abusing cast members in the process? Why would you give anyone a room upgrade when you are going to have other guests demanding them?

I have been to Disney about 15 times. I went for the first time as an adult, and I have been hooked every since. My husband and children now love it as much as I do. We have never gotten a room upgrade, we have rarely had towel animals, we have never found a paintbrush, and we didn't win a single thing during the Year of a Million Dreams except an ice cream (and I was buying it for someone else! ). You know what? We still go to Disney because it's fun and it's a wonderful place that my family loves. Disney doesn't create the magic for my family - we create the magic by having fun and appreciating what we are experiencing. The few times when something special has happened like getting special seating at The Lion King Show and watching my daughter's participate in the Princess Parade at Downtown Disney are just icing on the cake. Maybe if people stopped trying so hard to create "magic" they would be more likely to enjoy the magic that's already there.

To quote POGO, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

You know, I agree with you 100% ... I'm 20 years old and have been to Disney 35 times, and sometimes when I read people's posts I can't help but laugh... Here's one for example.... The door in pirates of the Caribbean ...? Seriously it's obviously a temporary door for construction. Or the timeline for the fle and how long it's taking... It's true, people do set their expectations way to high these days, not just with disney, but with everything. I've never had a bad experience qothdisney, it's always been pleasant and has always been just as magical as the trip before it. Obviously when you sit and pick at every little flaw its going to disappoint yOu.. Nothing in this world is perfect, but I have to say Disney is Pretty darn close to perfect to me!

 

[Avenger117]

Far too many people have a false sense of entitlement about far too many things.

So true, I'm working in retail and I see it everyday. Some people think everyone else in the world is here just to serve them.

 

[CP_alum08]

Wow, another thread on here that people have turned into an argument about money, funny because the OP had nothing to do with money.

Back to the OP, I completely agree with you and that sense of entitlement is getting worse. Sadly though, that overwhelming sense of entitlement seems to be everywhere. People have this mindset that "I pay X amount of money, I should be treated differently" which is totally bogus. The person standing beside you on the curb watching MSEP paid the same amount to get in as you did, there is NO reason to push and shove your way in front of them, I don't care how many kids you have.

I'm only 25, so you can take my 'remember when' speeches for whatever you want, but it seems like the service industry as a whole is getting treated worse and worse. I can remember going out to eat as a kid and when something you ordered wasn't perfect, you just dealt with it. Today yelling at the waiter and throwing it back in their face is basically acceptable (witnessed at WDW more than once). I can also remember when a toy you wanted as a kid was out of stock, that was the end of the story, no toy for you. Maybe, maybe, your parents gave your phone number to the staff and asked them to call you when it came in. Not demanding to see a manager and yelling at them because a toy is out of stock (again, witnessed at WDW on more than one occasion).

It just doesn't make sense to me why some people feel like their needs are more important than others. And I know a lot of things get blamed on foreign tourists, but the majority of rude people I see are American. Well, they are speaking english well enough that I assume they are American.

 

[kerbear]

To me the "Magic" of the WDWR is what you make of it. Do you think it would be normal for my 15yr son to hold my hand and skip down the mall singing zip-a-dee-doo-dah or even better would he? But the "Magic" of Disney has him grabbing my hand first singing down Main Street USA. Sure have we been lucky enough through the years to get added perks. Our first stay in WDWR we were upgraded to a preferred room in All Star Sports. On another trip we go the fast passes for the day during the Year of a Million Dreams, and a few other "freebies" I'm sure through the years. But that is not what makes the "Magic"....my husband acting like a monkey, my younger son at the age of 3 running up to Max for a hug, meeting people from all over the world and staying in contact with them, seeing snow when its 90 degrees, holding my husband's hand during the firework show, and the smile on the whole family's face is what the "Magic" is all about. Since when does magic have a $ sign. I've never seen a hundred dollar bill come out of a hat and someone in the audience receive it.

 

[marni1971]

What I'm getting at is they have the ability to. You get bit more freedom than you do with Universal's two parks.

Two parks that either have Harry F. Potter or ripped out Jaws to make room for Harry F. Potter.
God I hate that little cretin.

Doesn't mean the attractions are bad. Personally I don't care for the films either but FJ is me of the best attractions in Orlando.

IMHO of course.

 

[SulleyanBoo]

People are always going to have unrealistic expectations and feel like they are entitled to whatever they want whenever they want it. Your Disney trip is definitely what you make of it. I also saw the high expections of guests while working there during my DCP internship. I understand/understood that guests pay A LOT of money to come stay, play, eat at WDW but some would totally flip out of the smallest of things. It's their high expectations coming into Disney. In my opinion, Disney's magic is only growing; as well as the high expectations of future guests.

 

[captainkidd]

Unfortunately that happens wherever you go not just in Disney. I do have to say that Disney is a little too quick to take things away without addressing the problem. Just yesterday Tikiman posted to his FB page that the Polynesian stopped giving out bottled water to club level because people were taking them back to their room for their families and taking other free food items leaving other guests with none. He said if this continues Disney will take it all away. Well, instead of Disney being so quick to just take things away, why don't they have a CM monitor what guests are taking so it's not abused?????

Simple solution - Stock more bottled water. Lord knows, for the price of Club Level and what you get for it, bottled water shouldn't be an issue.

I've made the mistake of staying CL at Disney once and Universal once. I honestly can't see why anyone who has done it once at either would ever do it again. This isn't the DVC thing, where it's different for different families. There is NOTHING about staying Club Level that is worth an extra $100 (or more) per night.

 

[luv]

I've stayed club level in gazillions of hotels, including most of Disney's and at PBH. I always take the stuff back to the room. With the exception of Disney/Uni, I almost never see anyone sit there to eat it. Usually, when people are sitting in there, they work together and wanted to watch Monday Night Football or whatever. People go in, grab what they want, and go to their room or off to their meeting or whatever.

Only at Disney could they get away with telling people that you must eat your bagel and drink your water in their area or they'll just stop giving it to you. If they told business people in most hotels that, they'd be told where to put the water in no uncertain terms. I wouldn't use those those terms, but I've worked with plenty of men who would. I would not return to a hotel that did that, though.

People who are upset because they didn't get a towel animal or their table wasn't the restaurant's center of attention are being ridiculous. People who grab a muffin to go at the lounge aren't.

I agre with above. If there aren't enough water bottles for everyone, stock more water.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Been going there since 1983 and only once have I been "given" anything. Never looked for it, never expected anything, in fact I never even thought about it when I was there.

The first time was last April. My "grown" Daughter's birthday was on the 3rd of April. We were heading home on the morning of her BD, so I had scheduled lunch at the (forget the name now) restaurant inside Mexico at World Showcase two days before our scheduled departure. I left my reservation sheet in our room so I went to Guest Services to see if they could tell me what time my reservation was. They told me and I asked them how much extra it would cost to get a small birthday cake for her. Well, they got all excited and gave me a Birthday pin to give her and said that they would call ahead to the Restaurant. I told them that her Birthday wasn't for another 2 days and it wasn't necessary, but they insisted. The young lady at the counter just smiled and said..."I won't tell them if your don't".

She got the cake and a Mexican version of Happy Birthday plus later in the day she received a Happy Birthday Greeting from Goofy over a phone at the American Adventure plus so many CM's wishing her a happy Birthday. It was great. I didn't ask for it, in fact, I had originally refused it because it wasn't really her birthday yet. That was enough to keep me happy since then.