Did YOU cancel/postpone due to stale product and increasing costs?

[rudyjr13]

Last trip November. Planned on an April trip. Decided not to book due to stale product.

Though we enjoyed our vacation in November, there is not that burning desire to go back in 2013. Maybe in the Fall depending on discounts but no rush.

Post if you have done something similar.

 

[Computer Magic]

I think you can also look at it as it's not just the lack of new and exciting attractions, but more the ever increasing cost in a time where many people have lost their jobs or income has remained stagnant.

I know someone who got a 1.7% raise this year due to poor company projections which turned out to be a 0.3% DECREASE in pay due to the payroll tax going up. Now I'm not getting into the politics of taxes but if Disney was cutting prices by 5-10% instead of raising them for the same (if not worse) product, I would not be spending part of my cold Saturday typing this. But that ain't happening unless the parks are empty.

There is alos poor allocation of staffing. It was 50 degress weather on our last day and there was 7 life guards standing together by the pool, all talking. No one was in the pool. Now I know you have to police the pool to keep it say. But that is a high person to life guard ratio. The keeping the cost high.

 

[Computer Magic]

I agree - there is absolutely nothing new at WDW.... everyone else should stay home .

Well its more like after 8pm there is only 2 parks open. So everyone crams into two parks. Can you believe AK was open longer than DHS a couple times that week?

 

[Skibum1970]

I agree - there is absolutely nothing new at WDW.... everyone else should stay home .

Exactly. Then, while everyone else is staying home, I'll go (yes, I'll take one for the team) and ride those rides just to spite Disney! That'll show em. To be honest, I schedule my trips to places like Cedar Point or Kings Island (home parks) around who has what new. This year, Cedar Point is opening an awesome-looking new coaster and thus my friends and I are making plans to visit.

For WDW, I don't feel the same way. I'll go there regardless if anything is new or not. Would I like new rides and adventures? Sure but I'm not going to not go if they don't have them. I guess that I enjoy just going and being happy at the resort hotels, parks, and restaurants. It's a ready made one-stop-shop.

 

[lilclerk]

It's not so much that there's nothing new that keeps me from going... it's more that the prices keep getting jacked up, and we don't really see much for it. In fact, we see less maintenance and fewer hours to experience what is there. Why should I pay more for a lesser experience?

 

[Stellajack]

I agree - there is absolutely nothing new at WDW.... everyone else should stay home .

"I 'second that motion'. . . all in favor say 'aye', all opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it!"

 

[sweetpee_1993]

It's not so much that there's nothing new that keeps me from going... it's more that the prices keep getting jacked up, and we don't really see much for it. In fact, we see less maintenance and less hours to experience what is there. Why should I pay more for a lesser experience?

Exactly. Pay more for less is exactly how it comes off to me hence the feeling of being raped by the mouse. No thanks.

 

[Skibum1970]

I have found that I have to wait for room discounts. The Dining Plan doesn't interest me but staying onsite is one main perk to going there. Staying offsite would probably cause my wife to decide that it really wasn't worth going. Without room discounts, we really can't afford to go. I honestly don't know how people can spend so much (our discount trips still run us around $2,000 with airfare) on vacations. I have heard numbers of exceeding $5,000 and that is a lot of cash for a vacation.

 

[lovepooh]

I guess I am in the minority, I always love going, but we dont go every year, we go about every other year, the off year is usually a Disney Cruise, really nobody does it like Disney, I do agree the prices are crazy out there.
I am a travel agent so we get discounts once a year so if it wasnt for that it would be nearly impossible for us to afford to go. The economy being what is is, really disney needs a reality check. We are going in April, and we are really looking foward to seeing the New Fanstasy land looks exciting for my kids!

 

[rsoxguy]

Care to expand?

If you would like me to do so, then yes. The original post stated that a trip had been cancelled due to a stale product being presented at WDW. You then asked if others had done the same. I have not. I recently purchased AP's, and I intend to drive up to the parks for family hijinks as often as our scheduling allows. I agree that certain aspects of WDW need to be changed and/or upgraded, but not to the extent that I am ready to stop going. We should be able to agree with one another on the point that everyone enjoys life differently. I can certainly respect your choice. As for us, my wife and I enjoy traveling to different places throughout the U.S., as well as going to several places within a short driving distance from our home. We enjoy dining out, as well as just sitting at home while relishing the quite that is our offspring at college. We work hard, but we also often go on "dates". We also enjoy going to WDW. Life is for living, and when we grow tired of the place that is often cheered and jeered on this forum, we will stop going. As for now, "nope".

 

[rudyjr13]

Exactly. Then, while everyone else is staying home, I'll go (yes, I'll take one for the team) and ride those rides just to spite Disney! That'll show em. To be honest, I schedule my trips to places like Cedar Point or Kings Island (home parks) around who has what new. This year, Cedar Point is opening an awesome-looking new coaster and thus my friends and I are making plans to visit.

For WDW, I don't feel the same way. I'll go there regardless if anything is new or not. Would I like new rides and adventures? Sure but I'm not going to not go if they don't have them. I guess that I enjoy just going and being happy at the resort hotels, parks, and restaurants. It's a ready made one-stop-shop.

Don't get me wrong. I am not a hater. I LOVE Disney. Have been going for 30 years. There's nothing like the feeling of being at the hotels and relaxing, filling up a mug and walking around hearing the sounds especially at GF where you can hear the MK come to life. It's still a great vacation without the brand new rides. It just has changed the past couple of years and this Next Gen stuff (especially the money spent) has really bothered me.

I am an IT guy so I love the gadgets and wifi part of next gen but I'm a monorail lover first. Where's the money for new trains or at least refurbing the current ones? Why are there restaurants etc closed now that were open when I was a kid? Why is the Imagination 2nd floor closed? Why is the backlot tour still running when it's not a studio anymore? These are my issues compounded by the ever increasing cost.

 

[rudyjr13]

If you would like me to do so, then yes. The original post stated that a trip had been cancelled due to a stale product being presented at WDW. You then asked if others had done the same. I have not. I recently purchased AP's, and I intend to drive up to the parks for family hijinks as often as our scheduling allows. I agree that certain aspects of WDW need to be changed and/or upgraded, but not to the extent that I am ready to stop going. We should be able to agree with one another on the point that everyone enjoys life differently. I can certainly respect your choice. As for us, my wife and I enjoy traveling to different places throughout the U.S., as well as going to several places within a short driving distance from our home. We enjoy dining out, as well as just sitting at home while relishing the quite that is our offspring at college. We work hard, but we also often go on "dates". We also enjoy going to WDW. Life is for living, and when we grow tired of the place that is often cheered and jeered on this forum, we will stop going. As for now, "nope".

Makes perfect sense. How far are you from WDW? I'm in PA so it's a bit more of a quick drive which I would do too if I was close.

 

[rsoxguy]

Makes perfect sense. How far are you from WDW? I'm in PA so it's a bit more of a quick drive which I would do too if I was close.

I am less than a three hour drive away, depending on how many State Troupers are spotted during the first half hour of the trip.

 

[gallerie]

havent been for four years now. took a disney cruise instead last year and again next year. Disney cruise IS they old Disney way of doing things, while the world has gone sour and costly and just no longer worth it. And I have been 17 times in my life.

 

[Skibum1970]

If you would like me to do so, then yes. The original post stated that a trip had been cancelled due to a stale product being presented at WDW. You then asked if others had done the same. I have not. I recently purchased AP's, and I intend to drive up to the parks for family hijinks as often as our scheduling allows. I agree that certain aspects of WDW need to be changed and/or upgraded, but not to the extent that I am ready to stop going. We should be able to agree with one another on the point that everyone enjoys life differently. I can certainly respect your choice. As for us, my wife and I enjoy traveling to different places throughout the U.S., as well as going to several places within a short driving distance from our home. We enjoy dining out, as well as just sitting at home while relishing the quite that is our offspring at college. We work hard, but we also often go on "dates". We also enjoy going to WDW. Life is for living, and when we grow tired of the place that is often cheered and jeered on this forum, we will stop going. As for now, "nope".

Good night, you just described my life. One reason we do Disney every other year is to enjoy the treasures of our national park system and the wonderful sights contained within. However, we are definitely not tired of going to WDW.

 

[smk]

Speaking as a new grandparent to the cutest baby in the whole wide world, I am looking forward to the areas targeted just for toddlers. I may even use his stroller as a weapon a time or two just because I can, just kidding, kinda. I am looking forward to seeing it all over again thru his eyes! It has been a long time since we thought of going with small kids, so the touring speed will be toned down a bit, but I am so looking forward to taking him!

I have cancelled a few trips, kids sick, my DH had emergency open heart surgery a few days before we had a trip planned and paid for (fully refunded back to us because Disney is great) but never cancelled because we just didn't want to go. I LOVE going, still. I would leave this very afternoon, if I could.

 

[copcarguyp71]

I think anything that you do year after year can become stale. From shorepoints to a mountain lake if you do the same vacation every year then it can probably be reasoned that things can feel stagnant at some point and perhaps even more so when you are relying on high dollar stimulus or technology to entertain instead of panoramic vistas or ocean sand.

It is just a thought that occurred to me as I was reading this thread but I think maybe returning so frequently may be a mistake for some folks and that there is some point at which our expectations for "new and fresh" become insatiable. Now...let me say I think that WDW needs to work on maintenance and standards for sure but even at the top of their game perhaps it still would not cut the mustard for some folks to visit too frequently.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

As for the stale...I think some people ruin it for themselves by overdoing it. If all you do is Disney, it's inevitable that it's going to become stale. It's true of any destination. Now, there will always be people who will be happy to return year after year and that's fine too- it's like my friends who go to the same beach spot every year, but for many- unless you try other things...it seems like a no brainer that you'd get tired of doing the same old thing. And while it's not true of everyone, I'm sure if you went back in 10-12 years after giving it a break...you'd probably enjoy yourself the way you did in earlier trips. Ultimately, while Disney should maintain some things better and it might be nice to see a few more updates and new things ... I think the stale is often the fault of the patron who should have branched out to other things to balance it out.

If I take my kids to the same playground week after week - they'll get bored. My parents are finding similar issues with cruising. i.e. it's been the bulk of their vacays over the last 10 or so years and they are pretty much sick of cruising.

As for the price, while there are plenty of cheaper vacations you can take, there are also lots of other very popular vacays you could do that are in the same pricepoint or even higher. Ex. DH really wants to take a nice ski trip and I can tell you that the $ would be on par with Disney or even more. So, I can't balk too much at the price when the price I'd pay to stay slopeside for convenience is on par to the price I'd pay to stay at a Disney deluxe to be close to the parks. i.e. convenience comes at a premium no matter where you stay. And lift tickets and gear for a family of 4...well, some of it makes park tickets look like a bargain.

 

[Computer Magic]

As for the stale...I think some people ruin it for themselves by overdoing it. If all you do is Disney, it's inevitable that it's going to become stale. It's true of any destination. Now, there will always be people who will be happy to return year after year and that's fine too- it's like my friends who go to the same beach spot every year, but for many- unless you try other things...it seems like a no brainer that you'd get tired of doing the same old thing. And while it's not true of everyone, I'm sure if you went back in 10-12 years after giving it a break...you'd probably enjoy yourself the way you did in earlier trips. Ultimately, while Disney should maintain some things better and it might be nice to see a few more updates and new things ... I think the stale is often the fault of the patron who should have branched out to other things to balance it out.

If I take my kids to the same playground week after week - they'll get bored. My parents are finding similar issues with cruising. i.e. it's been the bulk of their vacays over the last 10 or so years and they are pretty much sick of cruising.

As for the price, while there are plenty of cheaper vacations you can take, there are also lots of other very popular vacays you could do that are in the same pricepoint or even higher. Ex. DH really wants to take a nice ski trip and I can tell you that the $ would be on par with Disney or even more. So, I can't balk too much at the price when the price I'd pay to stay slopeside for convenience is on par to the price I'd pay to stay at a Disney deluxe to be close to the parks. i.e. convenience comes at a premium no matter where you stay. And lift tickets and gear for a family of 4...well, some of it makes park tickets look like a bargain.

This was my concern about buying into DVC and committing to a yearly or every two year visit.

 

[Stu bailey]

No. No.

 

[rudyjr13]

A re imagined Downtown Disney won't get me to book but it's nice to hear something may finally be coming there soon. We skipped it the last 2 trips.