Back when WDW theme park admission were today's equivalent of $95 for a 3-day hopper, quality and service were outstanding.
I was at the central hub at the Magic Kingdom in May 1982 with friends and noticed a bench with chipped paint on one arm. We joked about it for the rest of the day. We even took a photo. Wouldn't you know it, we came back the next day and the chip was fixed to the point where we couldn't see where the chip had been! That was the level of maintenance and service WDW provided to its Guests every day.
Sights like this were impossible in the 1970s and 1980s:
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Light bulbs were replaced when they were at 80% of expected lifespan. Today, burnt out light bulbs don't get replaced at all:
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Disney is charging more than ever to be at their theme parks. WDW is the most expensive theme park in the world.
At these prices, Guests should receive the very best every day. Instead, Disney wants Guests to pay even more in order to avoid the long lines that Disney created by not expanding capacity to keep up demand, even as the Parks & Resorts segment reports record profits year after year.
Since taking over Parks & Resorts in 2015, Bob Chapek has:
- introduced seasonal pricing for theme park tickets, with prices for the holidays rising by 51% since 2015,
- added expiration dates to theme park tickets,
- increased hotel prices by more than 35%,
- ended Disney's Magic Express,
- ended Extra Magic Hours,
- cancelled or scaled back several previously announced projects at WDW.
Guests have every right to be angry at the way they are being treated by Bob Chapek. The rumored end of FastPass+ and its cash-grab replacement is just the latest example of Chapek treating his 'Guests' the way a baby treats a diaper.