I just got back from my first WDW vacation in 10 years (last trip was NYE 2013/2014)
Based on everything I had been hearing on these forums the last several years about how WDW is in decline, I was expecting to be less impressed than I had been on my last few trips a decade ago. Doubly so after I went to UOR first and was greeted with bad customer service from TMs and truly terrible new attractions like Fast & Furious, Villian Con, Jimmy Fallon etc.
But to my surprise, I had a great time at WDW. Service was excellent and was the "Disney quality" that I remember when I was a kid. Show quality and maintenance were also better than I was expecting. Lots of rides where I didn't notice anything malfunctioning and if it did it was usually something minor that no average guest would notice. Even had a near perfect RotR ridethrough as far as I could tell (just cannons not working). Overall MK was the roughest park in terms of upkeep.
The biggest negatives: the price, WDW is indeed an outrageously expensive vacation now and you can tell people are getting priced out. It's mostly upper-middle class families now + lots of wealthy families paying for VIP guides etc. Also the reliance on phones and complicated Genie/LL rules is a major drag but this is something that can be fixed and arguably they are already taking steps to address this with this week's changes to park reservations etc. Also am really not a fan of the changes to the Disney Look. I get it was mostly a labor decision, but a lot was lost with that imo.
Overall I was much more impressed than I thought I would be, and despite negative changes I'm happy that WDW is more or less as good of a vacation destination as I remember.
Just goes to show you, don't believe everything you read on the internet.
Next time I take the family down (don't know when, probably early 2025), I am planning on buying hoppers and not G+ unless things change drastically. Instead of planning days at parks and a rough touring plan I'm going to play "park-bingo" for lack of a better term. The family is going to select a laundry list of must-dos at each park and throughout the week we're going to check them off the master list.
Each evening we pick a park to go to and what things we want to tick off the list. Take a mid day break and do the same for the afternoon. Whether it's one park or all four, that what we'll do. No more being lead around the parks by Genie+.
My issue with G+, and I've said this before, is that it hangs an anchor around your neck. You pay a ton of money (for my family of 5) and you feel the need to get the most out of it. I hate knowing I have something to do in 1.5 hours and having to keep that time rather than just enjoy the day. I hate schedules and G+ times feel like meetings which I deal with in my professional life every day.
FP+ at least was a perk you go for free and if you didn't maximize it, it didn't matter. There is more pressure with G+ and it puts you in tight spots sometimes. For example you can book Dumbo in for 1.5 hours from now or you can book Pirates for 4 hours from now. Dumbo allows you to rebook your next LL 30m earlier, but Pirates may not be there. The later in the day the later the return time and the more limiting the options.
FP+ at least let you get on a ride multiple times if you refreshed enough. Options were always there.
Anyway, my point I hate how Disney is more of a live project management job where each decision costs you money. Yes it is my fault, but Disney created this monster.
I have to admit, my last day on property we went to EPCOT and just wandered the world showcase, barely did rides and took in the food and entertainment. Was a much better day than anything else (with exception of the Christmas Party which was fantastic).
