Is Disney minus magic still Disney?

[TQQQ]

I dont think it's been that long since its been gone....we went 2x in 2017 and 2018 and they were all great trips. But since then, forget it, it's been a complete and utter disaster. My kids told my wife and i that they had a bad time on the last trip and dont want to go back. That's rough to hear from an 11, 13 and 14 year old.

Lets hope though......Competition is usually good for situations like this. Maybe Epic Universe will force WDW to change back to what it once was. We will see..........Until then, we are Universal or some other place entirely

 

[TQQQ]

what is Disney "magic", specifically???? I still don't know really what it is. so nebulous, so undefined, so subjective


so once we define "magic" in this context, then I can tell you whether it would profoundly affect Disney or not if it were gone.

How many times have you been and when was the last? Ive been going my whole life (1974 first trip) and the definition of Magic is very, very easy for me and my family...........

 

[TQQQ]

How are you defining "Disney magic"? For my family, we still have magical vacations but then we don't equate every aspect of our vacations by the cost and we definitely don't compare our vacations by what things cost 10 years ago.

Not sure I'd agree that the brand is "ruined "
As always, I ask the question... if Disney is so horrible who the heck is going?

the old "nobody goes there, its too crowded" ?

I think it is ruined.....they have been benefitting from macro conditions that the whole industry is experiencing.....that's not going to last

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I’ve said this ad nauseam that for ME and me ALONE, on the flight down, I resign myself to the idea of expecting the worst while hoping for the best. Again, in 2022, there are so many worse things going on in the country AND the world…Disney still is a week’s escape from that cluster****. If you walk under the train station with the mindset that you’re GOING to have an awful time, guess what, YOU WILL…I guess I’m an eternal optimist (NY Jets fan, lol), so I always try to find that little bit of blue sky in the hurricane. We’re not foodies, so if we like a place, we’ll return, if not, try someplace else.
I agree that it’s getting easier to see negativity now more than ever, so like finding a hidden Mickey, look and you will find…then and ONLY then will you leave with a smile on your face.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I dont think it's been that long since its been gone....we went 2x in 2017 and 2018 and they were all great trips. But since then, forget it, it's been a complete and utter disaster.

Pre-Covid I thought the parks were improving (or at worst staying the same high quality) every trip, since Covid nearly every change has been a negative.

Reservations, Magical express, the new AP program, Genie, cleanliness, maintenance, food quality, etc has all gone downhill the last couple years… the optimist in me hopes it’s still pandemic related and Disney as we knew it will return but the pessimist in me thinks it’s all 100% intentional via cost savings decisions and Disney as we knew it is dead until we get a new team that once again places quality over maximizing profit.

Having said all that we still love it and will continue going back, just less often because it’s not the same experience it was just a few years ago.

 

[TQQQ]

I’ve said this ad nauseam that for ME and me ALONE, on the flight down, I resign myself to the idea of expecting the worst while hoping for the best. Again, in 2022, there are so many worse things going on in the country AND the world…Disney still is a week’s escape from that cluster****. If you walk under the train station with the mindset that you’re GOING to have an awful time, guess what, YOU WILL…I guess I’m an eternal optimist (NY Jets fan, lol), so I always try to find that little bit of blue sky in the hurricane. We’re not foodies, so if we like a place, we’ll return, if not, try someplace else.
I agree that it’s getting easier to see negativity now more than ever, so like finding a hidden Mickey, look and you will find…then and ONLY then will you leave with a smile on your face.

I hear you and I love WDW and want to have a great time......but when your 11, 13 and 14 year olds acknowledge it with no bias, saying it's just not the same and if i asked them right now to go tomorrow for a week they would say no, then its a problem

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I hear you and I love WDW and want to have a great time......but when your 11, 13 and 14 year olds acknowledge it with no bias, saying it's just not the same and if i asked them right now to go tomorrow for a week they would say no, then its a problem

Yes, but truthfully, at that age, they’re probably looking for more thrill rides like you’ll ding at UNI, which I totally understand.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

“The magic” is subjective. What may be a loss for one, may not be a loss for another. There is no singular definition of “the magic” that everyone agrees upon/agrees if it’s still present or not.

I don’t think it can actually be measured for these reasons.

What is your definition of that Disney magic? Or what has ruined it?

If someone asked me why the magic is gone, I would tell them a couple of things:

1. The creativity in new attractions. Even the IP ones, there was heart and soul poured into them. The story was prioritized over the namesake program. Now they shoehorn IP everywhere regardless of sense.. they are banking on your understanding of the IP first before you get to enjoy the ride to it's full extent.. and the last major (or generally) non-IP attraction was Expedition Everest in 2006.

2. The price gouging. Instead of expanding to meet demand, they are increasing prices and diminishing goodwill by removing what used to be part of admission (magic express, fastpass).

3. The kindness, happiness, and random encounters with CMs & people at Disneyland aren't what they used to be. A lot of CM's and visitors are understandably miserable.

4. The maintenance. Broken effects hardly stayed broken, but now they do.

I wont mention other things like reservations and Genie+, but it should be implied that they've helped make the guest experience worse.

 

[TQQQ]

Yes, but truthfully, at that age, they’re probably looking for more thrill rides like you’ll ding at UNI, which I totally understand.

No, we went to Uni once and they didnt love it.....they didnt go on the trill rides

 

[LittleBuford]

I haven’t been back since February 2020, and by all accounts, many things have changed for the worse since then. That said, the “Magic has gone” rhetoric predates the pandemic by years, and part of me wonders if a good portion of it is driven by a collective culture of pessimism/declinism that posters here have cultivated. I came to this site (without joining at first) in 2017 after an amazing WDW trip that I wanted to relive by reading others’ posts. Expecting to find generally happy fans, I was somewhat surprised to encounter a great deal of negativity and doomsaying. I am not saying there aren’t things to complain about, but some of the criticisms do at times feel knee-jerk and sweeping. The effect of so much negativity is pretty powerful: even I, as a self-professed Pixie Duster, have found myself feeling less well disposed towards Disney simply because of all the things I have read here rather than because of anything I have personally experienced.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

I dont think it's been that long since its been gone....we went 2x in 2017 and 2018 and they were all great trips. But since then, forget it, it's been a complete and utter disaster. My kids told my wife and i that they had a bad time on the last trip and dont want to go back. That's rough to hear from an 11, 13 and 14 year old.

Lets hope though......Competition is usually good for situations like this. Maybe Epic Universe will force WDW to change back to what it once was. We will see..........Until then, we are Universal or some other place entirely

Can you expand on why it was "a bad time"?

 

[eliza61nyc]

the old "nobody goes there, its too crowded" ?

I think it is ruined.....they have been benefitting from macro conditions that the whole industry is experiencing.....that's not going to last

Perhaps, let me just say if I had a dollar every time people have predicted that....
"Disney is going to be in trouble "
"It can't last"
"It's only crowded because...."

I would be rich and wouldn't have to worry about the prices. as a gambler so far, the house is winning

 

[TQQQ]

Can you expand on why it was "a bad time"?

waking up early every day to try and get Genie+ was probably the single worst thing. we had to have 2 of us up to try and get SDD and Rise so the whole room was awake at 6:45am........thats a recipe for disaster with teenagers We had plenty of problems with the technology (kept making me sign back in to MDE and reset password) so we did not get the rides we wanted and the lines were so long we didn't want to wait. we spent a good part of the day on our phone trying to get rides and couldn't and that was real bad, probably the second worst thing

alot of the atmosphere is gone. no citizens of hollywood and the other live performances, that was very disappointing

couldn't get the restaurant reservations we wanted and that kind of stunk b we always went to the same places (Sci Fi, Via Napoli, Raglan rd)

our room was a mess and with 2 girls and 1 boy, you can imagine the arguments about clothes and stuff everywhere......no housekeeping was one of mine and my wifes biggest complaints

theres some other things im forgetting too.....

just flat out bad

 

[TQQQ]

Perhaps, let me just say if I had a dollar every time people have predicted that....
"Disney is going to be in trouble "
"It can't last"
"It's only crowded because...."

I would be rich and wouldn't have to worry about the prices. as a gambler so far, the house is winning

They've never had this competition before.....

 

[eliza61nyc]

I haven’t been back since February 2020, and by all accounts, many things have changed for the worse since then. That said, the “Magic has gone” rhetoric predates the pandemic by years, and part of me wonders if a good portion of it is driven by a collective culture of pessimism/declinism that posters here have cultivated. I came to this site (without joining at first) in 2017 after an amazing WDW trip that I wanted to relive by reading others’ posts. Expecting to find generally happy fans, I was somewhat surprised to encounter a great deal of negativity and doomsaying. I am not saying there aren’t things to complain about, but some of the criticisms do at times feel knee-jerk and sweeping. The effect of so much negativity is pretty powerful: even I, as a self-professed Pixie Duster, have found myself feeling less well disposed towards Disney simply because of all the things I have read here rather than because of anything I have personally experienced.

and not to mention what I call "the way we were/memories" syndrome. called that after the song "the way we were".
Many posters have been going since the parks opened or close to it. almost 40-50 years ago. so everything is compared to that magical time in Disney. The evidence of this is the "what would walt do" or "walt is turning over in his grave" statements.

This is especially true with regards to Epcot. there is no way for them to be happy because there isn't any way to turn back the hands of time

 

[eliza61nyc]

They've never had this competition before.....

they never had a lot of things before, and sure they've had competition before. Disney isn't some static entity, they have and will continue to change. Actually it's really not the competition that will even put a dent into attendance, if any things kills it, it will be the economy.
Just my opinion, i am in no way a professional. lol. like I said, for the last 10 years people have been predicting Disney's comeuppance.

 

[The Colonel]

Disney World minus Magic = (Chapek World squared over Iger's Ego)

 

[TQQQ]

they never had a lot of things before, and sure they've had competition before. Disney isn't some static entity, they have and will continue to change. Actually it's really not the competition that will even put a dent into attendance, if any things kills it, it will be the economy.
Just my opinion, i am in no way a professional. lol. like I said, for the last 10 years people have been predicting Disney's comeuppance.

This might put them out of business for good and force them to sell the property in Orlando

 

[eliza61nyc]

This might put them out of business for good and force them to sell the property in Orlando

lol, I think I can safely say if that happens, the entire country has gone to heck in a handbasket and disney will be the least of the worries

 

[TQQQ]

lol, I think I can safely say if that happens, the entire country has gone to heck in a handbasket and disney will be the least of the worries

Lol....I was kidding of course........but i think the competition will help, not hurt......

Not calling for their demise, just for some competition to make them have to refocus on the consumer vs the bottom line

They basically came out and said it, that business was so good they could cut and get away with it and if it turns, they will reassess