Is the “Magic” Disappearing at Walt Disney world

[Robbydj13]

I know we are in the middle of a pandemic but it seems that Disney is slowly taking away some of the “Magic” while staying at Disney. I know some items will return but some things seem to be gone for good.

• Free Parking
• Magic Bands (At least the free ones when arriving at Disney Hotel)
• Magical Express
• Evening Magic Hours
• Fasspass (May Return, but will it be the same as before)

I just don’t know about the advantage of staying at Disney anymore.

Things are for different, but I think most will return. Probably not MagicBands for free, but the rest will. I hope FastPass goes back to the old way, like DisneyLand still has....It was much better.

 

[MerriwetherAdamPleasure]

I, too, become frustrated with the decline in perks, but honestly, early and evening extra magic hours had become so crowded, it really didn't feel like a perk at all. The only thing that still chaps my hide is the pay for parking when the parking lots are empty. But I love WDW, and am really thinking of staying at Poly for the first time, a major jump from All Star. Here we come. It's so good to be back home at WDWMagic.

 

[MerriwetherAdamPleasure]

E-ride nights have been gone for over 20 years. They are not coming back.

Oh, but weren't they grand? 20 bucks, a bracelet, and nary a line anywhere. Oh ye E-ride nights, how we miss thee.....

 

[Pirate Magic]

E-ride nights was great fun!! How I miss that....

 

[some other guy]

the "magic" left around the late 90s or so
now it's just the cheap slight-of-hand running out

 

[World_Showcase_Lover007]

The magic is gone because....MBA’s.
WDW has always been expensive, and Disney has always been a for-profit company. But a shift in corporate mentality has taken place. Previously it was, we’re going to charge you premium prices but give you a premium product bc we want you business now and again in the future.

Now, the viewpoint is we have to make every single cent we can right now, and everything else be “darn.” It’s to increase shareholder margins. It is the ONLY thing that matters now. It started the day Eisner took over and has gotten continuously worse every year.

 

[JusticeDisney]

So this questions pops up every now and then especially for return visitors. I'll give my standard answers. It depends on how you define your magic.

First, no mistake about it, perks are being removed. I will not sugar coat it. so the question becomes how do those perks effect ones visit.

Magic express has no bearing on my visit since I've never used it and probably never would and I always upgraded our bands so again the free ones had no value.
I'm a dvc member so I still get free parking but if I stayed off site I would have to pay to park somewhere. I don't do buses.

my magic comes from other areas. I usually stay at the BCV's. I love the walk back from Epcot, with the music in the background and hte lights. it relaxes my soul and makes me feel peaceful. Yes, I will pay an exorbitant amount of money for a week of that. I usually get up early before my family and walk around to the Broadwalk bakery, I get coffee and cinnamon rolls and sit with the ducks, again the quiet, listening to the horns from the boat soothes my soul. We loved waking up at AKL and seeing animals from the balcony of our window. those are the intangibles that are priceless to me (my real life in a high stress job is insane) and my family.

I love the cm's at the beach club, I've never encountered these horror stories or indifferent cm's folks here have.

So yes from a dollar perspective, there are cheaper options out there and always will be. I've mentioned on the other thread, I've stayed off site a number of times and we did not enjoy it. so for my family the question becomes, do we really "save" money if we stay some where else and don't enjoy it? I believe that falls under the heading of "penny wise/pound foolish".
Basically we don't go if we have to stay off site.

Could not agree with your thoughts more. We feel the exact same way. The location and convenience of staying on property is irreplaceable to us. Personally, we just don’t want to deal with driving and parking or dealing with ride shares, etc. Plus, as you said, there’s just something special about waking up (and going to bed) right there in the heart of it all. That’s how we see it anyway.