Jersey Week is over.....and the Sky didn't fall

JMcMahonEsq

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Last week was the famed teachers convention/jersey week here in Garden State. This means elementary schools have half days M-T-W, and all Schools have Th-F off. This is a unique opportunity, to take school age kids away on a trip during a non-summer season. Even your older kids in HS, unless your team is in a State Semi-Final are done with Fall Sports, and the Winter season hasn't really started.

Between our 10-year-old and 12-year-old, 10 families that we are close with were down at the happiest place on earth last week. Between club baseball practice, and youth wrestling/football boards, i have spoken with 9 of the Mom/Dads since their triumphant returns. Between those conversations, and our last 2 trips, it is amazing how different the "real world" WDW is from these boards.

Of the 9 families i spoke with (7 being return guests, 2 first timers) not a single one had any idea who Chapek was. Not a one.

There were 7 fliers and 2 drivers for the trip, every single one of the fliers managed to get from MCO to WDW and back without the DME. While one mother said she missed it, she did say she liked that they rented a car this trip, as it gave them flexibility to get to/from places on their own.

Not a one had any problem with reserving there park prior to going. In fact two of the frequent WDW travelers noted that back in the day they had to figure out where they were going to be 180 days out to book dining reservations anyway, so the park reservation thing was no big deal.

No one had any problem using the Genie plus ap. Some people did say they liked the pre-booking option of Fast Pass better, but no one said they had any problem using the system.

Sure 9 families in one local cluster does not a double blind test make, and the sample size obviously leaves something to be desired. But its just amazing the difference in conversations between the people who actually got to the parks, vs. people who talk about the parks is.
 

monothingie

Proxy War 2024: Never Forget
Premium Member
Last week was the famed teachers convention/jersey week here in Garden State. This means elementary schools have half days M-T-W, and all Schools have Th-F off. This is a unique opportunity, to take school age kids away on a trip during a non-summer season. Even your older kids in HS, unless your team is in a State Semi-Final are done with Fall Sports, and the Winter season hasn't really started.

Between our 10-year-old and 12-year-old, 10 families that we are close with were down at the happiest place on earth last week. Between club baseball practice, and youth wrestling/football boards, i have spoken with 9 of the Mom/Dads since their triumphant returns. Between those conversations, and our last 2 trips, it is amazing how different the "real world" WDW is from these boards.

Of the 9 families i spoke with (7 being return guests, 2 first timers) not a single one had any idea who Chapek was. Not a one.

There were 7 fliers and 2 drivers for the trip, every single one of the fliers managed to get from MCO to WDW and back without the DME. While one mother said she missed it, she did say she liked that they rented a car this trip, as it gave them flexibility to get to/from places on their own.

Not a one had any problem with reserving there park prior to going. In fact two of the frequent WDW travelers noted that back in the day they had to figure out where they were going to be 180 days out to book dining reservations anyway, so the park reservation thing was no big deal.

No one had any problem using the Genie plus ap. Some people did say they liked the pre-booking option of Fast Pass better, but no one said they had any problem using the system.

Sure 9 families in one local cluster does not a double blind test make, and the sample size obviously leaves something to be desired. But its just amazing the difference in conversations between the people who actually got to the parks, vs. people who talk about the parks is.

And that doesn't discount the experience others have had.

But if your intent was to simply start an argument for whatever reason, go do it somewhere else.
 

Chi84

Premium Member
I
Last week was the famed teachers convention/jersey week here in Garden State. This means elementary schools have half days M-T-W, and all Schools have Th-F off. This is a unique opportunity, to take school age kids away on a trip during a non-summer season. Even your older kids in HS, unless your team is in a State Semi-Final are done with Fall Sports, and the Winter season hasn't really started.

Between our 10-year-old and 12-year-old, 10 families that we are close with were down at the happiest place on earth last week. Between club baseball practice, and youth wrestling/football boards, i have spoken with 9 of the Mom/Dads since their triumphant returns. Between those conversations, and our last 2 trips, it is amazing how different the "real world" WDW is from these boards.

Of the 9 families i spoke with (7 being return guests, 2 first timers) not a single one had any idea who Chapek was. Not a one.

There were 7 fliers and 2 drivers for the trip, every single one of the fliers managed to get from MCO to WDW and back without the DME. While one mother said she missed it, she did say she liked that they rented a car this trip, as it gave them flexibility to get to/from places on their own.

Not a one had any problem with reserving there park prior to going. In fact two of the frequent WDW travelers noted that back in the day they had to figure out where they were going to be 180 days out to book dining reservations anyway, so the park reservation thing was no big deal.

No one had any problem using the Genie plus ap. Some people did say they liked the pre-booking option of Fast Pass better, but no one said they had any problem using the system.

Sure 9 families in one local cluster does not a double blind test make, and the sample size obviously leaves something to be desired. But its just amazing the difference in conversations between the people who actually got to the parks, vs. people who talk about the parks is.
It is kind of telling though when you speak in terms of "not having any problem." All those things depend on how you like to experience WDW. Some people don't like to drive, so renting a car would not be the best for them. Some people don't like to pay quite a bit of money for a system that used to be free and better. Some people rarely eat dinner in the parks (resort restaurants are much better), so they didn't have to figure out which park they were going to be in 180 days in advance.

I agree 100% that WDW is a much better experience for me than the completely undesirable place many here describe. But what makes WDW better for some makes it worse for others.
 
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JMcMahonEsq

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I

It is kind of telling though when you speak in terms of "not having any problem." All those things depend on how you like to experience WDW. Some people don't like to drive, so renting a car would not be the best for them. Some people don't like to pay quite a bit of money for a system that used to be free and better. Some people rarely eat dinner in the parks (resort restaurants are much better), so they didn't have to figure out which park they were going to be in 180 days in advance.

I agree 100% that WDW is a much better experience for me than the completely undesirable place many here describe. But what makes WDW better for some makes it worse for others.
Oh i agree personal preference will color your opinion. But that isn't really what I meant by "not having a problem" with using Disney+

The amount of people posting on this board who would have you believe that you need a master's degree in fractal geometry in order to use Genie+, especially those that also say they haven't been to the park in years, is astounding. I wasn't so much commenting on liking Genie+ or not, rather I was saying none of the people I spoke with found it to be complicated or difficult to use. Nor did they mention that "the system didn't work" or "crashed every two minutes" which has been posted frequently here, again many times by people who say they aren't going to the parks.
 

Chi84

Premium Member
Oh i agree personal preference will color your opinion. But that isn't really what I meant by "not having a problem" with using Disney+

The amount of people posting on this board who would have you believe that you need a master's degree in fractal geometry in order to use Genie+, especially those that also say they haven't been to the park in years, is astounding. I wasn't so much commenting on liking Genie+ or not, rather I was saying none of the people I spoke with found it to be complicated or difficult to use. Nor did they mention that "the system didn't work" or "crashed every two minutes" which has been posted frequently here, again many times by people who say they aren't going to the parks.
We used it in October 2021 when it actually did crash every two minutes along with other annoyances. It was much better last month.
 

TQQQ

Well-Known Member
You are trying to change perception on this site by polling 9 people from New Jersey? New Jersey? Seriously?

1) Free rides from airport are better than paying for it

2) renting a car or not, paying for parking is worse than free parking.

3) if you have to reserve parks, dining, shows, etc., why not let guests reserve rides?

4) you don’t have to know chapek to know the parks are a worse experience today than they have ever been in their 50 year history.

5) Disney IT is terrible. I highly doubt nobody had app problems.

6) genie+ costs a small fortune if you have a family.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

King Racoon 77

Thank you sir. You were an inspiration.
Premium Member
Jersey
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Joisey
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Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
Last week was the famed teachers convention/jersey week here in Garden State. This means elementary schools have half days M-T-W, and all Schools have Th-F off. This is a unique opportunity, to take school age kids away on a trip during a non-summer season. Even your older kids in HS, unless your team is in a State Semi-Final are done with Fall Sports, and the Winter season hasn't really started.

Between our 10-year-old and 12-year-old, 10 families that we are close with were down at the happiest place on earth last week. Between club baseball practice, and youth wrestling/football boards, i have spoken with 9 of the Mom/Dads since their triumphant returns. Between those conversations, and our last 2 trips, it is amazing how different the "real world" WDW is from these boards.

Of the 9 families i spoke with (7 being return guests, 2 first timers) not a single one had any idea who Chapek was. Not a one.

There were 7 fliers and 2 drivers for the trip, every single one of the fliers managed to get from MCO to WDW and back without the DME. While one mother said she missed it, she did say she liked that they rented a car this trip, as it gave them flexibility to get to/from places on their own.

Not a one had any problem with reserving there park prior to going. In fact two of the frequent WDW travelers noted that back in the day they had to figure out where they were going to be 180 days out to book dining reservations anyway, so the park reservation thing was no big deal.

No one had any problem using the Genie plus ap. Some people did say they liked the pre-booking option of Fast Pass better, but no one said they had any problem using the system.

Sure 9 families in one local cluster does not a double blind test make, and the sample size obviously leaves something to be desired. But its just amazing the difference in conversations between the people who actually got to the parks, vs. people who talk about the parks is.
See? WDW is perfect, PPR’s are perfect, Genie+ is perfect, Prices were not even mentioned, so that’s perfect, even the loss of the free FastPass+ and the loss of DME actually enhanced the guest experience.

And this is nine families. Do you know how hard it is to get nine families to agree with anything?

Bob Chapek is a (unknown) genius.

All is well at the WDW resort.
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
The OP isnt trying to change anyones perception but rather reporting their response from a small group of recent guests they know and contrast the difference of whats been reported. From whats being posted in various places on this site you would think there would be no one who can have a decent trip or doesnt see Chapek as the embodiment of pure evil. They were able from start to finish manage a trip with success and didnt return home vowing to never return due to the cost, policy changes, poor CM interaction, poor mousekeeping, burnt out bulbs, litter strewn parks, unclean rest rooms, the need to use technology or all the other constantly written about issues the detractors keep hitting us with. He never alluded to WDW being perfect and even stated the 9 families wasnt a perfect study. Again, if one disagrees with the detractors here they get instantly flamed and viewed as invalid. Way to keep the opposing side quiet, in their place and under control.
 

Smiley/OCD

Well-Known Member
Last week was the famed teachers convention/jersey week here in Garden State. This means elementary schools have half days M-T-W, and all Schools have Th-F off. This is a unique opportunity, to take school age kids away on a trip during a non-summer season. Even your older kids in HS, unless your team is in a State Semi-Final are done with Fall Sports, and the Winter season hasn't really started.

Between our 10-year-old and 12-year-old, 10 families that we are close with were down at the happiest place on earth last week. Between club baseball practice, and youth wrestling/football boards, i have spoken with 9 of the Mom/Dads since their triumphant returns. Between those conversations, and our last 2 trips, it is amazing how different the "real world" WDW is from these boards.

Of the 9 families i spoke with (7 being return guests, 2 first timers) not a single one had any idea who Chapek was. Not a one.

There were 7 fliers and 2 drivers for the trip, every single one of the fliers managed to get from MCO to WDW and back without the DME. While one mother said she missed it, she did say she liked that they rented a car this trip, as it gave them flexibility to get to/from places on their own.

Not a one had any problem with reserving there park prior to going. In fact two of the frequent WDW travelers noted that back in the day they had to figure out where they were going to be 180 days out to book dining reservations anyway, so the park reservation thing was no big deal.

No one had any problem using the Genie plus ap. Some people did say they liked the pre-booking option of Fast Pass better, but no one said they had any problem using the system.

Sure 9 families in one local cluster does not a double blind test make, and the sample size obviously leaves something to be desired. But its just amazing the difference in conversations between the people who actually got to the parks, vs. people who talk about the parks is.
Well, after paying the highest property taxes in the country and the third highest average gas prices in the country, maybe dealing with all headaches Disney style was better?
 

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
The OP isnt trying to change anyones perception but rather reporting their response from a small group of recent guests they know and contrast the difference of whats been reported. From whats being posted in various places on this site you would think there would be no one who can have a decent trip or doesnt see Chapek as the embodiment of pure evil. They were able from start to finish manage a trip with success and didnt return home vowing to never return due to the cost, policy changes, poor CM interaction, poor mousekeeping, burnt out bulbs, litter strewn parks, unclean rest rooms, the need to use technology or all the other constantly written about issues the detractors keep hitting us with. He never alluded to WDW being perfect and even stated the 9 families wasnt a perfect study. Again, if one disagrees with the detractors here they get instantly flamed and viewed as invalid. Way to keep the opposing side quiet, in their place and under control.
I have said it many times. Those who still love it tend to ignore all the backstage and Chapek stuff. For many as long as their littles have a great time it's worth it.
 

TQQQ

Well-Known Member
I have said it many times. Those who still love it tend to ignore all the backstage and Chapek stuff. For many as long as their littles have a great time it's worth it.
What if it cost you and your little ones $1,000 a day to enter the park and you went for 6 days and then stayed at contemporary for $1,000 a night and flights cost $4,000 and food cost $2,500 and then line skip cost another $1,200 and extras cost another $1,000? Big price to pay for your little ones who probably won’t even remember the trip in 5 years.
 

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