Magic Kingdom currently closed to some guests due to capacity (phase 2) (Wed 29 Dec)

[Alison1975]

I did from Dec 19-Jan 1 one year..yes super crowded but totally magical if ya let it be!

 

[The Mom]

I did from Dec 19-Jan 1 one year..yes super crowded but totally magical if ya let it be!

Which is why I qualified my opinion with "most of us." I've actually met people who enjoy being in crowds. :lol:

 

[stlbobby]

We booked a 7 day Christmas vacation at Walt Disney World and cannot recommend that anyone go there with small children or when the park is busy. We took our 5 & 6 year old children. By day two, they were begging to go home, and crying when we said we were going back to the park. The park was dangerously oversold. We got no indication from anyone that this was the busiest time of the year and Disney failed to tell us that it was, and also failed to mention that they had plans to oversell the park to the point of dangerous overcrowded occupancy. We were unable to ride but one ride per day. It was nearly impossible to navigate the park. There were lines for everything, and lines for lines. We paid $14 to park each day, $8 for a hot dog, and $3.50 for a soft drink (if you can wait in line long enough). Expect about $120/day for a family of four, minimum, in ancillary expenses (that does not include buying gifts). The park staff were stressed and often rude (many of them, not all), and we got trapped behind a parade and unable to leave the park on the first night for 2.5 hours. When we exited, there was mass confusion, inability to see signs or directional issues due to overcrowding. It was very dangerous in our opinion. On the 26th, a man was killed by being struck by a Disney bus....the second person who has died in 2010 from being struck by a Disney bus. Given our exit experiences, we can see how this could happen. In the bottle necks of the park, it is literally shoulder to shoulder, and you cannot have a child walking by themselves. Our son's foot was run over by one of the thousands of rented wheelchairs. I think that Disney has a duty to inform guests, who have never been there, about the possibility that they may not even be able to get into a park over Christmas, much less enjoy any part of it. We asked for a refund and they greedily refused. In fact, a guest services supervisor told me that the overcrowding was my opinion and that they had not even reached maximum occupancy (very scary...wait for photos and you decide). Unfortunately, our view, our kids' view, and the views of everyone that we encountered within earshot complaining of Walt Disney World is that it is dangerous, overcrowded, overpriced, and greedy. This was a first visit for all of us, and we don't plan to go back...ever, and unfortunately Disney has created a very negative image in the minds of our children, despite our efforts to downplay the problems. I will post videos and photos evidencing this debacle once I have them available. I have read many good reviews of Walt Disney World, and we are shocked at just how much things have changed from what we have read. It is our strong recommendation to avoid Walt Disney World for the reasons above. Even if the park were not so busy, their lack of customer service, their disregard for safety, and the greed surpassed all expectations of common sense. All in all, we did not have a "magical" experience.

A few things:

If I go hiking for an afternoon I research the trip before I leave.

The poster didn't realize a site titled WDWMAGIC was a fan site?

There are ways to have fun in even the largest crowds at WDW. There are so many things beyond the rides at WDW.

The prices quoted were exaggerated, but it is silly to go to any tourist or resort area and be surprised by the prices.

This poster is extremely naive on many accounts.

 

[mp2bill]

I understand your frustration and hate that you didn't have an enjoyable time. May I suggest that you buy the Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World before your next visit. The guide would have warned you about the crowds and what to expect. WDW is NOT for the unprepared!

Give it another chance after reading up a little. :wave:

Very good advice. (If there were a "thumbs up" emoticon, I'd insert it here)

 

[zulemara]

We booked a 7 day Christmas vacation at Walt Disney World and cannot recommend that anyone go there with small children or when the park is busy. We took our 5 & 6 year old children. By day two, they were begging to go home, and crying when we said we were going back to the park. The park was dangerously oversold. We got no indication from anyone that this was the busiest time of the year and Disney failed to tell us that it was, and also failed to mention that they had plans to oversell the park to the point of dangerous overcrowded occupancy. We were unable to ride but one ride per day. It was nearly impossible to navigate the park. There were lines for everything, and lines for lines. We paid $14 to park each day, $8 for a hot dog, and $3.50 for a soft drink (if you can wait in line long enough). Expect about $120/day for a family of four, minimum, in ancillary expenses (that does not include buying gifts). The park staff were stressed and often rude (many of them, not all), and we got trapped behind a parade and unable to leave the park on the first night for 2.5 hours. When we exited, there was mass confusion, inability to see signs or directional issues due to overcrowding. It was very dangerous in our opinion. On the 26th, a man was killed by being struck by a Disney bus....the second person who has died in 2010 from being struck by a Disney bus. Given our exit experiences, we can see how this could happen. In the bottle necks of the park, it is literally shoulder to shoulder, and you cannot have a child walking by themselves. Our son's foot was run over by one of the thousands of rented wheelchairs. I think that Disney has a duty to inform guests, who have never been there, about the possibility that they may not even be able to get into a park over Christmas, much less enjoy any part of it. We asked for a refund and they greedily refused. In fact, a guest services supervisor told me that the overcrowding was my opinion and that they had not even reached maximum occupancy (very scary...wait for photos and you decide). Unfortunately, our view, our kids' view, and the views of everyone that we encountered within earshot complaining of Walt Disney World is that it is dangerous, overcrowded, overpriced, and greedy. This was a first visit for all of us, and we don't plan to go back...ever, and unfortunately Disney has created a very negative image in the minds of our children, despite our efforts to downplay the problems. I will post videos and photos evidencing this debacle once I have them available. I have read many good reviews of Walt Disney World, and we are shocked at just how much things have changed from what we have read. It is our strong recommendation to avoid Walt Disney World for the reasons above. Even if the park were not so busy, their lack of customer service, their disregard for safety, and the greed surpassed all expectations of common sense. All in all, we did not have a "magical" experience.

it is xmas week, there is this thing called the internet, which you have obviously now discovered. Is it NYC's responsibility to tell you downtown is insanely crowded on NYE? NO, it is your responsibility to research. Disney doesn't owe anyone any heads up. It is up to you to research your own vacation.

If you research and plan, you can get on nearly every ride you want to go on and save money on food as well. I have gone the week of xmas and been bored by noon because I walked onto everything in MK. Poor planning is not Disney's fault.

This reminds me of people who get on my boat who have no idea what a fastpass is and I have to explain it to them. Seriously? They have been around since what? 1998 I think. 12 years people, l2google. This isn't even a fraction of the soap box I could get up on, but I'm not going to. Everyone here realizes this poster was incredibly uninformed and blames Disney for their own lack of planning.

 

[zulemara]

Which is why I qualified my opinion with "most of us." I've actually met people who enjoy being in crowds. :lol:

I don't love crowds, but I LOVE watching them! Working when it's insanely busy is so much fun! People are so stupid, it is amusing to watch!

 

[71jason]

We asked for a refund and they greedily refused. In fact, a guest services supervisor told me that the overcrowding was my opinion and that they had not even reached maximum occupancy (very scary...wait for photos and you decide).

Out of curiosity, when did you ask for a refund? 2.5 hours after the nighttime parade?

 

[Pseybert]

Scott & Jamie: Perhaps if you had sought out this forum before your trip for use of research, as opposed to after your trip for use of complaining, you would have had a much more enjoyable experience.

:brick:

 

[dixiegirl]

Just waiting for this to be thread to be closed any minute now......Or perhaps by the time I get home from work!

 

[The Mom]

Just waiting for this to be thread to be closed any minute now......Or perhaps by the time I get home from work!

I don't think so. :animwink:

 

[WDW_Princess]

This is why I only go in January and October. Although I still get mad waiting for an hour to ride Peter Pan when the rest of the park is empty.

 

[devoy1701]

This is why I only go in January and October. Although I still get mad waiting for an hour to ride Peter Pan when the rest of the park is empty.

Actually, the 1st and 2nd weeks of December are arguably the best time to hit the theme parks. They have some of the lowest crowds up until around Dec 18th or 19th.

 

[Captain Chaos]

thats what i said in my first reply... reeks of troll.

I'm agreeing with you on this one...

 

[Captain Chaos]

This is why I only go in January and October. Although I still get mad waiting for an hour to ride Peter Pan when the rest of the park is empty.

I only go in October now... Many many years ago, before Al Gore invented the internets... I went to WDW for Easter... Of course, this was also before guide books and such... My family decided to go during Easter based on people saying it is a great time to go, plus, the Easter parade was actually LIVE on TV...

MISTAKE!!!! The park was extremely crowded, and the weather was extremely hot... Needless to say we didn't have a great time... But we still had a good time... Yes, the park was extremely crowded, but no, we never asked for a refund...

Scott and Jamie say Disney greedily refused to refund them money... So, if they go to a supermarket for food on Christmas Eve, and the store is really packed with shoppers getting Christmas Dinner, I can assume Scott and Jamie just walk out with the food without paying because, well, they are the only two people in the world entitled to handouts cause, you know, they pick CROWDED times to visit places....

 

[marni1971]

We asked for a refund and they greedily refused.

OMG. Serious??

 

[MissM]

Scott and Jamie say Disney greedily refused to refund them money... So, if they go to a supermarket for food on Christmas Eve, and the store is really packed with shoppers getting Christmas Dinner, I can assume Scott and Jamie just walk out with the food without paying because, well, they are the only two people in the world entitled to handouts cause, you know, they pick CROWDED times to visit places....

Oh no, not just crowded remember, but "DANGEROUSLY crowded." :brick:

 

[Captain Chaos]

Oh no, not just crowded remember, but "DANGEROUSLY crowded." :brick:

Yep cause Disney doesn't care remember???? They purposely use dangerous buses, blind bus drivers, and allow the parks to be dangerously over crowded with the hopes of knocking off a few guests.... The closure phases??? They don't exist... Just a figment of your imagination... They will greedily not refund your money back cause you chose a bad time to go... Then suddenly jack up the price of a hot dog... All in the hopes of getting their parks to a dangerously crowded level...

 

[71jason]

Oh no, not just crowded remember, but "DANGEROUSLY crowded." :brick:

In the OP's defense, I have been in some pretty overwhelming theme park crowds--mostly Mardi Gras at Uni (I still can remember trying to leave after the Sean Paul concert) but also July 4 at MK. It definitely puts your defensive instincts on high, and, yes, can be dangerous. I've seen people pushed, stepped on, etc.

That said, I suspect if after an hour in the park they had gone to Guest Services, they would have been given a free ticket to EPCOT and been told to hop on the monorail. But asking for a refund some time late in the evening, after spending the better part of the day there, is asking too much.

 

[Scott&Jaime]

it is xmas week, there is this thing called the internet, which you have obviously now discovered. Is it NYC's responsibility to tell you downtown is insanely crowded on NYE? NO, it is your responsibility to research. Disney doesn't owe anyone any heads up. It is up to you to research your own vacation.

If you research and plan, you can get on nearly every ride you want to go on and save money on food as well. I have gone the week of xmas and been bored by noon because I walked onto everything in MK. Poor planning is not Disney's fault.

This reminds me of people who get on my boat who have no idea what a fastpass is and I have to explain it to them. Seriously? They have been around since what? 1998 I think. 12 years people, l2google. This isn't even a fraction of the soap box I could get up on, but I'm not going to. Everyone here realizes this poster was incredibly uninformed and blames Disney for their own lack of planning.

For those of you who are reading this (not members of this forum but hopefully people who encounter this from a keyword search) to do research before going to what should be a fun place without exhaustive research (vacation instead of work), please look at all of these posts in this thread carefully....this is what you will encounter. Read for yourself. Hopefully those who "are" doing exhaustive research will find this...and I will do my best to post it everywhere else I can...since it seems I have been prodded. It seems that for 43 years, and my travels around the world, I have been doing it wrong (although I don't buy tickets to New York, but the zoo, yes, and they don't treat us this bad). Yes, for heaven's sake do the research...so this doesn't happen to you, or so you don't become a troll (still not quite sure what that is)...or better yet, so you can avoid running into people and park employees like many of those in this forum (sorry to those of you who have been nice). Yes, this forum has absolutely solidified that we don't want to go back to Disney...ever.

Sincerely,

Mrs. & Mrs. Troll, and the Troll children

 

[RobGraves]

For those of you who are reading this (not members of this forum but hopefully people who encounter this from a keyword search) to do research before going to what should be a fun place without exhaustive research (vacation instead of work), please look at all of these posts in this thread carefully....this is what you will encounter. Read for yourself. Hopefully those who "are" doing exhaustive research will find this...and I will do my best to post it everywhere else I can...since it seems I have been prodded. It seems that for 43 years, and my travels around the world, I have been doing it wrong (although I don't buy tickets to New York, but the zoo, yes, and they don't treat us this bad). Yes, for heaven's sake do the research...so this doesn't happen to you, or so you don't become a troll (still not quite sure what that is)...or better yet, so you can avoid running into people and park employees like many of those in this forum (sorry to those of you who have been nice). Yes, this forum has absolutely solidified that we don't want to go back to Disney...ever.

Sincerely,

Mrs. & Mrs. Troll, and the Troll children

good... less obnoxious guests to complain about everything.