My next trip will be my last for a while…

[Editor516]

I’m a Disney fan. I’ve been to WDW more than 30 times. I’m a shareholder. I’m the guy friends turn to when they plan trips.

But I’m pretty much done with Disney for a while.

I’m old enough to remember when IP wasn’t smeared across EPCOT. When on-property hotels were both specially themed places and affordable for a family of four. When Extra Magic Hours were, you know, actual hours. When Disney didn’t charge you to park at their hotels. When they picked you up and dropped you off at the airport, and the price of that service was baked into the cost of your stay. When you didn’t have to pay for FastPass. When you got MagicBands. When tickets for special events didn’t run you hundreds of dollars. When you’d never see a burned out light bulb on the facades of the Main Street USA shops, and when the insides of those shops were filled with unique items (like the magic shop). When all of the boutiques inside the EPCOT pavilions had unique and cool items from the countries they represented.

I remember a time when you could immerse yourself in the bubble and forget about the world that went on outside that bubble. It seemed that Disney corporate leadership worked hard to create and maintain that bubble, too.

But those days are long gone, and probably won’t return.

I get that the parks have to adapt to modern guest sensibilities. I get Disney is a moneymaking business.

But what I don’t get is how or why Disney has sucked the magic out of what used to be a special place.

Gone is the importance of the guest experience. Here is the new Disney, a woke corporation that will add their intellectual property to anything and everything, who will burst the bubble of fantasy with the preachiness, posturing, and lecturing of every other modern corporation, and who will charge you hundreds and thousands of dollars for the privilege.

Like sports leagues did to their games, Disney is ruining their products by letting their new corporate ideology permeate the way they operate their parks. Just as I watched a pro football game to escape from the crushing weight of the news, I would go to Disney to enter that bubble of fantasy. But as far as I can tell, that bubble burst and has been replaced by a greedy, unimaginative corporate landscape.

I’m scheduled to next visit Disney World in December. It’s going to be my last trip for a while. I’m showing my dissatisfaction with their woke-profiteering-first, improved-guest-experience-last attitude by taking my dollars elsewhere. If friends weren’t traveling a great distance to meet us there, I’d have already cancelled the trip.

Disney World used to be a magical place. It’s not anymore. It’s a mashup of politically correct profiteering coated with a veneer of intellectual property. And I can’t - and won’t - support it anymore.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I’m a Disney fan. I’ve been to WDW more than 30 times. I’m a shareholder. I’m the guy friends turn to when they plan trips.

But I’m pretty much done with Disney for a while.

I’m old enough to remember when IP wasn’t smeared across EPCOT. When on-property hotels were both specially themed places and affordable for a family of four. When Extra Magic Hours were, you know, actual hours. When Disney didn’t charge you to park at their hotels. When they picked you up and dropped you off at the airport, and the price of that service was baked into the cost of your stay. When you didn’t have to pay for FastPass. When you got MagicBands. When tickets for special events didn’t run you hundreds of dollars. When you’d never see a burned out light bulb on the facades of the Main Street USA shops, and when the insides of those shops were filled with unique items (like the magic shop). When all of the boutiques inside the EPCOT pavilions had unique and cool items from the countries they represented.

I remember a time when you could immerse yourself in the bubble and forget about the world that went on outside that bubble. It seemed that Disney corporate leadership worked hard to create and maintain that bubble, too.

But those days are long gone, and probably won’t return.

I get that the parks have to adapt to modern guest sensibilities. I get Disney is a moneymaking business.

But what I don’t get is how or why Disney has sucked the magic out of what used to be a special place.

Gone is the importance of the guest experience. Here is the new Disney, a corporation that will add their intellectual property to anything and everything, who will burst the bubble of fantasy with the preachiness, posturing, and lecturing of every other modern corporation, and who will charge you hundreds and thousands of dollars for the privilege.

Like sports leagues did to their games, Disney is ruining their products by letting their new corporate ideology permeate the way they operate their parks. Just as I watched a pro football game to escape from the crushing weight of the news, I would go to Disney to enter that bubble of fantasy. But as far as I can tell, that bubble burst and has been replaced by a greedy, unimaginative corporate landscape.

I’m scheduled to next visit Disney World in December. It’s going to be my last trip for a while. I’m showing my dissatisfaction with their woke-profiteering-first, improved-guest-experience-last attitude by taking my dollars elsewhere. If friends weren’t traveling a great distance to meet us there, I’d have already cancelled the trip.

Disney World used to be a magical place. It’s not anymore. It’s a mashup of politically correct profiteering coated with a veneer of intellectual property. And I can’t - and won’t - support it anymore.

I agree with all you said.
We must be thankful to have experienced the good old WDW at least.
So you are going in Dec. You will be going in with rock bottom expectations, so whatever happens you won't be disappointed.
Who knows, there could be a meal, sight, sound that will remind you of the good old days and bring a smile.

 

[graphite1326]

I agree with all you said.
We must be thankful to have experienced the good old WDW at least.
So you are going in Dec. You will be going in with rock bottom expectations, so whatever happens you won't be disappointed.
Who knows, there could be a meal, sight, sound that will remind you of the good old days and bring a smile.

I went in October with the same feelings as the OP. Nothing exciting happened and it only reinterated my feelings. AND the food sucked this time.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I agree with everything you said also...for my DW & I, (we're semi empty nesters), on the trips that we have made over the past 2 years, we have cut WAY back on the extras, food (DDP) and extras. We have never used LL or whatever they want to call it (we use the DAS because of my medical situation, so we don't need LL).

As far as the burnt out light bulbs, I've been griping (and complaining to TWEC) for the past several years...unfortunately, with the person currently in charge, the parks are now just a cash cow for the stockholders and details no longer matter. My 2 DD's used to LOVE going to TSI first thing in the morning and hunting for the hidden paintbrushes...aah, the good ol' days..

We are going back in December (ONLY because we got an AWESOME deal on points from a good DVC member). Each time we go, I make it a point to note the problems and bring it to a CM's attention...will it get addressed? I'm not holding my breath.

The ONLY way I get through it now is to 1) lower my expectations (I know WDW is STILL better than Six Flags...FOR NOW), 2) go out of my way to find the good things while there and ENJOY them!! and 3) make it a point to acknowledge awesome CM's who add the extra magic for us...

Just look for the good stuff and try not to dwell on the bad stuff, and just hope that Chapek will be a one contract CEO, and the next CEO WILL look after our parks.

 

[KaliSplash]

Mickey sucked the magic out because magic cannot be quantified as generating additional revenue and therefore was an unacceptable expense.
We are fortunate that we did go back when the magic was the reason we wanted to go back as soon as we left.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I went in October with the same feelings as the OP. Nothing exciting happened and it only reinterated my feelings. AND the food sucked this time.

Sorry to hear this but not surprised. It's the folks that have visited for many years who see the difference year after year and the change is compounded by, yes, the pandemic.

Over the years we all saw the "normal" cost cuts and price increases, TWDC made best use of the pandemic by making even deeper cuts and bigger price increases on everything in the name of COVID.

That said, the pandemic did do real damage too; they lost a lot of good people when they laid them off via email.

 

[Mr Mindcrime]

I'm not trying to be mean or point the finger at anyone, but WE have got to STOP! These forums are littered with thread after thread of listing all that has gone wrong or changed with WDW and how disappointed and angry with are with TDC, and yet almost every post ends with "I am done with Disney ......... AFTER my next trip".

We have to STOP going, now, not later. Take a stand, now! CANCEL that next (last ?) trip. If enough do that, then you might start getting someone's attention.

Yes, it sucks to see Disney become something different than what we have loved, but TDC has zero incentive to give us what we want because we are giving them what they want: our money. My family finally saw the light in 2020 (our last trip was Feb 2020) and said no more. We've since been to Universal Orlando, Hilton Head, and Europe for vacations. Disney gets no more of our money since this isn't really the WDW we have always loved. That has been taken away and replaced with something inferior, all the while costing more.

Our family said no thanks. Until many more vote with their wallets, TDC will have no incentive to give us more of what we want at prices we can accept. We're our own worst enemy.

 

[Editor516]

I'm not trying to be mean or point the finger at anyone, but WE have got to STOP! These forums are littered with thread after thread of listing all that has gone wrong or changed with WDW and how disappointed and angry with are with TDC, and yet almost every post ends with "I am done with Disney ......... AFTER my next trip".

We have to STOP going, now, not later. Take a stand, now! CANCEL that next (last ?) trip. If enough do that, then you might start getting someone's attention.

Yes, it sucks to see Disney become something different than what we have loved, but TDC has zero incentive to give us what we want because we are giving them what they want: our money. My family finally saw the light in 2020 (our last trip was Feb 2020) and said no more. We've since been to Universal Orlando, Hilton Head, and Europe for vacations. Disney gets no more of our money since this isn't really the WDW we have always loved. That has been taken away and replaced with something inferior, all the while costing more.

Our family said no thanks. Until many more vote with their wallets, TDC will have no incentive to give us more of what we want at prices we can accept. We're our own worst enemy.

Not that I need to defend my position but to provide added context. I will explain that this trip was not my idea. Friends from Europe want to visit the Florida theme parks and asked me to go since I am so familiar with them. We are doing Disney World and Universal.

Since they’re flying a quarter of the way around the globe, I figure that if they want to go to Disney World, we will go to Disney World. I’m not comfortable canceling their trip or dampening their enthusiasm because of my stand.

While I have been going long enough to lament the changes, this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for them.

 

[Nottamus]

It won’t stop. It can’t revert.

It’s a wheel. Keeps on spinning.

Some jump on, others jump off.

We all have our time ….

 

[Mr Mindcrime]

Not that I need to defend my position but to provide added context. I will explain that this trip was not my idea. Friends from Europe want to visit the Florida theme parks and asked me to go since I am so familiar with them. We are doing Disney World and Universal.

Since they’re flying a quarter of the way around the globe, I figure that if they want to go to Disney World, we will go to Disney World. I’m not comfortable canceling their trip or dampening their enthusiasm because of my stand.

While I have been going long enough to lament the changes, this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for them.

I get it. I do. And I really wasn't pointing the finger at you. I've been wanting to express that for a long time as we see similar posts all the time. And I've certainly been tempted to justify and talk myself into "just a small trip". But we have finally drawn our line. We have been pushed away from WDW by these many changes and we won't be going back unless MANY changes are made to get back to some semblance of the experience we used to have. And that, ain't happening.

 

[MagicRat]

Not that I need to defend my position but to provide added context. I will explain that this trip was not my idea. Friends from Europe want to visit the Florida theme parks and asked me to go since I am so familiar with them. We are doing Disney World and Universal.

Since they’re flying a quarter of the way around the globe, I figure that if they want to go to Disney World, we will go to Disney World. I’m not comfortable canceling their trip or dampening their enthusiasm because of my stand.

While I have been going long enough to lament the changes, this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for them.

You sir are the definition of a martyr.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Whew, almost made it to Wednesday without a new thread about the evils of wdw.
Sorry this is your last trip op, is there a statement you're hoping Disney notices??

 

[MagicRat]

I want to know when the OP’s bounce back trip is?

 

[Editor516]

View attachment 628306

Whew, almost made it to Wednesday without a new thread about the evils of wdw.
Sorry this is your last trip op, is there a statement you're hoping Disney notices??

No, I was just venting after watching the news lately and talking about this with friends. I don’t expect Disney corporate to care or even notice. Unless MagicRat is actually Chapek.

 

[Married5Times]

What the hell does WOKE mean in the contest of how you are using it?

I'll take a stab here.

unwarranted changes to Splash Mnt to appease 6 to 8 vocal people and jumping on the many other domestic social justice bandwagons out of expediency and image while shaking hands and doing business with foreign human rights violators.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Not that I need to defend my position but to provide added context. I will explain that this trip was not my idea. Friends from Europe want to visit the Florida theme parks and asked me to go since I am so familiar with them. We are doing Disney World and Universal.

Since they’re flying a quarter of the way around the globe, I figure that if they want to go to Disney World, we will go to Disney World. I’m not comfortable canceling their trip or dampening their enthusiasm because of my stand.

While I have been going long enough to lament the changes, this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for them.

The Disneyparks are invincible.
The way they not only survived, but became stronger as a result of the pandemic proves this.
For all the visitors (like us) who they have lost, there are many, many, many first time visitors who don't know any better.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I’m old enough to remember when IP wasn’t smeared across EPCOT.

No you don't.

When on-property hotels were both specially themed places...

Every hotel that existed when you were a kid still exists now.

...and affordable for a family of four.

They either never were, or still are, depending on how you define "affordable."

When Extra Magic Hours were, you know, actual hours.

30 minutes every day is more than one hour once a week, so thank you Disney for your expansion of this program!

When Disney didn’t charge you to park at their hotels. When they picked you up and dropped you off at the airport, and the price of that service was baked into the cost of your stay.

Seems silly to complain about both of these in parallel. If you drive and park, you shouldn't care that they cut DME. If you relied on DME, you shouldn't care that they charge you to park. But yes, these are objectively cuts/price increases and I understand your frustration.

When you didn’t have to pay for FastPass.

Genie+ isn't FastPass, and when we had FastPass, everyone kvetched and complained that they missed the good old days of standby only.

When you got MagicBands.

Those are a relatively new invention. If you want to talk about great the "good old days" were, then you're talking paper tickets.

When tickets for special events didn’t run you hundreds of dollars.

When was that?

When you’d never see a burned out light bulb on the facades of the Main Street USA shops, and when the insides of those shops were filled with unique items (like the magic shop).

Viewing the past through rose-colored glasses here.

When all of the boutiques inside the EPCOT pavilions had unique and cool items from the countries they represented.

Do they not now? Norway has been neutered, for sure, but what else?

I remember a time when you could immerse yourself in the bubble and forget about the world that went on outside that bubble.

This sounds like a "you" problem. I have no problem doing just that.

It seemed that Disney corporate leadership worked hard to create and maintain that bubble, too.

But those days are long gone, and probably won’t return.

I get that the parks have to adapt to modern guest sensibilities. I get Disney is a moneymaking business.

But what I don’t get is how or why Disney has sucked the magic out of what used to be a special place.

Gone is the importance of the guest experience. Here is the new Disney, a woke corporation that will add their intellectual property to anything and everything, who will burst the bubble of fantasy with the preachiness, posturing, and lecturing of every other modern corporation, and who will charge you hundreds and thousands of dollars for the privilege.

Like sports leagues did to their games, Disney is ruining their products by letting their new corporate ideology permeate the way they operate their parks. Just as I watched a pro football game to escape from the crushing weight of the news, I would go to Disney to enter that bubble of fantasy. But as far as I can tell, that bubble burst and has been replaced by a greedy, unimaginative corporate landscape.

I’m scheduled to next visit Disney World in December. It’s going to be my last trip for a while. I’m showing my dissatisfaction with their woke-profiteering-first, improved-guest-experience-last attitude by taking my dollars elsewhere. If friends weren’t traveling a great distance to meet us there, I’d have already cancelled the trip.

Disney World used to be a magical place. It’s not anymore. It’s a mashup of politically correct profiteering coated with a veneer of intellectual property. And I can’t - and won’t - support it anymore.

Please cite examples of Disney's "woke" posturing in Walt Disney World. I share your political sensibilities, and Disney can be extremely heavy handed in their public statements, ESPN, and their media properties. But I just don't see it penetrating the parks like you're describing, at least not any worse than it's always been. Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable and Ellen's Energy Adventure were scolding guests about global warming since 1996.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Disney has changed dramatically over the past few years and nothings going to stop that momentum for now. So you can accept things as they are or do as you say, not return. Complaints, calls, petitions arent going to cause anyone in power to notice and affect any change back. Unless numbers drop so dramatically to show mass dissatisfaction, there is no reason to change the path they are on. I dont see that ever happening.
Unfortunately Woke is here to stay... at least for the time being. Disney is only one of many that are bowing down to the demands and loudest voices clamoring for their issues to be seen as more important than others. As always companies go overboard to show how overly sympathetic they are and how they can appease, despite turning against the other side that isnt as vocal or stands out.
Everyone who plans a trip now or in the future has to decide if its worth it to them. What they are willing to pay, deal with growing crowds, accept lengthy lines, Dis policies, trip planning, poor communications and all the other gripes many have talked about. For some the line gets drawn and others continually step across that line but continue to spout off their anger. And others talk the talk but never follow through.

 

[Disstevefan1]

No you don't.


Every hotel that existed when you were a kid still exists now.


They either never were, or still are, depending on how you define "affordable."


30 minutes every day is more than one hour once a week, so thank you Disney for your expansion of this program!


Seems silly to complain about both of these in parallel. If you drive and park, you shouldn't care that they cut DME. If you relied on DME, you shouldn't care that they charge you to park. But yes, these are objectively cuts/price increases and I understand your frustration.


Genie+ isn't FastPass, and when we had FastPass, everyone kvetched and complained that they missed the good old days of standby only.


Those are a relatively new invention. If you want to talk about great the "good old days" were, then you're talking paper tickets.


When was that?


Viewing the past through rose-colored glasses here.


Do they not now? Norway has been neutered, for sure, but what else?


This sounds like a "you" problem. I have no problem doing just that.


Please cite examples of Disney's "woke" posturing in Walt Disney World. I share your political sensibilities, and Disney can be extremely heavy handed in their public statements, ESPN, and their media properties. But I just don't see it penetrating the parks like you're describing, at least not any worse than it's always been. Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable and Ellen's Energy Adventure were scolding guests about global warming since 1996.

Disneyparks please hire @CaptainAmerica ! TWDC needs @CaptainAmerica now more then ever!!!

 

[Texas84]

I personally haven't noticed any Disney corporate 'wokeness' on any of my trips. Hopefully it stays that way.