Some people complain about everything. I think this web site is much like a sports bar. You can go watch a football game, baseball, whatever and their is always the crowd who will comment on everything in usually a bad way. The hard core fans who notice all the details. You can watch a game as a causal watcher and everything is fine but the hard core all look at it differently. That guy is in a slump, that other guy is phoning it in, etc.
Personally I went from go to WDW 2 or 3 times a year to zero the last 2 years. Simple reason is Universal gives me more bang for the buck.
My first problem is the new fast pass system. I live 4 1/2 hours from WDW so I don't plan 180 days out. It literally means I get locked out of rides and restaurants but I gave up on the restaurants years ago. To much advanced planning, don't like that. Universal has none of that nonsense.
Hotels. Universal and WDW have many hotels but Universal gives you a lot more for the money. My favorite Universal hotel is the Portofino. All in $300 a night was what I paid last time. I compare that to The Wilderness Lodge a favorite of mine at WDW. Last stay there was $365. On WL. I rode up there and no doormen to be found, someone did get to me after some time. Universal, doormen waiting at the curb, "Welcome to the Portofino, may I unload your luggage" etc. Check in was quick and painless at Universal, maybe 2 minutes tops. WL was more like 10-12 minutes from an aloof guy who was wearing to much make up. Hands down the rooms at the Portofino are bigger better and in better shape. First thing I saw at WL when I opened the door was a thread bare carpet leading into the much smaller room then Universal. Daughter and son started laughing a minute later because the pressurized toilet when flushed sent the toilets contents flying up in the air over seat level. They thought the was the best thing ever, I did not. Of course after that the toilet ran continuously. I was hungry so I fixed the toilet instead of waiting forever for a repair guy. Noticed a nice patch in the ceiling, water leak. Horrible job fixing the dry wall. When I went to bed the mattress had a giant indentation where, seriously talking a sank in 4-6 inches. Wife and I rolled towards each other all night.
Service and rooms are better at Universal, period.
Ok who cares about all that, WDW is still nice if you book in advance and have low expectations for an expensive hotel room.
I'm in the minority but I think NFL did it's job and is a nice upgrade. If you have small children that's the part of MK you end up in and everything is geared that way. You can't take a Cedar Point coaster put it in FL throwing Peter Pan on top of it. Not what the crowd there wants or would even ride. Mine train could be longer but it's a very good family coaster. The new Dumbo set up is great as well.
Other then that, nothing has been built into rising attendance. Tickets go up, attendance goes up but nothing new really showed up. Look at DHS. They're now rebuilding half the park because it has always been half a park.
Finally something new went in AK but AK was a half day park. I always hit AK but it was lacking for years and still is.
Epcot? I'm not drinking around the world with children in tow. That means Epcot is basically two rides with huge waits and a good fire works show. Yes I have seen everything in Epcot and not impressed. Would you pay $100 to just go there for the day?
Universal is building left and right. Out with the old in with the new. New water park as well. All this within easy reach of the hotels, no long bus rides, boat rides or whatever else transport. Transportation is so much easier at Universal and more importantly quicker.
WDW needs to up their game and they are now but what people have a problem with is they needed to do it earlier. WDW should have been building into the crowd. One project a year would have worked. 4 parks, one new thing or remodel per year, 4 new attractions over 4 years wouldn't have killed Disney. 8 over 8 years. Instead they did nothing and now they are are trying to catch up on what they should have done.
People who know WDW do have valid complaints as too what management has been doing. As far as me I moved on till WDW completes all this stuff. If prices go up from here by much I probably won't be back because there is better bang for my buck out there. Been there done that, has become a tourist trap.
