OK, I'm Giving Up!

[yensid1967]

In another post, I said, "Don't Count me Out". Well, a few things have changed and I am retiring to the decision to cancel my 2026 trip! Sad? a little. Probably because I am not comfortable with the direction Disney is going! Hopeful? Still holding onto 'a little' hope that things may/will change, and a trip 'could' be possible. But I am getting tired of all the money grabbing from Disney for things like Genie+, that should never have been put into the works when Fastpass was working just fine! Their reason for Genie+ was because of the pandemic! Pandemic is more relaxed, so bring back FASTPASS! As well as the offerings still not back to pre-pandemic levels as is the cast (or at least that's what they are saying) Honestly, I do not believe anything says with regards to reasoning why some fee has been applied or something has been taken away from the guest experience. I still cannot swallow the fact that they won't tell the public what their pandemic capacity level is, but they assure us they never daily reach it, but yet the parks are crowded as if it were at full capacity! Something doesn't sound/look right there! Are the executives lying to us? Most likely! We can complain on blogs all we want, but the true fact of the matter is that when Universal Orlando & Epic Universe start grabbing those die-hard Disney fans, that's when Disney will take notice. And for some guests, it may be too late to return to Disney. If Disney doesn't change their ways, I can see Disney World being a second thought park option! And that's sad to even write! But that's my opinions. Do I hope I get go ONE LAST TIME? Sure, but if I do go, I will not be spending a majority of my money at Disney!
What are your thoughts? Has Disney gone too far for you to go back? Would you still take that Orlando vacation, but spend the majority of your trip at Universal/Sea World?

 

[dave&di]

Have you considered a shorter trip across ( or under) the water to DLP ?

We’ve been to DLP twice, we like it but it’s no WDW! I would also like to see Avengers Campus but it is really expensive! DLP will always be a back up to not going to WDW.

 

[Disstevefan1]

In another post, I said, "Don't Count me Out". Well, a few things have changed and I am retiring to the decision to cancel my 2026 trip! Sad? a little. Probably because I am not comfortable with the direction Disney is going! Hopeful? Still holding onto 'a little' hope that things may/will change, and a trip 'could' be possible. But I am getting tired of all the money grabbing from Disney for things like Genie+, that should never have been put into the works when Fastpass was working just fine! Their reason for Genie+ was because of the pandemic! Pandemic is more relaxed, so bring back FASTPASS! As well as the offerings still not back to pre-pandemic levels as is the cast (or at least that's what they are saying) Honestly, I do not believe anything says with regards to reasoning why some fee has been applied or something has been taken away from the guest experience. I still cannot swallow the fact that they won't tell the public what their pandemic capacity level is, but they assure us they never daily reach it, but yet the parks are crowded as if it were at full capacity! Something doesn't sound/look right there! Are the executives lying to us? Most likely! We can complain on blogs all we want, but the true fact of the matter is that when Universal Orlando & Epic Universe start grabbing those die-hard Disney fans, that's when Disney will take notice. And for some guests, it may be too late to return to Disney. If Disney doesn't change their ways, I can see Disney World being a second thought park option! And that's sad to even write! But that's my opinions. Do I hope I get go ONE LAST TIME? Sure, but if I do go, I will not be spending a majority of my money at Disney!
What are your thoughts? Has Disney gone too far for you to go back? Would you still take that Orlando vacation, but spend the majority of your trip at Universal/Sea World?

Everyone is different but I can’t get my head around even thinking about a 2026 trip in 2022. A lot can happen between now and then.

 

[TJK5]

In another post, I said, "Don't Count me Out". Well, a few things have changed and I am retiring to the decision to cancel my 2026 trip! Sad? a little. Probably because I am not comfortable with the direction Disney is going! Hopeful? Still holding onto 'a little' hope that things may/will change, and a trip 'could' be possible. But I am getting tired of all the money grabbing from Disney for things like Genie+, that should never have been put into the works when Fastpass was working just fine! Their reason for Genie+ was because of the pandemic! Pandemic is more relaxed, so bring back FASTPASS! As well as the offerings still not back to pre-pandemic levels as is the cast (or at least that's what they are saying) Honestly, I do not believe anything says with regards to reasoning why some fee has been applied or something has been taken away from the guest experience. I still cannot swallow the fact that they won't tell the public what their pandemic capacity level is, but they assure us they never daily reach it, but yet the parks are crowded as if it were at full capacity! Something doesn't sound/look right there! Are the executives lying to us? Most likely! We can complain on blogs all we want, but the true fact of the matter is that when Universal Orlando & Epic Universe start grabbing those die-hard Disney fans, that's when Disney will take notice. And for some guests, it may be too late to return to Disney. If Disney doesn't change their ways, I can see Disney World being a second thought park option! And that's sad to even write! But that's my opinions. Do I hope I get go ONE LAST TIME? Sure, but if I do go, I will not be spending a majority of my money at Disney!
What are your thoughts? Has Disney gone too far for you to go back? Would you still take that Orlando vacation, but spend the majority of your trip at Universal/Sea World?

I just returned from a week at WDW and had a great time! The parks were crowded and the Magic was everywhere! I was totally in the Disney Bubble and enjoyed every minute! I don’t like change, but am now a huge fan of Genie+! I spent $45 a day for it and also bought ILLs for Avatar and Guardians as well.
I have been to Universal and Sea world and what they are missing is the Magic, which for me, has no price tag. Disney has traditionally raised prices every year and guests like myself keep coming back. In 2026, a one day park ticket may be $200 or more. And guess what, the park will be crowded and the Magic will be alive!

 

[John park hopper]

Last trip was 2019 and I'm done with Disney been going since 1972 and the direction Disney(Bob) has taken no longer gives me that magic feeling I once had. For me the feeling is I'm being ripped off with uncharges, broken rides, overcrowding, charges for things that once were a perk for staying on site, smaller meal portions, basically spending more and getting less.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

I'm about to spend a small fortune for family of 5. Yes we got sucked into the Genie + and magic band money grabs. Yes I am uncomfortable for how much all of this is going to cost. But it was a decision my wife and I made and we plan to take the kids once, probably twice and thats that. There are plenty of ways to cut corners from airfare or other ways to get there, going in quieter times where prices might be a little less, skipping a few sit down meals, to staying off site we saved a ton and got a 2BR condo just off site)....

I wouldn't cancel it all but its up to you to decide.

 

[Phonedave]

We have cut back on how much we go.

We canceled our October 2022 F&W trip a few weeks back - we looked at what was going on, and what the prices were and decided to cancel.

We have a family trip planned for summer of 2023 - just booked the rooms. We are DVC, so we kind of have an incentive to go, but we still find ourselves going less and less. We instead look at Hawaii with our points, or we book nicer rooms than we would have, so that we use the points we have.

We used to go to WDW about 1.5 times a year on average. Not any more. When we are at WDW we also eat TS a lot less, used to be every night, with a family of 5. Now we do it 2 maybe 3 times per trip. We also used to buy a lot more mech. We used to buy length of stay tickets, now we do 5 day tickets and have resort days or Disney Springs days.

We now find ourselves looking at lot more non-WDW vacation options.

It's not about the money either. It's about the enjoyment (or more accurately, lack of enjoyment). I am a Project/Portfolio Manager in a technical field as a career. Lately going to WDW feels like an extension of my day job with all of the scheduling, moving parts, requirements, and other analysis. It's just not fun.

 

[chrisbarry]

I just got back and loved every minute of our 7 days in the parks and 8 nights at French Quarter. I park hopped. I used Genie +. I bought a few Lightning Lanes for Guardians and Resistance. Not happy about it being a paid service now, but it didn't break my bank either.

I was at Hershey chaperoning a school trip this spring. The add-on line cutting option was about $100 additional to the price of a park ticket! Chaperoned Six Flags a week later. Their Flash Pass add-on goes anywhere from $70 to $90 to $150 per day on top of your ticket price depending on what level you want. So, no I wasn't thrilled paying $15 when Fast Pass used to be free, but I still think we got a pretty good deal. There were days towards the end of the trip where we didn't buy it at all and still had a great time without it.

I've gone every year as a family since 2003 when our kids were little. Now they're 20 and they still wanted to go back. There's plenty of magic left in the place as far as these veterans are concerned.

 

[IanDLBZF]

"Personally I hate that technology is heavily involved, we used to turn our phones off and pack them in our case at the airport and never touch them again until we returned home. We used to be spontaneous and do what we wanted, feeling care free."
--> MOST when on vacation want a break from everything...including being on our phones. What did we do without cell phones!!?? we enjoyed ourselves a lot more, we checked our answering machine when we got home and made the calls we needed to make!

"I hate how everything must be organized in such fine detail. I hate that everything is now overly expensive. I hate that rides are now purchased rather than being included in the ticket, yes I get it a choice to purchase them!"
--> Disney has sucked the magic out of planning a vacation! It use to be part of the journey, now it just seems like a chore to plan everything down to the day, before you even arrive! Gone is the day of spontaneity and hello to the days of pre-planning. Yes, you have to pre9plan at Universal, but I don't think it's to the point of what you have to do for a Disney vacation!

IF YOU FEEL LIKE THIS, WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION TO SAVE OUR MAGIC FOR OUR BELOVED VACCATION SPOT! WE NEED TO DEMAND THAT THEY START PUTTING THE TRUE GUESTS NEEDS FIRST INSTEAD OF THEIR WALLET! WE NEED TO DEMAND THE ATTENTION TO QUALITY AND DETAIL BE FRONT AND CENTER, WE NEED TO MAKE IT KNOWN THAT WE ARE THE RETURNING GUESTS WHO KEEPS THE PENNIES COMING INTO THEIR WALLETS. WE NEED TO DEMAND THIS AND SO MUCH MORE!

Maybe if they start to get letters of 'concern' maybe they will change for the positive!? We can only hope! If Disney doesn't respond to such a campaign. then the only thing we can do as guests is start spending our Disney Dollars at Universal! Maybe when that happens, TWDC will wake up and make the changes to gain our trust back! (I think Disney will become a second-thought park soon to Universal!)

And I think we should start a protest movement against Disney.

 

[yensid67]

And I think we should start a protest movement against Disney.

The BEST way to protest anything with Disney is to just stop spending money at their parks and direct your money to Universal and Sea World...I feel like I would get a better value for my money at those parks!
My next trip, if there is a trip WILL BE focused more on Universal and Sea World and only spend the evening at one of Mickey's Parties and 1 souvenir! But that's all my money they will get!!!!

 

[GimpYancIent]

And I think we should start a protest movement against Disney.

The only data, facts and realities the powers that be at Disney will understand and pay attention to will be when expenses, operational costs etc. exceed money inflow (as in profitability goes into negative numbers).