Please delete.

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Same. I used to post here because I almost always had an upcoming Disney vacation to plan, and was excited to stay up-to-date on all the latest stuff. Now, for me, it's more like visiting a museum dedicated to historical Disney -- I come to read about and celebrate the greatness of what was, and learn how to make the best of what's still there when we eventually return.

Also, as a somewhat-oldster in my mid-40s, I tend to eschew forms of social media where anonymity attracts morons and bullies like moths to a flame. We tend to get to know the regulars on this forum, developing reputations that follow us, in a way that makes everybody feel less anonymous and which, in turn, leads to more grown-up and respectful discussions than I'd ever see on Reddit or Twitter on in a Facebook comment section. I appreciate that, and even if I never went to WDW again, I'd still want to come back here to see how some of the members here are doing, and to enjoy, vicariously, their fun WDW memories and trip reports...

The part you’re missing is their strategy of “new and upcoming” has changed dramatically. It causes some of the manifest frustration…justified or not.

 

[Weather_Lady]

The part you’re missing is their strategy of “new and upcoming” has changed dramatically. It causes some of the manifest frustration…justified or not.

You mean the "strategy" where Disney announces a new and upcoming thing, and then after a couple of years of demolition says, "LOL, you've been punked! We're only gonna do like 25% of that and it'll take three times as long as we said..." ? Because yes, that is immensely frustrating to fans old and new.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You mean the "strategy" where Disney announces a new and upcoming thing, and then after a couple of years of demolition says, "LOL, you've been punked! We're only gonna do like 25% of that and it'll take three times as long as we said..." ? Because yes, that is immensely frustrating to fans old and new.

…the prosecution rests

 

[mightynine]

I try to make my posts fun when I do, but at least for me, there's not much exciting to talk about when it comes to WDW at the moment.

GOTG is open, TRON will be finished, so what's next? I don't think Communicore Plaza and Moana is going to generate an exciting level of interest and posting. Are we all going to go ga-ga for Magicband+?

We've also lost some of the insiders and the ones that would stir things up like 74 that helped drive people posting and the ones that are left like @marni1971 have said they aren't particularly interested in what's happening in Orlando, so that's played a role too.

And forums in and of themselves are a throwback. Many of those looking for Disney tips and discussion are probably finding it on other social media avenues.

 

[SteveAZee]

For me, I like the boards when there's information being shared about DISNEY and/or conversation I can contribute or help a user based on my experience.

When the threads are filled with chitchat or topics unrelated to Disney (in a Disney related thread)... where I'm having to scroll and scroll to get to anything DISNEY related, I tend to check out mentally. I was debating (internally) even posting this, but it's in direct response to the OP... I'm less likely to read or post things here when it just ends up being an unrelated gabfest. One reason I left Facebook years ago was that it was all 'show' with little or any real content.

 

[Mireille]

And forums in and of themselves are a throwback. Many of those looking for Disney tips and discussion are probably finding it on other social media avenues.

I'm nearly 50 and having lived through and participated in the heyday of forums (not necessarily this forum), I barely even notice them when they exist. As far as Disney content, I get so much of it from YouTube (All Ears, DFB, Offhand Disney, and lots of others) that most of the content here is redundant, and if all the forum adds is a bunch of negativity, well, I can understand people checking out. And I don't know if it's the fault of Twitter and Facebook or if it's the general atmosphere of the entire country (world?) but people seem to be more inclined to share negativity online than positivity. (Thank goodness for The Dodo!)

But I have a trip coming up which prompted me to come back here. Twitter has trained me (after arduous work) to ignore (and block, when possible) negative comments I don't want to see and try to just engage with positive ones. And that doesn't mean I think the negativity for some things isn't warranted, a lot of Disney's business decisions deserve criticism, but in my brain, ridiculous as it seems (and is!), WDW is my happy place and when I think of going there I don't associate the company with the place. I recognize it's a privileged position to be able to afford to be able to dissociate those things, too. I guess I just wish the world was a better place.

 

[NickMaio]

We are MASSIVE disney fans. We listen to park music all the time, almost had our wedding at the MK, used to go every year.

Lately, it just feels like punch after punch from WDW. Will we go back, most likely. When, who knows.
Even posting - - - not much really interests me.
It's been the same ol, same ol around here.

I like to read some posts or pop by and see what's new.
Honestly though, I feel like because we don't make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year that WDW has no time for us.
"And that's all I have to say.... about that."

 

[Goofyernmost]

I've posted much less recently, and that's largely because with the huge price increases, reports of crushing crowd levels, poor maintenance, the loss of Disney's industry-leading customer service tradition, the hassle of getting to Florida from norther New England with two young children, and most importantly, Genie killing all the spontaneity of trips and gluing you to your smart phone, I just don't have much of interest in visiting Disney World in the near future.

There's just too many other vacation options that are easier and cheaper. Sorry, Disney, I was a lifetime fan, but you've lost me for the time being. You used to be an experience, now you feel like an exercise in forced branding and marketing.

I feel ya, for nearly 30 years I excitedly and happily drove from Georgia, Vt. to WDW just about every year, sometimes two or more times a year. Now I live in NC and it is an easy single day trip but I can find nothing that would make me feel like going anymore. It has gone from a fun time to an expensive chore that just no longer is equal to the cost and especially the degree of difficulty that it has become. I'm not happy about that, but it is what it is and doesn't look like it is going to change direction any time soon. For me it's the end of an era.

 

[Wilbret]

I quit the "other" board because it devolved into pi$$ing matches over EVERYTHING. I was done.
Please don't let this board end up the same way. If I want to argue with you, meet me on the political board somewhere lol.

Here is where I come to talk about inane stuff like lines for popcorn buckets, best hotel pool, and to maybe group-complain about disney genie. ;-)

 

[Lilofan]

I quit the "other" board because it devolved into pi$$ing matches over EVERYTHING. I was done.
Please don't let this board end up the same way. If I want to argue with you, meet me on the political board somewhere lol.

Here is where I come to talk about inane stuff like lines for popcorn buckets, best hotel pool, and to maybe group-complain about disney genie. ;-)

The one unique aspect of visiting WDW back in the day was the magic of enjoying rides and experiences . I would read up on Disney travel books beforehand. Now with social media one can view what they will visit before even traveling to WDW when guests film their experiences. Seems like some anticipation is lost nowadays

 

[Goofyernmost]

The one unique aspect of visiting WDW back in the day was the magic of enjoying rides and experiences . I would read up on Disney travel books beforehand. Now with social media one can view what they will visit before even traveling to WDW when guests film their experiences. Seems like some anticipation is lost nowadays

That is probably a lot of it. I remember the excitement of discovery. There was no internet to speak of when I first went in 1983. I had heard about some "must see" things that people told me about. However, for me, at age 35, turning onto World Drive began an adventure that I never imagined possible. My wife and I brought our 6 and 8 year old daughters there, but it only took a few minutes to realize just how unique the place was. Everything took me by surprise, a very fun and pleasant one, but what a trip. My Daughters now in their late 40's can remember the incredible joy of that trip in practically complete detail. It was real magic without receiving a single freebee from Disney other than the pure entertainment. The following would have been our only primer, but we didn't even have that ahead of time.

 

[tcool123]

I joined when I was 13, and I’m now 21. I usually venture throughout the Imagineering boards as for the most part it’s pretty nontoxic as everyone treats each other as family. I’ve noticed though that there are still youngins kicking around there in the teens and there always seems to be an influx in the summer months as well the latter part of many winter breaks. For being one of the more niche forums on the boards it still seems pretty active all things considered when compared to years past.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I'm glad the OP finally posted this thread.
This used to be my favorite WDW forum.
I have noticed over the past several months, that the new topics were actually old topics, some of them very old about things no longer relevant. I check each day to see if anything new is on the this site, but am disappointed that there is usually nothing.
I don't understand it at all. I get on another site which has alot of activity each day and it is now my favorite.
Like others here, I am done with this "new" disney and wont' be back until or if they ever go back to great customer service, clean parks with rides that actually work, and what they were when they were a magical place to visit to forget the real world for a while. However, I like to glance through these 2 sites to see what is new, and can't find much of anything on this one. I usually just scan the first few pages which don't change much, and then leave. There are a few trip report posters that I love to follow, and am glad they still love disney as it is now.
I find that I get on other sites that interest me now, as there is nothing New or exciting to report now, at least for me.
It's very sad to feel this way about a place that meant a lot to our family over the years.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Fascinating observation, and you very well may be correct. I find Reddit good, but hard to read and hard to follow, whereas forums are easy (usually).

Twitter and tiktok aren't really forums in that the content is very distilled and again, not easy to follow. Facebook is ok, but still not as easy as Forums.

I think it depends on how you use social media. On Facebook, there are specific groups to join and whatnot. Twitter and tiktok, I dont use. But my wife has it all “configured” to her tastes, as apps do these days, and the comment sections play a large role in that stuff.

...I really need to get into reddit more... I have lots of old (40+) friends the endorse it.

I personally only ever use Reddit to look up honest product reviews. I’ll google something like “Amazon Queen Bed 1.02” or something, and then add “Reddit Reviews” at the end to ensure there are no bots. How good the site is as a forum site equivalent, no idea.

 

[Jrb1979]

I know I have been negative a lot. A lot of it has to with not relating to most of you and your love of Disney. For me my castle moment is crossing the causeway into Cedar Point and seeing the coasters intertwined.

I didn't grow up with the parks. I grew up going on weekend camp trips to my local park. Its where my love for coasters came from. To tie it back to this, I see how other parks are run and how Disney runs their parks and treat their guests recently, it's hard not to be negative.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

It’s okay. I’ll post a poll. Everybody loves polls.

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

This site is NOTHING like it used to be. It’s dying a slow death. Its not down to WDW either. The Dis is still chugging along just fine, maybe even getting better. There’s only 2 moderators here, and they have made their personal views very clear, and if you disagree, you’re toast. There’s almost no old time regulars here anymore, it’s just not a fun place to hang out anymore.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

This site is NOTHING like it used to be. It’s dying a slow death. Its not down to WDW either. The Dis is still chugging along just fine, maybe even getting better. There’s only 2 moderators here, and they have made their personal views very clear, and if you disagree, you’re toast. There’s almost no old time regulars here anymore, it’s just not a fun place to hang out anymore.

Is there a new forum called “Dis”??

…because if you’re talking about the old one…you need to immediately get that head wound treated to stop the bleeding.

They ban their own moderators there…

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!!

 

[Jrb1979]

This site is NOTHING like it used to be. It’s dying a slow death. Its not down to WDW either. The Dis is still chugging along just fine, maybe even getting better. There’s only 2 moderators here, and they have made their personal views very clear, and if you disagree, you’re toast. There’s almost no old time regulars here anymore, it’s just not a fun place to hang out anymore.

I will say the thing I find with the Dis is lack of good discussions like that go on here. Take for instance the Genie+ thread. Lots of interesting discussion and some good insight to behind the scenes stuff. Over there they most of the time it either dies or gets licked quickly.

Ever since Covid there has been a lot of divide here. I don't want to get into a lot of it but I will say it's a shame politics have gotten in the way.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Man, I'm going to need pharmaceuticals soon