Reflections on my time away from WDW

[networkpro]

Doubtful. Amusement Parks at the scale of Disneyworld dont happen often as governments as well as finance have to be in agreement. There's also the matter of IP which Disney has been impacted by a poorly termed contract with its acquisition of Marvel. Any such sale would be a bulldozer transaction for redevelopment. Disneyland would fit that bill easily.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I appreciate you sharing your opinion here. Isn't that what this site is for? Someone who had never considered a Uni vacation might do so after reading your posts. We have APs to WDW. If DLR had been open in September, we would have let our APs lapse and gone there as well as this coming spring. But since they weren't open, we went to WDW instead and we will be in April too. But a Uni vacation is something we've been looking at more and more recently. The hotel comparison alone is enough to really make us want to stay there. More deluxe feeling resorts for the price of a WDW moderate and all within very close proximity to the parks. Plus Express Pass!
Disney is going to HAVE to stop raising their prices without adding new things. COVID has certainly altered plans by both parks so it'll be interesting to see the progress of new additions. But Uni is definitely starting to really solidify itself as a vacation destination versus just a 1-2 day stop on their WDW vacation.

 

[larryz]

Doubtful. Amusement Parks at the scale of Disneyworld dont happen often as governments as well as finance have to be in agreement. There's also the matter of IP which Disney has been impacted by a poorly termed contract with its acquisition of Marvel. Any such sale would be a bulldozer transaction for redevelopment.

Which do you think the MBA's of Iger's Ilk would rather do: manage theme parks, hotels, parking lots, fireworks storage and explosions, food service and transportation systems, with all of the liability, logistics, exposure and vulnerabilities appurtenant thereto...

OR...

Sell off the already amortized real estate and nondescript facilities for a tidy profit, reduce company headcount by over 100,000, and then lease the IPs to someone else?

 

[networkpro]

Which do you think the MBA's of Iger's Ilk would rather do: manage theme parks, hotels, parking lots, fireworks storage and explosions, food service and transportation systems, with all of the liability, logistics, exposure and vulnerabilities appurtenant thereto...

OR...

Sell off the already amortized real estate and nondescript facilities for a tidy profit, reduce company headcount by over 100,000, and then lease the IPs to someone else?

200 acres for Anaheim affordable housing ?

 

[larryz]

200 acres for Anaheim affordable housing ?

Yeah, there's that.

 

[HongKongFooy]

A person who is disillusioned with WDW might be better off just giving up theme parks in general.......

What a defeatist position!

There is a solution; go to the right Disney parks instead: Tokyo Disney

 

[bryanfze55]

I don’t think giving them up entirely is the answer, nor do I think flying to Tokyo is necessary.

I still feel the magic at Disneyland. I still greatly enjoy being there. My issues aren’t general to the theme park industry, nor are they about Disney across the board. This problem I’m speaking of is unique to WDW.

 

[HongKongFooy]

I don’t think giving them up entirely is the answer, nor do I think flying to Tokyo is necessary.

Flying to Tokyo????? as if flying is an issue?

Since Anaheim and Orlando are approx 3,500 miles apart are you not flying to either one or both already.........even if you're right smack equidistant like in a Kansas City that would be a one long haul of a road trip to reach either DL or WDW, no?

 

[larryz]

Flying to Tokyo????? as if flying is an issue?

... that would be a one long haul of a road trip to reach either DL or WDW, no?

Having driven from Milwaukee to Anaheim, the answer is "yes."

 

[bryanfze55]

Flying to Tokyo????? as if flying is an issue?

Since Anaheim and Orlando are approx 3,500 miles apart are you not flying to either one or both already.........even if you're right smack equidistant like in a Kansas City that would be a one long haul of a road trip to reach either DL or WDW, no?

I would never drive to Anaheim or Orlando lol. Don’t get me wrong, Japan in general is on my bucket list. I just don’t particularly want to take a 6-year-old and 18-month-old on a 12+ hour flight and manage the logistics of a foreign country while trying to keep a toddler happy, and as I’ve said - Disneyland still suits us perfectly fine at this point... we’re just looking for something new. I don’t think Tokyo Disneyland would offer a whole lot more than we already have easier and cheaper access to in Anaheim. DisneySea, on the other hand... well, someday.

Plus, we have about 250,000 Southwest points which don’t do us any good in getting to Tokyo.

 

[UNCgolf]

Right. I think Uni is (in general) cheaper and less crowded, but I wouldn’t say it’s overall “better” in terms of being a higher quality experience. If someone is looking for a return to the Disney of 30-40 years ago, Uni is no closer to that than WDW.

I think if the aspects of WDW that a person likes include the charming dark rides and AA shows or the large scale parades/entertainment then Uni still hasn’t created stuff that would replace that.

OTOH if your main complaint with WDW is the planning or the time commitment or the cost, Uni definitely can be a good substitute to address those issues. They have a better balance between their two parks. And if you are looking for more thrills, it certainly has that in its favor.

A person who is disillusioned with WDW might be better off just giving up theme parks in general depending on what aspect is their main disappointment because that Disney Difference isnt coming back.

I think Universal's biggest issue for me is their reliance on simulators/screens. A significant number of their attractions consist entirely of screens and just don't really do anything for me. It's not that anything solely using a screen is automatically bad (Soarin' and FoP are good rides), but most of the ones at Universal are just not good (Simpsons, Transformers, King Kong, Fast and the Furious, etc.), although the biggest issue with the Simpsons ride is that it's a motion sickness machine. Even people that normally never get sick from any kind of ride sometimes get sick on the Simpsons.

 

[UNCgolf]

Flying to Tokyo????? as if flying is an issue?

Since Anaheim and Orlando are approx 3,500 miles apart are you not flying to either one or both already.........even if you're right smack equidistant like in a Kansas City that would be a one long haul of a road trip to reach either DL or WDW, no?

You say this like there's not a tremendous difference between a flight that's roughly 5 hours max (if you were flying from one coast to the other) and one that's potentially 14 hours.

 

[HongKongFooy]

most of the ones at Universal are just not good (Simpsons, Transformers, King Kong, Fast and the Furious, etc.)

.......AND JIM FALLON....you forgot Fallon--the sorriest screen thing ever made

 

[Chi84]

To me, it makes sense to give WDW a pass for a few years if your family is at the stage where WDW is too difficult and expensive to enjoy. We haven't really noticed the downsides you described and I can honestly say that the last few years, my family (myself, husband, two adult children and spouses) enjoyed WDW more than ever.

WDW is great for multi-generational vacations and we're looking forward to taking our new grandson on our next trip. One day on our last visit, two of us went to a water park, two to MK and my husband and I went to the World Showcase at Epcot and had lunch at Tangierine Cafe. We met up later at our resort, Saratoga Springs, and walked over to Disney Springs for drinks, dinner and entertainment - then took the boat to Port Orleans for boozy beignets. It's hard to imagine too many vacation destinations that provide that kind of variety and convenience.

It does come at a hefty price, though, and there was a time when our WDW vacations were more modest in terms of length and resort. Investing early in DVC has worked extremely well for us - we wish we had done it sooner.

 

[HongKongFooy]

You say this like there's not a tremendous difference

There is and there isn't......it depends on how we deal with air travel. For sheer duration of course there is a difference. But fear of flying and dealing with TSA is has nothing to do with flight hours, usually.

 

[NickMaio]

.......AND JIM FALLON....you forgot Fallon--the sorriest screen thing ever made

To their credit at least UNI is adding attractions. WDW adds something every 10 or so years.
To me that justifies their price increases more than some half hearted sing along in some dead pavillion.

 

[doctornick]

To their credit at least UNI is adding attractions. WDW adds something every 10 or so years.
To me that justifies their price increases more than some half hearted sing along in some dead pavillion.

WDW has been consist adding attractions in the past few years, as much as Uni has been. Sure, in the decade prior to Pandora opening, that it was true that WDW was stagnating but that has not really been true recently. And three more rides are currently being constructed (Rat being essentially ready to open sometime soon).

 

[bryanfze55]

To me, it makes sense to give WDW a pass for a few years if your family is at the stage where WDW is too difficult and expensive to enjoy. We haven't really noticed the downsides you described and I can honestly say that the last few years, my family (myself, husband, two adult children and spouses) enjoyed WDW more than ever.

WDW is great for multi-generational vacations and we're looking forward to taking our new grandson on our next trip. One day on our last visit, two of us went to a water park, two to MK and my husband and I went to the World Showcase at Epcot and had lunch at Tangierine Cafe. We met up later at our resort, Saratoga Springs, and walked over to Disney Springs for drinks, dinner and entertainment - then took the boat to Port Orleans for boozy beignets. It's hard to imagine too many vacation destinations that provide that kind of variety and convenience.

It does come at a hefty price, though, and there was a time when our WDW vacations were more modest in terms of length and resort. Investing early in DVC has worked extremely well for us - we wish we had done it sooner.

I think WDW can still absolutely work for the right family, particularly families with teens/adult children. Our family is very park-oriented. We don’t really hangout at the resorts or care much about dining. We don’t drink alcohol on Disney trips. I think WDW has become more about the overall resort vacation whereas Disneyland is still more of a park-focused vacation. That’s why the latter works for us now.

 

[bryanfze55]

I think Universal's biggest issue for me is their reliance on simulators/screens. A significant number of their attractions consist entirely of screens and just don't really do anything for me. It's not that anything solely using a screen is automatically bad (Soarin' and FoP are good rides), but most of the ones at Universal are just not good (Simpsons, Transformers, King Kong, Fast and the Furious, etc.), although the biggest issue with the Simpsons ride is that it's a motion sickness machine. Even people that normally never get sick from any kind of ride sometimes get sick on the Simpsons.

Yes and no. Some fall very flat (Fast and the Furious and to a lesser extent, Fallon). I largely prefer physical sets, but I don’t think the screen rides at Disney are any better than the ones at Universal - it really comes down to which IP you prefer.

 

[HongKongFooy]

I largely prefer physical sets, but I don’t think the screen rides at Disney are any better than the ones at Universal -

Hmmmmm
Let's look at pure bona-fide screen rides here:

Banshee, Soarin, Smuggler Falcon, Star Tours, Mission Space

VS

Simpson, Fallon, Fast & Furious


If you throw quasi screen rides in the mix like Gringots, Kong and Spiderman/Transformers then it's not as lopsided but still Disney puts out a noticeably better screen ride.