The Magic has gone for us

[DDEPILLO]

Seven trips in 10 years and this one was so different and awful? What was so different this time? Sounds like the answer is simply your frame of mind. If everything was so disappointing, it's not WDW...it's you. The magic is still there, and you shouldn't have to work that hard to find it. We never have to.

It sounds like it's just time for you to start vacationing elsewhere. I hope you find a place that makes you happy.

Touche

 

[mro415]

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

just ANOTHER person complaining about Disney..

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

just ANOTHER person complaining about Disney..

which would seem to indicate a growing problem. Or had that evaded you and was the capitalisation for dramatic effect?

 

[mro415]

both!

 

[raven]

Sounds like someone would have had a better time if they would have done their homework.

-Weather can be seen online a week in advance
-DHS posts it's hours pretty much everywhere and a special event would have been on the list for a while. I'm also sure there was a sign at the entrance stating the closure time.
-Long lines? It's Disney. Expect lines no matter what time you come.
-Mickey's Christmas Party is a party at The Magic Kingdom. The price you pay gets you into the park plus these extra events. Disney can't help it if you were at the same park that day and already did the rides.

My conclusion is that you were yet another tourist who set your expectations TOO high and looked for fault everywhere at everytime. But you wouldn't be the first who's dont this.

 

[Jekyll_Baker]

Well, I've been 21 times in the last 5 years with my trips lasting anywhere from 1-9 days, and I'll have to admit I can agree with both sides. I love to go to WDW, mainly to get away from "the real world". What keeps me coming back is the atmosphere and still some of the "magic", and admittly a little bit of habit. On the other hand, I do find myself getting moments of boredom while in the parks. But lately when I go, there are days I don't even ride anything. I enjoy walking through the parks, people-watching and looking for things I've never seen, and yes, there are still things that I notice during every trip that I had not seen before. Taking my camera actually helps me in finding new points of view.

As far as others saying that planning is essential to a good trip to WDW, lucky them. I often cannot plan any vacation more than 2-3 weeks out. But since I usually go solo, I don't have to plan and make dining ressies. I'm happy with counter-service and resort cafeterias for most of my meals. I usually only really splurge on a nice sit-down (in the vein of Artist Point, Jiko, or Cali Grill) once or twice a year. Never had a problem with ressies for them, just had to be flexible in schedule.

(Of course, I pretty much live my life by the motto "Hope for the best, expect the worst, and you're never disappointed")

 

[maggiegrace1]

Well, I've been 21 times in the last 5 years with my trips lasting anywhere from 1-9 days, and I'll have to admit I can agree with both sides. I love to go to WDW, mainly to get away from "the real world". What keeps me coming back is the atmosphere and still some of the "magic", and admittly a little bit of habit. On the other hand, I do find myself getting moments of boredom while in the parks. But lately when I go, there are days I don't even ride anything. I enjoy walking through the parks, people-watching and looking for things I've never seen, and yes, there are still things that I notice during every trip that I had not seen before. Taking my camera actually helps me in finding new points of view.

As far as others saying that planning is essential to a good trip to WDW, lucky them. I often cannot plan any vacation more than 2-3 weeks out. But since I usually go solo, I don't have to plan and make dining ressies. I'm happy with counter-service and resort cafeterias for most of my meals. I usually only really splurge on a nice sit-down (in the vein of Artist Point, Jiko, or Cali Grill) once or twice a year. Never had a problem with ressies for them, just had to be flexible in schedule.

(Of course, I pretty much live my life by the motto "Hope for the best, expect the worst, and you're never disappointed")

How can you be bored by doing those things?
:lol:

Walking around or sitting around doing nothing but people watch is sometimes the best thing you can do while there.

I can honestly say that I have never ever been bored while at WDW..and this is going every year sometimes 2 times a year and also every single day when we lived there and worked there.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

A strange attitude for an area reliant on tourism for its income.

Perhaps some of us are more participants of life rather than voyeurs.

 

[disneydiva72]

Perhaps the sudden hike in prices and the huge number of rides that loose repeat ride value coupled with the lack of new attractions may be something to do with it. Just a hunch :shrug:

I agree. This is why this will be our last Disney vacation for a long time...we already have plans to go somewhere else next year....and when you do get to plan a trip outside of Disney you CAN NOT believe how much money you save....the same price you pay at Disney gets you sooooo much more somewhere else.

The magic is certainly dimming for us, lackluster CM's and not getting much for our money.....you really do wake up and get tired of it.

 

[maggiegrace1]

I agree. This is why this will be our last Disney vacation for a long time...we already have plans to go somewhere else next year....and when you do get to plan a trip outside of Disney you CAN NOT believe how much money you save....the same price you pay at Disney gets you sooooo much more somewhere else.

True..you can probably save a lot of money going elsewhere..but for me and my family..nothing else has the Disney magic.

We just LOVE being there..it is not about the rides or the shows..it is just something else for us.

Granted we do have a trip planned to Vermont next year and also a Disney cruise is in the works for next year also..but Disney will always be the one placve we will always go to..it is home to us.:shrug:

 

[Mystic]

The magic is certainly dimming for us, lackluster CM's and not getting much for our money.....you really do wake up and get tired of it.

Have you thought of trying to talk to the 'lackluster' CMs and seeing if maybe you can brighten THEIR day?

My mom and I were shopping on Main Street one day last week and the CM at the cash register my mom was at had a really sour look on her face and she was definitely not in a good mood. My mom started talking to her when she was having trouble doing up the zipper on a sweatshirt and my mom commented that she was glad she wasn't the only who had trouble with the zipper and guess what, the CMs attitude completely changed. With just a simple comment, my mom was able to change the CMs attitude from bad to good.

 

[NadieMasK2]

Just because I don't bleed negativity about a place I love doesn't mean I am high on pixie dust!

I am just curious though why WDW1974 would devote so much of his time to something he clearly is dissatisfied with? I mean this is a fan board not a hate board, right? Or then maybe there are those who get joy from spewing ill will.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Just because I don't bleed negativity about a place I love doesn't mean I am high on pixie dust!

I am just curious though why WDW1974 would devote so much of his time to something he clearly is dissatisfied with? I mean this is a fan board not a hate board, right? Or then maybe there are those who get joy from spewing ill will.

Usually people who take the time to complain about a product do so because they care about the product. If you don't like something AND don't care about it, you simply ignore it altogether.

 

[Thiger]

I'm sorry you guys had an awful time...look at it this way, at least you've been able to go

Sending positive thoughts out your way that despite a dissappointing trip you have a great holiday season!

 

[raven]

The magic is certainly dimming for us, lackluster CM's and not getting much for our money.....you really do wake up and get tired of it.

Lackluster CMs? Try going to Universal and see what Guest Service you are comparing CMs to. Oh wait, they don't have any. Nevermind. :brick:

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

OP - I'm very sorry you had a bad trip. We had a less than spectacular trip in 2007, but that was due to a lot of things. A few of them (maybe 2 or 3 of the dozen) were problems with Disney. The rest were 100% the fault of me or outside forces (like the flu). It's frustrating when you spend a lot of hard-earned money to go on a trip that is disappointing. No one likes to waste money, especially now. I hope that everything works out better for you on your next vacation (wherever it may be).

A trip to the World in December is not like a trip at other times of the year. Besides knowing about the Pop Warner stuff, there is a lot more to plan for as well.

We rotate our annual trip between CHristmas one year and Halloween another. This year is a Christmas year- Dec.24-Jan 4th.

Some things i knew were a must-

TRIP LENGTH- sure it is more crowded so we budget and plan for more days to ensure we can enjoy everything. I cannot FATHOM how anyone could get bored with all of the special Holiday events going on at all parks. Christmas around the World in EPCOT, the special Christmas events at MK, the Jingle Jungle Parade at AK, Osborne Lights.....etc.

PARK HOPPERS- would NEVER do a trip without them. This way when you couldn't see the lights as long as you wanted at DHS, you could have come back by the next day etc. We always do the hoppers that way if we see a park is crowded that day, we go somewhere else and come back to that park. We always know MK Christmas Day is PACKED just like EPCOT on New Year's Eve and try to avoid those.

DINING- even in slower times now, with the three different dining plans, you HAVE to make reservations in advance. I have had my 12 days of reservations made for six months at least and had to plan it out. As soon as the EMHours are up, I look at those, coordinate my days, and make my dining reservations and have NO problems getting anything we want. And we did deluxe dining this time so we had to make a lot more.

EXPECTATIONS- we go in knowing as veterans what to expect. We know that on certain days we need to be at certain parks really early to get a fast pass for certain things and we know that there are things we will wait in line for etc. But we explain all to our five kids who are 9-20 and all understand. Since we KNOW what to expect ahead of time, there is no letdown when the line for Soarin' is three hours and we didnt get there early enough to get a fast pass. We simply wait to ride it until EMHours when the stand by line isnt so bad or something like that.

If you are there in a good frame of mind, and realize that there are so many more magical things to do and see besides the big name rides, you can be there in a really peak time, and still have a blast and make great memories for you and your family. We do it all the time and none of us EVER could get bored. It is never the same trip twice and we have been over 20 times in 15 years.

We even look forward to things like our favorite waiter at the 50's Prime Time who remembers my son year after year, and Sean at the Pop Century front desk who always takes good care of us, etc....

We love things like looking for the hidden mickey's as a family.

i guess we are just Disney FREAKS, because we LOVE IT, no matter how crowded. And sure we encounter rude people. Rudeness comes in many forms, like the stroller people from hell and the scooter drivers who belong in NASCAR, etc. and hte line cutters.....but in the grand scheme of things, NO ONE can ruin our trip unless we let them, and we just choose not to let them. We paid a lot fo money for our trip too and so we choose to smile and at the next meal we may joke about the crazy scooter driver, but we will never let anyone steal the magic from our family.

This is the first place my kids went after we lost everything in Katrina and it was special for us even before then, but now, it is simply our family magical place to all be kids together for a week or two.

Give it another shot and maybe if you relax and look for the good stuff, you will find it!

Good luck!

(getting off my soap box now!):wave::xmas:

Great post! This all seems common sense to Disney junkies like us on the boards, but you'd be surprised how many people don't share this knowledge. My friends are always amazed when I tell them how much planning we put into a trip.

I'm sorry you guys had an awful time...look at it this way, at least you've been able to go

Sending positive thoughts out your way that despite a dissappointing trip you have a great holiday season!

Agreed! :sohappy:

 

[SWatsi]

Not necessarily the case for everyone :lol:.

Hey I agree, I'm already dying to organise my next visit to somewhere Disney. Still, I couldn't go to Disney World every year these days (when I was younger i could very easily - just ask The Bank of Mom and Dad). But I am planning a visit to Disney elsewhere! Probably Paris, because well.. It's closer :ROFLOL:
Anyway thats my plan to avoid that nasty occurance happening...

 

[disneydiva72]

Lackluster CMs? Try going to Universal and see what Guest Service you are comparing CMs to. Oh wait, they don't have any. Nevermind. :brick:

Accccctualy I have been to U/IOA many times and I have been liking it much better than Disney and I NEVER thought that would happen. This year we are staying at AKL (for my sons B*Day, otherwise I would be somewhere else) and going to U/IOA and not even stepping foot in a Disney park. Next year, we are not even going near Fla.

Have you thought of trying to talk to the 'lackluster' CMs and seeing if maybe you can brighten THEIR day?

I AM the paying customer, I dont have to ask if they are having a good day or make THEIR day better, if there were no paying customers, they wouldn't have a job. Im not usually so "nasty" about these situations but when you get less and less for your money then you get a little bitter twords it.

Im not kissing anyones a$$ for $500.00 a night for a villa..."Hi, I just paid out the rear, is there anything I can do to make YOUR day better?....really Im here for YOU!" Yes, it was MY chioce to spend that, but Im not going to walk on eggshells around ANY CM.


...and with that, goodbye, I wont be back here, I roll my eyes more than I smile...this place is a riot, I have to tell ya....take off the rose colored glasses....



Pumba! Ill miss you, you always mademe laugh and told it like it was! Later!

 

[maggiegrace1]

Accccctualy I have been to U/IOA many times and I have been liking it much better than Disney and I NEVER thought that would happen. This year we are staying at AKL (for my sons B*Day, otherwise I would be somewhere else) and going to U/IOA and not even stepping foot in a Disney park. Next year, we are not even going near Fla.



I AM the paying customer, I dont have to ask if they are having a good day or make THEIR day better, if there were no paying customers, they wouldn't have a job. Im not usually so "nasty" about these situations but when you get less and less for your money then you get a little bitter twords it.

Im not kissing anyones a$$ for $500.00 a night for a villa..."Hi, I just paid out the rear, is there anything I can do to make YOUR day better?....really Im here for YOU!" Yes, it was MY chioce to spend that, but Im not going to walk on eggshells around ANY CM.


...and with that, goodbye, I wont be back here, I roll my eyes more than I smile...this place is a riot, I have to tell ya....take off the rose colored glasses....



Pumba! Ill miss you, you always mademe laugh and told it like it was! Later!

:wave:



Sad that you feel like you need to leave...but you do what you need to do...Its not like Magic will be lost.

I do not wear rose colored glasses..I do not feel that I pay too much for nothing..I have not had any bad experiences nor do I look for things that are wrong every place I go while at WDW.

So...while some people have bad experiences others do not and while you do not get why some praise Disney and have no complaints..I do not get why some constantly put it down and complain all the time.

 

[mousefan1972]

:wave:

Ditto!

And don't let the door hit you on your way out! :wave: