the old feeling is gone.... or at least reduced a lot..

[bjlc57]

because of covid, we have not been do WDW in years.. we were going to go in October but again the virus threat stopped us.. ( i am 66 and my wife is 67) .. but i have to tell you.. watching Each and every bit of Disney news makes us WANT TO GO LESS.. Right now we should be at ground zero and starting almost daily planning for a march or april trip.. We spent two days in the car , and the trip talk hardly came up.. Disney management has done all it can to destroy the magic.. its GIVE ME ALL OF IT AND MORE.. its lets take more away and charge more.. and tell you We can do this because the parks are full.. and since the parks are full, why should we continue the magic in the parks. We have too many people .. we don't need you.. YOU SEEM TO NEED US.. but i have seen this happen to Sears.. to GM.. to the Mall type of management style.. and every one of those has failed.. Gimbles failed.. Macy's is in trouble. No one is too big , not to fail.. this current Disney management style has deeply hurt my image of the Magic.. my longing for the magic.. my need to go there with almost desperation.. to the point of almost .. I don't care.. they don't need me .. and by the way they are acting. they don't seem to want me.. AM I ALONE? do any of you feel this way.. ( in fact i haven't even been coming to this website with the same attention.,) . Let me know..

 

[Weather_Lady]

You're not alone. As I've posted on a few other threads, my family was so discouraged when they heard about G+, continued operation of attractions under capacity (meaning longer lines), the effect of early entry on off-site guests (lines already in place at regular park opening for every attraction, every park, every day) and the perseverance of parkhopping restrictions and park reservations, that when we visited Universal last February and could have spent a couple of days at WDW for free (with comp tickets and gift cards that were already in hand), they said "no, thank you!"

We're planning a trip for August 2023 to finally use up those comp tickets and gift cards, but nobody is particularly enthused about it. I think they look at it more as a bittersweet "saying goodbye to Disney World" trip than as a "hello to a place that still excites us" trip. That doesn't mean we won't have fun, because we will, but it will be fun of our own making. I don't want to purchase Genie+/ILLs, and have already spent hours trying to come up with a Hollywood Studios touring plan that doesn't put us in multiple lines of 45-90 minutes even on a day with low-moderate crowds -- I'm half a dozen touringplans.com plans and several homemade spreadsheets in, and so far, no luck. Such fun! So magical!

And no, I don't want to feel this way either. I hate it. I hate not being able to full-throatedly recommend WDW to all my family and friends, as I once did. I hate surfing the same blogs and message boards that used to be chock-full of happy news, and seeing them dominated by news of diminished or discontinued offerings and price hikes. I hate feeling like Disney has become my enemy - trying to outwit me and get me to pay more at every turn, instead of my partner, as it used to be - tossing bits of pixie dust my way to make planning simple and easy.

So far, I feel like with enough research and pre-planning, I've still been able to "win" against Disney and give my family a good time with each vacation, without breaking the bank. If we can pull off one last win next August, I think I can feel satisfied, and move on.

 

[marni1971]

Last week I spoke to the 5th (regular tourist type) person I know who’s come back this year and felt similar. Comments range from “the magic is gone” to “I’ve cancelled the next trip”

 

[mightynine]

There's a thread on Twitter where someone talks about the "trust thermocline" and this stood out to me, moreso in why users of a product just...leave. I won't paste the whole thing, but the parts that made me think of Disney when it comes to the theme parks:

 

[Weather_Lady]

There's a thread on Twitter where someone talks about the "trust thermocline" and this stood out to me, moreso in why users of a product just...leave.

That was fascinating! Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Disorbust]

I think they magic has been gone and the value has been trending downward for years. Look just at housekeeping. IT has gone from "what towel animal will be waitng for us in our room" "too " I wonder if my room will be cleaned?" In old days this just would not be exceptable.

When I began my nursing career 30 years ago our management team all went to Disney's Quality University for training on exceeding "guest" expectations and used it for a model for our patients. I just laugh now at how all that just got wiped out.

if I'm being fair I think all services industries have trended downward. I know for us dining out has become a disappointment between, service, quality and price that we just don't go out to eat much anymore. Just not worth it to us but the area restaurants are still jam packed as is Disney.

The current gennie+ and demand pricing has been in the plans for years and I doubt it will ever go away. It might get added in as "promo" for staying onsite. As it has been said a billion times, Disney is a business, but I do not need to spend my money there if it's no longer worth it to me. I remember being upset when they got rid of Alpine Trio and Off Kilter at Epcot, that was small potatoes compared to todays climate.

Epic Universe may change the landscape but I just don't think it will matter to Disney or their price elasticity. The lack of workforce will also give them an excuse to make WDW more of a Boutique experience where they won't care about volume.

Creative at Disney now is about finance, not imagineering.

 

[Chi84]

because of covid, we have not been do WDW in years.. we were going to go in October but again the virus threat stopped us.. ( i am 66 and my wife is 67) .. but i have to tell you.. watching Each and every bit of Disney news makes us WANT TO GO LESS.. Right now we should be at ground zero and starting almost daily planning for a march or april trip.. We spent two days in the car , and the trip talk hardly came up.. Disney management has done all it can to destroy the magic.. its GIVE ME ALL OF IT AND MORE.. its lets take more away and charge more.. and tell you We can do this because the parks are full.. and since the parks are full, why should we continue the magic in the parks. We have too many people .. we don't need you.. YOU SEEM TO NEED US.. but i have seen this happen to Sears.. to GM.. to the Mall type of management style.. and every one of those has failed.. Gimbles failed.. Macy's is in trouble. No one is too big , not to fail.. this current Disney management style has deeply hurt my image of the Magic.. my longing for the magic.. my need to go there with almost desperation.. to the point of almost .. I don't care.. they don't need me .. and by the way they are acting. they don't seem to want me.. AM I ALONE? do any of you feel this way.. ( in fact i haven't even been coming to this website with the same attention.,) . Let me know..

DH and I just returned from WDW and had an excellent time. Please be careful about believing "each and every bit of Disney news" especially from people who haven't been there recently. The trips we took during COVID restrictions were much less enjoyable than this last one. On this trip, the parks were not overcrowded and were beautifully very clean, none of the rides went down, the food was pretty good and portion sizes actually seemed to increase from our last trip. The CMs were fantastic - our hotel room was a few minutes late being ready and they gave us vouchers for two quick service meals and were able to get us exactly the type of room we requested. They also helped us figure out to do when we found a nail in the tire of our rental car. The other guests appeared to be happy and having a good time.

I agree with you about the downward spiral Disney management seems to be on now. We own DVC and are continuing to go to WDW as long as we can still enjoy it, but the folks running Disney now seem to be hell-bent on destroying any goodwill they've built up over the years. We're going to take what we can while it's still there.

That said, if you can't approach your trip with a positive attitude going in, it's going to be almost impossible to have a good time. Maybe your money would be better spent elsewhere.

 

[JoeCamel]

There's a thread on Twitter where someone talks about the "trust thermocline" and this stood out to me, moreso in why users of a product just...leave. I won't paste the whole thing, but the parts that made me think of Disney when it comes to the theme parks:

I don't know, dude has no blue check so can I trust him if he can't scrape $8 together?

 

[wdwfan4ver]

We're planning a trip for August 2023 to finally use up those comp tickets and gift cards, but nobody is particularly enthused about it. I think they look at it more as a bittersweet "saying goodbye to Disney World" trip than as a "hello to a place that still excites us" trip. That doesn't mean we won't have fun, because we will, but it will be fun of our own making. I don't want to purchase Genie+/ILLs, and have already spent hours trying to come up with a Hollywood Studios touring plan that doesn't put us in multiple lines of 45-90 minutes even on a day with low-moderate crowds -- I'm half a dozen touringplans.com plans and several homemade spreadsheets in, and so far, no luck. Such fun! So magical! And no, I don't want to feel this way either. I hate it. I hate not being able to full-throatedly recommend WDW to all my family and friends, as I once did. I hate surfing the same blogs and message boards that used to be chock-full of happy news, and seeing them dominated by news of diminished or discontinued offerings and price hikes. I hate feeling like Disney has become my enemy - trying to outwit me and get me to pay more at every turn, instead of my partner, as it used to be - tossing bits of pixie dust my way to make planning simple and easy. So far, I feel like with enough research and pre-planning, I've still been able to "win" against Disney and give my family a good time with each vacation, without breaking the bank. If we can pull off one last win next August, I think I can feel satisfied, and move on.

I know how saying goodbye to WDW trips are. The group I went with went to 4 parks at WDW for 8 days this year. This was first WDW trip since August/September of 2019. It was the plan of being the last time in WDW theme park for a while although I had a good time. For me, I still will be doing Disney Springs in the future for a day.

I did not use genie+ and Individual Lightning lane. I had a good time in the parks. I had good wait times. My strategy was when in the day I did certain attractions. It is possible to pull off a good amount of rides without Genie+.

I only can answer about individual Lightning lane with Mine train. Mine in not needed depending on the time you arrive at Magic Kingdom. On September 2nd, I only waited 12 to 15 minutes for mine train instead of the claimed 40 minute stand by line.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I only can answer about individual Lightning lane with Mine train. Mine in not needed depending on the time you arrive at Magic Kingdom. On September 2nd, I only waited 12 to 15 minutes for mine train instead of the claimed 40 minute stand by line.

I'm glad to hear it! From the touringplans blog posts I've been reading, it sounds like Disney -- which has always inflated posted wait times by at least a few minutes -- is going a bit overboard with it, trying to drive Genie+ sales.

 

[ceecee101]

I will say this: we haven’t been in 13 years, things changed, we got a bit tired of it and switched to Europe. We had been going 2x per year for years. We were total devotees. We’re going back this year to see. If we don’t like it, that will be that. We probably wouldn’t return as there are so many great places to go that are MUCH cheaper. We’ll come back and I will write a TR and then if we didn’t like it, drop even being on these boards anymore. If we do like it, then we’ll see. We may fit it back in every now and then but our days of 2x per year are Over. It’s too expensive! We have done 2 trips of 3-4 weeks in Europe the last year and EACH trip is less than what we’re paying and will pay For a week in WDW. We will spend the money on ILL and had already bought G+ because the parks sound overrun now. So anyway it will be interesting, we leave ina bit over a week.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I'm glad to hear it! From the touringplans blog posts I've been reading, it sounds like Disney -- which has always inflated posted wait times by at least a few minutes -- is going a bit overboard with it, trying to drive Genie+ sales.

On our most recent visit, some wait times were inflated, but others were not.

It sorta appeared to us that they followed a daily trajectory. In the early AM some are inflated, mid-day they were more accurate, then in the PM some were again inflated. In some cases, we could size up the wait by sight, but for other attractions that isn't possible.

Here's what we experienced; your experience may differ. Perhaps others will report seeing similar to what we experienced:

The wait for Soarin' was as long as posted. Wait for Rat, much of the day, is accurate, or nearly accurate. Early in the morning, Test Track appeared to be inflated.

Slinky really gets a 70 min wait pretty quickly, but for a short time in the AM it is shorter than posted, but that changes in a matter of minutes. Sometimes RNRC is inflated.

Pirates was often shorter than posted. Little Mermaid is often inflated. Jungle Cruise can be slow going, and as long or longer than posted. Space Mtn was a mixed bag. In the AM wait was shorter than posted, but other times it is accurate. Late in the day, multiple days, we used a G+ pass, and the standby looked brutal. Buzz is often inflated and looks worse than it is. Splash and BTMRR both followed the above arc. Early/late wait was inflated or appeared to be inflated. Mid-day it appeared to be more accurate. One day we rode it pretty quickly after it reopened, so we hoped the wait was inflated, but so many G+ showed up that it ended up being correct. About 15minutes in, the standby slowed to a crawl.

Our Everest wait was less than posted, but the ride was only open for about 30minutes that day, and we were near the end of the line. It was weird. Obviously, there was a reason they were shutting it down again so soon, so were tempted to get out of line and skip it. Early in the AM, Na'vi was inflated.

 

[marni1971]

Magical.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Please be careful about believing "each and every bit of Disney news" especially from people who haven't been there recently.

^This.

We have never had a bad trip. We have had minor inconveniences; and if they were worth mentioning, they were resolved. That’s all I can expect.

A lot of this is about perspective.

It might do OP some good to read some recent trip reports in full context rather than the “laundry list of complaints” threads.

Human nature: people are more likely to go out of their way to complain than to praise.

And reality: different factors are more or less important to different guests. I don’t care if I get on the Mine Train; I want a nice meal at Tiffins. For others, it’s the complete opposite. I don’t judge based on if anything is wrong, but on how it was addressed.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Last week I spoke to the 5th (regular tourist type) person I know who’s come back this year and felt similar. Comments range from “the magic is gone” to “I’ve cancelled the next trip”

I’ve heard the same from several friends, many who were APs like us and didn’t renew… I just wonder if/when it’ll actually cause an attendance dip.

I don’t think I’ve talked to a single person, whether in person or in forums, who thinks the parks are better now than they were pre-Covid but the parks are still packed.

 

[StarshipDisney]

I concur with your post. We are leaving for Disney in 28-days and I simply am not feeling the anticipation that I have had on past trips. I made the reservations well over a year ago but was brought down to earth quickly when I was "Johnny on the spot" for ADRs day 61-65 but came up pretty miserable with little available. We have Genie+ pre-bought for the trip but I am already worried about our 5-years old smart phone and if the app will work worth a crap. I am not looking forward to the lack of daily room service and how badly coming back to a dirty room will make the trip seem "less". But I just paid the bill, so we are going.

In truth I am looking forward more to the drive down and visiting the Disney Character Warehouses and then dinner at Boston Lobster Feast prior to checking in at Gran Destro Tower. Then I find myself looking forward to checking in at Portofino Bay Hotel after leaving Disney. I will enjoy Express Pass and got all 5 restaurants we wanted at the exact time we wanted. No question here that Universal is winning me over.

All I can say is that I am honestly hoping that Disney will wow me as always and that Genie+ will get us on a few new rides. We will see. But unless it does then I will have to consider this a swan song trip and will likely not return to a Disney resort until at a minimum full room service is reinstated and some decent perks are available. I am already planning the 2023 trip for Universal, SeaWorld and NASA. So, we will definitely skip Disney next year. I won't say that I am not going back...but we will just have to wait and see how we feel after the trip in 4-weeks.

 

[Ayla]

I concur with your post. We are leaving for Disney in 28-days and I simply am not feeling the anticipation that I have had on past trips. I made the reservations well over a year ago but was brought down to earth quickly when I was "Johnny on the spot" for ADRs day 61-65 but came up pretty miserable with little available. We have Genie+ pre-bought for the trip but I am already worried about our 5-years old smart phone and if the app will work worth a crap. I am not looking forward to the lack of daily room service and how badly coming back to a dirty room will make the trip seem "less". But I just paid the bill, so we are going.

In truth I am looking forward more to the drive down and visiting the Disney Character Warehouses and then dinner at Boston Lobster Feast prior to checking in at Gran Destro Tower. Then I find myself looking forward to checking in at Portofino Bay Hotel after leaving Disney. I will enjoy Express Pass and got all 5 restaurants we wanted at the exact time we wanted. No question here that Universal is winning me over.

All I can say is that I am honestly hoping that Disney will wow me as always and that Genie+ will get us on a few new rides. We will see. But unless it does then I will have to consider this a swan song trip and will likely not return to a Disney resort until at a minimum full room service is reinstated and some decent perks are available. I am already planning the 2023 trip for Universal, SeaWorld and NASA. So, we will definitely skip Disney next year. I won't say that I am not going back...but we will just have to wait and see how we feel after the trip in 4-weeks.

I stayed at Gran Destino last year. The building and the rooms were beautiful.

 

[StarshipDisney]

I stayed at Gran Destino last year. The building and the rooms were beautiful.

Maybe that much will be a plus. We could use a few of those.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Anyone consider that the “magic” was never more than you enjoyed the experience and that the experience is not what you currently hold as value?

 

[Tjaden]

I won't go anymore unless someone in the party has never been before. That's when it's still fun watching them experience WDW for the first time. That goes for both kids and adults.