Hey Sunshine... you should skip WDW.
Uhm ... you have me confused with someone else.
Denise is Little Miss Sunshine.
I am just a questioning Spirit.
Hey Sunshine... you should skip WDW.
Okay, as far as park hours, they do seem early.
Hotels seem a little lower but if it does not suit you how about the Swan or Dolphin. You are on property and you will probably pay less.
Dining, what can I say, value is perception. It's sort of like being mad because your house is not worth what it was five years ago. Disney obviously feels that their dining is worth more. It is a very subjective question so I see no value in trying to argue it. There are many non-Disney owned restaurants on property that you could try. The one concrete thing that we can say is that many menus have been streamlined. However, we do not know why. It could be the dining plan, could be that places are so busy menus have had to be streamlined in order to make it easier for the kitchen to do the volume.
As far as freshness, I agree that MK could do with an addition but aren't you expecting a bit much when you say "what new thing can they offer me since my last trip a few months back". I am sure that months went by in the 80's and 90's when nothing new was added.
I say go and enjoy yourself. Stay away from MK and hang out in AK and Epcot.
Thankfully, I like the parks for what they are...not for what they COULD be.
Look, I see you're a young newbie here (and you obviously have great taste in TV shows too!) ... so I don't want to start out with a nasty back and forth.
And I am happy you enjoy the parks for what they are. I do as well ... to a point.
But after almost 35 years of countless visits, being an APer since they began offering them (as well as an APer in Anaheim and recently Paris) as well as being very knowledgeable about many of the inner workings of Disney and major media companies, I hold them to a bit of a higher standard than simply enjoying them for what they are (even if I do that) ... because I know what Disney has done and can do and 'just good enough' doesn't cut it for me.
What WDW is now isn't nearly as good as what it could be.
Thankfully, I like the parks for what they are...not for what they COULD be.
Hey Sunshine... you should skip WDW.
Is there a thread for what some of the abbreviations mean?!
Thanks for the intelligent response.
This is under news and rumors because I haven't seen one post discussing the HUGE cuts in July hours that I discovered when looking into planning a visit.
I also found the paltry discounts newsworthy as well since I didn't see a thread on them and Disney is struggling yet the big period of discounting seems to be over.
I am just a questioning Spirit.
Yes http://www.wdwmagic.com/acronyms.htmIs there a thread for what some of the abbreviations mean?!
Yes http://www.wdwmagic.com/acronyms.htm
Don`t knock the OP; it`s an opinion of facts. Harsh but fair.
WDW is still a magical place, and I dare say always will be, but you can`t deny the facts.
So ... been pondering a July 4th up at the World (if I can't get far, far away) and a few things popped into my mind making me think twice:
Park Hours. Has anyone looked at July? Is this another example of cutting as many as they can now ... only to toss some back at last minute by making it appear busier than expected? I can't ever recall MK closing before midnight on the Fourth, yet it's down for 11 p.m. on that night and most others are 10 (those were summer hours during dark days earlier this decade). TPFKaTD-MGMS actually has 7 p.m. closings scheduled in July ... something that I'd love to believe is only a mistake but I doubt it. And a 9 p.m. close on the Fourth with no pyro? Even DAK is on a 9-7 schedule. Only EPCOT keeps its 'traditional' schedule (by that I mean what people have come to expect the past decade, not what they used to offer).
So ... then I start looking at AP rates (although I may have a CM book me something better if I indeed go) ... for all the discounting that's been going on ... and all the dire summer projections ... well, the discounts are paltry. $74/$84 at values, $114/$124 at mods, $154/$184 at DAK Lodge (this is the only one at the lower price point that really feels like a deal). I'd like to check out the new rooms at Coronado since my last stay there was right after the last renovation started in 2003 and these rooms do look even better ... but at those prices I could likely Priceline an amazing resort for less (JW Marriott, Gaylord Palms, Omni Championsgate, DD Hilton even).
Of course, does a Spirit want to stay at a resort where he can return to his room after baking in theme parks only to find the room is musty and hot because the AC has either been turned off or turned up?
And dining? ... Prices keep going up ($15 for a lower quality lunch buffet at Trail's End that was $4.99 in the mid-90s?!?!) ... Of course there's Sanna and the Wave, which haven't been tried yet (and usually Disney's new locations are really great when they debut)
Freshness? What will WDW offer me that is new from my last visit a few months back? Stitch's LCI Dance Disaster? Our new Prez in the HoP (OK, this at least mildly interests me).
Of course I really want to spend a few afternoons at Aquatica and ride Manta, so I have the feeling I'm going to wind up in O-Town ... but ... I'm sure not excited by the prospects.
Anyone want to talk me into a trip?
Yes http://www.wdwmagic.com/acronyms.htm
Don`t knock the OP; it`s an opinion of facts. Harsh but fair.
WDW is still a magical place, and I dare say always will be, but you can`t deny the facts.
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