What will it take to stop you from going to WDW?

[OG Runner]

I just cancelled our reservations for August, and (more sadly) our reservations for Universal Orlando.

While I hated the thought of getting up at 3am (Pacific time) to make restaurant reservations,
and have heard some bad things about Genie+ & Lightning Lane,
and am disappointed at not having Magical Express,
& Tron's nonexistent opening date,
what got me off the fence and inspired me to finally cancel was Chapek's weak support for some of Florida's worst politicians, especially regarding LGBTQ issues. I remember Michael Eisner heroically (& before many other corporations followed Disney's lead) supporting Disney's many gay employees by offering benefits to their partners. When Southern Baptists said they's boycott Disney because of this, he basically said fine. Then after years they called off their boycott.

I couldn't find where to cancel the hotel reservation online, so I waited 50 minutes to speak to a human to cancel it, though I was disappointed that the Disney rep said they aren't doing email, text or any kind of confirmation of cancellations besides a verbal confirmation. Universal didn't make me wait on the phone and sent me a (comforting, contrasted with Disney) cancellation confirmation almost instantly, as all other hotels seem to do.

I used to be a Disneyland Tomorrowland Attractions Host & Jungle Cruise Guide in the 80s,
I went to WDW every summer from 1972 through 82, and then about every other year for the next couple of decades,
& I've been on a Disney Cruise to Alaska, to Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris; so I know how outstanding Disney service can be, and it's sad to see Disney declining in some ways.

Your reasons are your reasons but cancelling your trip because of things you have heard and current management?
How often does current management have a direct effect on your vacation? Many people have a problem with Bob Chapek.
There was actually an individual in the Magic Kingdom during the marathon that said "You are running Disney better than
Chapek". I don't understand cancelling your whole vacation though. If you have such strong opposition to Disney go to
Universal. Personally I do not like it as much as Disney, but it definitely has some amazing areas and rides.

 

[darkside]

I cringe every time someone disses Disney and proclaims they are now going to Universal. Please don't ruin our great Uni park. I hear Seaworld is nice ; )

 

[Weather_Lady]

I cringe every time someone disses Disney and proclaims they are now going to Universal. Please don't ruin our great Uni park. I hear Seaworld is nice ; )

How would/do Disney guests ruin Universal? My family made the leap a few years ago -- we're in our second stint as Universal annual passholders, and we love it. I'd hate to think we've somehow contaminated the Universal parks with our presence. I mean, I did once bring my Tiki Room wallet on a Universal trip, but that was an accident...

 

[OG Runner]

I cringe every time someone disses Disney and proclaims they are now going to Universal. Please don't ruin our great Uni park. I hear Seaworld is nice ; )

I did not diss Universal. I actually asked why the previous poster cancelled his Universal trip when he was mentioning he
had problems with Disney. Sorry, I do like Disney more, but I also go to Universal. I am a big Harry Potter and Marvel fan.

 

[Jeff4272]

We went 2x in 2021. First trip was in APril that had been rescheduled twice because of Covid. Second one was in November as a last minute booking to use expiring point from a Dec use year contract.

November was the most stressful, exhausting, unenjoyable trip we have ever been on. My kids (15, 14 and 12) said they hated it and do not want to return.

Genie+ is awful. Paying all this money to stay in an expensive hotel and not be guaranteed to get on the headliners without a 3 hour wait was awful. Having to wake up prior to 7am every day was exhausting. Having to be on our phones all day was annoying as hell. Overlapping ride return times with dining reservations made it stressful. There was no housekeeping and our rooms was a mess. Lines were insane long (rope dropped AK and got in line for FOP and still waited over 2.5 hours, even with early entry).

There was nothing good about this trip at all.


Disney has turned into a money grubbing wh***e of a company and we wont be back

 

[JustAFan]

I said price and crowds. I think for everyone there's a multi-faceted algorithm. Maybe I can put up with price if crowds aren't bad and I feel the magic. Or perhaps you can put up with missing your favorite ride if price isn't too high. Not sure what you mean by 'Attraction line system that actually makes the whole experience worse'. Either that or due to crowds, if lines for attractions are too long and I have to wait an hour to do anything and only experience 5 attractions per day, that doesn't encourage me to go back.

 

[Jeff4272]

I said price and crowds. I think for everyone there's a multi-faceted algorithm. Maybe I can put up with price if crowds aren't bad and I feel the magic. Or perhaps you can put up with missing your favorite ride if price isn't too high. Not sure what you mean by 'Attraction line system that actually makes the whole experience worse'. Either that or due to crowds, if lines for attractions are too long and I have to wait an hour to do anything and only experience 5 attractions per day, that doesn't encourage me to go back.

That is Genie+............the way it works is terrible

- cant pre book
- cant pick return times
- have to wake up before 7am EVERY day to book
- have to pay a TON of money to rides when you already paid $135+ to get in
- can't drop/replace a pick without cancelling
- Not enough rides to support it

 

[Jeff4272]

There's really no incentive to stay onsite either.........I dont think the premium warrants the location only aspect now.......Before you used to get alot (ME, Magic Band, parking, early FP booking, early dining booking, EMH)

Now you get nothing but higher prices

 

[Wilbret]

That is Genie+............the way it works is terrible

- cant pre book
- cant pick return times
- have to wake up before 7am EVERY day to book
- have to pay a TON of money to rides when you already paid $135+ to get in
- can't drop/replace a pick without cancelling
- Not enough rides to support it

Ride Reliability has also made it unbearable. Pay for a ride that isn't working, and when you can ride it, the line is an hour+ long because everyone that had paid to ride for the past few hours is there now.

7am booking is a pain. Nothing like logging on and seeing the first opportunity at like 3pm. Micro-seconds can impact your ability to get what you want.

 

[darkside]

How would/do Disney guests ruin Universal? My family made the leap a few years ago -- we're in our second stint as Universal annual passholders, and we love it. I'd hate to think we've somehow contaminated the Universal parks with our presence. I mean, I did once bring my Tiki Room wallet on a Universal trip, but that was an accident...

OK, you can come, but please no Mickey Ears at Uni.

 

[JustAFan]

That is Genie+............the way it works is terrible

- cant pre book
- cant pick return times
- have to wake up before 7am EVERY day to book
- have to pay a TON of money to rides when you already paid $135+ to get in
- can't drop/replace a pick without cancelling
- Not enough rides to support it

Yeah ... Genie+ is no bueno.

 

[NickMaio]

Genie+ is the biggest of a fairly long list of annoyances for me so I voted for that. The cost cutting, increased prices, too many upcharge events, overcrowding, poor maintenance, hating Disney management, reduced entertainment / capacity of restaurants and stores are all a factor in my family not enjoying our last few trips as much as those prior to 2019 but it’s Genie+ that I think will be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

We‘re from the UK so having not been able to visit for a few years I think we had rose tinted glasses on when we booked to come back over Christmas 2021. All of the above was a factor in why we didn’t enjoy our trip as much as we did in the good old days but Genie+ is just the ultimate annoyance. The 7 am booking, glitches with the app, not being able to get what we want, clashes with existing plans such as ADRs that were difficult to get in the first place, constantly having to be on the phone to book something else….it’s just not fun and relaxing. And I would say all of the advanced planning (Park Passes, ADRs) and not being able to park hop until 2 pm doesn’t help with that either. I want some flexibility when I’m trying to relax on vacation. A few days on-site at Universal with included Unlimited Express does that and it’s better value for money too (we’ve done that every time we’ve visited central Florida even when we skipped Disney in 2020 because of how fed up we were with the money grabbing management of the parks.)

We had already booked to come back to WDW for August ‘22 when we visited at Christmas (again, the pandemic made us miss the Disney that was I guess, rather than the one that still exists) and although I was able to shorten the Disney part of the stay, we would have lost money to cancel so we’ll suck it up this time. But if it’s another disappointing experience I can’t see us returning while Genie+ is still in place. That makes me sad because I grew up visiting Disney World and our children have too. But it’s not the same place it was because of the way it’s being run to please the shareholders only. In 2023 we’ll do a California road trip with a few days at Disneyland where I’ve heard Genie+ works better if it’s needed although I haven’t been since I was a teenager. Our teens are really excited to experience the West Coast parks for the first time.

Please let WDW know.
Send them this post.......please.

More people..........do this.

 

[Jeff4272]

Please let WDW know.
Send them this post.......please.

More people..........do this.

I send them customer feedback all the time on it

 

[Pepper's Ghost]

I said price and crowds. I think for everyone there's a multi-faceted algorithm. Maybe I can put up with price if crowds aren't bad and I feel the magic. Or perhaps you can put up with missing your favorite ride if price isn't too high. Not sure what you mean by 'Attraction line system that actually makes the whole experience worse'. Either that or due to crowds, if lines for attractions are too long and I have to wait an hour to do anything and only experience 5 attractions per day, that doesn't encourage me to go back.

That is Genie+............the way it works is terrible

- cant pre book
- cant pick return times
- have to wake up before 7am EVERY day to book
- have to pay a TON of money to rides when you already paid $135+ to get in
- can't drop/replace a pick without cancelling
- Not enough rides to support it

Sorry for being vague about Genie+, but it was intentional. Genie+ might be the crappy ride/experience management system of today, but tomorrow it could be even worse under a different name.

One good thing came from Genie+ though... it united two separated factions that always feuded about whether FP+ was a good system, or if it was better without. People's experiences and feelings about FP+ vary significantly, but there's no question that Genie+ is universally loathed. Thank you Disney for uniting us against you!!

I think it's best when people vote with their $$s. I long for Disney 20 years back, and my favorite version of Disney is long gone. That said, I don't see returning until something significant changes. @OG Runner, if you enjoy Disney as is, you absolutely should continue to visit and enjoy yourself. From the feedback of most people I've talked to and on this thread, you should have much more space to enjoy over the next couple of years. I don't think anyone is saying don't go or don't enjoy it. The point I think most are making is don't defend Disney's horrible mistakes and extreme greed because you still are able to enjoy yourself in the parks. If you think the moves are good ones, that's your opinion and you're entitled to it and you're welcome to defend them. I think you're just conflating still enjoying yourself at the parks with "management must still be good". The two are mutually exclusive.

 

[LaughingGravy]

Pretty much all checkboxes from the OP list. The resort parking fees and cut back of the dining plans to not include tip and reduction of appetizers unless paying for whatever the deluxe DDP was were pretty much the last straws for our personal trips. They didn't all happen at the same time, but they were close enough that each one made us re-think further.

Years ago, when electronic fastpasses (I can't keep all the name iterations straight) and magic bands first came out, I was one of the lead parents for a HS marching band trip and I was basically tasked with informing via a slideshow in the auditorium what days all needed to create an account and book online up to three fastpasses each if they didn't want to wait in much longer lines.
In retrospect, that wasn't so bad compared to today, but even then the reactions of the accompanying other parents and lots of the kids were that it was ridiculous to need to plan rides that far in advance. Restaurant reservations, people could understand.
The last bit of true value in that trip was that we paid for 1 photopass/memorymaker which was good for the entire trip, not just one day and got every park ticket in our group (96 people) hooked in before they set limitations (25 now, I think?), so when we got back and I downloaded and put up on a shared drive, everyone not only got their photos, but those of all the other band kids and families who came along and participated.
It was on that marching band trip that I saw multiple rusted hand rail verticals separated from their concrete bases due to rust. It wasn't just a matter of "bad show" picking on paint, as some do.

The water activities around Bay Lake were fine for many years. I am pretty confident TDO had a budget for gator removal and/or fences to be maintained. Well, that's pretty much all gone. The multiple boat types and swimming options in the 70s and 80s were a large part of what made it a vacation resort destination. You could water ski and it wasn't a bank breaker. While we did go to the water parks, the fact that one had to go all the way there, effectively killing most of a day or at the very least half a day and a separate admission process didn't compare to what was originally designed.

Add the "close the park early and get out unless you paid for our party" events.

Gigantic (practically little tykes size) and double wide strollers. Related, yes, picking on guests who had their way too big kids in strollers because their little feet were tired. We didn't bring our kids until they were old enough to make it through the day as a courtesy to us and also other guests. I am of course excepting people with real needs for disabled kids in one way or another, but the fact is there are a lot of perfectly able bodied 7 and 8 year olds being pushed around in strollers from the moment they are in the gates.

Using up a phone battery and needing an extra battery pack or two to carry or buy just to deal with the ride reservation system is ridiculous, besides of course needing the phone in the first place.

 

[John park hopper]

I may be wrong but I think the current economy will have an effect on people going to WDW time will tell

 

[Jeff4272]

I may be wrong but I think the current economy will have an effect on people going to WDW time will tell

agree 100%........Yesterdays inflation report of 8% and $4 per gallon gas are the highest readings in almost 50 years

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I definitely can't argue with that. The way it is set up right now also takes additional planning while you are on vacation.
I am not saying Disney is perfect. Genie+ is hard to deal with and I was surprised to find first you need to purchase the
lightning lane for the rides for $15.00 and then add an additional $11.00 to get lightning lane for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Despite that, overall I still had a great vacation and marathon weekend.

Surprised to learn?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

agree 100%........Yesterdays inflation report of 8% and $4 per gallon gas are the highest readings in almost 50 years

It takes time for that type of thing to have an effect. People don’t decide to go today and show on Monday. Long planning windows…even today

 

[LaughingGravy]

I may be wrong but I think the current economy will have an effect on people going to WDW time will tell

Yeah, a 5 hr drive to visit sis in law, which didn't used to be a big deal, that's a minimum of a $100 trip now in fuel. For those that drive a long distance to Disney, that can be a big deal.