Why is WDW so stressful, expensiv and overcrowded these days? The fear of dissapointment from a 2020-First-Timer

[tohoyoho]

Next year my partner and I will experience WDW for the first time.
At the beginning of October, we will be at the resort for 14 days in the Port Orleans French Quarter.
Unfortunately, we are currently more concerned about disappointment....

Disappointment because of too many crowds, the high costs and the resulting frustration.
We watched this year's calendars in October and realized with horror that especially the hours in the MK were significantly reduced. There was a Halloween party on almost every second day in the week. MK even closed at 6 p.m. (not like the years before at 7 p.m. There was no Evening hours and every day for an hour extra morning hours ....
I do not hope that will be the norm....

We would like to sleep a little longer (8 a.m.), so we are going to be in the parks about 10 - 11 a.m., Fastpasses from 12 a.m. So the evening hours would fit perfect for us!

my opinion for a good vacation:

- Partys at two (towards the end three) days in the week are enough. This gives the other guests the opportunity to spread themselves better.

- extend opening times. Like 2 or 3 years ago. EMH until 1 o'clock etc. and the masses are scattered

- Do not push up the prices further or maybe even reduce something (I know, that won't happen!). Of course, Disney has put a lot of money in WDW in recent years. However, they are also a multi-billion dollar company. An amusement park must also do new things in order to continue to win or keep customers. I have the impression here that Disney is passing on the costs to the visitors in order to have as little as necessary "losses". I mean ... alone our FQ booking cost us $ 600- $ 800 more than we would have paid 3-4 years ago. That's.... INSANE!

- Paid FP system. I think that will come sooner or later anyway but that would be a system where everyone can decide for themselves whether they feel it is necessary or not to have to queue or rather take the FP line. At Universal, the whole thing works great too!



For us as first-timers it would be very frustrating after long planning and money-saving, if we only have to torture ourselves by the masses and only find peace in the hotel. Because ... even if the time at FQ should not be too short .... We make this trip because of the parks and not to be in the hotel-pool ;-)

I know this is my second post: I enjoy Disney so much, love the movies etc!

Simply because this is a very special, unique trip for us.... I wish, that it will be something really special und wonderfull! But I'm realistic too.... And this is.... as
exaggerated as it sounds..... terrifiying :-(

 

[eliza61nyc]

So my concern for you is that you are a year away and you are already going in with negative expectations.
Vacations are supposed to be happy, exciting things not terrifying.

Now all the things you consider a necessity for a good vacation are not what's going on at wdw.

I'm a bit confused why you guys picked WDW. You don't want crowds yet you are going somewhere notoriously crowded.

You want extended hours to 1-2 o'clock in October?? That's not likely. You know this
Parties are profit they are here for the forseable future.

Are you sure this is the right fit for you guys??

 

[networkpro]

You're basing your opinion based only on secondhand information and mostly on one of the 4 parks. Do you even realize the scale of the resort ?

 

[Think Tink]

You picked a very crowded time of year to be going for the first time. If you have flexibility (which I know not everyone does) late August through mid September are much better crowd wise.
It seems you have already put yourself in a negative mindset for your trip which you need to not do. Start thinking of the positive things. FQ is beautiful! It’s a smaller moderate and won’t feel as crowded as other hotels. Try some pool time to break up the crowds or Disney Springs. You will have a wonderful time if you don’t focus on the bad things.

 

[JIMINYCR]

If you are going in negative then its going to be disappointing for you because thats where your focus will be throughout the entire trip. You can avoid a lot of issues with proper planning. By planning out your park days all you have to do is plan around the MNSSHP dates, and that takes care of that issue. There are 3 other parks to go to. Its your choice to sleep in, knowing WDW is going to be crowded that time of year, you know that to avoid early crowding you must get up earlier and hit the parks early. Thats not Disneys fault, thats the reality of the parks being popular, but you can still work around it. With proper FP+ in place youll get to do your major attractions. Prices on everything go up, Disney is no different, everything is more expensive than 3 - 4 years ago. Extending hours is fine, I'd love it too, but it also increases work hours and costs... but you dont want prices to raise. Any trip is costly so knowing that going in you save properly for the trip you want. Theres no reason your trip cant be enjoyable and special if you make it that way. Even on our trips when it was crazy buzy weve had a great time. Hope you can find a way to enjoy.

 

[danyoung56]

My only piece of advice is that you should suck it up and get to the parks right at park open. If you wait till 10 or 11, you will have given up 2 to 3 prime hours of park storming, when the lines are much shorter. By 11am the full crowd will be there, and you'll experience long lines everywhere. You can get so much done in that first couple of hours of touring. I love to sleep in, but would never do it on a Disney park visit.

 

[cmwade77]

Honestly, I think people get out of their vacation what they put into it. Going in with negative expectations, you will have a negative experience.

Instead start looking at the positives, you are going to have two weeks of being away from home and on vacation.

Will there be crowds? Absolutely, BUT there is a lot YOU can do to manage the crowds.

1. Change your concept a bit and actually get there at park opening. Spend a few hours going on rides.
2. Make all your fast passes for early in the morning, then after you use the last one get another and another.
3. After the parks start getting crowded take a break, go back to the hotel for a midday nap and swim break. And the weather WILL be hot, you will want to go back and cool off midday anyway, at least we always do at that time of the year.
4. Use something like TouringPlans to get crowd calendars to determine the best days for each park and the best attraction order to minimize wait times and/or walking.

But, the number one best thing you can do is:
Determine that you WILL have a terrific trip, no matter what happens

 

[yensid67]

Tohoyoho here is my advice...
Go to undercovertourist.com and use the planning tools, specifically the CROWD CALENDAR and figure out what the crowds should be like during your vacation. I would suggest if you want lighter crowds you move your dates to the first week in December, which tend to to be slower. Also, to save you some money, Disney offers a Mid Day ticket that gives you admission at 12 noon- close...since you want to sleep in. This year its $79/day. Undercoverourist has these and other discounted tickets!
DO NOT go in with negativity. If you do then that's what you will get! I feel the same way but I don't let that ruin my plans. If you are not happy then split your time with another resort(universal or sea world)

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

You should not be forming negative opinions ahead of time.
YOU HAVEN'T EVEN GONE YET!
You're setting yourself up for the failure.
No one to blame if you're disappointed but yourself.

With that said... you should have done your research and gone when there are not parties if that's not your thing. I mean it seems like you did your research for bad things...
Go from January to mid August.
There ARE PM EMH at MK.

If you find it too expensive you should consider not going for as long, staying in a value resort, and getting a base ticket.
My guess if you're visiting from Europe?
If so then a big expense is your airfare. Not much you're gonna do about that.
But overall Disney offers better deals to European visitors than they do to USA visitors.

Since its your first time you're not going to know what "overcrowded" is.

 

[networkpro]

Ehrlich gesagt, bin ich entsetzt über Ihre Entschlossenheit, dass Ihre Wahl des Urlaubs bereits verdorben ist. Ja andere Leute werden da sein, aber nicht mehr als Frühlingsfest. Es wird anders sein als in einem anderen Land. Wenn Sie keine anderen Menschen sehen möchten, ist Grönland die bessere Wahl. Es ist Florida, das Wetter ist wärmer als in dieser Jahreszeit in Deutschland und andere mögen es auch.

 

[StarshipDisney]

Paid FP system. I think that will come sooner or later anyway but that would be a system where everyone can decide for themselves whether they feel it is necessary or not to have to queue or rather take the FP line. At Universal, the whole thing works great too!

I respectfully disagree about the Universal Express Pass system being better. We just stayed at Universal from 5- 12 October 2019 and had the Express Pass every day as part of the vacation package. I believe that Universal would sell Express Pass to every single individual in their parks without end. We found some Express Pass lines to be quite long and the mandatory locker system at Universal is nothing short of pure chaos. At least with a FastPass you know that you will be on the ride in short order without the hassle of a locker.

 

[Gitson Shiggles]

Just go and form an opinion based on your experience, not what you read in these forums.

 

[wdwfan22]

Going in with a negative attitude is a quick way to ensure a negative experience. If you are worried about park hours at Magic Kingdom you shouldn't be going during party season. October - December is full of party nights. It's been this way for years. If the Magic Kingdom is the main goal consider visiting during the summer or spring. Otherwise plan your day accordingly. October is a very busy month at Walt Disney World and has been for quite some time. It's Food & Wine Festival, the peak of convention season and Halloween. On party days at Magic Kingdom if you get there at opening it's possible to do everything with short waits. The closer it gets to the party time the busier the park gets. Keep that in mind. Epcot is packed Fri - Sun during the month of October as well. With a little planning though it's still possible to have a great time.

 

[Genie_naughty_whispers]

Why? Because of the Bobs and the yeti

 

[Jimmy Thick]

I don't know whats more embarrassing, a person who's never been to WDW who actually paid for a trip next year and is whining about how bad it might be, , before they even go....

Or the fact I wasted 30 seconds of my life reading about it.

Jimmy Thick- Out, this is too depressing...

 

[eliza61nyc]

I don't know whats more embarrassing, a person who's never been to WDW who actually paid for a trip next year and is whining about how bad it might be, , before they even go....

Or the fact I wasted 30 seconds of my life reading about it.

Jimmy Thick- Out, this is too depressing...

He still has ample time to cancel, get his money back and book something else. That would be my suggestion.

 

[Lilofan]

There is a defibrillator in the parks and resorts if the guest needs it.

 

[NickMaio]

Tralalalatroll.

Yes.......what an odd first post.

 

[networkpro]

Nichts ist schlimmer als jemand, der in der Erwartung des Elends schwelgt, bevor etwas passiert.

 

[wdisney9000]

Next year my partner and I will experience WDW for the first time.
At the beginning of October, we will be at the resort for 14 days in the Port Orleans French Quarter.
Unfortunately, we are currently more concerned about disappointment....

Disappointment because of too many crowds, the high costs and the resulting frustration.
We watched this year's calendars in October and realized with horror that especially the hours in the MK were significantly reduced. There was a Halloween party on almost every second day in the week. MK even closed at 6 p.m. (not like the years before at 7 p.m. There was no Evening hours and every day for an hour extra morning hours ....
I do not hope that will be the norm....

We would like to sleep a little longer (8 a.m.), so we are going to be in the parks about 10 - 11 a.m., Fastpasses from 12 a.m. So the evening hours would fit perfect for us!

my opinion for a good vacation:

- Partys at two (towards the end three) days in the week are enough. This gives the other guests the opportunity to spread themselves better.

- extend opening times. Like 2 or 3 years ago. EMH until 1 o'clock etc. and the masses are scattered

- Do not push up the prices further or maybe even reduce something (I know, that won't happen!). Of course, Disney has put a lot of money in WDW in recent years. However, they are also a multi-billion dollar company. An amusement park must also do new things in order to continue to win or keep customers. I have the impression here that Disney is passing on the costs to the visitors in order to have as little as necessary "losses". I mean ... alone our FQ booking cost us $ 600- $ 800 more than we would have paid 3-4 years ago. That's.... INSANE!

- Paid FP system. I think that will come sooner or later anyway but that would be a system where everyone can decide for themselves whether they feel it is necessary or not to have to queue or rather take the FP line. At Universal, the whole thing works great too!



For us as first-timers it would be very frustrating after long planning and money-saving, if we only have to torture ourselves by the masses and only find peace in the hotel. Because ... even if the time at FQ should not be too short .... We make this trip because of the parks and not to be in the hotel-pool ;-)

I know this is my second post: I enjoy Disney so much, love the movies etc!

Simply because this is a very special, unique trip for us.... I wish, that it will be something really special und wonderfull! But I'm realistic too.... And this is.... as
exaggerated as it sounds..... terrifiying :-(

Your concerns are completely valid and it's unfortunate but your post will trigger most the folks around here that defend the brand at all costs. The last paragraph of your post specifically explains that you are excited, terrified but most importantly, realistic. Most of the responses seem to have ignored that and labelled your "being realistic", as "negative expectations". You clearly love Disney and are simply concerned about the (emotional) return on a monetary investment (which is what a 14 day WDW trip has become, an investment).

To offer some advice, have you considered visiting Disneyland Paris instead or even HKDL, Tokyo or Shanghai?