Gotta be honest.... Not my best trip

[wendlle]

$18k American dollars??? For 5 days?

2 Adults and 2 Kids, we spent 5 days in Disneyland Resort, but the trip was 11 days long all together - we came from Australia so flights are expensive along with the weak dollar.
That's what a vacation costs from Australia these days!
The cost was in AUD

 

[RoseColored97]

$18k American dollars??? For 5 days?

That works out to about $11K in USD, which is pretty reasonable coming from Australia.

 

[DLgal]

2 Adults and 2 Kids, we spent 5 days in Disneyland Resort, but the trip was 11 days long all together - we came from Australia so flights are expensive along with the weak dollar.
That's what a vacation costs from Australia these days!
The cost was in AUD

That's crazy! No wonder you didn't feel you got your money's worth.

 

[wendlle]

That's crazy! No wonder you didn't feel you got your money's worth.

Exactly the reason why I’ll be going to the Tokyo parks instead

 

[Chickinvic]

Except that wasn’t my experience. I rode the rides I wanted to, had very minimal issues with breakdowns, almost none, experienced parades and nighttime entertainment and loved the atmosphere that truly made me happy. My experience is valid too and we can choose to enjoy what we want to.

Consider yourself lucky. I was there last week, and rides were broken down constantly.

 

[Chickinvic]

Exactly the reason why I’ll be going to the Tokyo parks instead

I've heard they are better anyways.

 

[AquaDame]

I've heard they are better anyways.

It's true. A little harder to get to from Oregon than Anaheim in our case, or we'd go there more frequently!

 

[crystal1313]

We just got back from our trip. We knew to adjust our expectations. But wow, we hardly rode any attractions. Usually we do rope drop, but based on all the reviews and the fact that we have teenagers who don’t want to wake up early, we slept in.

We did not buy genie plus. We have tried it a couple times this year and thought it was awful. We didn’t want to spend the extra money. We knew we wouldn’t get much accomplished, but it was worse than we thought. I think the kicker was seeing space come back after it was down. We hopped in line, it said 30 min. 2 hour and ten minutes later, we finally boarded. I watched. They let 25 genie people in the line vs. 10 standby. The poor kids in front of us were only there for one day. They were livid. It was really sad all around.

But, I do have to say cast members seemed more like cast members this trip than our August trip. So that made me happy. They Seemed more friendly and helpful and smiling this trip. We also stopped and took in the atmosphere more and tried more yummy foods than usual. That was also nice.

We spent a ton of money and don’t feel like we got to do a whole lot. I think we will be holding off on a trip until we go in June. And we are only going in June because our friends invited us and we already said yes. I sure hope something major changes with genie before we go again.

 

[Bruno33]

I think the kicker was seeing space come back after it was down. We hopped in line, it said 30 min. 2 hour and ten minutes later, we finally boarded. I watched. They let 25 genie people in the line vs. 10 standby.

25 to 10 is actually pretty good these days. They will go to 10x LL vs standby if it’s backed up enough - I don’t get why the ratio is so much worse than it was with FP/Maxpass.

30 minutes turning into 2+ hours is brutal, though, sheesh.

 

[hootey]

Looks like most of the Disney-Magic is now a memory. Disneyland is now just an over-priced amusement park. We used to go for four to five days at a time and enjoy every minute of it staying on property, early entry, character meals, everything. From what I am seeing here All of it is gone except, for long lines and reaching for your wallet all the time. WDW is the same way.
We have been to Universal Orlando twice in the last year or so. Great Rides, Friendly Staff, Great Food, a few long lines but, not enough to be upset about. A-N-D almost everything from food to t-shirts was a less expensive. Guess where we are going next?

 

[Pluto468]

We just got back from our trip. We knew to adjust our expectations. But wow, we hardly rode any attractions. Usually we do rope drop, but based on all the reviews and the fact that we have teenagers who don’t want to wake up early, we slept in.

We did not buy genie plus. We have tried it a couple times this year and thought it was awful. We didn’t want to spend the extra money. We knew we wouldn’t get much accomplished, but it was worse than we thought. I think the kicker was seeing space come back after it was down. We hopped in line, it said 30 min. 2 hour and ten minutes later, we finally boarded. I watched. They let 25 genie people in the line vs. 10 standby. The poor kids in front of us were only there for one day. They were livid. It was really sad all around.

But, I do have to say cast members seemed more like cast members this trip than our August trip. So that made me happy. They Seemed more friendly and helpful and smiling this trip. We also stopped and took in the atmosphere more and tried more yummy foods than usual. That was also nice.

We spent a ton of money and don’t feel like we got to do a whole lot. I think we will be holding off on a trip until we go in June. And we are only going in June because our friends invited us and we already said yes. I sure hope something major changes with genie before we go again.

I'm sorry your trip wasn't more enjoyable. The ride wait times are really out of control.I hope something can be done about it. It's good to know the CMs were better this time and it's always nice to try new yummy food

 

[DnA2010]

25 to 10 is actually pretty good these days. They will go to 10x LL vs standby if it’s backed up enough - I don’t get why the ratio is so much worse than it was with FP/Maxpass.

Yup. When we went in Sept, I asked the CM who was running the LL at Autotopia, as we were waiting a lot longer than posted, and he said the ration was 10-1 LL to regular line.

 

[Pluto468]

Yup. When we went in Sept, I asked the CM who was running the LL at Autotopia, as we were waiting a lot longer than posted, and he said the ration was 10-1 LL to regular line.

That's just crazy. I wonder what the Fastpass/Standby ratio used to be. It never felt too unbalanced at the time.

 

[tigertides]

These posts are really discouraging. Have a two day trip planned for the summer. Any secrets to the trip NOT being miserable?

Besides, RoPE drop, GENIE+ , and staying on site?

 

[DontSpamMe]

Yup. When we went in Sept, I asked the CM who was running the LL at Autotopia, as we were waiting a lot longer than posted, and he said the ration was 10-1 LL to regular line.

This is a crap shoot and depends on the CM managing the merge point. I've seen standby lines move nicely and then abruptly come to a screeching halt when a CM is replaced at the merge point. Unfortunately, space seems to usually have the 10 to 1 ratio.

 

[crystal1313]

I was only able to count when we entered the merge area.

We did notice they were not running full trains on space as well. Some only had two rows loaded. And all of row 3 was not being used. We asked why and were told that row didn’t have audio.

I remember they used to tell you to hurry to load the trains and to make sure you were all the way up to the loading line. This time they didn’t do that. I know they have to load super fast or the ride will go down. Maybe that was why the trains were not full? People couldn’t load quick enough? I’m not sure. But it seemed odd.

 

[tigertides]

I just purchased the unofficial guide to Disneyland 2023.

The experts state “we found the experience of using Genie plus to be eerily blissful. On a busy weekend we used it to knock off a dozen headliners without ever queuing for more than 15 minutes. To be frank, it worked so well that we’re surprised Disney isn’t charging more for Disney+


Who’s right? Len Testa, or this blog???

 

[Aspencreek]

That's just crazy. I wonder what the Fastpass/Standby ratio used to be. It never felt too unbalanced at the time.

Probably was about the same ratio (10 to 1 or so) but I think there were way less FPs given out compared to LLs now.

 

[lalasmama]

These posts are really discouraging. Have a two day trip planned for the summer. Any secrets to the trip NOT being miserable?

Besides, RoPE drop, GENIE+ , and staying on site?

So much can change by summer. Remember, Iger has only been back in charge for a few days, so there's no clear indication yet of what he might change.

 

[Astylla]

These posts are really discouraging. Have a two day trip planned for the summer. Any secrets to the trip NOT being miserable?

Besides, RoPE drop, GENIE+ , and staying on site?

This is the advice I give day visitors when everyone comes to me about advice now :

1. Stay walking distance. If this means you cut out a meal at the parks or a souvenir , do it. You will thank me later.

2. Get there when security opens for rope drop , make this your priority. With that make a priority MUST do list of 5 attractions you want that first half of the day. Then make a second list of another 5 things you consider MUST DO's. Anything else is a bonus. Will you be able to do more than that ? Possibly and hopefully but having a plan can help.

3. Take a midday break between 2pm and 5pm.
I usually return by 6pm and close the parks, schedule a sit down meal at say Storyteller's or drinks at hearthstone lounge if I'm solo. I feel that helps refresh me. Even just finding a quiet spot can do wonders.

4. I'm going to catch a lot of grief for this but *consider* Genie plus for one day/park IF you feel it will add value to your trip.
What I mean by this is if there is a park that has more than 4 rides you know you'd like to take advantage of with G+ , I'd do it. As a MK holder depending on my specific goals I will buy it at times, but usually only on very busy or limited time days. I personally have had good experiences. However acknowledge that mine may be an exception to the rule currently and in no way am I saying it's a must.

5. Set reasonable expectations that there is no slow time.
Check convention schedules for busier/more expensive hotel dates to avoid , don't stay on site for the early entry alone , be okay with change and go with the flow as able.

More than anything have a serious discussion with yourself and ask :

Does this trip planning and thought bring me joy ?
If it doesn't or after doesn't , it's okay to re evaluate value to you and put that effort into other destinations or goals