Magical ? Not so much.

[BarbieGal457]

So you deliberately chose not to do any prior research, and then are upset by the changes....that you could've been aware of had you done prior research? And with that said, at the busiest time of year? I'm not trying to attack you or anything but I agree with others, that's a very ...interesting... strategy.

I hate to sound rude, but in that sort of instance I don't have too much sympathy for people who willingly disregard even the slightest Google search and then come here (or elsewhere) to list their myriad complaints with Disney and how they had a bad time. If you don't want to do any research I feel you also need to accept the risk your trip will be less perfect than you expect. I research every trip I take anywhere so I know what to expect and how to prepare, and I still research all my Disney trips before I go, despite that I've now gone dozens of times - three this year alone, and I just got back Saturday. I feel confident I could do a spur of the moment trip right this second, but I am well armed with the most up-to-date info and changes going on because of my researching.

As for park cleanliness, that is totally subjective. Like Bumbershoot said, what you see one moment may be totally cleaned up in the next, and the family behind you will have a totally different opinion. I actually think the parks look a lot better than past trips too. BTMRR used to be literally filthy in the queue every time I rode, with overflowing trash everywhere. This entire year, 3 trips, the queue has been spotless or close to it. A little girl next to me accidentally dropped her entire ice cream, splattering it everywhere and we ended up passing the spot again 5-10 minutes later and it was completely clean. In fact, we had been chatting with a CM and I said "oh no that little girl's ice cream just fell!" completely off the cuff and the CM ran right over to her and told her it was okay, don't be upset, and walked her and her family over to get a free ice cream to replace it (we were only a few feet from the cart). So in addition to quick clean ups, a super nice CM to rescue the afternoon! We noticed CMs everywhere sweeping, washing, changing trash cans...the park was the cleanest this year that I have seen it in a long time!

I am sorry you had a disappointing time but I feel you could've had an exponentially better one if you had just done 5 minutes of searching. To be purposefully ignorant to research for a trip you are taking, even a day trip, and then be upset at changes from your last visit (which seems at least several years ago), doesn't make sense to me.

ETA: I meant for OP to be upset at some changes, like FP+, that they could've been prepared for. Changes in perceived cleanliness, perceived park attendance and CM attitudes are all different and valid complaints for OP to have from whatever their point of view is.

 

[larryz]

So you deliberately chose not to do any prior research, and then are upset by the changes....that you could've been aware of had you done prior research? And with that said, at the busiest time of year? I'm not trying to attack you or anything but I agree with others, that's a very ...interesting... strategy.

I hate to sound rude, but in that sort of instance I don't have too much sympathy for people who willingly disregard even the slightest Google search and then come here (or elsewhere) to list their myriad complaints with Disney and how they had a bad time. If you don't want to do any research I feel you also need to accept the risk your trip will be less perfect than you expect. I research every trip I take anywhere so I know what to expect and how to prepare, and I still research all my Disney trips before I go, despite that I've now gone dozens of times - three this year alone, and I just got back Saturday. I feel confident I could do a spur of the moment trip right this second, but I am well armed with the most up-to-date info and changes going on because of my researching.

As for park cleanliness, that is totally subjective. Like Bumbershoot said, what you see one moment may be totally cleaned up in the next, and the family behind you will have a totally different opinion. I actually think the parks look a lot better than past trips too. BTMRR used to be literally filthy in the queue every time I rode, with overflowing trash everywhere. This entire year, 3 trips, the queue has been spotless or close to it. A little girl next to me accidentally dropped her entire ice cream, splattering it everywhere and we ended up passing the spot again 5-10 minutes later and it was completely clean. In fact, we had been chatting with a CM and I said "oh no that little girl's ice cream just fell!" completely off the cuff and the CM ran right over to her and told her it was okay, don't be upset, and walked her and her family over to get a free ice cream to replace it (we were only a few feet from the cart). So in addition to quick clean ups, a super nice CM to rescue the afternoon! We noticed CMs everywhere sweeping, washing, changing trash cans...the park was the cleanest this year that I have seen it in a long time!

I am sorry you had a disappointing time but I feel you could've had an exponentially better one if you had just done 5 minutes of searching. To be purposefully ignorant to research for a trip you are taking, even a day trip, and then be upset at changes from your last visit (which seems at least several years ago), doesn't make sense to me.

ETA: I meant for OP to be upset at some changes, like FP+, that they could've been prepared for. Changes in perceived cleanliness, perceived park attendance and CM attitudes are all different and valid complaints for OP to have from whatever their point of view is.

Sadly, if a day-guest did any research at all for a spontaneous* one-day trip, they'd very likely decide to go to Universal or Legoland instead of Disney.

* Doing any research kind of negates the idea of "spontaneous," doesn't it?

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Within 30 minutes of entering the park, I remarked to my wife that MK is dirtier. My wife agreed. We saw cigarette butts, discarded food, trash, and empty soda & water bottles all over MK.

Have observed this as well. (see below observation that "there are less [sic] cast members working.") They do clean, but not instantly.

* MK to me appeared to be "oversold". It was jam packed on a weekday when kids in the US are [I think] in school. It's now $105 per person per day, and maybe it's just me, but I don't think you should have to wait more then 30 minutes a for ANY ride or attraction if you are paying that type of admission price. There were literally times when we found ourselves in a crowd of people with no way to move 3 feet in either direction.

MK isn't "oversold" on a regular day...they have a capacity for the park, and they will admit guests until they reach it. When they reach it, they will start phased closures of the park. It's just more popular now than it has been in a long time. They can and will pack the park until it has to close, if enough guests want to enter. Regularly happens on holidays like New Years Eve. From October through December, any MK day that does not have a hard ticket party scheduled is probably going to be crowded.

* We both felt as though the cast members were less friendly and less willing to be helpful. We also thought that there were less cast members working

Both true. Although it isn't the case that ALL cast members are unfriendly or unhelpful.

* The current Fast Pass system is new since our last visit, and no one at the park could really explain it well. The most frustrating part of this new system is that you have to go - not to the attraction you want to visit - but to what appeared to be almost hidden on purpose areas in the park to get your 3 FP's. Would it not make more sense to get the FP like we used to - at the attraction ? In addition, the new system also seems to make you need to stay in the park longer than you may want to. We got our 3 each attractions Fast Passed at about 11am. We received times of: 230-330 for Haunted Mansion, 445-530 for Big Thunder, and then 545-630 for Pirates. So, it was a wait of 6 hours and 65 minutes to see Pirates !! Huh ?

The trials of the new FP system have been well discussed here - if you don't get yours ahead of time, you are limited to what's left the day of, and you have to take what you can get. Perception is everything though...you can usually see Pirates without the fastpass. I have been in what looked like a crazy long standby line to get in there, and was out within a half hour. Some guests would have looked at it and said "That is not a 30 minute line and I am not standing in it." It may also be a matter of perception that the OP is convinced that they saw NO smiling children and that everyone else in the park was also having a lousy time.

* I always make sure to enjoy a full breakfast before heading to a park, but I know that I will need to have at least lunch and some snacks while in the park. The prices in the park are laughably high, and are for average or below average quality products. I used to be a vendor to Disney, and can tell you from experience that they squeeze vendors on price ALL THE TIME. They are making a obscene profit margin on the food and beverage, and yes, this is America, and you are allowed to charge whatever you feel folks will pay. But, but if prices were 10-20% lower, I'm sure they would have a lot more folks eating there, and therefore staying longer, and presumably spending more.

They charge that much because guests will pay it AND they can fill the restaurants to the extent that they want to staff them. They don't need to lower the prices to get more guests to eat in Disney restaurants and to stay longer. They also have a dining plan that obligates some resort guests to eat all their meals in Disney restaurants, because they have already paid for the meals.

It is unfortunately the case that the OP, who does not wish to return, will not be able to sell or transfer a partially used multi-day ticket.

 

[chainkid]

I just returned from an 8 Day trip. I'm an ultimate planner and Disney fanantic but traveling with a toddler made planning a big challenge as you have to wing it when they are tired. I made fast passes but never was able to use them as plans had to change to accommodate the little one. In the past if one day didn't work out you could get up early and secure the best rides anyway and then go back to relax at resorts when the crowds hit. I also pick the lowest crowd times to avoid throngs of people. This time the crowd were huge even early in day, the wait times were routinely over 40 minutes for anything worth riding on. We still had a good time and focused on character interaction but it has me very worried for my large family trip in 2017. I simply cannot plan for 40 people at the level that is needed to day to have the same carefree experience. I tried booking restaurants that I normally book and this year was completely shut out of everyone because I missed a week. I tried new ones like Boat house and it was a hit but it was a huge wake up call for me. Dining plan is a huge waste of money. Drink prices at $16.00 for a mixed drink were over top rip off.

I found cast members very good on this trip but people in general are extremely rude and ignorant. Many times we waited in line for a parade with little guy in stroller. Right before show starts adults jump in front of him and then bring their own kids. Not worth getting in fight with these people as they don't have manners enough to know they did anything wrong.

I have gone over 30 times in past few years and have noticed many changes to my experience . I try to overlook this as I still feel Disney is a magical time if you look for the magic. I do not believe its possible anymore to enjoy Disney unless you can plan every second . I never understood how people could go to the world and just wait in 40 min line after 90 min line and enjoy their experience. This time if I wanted to ride anything I would have had long waits so I only went on three rides all week . I tried finding a last minute character meal anywhere at anytime for my little guy as it turns out that was what he loved. We had Chef mickey and it was hit but reg dining was not for him. Could not find anything at all despite being flexible. I finally experience the world like non planners do and it was an awful experience. Spending over $100 a day to walk around and then wait in long lines is not something I ever expected to do . I simply do not know how to successfully plan at this level with 40 people so thinking of cancelling trip .

 

[BarbieGal457]

Sadly, if a day-guest did any research at all for a spontaneous* one-day trip, they'd very likely decide to go to Universal or Legoland instead of Disney.

* Doing any research kind of negates the idea of "spontaneous," doesn't it?

I don't know, spontaneous to me means a last minute decision, not one that is also devoid of any research. OP could've even looked things up on the way to the park but purposely didn't want to, and then is complaining about unexpected changes he encountered and how unhappy it made them. They said they had tickets from previous trips and go every several years, so they at least knew something about their past visits but chose not to brush up on a place that they probably very well knew must've changed since their last trip. I've made spontaneous decisions to go to places before but on the way there did at least a modicum of looking things up about it. That said, if spontaneous to people means "no research either," then that's cool too just don't complain things weren't how you expected. That's the risk you take with doing it that way.

I also think where someone would decide to go depends on what they like. I wouldn't be very likely as a day-guest (assuming with no prior Disney experience?) to pick Universal or Legoland because Universal holds little appeal to me, and while I love Legos, I don't want to spend all day there. I think the public in general has an idea of what Disney and Universal are like even if they have never been, and going off what I would assume I would know if I had never been, I would still choose Disney. I think that's more to-may-to to-mah-to, as everyone has their individual preferences. For some a day at Disney might be a waste, but a day at Universal is a waste to me because I do almost nothing they have haha

 

[MakiraMarlena]

planning ANY trip for 40 people is not going to be carefree.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

planning ANY trip for 40 people is not going to be carefree.

I couldn't imagine trying this in today's Disney environment. It was bad enough doing 25 6 years ago when they had programs to help large groups. Trying to do any kind of ADRs and/or FP+ for that many people is just going to be a nightmare. Just think if all 40 want to ride 7DMT. Finding 20 sets of overlapping times is going to be entertaining to say the least.

 

[chainkid]

It has been for last 7 trips we have taken. I do all advance planning dining reservations, accomodations and fast passes plus special events. I love planning and it usually works pretty well so when people arrive they think everyone can experience the best of everything by just showing up and walking up. The key was that fast passes could be changed if plans changed but now its nearly impossible to get times you want . I personally will not willing wait in 40 min wait lines. Seven Dwarfs mine train being the exception on my last trip but that was a big disappointment and will never ride it again unless its a walk on. Thunder mountain is a lot better ride. No one wants to adhere to a rigid schedule for a 10 day trip but unless you want to have a totally miserable experience then you have to schedule everything months in advance and don't deviate from plan. Doesn't sound like an easily doable thing with so many variable ages etc. My biggest frustration is losing the ability to buy 10 day non expiring passes as this allowed us to skip park days during the trip if our plans changed without losing mega bucks. Now we have to go to parks or lose money. For myself I could go to Disney and never go into a park and be happy but that is just me. I personally could see a lot of people not wanting to pay these exorbitant prices for a lot of stale rides but if new park areas open up that might change. I picked 2017 hoping for more new experiences

 

[Magpie]

I think a bigger issue is attempting to invalidate the person's comments with things like "I never waited for anything" which often translates into we did Tiki Room, Country Bears and Hall of Presidents. One of my other favorites is "You didn't use the system right because it worked great for us" which then means combining things with DAS, extra MB or repeated trips to guest relations. My final favorite though is "your memory is bad things have always been dirty and rides left unrepaired" which is just simply not true.

While I think the OP didn't do a great job communicating things and came off rather brash the actual items they noted are all valid concerns and have been noted by many other people. Not everyone's experience will be the same and just because you think someone could have done something better doesn't make their experience wrong or invalid.

I didnt wait for the mine train... Because I booked my fastpass ahead of time. I didnt wait for Peter Pan, because I was there at rope drop. I didnt wait for Buzz (rode multiple times), because I rode in the first couple hours when the line was short. I never waited for anything... because I did my research and had a plan.

This is not something unique to Walt Disney World. The first time my daughter visited London, she was with my mother, whose idea of planning is to dig a decades old travel book off her shelf and leave everything else up to her travel agent. My daughter came home very happy, but also disappointed at the things they hadn't been able to do, due to the crowds. When we went back to London, my daughter and I, we had a plan (largely consisting of things she didn't get to see when she went with her grandma). We knew that if we didn't want to stand in line for an hour at Madame Tussaud's, we had to get there before opening with pre purchased tickets in hand. While researching our trip, we learned some sights are now even offering 'Fastpass' like tiered tickets and express lines. The food at the Tower of London cafe was more expensive than Disney, and blander. We had a great time, but we saw many long faces among the less prepared.

For the record, the current FP system works great for me and my family. We do not have a DAS. We do not have extra magic bands. We've never gone to Guest Services to demand special treatment. We simply know how to use it.

And I'm the first to admit that my memory is fallible. It lies to me all the time. All I can tell you is that I was at Walt Disney World earlier this same month. I saw clean parks and I has many wonderful interactions with castmembers, same as I remember from my other trips. If my perception ever changes and I start seeing dirty parks and rude castmembers, I'll stop going. Fortunately for me, it looks like we'll be enjoying many more vacations at Disney.

One thing I did notice... Disney gets busier with every year. Fortunately, with proper planning (and using tools like FP), that doesn't have to detract from our fun.

 

[ArwenMarie]

3) Parks ARE more crowded. I think everyone agrees about that. I can't blame Disney about it - they are a business looking for profits - but man, the long stand-by lines and just the difficulty of walking around due to the crowds is annoying. The high crowd levels are making the experience not as magical.
4) The number of strollers and scooters has increased - and this DOES effect traffic flow around the parks.

These points are really the heart of the matter. The crowds plus the number of gigantic jogging strollers and ECVs are deteriorating the experience on many days to the point that it's often not worth it anymore, at MK in particular. Not blaming anyone who uses an ECV or stroller, but I do think at some point Disney has to accept that the number of ECVs/Strollers matters and has to be taken into account with how many effective people are in the park.

Everything comes back to crowds, crowds, crowds.

 

[ACS228]

I purposely did not do a lot of research before this visit; it was a one day / 8 hour visit.
I mean, gee, it's the Magic Kingdom ! What could go wrong ?? =)
I realize now that I should of done some research beforehand.
I was relating my experience so that [hopefully] someone else could avoid what we experienced with the FastPass system.

A large part of our frustration was that no one at the park could explain the system to us.
Also .. the locations used to get those FP's were in hard to find [what seemed like temporary] locations.

Also, how would a one day "spur of the moment" visitor know that you can and should book FP weeks in advance ??
Or is the answer simply that going to Disney without researching the heck out of the visit .... ie: deciding to go because it's a sunny day just a stupid thing to do ?

 

[Bullseye]

As a pp said, the OP. But, I also want to add that the "drinking the kool aid" thing really bugs me, and I'm very glad bumbershoot addressed it. We might just as well pick any other horrifying event from (comparatively recent!) history and use that. "Oh, you don't agree with me? Eh, you're just just another mindless IS extremist. Wait? Why are you offended? You know perfectly well it's just a phrase, and it doesn't have anything to do with real terrorist organizations. Sheesh!"

I agree, I never drink the "kool-aid,"...except for when I'm snorting the "pixie dust" and it gets stuck in the back of my throat on the way down

 

[ACS228]

They wouldn't. But how many people truly do "spur of the moment" trips, dropping hundreds of dollars for tickets?

Most travelers do some research before any trip, in this, the internet age.

We are annual pass holders who live 45 min away. We plan most of our day trips "spur of the moment" depending on work schedules and the weather. We sometimes don't get to schedule fast passes until we are in the car on the way and there have been many times we can get only one of our choices and then it's for late afternoon or evening. The way the system is set up we are automatically assigned two attractions we didn't choose and then need to go back and manually delete them. Since there are a maximum number of passes/times per ride if I don't delete them they aren't available for anyone else. I suppose I could schedule fast passes for every day next month just in case we get to go and maybe people do that but I don't like hoarding passes that won't be used.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I couldn't imagine trying this in today's Disney environment. It was bad enough doing 25 6 years ago when they had programs to help large groups. Trying to do any kind of ADRs and/or FP+ for that many people is just going to be a nightmare. Just think if all 40 want to ride 7DMT. Finding 20 sets of overlapping times is going to be entertaining to say the least.

ITA. The most we've done at one time is 9, and that was before FP+. The thought of even trying to coordinate FP+ for 9 people makes me go a bit ...40!?! Not unless I'm getting paid to do that planning. And even then...I shudder just thinking about it.

 

[subtchr]

We are annual pass holders who live 45 min away. We plan most of our day trips "spur of the moment" depending on work schedules and the weather. We sometimes don't get to schedule fast passes until we are in the car on the way and there have been many times we can get only one of our choices and then it's for late afternoon or evening. The way the system is set up we are automatically assigned two attractions we didn't choose and then need to go back and manually delete them. Since there are a maximum number of passes/times per ride if I don't delete them they aren't available for anyone else. I suppose I could schedule fast passes for every day next month just in case we get to go and maybe people do that but I don't like hoarding passes that won't be used.

My comment was aimed at the type of visitor the OP was talking about: families who might be in Florida and decide to just go to the Magic Kingdom for the day. You are AP holders, and you are familiar with how the FP+ system works, even if you feel you cannot use it optimally with last minute trips. Totally different scenario.

A couple of points, though...

- As an AP, you can't schedule fastpasses for "every day next month". You are limited to seven days total, within the next 30 days (unless you are staying at a Disney resort, then the usual resort guest policies apply).

- Yes, the system requires that when you make advance reservations, you book 3 attractions, or it will book ones for you to make the 3. However, after you use the one you really wanted, you CAN go into the system and cancel the other 2, to make them available to others. Takes a few seconds, but since you are considerate enough to think about the effect you holding those FP has on others, I'm sure you wouldn't mind!

 

[SparklePixie]

We still had a good trip, but I think Disney is losing ground on the overall experience for the sake of profits right now. It stood above the rest of the crowd of similar destinations. Not so much anymore.......

I think this sums up in a nutshell what is happening at Disney right now.

 

[GreatLakes]

I would be extremely surprised if 100% of the allotment of FP+s for ride x on day y are released in one big batch on day (x-60). An educated guess tells me there is a method to releasing the FP+s based on a long list of variables and there are at least some that are released same day. I have no proof of this of course but it is a much more sensible way to handle FP+ allocations. Doing it with an algorithm makes it easier to adjust for staffing, special events, unplanned issues elsewhere, and a host of other operational considerations.

For what it is worth I also suspect the same is true of ADRs.

 

[alliecat523]

OP; you have some valid points, and yet you could have done to help yourselves make it a more pleasant experience.

I do agree that it seems that Disney is trying to get away with less cast members, who in turn are forced to do more, and then are probably not as cheerful as they might have been in the past. One of the keys that made MK and the other parks magical in the past was the special attention to customer service. You'll still see it from time to time but it's less and less these days. There's a thin line between capitalism and the Disney dream.

On the other hand, you could have helped yourself by planning a bit, particularly with the FP's, as others have mentioned. And there are very helpful sites out there with crowd calendars that will help you make good decisions about which park to visit on a particular day. If you combine advanced FP reservations, crowd calendar planning, and maybe getting there near rope drop I think you'll find that you can really help yourself.

I think this is a great point. The time between trips making the changes more jarring. I also agree that traveling to a popular theme park with 2 small children and not doing one minute of research (be it crowd levels, wait times, FP+ or whatever) seems nuts. In the end, it's all about perspective (another point many have made). We just returned home on Monday and had a great experience. We found everything very clean and the CMs super friendly and helpful. In fact, my 11 year old commented a few times on how nice everyone was. We had a great time even when we switched up our plans and had no FPs for the MK the second day we went. Yes, we had to wait in line, but we don't go to Disney expecting to walk on every ride. I wouldn't expect that anywhere unless I paid for some sort of VIP pass.

 

[amwhitaker]

I'm hoping more and more people become disgusted with Disney World. The less people the better for me when I visit! lol

 

[srauseo]

I think a bigger issue is attempting to invalidate the person's comments with things like "I never waited for anything" which often translates into we did Tiki Room, Country Bears and Hall of Presidents. One of my other favorites is "You didn't use the system right because it worked great for us" which then means combining things with DAS, extra MB or repeated trips to guest relations.

I was there in mid-August. We didn't wait long for anything and the system worked great for us. And we didn't use DAS, or extra MBs, or complaints, or a throw-away room or any "tricks". We didn't stick to less popular attractions either. Example: at Magic Kingdom on a EMH morning we went on Peter Pan, Pooh, Barnstormer, Dumbo, Carousel, Tea Cups, met A&E (FP for part of the group), had a break for waffles at Sleepy Hollow, Haunted Mansion, iasw, Enchanted Tales, and Little Mermaid before checking in early for our lunch at CP at 11:30. After long pool break back at the hotel we returned to MK and did Jungle Cruise (FP), Pirates (FP), Aladdin, Tiki Room, Tree House, dinner, Dole Whips, Space Mountain (FP for other part of group that didn't do meet 'n greet) and Speedway. The longest line I waited in was dinner at Pecos Bill. So, in about 8.5 hours of park time we rode 14 attractions including plenty of headliners, saw two shows (Belle and Tiki room), had one character meal, met Anna and Elsa, and had snacks and dinner. I think we also watched part of the move it, shake it parade. This was with a group of six including two kids under 6 and we were hardly moving fast. In fact, there were times where I was so ahead of schedule we were trying to figure out how to kill time. So, no, you don't need to "cheat" or stick to less popular attractions to have a better day.