Taking a long Disney break-not so magical trip

[Little Mermaid 35]

We've done 7 Disney trips back to back over the past four years...four WDW trips and three DCL cruises. They've all been pretty awesome up until this last cruise and this last WDW trip we just got home from.

We cruised on the Fantasy this past summer. Paid over $8,000 for this cruise for my wife, child and myself. We missed a port bc of a tropical storm...I understand that weather is out of our control but I wish the captain would have rerouted us to another port or switched itineraries all together. It was plain as day that this tropical storm was going to hit where we were going way before we even left port in Florida...he had plenty of time to reroute us but he didn't. Instead we spent 3 days at sea with very rough seas. Many many people were sea sick including myself. It was pretty miserable. That along with a VERY crowded, chaotic ship with long lines everywhere made me not want to ever take another Disney cruise.

We just got home from WDW and it was seriously the trip from hell. We stayed at POR. HUGE resort. So much walking and so spread out and so completely crowded. I would seriously never recommend this Resort to anyone! It was a solid 15 min walk to the lobby in the heat and humidity just to get a horrible cup of coffee in the morning. And this is with a "preferred" room that's supposed to be closer to everything. Absolute chaos in the food court and so crowded. It was the most crowded resort I've ever stayed at and I've stayed at plenty of Disney resorts. POFQ is so much better in my opinion.

Disney was hot as balls. SO humid and hot. We were miserable and all had to take two showers a day. I know this isn't Disney's fault but good lord I can't go through that weather again on vacation. It was seriously the most crowded in the parks I've ever seen it and I've been during the summer. This is in every park we went to. Is it the food and wine festival?! What the hell is going on? We went three years ago during October and it wasn't this crowded! We were literally shoulder to shoulder with either grumpy or drunk people (food and wine festival) and crying, over tired kids the entire time. The lines were insane. Thank God for FastPasses or we wouldn't have ridden anything. It was just such a cluster...trying to get through those crowds with a stroller is miserable. The lines for the bathrooms were long. People didn't wear deodorant and smelled awful. I bought the Memory Maker...several of the photographers made my son hold his hand up or do a weird pose I guess to add some extra magic or characters to the pictures...it's been over three weeks and nothing has been added to the pictures. It's just my son holding his hand up like he's supposed to be holding something and nothing is there. 99% of the MM pictures are so bright and overexposed or they cropped out half a face or it's totally crooked. There are also ride pictures missing from rides we were on where I know they take pictures. Frozen Ever After and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for example...no pictures! So lame and feel like I wasted $169 on it. Just not a fun trip and not what I'd ever consider vacation. I need a vacation after that "vacation".

To top it all off my son either caught a stomach virus or food poisoning. He woke up the 5th morning we were there with a fever and throwing up. Freaking miserable to be on vacation across the country from home and have someone get sick. To me it's just one hot as hell, crowded, germ infested place. It's really sad that I lost the feeling I had for Disney during these last two trips. It's just seriously lost its appeal and magic to me during these last two experiences. I'm not expecting some perfect vacation but when you're paying EXORBITANT amounts of money for a vacation you don't expect to be completely miserable the entire time.

We definitely won't be booking a trip any time soon if ever again. Taking a long Disney break. I'm thankful for the good memories we've made there over the years and we have tons of pictures to look back on. I just feel like it's become way over crowded. I feel like that's the main culprit and I wish something could be done to control the crowds.

I realize that this post is probably going to get some backlash. I understand that for many people Disney is their happy place. It used to be mine. I drank the kool aid for many many years. I just think it's losing some of its magic at least for me. There are many other places in the world I want to take my family to and it will be a long time before I plan another family vacation to a Disney destination.

Can anyone relate? Has anyone had a less than stellar experience?

 

[Kay123456]

If I were you I’d be calling and emailing guest relations. Especially about the cruise and photos. I feel you should be entitled to some sort of reimbursement if a known storm was coming through and they didn’t reroute. I think the crowds are due to hurricane people rebooking. This time of year is usually a great time to go!

 

[Little Mermaid 35]

If I were you I’d be calling and emailing guest relations. Especially about the cruise and photos. I feel you should be entitled to some sort of reimbursement if a known storm was coming through and they didn’t reroute. I think the crowds are due to hurricane people rebooking. This time of year is usually a great time to go!

I hadn't even thought about people rebooking from the hurricane. I bet you're right! It was seriously so packed. I've been several times during food and wine and I've never seen it like this so I was confused. I really may give them a call especially about the pictures. I feel like they need to know some of their photographers aren't adding extra things to the pictures even though they're having people pose like they're going to.

 

[trouttigger]

Heat makes me miserable and cranky. If I'm hot, I'm just not having fun. Most of our trips have been in December right before Christmas. DH & I spent one day in June this year. It wasn't terrible on the heat, but the temp went way up the day we left. One day was enough for me this time.

I've only ever gotten the free photos for Disney Visa cardholders. The past two times we did this, we were rushed thru and only got 4 photos, 2 being terrible. I have friends who rave about going with the Photopass.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I bet the crowds were due to Irma. We almost cancelled our trip but I'm so glad we didn't! We arrived on 9/6 and it was empty. Scary empty. The whole weekend and the week after was a ghost town. No FP needed for anything. (check out my irma trip link in signature) It only got crowded the next weekend. Sorry you had a bad trip. I took 15 years off and when I went back in 2016 it was better than ever. Maybe a few years off will spark the magic again.

 

[nursejackie]

We come from the UK every December, and find the weather is usually just right for strolling around the parks all day. It's a little chilly in the morning, warms up nicely for wearing t-shirts and then some pool/water park time and then cools down a little in the evening for more park time. It never rains (in our experience anyway), the humidity is low and the parks are open for much longer with lots of extra magic hours. We went to Europe in the summer where the temperatures reached over 100 degrees and we commented on not being able to cope with Disney in those temperatures.

 

[Monykalyn]

So with the hundreds of cruise ships sailing the Caribbean you think it's a simple matter of re-routing? Ever hear of supplies, logistics and oh maybe resources were going to prep the places where the storms hit for the people who live there? It's irrelevant what you paid for the cruise. You chose hurricane season on an overpriced line.

Florida isn't like the the northeast when it comes to seasons. Yeah. It's hot. Yes the rescheduled trips are likely contributing to crowds and not something that's foreseeable unfortunately. And hope your son recovered quickly. Germs are everywhere not just at Disney but being sick on vacation is super awful.

The legitimate complaint is the photos. Those should be and usually are better.

Sounds like you had a series of misfortunate events happen. Can happen on any vacation not just Disney...

 

[Spacepest]

Can anyone relate? Has anyone had a less than stellar experience?

Oh boy, can I ever! My husband and I usually vacation in October and we would often go to Disney, no more in October! What used to be a relaxed, low crowd time, and rides with virtually no lines, has now become a hot hell of overcrowded people, 2+hour queues, and poor park management, and this goes for Disney parks on BOTH coasts. And this year looks like October (and probably November and December) are going to be really bad because of Irma causing people to reschedule their vacations.

My husband and I are pretty much DONE with Disney in October and have decided to go to other places that month.

Honestly, I think you should at least be asking for a refund for your Photopass pictures if so many of them came out so poorly.

 

[mamamelody2]

Sorry you had a disappointing time. I agree a break is in order.

I would contact someone about the photopass pics. Also, I know if there are missing pics like your ride pics, you can contact them with a date/general time and often they can find them. It may be too late now, though.

 

[Little Mermaid 35]

Oh boy, can I ever! My husband and I usually vacation in October and we would often go to Disney, no more in October! What used to be a relaxed, low crowd time, and rides with virtually no lines, has now become a hot hell of overcrowded people, 2+hour queues, and poor park management, and this goes for Disney parks on BOTH coasts. And this year looks like October (and probably November and December) are going to be really bad because of Irma causing people to reschedule their vacations.

My husband and I are pretty much DONE with Disney in October and have decided to go to other places that month.

Honestly, I think you should at least be asking for a refund for your Photopass pictures if so many of them came out so poorly.

It's crazy October used to be a great time to go! One of our favorite Disney trips was at the end of October! It really has just gotten so packed...after this long break if we decide to go back I may book sometime in January or February when it's cooler and hopefully less crowded. I'm sorry that you've had a less than stellar experience and know how it feels!

I've thought about it and I'm definitely calling about the pictures. 90% of them really are awful and so overexposed you can't even see facial features on everyone in a few pictures. Definitely giving them a call Monday.

 

[JimR24]

I can totally understand. We have been annual pass-holders for years and will not be renewing them this year. A few times a year we would get the Disney itch and head over for a weekend only to leave and say "what the heck were we thinking?". We handle crowds and heat really well, we're Floridians and are used to both but what we get tired of is the level of rudeness of people. There is only so much "we paid for the magic and damn it, we're going to get. We don't care if your 12 year old is in the way" attitude I can take. We made a huge mistake of going to EPCOT on a weekend of the Food and Wine Festival. It was like Senior Week down the Jersey Shore. The amount of drunk, stumbling adults with foul language was embarrassing. When we left, my son said "I never want to go back to that place ever again". I let Disney know my feelings and actually talk to a senior staff member about. I know there is nothing they can really do about it BUT when did being hammered at Disney become a thing?

We will be heading on a few cruises over the next couple of years with Norwegian and saying goodbye to Disney, it's just not the same place I grew up with and loved.

 

[Little Mermaid 35]

I can totally understand. We have been annual pass-holders for years and will not be renewing them this year. A few times a year we would get the Disney itch and head over for a weekend only to leave and say "what the heck were we thinking?". We handle crowds and heat really well, we're Floridians and are used to both but what we get tired of is the level of rudeness of people. There is only so much "we paid for the magic and damn it, we're going to get. We don't care if your 12 year old is in the way" attitude I can take. We made a huge mistake of going to EPCOT on a weekend of the Food and Wine Festival. It was like Senior Week down the Jersey Shore. The amount of drunk, stumbling adults with foul language was embarrassing. When we left, my son said "I never want to go back to that place ever again". I let Disney know my feelings and actually talk to a senior staff member about. I know there is nothing they can really do about it BUT when did being hammered at Disney become a thing?

We will be heading on a few cruises over the next couple of years with Norwegian and saying goodbye to Disney, it's just not the same place I grew up with and loved.

100% yes to all of this...we encountered lots of people with that attitude. We literally almost got ran over by scooters and strollers the entire week. People don't care at all about personal space or manners...just as long as they experience the magic! We saw so many stumbling, drunk as hell people...Epcot was seriously a train wreck. It was bad enough to turn this Disney obsessed person off big time. Sorry you've experienced these same things I have. I hope Disney can return to the way it used to be one day.

 

[Haley R]

It's crazy October used to be a great time to go! One of our favorite Disney trips was at the end of October! It really has just gotten so packed...after this long break if we decide to go back I may book sometime in January or February when it's cooler and hopefully less crowded. I'm sorry that you've had a less than stellar experience and know how it feels!

I've thought about it and I'm definitely calling about the pictures. 90% of them really are awful and so overexposed you can't even see facial features on everyone in a few pictures. Definitely giving them a call Monday.

We only choose to go at the end of Feb and beginning of March and it has been a really nice time to go. We are going again next year at that same time. The heat is the perfect amount, low-medium crowds before spring break, and we have experienced no rain during that time.

 

[Spencer Wright]

Disney was hot as balls. SO humid and hot. We were miserable and all had to take two showers a day. I know this isn't Disney's fault but good lord I can't go through that weather again on vacation. It was seriously the most crowded in the parks I've ever seen it and I've been during the summer. This is in every park we went to. Is it the food and wine festival?! What the hell is going on? We went three years ago during October and it wasn't this crowded! We were literally shoulder to shoulder with either grumpy or drunk people (food and wine festival) and crying, over tired kids the entire time. The lines were insane. ... People didn't wear deodorant and smelled awful.

We definitely won't be booking a trip any time soon if ever again. Taking a long Disney break. I'm thankful for the good memories we've made there over the years and we have tons of pictures to look back on. I just feel like it's become way over crowded. I feel like that's the main culprit and I wish something could be done to control the crowds.

I realize that this post is probably going to get some backlash.

I am sorry your trip went rather poorly! I can absolutely relate to most all of your grievances (as can any frequent WDW visitor).

What I am especially glad about, is that you pointed out horrible body odor! I noticed this the last couple of trips and thought to myself I am being rude and judgmental. However, one especially hot and crowded night in MK a couple of August's ago; my mother, sister, and I left MK due to consistent horrific body odor. My mother is an experienced floor nurse and my sister works with toddlers in a daycare and found the smell intolerable!!

We went the last two August's, and feel WDW is losing some magic, but not perhaps as much as yourself, and was looking to try something new. However, my mother offered to pay some of our next trip to WDW so we are headed there next August (don't judge me ). Hopefully crowds and deteriorating guest behavior, as well as increasing technical issues will not continue to erode some magic.

P.S. I do not have any offspring and have not traveled to WDW with little children so I can only imagine how annoyances such as crowded food courts and extreme heat amplifies these issues. Therefore, there is no backlash coming from me!!

 

[Ryandb2]

Sucks you had a bad trip. We just got back and had a really good time but I agree it seemed much busier than usual. Ride times for pretty much everything were in the 40 minute range all week, and we noticed a lot of operational issues that made things worse, i.e. Lines out into walkways even though room in the queue lines was available but not open, most notably on pirates and haunted mansion.

Sounds like a break is in order, if you soace the trips out more the little things matter less.

 

[Realfoodfans]

We've done 7 Disney trips back to back over the past four years...four WDW trips and three DCL cruises. They've all been pretty awesome up until this last cruise and this last WDW trip we just got home from.

We cruised on the Fantasy this past summer. Paid over $8,000 for this cruise for my wife, child and myself. We missed a port bc of a tropical storm...I understand that weather is out of our control but I wish the captain would have rerouted us to another port or switched itineraries all together. It was plain as day that this tropical storm was going to hit where we were going way before we even left port in Florida...he had plenty of time to reroute us but he didn't. Instead we spent 3 days at sea with very rough seas. Many many people were sea sick including myself. It was pretty miserable. That along with a VERY crowded, chaotic ship with long lines everywhere made me not want to ever take another Disney cruise.

We just got home from WDW and it was seriously the trip from hell. We stayed at POR. HUGE resort. So much walking and so spread out and so completely crowded. I would seriously never recommend this Resort to anyone! It was a solid 15 min walk to the lobby in the heat and humidity just to get a horrible cup of coffee in the morning. And this is with a "preferred" room that's supposed to be closer to everything. Absolute chaos in the food court and so crowded. It was the most crowded resort I've ever stayed at and I've stayed at plenty of Disney resorts. POFQ is so much better in my opinion.

Disney was hot as balls. SO humid and hot. We were miserable and all had to take two showers a day. I know this isn't Disney's fault but good lord I can't go through that weather again on vacation. It was seriously the most crowded in the parks I've ever seen it and I've been during the summer. This is in every park we went to. Is it the food and wine festival?! What the hell is going on? We went three years ago during October and it wasn't this crowded! We were literally shoulder to shoulder with either grumpy or drunk people (food and wine festival) and crying, over tired kids the entire time. The lines were insane. Thank God for FastPasses or we wouldn't have ridden anything. It was just such a cluster...trying to get through those crowds with a stroller is miserable. The lines for the bathrooms were long. People didn't wear deodorant and smelled awful. I bought the Memory Maker...several of the photographers made my son hold his hand up or do a weird pose I guess to add some extra magic or characters to the pictures...it's been over three weeks and nothing has been added to the pictures. It's just my son holding his hand up like he's supposed to be holding something and nothing is there. 99% of the MM pictures are so bright and overexposed or they cropped out half a face or it's totally crooked. There are also ride pictures missing from rides we were on where I know they take pictures. Frozen Ever After and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for example...no pictures! So lame and feel like I wasted $169 on it. Just not a fun trip and not what I'd ever consider vacation. I need a vacation after that "vacation".

To top it all off my son either caught a stomach virus or food poisoning. He woke up the 5th morning we were there with a fever and throwing up. Freaking miserable to be on vacation across the country from home and have someone get sick. To me it's just one hot as hell, crowded, germ infested place. It's really sad that I lost the feeling I had for Disney during these last two trips. It's just seriously lost its appeal and magic to me during these last two experiences. I'm not expecting some perfect vacation but when you're paying EXORBITANT amounts of money for a vacation you don't expect to be completely miserable the entire time.

We definitely won't be booking a trip any time soon if ever again. Taking a long Disney break. I'm thankful for the good memories we've made there over the years and we have tons of pictures to look back on. I just feel like it's become way over crowded. I feel like that's the main culprit and I wish something could be done to control the crowds.

I realize that this post is probably going to get some backlash. I understand that for many people Disney is their happy place. It used to be mine. I drank the kool aid for many many years. I just think it's losing some of its magic at least for me. There are many other places in the world I want to take my family to and it will be a long time before I plan another family vacation to a Disney destination.

Can anyone relate? Has anyone had a less than stellar experience?

We've been on a lot of rides already and the only photos showing up are when we've asked a photographer to take them. None from the rides. The ones taken in the "studio" at Disney Springs are just awful! Why aren't we seeing any from the rides?

 

[Haley R]

We've been on a lot of rides already and the only photos showing up are when we've asked a photographer to take them. None from the rides. The ones taken in the "studio" at Disney Springs are just awful! Why aren't we seeing any from the rides?

For a lot of the rides you have to walk up, find the screen with your picture and scan your band. That's how we've had to do it for a lot of the rides. They don't always just show up in your account.