A farewell to the magic

[Cult of the Mouse]

For a few years now I have been an unabashed Disney apologist. When the first rate hike came I explained away with “at least they’re putting the money back into the parks” line. Then came the second price hike and I said nothing out of confusion. Then came the tiered annual passes, the rising prices at the resorts and now the possibility of “resort fees” to stay on site. I’m afraid to say that this was the final straw. I will be going to WDW for the last time in the coming months due to my annual pass but it’s time the my family and Mickey’s gang take some time apart from each other.

It seems as though the bean counter brigade has taken absolute control of the company and is beginning to suck every nickel and dime they can from the very people that love and support it. It seems as though they despise us, the loyal Mousketeers, for our commitment to the entertainment that they provide. Whereas our loyalty could belong to Universal, Busch Gardens or Six Flags we chose to side with the Mouse. And we are rewarded with gaping wound in our wallets that would make Quentin Tarantino blush. What used to be monthly excursions to visit the Resort have now become almost quarterly visits.

I write this out of anger but also out of sadness. Our trips to the Magic Kingdom would help ease my stress from every day life. I could leave life at the turnstile and enter a world of fantasy and fun. I could continue to build my collections of pins and Vinylmations. But that is all coming to an end sadly. I don’t feel comfortable supporting a company that puts the almighty dollar over the “magic” that they are supposed to deliver. They will learn, however, in the years to come, that the families that are being priced out will raise children that will have no connection to Disney. They won’t feel the need to take their children to Disney World because they themselves had never been. If they do, it’ll be a “once in a lifetime” deal. They won’t spend hours learning the history of the parks and the company itself or spend countless dollars purchasing collectibles and memorabilia. It’s the very thing they’re chasing now that they will lose in the long run.

And so the fall of the mighty empire commenced, not with a bang or a whimper, but with the sound of a cash register.

 

[Wood Nymph]

The room fee is just a rumor based on a survey. I've taken all kinds of Disney surveys with all kinds of questions and very few, if any, of those things happened.

But it does sound like a good idea to take a break.

 

[jaceraden]

Where's an eyeroll smilie and a beating a dead horse smilie when you really need one????

 

[disneynutz]

Just maybe Disney makes more money from new guests and repeaters who spend less per person are taking up space.

Bill

 

[sharadoc]

I understand your feelings. Honestly, I feel the same way too. It's not the money sucking, it's just the lack of attention to detail, staffing, the "little" things that are going away. And the obvious disregard for the repeat visitor over the first timer.

You're welcome to share. No eyeroll or dead horses here!

 

[Cult of the Mouse]

And that's part of the decision shardoc. it's the slow decline in the overall experience. And sadly, imo, it's been within the last couple of years. Cast members that don't seem to care about their job, walls needing a new coat of paint, areas gathering dust (have you seen the hot air balloon outside of Soarin' lately). It's just the general atmosphere while in a park that seems to have gotten worse. We're taking a break for a while. Hopefully when we return the magic is back.

(Take that horse! That'll teach you to die on me!)

 

[minnie mum]

Every time there is a price increase; doesn't matter whether it's for tickets, resorts, dining packages; or an announced reduction or cancellation of a service or attraction; the YAGE posts follow. Every.Single. Time.

You need to do whatever you feel you need to do. But the harsh reality is that Disney doesn't care. Picture a big Mickey hand waving Buh Bye. And that same Mickey hand waving Hello to the newbie taking your place.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

interesting, a lot of DIS users are saying that just the mere possibility of resort fees (because there aren't any yet) is the last straw. Like, how dare Disney even think of such a thing, they must be punished. Even the paid parking rumors didn't do this. We fans certainly do have an emotional attachment to our favorite vacation spot. Sometimes it is good to get away and do something else.

 

[georgina]

Every time there is a price increase; doesn't matter whether it's for tickets, resorts, dining packages; or an announced reduction or cancellation of a service or attraction; the YAGE posts follow. Every.Single. Time.

You need to do whatever you feel you need to do. But the harsh reality is that Disney doesn't care. Picture a big Mickey hand waving Buh Bye. And that same Mickey hand waving Hello to the newbie taking your place.

(Had to Google YAGE.) I am not nearly attached to Disney as many here, don't go as often or collect as much stuff, and will continue to go when the mood strikes me (I am thinking about Oct 2017 maybe). Prices of everything continue to go up, it's life. I really don't expect my vacation destinations to care so much about me over profit.

 

[Ninja Mom]

For a few years now I have been an unabashed Disney apologist. When the first rate hike came I explained away with “at least they’re putting the money back into the parks” line. Then came the second price hike and I said nothing out of confusion. Then came the tiered annual passes, the rising prices at the resorts and now the possibility of “resort fees” to stay on site. I’m afraid to say that this was the final straw. I will be going to WDW for the last time in the coming months due to my annual pass but it’s time the my family and Mickey’s gang take some time apart from each other.

It seems as though the bean counter brigade has taken absolute control of the company and is beginning to suck every nickel and dime they can from the very people that love and support it. It seems as though they despise us, the loyal Mousketeers, for our commitment to the entertainment that they provide. Whereas our loyalty could belong to Universal, Busch Gardens or Six Flags we chose to side with the Mouse. And we are rewarded with gaping wound in our wallets that would make Quentin Tarantino blush. What used to be monthly excursions to visit the Resort have now become almost quarterly visits.

I write this out of anger but also out of sadness. Our trips to the Magic Kingdom would help ease my stress from every day life. I could leave life at the turnstile and enter a world of fantasy and fun. I could continue to build my collections of pins and Vinylmations. But that is all coming to an end sadly. I don’t feel comfortable supporting a company that puts the almighty dollar over the “magic” that they are supposed to deliver. They will learn, however, in the years to come, that the families that are being priced out will raise children that will have no connection to Disney. They won’t feel the need to take their children to Disney World because they themselves had never been. If they do, it’ll be a “once in a lifetime” deal. They won’t spend hours learning the history of the parks and the company itself or spend countless dollars purchasing collectibles and memorabilia. It’s the very thing they’re chasing now that they will lose in the long run.

And so the fall of the mighty empire commenced, not with a bang or a whimper, but with the sound of a cash register.

I agree with this sentiment 100%. There has been a huge shift in the Disney parks experience. Between the herding of people with fast passes and dining reservations and the frenetic nickle and dime-ing and up-charges, the emphasis is on extracting the maximum amount of money from a guest with the minimum amount entertainment or effort.

You can roll your eyes all you want but you can't deny that it's happening. The whole focus of a WDW experience is now based not on the guest experience but on maximizing the profit made per guest. It's a death spiral to be sure. So who will be sustaining Disney parks in the future? The next movie block buster characters ala Anna and Elsa? Disney was totally unprepared for the success of that movie and, even now, YEARS later, their featured attraction is still under construction. Since you can't predict what the public will latch on to there is no way for Disney to get past it's poorly paced construction time lines.

This is a business that has shifted it's model. It's no longer the Disney of the past. It's not really about the experience anymore. The target audience is the one and done, trip of a lifetime, big spenders. Everybody else move out of the way, you're clogging up the park!

~NM

 

[Clifton Tesh]

This is like the people who smoke

"When cigarettes reach a $1 a pack, I'm quitting "
Cigarettes reach $1 a pack
"When cigarettes reach $2 a pack I'm quitting "
Cigarettes reach $2 a pack
"When cigarettes reach $3 a pack I'm quitting "

Etc...

 

[writerguyfl]

The room fee is just a rumor based on a survey. I've taken all kinds of Disney surveys with all kinds of questions and very few, if any, of those things happened.

Thank you. This is the part of the conversation that is getting overlooked. As you noted, Disney loves surveys. They love them so much that they have an entire business unit called "Disney Research".

I'm very much against resort fees at all hotels. But, I refuse to get worked up over what at this point is nothing more than a survey.

 

[LSLS]

I understand your feelings. Honestly, I feel the same way too. It's not the money sucking, it's just the lack of attention to detail, staffing, the "little" things that are going away. And the obvious disregard for the repeat visitor over the first timer.

You're welcome to share. No eyeroll or dead horses here!

This is my issue right now. Honestly the resort fee thing made me mad initially, but as others have pointed out it's far from definite and I won't say "Forget This" til it actually happens (plus, it may just mean it's time to stay off site). Now, the increase in tickets/if they increase the rooms may start playing a role in it for me. But I feel what has really made me question my time here is the cuts to staff/details along with just stupid PR. People can complain about cast members, but it's not like the cast members just became terrible, I think the cast is probably feeling the crunch as much as the consumer. And they are either A.) finding a job that is treating them better (leading to worse pools to hire from) or B.) Just not enjoying their work anymore and it is showing (can't fault them too much for that either). I haven't been since the announcements of cuts to staff at resorts/parks and the reduction in hours, but I can only imagine how much added stress there is now in terms of both taking on having way too much to do and job security. That will affect vacations. It's a lot to go to Disney, stay on site, eat the food, etc. I'm going for the experience. If they cut so much they can't deliver the experience, then I'm not going to spend the money there when the beach is an hour and a half away.

And as for the idea that there will be new customers to take my spot, I'm sure there probably will be. But if enough people get fed up, who knows. Would be interesting to do a comparison of how the room discounts this year compare with last year (as far as amount and length of time offered).

 

[HM2012Butler]

One thing to consider is that Disney's park hopper (1 Day) is $164. That is the same as a two park pass for universal where you get significantly less. In the end it is a business. People will still go and if it does price people out, that might help cut down on crowds. Its not fun to wait two hours for a ride and as a CM it isn't fun to have to hear about long lines. If guests expect lands comparable to TWWHP, then there needs to be money to pay for it. Granted they are a multi billion dollar company, that doesn't mean that they should just spend, spend, spend because they can.

 

[DisDad4Life]

Thank you. This is the part of the conversation that is getting overlooked. As you noted, Disney loves surveys. They love them so much that they have an entire business unit called "Disney Research".

I'm very much against resort fees at all hotels. But, I refuse to get worked up over what at this point is nothing more than a survey.

But this is the part that makes me wonder what the heck they are doing in even raising the possibility of a resort fee. WDW created their bubble by being able to keep visitors on property even with their exorbitant resort rates by offering free transportation to and from the airport and between the parks, EMHs for onsite guests, etc. The fact that they've even brought up the notion of resort fees has got to have the off-site hotels (not to mention US) smiling from Ear to Ear (pun intended).

 

[ellie05]

I feel you OP!If the resort fees are implemented after our 3 trips that are already planned we will be taking a long break.

I feel is insulting to try to charge us for ammenities and services that they already provide. They have already raise room rates and everything else. I just can't get in the bandwagon to pay a lot more for less.

I expect Disney to raise tickets prices, food, etc yearly, but it seem in the past months every other day something else is being raised again. If they were raising prices and hiring extra staff, providing new services I would have no problem with it. But raise prices when they are cutting staff, cutting park operational hours, etc is just ridiculous. The worst part is that all the extra money they take will be put in a resort over seas. We won't see cleaner park or better maintenance or anything for it.

The good news is that there is a beautiful world out there to see.

 

[Lisann]

They will learn, however, in the years to come, that the families that are being priced out will raise children that will have no connection to Disney. They won’t feel the need to take their children to Disney World because they themselves had never been. If they do, it’ll be a “once in a lifetime” deal. They won’t spend hours learning the history of the parks and the company itself or spend countless dollars purchasing collectibles and memorabilia. It’s the very thing they’re chasing now that they will lose in the long run.

Yes, time will tell. You make a very good point.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

One thing to consider is that Disney's park hopper (1 Day) is $164. That is the same as a two park pass for universal where you get significantly less.

It's in the eye of the beholder whether you actually get less at Universal. There are those who believe the Harry Potter areas alone are worth that admission price.

 

[HM2012Butler]

It's in the eye of the beholder whether you actually get less at Universal. There are those who believe the Harry Potter areas alone are worth that admission price.

But you don't think 4 parks are worth the same price? The only reason to go to Universal is Harry Potter. But you are correct, eye of the beholder.

 

[opusone]

But you don't think 4 parks are worth the same price? The only reason to go to Universal is Harry Potter. But you are correct, eye of the beholder.

I think we are getting off-topic per the original post, but to be fair, nobody really goes to all four WDW parks in one day... even though their park hopper ticket allows for it. You would spend too much time traveling in between parks and that would leave little time to actually enjoy the parks. Most people go to one, max two. Universal is actually easier to hit both parks in one day given how compact it is. I think the same price for either is fair because you can only do so much in one day, and both will give you a full day of fun activity.