After 20+ years, I think its time for a Disney break..

[DisPrince82]

I've been going to Disney World with my family about once a year for the past 20 years. I started off when I was in middle school and continued to enjoy the trips even well into my 20s. I really looked forward to each experience and basically would countdown the days until each vacation.

The last experience was in November 2014. This was our first trip since the FP+ was fully integrated. I didn't think it was all that bad but we certainly preferred FP-.

But I have to say that the experience feels vastly different from what I have been used to during the past 20 years. I can't quite put my finger on it but it's likely a combination of things which include rising costs, drop in customer service, drop in dining quality, increase in crowds, etc.

So after 20 years, I think it is time for me to take a break and start going on some other trips that I've dreamed of doing but continued to put off because of my "love for Disney." Because let's face it, we only get so much vacation time per year.

Anyone else feel the same as me?

 

[prudence64]

Have fun on your new trips!

 

[rwdavis2]

That is why we only go about every 4 years. It seems new every time.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm sorry the magic hasn't been there for you.

There seems to be a fair amount of others feeling the same way these days.

 

[cakebaker]

We've always gone other places besides just WDW. We've been going to WDW since 1987, first when my children were young and now we get to experience it with my grandson. But no, I have the same level of desire to go to WDW as I ever did, probably even more. We still love every trip.

Enjoy your new experiences- I think it's a smart choice when a place doesn't fit anymore that you find other things you enjoy. There are so many things to do and see in this world that I'd never want to limit myself to just one destination.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Yep! It's a big ole "World" out there. I highly suggest you go out and discover it. And you would be surprised just how much you can see and do for the same cost as a trip to WDW!

Enjoy life!

 

[mom2rtk]

We have always gone other places in addition to WDW. Now we mostly go other places and DLR. It has been a nice adjustment that has kept the magic alive for us.

 

[ethanwa]

We live here in Florida and we are locals, so we go all of the time. But my wife and I have often said that we won't live near Disney forever, and that when our kids are grown up we'll probably move towards the coast. Of course we'll still make trips to Disney, but I can see them happening less often.

It's not that Disney has gotten worse in my opinion, it's that the freshness and newness and exciting feel starts to fade after you've experienced everything over and over again.

Think about this.... take a 4-5 year break. Come back when Disney Springs is done, Avatar is done, Star Wars / Pixar Lands are done and the redo of Hollywood Studios. New things will be at Epcot as well, like the Frozen ride and probably a few other things. Come back when there are 10+ new things to experience and I bet you will be excited again.

If you still want Disney, go on a Cruise, go to Aulani, go to Disneyland, go on Adventures by Disney. Those are all VASTLY different from each other, yet you still get the magic in a new and exciting way. We LOVED Aulani and Disney Cruises. SOOO different of a Disney vacation, but still with all of the magic. And the cruises let you explore the world at the same time!

A lot of people blame customer service, FP+, etc.... basically all of the things you mention. But my guess is that is just has more to do with fatigue seeing the same things over and over again.

 

[mom2rtk]

We live here in Florida and we are locals, so we go all of the time. But my wife and I have often said that we won't live near Disney forever, and that when our kids are grown up we'll probably move towards the coast. Of course we'll still make trips to Disney, but I can see them happening less often.

It's not that Disney has gotten worse in my opinion, it's that the freshness and newness and exciting feel starts to fade after you've experienced everything over and over again.

Think about this.... take a 4-5 year break. Come back when Disney Springs is done, Avatar is done, Star Wars / Pixar Lands are done and the redo of Hollywood Studios. New things will be at Epcot as well, like the Frozen ride and probably a few other things. Come back when there are 10+ new things to experience and I bet you will be excited again.

If you still want Disney, go on a Cruise, go to Aulani, go to Disneyland, go on Adventures by Disney. Those are all VASTLY different from each other, yet you still get the magic in a new and exciting way. We LOVED Aulani and Disney Cruises. SOOO different of a Disney vacation, but still with all of the magic. And the cruises let you explore the world at the same time!

A lot of people blame customer service, FP+, etc.... basically all of the things you mention. But my guess is that is just has more to do with fatigue seeing the same things over and over again.

If that's the case, then why didn't the OP get tired after 5 years? or 10? or 15? I think that suggests something else is at play.

Visiting once a year is vastly different from visiting "all the time" as an AP holding local.

 

[Planogirl]

I feel much like you OP. I have other interests in the Orlando area now but just going for WDW? No way and that is a major change for me.

 

[maxiesmom]

[QUOTE="ethanwa, post: 53433305, member: 343271"
It's not that Disney has gotten worse in my opinion, it's that the freshness and newness and exciting feel starts to fade after you've experienced everything over and over again.

Think about this.... take a 4-5 year break. Come back when Disney Springs is done, Avatar is done, Star Wars / Pixar Lands are done and the redo of Hollywood Studios. New things will be at Epcot as well, like the Frozen ride and probably a few other things. Come back when there are 10+ new things to experience and I bet you will be excited again.

A lot of people blame customer service, FP+, etc.... basically all of the things you mention. But my guess is that is just has more to do with fatigue seeing the same things over and over again.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you. OP--go off and have a great time with your family doing other things. There is nothing wrong with that at all! Maybe after a break if you decide to return to WDW you will once again feel the Disney magic.

 

[edk35]

We just got back a week ago from a 9 night stay. We were also there this past Aug. for about the same amount of time. I do agree with the things OP said about Disney. Things have changed but we decided to switch up the TIME of year we go to freshen it up a bit. We were doing a LOT OF SUMMER trips and chose to go back at spring break. IT WAS AWESOME. The temps were heavenly, the Flower/Garden festival at EC was BEAUTIFUL. We too are NOT a fan of the new FP+ system but it was not AS HORRIBLE as we thought it was back in Aug. on our last trip. I think changing up the time you go helps too. We are thinking of doing another spring break next year and Nov. so we can see all the Christmas decorations. We loved our 4 Thanksgiving trips but it has been years since we last did that. We too have noticed the lack of customer service on our trips but there are still some CM's that go above and beyond too. Sure it might be more crowded depending on when we go but we are VETS so we know how to do the parks and take advantage of CROWDED TIMES and HOT TIMES. It is what you make of it.

 

[BugsDaddy]

I would bet that when the concept for Disneyland was first being tossed around, no one at that time could imagine families spending multiple weeks a year at their parks, even within the multiple park concept that is WDW. We will go once every 3 or 4 years and I get that some people want to go every year or multiple times a year but I think if we were to do that, we would get bored very quickly and perhaps not see the "magic" as much as we used to. In that case, it would probably be much easier to nit pick (not saying the OP is necessarily doing that) the not-so-magical things about the parks.

Variety is the spice of life. I would probably recommend a break for many of the people who are disenchanted with the Disney parks.

 

[Xennia]

I've been going to Disney World with my family about once a year for the past 20 years. I started off when I was in middle school and continued to enjoy the trips even well into my 20s. I really looked forward to each experience and basically would countdown the days until each vacation.

The last experience was in November 2014. This was our first trip since the FP+ was fully integrated. I didn't think it was all that bad but we certainly preferred FP-.

But I have to say that the experience feels vastly different from what I have been used to during the past 20 years. I can't quite put my finger on it but it's likely a combination of things which include rising costs, drop in customer service, drop in dining quality, increase in crowds, etc.

So after 20 years, I think it is time for me to take a break and start going on some other trips that I've dreamed of doing but continued to put off because of my "love for Disney." Because let's face it, we only get so much vacation time per year.

Anyone else feel the same as me?

I've been an annual pass holder for years. I go several times a year. I haven't noticed anything different. Every experience is different.

 

[Ambear]

I've been going for ~20 years and I'm definitely not the same person I was back when I was 6. So yes, my disney experience has changed quite a bit each trip.

However it's never gotten worse... I'm finding new things that interest me every time I go that didn't years before. Like when I was a child I didn't much like epcot... Now it's my favorite Park. When I was 15 I wouldn't have wanted to watch a a demonstration and walkthrough of an environmentally friendly smart house in innoventions. Now I find it very interesting! Change is good. If you find wdw isn't doing it for you anymore, that's not a big deal... I'm sure you'll find your next favorite place soon!

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I felt similar to the OP when I returned from my most recent trip last October. There was so much construction everywhere, and everything seemed so much more crowded than in the past. My feelings may also have had something to do with the fact I went with a friend and the experience with him was kind of disappointing. So I thought I'd take a break and not go back for a year or two.

Well, that was then. Now I'm getting excited for Food and Wine festival again and am anxiously awaiting the fall discounts so I can book my next trip.

 

[Hunterr]

how about UNIVERSAL ORLANDO

 

[DisPrince82]

how about UNIVERSAL ORLANDO

We spent a day at Universal on our last trip and enjoyed a lot of the new rides since we hadn't been there in quite a few years. That being said, I don't really see Universal as a vacation destination. I see it more as an "add on" to a Disney trip, a 1 to 2 day addition.

 

[mellyf]

We spent a day at Universal on our last trip and enjoyed a lot of the new rides since we hadn't been there in quite a few years. That being said, I don't really see Universal as a vacation destination. I see it more as an "add on" to a Disney trip, a 1 to 2 day addition.

I have to disagree with this at least for my husband and me. We had visited Universal for a day back in 2008 (during a Disney trip) and we liked it (especially The Mummy), but we just loved Disney more. We finally went back this past January for four days. I had been wanting to visit Universal ever since WWoHP had been built, but we could never really break the Disney bubble. After Diagon Alley was opened this summer, we finally decided to plan a trip to just Universal - no Disney (except for Sanaa one evening ;-)). We loved it. And we've gone to Disney every 12-18 months since 1996. Not nearly as much as many people on this board, and really, not as much as we would have liked, because we have really had some wonderful times at Disney. However, our next trip to Florida (don't know when that will be right now), we will be headed back to Universal, and hopefully for at *least* 4 days, if not more. I could easily see spending a week there. It was just a very relaxing, enjoyable vacation for us.