Are we (the fans) holding Disney to too high a standard?

[jknc]

Considering they prices they charge for hotels, food, and theme parks, Disney isn’t being held to a high enough standard.

Why fault their hotel rates when there’s hundreds of other lower priced options outside the parks?

 

[gharter]

I'm not one that has been calling them out, because for me, they have been meeting, if not far exceeding in some cases, the same standards for my trips that they always have. But I definitely feel like some people are.

We were there in April and October and while we enjoyed our trip, it was far removed from what we experienced in previous trips. Your trip must have been very different from ours. We noticed over a third of the restaurants closed, many attractions closed, no parades, loss of resort luggage service to the airport. In April no nighttime shows, shorter hours, longer waits for buses, loss of Tables in Wonderland, and the list goes on.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

What difference does it make if Tron is a "copycat?" It's a copy, but the original is in Shanghai. I think it's great they are putting one in Florida for everyone who will never get to Shanghai.

 

[Don Disney]

You know the saying "you get what you pay for"? That's how I used to justify our WDW trips. Yes, they were expensive, but for what we got, it was worth it. Disney came with a high price tag and high standards that at least came close to meeting that price tag. Now the price has risen and the services provided have dropped. There are very few businesses for which this would be an acceptable practice and the number of people trying to defend it with Disney is astounding. I am a super fan. I have loved Disney my whole life. I still refuse to look the other way and call it pixie dust as they charge me more and offer less.

We too are big Disney fans...we justified our trips because we got the experience we paid for, and expected....Now, with all of the increases in price, and mass removal of value, we will probably take one more trip for nostalgia (although I know it will be NOTHING like before), and call it quits....Disney + will have to suffice...can't do it anymore....

 

[jknc]

What difference does it make if Tron is a "copycat?" It's a copy, but the original is in Shanghai. I think it's great they are putting one in Florida for everyone who will never get to Shanghai.

Doesn’t take much effort to copy/paste a ride from another property. It’s lazy IMHO.

 

[Anthony1971]

Personally the Customer service we experienced at the resorts and Parks was above an beyond. Pricing/crowds and the extras yes you are getting less and paying more. If your expectations are what is/was included yes it does not meet expectations. If it is how you are treated as a guest it still does.

 

[old lady]

Disney doesn’t hold too high standards? If they charged the way , they should and we should, too. It is a lot of money to pay for nothing.

 

[ZellyB]

Doesn’t take much effort to copy/paste a ride from another property. It’s lazy IMHO.

So, do you hold things like Pirates, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion in the same lazy designation? They were copy/paste from Disneyland. Heck a significant portion of the rides in MK were copy/paste right?

I mean, I don't see myself getting to Shanghai anytime soon, so I don't really care that it's not a completely original ride to Disneyworld. I'd likely never get the chance to ride it if not for the copy/paste method. The idea that every park has only unique and original rides with no duplications does seem like a too high standard. There's plenty of reasons to be critical of falling standards at Disneyworld, I just don't count this as one of them.

 

[jknc]

Point taken

So, do you hold things like Pirates, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion in the same lazy designation? They were copy/paste from Disneyland. Heck a significant portion of the rides in MK were copy/paste right?

I mean, I don't see myself getting to Shanghai anytime soon, so I don't really care that it's not a completely original ride to Disneyworld. I'd likely never get the chance to ride it if not for the copy/paste method. The idea that every park has only unique and original rides with no duplications does seem like a too high standard. There's plenty of reasons to be critical of falling standards at Disneyworld, I just don't count this as one of them.

Point taken. And no, I don’t think those are lazy copycats. Think about past decade @ MK? SDMT is incredible, but who cut the budget on Little Mermaid? Instead of a copycat Tron, think about what could be!

 

[dd316]

Not every ride has to be ROTR level or something we've never seen before.

 

[gharter]

Instead of a copycat Tron, think about what could be!

Personally, I am excited to ride Tron. The video of the ride looks amazing and its not likely that I would get overseas to ride the original.
You asked who cut the budget for Little Mermaid. The real question is what would Navi be like if it was the original concept and twice as long as it ended up due to budget cuts.

 

[Jonfw2]

Doesn’t take much effort to copy/paste a ride from another property. It’s lazy IMHO.

You build a lot of roller coasters then?

 

[StageTek]

Why fault their hotel rates when there’s hundreds of other lower priced options outside the parks?

Maybe because this thread is about holding Disney to a higher standard and not so much about the options outside of the parks...

I was fine paying the higher prices because of the high standards. But now Disney is nothing more than industry standard. And the prices are still high.

 

[jknc]

Maybe because this thread is about holding Disney to a higher standard and not so much about the options outside of the parks...

I was fine paying the higher prices because of the high standards. But now Disney is nothing more than industry standard. And the prices are still high.

Yes, I started the thread. The more we ask, the more we learn.

 

[kc51570]

Point taken


Point taken. And no, I don’t think those are lazy copycats. Think about past decade @ MK? SDMT is incredible, but who cut the budget on Little Mermaid? Instead of a copycat Tron, think about what could be!

I think Little Mermaid is very well done. On the other hand, the Frozen overlay on Maelstrom seems very bare bones. That could have used a lot more theming for a ride that already had the infrastructure in place.
My gripe would not be any of their newly created products. I am very annoyed that the FP+ replacement will require me to get up before 7am every day of my vacation when I could have done it ahead of my vacation previously. And yes, the higher prices across the board for less of an experience.

 

[jknc]

Are folks more upset with:

having to wake up @ 7 am
Or
paying for genie+

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think Disney Parks are indeed trying a new formula to try to regain visitors back to the parks because when Walt Disney World closed due to the pandemic they lost a lot of money and now since they reopened they're trying every trick in the book to make more money and focus on more things. Take for example Walt Disney World got rid of Disney's Magical Express and Minnie Van Service to save money and probably will develop a new transportation service in the future. Second they got rid of expensive dinner shows like the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review because I don't think Hoop Dee Doo is never gonna come back and they're probably gonna put a less expensive dinner show in it's place. And the same thing with character dining too because as you know dining with characters is fantastic but have you seen the prices lately for character dining? Third why Walt Disney World hasn't put out new shows or parades is because they think big extravaganzas cost a great deal of money and so that's why they are focusing on calvacades and mini parades because they cost less money to do. But I can tell you once 2022 hits Walt Disney World will raise it's prices again for each park and the resorts will raise the prices on the hotel rooms because I can tell you that they will have empty rooms after New Year's Eve but they will get rooms filled during the summer. But if they continue this pattern a lot of people won't go and Walt Disney World will lose business due to the high prices

 

[kimmar067]

We hold them at a high standard, because.....well, THEY hold themselves at a high standard, which is probably unreachable.

 

[Sweettears]

Point taken


Point taken. And no, I don’t think those are lazy copycats. Think about past decade @ MK? SDMT is incredible, but who cut the budget on Little Mermaid? Instead of a copycat Tron, think about what could be!

For that matter isn’t (or wasn’t ) MK basically a copy of DL?

 

[notatallmagic]

I thought Harmonious was awful. I had been looking forward to something...magical? I found it grating and shrill and certainly not worth the ugly barges ruining the Epcot water view for forever. We were also HUGE Happily Ever After fans, and the Enchantment was just...ok? Yes, I expect more from Disney - they were happy to define themselves as Something Special...and charge for the privilege.