Because there NEEDS to be a poll: Is the Magic gone?

[SandyinMonterey]

Haven't been to WDW in 6 years. Been going to Disneyland since we live in California. We are heading to WDW this April and when we made our reservations we were greatly excited. I must admit, some of that excitement has diminished with the introduction of magic bands, FP+, and ADR's. Too much planning. It was difficult enough making ADR's so far in advance. I haven't even tackled FP+. I like to "go with the flow" and not have every minute of every day of my vacation planned.

 

[MrsDuck]

Alive & well in our opinion!

 

[DNightmare]

I think the magic just moved up the street. That boy wizard is always doing spells.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

The magic may not be "gone" but it's definitely not the magic we were used to and enjoyed and could see without seeing. If that makes any sense. It was always there. Glitches now and then, rides down too often, but the overall feeling of magic that only came at Disney was weakened.
Not as much a sure thing. Not flowing.
Hard to explain.
Just not the same.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Not feeling the magic now. Really, really disappointed in the many recent changes. Disney feels more..generic, not unique or special. After, 34 years I'm feeling a bit sad. The slide started a few years back, but I never thought we'd be at this point. And who knows, what's around the corner?

 

[Magpie]

I hate to say it but i chose the "define magic" option. The world is in drastic flux right now and people are different. To me, yes the "magic" is less magical then it use to be but i am comparing it to the 70s and 80s. Those days are gone. If you did not exist at that time then you may think current times are awesome. So it is subjective as all things are... I say bring back the Fort Wilderness train, the Mark 3 monorails and the polyester monorail pilot jump suits... I so miss the thump, thump, thump, thump as they closed the monorail doors manually... Now you just get a single thump as the pilot walks up to your broken door and kicks it shut...

I was born in 1971... and you couldn't pay me to time travel back to those days.

In the 70s (though I was a young child), it felt like everyone was scared and there were wars and riots and politicians were getting shot all over the place, and society was crumbling. I mostly remember tornado drills and hookers and hearing gunshots while my mother tried to read me a bedtime story.

In the 80s, we were all going to die of AIDS, if we didn't get blown up by nukes first. They once actually had reporters at our school asking us how we felt about the possibility that we might not live to adulthood! No surprise we were all about mindless consumerism. Beating each other up over Cabbage Patch dolls.

I think today we live in a wonderful time period. New medicines. New technologies. Less smog. Girls can be in sciences and maths and engineering. Race isn't an obstacle to public office. Young people report feeling closer to their parents and more concerned about world affairs. Crime rates are down across North America. Human rights are increasing across the globe. Despite the awful stories on the evening news, according to statisticians, we've never actually lived in a more peaceful era in all of recorded history. People can TALK to each other. We're not isolated in our homes. We can reach out across the internet for advice and comfort (come to think of it... isn't that why we're all here?).

And more people than ever before are visiting Disney World.

The magic is definitely alive for me!

 

[FireDancer]

I'll say the exact same thing I said on that tread:

I just returned from a trip last week and there was no less magic on this trip then on previous trips. No problems what so ever with any aspect of NextGen, no problems what so ever with any CMs no longer being (or at least appearing) happy, no change at all with crowd levels between this year and a trip the same week last year, and we managed to see or do every attraction we wanted to do.

The food was also all very good which isn't something I can always say though I stuck mostly with locations where I normally get good meals.

Just as I expected all the doom and gloom threads where much ado about nothing.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I picked "other" because the Magic is what you make it to be ... plain and simple!

Just as I expected all the doom and gloom threads where much ado about nothing.

 

[MickeyChix]

I'm voting other as well. WDW provides us the tools for magic to happen......it's up to us to see what we create. I'm not going to allow anyone else but my family and myself to determine what is or is not magical. The food may change, the lines may change, themes may come and go, but I will always find that magic with my family........regardless of where or when we go!

 

[surferdave]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEkB-VQviLI

 

[DisneyChristmas]

We were there in December, and it was a great visit. BUT the magic has changed.

Over the past decade, we've experienced disappointing changes that have nothing to do with FP+. (We liked using the MBs and did fine with three FP+ each day.) MVMCP is de-graded each year. This year was especially sad with all MVMCP pins and shirts were sold out by the time we arrived in mid-December with no re-orders expected.

Meanwhile, there aren't any special plush for resorts or EPCOT nations. There's no more model railroad at Hollywood Studios, and the train at Germany was barely running. No more holiday tree at the American pavilion. We still miss the Lights of Winter arch.

Many areas in parks and resorts have pealing paint, and wilted flowers/plantings. The super attention to detail is lacking...most likely because there are fewer cast members to maintain everything.

Again, we did have a great visit and encountered wonderful CMs. I just hate to see some of the downgrades.

 

[Niebz]

Alive and well for our family! Prior to our trip (president's day week so very busy) I was super nervous about fast pass plus and all the new changes going on but it turned out much better than I expected. The magic bands were awesome and fast pass plus worked great for our family. We like to sleep late on vacation so this is the first time we've ever been able to secure fast passes for TSMM. We would book 3 fast passes for the afternoon the day before and spend the rest of the of the busy times seeing shows and low wait attractions. It was much more flexible than I thought it would be (and pretty easy to make changes on the go). Then, when the park was open late we would hit all the popular attractions at night with zero wait at all.

We did have several small issues throughout the trip but in each situation they were handled very generously by the managers and cast members we spoke to. For example, magical express broke the wheel off our suitcase so they replaced it for free. My son's new mickey croc fell off at Small World (completely our fault) and a cast member offered us a free replacement voucher. So many nice cast members - I felt like the quality of our cast member interactions has actually gone way up since our last few trips. Even with DD being out of commission for a full day with a brief stomach bug this may have been our best WDW trip ever. :good vibes

 

[maxiesmom]

I voted that the magic is alive and well. But then, I'm a big believer that you bring the magic with you, and WDW is just the place where you let it loose.

 

[NMAmy]

We are here right now and,yes, the magic is gone. Filthy restrooms, long lines, cast members ignoring guests. WDW is turning into just another theme park but with no new attractions.

 

[DividedSky]

my daughter was shoved aside on the path to a fp- kiosk a few years back by an overzealous teen anxious to get the current return time ticket from the kiosk

is that the magic we speak of?

 

[EMode]

I voted taking a nap because I'm hoping that it will wake up again.

 

[Talking Hands]

For me the Magic is still there but it has changed as I have aged. I am no longer able to do the thrill rides but I still love the shows and parades. I love talking with castmembers and learning where they are from and about their home region.

 

[pmaurer74]

no

 

[DebbieB]

Alive & well! Going in May, can't wait! Get to start making our FP+ reservations in a couple weeks.

 

[antmaril]

I voted "other". I was there last week and the parks felt different to me -- not as magical for some reason. I can't really put my finger on it -- just different. I did experience some pixie dust when we were upgraded to Club Level at The Beach Club -- now that was magical!