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

[Mad Hattered]

Your poll reminds me that those that think FP+ stinks don't necessarily think all the magic is gone. I think "stagnant" would have been a better choice to use in this poll.

 

[DJWMom]

I'm only just planning trip #3, but I definitely felt the magic on both of my previous trips. We had such a magical time last year, that my previously anti-Disney World husband went from "Maybe we'll bring the kids back in a few years" at the beginning of the trip to "Start planning next year!" at the end.

We're a go with flow kind of family too. The FP+ and MBs worked beautifully for us. It was nice to have a lazy morning with the kids here and there and know that our scheduled FPs were waiting for us later that afternoon. We may be lucky that our boys didn't want to do meet and greets (except for Phineas and Ferb! haha) and didn't care about parades or fireworks. We easily avoided crowds because we seemed interested in the opposite stuff the majority of people were.

My 7 year old said his favourite moment was jumping in puddles and dancing along main st USA in the pouring rain all by himself while everyone was huddled under the awnings and in shops staying dry. It certainly was magical to watch!

 

[Son of Gadsden]

In response to the statement, "The magic is gone!" someone in another thread asked, "How do you know? Have you taken an exit poll?"

Which got me thinking... there should be a poll!

HA! HAHA! I love it!

 

[tiffmarie99]

I think the poll speaks for itself! 53% still think its alive and well...I think there is just A LOT of complainers on the board and a lot of people who want to whine. When it comes down to it, you won't find any other hotel, resort or theme park that does it quite like Disney..
AND HEY!! If the complainers want to never come back..fine by me..less crowded when I go back and the possibility of better deals. Sounds good to me!!

 

[EMode]

I think the poll speaks for itself! 53% still think its alive and well...I think there is just A LOT of complainers on the board and a lot of people who want to whine. When it comes down to it, you won't find any other hotel, resort or theme park that does it quite like Disney..
AND HEY!! If the complainers want to never come back..fine by me..less crowded when I go back and the possibility of better deals. Sounds good to me!!

You must not travel anywhere else. I'll admit there aren't any parks like WDW but there are resorts all over that blow Disney's "deluxe" away

 

[*disgal*]

You must not travel anywhere else. I'll admit there aren't any parks like WDW but there are resorts all over that blow Disney's "deluxe" away

At the risk of being labeled a "whiner", I have to agree. You don't even have to leave Orlando to find a huge difference.

For while we are there in April, a non discounted room at Gaylord Palms is $237. POR is more than that and the rooms/resort can't really compare to GP. Now, I happen to like POR a lot and it's got the disney theming. But that's what you are paying for, the disney theming. Not the great, or not so great room. Wanting more from my room and resort is what has taken us offsite now.

But, that just leaves more rooms available for those who want them, right?

 

[surferdave]

I think the poll speaks for itself! 53% still think its alive and well...I think there is just A LOT of complainers on the board and a lot of people who want to whine. When it comes down to it, you won't find any other hotel, resort or theme park that does it quite like Disney..
AND HEY!! If the complainers want to never come back..fine by me..less crowded when I go back and the possibility of better deals. Sounds good to me!!

I doubt there's a business in the world that looks at a 53% positive poll response and proudly says "I think this poll speaks for itself".

I expected it to be a lot higher.

 

[Couchy]

I went in Feb. It was fine. I had a great time and while I could not stockpile FP- I still loved it. The magic is alive

 

[rml0win]

My favorite ride is Peter Pan's Flight. In 2005, the wait time indicated 20 minutes. After exceeding 20 minutes I tried to see why. The cm at the turn style was allowing 75 fast passes through, then 4 standby, then another 75 fast passes, etc.. I believe the cm was not checking the time properly. That killed the magic for me. From that moment on I have bypassed any ride that was not within 20 minutes. Also, we used to "have" to visit each park on each visit. Now, we only visit one per visit (we return every year). I guess I should thank Disney for saving us a bunch of $. With the implementation of fp+ I believe Disney has addressed this issue. Now the cm does not determine if a fast pass return is during the correct time, it is up to the magic band turn style. We will be there again in September and I am confident some of the magic will return.

 

[Ofinn]

I doubt there's a business in the world that looks at a 53% positive poll response and proudly says "I think this poll speaks for itself".

I expected it to be a lot higher.

That's what I was thinking. When I research hotels on trip advisors I look for hotels that at least score a 80% on positive reviews.

 

[flicx]

I doubt there's a business in the world that looks at a 53% positive poll response and proudly says "I think this poll speaks for itself".

I expected it to be a lot higher.

I really think it speaks volumes for a "fan" website. Barely above 50%, that is pretty crappy. If you want a telling poll just look at the one I did. Over 90% of the people polled on here said they would have preferred the money spent on fast pass plus to be spent on new attractions. Now that's an overwhelming poll!

 

[Magpie]

I really think it speaks volumes for a "fan" website. Barely above 50%, that is pretty crappy. If you want a telling poll just look at the one I did. Over 90% of the people polled on here said they would have preferred the money spent on fast pass plus to be spent on new attractions. Now that's an overwhelming poll!

Or... you could note that barely 8 percent think the magic is "gone". Which is an exceedingly tiny number of people.

Fans are often the harshest critics out there.

 

[Squidgyness]

Or... you could note that barely 8 percent think the magic is "gone". Which is an exceedingly tiny number of people. Fans are often the harshest critics out there.

I'd say you probably need to include a sizeable chunk/majority of the 20% who said it was slumbering. That would make it closer to a quarter of people. On a fan forum. Discounting the odd troll, that's still a worrying percentage.

However what would be really interesting is if there was some poll from say 3-4 years ago to compare it to, then we could see if there has been any change in people's attitudes, maybe lots more people think the magic is declining maybe less. This poll in and of itself is of limited value.

For what it's worth, I see riding costs, the intrusion of modern life (phones, apps, chargers etc) and the growing importance (though not essential nature) of planning as diminishing the magic for me, and it's the reason I'm not going back till it changes or I change, either one. Till then, I'm not going anywhere at the minute thanks to my limited resources so this is all largely academical for me.

 

[pixarmom]

I've loved Disney since my first visit to DL at age two, and I've experienced a number of changes at both DL and WDW since then. Our experience has changed a hundred times through different stages of life and I continue to enjoy it. We travel relatively frequently, and to a number of non-Disney destinations, but we'll continue to keep Disney in the mix. runDisney (an amazingly well-run operation at WDW!) also keeps us coming back. As for the recent changes with magic bands and FP+ - we love them both. No glitches for us during our trip last month - worked very smoothly. We're returning for a quick surprise visit later this month (shhhh!) and then back again in January 2015 for our youngest son's bday and marathon weekend.

Much of my perspective may be the fact that we've had APs several years running, so we've been able to experience a lot and repeat visits just focus on favorites. I love some of the rides, but that's not my focus at Disney. For us, it's a few rides, relaxation at the resort, snacks in the club lounge and a nice variety of dining options for a family of five with a little one who is just seven years old. When we ask our kids about their favorite Disney memories, dinnertime at Disney ranks high on their lists. Also, they are resort enthusiasts, and will actually choose resort time in the afternoon - so it's about more than the rides for them now. We just like the bubble, the generally excellent customer service (OK - a few hiccups there lately - why are you so crabby, Flying Fish server and CS CM at POR?), the overall atmosphere and the memories.

 

[Auntie Sherry]

The magic is not gone but it is teetering on the edge if they keep taking away things

 

[DisneyAllyC]

The magic is alive and well. Most people just think its dead because they can't handle change. I don't know how they can get through life

 

[cole4/25]

We just got back & feel the magic is still there!! For us there's just no place like Disney! With that being said both hubby & myself didn't feel the OOHH & AWWW! But I think that's just because that's us - not our first trip, we know what to expect & there's nothing like seeing it all for the first time! But as for the Disney magic ........ Yup! It's still there!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

The magic is alive and well. Most people just think its dead because they can't handle change. I don't know how they can get through life

Why don't you ask all the people opposed to THIS change if they would like to see Carsland added at DHS? Because if they hate all change, surely they would be against it, right?

 

[EMode]

The magic is alive and well. Most people just think its dead because they can't handle change. I don't know how they can get through life

Why are you so angry about other people's opinions about the magic of Disney. If its alive and well for you that is great but you have posted in a few threads and its clear you have a personal problem with it, which I can't understand. Do you love Disney so much that you can't handle any criticism of it? That seems like a much bigger problem than some people on a message board not liking change. BTW, are you still there? Maybe you should focus on the magic of your vacation.

 

[*disgal*]

The magic is alive and well. Most people just think its dead because they can't handle change. I don't know how they can get through life

Gosh, I love this board sometimes. So freakin' entertaining....