Breaking up with Disney?

[DVCSunDevil]

I'm a little late to this thread, but as a pretty experienced young traveler and recent DVC buyer, I'll give my perspective.

If you base your opinions on the top threads here on the boards, you'd think the parks are on fire and cast members are throwing trash at guests while Bob Chapek points and laughs from the top of the castle. But my most recent trip at the beginning of September had the best cast members I've ever experienced on a Disney vacation. Everyone from the resort check in to the attractions to dining was over the top friendly, asking about my day, and making magic with kids. The parks are also simpler. No worrying about fastpass times, park hopping has only been blocked out one day for Magic Kingdom on the 50th, and shorter lines than on any of my pre-Covid trips. And I really want to emphasize the cast members and shorter waits, since I still try to get on as many attractions as I can during park days.

With all that being said, Disney is rarely my only vacation for the year. This summer I also went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and last year was Hawaii. So if you only have the time or money for one trip a year, then I would totally understand renting out your points every other year or banking them for a huge trip in the future. There is more to travelling than Disney, but the magic is still there when I go back.

100%. There is a ton of data that proves people are much more likely to share negative experiences than they are to share good experiences. When you read these boards, there is ample evidence that proves this out. I would classify much of the negativity expressed as related to the "good ol days". It's "remember when Disney did this or that" or "pricing in the parks is much higher than it used to be". I don't disagree that things have changed, but guess what? Things have changed EVERYWHERE. "Change is the only constant in life" (Heraclitus) is such a true expression. And I feel covid has exacerbated change in many parts of society. This is true when you look at WDW pre-covid to today, but even then most people will tell you that WDW was going through some changes even pre-covid. And pricing goes up, that is just the way life works. WDW has always been expensive. Hell, I remember saying 15 years ago how expensive park tickets were. WDW was NEVER a cheap vacation, but we always knew that. And things are no different today.

We were victims of reading all the negative comments on here before our trip in 2021. I was dreading that trip and went into it with a negative attitude. Guess what? There was still magic to be found almost immediately upon arriving to WDW. Some things felt different, sure, but we were also in the throws of covid so I expected that. Then we went again this past February and you could just feel things were returning to normal. More entertainment....fireworks....more restaurants....unbelievable experiences with CMs....no masks....more characters....you name it. The "magic" was alive and well. Sure there were still some issues (staffing in some job roles remains an issue apparently) but you can feel the experience slowly returning back to normal. I would guess that in two years from now things will be, for the most part, back to normal.

There is still magic at WDW. You just have to be willing to see and feel it, IMO. And if you are hung up on all the negatives then it will be harder to experience that magic. The main negative, IMO, is the fact that Chapek is still in charge. He may be the most anti-Disney feeling person I have ever listened to. He has to go.

 

[Minniemoo15]

Just curious, how was your trip? Did you find the magic?

We found the magic - it was a great trip. BUT - we had a wonderful time in spite of Genie+. It certainly didn't add to our experience. For us, the magic was found in the restaurants and resorts - being DVC members was a big factor in us enjoying our stay. If we didn't get to a ride - no big deal. If we didn't even make it to the park that day - oh well. If I was a first timer coming to enjoy attractions and parks - I am not sure how much magic I would have found. I talked to a lot of other guests who were who were confused and disappointed. I am sure FP+ was also confusing for some, but at least it was free.

I did miss the ME much more than I anticipated. Waiting over an hour for our luggage and then having to figure out where to meet our driver was not a magical way to start our trip. I still contend I would rather pay for FP+ than Genie+. We only paid for Genie+ 2/10 days. We actually enjoyed our day at Typhoon the most because there was no Genie+ to contend with.

I used to come back from every trip encouraging others to go to WDW, stay on site, experience the whole thing - but now I am not really doing that. I am excited to go back myself, but I am not sure if my less savvy friends would have a good time. If that makes any sense.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

We found the magic - it was a great trip. BUT - we had a wonderful time in spite of Genie+. It certainly didn't add to our experience. For us, the magic was found in the restaurants and resorts - being DVC members was a big factor in us enjoying our stay. If we didn't get to a ride - no big deal. If we didn't even make it to the park that day - oh well. If I was a first timer coming to enjoy attractions and parks - I am not sure how much magic I would have found. I talked to a lot of other guests who were who were confused and disappointed. I am sure FP+ was also confusing for some, but at least it was free.

I did miss the ME much more than I anticipated. Waiting over an hour for our luggage and then having to figure out where to meet our driver was not a magical way to start our trip. I still contend I would rather pay for FP+ than Genie+. We only paid for Genie+ 2/10 days. We actually enjoyed our day at Typhoon the most because there was no Genie+ to contend with.

I used to come back from every trip encouraging others to go to WDW, stay on site, experience the whole thing - but now I am not really doing that. I am excited to go back myself, but I am not sure if my less savvy friends would have a good time. If that makes any sense.

That's fair. I agree that I do not find myself recommending WDW to others as much as I used to because now it takes more "know how" to navigate the processes. I personally love the WDW vibe and don't mind the planning, but I know it isn't as easy as it used to be and that may turn off some "casual" Disney people.

Regarding Genie+, we only did it one day and were able to ride 4 rides using the system and the other rides we just did standby. It wasn't terrible, but we did talk to some people while in line for Peter Pan who were pros at Genie+ and were giving us pointers. They said it was their 10th-ish time using it. I think it is one of those things you have to do several times before you really get the hang of how to manipulate it to your advantage. I wish I would have met those people before the day we used it, lol. We probably could have manipulated another two rides if we would have done it a little differently.

It's great to hear you found the magic! It's there, for sure. Just the whole vibe of that place is awesome. I will say that on our last trip we did 3 nights at the Hilton by Disney Springs on the front end of our trip. That definitely did NOT feel magical. I will never stay at a non-Disney resort again. It didn't feel like an "official" WDW trip until we checked out of the Hilton and got out of our cab in front of the Polynesian. From the 2nd I stepped out of the cab it felt like WDW. Lesson learned.

 

[Sandisw]

That's fair. I agree that I do not find myself recommending WDW to others as much as I used to because now it takes more "know how" to navigate the processes. I personally love the WDW vibe and don't mind the planning, but I know it isn't as easy as it used to be and that may turn off some "casual" Disney people.

Regarding Genie+, we only did it one day and were able to ride 4 rides using the system and the other rides we just did standby. It wasn't terrible, but we did talk to some people while in line for Peter Pan who were pros at Genie+ and were giving us pointers. They said it was their 10th-ish time using it. I think it is one of those things you have to do several times before you really get the hang of how to manipulate it to your advantage. I wish I would have met those people before the day we used it, lol. We probably could have manipulated another two rides if we would have done it a little differently.

It's great to hear you found the magic! It's there, for sure. Just the whole vibe of that place is awesome. I will say that on our last trip we did 3 nights at the Hilton by Disney Springs on the front end of our trip. That definitely did NOT feel magical. I will never stay at a non-Disney resort again. It didn't feel like an "official" WDW trip until we checked out of the Hilton and got out of our cab in front of the Polynesian. From the 2nd I stepped out of the cab it felt like WDW. Lesson learned.

I still do recommend it but I have changed my advice around so that expectations will match the reality. We go through a lot of what the must-do's are...quoting Stacey there...and then go from there.

One thing I no longer do is recommend the park hopper option to those who have not been there in awhile. I tell them to save the money on that, and use it toward the GP+ or LL selections. I also recommend that if they are going to do a TS meal, make it lunch, so that they get a break from touring if they are going to do early hours with their families...then they can go back and enjoy the resort..or go back to touring...

I agree it is different and you have to go with a different lense...but, I definitely agree that staying offsite is just not the same...and why I love love love the DVC and keeping me in the bubble!

 

[RoseGold]

My G+ experience in January was a complete disaster. But I know so many G+ reports are so bad, that it has to change. I believe that over time Disney will be able to work out a way to skip lines for money, which I'm cool with. G+ in this iteration is not it. I'm not making long term choices based on a failed feature.

But no APs would be my line. I would have to sell.

 

[kes601]

I agree it is different and you have to go with a different lense...but, I definitely agree that staying offsite is just not the same...and why I love love love the DVC and keeping me in the bubble!

I completely agree with this. Prior to our 2 week Dec. trip last year we had always been rope drop people who stayed until we were worn out. We did not go back in the evenings. This was true of FP+ time and standby only time.

With that being said, G+ for us in Dec. worked out great (as did our quick 2 day trip in March) because we changed / adapted to the new way of doing things. We still went in the mornings at rope drop (whether we do that in the summer is still up in the air) but we strategized with G+ to stack for the evenings. HS this was simple since SDD was easy to get for later in the day / evening right at 7:00a. There were several evenings we went back to HS with 5 LLs to do in the course of a couple of hours. Heck, there was one day at MK that we rode everything with taking 7 hours off in the middle of the day and this was on Dec 29, one of the busiest days of the year.

This summer we are staying at SSR and are taking a car. We've never had a car on a long trip and we don't typically care for staying at a non-walkable resort. But, because we are doing parks differently now we plan to take advantage of Disney Springs and relaxing away from the parks. We'll still do our park time, it's just different than before.

My point is that it is nowhere near the same place it was pre-covid, but most things aren't. It has changed. But we have changed with it and will still enjoy our time there making memories.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

100%. There is a ton of data that proves people are much more likely to share negative experiences than they are good experiences. When you read these boards, there is ample evidence that proves this out. I would classify much of the negativity expressed as related to the "good ol days". It's "remember when Disney did this or that" or "pricing in the parks is much higher than it used to be". I don't disagree that things have changed, but guess what? Things have changed EVERYWHERE. "Change is the only constant in life" (Heraclitus) is such a true expression. And I feel covid has exacerbated change in many parts of society. This is true when you look at WDW pre-covid to today, but most people will tell you that WDW was going through some change even pre-covid. And pricing goes up, that is just the way life works. WDW has always been expensive. Hell, I remember saying 15 years ago how expensive park tickets were. WDW was NEVER a cheap vacation, but we always knew that. And things are no different today.

We were victims of reading all the negative comments on here before our trip in 2021. I was dreading that trip and went into it with a negative attitude. Guess what? There was still magic to be found almost immediately upon arriving to WDW. Some things felt different, sure, but we were also in the throws of covid so I expected that. Then we went again this past February and you could just feel things were returning to normal. More entertainment....fireworks....more restaurants....unbelievable experiences with CMs....no masks....more characters....you name it. The "magic" was alive and well. Sure there were still some issues (staffing in some job roles remains an issue apparently) but you can feel the experience slowly returning back to normal. I would guess that in two years from now things will be, for the most part, back to normal.

There is still magic at WDW. You just have to be willing to see and feel it, IMO. And if you are hung up on all the negatives then it will be harder to experience that magic. The main negative, IMO, is the fact that Chapek is still in charge. He may be the most anti-Disney feeling person I have ever listened to. He has to go.

I am going to copy a post I put in another thread, but I think it's still useful here.

I can't seem to stress this enough and I get tired of saying it.


If you go and you bring with you the attitude that you gather from social media that everything is cut backs, taking away, rude CM's and negativity, what you will find is cut backs, things that were taken away, rude CM's and negativity. You will literally LOOK for those things and yes - if you look for them you can find them. (Here I will add another Yoda'ism)


If HOWEVER you bring magic, happiness, and a childlike attitude of wonder, you will find..... that's right... magic, happiness, and wonder.

There is STILL Magic in Disney. But Magic is elusive - it always has been. Magic doesn't like to show off in bright lights and convert people filled with anger. Instead, like a small seed of wonder, it grows in those who believe in it, trust in it and let it do it's thing. It has always been thus. The magic has not gone away anywhere. There is no where for it to go. Like the force, it is everywhere. It surrounds us. it's just that at Disney we are given more opportunities to see it, feel it, and grow it larger.

CM's - as much as we like to think are some magical creatures (and in some ways they are!!! ) they are also humans. They will do their best to create magic every day. But like any human, they react to you. If you approach a CM CERTAIN that you are having a bad time and they are just a barrier which you must beat out of them what you think you need, yeah - expect to get curt, prompt replies that may not meet your needs. If you approach them as humans who have feelings and are probably having a tough time with other people who are treating them as obstacles, they will be kind and courteous. They may not be able to magically make new seats at your favorite place to eat, but they will still do their absolute best to find an alternative or help you in whatever way they can.

If you read online that some performer is gone now due to cutbacks, you will look for other performers who you remember and are gone. You will stew about it as you walk right past all the new performers who are doing their best to entertain.

Do NOT go to Disney expecting that when you walk through the gates, Tinkerbell is literally going to fly over your head and shower you with magical dust. She never did that (you just remember things differently as a kid). But if you bring your own little bit of magic and add it to the magic that is there, Disney has a way of making that magic grow exponentially.

I will throw one more movie quote at you. This one from Evan Almighty


If you go looking for Magic, do you think Disney zaps you poof full of Magic? Or does it give you opportunities to make Magic? Think about it.

Okay... off my soap box. Sorry for the rant. It's been pent up for months and I finally had to release it.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I am going to copy a post I put in another thread, but I think it's still useful here.

I can't seem to stress this enough and I get tired of saying it.
View attachment 660567

If you go and you bring with you the attitude that you gather from social media that everything is cut backs, taking away, rude CM's and negativity, what you will find is cut backs, things that were taken away, rude CM's and negativity. You will literally LOOK for those things and yes - if you look for them you can find them. (Here I will add another Yoda'ism)
View attachment 660568

If HOWEVER you bring magic, happiness, and a childlike attitude of wonder, you will find..... that's right... magic, happiness, and wonder.

There is STILL Magic in Disney. But Magic is elusive - it always has been. Magic doesn't like to show off in bright lights and convert people filled with anger. Instead, like a small seed of wonder, it grows in those who believe in it, trust in it and let it do it's thing. It has always been thus. The magic has not gone away anywhere. There is no where for it to go. Like the force, it is everywhere. It surrounds us. it's just that at Disney we are given more opportunities to see it, feel it, and grow it larger.

CM's - as much as we like to think are some magical creatures (and in some ways they are!!! ) they are also humans. They will do their best to create magic every day. But like any human, they react to you. If you approach a CM CERTAIN that you are having a bad time and they are just a barrier which you must beat out of them what you think you need, yeah - expect to get curt, prompt replies that may not meet your needs. If you approach them as humans who have feelings and are probably having a tough time with other people who are treating them as obstacles, they will be kind and courteous. They may not be able to magically make new seats at your favorite place to eat, but they will still do their absolute best to find an alternative or help you in whatever way they can.

If you read online that some performer is gone now due to cutbacks, you will look for other performers who you remember and are gone. You will stew about it as you walk right past all the new performers who are doing their best to entertain.

Do NOT go to Disney expecting that when you walk through the gates, Tinkerbell is literally going to fly over your head and shower you with magical dust. She never did that (you just remember things differently as a kid). But if you bring your own little bit of magic and add it to the magic that is there, Disney has a way of making that magic grow exponentially.

I will throw one more movie quote at you. This one from Evan Almighty
View attachment 660569

If you go looking for Magic, do you think Disney zaps you poof full of Magic? Or does it give you opportunities to make Magic? Think about it.

Okay... off my soap box. Sorry for the rant. It's been pent up for months and I finally had to release it.

No rant...it's always good to tell how you feel and help spread the magic! And everything you said is spot on. Like I said in an earlier comment, I could feel the magic just getting out of my cab in front of the Polynesian. Was there some "magic" device that made me feel that way? No...I was just happy to be there and the entire vibe of WDW and the Poly washed over me. Even with the magic being there, there are always little things that come up that can diminish the magic during a trip. That has always happened. But the good vibes still outweigh the bad vibes and if you are looking for magic you will find it

 

[TiggerBouncy]

No rant...it's always good to tell how you feel and help spread the magic! And everything you said is spot on. Like I said in an earlier comment, I could feel the magic just getting out of my cab in front of the Polynesian. Was there some "magic" device that made me feel that way? No...I was just happy to be there and the entire vibe of WDW and the Poly washed over me. Even with the magic being there, there are always little things that come up that can diminish the magic during a trip. That has always happened. But the good vibes still outweigh the bad vibes and if you are looking for magic you will find it

Well, Like I mentioned it was copied from another thread where it was more a rant. Where I get super frustrated isn't here. Us DVC'rs know what we are getting into. Especially the group that goes at least once a year or so. If we come here on the forums and read all the negativity and allow that to affect us - I mean that's on us. We know better (or should).

Where I get frustrated is on the other forums in this board - like the strategy board - often filled with people who have saved up for years (if not longer) and are doing everything they can to bring their family on what may be for them a once in a lifetime trip to WDW and what do they find here at the boards dedicated toward HELPING people get the most out of their Disney vacation? Sadly they do not get helpful hints about how to use G+ to your advantage, or what rides their 12 year old might like... NO. Instead they get inundated with post after post saying "Don't Go" and "Don't waste your money" and "Disney sucks" and about a thousand other similar posts. If someone even ATTEMPTS to be helpful, they get downvoted, flamed, accused of being a Disney Apologist, and in every other way undermined.

The result? If the poor hapless person actually DOES go to Disney with all their hard earned cash, they are looking forward to a doom and gloom vacation where what they find is... yup. The Doom and Gloom they expected.

I wish we were all better ambassadors of Disney. Again, not for ourselves. If we choose to get down and out here, that's out choice. Right now, I have my own frustrations with the company in general - but I know what they are and I know where my comfort level lies in what parts of the company I adore and what parts I do not. I have been around long enough to know not everything on these boards is gospel and many opinions are mired in personal experiences and overall attitude. I certainly do not mind discussions here about where we see lack of service, what to do about it and where we draw our respective lines in the sand.

Where I get upset are the many threads that offer no useful advice other than to spread hatred. I fear the rich experiences we are robbing of those who are not familiar with Disney and certainly not familiar with the outcry of anger on social media towards the company in general (and this is not new. G+ and ILL are the hot topics of today, but every year it's something)- the many parents and children who are there on a rare or unique trip that will have the joy of that trip robbed.

 

[tmg4612]

We are planning for March 2022 - I will admit I’m not feeling the magic as much this time around. A lot of it is Genie+, ME, and the fact that many of our favourites are still closed. However I’m willing to experience it myself in person and see. My two kids could care less about any of those things above - they just want to get back to their favourite place. I’m thinking (hoping) once we are there, and I see their happy faces, I’ll feel the magic once again.

How was your 3/2022 vacation?

 

[Marionnette]

How was your 3/2022 vacation?

She answered just a few posts up.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/breaking-up-with-disney.3854901/page-9#post-63911098

 

[BeachClub2014]

Where I get frustrated is on the other forums in this board - like the strategy board - often filled with people who have saved up for years (if not longer) and are doing everything they can to bring their family on what may be for them a once in a lifetime trip to WDW and what do they find here at the boards dedicated toward HELPING people get the most out of their Disney vacation? Sadly they do not get helpful hints about how to use G+ to your advantage, or what rides their 12 year old might like... NO. Instead they get inundated with post after post saying "Don't Go" and "Don't waste your money" and "Disney sucks" and about a thousand other similar posts. If someone even ATTEMPTS to be helpful, they get downvoted, flamed, accused of being a Disney Apologist, and in every other way undermined.

Agreed. Having said that, I am also often surprised by folks that seemingly accept things said anywhere online as the gospel truth. These boards are a great place to come and learn, mainly by learning what are the right questions to ask and where the best source of the answer may be.

 

[RoseGold]

Where I get frustrated is on the other forums in this board - like the strategy board - often filled with people who have saved up for years (if not longer) and are doing everything they can to bring their family on what may be for them a once in a lifetime trip to WDW and what do they find here at the boards dedicated toward HELPING people get the most out of their Disney vacation? Sadly they do not get helpful hints about how to use G+ to your advantage, or what rides their 12 year old might like... NO. Instead they get inundated with post after post saying "Don't Go" and "Don't waste your money" and "Disney sucks"

The strategy board has plenty of actually helpful people, and it can tell you how to use G+. But G+ just isn't very useful.

We are DVC people, we are there all the time. Whatever, we will eventually get to everything. But I think it is fair to say that if you are going to save for one big trip, maybe right now isn't the time to do it. It's really hard to make sure your 12 year old gets to go on ROTR and get a lightsaber and go to Oga's. There's a good chance you won't be able to do all of that. Maybe the next system will be better, maybe it won't. But the crowds are intense, and I do find it disappointing that there is no way to make sure ahead of time that all of that will happen for that kid.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

The strategy board has plenty of actually helpful people, and it can tell you how to use G+. But G+ just isn't very useful.

We are DVC people, we are there all the time. Whatever, we will eventually get to everything. But I think it is fair to say that if you are going to save for one big trip, maybe right now isn't the time to do it. It's really hard to make sure your 12 year old gets to go on ROTR and get a lightsaber and go to Oga's. There's a good chance you won't be able to do all of that. Maybe the next system will be better, maybe it won't. But the crowds are intense, and I do find it disappointing that there is no way to make sure ahead of time that all of that will happen for that kid.

I agree for the most part. But WDW has always been packed. When we brought our kids for the first time 13 years ago, the lines were absolutely brutal. We weren't able to do it all in one day...no chance. The first day we were at MK we weren't able to ride Peter Pan and my daughter was crushed (I remember it to this day). The good news is that we (and most people going to WDW) were doing MK for more than one day and we hit Peter Pan two days later. On our trip in 2018, we weren't able to ride Slinky Dog because the park was packed and the wait times that day were insane and we were only able to ride 4 rides at HS that day. I remember going to Disneyland as a kid (we grew up in AZ so we were a DL family) and not being able to ride the Splash Mountain on one trip because the lines were over 3 hours long (it was summer), so we would go do another ride and come back only to find the line longer. The point is that WDW and DL have always been busy and systems for rides have always been flawed. There is no perfect system. My kids now know that if there is a ride they REALLY want to ride, they may have to bite the bullet and stand in a two hour line. Sometimes that's the only way.

Again, the good news is that most people go to the parks more than once during a "lifelong" trip, so they can split up what they want to do over different days and hit everything. Also, when we were there in February the longest line we encountered was 2 hours. Most lines for popular attractions were around 60 minutes or less. And that was on some of the busiest days of the year. From my experience, those lines are much better than the 3 hour lines experienced in the "old days". Between G+ and old fashioned standby lines, we were able to knock out everything we wanted to do.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

The strategy board has plenty of actually helpful people, and it can tell you how to use G+. But G+ just isn't very useful.

I did not mean to imply there is no one helpful at all. If that's how that came across, I apologize. There are some helpful people. However, the boards are unquestionably negative, and if I had a penny for every person who has said in the past 6 months "I am nervous about my upcoming trip after reading all the negative posts", I wouldn't have to save up for my new house - I could buy it cash on sight.

I agree for the most part. But WDW has always been packed. When we brought our kids for the first time 13 years ago, the lines were absolutely brutal. We weren't able to do it all in one day...no chance. The first day we were at MK we weren't able to ride Peter Pan and my daughter was crushed (I remember it to this day). The good news is that we (and most people going to WDW) were doing MK for more than one day and we hit Peter Pan two days later. On our trip in 2018, we weren't able to ride Slinky Dog because the park was packed and the wait times that day were insane and we were only able to ride 4 rides at HS that day. I remember going to Disneyland as a kid (we grew up in AZ so we were a DL family) and not being able to ride the Splash Mountain on one trip because the lines were over 3 hours long (it was summer), so we would go do another ride and come back only to find the line longer. The point is that WDW and DL have always been busy and systems for rides have always been flawed. There is no perfect system. My kids now know that if there is a ride they REALLY want to ride, they may have to bite the bullet and stand in a two hour line. Sometimes that's the only way.

Again, the good news is that most people go to the parks more than once during a "lifelong" trip, so they can split up what they want to do for different days and hit everything. Also, when we were there in February the longest line we encountered was 2 hours. Most lines for popular attractions were around 60 minutes or less. And that was on some of the busiest days of the year. From my experience, those lines are much better than the 3 hour lines experienced in the "old days". Between G+ and old fashioned standby lines, we were able to knock out everything we wanted to do.

It's funny that you say that. There is a large part of me that pens these crowds off as unusual and like to say how much worse WDW has gotten in recent years. If you stop and ask me I will be incredibly fast in telling you how the crowds are so much worse than when I was a kid. But then our minds play tricks on us as kids, don't they?

If you left me alone for a week and then asked me to tell you what I remember about the lines in WDW when I was a kid, I can easily recall 2 hour waits for Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. I can't tell you the wait for a lot of rides, but some of them - like those - stand out to me.

 

[kes601]

The strategy board has plenty of actually helpful people, and it can tell you how to use G+. But G+ just isn't very useful.

Perhaps to you and the way you prefer to do the parks it isn't helpful, but to others it may be very helpful. For us in December it was extremely helpful, even more so than FP+ (minus having to pay for it).

 

[SteveAZee]

If someone even ATTEMPTS to be helpful, they get downvoted, flamed, accused of being a Disney Apologist, and in every other way undermined.

I guess I haven't seen that here, but maybe I'm not looking for it either.

I would say, on balance, that the last few years of changes at WDW have been more negative than positive. I think that's part of it... more negative changes, more negative responses.

I've also said separately (on another forum) that if a family is about to spend $10,000 on a family vacation, it's probably good to let them know both the plusses and minuses. I personally would feel really bad if a family I know came back and fully regretting spending all that money on a trip that didn't come close to living up to their expectations.

I agree that there tends to be hyperbole on some of these boards... probably driven by emotion rather than facts, but to be honest, that's been Disney's wheelhouse... playing to our emotions. The backlash isn't too surprising.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I guess I haven't seen that here, but maybe I'm not looking for it either.

I would say, on balance, that the last few years of changes at WDW have been more negative than positive. I think that's part of it... more negative changes, more negative responses.

I've also said separately (on another forum) that if a family is about to spend $10,000 on a family vacation, it's probably good to let them know both the plusses and minuses. I personally would feel really bad if a family I know came back and fully regretting spending all that money on a trip that didn't come close to living up to their expectations.

I agree that there tends to be hyperbole on some of these boards... probably driven by emotion rather than facts, but to be honest, that's been Disney's wheelhouse... playing to our emotions. The backlash isn't too surprising.

Case in point... LOL. Maybe a family planning to spend 10,000 on a vacation should be hyped up for all the magic that is in store for them?

Who is to say the changes are negative? For some people, the changes have been positive. Here was a positive post turned negative, which is exactly what I am referring to. No positive post can be allowed to stand unchallenged!

 

[xipotec]

Covid is an excuse to not hire people at a decent wage for hard hospitality work.

They have the money. They just need to divert some of those stock dividends and buybacks into guest experience and employees.

Its not impossible, they just do not wanna do it.

 

[DduzDis]

Case in point... LOL. Maybe a family planning to spend 10,000 on a vacation should be hyped up for all the magic that is in store for them?

Who is to say the changes are negative? For some people, the changes have been positive. Here was a positive post turned negative, which is exactly what I am referring to. No positive post can be allowed to stand unchallenged!

If the family has $10k to gamble with on a good trip then by all means go in expecting rainbows and sunshine. But if they have been saving for years to afford this trip, I think it is absolutely okay to temper expectations. I have stopped trying to give advice because my last trips have not been my most enjoyable with the recent changes. Now I highly recommend anyone who hasn't been before use a reputable Disney specific planner. I try not dampen the excitement, but it really depends on what the family hopes to accomplish on the trip. If it is a nice resort trip and just want to get away with family, nothing to stand in the way of that. But, if they hope to hit every ride and enjoy table service meals, maybe not in DHS or without using G+ in MK....i.e. there are caveats to accomplishing those things that depend on other factors. So maybe have a realistic priority list and understand you may not hit everything this trip.