Canceled our next FW trip

[Stork]

Just got back from 9 nights at the Fort. Good times and great decorations!
We just canceled our Premium Meadows site for 19-29 Jan 2022. Hope somebody can enjoy it. Disney has priced me out of the picture. Probably won't renew our Florida resident AP either.

 

[ScarletFire]

The decorations are over the top!

I understand your predicament. $150+ is too much for a campsite. We balked at the cost for the week of December 20 and are staying in a $99 per night hotel. It's a huge savings in gas and lodging. But, I'll seriously miss my little camper and the Fort.

And yes, I have AP buyers remorse.

 

[jkh36619]

Same here, We canceled our New Years and Mardi Gras sites. Just going to stay home for NY and heading to Universal for Mardi Gras. Staying at Universal Studio resort for $168/night. But I can't blame Disney...The Fort stays full.

 

[bama_ed]

Prices are high for RV sites in Florida especially in tourist destination areas and during certain seasons of the year. It's supply-and-demand in action.

It's not so much the prices being charged that I notice but more it's I feel like I'm getting less while still paying more (things I once had are being taken away). So the value point-of-view (am I happy with what I'm getting for my money) is headed in the wrong direction.

But if you are a Florida resident, @Stork, there are still lots of beautiful places to go in your state with the rv. Just not WDW as much.

Bama Ed

PS - and I felt the slip in value even BEFORE the pandemic.

 

[Sjm9911]

Unfortunately ed, its not just a feeling but its real. You are paying more for less. Its like when they make the half gallon ice cream containers smaller and told everyone we will not raise our prices. So, i feel what your saying......

 

[bama_ed]

Unfortunately ed, its not just a feeling but its real. You are paying more for less. Its like when they make the half gallon ice cream containers smaller and told everyone we will not raise our prices. So, i feel what your saying......

At first, @Sjm9911, I wondered what was wrong with the idea of, "doubling the price of a theme park ticket day and then cutting the number of park people allowed in half"?

I tried to balance the good from the bad (in terms of MK):

GOOD
============
1. Fewer people means more walk on/short ride lines. Great customer experience!
2. Fewer people means less competition for table dining and crappy counter service.
3. Fewer people means word-of-mouth praise and great customer sat surveys. Don't have to come EVERY year. Just every OTHER year for a GREAT vacation!

BAD
============
1. Fewer people means less plush junk sold in the Emporium on a per-person basis
2. Fewer people means less yucky food served at Pecos Bills (and places like it) and although DD SWEARS by PB, I read food inspector ratings posted by the cash registers.
3. Fewer people means customers having alternatives and ignoring poorly themed Pirate interaction shows in front of PoC.

I think Disney missed the boat by trying to "have their cake and eat it too". On one hand, they're trying to limit the number of people so those guests can have an acceptable experience and only be slightly hacked off by crowds and prices. On the other hand, they could limit folks more and let those have a GREAT customer experience and spread the word-of-mouth. Disney HAD a premium product and could have charged premium rates and corned a premium customer experience rating. Instead they took the cheap way out.

I could have easily justified coming every OTHER year if Disney was transparent about delivering a premium experience both in the parks and resorts WHENEVER a guest is there. But this more-is-less approach will drive folks away (and start leaving rooms vacant and park capacity unfilled). They'll claim their parks/resorts are "full". And not mentioned will be ALL the money they left laying on the table.

Bama Ed

PS - and if they don't want to limit customers, then add more parks (well themed and not junk) and resorts and campground sites. Because as it stands today, no matter what side of their mouth they're talking out of, they're not being honest with their customer and investor base.

 

[Sjm9911]

The crowds are up from before ed, maybe not back to normal but close. The bad is the cut stuff, yea, it may be because of covid but I think its more that it cost money. And its money saved if its not offered. No more pirates game for a free fast pass, no more magic of the kingdom. Hours , well are getting back to normal, but they have more parties, and that means less hours that your more expensive ticket buys. Couple that with less shows ( none) and no character meets, less pin trading ( used to be all over) , etc , etc, etc. And it makes for a worse time. I didn't see any smaller lines when I went. Just more stuff closed, not open , etc. I get the covid stuff and it may be temporary, but I fear , like everywhere else, its an excuse to cut stuff. I feel the experience we just had , while good, was nothing compared to before. More parties, more paid events, more paid everything. Along with the higher priced tickets and lodging. like you said, if it ment a better experience, it might be justified. But for me, the experience wasnt better. Hopefully that changes. The CMs while nice and polite , really had no idea of the fort, or the parks. I get that they were new, but it was a lot of them. I got more information out of a janitorial staff guy and his wife on there day off when they were in line with me. It was that bad. He stated the same. And told me where and who to talk with, but those lines were long, and the time wasted wasnt worth it. He also said they used to be able to give out stuff to make peoples stay better ( fp) etc. But that wasnt alowed anymore. Dont get me wrong, it was fun. But the bad days we had were bad, and we got nothing for it. Not even empathy from the higher ups trying to smooth things over. I wasn't looking for freebees, just someone to say sorry. They just didnt care. Those days were not magical. We did make our own fun, and magic. And some of the other people, namely the transportation staff/ some of the resturants were aces.

It just seems way more commercial then it was before( if you can imagine that) , everything is a la cart now. And I dont mine paying, It just wasnt fun to pay and get up at 630 every morning to book rides. Will I go back, yes but not as often as I planned to. Maybe in 10 years or so.

 

[Stork]

Fast passes were free. Now Lightning Lane cost us extra $. Genie and Genie + are not useful tools. My virtual queue for Crap-a-toeey hadn't been called for boarding yet at 4PM, a full 9 hours of waiting after my 7AM VQ submission. Planning meals 60 days prior doesn't allow a lot of Genie's Magic to be fulfilled on a daily basis. It didn't know about our Horse Back ride and tried to schedule things at that time. Prior to all the recent changes, we planned our park days a whole lot better than Disney's Genie. It appears Disney is trying to control all aspects of our visit and we were experiencing miserable days for it. We ended up enjoying the Fort, taking a pass on our planned AK and HS days. Disney's loss; we only bought one souvenir this trip...a 50th anniversary magnet for the fridge door back home.

Suspending AP sales means they can't handle the number of guests it generated each day. "Stop the flow of people, we already have their money." Severely limited park reservations for AP holders is in my mind a breach of contract. There is nothing Covid driven here. They mandate masks inside all facilities, they limit the number of bodies inside their buildings. Limiting guests, especially AP guests, is an easy way of limiting their expenses and as noted above, they already have our money. Color me disgusted, disappointed and frustrated at the snub Disney is showing AP holders. Sorry Walt, I'm not getting any magic here. Your Dream and our "Magic" are disappearing....quickly.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

We cancelled our last 2 yearly trips (havent been there since Feb 2019) and would have cancelled this coming trip if it hadnt been for the 2 weeks gap of camping that I couldnt fill. This is the first time since 1993 that we havent been to WDW at least once a year.

 

[nomorethan8]

Look I get the fact that $150 a day is steep. I come down, generally with 6 of us. A bargain from an out of state vacationer's point of view. The Fort is still a great value. I can drive down, get a reliable hook-up, clean restrooms, 2 really nice general stores, 2 pools, transportation around the campground, a few places to eat in the campground, a beach, views of fireworks, views of wildlife, movies and shows for the rugrats, transportation to any other resort and Disney Springs, bicycle/walking paths around the campgrounds....... I'm sure I'm missing some stuff. All this, without going to the Parks.

You can find places that will have some of these amenities. They cost the same. When you put the all of the Fort's amenities on a list, it still is a freaking value. That's why it is tough to get a reservation.

And even if I don't do the Parks, it is still a bargain. (Remember, family of 6)

Are the parks gouging? Yup. For a family of 6, It hurts....Bad! But I have driven 1100 miles and have not done the Parks. We have a great time and still spend a lot of dough, just not as much!

Just recently we spent 10 days at the Parks. The campsite cost a fraction of the Parks. Parks are crazy expensive! And now I have to spend more to get the new version of Fast Passes. Ugh.

Have we had things cut from the Fort? Yup. When I was a kid, I was upset that the got rid of the train, then the swimming on the lake, then the trams. I was thinking they are gutting this place. Now that I'm older, I'm glad the got rid of the lake swimming. LOL

IMHO

 

[Stork]

Look I get the fact that $150 a day is steep. I come down, generally with 6 of us. A bargain from an out of state vacationer's point of view. The Fort is still a great value. I can drive down, get a reliable hook-up, clean restrooms, 2 really nice general stores, 2 pools, transportation around the campground, a few places to eat in the campground, a beach, views of fireworks, views of wildlife, movies and shows for the rugrats, transportation to any other resort and Disney Springs, bicycle/walking paths around the campgrounds....... I'm sure I'm missing some stuff. All this, without going to the Parks.

You can find places that will have some of these amenities. They cost the same. When you put the all of the Fort's amenities on a list, it still is a freaking value. That's why it is tough to get a reservation.

And even if I don't do the Parks, it is still a bargain. (Remember, family of 6)

Are the parks gouging? Yup. For a family of 6, It hurts....Bad! But I have driven 1100 miles and have not done the Parks. We have a great time and still spend a lot of dough, just not as much!

Just recently we spent 10 days at the Parks. The campsite cost a fraction of the Parks. Parks are crazy expensive! And now I have to spend more to get the new version of Fast Passes. Ugh.

Have we had things cut from the Fort? Yup. When I was a kid, I was upset that the got rid of the train, then the swimming on the lake, then the trams. I was thinking they are gutting this place. Now that I'm older, I'm glad the got rid of the lake swimming. LOL

IMHO

Thanks for your perspective. I, too, love time at the Fort. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Its the diminishing value thats so hard to take. I liken it to driving a car with power windows and heated seats and now suddenly youre stuck with crank windows and a vinyl bench seat for the same amount of $$

 

[team bradfield]

Look I get the fact that $150 a day is steep. I come down, generally with 6 of us. A bargain from an out of state vacationer's point of view. The Fort is still a great value. I can drive down, get a reliable hook-up, clean restrooms, 2 really nice general stores, 2 pools, transportation around the campground, a few places to eat in the campground, a beach, views of fireworks, views of wildlife, movies and shows for the rugrats, transportation to any other resort and Disney Springs, bicycle/walking paths around the campgrounds....... I'm sure I'm missing some stuff. All this, without going to the Parks.

You can find places that will have some of these amenities. They cost the same. When you put the all of the Fort's amenities on a list, it still is a freaking value. That's why it is tough to get a reservation.

And even if I don't do the Parks, it is still a bargain. (Remember, family of 6)

Are the parks gouging? Yup. For a family of 6, It hurts....Bad! But I have driven 1100 miles and have not done the Parks. We have a great time and still spend a lot of dough, just not as much!

Just recently we spent 10 days at the Parks. The campsite cost a fraction of the Parks. Parks are crazy expensive! And now I have to spend more to get the new version of Fast Passes. Ugh.

Have we had things cut from the Fort? Yup. When I was a kid, I was upset that the got rid of the train, then the swimming on the lake, then the trams. I was thinking they are gutting this place. Now that I'm older, I'm glad the got rid of the lake swimming. LOL

IMHO

Yep, same here, took 12 kids/grandkids in november. $$ crazy amount of money, but we had a blast, I agree on the value of FW, you can spend a lot more at other RV resorts with only an Office bldg to shop, no golf carts, crammed next to each other. the fort is spread and layed out that some sites, you hardly notice neighbors.

 

[rideswithchrist]

We looked into camping at a Jellystone this month- it would have been $114 with their water park area closed. In summer, a tent site is $131 and a premium site $180. I feel like the Fort was always a better value for our small camper than any other camp resort we have looked at.

That said, I still can't believe all the things that are closed in parks still but the prices are higher. I think it is because people spent 2 years cooped up and decided to "finally go to Disney" so they will pay what they don't know is a bad deal.
Meh. We still booked and are planning to go next year for the 50th- my husband has been to the 10th, 25th so the 50th makes nostalgic sense. I don't think we will ever go yearly unless things get back to REAL Disney Quality.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

That said, I still can't believe all the things that are closed in parks still but the prices are higher. I think it is because people spent 2 years cooped up and decided to "finally go to Disney" so they will pay what they don't know is a bad deal.

For my experience, I think for "go to Disney once and a blue moon" types like me, we book a year out and can't fathom that it won't be back to normal by our reservation. We were way past the point of no return this summer when it was apparent WDW and FW wouldn't be the full experience for us.

 

[shawthorne44]

For my experience, I think for "go to Disney once and a blue moon" types like me, we book a year out and can't fathom that it won't be back to normal by our reservation. We were way past the point of no return this summer when it was apparent WDW and FW wouldn't be the full experience for us.

That is so me. We are about ready to take our postponed trip. Feb 2022 seemed sooooo far into this mess that things *had* to have returned to normal by then. At this point I have planning fatigue since I started to plan pre-lockdown. So, we are going to go on this trip. If I hadn't completely prepaid for a bunch of things including Disney Gift Cards, we probably would have cancelled.