Coming back after what will be a 15 year absence.

[chartle]

I little background. In the 2010's I used to be very active on these boards. I believe in certain forums I was one of the top contributors. Where I answered a lot questions like "Can I use one of the days on my multiday ticket to park hop just one day?" and helped with those going on Band Trips.

Our last trip was the last non crazy week before Xmas 2013 which at the time I feel was the end of an era. That week traditional paper fast pass was starting to be phased out starting at AK. My niece was/is a cast member there and she was not looking forward to the confusion. Before that my first trip as a teenager was in 1975, one in 1999 and then 4 or so trips with my family and with my Sons' band. We also went a few years ago without any park days to above mentioned niece for her wedding in the Wedding Pavilion with reception in Cítricos.
Since then my family has all grown up but now I have a DGS 2 and a DGD on the way and the plan is to eventually head back.

Is it going to as magical as I remember? Now everything just seems to be a money grab with Genie +, Lighting Lane give as $300 a day to skip the lines.

I guess I'm trying to ease into to thinking we are going back.

Thank you for your time.

ETA: Ok I guess Money grab is a little much.

 

[gottalovepluto]

No. It is NOT going to be the magic you remember, especially if you keep thinking “this used to be free”. Familiarize yourself completely with the changes and accept them, then decide if you want to Disney.

You can’t get the past back- especially that past. There is magic to be found, even if you don’t pay for extras, but it’s different.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Well, on the one hand, it's absolutely going to be very different - but also very familiar in many ways. The magic of your next trip will be seeing it through the eyes of the next generation - nothing more magical than that!!

Is it expensive? Absolutely. So save, budget, and expect it. Get familiar with LLSP and LLMP so you can select days and attractions you might want to buy it or skip it. Since the last time you were there, it's probably way easier and convenient to snap thousands of pictures of your family while enjoying the parks and the resorts.

In short, it'll be as magical as you want to make it - which is really how it was before! You just remember all the good parts!

 

[chartle]

Get familiar with LLSP and LLMP

I'm so out of it I don't even know what those are. Wait let me take a stab at it. Lightning Lane Single P*** and Lightning Lane Multi P***.

Oh and first trip back in 99 I had a SLR film camera hung on my Hip Pack with a liter of frozen water. It was end of August. I'm not sure what phone I had in 2013. Maybe a Blackberry.

 

[DisneyFive]

Is it still magical? Yes. Is it FAR more expensive? Yes. Yes, there are “Money Grabs” that didn’t exist in 2013, primarily LLMP (the evolution of the paper fastpass) and LLSP (the one or two most popular ride in each park that you either need to purchase separately to reduce your wait or you can wait standby)

 

[NYCgrrl]

ETA: Ok I guess Money grab is a little much.

No, money grab doesn’t go too far .
Nevertheless you’ll still have fun.

I think about where I want to go in the parks more than I did in the past and still haven’t paid for a Lightening Lane; haven’t ridden Guardians yet but have TRON.

 

[danceintherain]

It's different, but so am I.
I haven't found it any less magical recently than I did during the time frame you're familiar with. But, I also have the money to pay for LL as needed. I've gone every few years at least for the last 20ish years. When FP/LL was free, it was getting to the point where it was barely useful. Now, I can pay for it, and know that I'll probably actually end up with a shorter wait time, and can probably get a return time for every attraction on the list, if I so choose.
I do miss the loveliness of stacking 5 FPs for a favorite attraction, but I don't miss running across the park to physically get them.

None of this keeps me from looking forward to my next trip, even when I don't have one planned.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

I don't know how magical it was. But it is magical with little kids!
There are so few rides your grand kids can do (nor do they need tickets yet), but I bet they will love the small world! Maybe they will like the parades, the firework (or be scared of it, or too sleepy for it), or meeting characters (no longer eligible for FastPass/LightningLane). These won't grab money.
If you can avoid peak seasons, the adults can also enjoy the rides. For instance, I hear there is no rain and no crowd today.

It's for sure a lot more expensive, not only because of inflation but also way more people know about WDW, have access to it, and would like to visit (compared to decades ago).

 

[ScarletFire]

There is so much new stuff! You're gonna love it!!

 

[DeeBee3]

Won't be the same as your old memories but still so wonderful to see the little ones enjoy! Also, we do not pay for any LLs when we do go. The only time I paid was during a Christmas trip where I expected to wait on very long lines for everything. So, paying for the line skipping is not necessary if you have the patience.

Plus, we always do something new when we go (about once a year). So, there is always something neat to experience and that helps add to the magic.

I look at it like this: when the kids are really little they love the character meets and the cute stuff like that. Now that they are older, we don't do that much and we find other stuff they enjoy. There is always an evolution.

 

[hardcorestitch]

I little background. In the 2010's I used to be very active on these boards. I believe in certain forums I was one of the top contributors. Where I answered a lot questions like "Can I use one of the days on my multiday ticket to park hop just one day?" and helped with those going on Band Trips.

Our last trip was the last non crazy week before Xmas 2013 which at the time I feel was the end of an era. That week traditional paper fast pass was starting to be phased out starting at AK. My niece was/is a cast member there and she was not looking forward to the confusion. Before that my first trip as a teenager was in 1975, one in 1999 and then 4 or so trips with my family and with my Sons' band. We also went a few years ago without any park days to above mentioned niece for her wedding in the Wedding Pavilion with reception in Cítricos.
Since then my family has all grown up but now I have a DGS 2 and a DGD on the way and the plan is to eventually head back.

Is it going to as magical as I remember? Now everything just seems to be a money grab with Genie +, Lighting Lane give as $300 a day to skip the lines.

I guess I'm trying to ease into to thinking we are going back.

Thank you for your time.

ETA: Ok I guess Money grab is a little much.

Genie+ is gone now…

Anyways, there is a good chance you’ll have sizable crowds no matter when you come in. Right now there is a lot of work in progress, with Tropical Americas at AK and Villains and Cars taking over part of MK real soon. Personally I wouldn’t get Lightning Lane right now considering the slightly reduced number of attractions running.

 

[bullcat_02]

I went from October 2013 until December 2022. Everything felt so different. I felt pressured to get the next lightning lane to make genie worth it. Hated being on my phone so much but felt I had to be with the price it now takes to go to Disney. Compared crowds to the good ol' days when I could do everything by 3pm and then repeat.

Disney still felt magical just not as much. Maybe it's now I'm in my 40s and not in my 20s or early 30s. Having dealt with illness myself and loss of a parent that should have been on the 2022 trip with me. Disney was always an escape from the real world. I was at Disney when a certain terrorist was killed in 2011 and if it hadn't been for friends at home texting me I might not have known for over a week. I was a Stacey girl only while in the room.

With all that being said, I still feel enough magic that I will be returning this December.

 

[chartle]

I went from October 2013 until December 2022. Everything felt so different. I felt pressured to get the next lightning lane to make genie worth it. Hated being on my phone so much but felt I had to be with the price it now takes to go to Disney. Compared crowds to the good ol' days when I could do everything by 3pm and then repeat.

Disney still felt magical just not as much. Maybe it's now I'm in my 40s and not in my 20s or early 30s. Having dealt with illness myself and loss of a parent that should have been on the 2022 trip with me. Disney was always an escape from the real world. I was at Disney when a certain terrorist was killed in 2011 and if it hadn't been for friends at home texting me I might not have known for over a week. I was a Stacey girl only while in the room.

With all that being said, I still feel enough magic that I will be returning this December.

I recall back in the day people sort of complaining that they had to make Dining Reservations months in advance now you have to plan your entire day.

 

[chartle]

I don't know how magical it was. But it is magical with little kids!
There are so few rides your grand kids can do (nor do they need tickets yet), but I bet they will love the small world! Maybe they will like the parades, the firework (or be scared of it, or too sleepy for it), or meeting characters (no longer eligible for FastPass/LightningLane). These won't grab money.
If you can avoid peak seasons, the adults can also enjoy the rides. For instance, I hear there is no rain and no crowd today.

It's for sure a lot more expensive, not only because of inflation but also way more people know about WDW, have access to it, and would like to visit (compared to decades ago).

well the plan is probably not go until DGD is maybe 4 and DGS is 6. Maybe older.

 

[DisneyFive]

I recall back in the day people sort of complaining that they had to make Dining Reservations months in advance now you have to plan your entire day.

Planning used to be worse IMO, partly because it was SO FAR OUT from your trip. Who knows what they want to eat 180 days in advance, which also pretty much dictated your park schedule, which then later dictated your FP selections...

Remember, Fastpass+ was around from 2014 - 2020. With FP+ you also prebooked 3 rides just like today, but you could do it 60 days in advance if staying onsite. Dining reservations were 180 days in advance!

I do like 7 day advance window for MPLL, and 60 days for dining ressies. This is MUCH more logical

 

[Miffy]

Be prepared for sticker shock on resort prices. Yes, discounts are still available, but even with the discounts, prices, especially for the Deluxe resorts, are ginormous.

But is it still magical? Absolutely. I still love it there and go at least twice a year. I have no intention of stopping. And I am not a wealthy person. So it is doable.

 

[_19disnA]

When we last went to Disney it was 10+ yrs since our previous visit. Disney has generally been just one of the choices in our vacation rotation of places to go. Things like FastPass or Disney Magical Express didn't exist during our prior visits. Honestly, you can make planning a Disney trip as simple or complicated as you want. No amount of advance planning will make any park less crowded. I would estimate it takes at least 2x as long at any park to do the same number of rides/shows compared to the past. Rides might be down for unexpected maintenance issues or inclement weather, so having a very precise plan of how you want to walk around a park was never our style. The most popular rides will have the longest lines and the middle of the day tends to be the busiest time. Whether or not you choose to pay for the newer ride options basically depends on your budget and how many rides you want to experience during your visit. The basic layout of the 4 parks has never really changed, so you will likely see a lot of things you remember from prior visits. You can check the Disney website to see which rides are currently closed for renovation.

Disney parks tend to always be crowded and certainly have more visitors regardless of when you go compared to 10-15 yrs ago. Prices have also gone up quite a bit, but likely you already realized that when trying to make hotel reservations. Whether the 'value' or 'magic' of a Disney trip is still worth it is something you can only decide for yourself. Everyone who goes to Disney likely has different expectations of how their trip will go. We have no plan to return to Disney anytime soon and will continue to enjoy various other vacation destinations.

 

[EasinEpcot]

I had the same concern on our trip this year which was 5 years after our last. I did a ton of research to understand the lightning lanes, used Touring Plans to determine when we wanted to buy LLMP and ILL. And it was fantastic. Honestly, it didn't feel different because it had been so long since our last trip and I did so much work to prepare and understand the new systems.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

well the plan is probably not go until DGD is maybe 4 and DGS is 6. Maybe older.

Then, you have a ton of time to get re-familiar with it. There are so many videos introducing everything you can think of

 

[chartle]

Be prepared for sticker shock on resort prices. Yes, discounts are still available, but even with the discounts, prices, especially for the Deluxe resorts, are ginormous.

But is it still magical? Absolutely. I still love it there and go at least twice a year. I have no intention of stopping. And I am not a wealthy person. So it is doable.

Only stayed on sire 3 times first trip was camping at FW with my family as a teenager. Second was a cabin at FW with my mother sister wife and 2 young sons and last trip my older sister arranged for us to stay at POP with my nieces discount for the niece's wedding.

All other times was for 2 band trips offsite at a cheaper hotel and the others at the buena vista suites which was a great cheap suite with full breakfast and before added "hotel fees" and theme park parking under $20.

We now have a trailer and once retired we can take our time getting there versus the 15 hours over 2 days in a car. And campsites are not as bad as I expected. We could also put the kids in a tent and all stay at the site.