Curious? Will you continue to plan future trips?

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

I've seen several threads discussing the ticket increases, possible daily resort fee, staff cuts, service and food quality cuts, and I was curious as to how this will truly change your future vacation plans.

 

[ellie05]

For us if the resort fees, parking fees or any other ridiculous fee is put into place, we will be taking a nice long break. Of course that is after we are done with the trips that are already planned. We have 3 trips planned for the next year and that is only because we agreed to go with friends and family and will have AP. Otherwise if the resort fee is implemented before our sept trip I would have cancel it.

 

[MudQueen22]

If prices continue to go up, we may be forced off site and/or less often.
If we stay off site, we would be more likely to try Universal and LegoLand also.

 

[snayak]

We (really me and then my wife joined after we met) went roughly every 2 years - F&G 2010, F&W 2012, F&W 2014 - we don't have a trip scheduled this year but that's cause so much seems to be under construction.

We'll see how the pricing works out - I'd like to go Dec 2016 or F&G 2017 but I'm not keen on paying more just to enjoy fewer attractions, shows, parades & fireworks and more and more people. I don't blame people for going, but the value of Disney is freefalling faster than TOT, for us anyway.

 

[dsdeleon]

Nope. September 4th I will be the first time I will be leaving WDW without another trip planned, probably ever. We are only keeping the trip due to getting an AKV concierge rental 11 months out but we have a 10-12k vacation budget per year and Universal will be the only thing in Orlando for us after this year. We have had APs there for a couple years now and feel that the value is really good. At Disney the ROI just doesn't work for me anymore.

 

[AngiTN]

Won't change a thing
Things go up in price
Food, gas, clothes
Everything, why should Disney be different?
Or be vilified for doing what everything and everyone does?

 

[CAS239]

We're AP holders, so the recent price changes don't affect us. Resort fees, while idk what they are, don't bother us as we always save money by staying off site. And the rumor of additional parking fees to park closer won't bother us as we park for free with AP and would not pay extra to park closer.

So for us, nothing will change about our trips to Disney. It'll take another AP price increase for that

 

[bryanb]

After my next trip, if I don't find it to have been worth my time and money, I will pare back. I don't blindly accept poor value, won't have my business taken for granted, and my Disney Side also has a cynical side.

But I don't make my decisions off of rumors. I've heard a lot of people talk about cuts but it's been very hard to separate what is actually going to detract from my experience and what is Internet forum chatter. If the food is unacceptable, I haven't seen it. My last trip introduced me to enough great new offerings to fill my belly. And staffing cuts get lots of publicity but nobody ever notices or mentions it when staffing increases. I've been aware since I was a cast member at Disneyland that these things are cyclical. If the chatter were always to be believed, Disney has been going in a straight line downhill for decades, but the truth is that spending does increase sometimes too.

I'm personally excited about a lot of the huge investments that Disney is making in a lot of areas that are great for the long term. I don't blame anyone for hating price increases of any kind when Disney is already expensive. Other than that, among the doom and gloom that pervades Disboards, the truth is probably something sunnier than an Internet forum would have you believe. Call me optimistic.

 

[bbak30]

I would hate to have to stop going to WDW. Unfortunately, there is only so much we can afford. I love staying onsite and don't play to stop that (for now). We are going to go without the dining plan and make some meals in our room and eat offsite as well. We will see how that works and make adjustments as needed.

 

[Julylady]

It's not so much the increases that bother me, it's the increases coupled with staffing cuts, lack of training of new cast members, increasing rudeness of cast members that will result in no more Disney trips after 2016. If the increases came with an increased value it would be one thing. But Disney prices are skyrocketing with a new increases introduced weekly (tiered pricing, resort fee) in a time of record profits.

It's lack of perceived value that's stopping us from coming back. Our last Disney trip will be November for Food and Wine. Our 2017 vacations are planned and do not include Disney. Surprisingly, we discussed it with the kids and they agree. They gave examples of how things have changed for the worse.

 

[Disneylover99]

As long as my trips are fun and enjoyable, (as they've all been so far) I'll continue to go.

 

[CarolynU]

I have another trip booked for September and that's it for this years AP, and I won't renew. However, it's for one reason only, boredom. I'm done until all the new stuff is ready. For me the parks are stale and no longer innovative. There are not enough new attractions to keep me coming back again right now.
Disney are still getting my money though as I now much prefer DCL and would far rather take a 14 night cruise than spend time in the parks. I do the Transatlantic and Panama Canal cruises if possible.
Next year I'm planning a Panama Cruise and later a road trip along route 66. The year after who knows, but I'd like to tour Canada. I'd also like to go back to Savannah, Charleston and New Orleans. I haven't been to Washington yet, so that's on the agenda, so much to see and do.
As you can tell though I don't have young kids. I have a new first grandkid arriving next month, so I'm sure I'll be back when she is old enough, and by that time the new stuff should be ready.

 

[Nancyg56]

I have a trip booked for December, and that is when I will know how I feel. So far we have always been impressed with our experiences, and always felt our money was well spent. I am never unhappy with the food, and I always have had very positive CM interaction.

I usually am not a complainer, and I do not usually jump onto doom and gloom threads, but I have noticed that as we planned each trip, the cost was steadily rising, which is to be expected. I understand that and I will always pay to ensure that we have good service, nice lodging, and that we are not part of the problem in terms of decent pay. What I have an issue with, and it may seem petty to soem, is this fee thing. If you want to raise your rates do it. It the room rate is too high, I will look elsewhere, but I expect that you be honest about the amount you expect me to pay. Do not sneak fees in and think I cannot figure out what the costs are.

I know that none of us can really know what drives these fees and increases, but since we do knwo tha Shanghai and Paris, and ESPN have become such financial problems, it is easy to at least assume that some of the moeny WDW generates is funneled to those money pits. If I thought my money was going into "my" parks and resorts, I woudl be less inclined to be resentful of the price increases. Truely, it may not be my business what they do, but it is my money that I commit.

 

[aretha30]

We are taking our annual August trip as planned and then taking a year or two off. We aren't bothered by the fees and the higher prices, that will happen everywhere. We are looking to to sell our house next year and with the move it will be just to much to take a long vacation to FL. If things go as planned we will be back in 2018, if not 2019. Hopefully by then some of the construction will be done!

 

[DVCcurious]

In 2000 I had a ton of friends tell me "If Bush is elected I'm moving to Canada"! And then in 2004 they all said "If Bush is re-elected I'm moving to Canada....I mean it this time!" Then in 2008 lots of people on the right were saying "If Obama wins he'll destroy the country and I'm moving to Canada!!!" And in 2012 lots of my friends were saying "If Romney wins I'm moving to Canada!!!"

What's my point? People always act all mad and say "if X happens I'm finished! I'm quitting!" But they never will actually follow through.

And Disney knows this. We're all (humans in general) a bunch of suckers. No one's moving to Canada because a member of their opposing political party is elected President, and nobody is going to quit going to Disneyworld because Disney jacks the prices up a little.

Disney treats us like a frog in cold water that is slowly heated until it's boiling water. If the frog is thrown into boiling water he will jump right out, but if the frog is in cold water and the heat is turned slowly up the frog won't notice and will stay until he's cooked to death.

If Disney had jacked prices up to $100 for a day ticket back in 2008 maybe people would've stopped going. But they jacked them up slowly and we are all the frogs who got comfortable with the "heat" of ever increasing prices. So, much like the people who threaten to move to Canada, a bunch of people will follow me on this threads talking of how this is the end for them. Their finished with Disney! This is the last straw! But they don't mean it.

But if Donald Trump becomes President I'm moving to Canada! I'm super serious this time! I just have to figure out how to speak Canadian first....

 

[bryanb]

To nobody in general: Nobody owes Disney any business as a theme park guest. I know we all want to go, but so do tens of thousands of other people everyday. They can't force you to visit. If you feel you have to visit less often, that's okay. See the rest of the real world.

 

[Disneylover99]

I just have to figure out how to speak Canadian first....

Zed is the last letter of the alphabet. That's all you need to know. Eh?

 

[Slapshot1188]

As others have said, it's not just the increased costs but the decreased value. When my APs expire this summer we will be moving down the road where I can get passes to Universal, Seaworld and Bush Gardens (and I believe Aquatica as well) for less than my family's AP cost.

 

[Aliceacc]

We may or may not keep our current reservation.

But it's not a stand against Disney or corporate profits, not about bemoaning a loss of "magic" or anything of the sort.

We're facing college tuition in the fall-- though we're still not sure where or exactly how much. It makes me less inclined to spend the kind of big money a Disney vacation brings.

So we'll see what the eventual summer discount is, and what the college costs eventually turn out to be, and then decide.

But none of this is about Disney or its decisions; it's about our own personal finances.

 

[Meriweather]

Here now, having a great time.
We have APs......booked trip for Nov.Plan on booking another for next Jan.
And we will keep going back as long as my old body can do it.
Love it all. I still feel the magic.
Prices go up, things change......and while they are changing, things will not look their best. I just look beyond that to what is coming.