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.
Have to agree. If you are going to raise prices, RAISE PRICES. Unfortunately, it "looks bad" if prices are raised. It's like with college tuition. Schools claim they haven't raised tuition in X number of years. Technically true, but what about that $1100 per semester 'unified fee?" Call an apple and apple and raise tuition, prices, whatever. Fees are just a sneaky way to nickel-and-dime you to death.
Looking at the poll, it seems that about 60% of responders are changing the way they experience Disney. Disney should listen to this. I know, I know... The DIS is just a small number of people who vacation at WDW. However, when 60% of your most loyal, die-hard fans are choosing to spend less time and fewer dollars at your park, you should listen. It signals something. Economies change, times get rough; WDW doesn't always attract the folks with deep pockets or once-in-a-lifetime trips. The die-hard fans got Disney through the last recession, but what will happen in the future?
Regarding the parks in China and France: Maybe Disney fans there are fewer, or maybe they are too smart to swallow constant price increases? Our friends in France think we are crazy to keep returning to WDW. I don't think Disney is the childhood culture/tradition in Europe that it is here. Their attitude is that their Disney park is an amusing side, not a huge life-changing experience, like many here consider WDW, and they don't understand why so many in the US consider WDW/DL their personal Mecca.
We will change how we do Disney. We have taken 27 trips to WDW in 17 years, all of which required airfare. In the "early days" we finagled a variety of circumstances to make this possible (RR points, FF miles, buddy passes for airfare, staying offsite, traveling with family/friends to share cost of suites/houses/vehicles, stacking codes/coupons for rental cars etc) but for the past 10 years most of our trips have been just DD and me (occasionally DH would join us), staying onsite, no meal plans, sometimes with a car and sometimes using the buses, with park passes for as many days as we could afford. Now, we have no future trips planned. We MIGHT go back in 4 or 5 years, once all the "new" stuff is open. We are just tired of paying higher prices for fewer services. When we do go back to Disney, it'll be an offsite visit, in a nice, comfortable house, with a vehicle so we can determine our own schedules. OR? Maybe we'll do an Orlando trip without Disney, and see all those other attractions: Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens, NASA, etc. Lots to spend our money on... but until recently, we haven't wanted to spend it anywhere but Disney. Now? Time to see and do more for those same vacation dollars.