Disney just isn't fun anymore

[Mark & Donna]

Is it just me or is Disney losing it's appeal? It seems that to now book a trip requires so much more work than it it is worth. Whatever happened to just going to one of the parks and having a leisurely time? Now instead of just inserting your Key to the Kingdom card and receiving a fast pass, you have to try....try to book one months in advance. This goes the same for dining reservations. In the past we never had a dinner reservation and simply went to our restaurant of choice and were seated. Disney must realize that not everyone owns a computer or a smartphone so all of this "advanced technology" is no help to those of us in the "older generation." Another thing that irks us is every time Disney comes out with a hit movie, they have to have a ride at one of the parks for it. I may be old school but attractions like Star Wars just don't have a Disney theme for me. We were thinking of taking the grandkids to Disney World for a week but after researching here and in a few of the Disney planning books it is just too much planning to do. Apps, reservations, magic bands, etc. Instead we will be enjoying our time at Myrtle Beach. Maybe someday they will be able to enjoy a Disney trip on their own. And one more thing....did anyone notice that you will not find one abbreviation in this? That is a rarity on this board as everyone seems to me "abbreviation happy" and not everyone knows what they all are. Goodbye Disney....you were once fun but not anymore.

 

[disneyygirrl]

Hey, to each their own. I've been in years past with paper fast passes, and I actually prefer the new system! Sometimes, I like a more laid-back trip, and it can be done. I was there July 4th week and scored a few walk-up reservations, as well as same day fast passes for some pretty awesome rides. My cousin had a travel agent plan her entire Disney vacation - all she did was give her dates and then just showed up and had an absolute blast! I don't know, I think if someone wants to be negative about something, that's all they will see. For some of us, the planning can be half of the fun! I plan so that when my vacation comes, I can kick back and enjoy. I don't wonder where I'll eat, stay, etc. But hey, if it's not for you, then it's not for you - enjoy Myrtle Beach!

 

[HopperFan]

Sounds like you made a great choice for your family

The minute vacation stops being enjoyable and something that excites you, it's time to move on.

Vacation is just too precious to not enjoy it!
Have fun at the beach!

 

[AngiTN]

Seems rather silly to come to a Disney fan board to post that you no longer like Disney and are going elsewhere.

 

[Lesverts]

Seems rather silly to come to a Disney fan board to post that you no longer like Disney and are going elsewhere.

Trolls be trolling.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Enjoy Myrtle. We always have a fantastic and relaxing time there.

 

[disneykelly]

She is expressing her displeasure with the way that Disney has changed, AngiTN.

While i am still happy with everything Disney, i totally understand and agree with her to a degree.

Gone is the ability to just pick a park and go. You are forced to preplan and micromanage months in advance, or be left with a probably less than stellar trip.

Most people don't understand that if fastpass went away totally, lines would actually be much more manageable and quick for everyone involved. As it is, with two lines feeding in, it creates more wait time than is worth.
I've been to Disney pre fast pass, paper fast pass and fastpass +. There is good and bad about all of them, but the least stressful was indeed the very first version!

As for dining, well, don't plan to sit down for a meal if you don't get on your computer 6 months out.

If it were up to me (be thankful that it is not) i would cap ADRs to half or less of capacity at any given time, thus allowing people to actually walk up and get a table.

As for attractions changing, newer movies being brought in, well, this is just Disney going with the times.
The purists out there prefer the parks to never change.

Looking specifically at Star Wars, i hope that when the star wars land is opened that HS moves the rest of the park back to a golden age of hollywood focus.

 

[Amii]

Every trip we do at Disney we do less and less planning and it works better for us. I don't make Fast Pass reservations ahead of time because we hardly ever make it to use them. We don't make many reservations to eat and we don't spend time on the app. Part of the reason we don't plan is we take our young granddaughter and she would always get cranky when we had Fast Passes or reservations. The other reason is that our whole life is planned to the minute and we don't want that on vacation. We still have a blast!

Hope you have a great time visiting Myrtle. Sound like a great vacation!

 

[Silver Queen]

Is it just me or is Disney losing it's appeal? It seems that to now book a trip requires so much more work than it it is worth. Whatever happened to just going to one of the parks and having a leisurely time? Now instead of just inserting your Key to the Kingdom card and receiving a fast pass, you have to try....try to book one months in advance. This goes the same for dining reservations. In the past we never had a dinner reservation and simply went to our restaurant of choice and were seated. Disney must realize that not everyone owns a computer or a smartphone so all of this "advanced technology" is no help to those of us in the "older generation." Another thing that irks us is every time Disney comes out with a hit movie, they have to have a ride at one of the parks for it. I may be old school but attractions like Star Wars just don't have a Disney theme for me. We were thinking of taking the grandkids to Disney World for a week but after researching here and in a few of the Disney planning books it is just too much planning to do. Apps, reservations, magic bands, etc. Instead we will be enjoying our time at Myrtle Beach. Maybe someday they will be able to enjoy a Disney trip on their own. And one more thing....did anyone notice that you will not find one abbreviation in this? That is a rarity on this board as everyone seems to me "abbreviation happy" and not everyone knows what they all are. Goodbye Disney....you were once fun but not anymore.

I'm sorry that you're disillusioned about Disney World in its present form. We are active grandparents in our 60's and just returned from a Disney world trip with our son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons and must admit that I experienced some of the feelings that you expressed as we planned for this trip, however once we got there it was a different story. We arrived on March 1 and throughout our stay the crowds were much bigger than predicted. We were so happy that we had arranged our Fast Passes ahead of time. Thanks to that we were able to have a great trip and our grandsons were able to experience most of the popular attractions without much of a wait. We didn't have to criss-cross the park getting paper Fast Passes and since we knew the times of our three Fast Passes ahead of time we were able to strategically plan our day and minimize the excess walking. We also loved using our Magic Bands to open the door to our resort room and pay for our meals and purchases. Our IPhones also came in very handy for checking the wait times for other attractions without having to walk all over the park. Even though it was quite crowded technology served us very well and made our trip much easier once we arrived. Disney has gotten much more popular in the last 10 years and the old ways just don't work as well when the parks are always busy.
As a previous poster mentioned, different people have different ideas of what they enjoy in a vacation. We are fortunate to be able to go to many fun and interesting places and I'm sure that you and your family will too.

 

[AngiTN]

She is expressing her displeasure with the way that Disney has changed, AngiTN.

While i am still happy with everything Disney, i totally understand and agree with her to a degree.

Gone is the ability to just pick a park and go. You are forced to preplan and micromanage months in advance, or be left with a probably less than stellar trip.

Most people don't understand that if fastpass went away totally, lines would actually be much more manageable and quick for everyone involved. As it is, with two lines feeding in, it creates more wait time than is worth.
I've been to Disney pre fast pass, paper fast pass and fastpass +. There is good and bad about all of them, but the least stressful was indeed the very first version!

As for dining, well, don't plan to sit down for a meal if you don't get on your computer 6 months out.

If it were up to me (be thankful that it is not) i would cap ADRs to half or less of capacity at any given time, thus allowing people to actually walk up and get a table.

As for attractions changing, newer movies being brought in, well, this is just Disney going with the times.
The purists out there prefer the parks to never change.

Looking specifically at Star Wars, i hope that when the star wars land is opened that HS moves the rest of the park back to a golden age of hollywood focus.

Never said that they weren't welcome to dislike Disney or express displeasure. Said it was strange to go on a Disney fan board to announce it. To what point? For folks to "talk them out of it"? Want to stop going, stop going. Don't announce it for all the "world" to see

As for not being able to sit down and dine without ADR 6 months in advance, rubbish.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Ever think that you're putting too much effort into it? I mean, when I was planning my trip, folks here had me stressed out over fastpass+ and ADRs. Got to WDW, and found that it was pretty much a nonissue. You don't HAVE to eat at BOG, or even have ADRs for every meal. There are fast passes available for every timeslot- just because you don't get your first pick doesn't mean you miss out. Stand by might be longer but so much has fast pass compared to DL. I stood in line for Frozen because i couldn't get fast pass...for about the same length of time I'd be in line for DL peter pan which hasn't got fast pass.

I'm not saying that all the preplanning isn't useful. Some folks need a plan. Sometimes it goes much smoother with a plan. But jeez, so many people act like the ADRs must be booked several months out, that its the end of the world if you don't get fps. If the planning is killing the magic, stop planning. Make your lodging, buy your tickets, and just show up. You won't starve and any day in the parks is better than a day at work

 

[Lesverts]

She is expressing her displeasure with the way that Disney has changed, AngiTN.

While i am still happy with everything Disney, i totally understand and agree with her to a degree.

Gone is the ability to just pick a park and go. You are forced to preplan and micromanage months in advance, or be left with a probably less than stellar trip.

I've done this a number of times. Changed the park at the last minute or had nothing planned and just went. Nothing stops you from doing this. Lots of people don't do the level of pre-planning that people here do and they still have great vacations.

Most people don't understand that if fastpass went away totally, lines would actually be much more manageable and quick for everyone involved. As it is, with two lines feeding in, it creates more wait time than is worth.
I've been to Disney pre fast pass, paper fast pass and fastpass +. There is good and bad about all of them, but the least stressful was indeed the very first version!

For the mid and lower tier attractions maybe, but for the higher up attractions the waits would be similar.

As for dining, well, don't plan to sit down for a meal if you don't get on your computer 6 months out.

This is the worst hyperbole that is seen on this board. Every trip I've made same day or next day reservations. There is always something open. Especially if you are looking in the morning for the next day. You might not get into Be Our Guest or CRT but everything else can be had with little planning.

If it were up to me (be thankful that it is not) i would cap ADRs to half or less of capacity at any given time, thus allowing people to actually walk up and get a table.

This creates its own level of problems, especially for the in park restaurants. The lines would be unmanageable and you would have hundreds of people a day complaining to guest relations about hours wasted in line to not get a table.

As for attractions changing, newer movies being brought in, well, this is just Disney going with the times.
The purists out there prefer the parks to never change.

Looking specifically at Star Wars, i hope that when the star wars land is opened that HS moves the rest of the park back to a golden age of hollywood focus.

 

[Someluck]

Living on the west coast, I didn't see WDW until I was 63 years old! But once I did I've been back every year for the last few years and I absolutely love the planning, the dis board posts and learning how to use new apps to enhance my experience. I guess Mark & Donna don't get the same thrill I get from anticipating all the new things to try each trip. I love counting down the days for each upcoming trip on a cute little app on my phone! So fun!!!

 

[BigAlsGal]

Well since this is the millionth time I've seen this type of thread I'll bust out an oldie but goodie.

"One less person standing in front of me in line!"

Thank you. Thank you. I'll be here all week.

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

I do agree with the abbreviation comment. I have spent a lot of time on these boards and still don't know them all. Those can be frustrating for newbies.

I would like to second the comment about getting a good agent and tell him/her what you want to ride and where you want to eat and let them do the hard work for you. If planning is what is turning you off...let someone else do it, and it is at no extra cost to you!

As for the days before all fast passes being better (not OP)...I don't agree. I remember waiting for 3 hours to ride Space Mountain in the 80s. These days, my family and I ride every ride we want to and don't wait more than 30 minutes at any one ride. Of course, I always have a pretty good plan that works for our family. (Sorry, I had an abbreviation in there)

 

[Lesverts]

I just think people need to understand that just because the Smiths do Disney this way, doesn't mean the Jones' need to do it the same way. The same is true of any vacation. Look at cruises, some people have every dinner, every excursion and every detail planned out. Others get on the ship and just go with the flow of what is available and interesting to them.

As for the technology comment. That is the way of the world, things advance. New ways to interact with companies and plan vacations are here. No sense being a Luddite about it and just get on with it.

 

[BJC15]

Ok, so just just for fun I did some planning for today. At 7:18 am I was able to book fastpasses for 2 on any attraction I wanted at MK except for Mine Train. I also was able to score several fine dining reservations for both lunch and dinner. And this is during spring break, one of the worse possible times to try day of planning.

 

[Klayfish]

Is it just me or is Disney losing it's appeal? It seems that to now book a trip requires so much more work than it it is worth. Whatever happened to just going to one of the parks and having a leisurely time?

and then mic drop.

And yes, it's just you. Our trips require so very little work, less than an hour planning time, and we have a blast...at our leisure. You created your own monster and are now complaining about it.

 

[erc]

Whatever happened to just going to one of the parks and having a leisurely time?

When was this ever the case? Even when the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 it was mobbed and they ran out of food and drinks.

If your definition of leisurely time is just walking around and not going on any of the rides or spending most of the day waiting in long lines, then I suppose you could still have a leisurely time without any planning.

For at least 30 years WDW has required some amount of planning. Paper fast passes were used overwhelmingly by the super planners. The ones who showed up at the parks like a platoon commander sending their soldiers across the park to collect fast passes. In this way they were able to ride popular rides at least 5 to 1 compared to those who didn't really understand how to work the system. The new system which is not so new now, aims to provide a more egalitarian experience. But yes, it requires some amount of planning.

If I could change one thing about it, I would change the rule that your initial FastPass selections can only be in one park.

 

[ArwenMarie]

My impression is that how you feel about FP+ depends on how often you travel there. My impression is that frequent visitors are most satisfied with FP+, which makes sense.