Disney just isn't fun anymore

[Maistre Gracey]

Last I checked there are no walk ups available at Alinea so what's your point?

To be honest I'm not sure what your point is..??

MG

 

[Sweettears]

To be honest I'm not sure what your point is..??

MG

Alinea.... popular restaurant.... 20 minutes away.... no availability

 

[Westcoastwild]

Old Disney vs New Disney!

Thankfully I did a LOT of research and was the Disney Planner for the family, and realized this difference within weeks of starting my plans. This made me the least favorite person when I pushed for people's preferences. My family likes to be spontaneous. Disney CANNOT be spontaneous. Or what my family considers spontaneous.

They were expecting walk-on rides, walk-in seating at table-service restaurants, no waiting for anything, extra accommodations for seniors, the list of entitlements goes on and on...
They were horrified and prepared to ditch meeting up at Disney when they found out $100+ tickets for ONE park for ONE day, the price of the wheelchair rentals, we had to make reservations for any sit-down restaurant, there wasn't a way to eliminate waiting in line even with DAS, there weren't places to buy beer every ten feet.... oh man.... I could go on and on...

Of course, I had to put into perspective that these old folks hadn't seen WDW since the early '70's and were obviously unprepared for the slobbering, greedy mess of consumerism that WDW is now.
I mean, when your family album looks like the thread, "No Longer At...." https://www.disboards.com/threads/pictures-of-things-no-longer-seen-at-wdw.3382698/
I guess you'd be disappointed...

Well, they weren't seniors in the '70s, were they? Different mindset. My parents are like that. What they considered tolerable even a decade ago is not tolerable now. And I know this comes up a lot, but I agree with the people who remember waiting hours inline for Space Mountain in the "good old days". I've been on trips to Disneyland where the crowds are lower and some things are walk on...but that's mostly chance and only one part of the day. And I have an amusement park near my place that people nostalgic for no fast pass can go to...and wait 3 hours in line for most coasters. I'm not saying WDW hasn't changed, but the world and your parents have also changed a lot since the seventies

 

[Uncranky Donald]

We get double hosed as locals.

Can we book an onsite room a year in advance and have all the same booking windows as anyone else?? Yes. Is it practical? No.
We do not take our annual vacation to WDW and stay onsite when we live 20 minutes down the road.
That said, almost every weekend we try to have dinner somewhere on property. ADR's can be very difficult to get at certain places.
Fast passes, same thing.

Imagine your favorite local restaurant that you can never eat at because someone that lives 1000 miles away booked it solid six months ago.
Yup, this futuristic planning is for the birds.

MG

Imagine having to watch every single DVC member event on Youtube because you live 1000 miles away and only visit every year or two. Imagine never getting 98% of the AP gifts because you live 1000 miles away...it's all relative. If that means I get a few nice FPs and ADRs when I actually DO go to make up for all those things I missed I think thats pretty fair

We all long for the old days, I remember them well since before FP paper tickets existed...we are not there anymore and never will be again. I still call AK "the new park". I like the planning but I'd be lying if I said it didn't give me some anxiety...but I have anxiety disorder, sooooo...but I can remove myself, think objectively aka logically, and say "what ever happens, happens, I will be at Disney with people I love!" The planning won't ruin anything for me

 

[Westcoastwild]

We get double hosed as locals.

Can we book an onsite room a year in advance and have all the same booking windows as anyone else?? Yes. Is it practical? No.
We do not take our annual vacation to WDW and stay onsite when we live 20 minutes down the road.
That said, almost every weekend we try to have dinner somewhere on property. ADR's can be very difficult to get at certain places.
Fast passes, same thing.

Imagine your favorite local restaurant that you can never eat at because someone that lives 1000 miles away booked it solid six months ago.
Yup, this futuristic planning is for the birds.

MG

Yeah, but it's the same out here if you want to go camping. Who plans their weekends 6 months out? I do not, which means I don't camp nearly as much as I'd like during the summer. And I'll echo the people who say that about restaurants. I can maybe get a spot at the bar at my favorite sushi restaurant...if I show up right at opening and wait for an hour plus. The only other way is to book a table 3-4 months out. I have a better chance as a solo diner. Booking for a groups probably 5-6 months out. If it's not all booked up that far out on Friday/Saturday night, chances are it's not not somewhere I'd want to waste a special dinner on, which is what I'm assuming the Yachtsman is to you.

I'm a little curious actually...tourist season means that I don't actually go to the tourist spots on weekends, because I don't really want to wait in line for 2 hours for chowder or fish and chips. So why would you want to go to Disney on a high season weekend?

You can't be talking about low season- I just checked the yachtsman calendar and I could get a reservation for any time I wanted for next weekend.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Yeah, but it's the same out here if you want to go camping. Who plans their weekends 6 months out? I do not, which means I don't camp nearly as much as I'd like during the summer. And I'll echo the people who say that about restaurants. I can maybe get a spot at the bar at my favorite sushi restaurant...if I show up right at opening and wait for an hour plus. The only other way is to book a table 3-4 months out. I have a better chance as a solo diner. Booking for a groups probably 5-6 months out. If it's not all booked up that far out on Friday/Saturday night, chances are it's not not somewhere I'd want to waste a special dinner on, which is what I'm assuming the Yachtsman is to you.

I'm a little curious actually...tourist season means that I don't actually go to the tourist spots on weekends, because I don't really want to wait in line for 2 hours for chowder or fish and chips. So why would you want to go to Disney on a high season weekend?

You can't be talking about low season- I just checked the yachtsman calendar and I could get a reservation for any time I wanted for next weekend.

We definitely do not hit the parks during high season on the weekends... with the exception of Epcot F&W.

However, we do go to dinner at Disney throughout the year regardless of season. That said, we generally eat at the resorts or Springs, not in the parks.

And you are correct, with a small amount of flexibility on time the Yachtsman is not a tough reservation.

MG

 

[toonaspie]

The planning really does take a toll especially when you need to make last minute changes. My trip that was supposed to happen last year got cancelled due to an inability to get there. I was too pooped out to do any advance planning since my friend wants to try again in May but either way we were already too late to make the 6 month ADR deadline. We're gonna try and do a Universal only vacation this year to relieve the stress plus we have plane tickets we need to use up before they expire.

Seriously if they would move the 6 month ADR down to 2 (to make the FP booking window time) it would make a whole lot of difference. In fact if Disney had their own planning system setup like Touring Plans, one that would allow you to come up with your own complete vacation plan with all your ADR and FP requests before booking then that would really take off some stress when it's time to book.

That said, as much as the current system might be good for some, there's always room for improvement.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Well...I remember the days when you had to walk up to a kiosk in Epcot and talk to an actual person to get a dining reservation and being told that nothing was available (and yes I was there early). So I sort of like the way it's done now. I know some people say "well what if I'm not in the mood for Chinese/Italian/Mexican food on that day?" I get that. But if it's planned and I know it's going to be a certain food on a certain day I kind of crave it. YMMV.

I agree that in some respects the planning is very regimented,and some things aren't the way they used to be. I also get that the OP wants to go elsewhere now and nobody should be getting on them about it. It *did* come off as kind of dramatic, but I've been dramatic here before too. Disney can really bring that out in a person, good and bad.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Yeah, it was so much more fun to trek all the way across the park to get a FP for a favorite ride and find out that the first available time was 8 hours from now, or worse, not possible for that day.

They actually had an app to address that issue. Once they had it up and running you could find out what the return window was without going to the FP kiosks. And we never saw return times that far out. Now thanks to tiering, I'll never get a FP for both Soarin and Test unless I have an extra set of MB.

 

[WillAustin]

Now thanks to tiering, I'll never get a FP for both Soarin and Test unless I have an extra set of MB.

Thank God for our extra MagicBands!

 

[wilkeliza]

Thank God for our extra MagicBands!

This just adds to the problem though. Sure it benefits your family but it really isn't right. I'm honestly kind of shocked the boards continue to allow this as a "loophole" we can talk about.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

This just adds to the problem though. Sure it benefits your family but it really isn't right. I'm honestly kind of shocked the boards continue to allow this as a "loophole" we can talk about.

All of our MBs are actually tied to the same account. It's one of the reasons I miss legacy FP. However, some of the posters who like to talk about how much more they get done with FP+ do use extra bands. I think this makes their praise a little misleading.

 

[wilkeliza]

All of our MBs are actually tied to the same account. It's one of the reasons I miss legacy FP. However, some of the posters who like to talk about how much more they get done with FP+ do use extra bands. I think this makes their praise a little misleading.

I mean I like FP+ but have no illusion of a 4th 5th 6th etc FP. Of course I don't use the un-linked extra bands either. I also find the linked ones to fake accounts where people have paid for tickets just for FP are silly as well. There have been trips that we had to wait the long waits for top tier attractions and realize it is just apart of going to a theme park. I would take the 2 hours at Test Track or Soarin in the AC if I desperately needed to ride those with that long of a wait over the 3 hours we had to wait in the direct heat at our local Six Flags just to be told the park closed and we wouldn't be able to ride even though we waited. At least those two are in doors.

I also just feel like sure I'm making out but it directly take a top tier FP from another group and is the reason why there aren't ones later in the day for those not taking advantage.

 

[AngiTN]

This just adds to the problem though. Sure it benefits your family but it really isn't right. I'm honestly kind of shocked the boards continue to allow this as a "loophole" we can talk about.

I agree. I don't even understand how it works.
I feel the same way about throw a way nights but I realize others do not see the problem.

 

[wilkeliza]

I agree. I don't even understand how it works.
I feel the same way about throw a way nights but I realize others do not see the problem.

You buy a MB and don't link it to anything and grab same day fastpasses from the kiosks with those bands or you pay for a 2nd set of tickets that you link to ghost MDE accounts. If you do option 2 you can usually pull 3 FPs at the 30 day mark (some go as far as to pay for the extra adult charges to get it at 60).

 

[Candris79]

I absolutely love the planning part. The vacation goes by so quick so the planning is such a fun part that can take you through the months leading up to the vacation! Then when you get back, it's time to start planning again!

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

You buy a MB and don't link it to anything and grab same day fastpasses from the kiosks with those bands or you pay for a 2nd set of tickets that you link to ghost MDE accounts. If you do option 2 you can usually pull 3 FPs at the 30 day mark (some go as far as to pay for the extra adult charges to get it at 60).

It doesn't have to be that complicated. Some people just use other people's magic bands. For example, maybe their entire family has annual passes, but only part of the family is at the parks. They can use the absent family members' magic bands to load up on FP for the headliners.

 

[wilkeliza]

It doesn't have to be that complicated. Some people just use other people's magic bands. For example, maybe their entire family has annual passes, but only part of the family is at the parks. They can use the absent family members' magic bands to load up on FP for the headliners.

That's true. I forget as long as you have someone else's MB you can use their FPs. I see no problem if the person is with you and decides they want to ride but prebooking knowing they aren't going to be in the parks is again not technically against the rules but does disadvantage others.

 

[lovethattink]

When the planning and trip stop being fun that's a bummer. We wing it. But we don't care about hard to get ADR, or hard to get FP+, etc. We have AP so our Disney vacations are resort focused. And that's how we prefer to do Disney. Probably, if Disney wasn't at our doorstep, we'd vacation there differently.

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 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)

There is an abbreviation list here. http://www.wdwinfo.com/abbreviations.htm It probably needs updated though.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

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 agree with you in regards to Disney World (which appears to be what you're referring to) but not Disney as a whole. I've started previous threads about Disney World no longer being a huge draw for me. I have many reasons for that which have been said by many in the past so I won't drag on too much about it. At this point, the main negatives for me are FP+, the necessity of booking dining so far out, the rising costs, and the rising crowds.

FP+ is a joke honestly, and the recent difficulty in booking FOP FP+ just cements my position on this. The old system wasn't broken. The only people who complained about it where the sleepy heads who would show up to the park at 2pm and wonder where all the FP went.

Having to book dinners 6 months out is a joke. Now I know for certain that people will reply to me that "nobody is forcing me to reserve restaurants in advance." Well, at the places that I enjoy dining at (this is suppose to be a vacation afterall), it is a necessity. Sorry but having to reserve a pizza dinner 60+ days out is a friggin' joke.

Obviously the rising costs are becoming a problem. I can take much more relaxing trips to other destinations for 25% of the cost of Disney World.

Rising crowds from the past couple years have kind of cemented the fact that WDW is no longer my cup of tea.

Now, have I sworn off all of Disney, no. I love Disneyland. Definitely fits my touring style more than Disney World. DLR stays open till midnight and based on all the recent posts complaining about WDW park hours, that's a huge check mark win.

I've also been visiting the international Disney parks over the last couple years and have enjoyed it. Will continue to do that as time and resources allow.

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

Where else would they do it? A non Disney message board? That doesn't really make a lot of sense.

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.

So you're okay with someone expressing displeasure but you just don't want them to do it on a Disney fan board? Uhhhhhhhhhhh okay????????????

Yeah, it was so much more fun to trek all the way across the park to get a FP for a favorite ride and find out that the first available time was 8 hours from now, or worse, not possible for that day.

First of all, there were resources available which would allow you to see return times. You could then decide whether to "trek all the way across the park" or not. I'd rather have the option of trekking than just not getting a FP at all (i.e. FOP). Not to mention, if you got to the park before noon, you would have your choice of FP.

It's a message board, not an apologist board.
Personally I like hearing all sides, not just that everything is perfect and Disney can do no wrong.
If folks didn't express things like the OP, that's all this board would be... a big rose colored glasses Disney fest.

And the restaurant ressie six month rubbish thing....
You are correct as long as you're willing to be semi obsessive checking availability everyday. That's not feasible for many.

It's true that one doesn't need an ADR 6 months out. But, if one has dining preferences, they do need to make those reservations sooner rather than later. What's ridiculous is that the French Laundry (one of the best restaurants in the world) only now takes reservations 30 days out. But Disney takes them 6 months out for their mediocre restaurants. Laughable.

And I agree with you on the apologist thing. It seems that it's okay to start positive threads all the time. But if someone says anything remotely negative, the apologists come out of the woodwork in a communal effort to shame the OP. They get so defensive anytime someone says anything remotely negative.

Negative comments are fine, welcome and needed. Never said otherwise. It's the "goodbye cruel world (in this case Disneyworld) posts that are a tad dramatic. Post your comments that you found unpleasant, that's constructive. I guess that's it, I find constructive critical reviews useful and to be learned from. Just post what you disliked/didn't work for you and go. No announcement required

First of all, the OP never said "goodbye cruel world." So your post is the dramatic one is it not? You say negative comments are fine but you're always one of the first to respond to negative posts on the Dis and try to convince them why they're wrong and why WDW is so awesome. So no, you don't really think negative comments are "fine, welcome and needed."

Thanks, AngieTN! Once again, you have told us how we should think about the OP's thread. Couldn't do without it

It's all rainbows and sunshine. Now let's form a circle, hold hands, and sing "Let it go."

I agree. I don't even understand how it works.
I feel the same way about throw a way nights but I realize others do not see the problem.

It's interesting that you want that loophole closed but at the same time, you use the AP's of relatives in an effort to "double up" on FP+.