"Disney trips are so complicated now that you need a class to plan one"

[ChipnDale79]

Is it tho? At Universal you need to know about the hotel deluxe express line deal or you are out of luck unless you want to pay $$$$$ for it. At every single theme park out there you need to research the type of product they offer. It's the exact same thing. But there is this weird mental block folks have about it, like it's supposed to be easier at Disney or something.

straight up, i dont pay the amount of money to any other theme park we go to, then disney. literally the only one that is somewhat comparable is universal, and its not the same.

literally i can buy an annual pass to our local theme park (Carowinds) for all 4 of my family, for what it costs for all of us to go disney for one day.

for the amount of money people are spending on these vacations, they arent easy to plan for. there are a ton of things to do, and a ton of moving parts to a disney vacation.

 

[starlite_]

Researching hotels is common for any place you visit. Same with express pass type passes. The difference is after that you don't need to know about ride return times, booking rides every 2 hours, stacking rides for later.

At those parks you show up at the gate and ride what you want when you want.

Is this true for every park out there in existence??? Assuming yes. What is the dif then? It's still knowledge, if someone does an incomplete research on the express type pass then that's on the guest.

 

[Jrb1979]

Is this true for every park out there in existence??? Assuming yes. What is the dif then? It's still knowledge, if someone does an incomplete research on the express type pass then that's on the guest.

The difference is all you need is to buy the wrist band. Once you have it you can enter any Express pass line any time you want.

 

[Kennywood]

We've given up on ever going back to Disney World. It's too complicated and stressful.

For now, we'll stick with Disney Cruise Lines. It's a LITTLE less complicated....for now.

 

[starlite_]

The difference is all you need is to buy the wrist band. Once you have it you can enter any Express pass line any time you want.

Does it work that way for every theme park in the world???

 

[Jrb1979]

Does it work that way for every theme park in the world???

For the most part. They are also cap how many can be sold so only a small percentage of daily guests have it. Majority of guests at other parks wait in standby

 

[starlite_]

For the most part. They are also cap how many can be sold so only a small percentage of daily guests have it. Majority of guests at other parks wait in standby

Sooo no. And how is that any dif than Genie+ selling out?

 

[Jrb1979]

Sooo no. And how is that any dif than Genie+ selling out?

While they sell out, they sell out at much lower numbers. There really isn't anything to know about Express pass. There is no return times, no 2 hours between booking times. All you do is walk up to a like and ride.

 

[Disney Bobby]

We've given up on ever going back to Disney World. It's too complicated and stressful.

For now, we'll stick with Disney Cruise Lines. It's a LITTLE less complicated....for now.

Same here. And we've been going multiple times a year for 2 decades.

And while our youngest now being 20 is part of it, I think covid is what really did it for us. We were looking forward to returning, but it seemed that Disney used covid as an opportunity to make a lot of changes to all parts of their business, none of which I liked. So, instead of returning to something comfortable, familiar, nostalgic and "magical", it feels like an entirely different place and experience. Maybe we would feel differently after a return experience, but as of right now, we've found other places to spend our money and are happy with that.

 

[tony67]

I think the issue is the average person does not do the research like people on this site do.
They don't go every year, or multiple times a year. They go once or twice.

I'm sure there are many people who show up and have no idea about G+ or any of this stuff.
They are busy with life and may only take one trip to Disney ever, especially after experiencing G+ and all the hoops.

Back when Disney started giving the free DDP I met an Irish couple who had spent a ridiculous amount of money for their trip. I was staying in the Contemporary on the Club level with a view of the castle. They were in the wings. They paid at least double what I paid (I think it may have been triple - I had an AP Discount BTW). The husband had Stage 4 Cancer and this was a big family trip for them. The Travel agent took advantage of them and sold them the deluxe dinning plan and basically charged them full price for everything and did nothing. Not unusual in Dublin IMO. They showed up and had no reservations for anything, and found out all they could really get was counter service for the most part. The travel agent told them nothing about booking in advance etc.. I explained much of it too them, but it was too late. I did end up speaking to the general manager, since they would not. In these situations Irish people tend not to complain and actually put up with a lot. One of the reasons Americans have a reputation for complaining, but if you are right then it does not matter. Anyway the GM did sort them out and made sure they had a good trip. This was not Disney's fault, but it still falls on them in the end.

This is obviously a very extreme example, but I'm sure a large percentage of folks just show up and are greatly disappointed.

IMO Disney making it difficult is part of the reason people go to Universal. You really don't have to plan, you just show up and do whatever.

 

[bholbert81]

I do feel that the added use of technology with the Disney parks has added to confusion and frustration and this does loose some of the magic. I miss the ease of the fast pass system and always knowing that I had a quick ride coming up after waiting 45 min or more for an attraction. I am not sure how to fix it, but I do like to go on vacation and FORGET about my phone (I don't even take a lot of pics because of this, rather be in the moment). However, with the current setup in the parks, this is impossible.

 

[Disney Bobby]

I do feel that the added use of technology with the Disney parks has added to confusion and frustration and this does loose some of the magic. I miss the ease of the fast pass system and always knowing that I had a quick ride coming up after waiting 45 min or more for an attraction. I am not sure how to fix it, but I do like to go on vacation and FORGET about my phone (I don't even take a lot of pics because of this, rather be in the moment). However, with the current setup in the parks, this is impossible.

I've working on the development of similar large-scale systems for most of my adult life. They usually are received two ways.

1. A helpful assistant that users wanted to use
2. A necessary evil that users were forced to use

As a disclaimer, I haven't used Genie+ myself, so I can't give a first-hand account. But every single person that I know personally hated Genie+. Now I'm not saying my observations are scientific in any way, but from what I've heard from actual people I know and seen from these boards, there have been way too many people that put Genie+ in the #2 category. Not sure what type of user acceptance testing they are performing, but even a fraction of the negative responses I've seen would be a complete failure for any project I haven't ever been involved with. There is a massive disconnect somewhere.

 

[imbelle]

I do feel that the added use of technology with the Disney parks has added to confusion and frustration and this does loose some of the magic. I miss the ease of the fast pass system and always knowing that I had a quick ride coming up after waiting 45 min or more for an attraction. I am not sure how to fix it, but I do like to go on vacation and FORGET about my phone (I don't even take a lot of pics because of this, rather be in the moment). However, with the current setup in the parks, this is impossible.

Hear hear, I want to vacation with my family, not my phone.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Nobody *needs* a class to do a WDW trip. But you might choose to do research if you want to get more out of your visit than an average guest. But especially the folks who don't use G+, you don't need to do all that much research. And most people don't use Genie+. Which is good and should continue to be part of the design because that would defeat the purpose of creating fast lines. I'm not sure what percentage of guests are APs, I'm sure it varies on a given day, but for folks who just buy their tickets on the WDW site, they don't have to do park pass reservations either.

In those cases, guests may just be looking at their phones to see wait times. For those folks, which is a lot of WDW guests, they really do just show up, go on rides, wait in lines, have some food (probably quick serve), watch the fireworks, then leave--and had a great time. Didn't need a class or even more planning than just some basic research.

A lot of international guests are in this category as well. I've had a lot of family, especially from abroad, who ask questions about visiting WDW but they're not interested in table service (too expensive) or G+ (more willing to wait in lines). So the only thing I explain to them is how to get the 1pm VQ once in the park for the rides that offer that.

 

[starlite_]

While they sell out, they sell out at much lower numbers. There really isn't anything to know about Express pass. There is no return times, no 2 hours between booking times. All you do is walk up to a like and ride.

The goal post keeps moving

 

[Jrb1979]

The goal post keeps moving

What goal posts? Express pass and the majority of other parks skip the line pass is much simpler. What's not to understand?

 

[deansreef1]

I’d say half the fun is the planning. For real !! It adds to the excitement.

 

[WinterSolider]

I reject this idea that somehow vacation planning is unique to Walt Disney World. When I go on a cruise (with any cruise line), I research things, plan a rough itinerary, make some reservations and buy some tickets. When I go to Hawaii, I research things, plan a rough itinerary, make some reservations and buy some tickets. When I go to a new city, I research things, plan a rough itinerary, make some reservations and buy some tickets.

 

[Jrb1979]

I reject this idea that somehow vacation planning is unique to Walt Disney World. When I go on a cruise (with any cruise line), I research things, plan a rough itinerary, make some reservations and buy some tickets. When I go to Hawaii, I research things, plan a rough itinerary, make some reservations and buy some tickets. When I go to a new city, I research things, plan a rough itinerary, make some reservations and buy some tickets.

I don't compare a Disney vacation to a cruise vacation or an Hawaiian vacation. They are not the same.

A more apples to apples comparison is a Universal vacation. There is not much planning required. You book your hotel and decide if you want express pass or not.

As far as planning, maybe it's just my family but we rarely plan much of an itinerary. Mainly cause we do that in our everyday life. Our vacation is basically we book our flight and hotel. Look into what we would like to do in the area. The rest we go with the flow and decide what we want to do when we get there.

 

[WinterSolider]

I don't compare a Disney vacation to a cruise vacation or an Hawaiian vacation. They are not the same.

A more apples to apples comparison is a Universal vacation. There is not much planning required. You book your hotel and decide if you want express pass or not.

As far as planning, maybe it's just my family but we rarely plan much of an itinerary. Mainly cause we do that in our everyday life. Our vacation is basically we book our flight and hotel. Look into what we would like to do in the area. The rest we go with the flow and decide what we want to do when we get there.

Yes, Express Pass is simpler than Genie+.

It's also 4 times as expensive, minimum.