First Time I Ever Felt That WDW Wasn't Worth The Time and Money

[hertamaniac]

We were there from 9/17 - 9/29 in 2 bedroom at OKW. Local AP holder with ADR at FF and Jiko; good experiences, but absurdly overpriced even at 30% off.

I agree with your observations; the parks were very busy and the typical ramming devices (aka strollers) were in full force. I think I got 1 apology out of "many" hits. Food and Wine was decent, but it is too brutally hot to really enjoy during daylight hours.

I also am considering a much more scaled back approach on WDW as for far less $, we can experience more (again as a local and AP, I think I'm approaching my threshold....at least until 2020). Of course, we made the resort the center focus of this trip and the parks were ancillary. Still, the FP+ system worked and allowed us to 6/7 out of 10 enjoy the attractions.

 

[kniquy]

We only go every 4-5 years. This last trip we stayed 8 nights with 8 day park hoppers. This made it easier to do every attraction we wanted. Sometimes we only hit parks for a half day, enough to use up fastpasses for high demand attractions and then go relax. I don't think I would do anything less than a full week again.

12-day trip with 5 park days and a party night.

I totally agree with this thought process. OP this is one thing that stood out to me -- you were there for 12 days but only had 5 day park tickets and one party. I feel that getting park tickets for the duration of your trip or close to it helps to limit the stress of needing to get everything done in 5 days. With 10 days your touring plan could have been much different, you would have had double the fast passes to use. So for an extra $70 per person you could have had so much more flexibility in your park time. You could have done mornings in the parks, when it is less crowded, leave by noon and return in the evening if you wanted to. Avoiding the midday heat and crowds does wonders for peoples personalities. getting a bunch of people together when it is hot and sunny out is a recipe for aggravation despite being in the "happiest place on earth".

If you traditionally visit in September maybe consider another time of year. At any rate it certainly sounds like you need to take a year or two off. We are on the every other year schedule and find that it leaves enough time for new things to open. This coming April we go and can see pandora, our next trip will be in 2020 so by then toy story land and star wars land should be open --keeping it fairly new and exciting for us.

 

[StraightToDumbo]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder .

Nope...hadn't been in FOUR YEARS. This was definitely the most crowded I'd seen, and I've been during spring break. It's not relative, it was SLAMMED. All except DHS.

 

[gillep]

I just got back from a short trip (September 27-October 1) and we had one of our best trips yet. I didn't experience a single rude guest, despite the heat, and the fact that I was crazy enough to stand in two incredibly hot, wet, long lines for Epcot 35 merchandise on Sunday.

We were focused on F&W and Pandora this trip, so we never made it to MK (was going to go Saturday night but the rain deterred us) so maybe my experience would change if we had gone there, as I usually experience most issues with crowds and craziness at MK. It was incredibly hot, which definitely limited what we did a bit, but we hit F&W at 11am on Wed, Thurs, and Fri and hardly experienced any waits for any of the booths until after 1pm, when we fled back to Stormalong Bay each day to swim. I was worried that the pool would be mobbed each day, but it was completely fine, and we were always able to get two chairs in the shade. We did Pandora twice (Thursday afternoon and Saturday night) and didn't have any issue with the AK crowds and the lines for rides weren't bad. Epcot was definitely more crowded in the evenings, but still manageable during the weekdays, we were able to find a table to watch Illuminations next to the ice cream booth in France and we only grabbed it an hour before show (I wouldn't even consider going Friday or Saturday evenings, so I have no idea what it was like then).

 

[KimBean]

We just got back from a trip from 9/16-9/27. A nice, long, 12-day trip with 5 park days and a party night. It was way more crowded than I thought it would be in mid-September. Uncomfortably crowded at that. Prices for food keep climbing to the point that we cancelled all but TWO of our ADR's because they were just so expensive.

The guests are getting ruder and ruder, and there's an air of "every man for themselves" where you kind of have to be a jerk to get anything done. The planning has gotten maddening and stressful and now is a must with the FP+. The new security procedures for the monorails and such are just ridiculous.

Even an event I THOUGHT wouldn't be slammed (MNSSHP) was just that. Uncomfortably crowded with ridiculous character waits and even RIDE WAITS until about 10:00.

For the first time ever, my family walked away from this thinking "Well, that wasn't really worth it. Next time: Regional Park."

I get why people love Disney. We love it too. But it's really getting to the point where the amount of effort, money, and time you have to put in just doesn't cut it for most people no matter how much you love the place.

If you decide to go again, I recommend highly going to a site like All Ears and looking at menus. I am not quite sure how you knew 24 hours ahead of time to cancel the ADR that the restaurant you chose was out of your budget, but didn't know when you booked it though... Disney food has always been ridic, haven't seen a great increase in price in the last 4 trips of mine which takes me to 2011. Maybe it has been a long time since you went?

I am worried about crowds as well. There is a new normal. Disney just isn't as profitable as it should be. They keep trying to fix it with add ons. Now they are forced to fix it with layoffs and lowering capacity. Hope the tide turns soon. I don't know how it is that we are feeling like it is harder to get ADR's and Fast Passes and rooms but Disney Parks is reporting stocks down!! But, it is...

Yes, people are deteriorating no matter where you are at and where you go. There is no decency, no common courtesy. I've stopped going to movies because I am tired of wasting money to hear someone talk through the whole thing or their cell phone light being on the whole movie. I just watch at home.

We take years off in between trips, maybe time to take some time off and hit the beach. lol

 

[StraightToDumbo]

I totally agree with this thought process. OP this is one thing that stood out to me -- you were there for 12 days but only had 5 day park tickets and one party. I feel that getting park tickets for the duration of your trip or close to it helps to limit the stress of needing to get everything done in 5 days.

We had the five-day military ticket, so adding 5 days would have added over $2,000.

Besides, I'm comparing apples to apples here. We always do the same number of days with the same number of "off days". We took FOUR YEARS OFF! We've NEVER been so disappointed in the total experience. We don't "stress" on our park days, in fact we usually park hop around. It has everything to do with noticeably larger crowds, higher costs, and a sense that you're constantly trying to cross the Mississippi River to get anywhere in the parks. I guess we just have to find a better time to go? Does one even exist anymore?

 

[KimBean]

We had the five-day military ticket, so adding 5 days would have added over $2,000.

Besides, I'm comparing apples to apples here. We always do the same number of days with the same number of "off days". We took FOUR YEARS OFF! We've NEVER been so disappointed in the total experience. We don't "stress" on our park days, in fact we usually park hop around. It has everything to do with noticeably larger crowds, higher costs, and a sense that you're constantly trying to cross the Mississippi River to get anywhere in the parks.

Oh.... you are doing disney old style. I remember the good old days when we could do the DIS on a 4 day ticket. Just doesn't happen anymore, not happily. Since FP+ I feel like you can either go often for a few days and see what you see. Or if you are like me and only go every 3-4 years you need 8-10 days. I'm sure people will tell me I'm wrong, but if you want that happy go lucky vacation like feeling, that is just my opinion.

 

[Farro]

Oh.... you are doing disney old style. I remember the good old days when we could do the DIS on a 4 day ticket. Just doesn't happen anymore, not happily. Since FP+ I feel like you can either go often for a few days and see what you see. Or if you are like me and only go every 3-4 years you need 8-10 days. I'm sure people will tell me I'm wrong, but if you want that happy go lucky vacation like feeling, that is just my opinion.

We are going 9 nights and agree, we don't feel stressed.

But I will disagree, we went 4 nights with old fast pass and felt incredibly rushed and like we got nothing done!

It's all relative.

Sorry your trip didn't go so well OP!!!

 

[gdrj]

I completely understand but I don't see it getting better in the future. Like Yogi Berra said, "No one goes there anymore, its too crowded" We still go as DVC members and AP holders but we tend to spend less time in parks and still enjoy our trips. The "worth it" if staying at a Disney Hotel and paying for 5 or 7 day ticket would be tough.

 

[StraightToDumbo]

Sorry your trip didn't go so well OP!!!

The weird thing is that it was a good trip, it just wasn't WORTH IT if that makes sense. We made lemonade from lemons, but everything was more noticeably lackluster, crowded and had me thinking "I paid too much for this experience." I have NEVER had that thought at WDW before.

 

[Texans_loyal]

Talking to people on the busses, a lot of them did reschedule their trip. I don't understand how so many people can just flip their vacation ahead one week. I'd never be able to do that. Anyway, it definitely sucked. There were obvious awesome parts like seeing the Boo-To-You Parade, Hocus Pocus, and seeing Fantasmic FINALLY for the first time (loved it). But man the crowds really put a damper on things. We're definitely breaking for a while.

What did it for us was the bus waits for AoA at the end of the night. They were INSANE. I'm sorry, but paying that much to be on property you shouldn't have to wait 40 minutes for a bus back to the resort.

we were there 9/20 to 9/25 and had the same problems. we waited over an hour for the bus twice. it was ridiculous.

 

[loves to dive]

Sounds like you need to take a break and find other places to go, heaven knows it's not worth going anywhere that you are just miserable.

I was there Sept. 16th through 23rd and to be honest, the only time the crowds really got to me was during HEA at MK. Everyone was being real nice even though it was packed until a father decided to lift his son onto his shoulders then sway back and forth and raise the kids arms up in the air at random times during the show. Needless to say, anyone behind him couldn't see anything. I get wanting your child to be able to see, as a short person and with the new projection show I get it. But the kid could have been lifted to Dad's head level and seen just fine, the swaying and lifting the kid's arms were just not necessary, the kid even kept asking Dad to stop doing it. It got ugly then. Afterwards, silly me needed to get over to mine train, talk about bad planning on my part and it was like the running of the bulls trying to get out of there. Normally, I can weave around people since I'm so small but there was just no give, everyone was going out of the park and not about to leave a lane for others to get through. That was the only time I felt the crowds were out of control, I even went to F&W on Friday night and had no problems.

As far a rude people, well that's just today's society and I fear no matter where you go you are going to find the same entitled people.

The planning really isn't necessary, we make no FPs until the night before or the day of or more often than not while standing in line for a ride. We go with the attitude of if we don't ride a ride, it's not the end of the world, there is plenty to do otherwise and if we want to ride a ride bad enough, we will stand in line if we have to. I think it's all in attitude and perspective, for us, we are on vacation and while there might be bad moments, it has never spoiled the entire trip, and that is the attitude we take no matter where we vacation.

The food prices are the food prices, it might depend on where you live as to if they are too high or not. I live in a small college town in North Georgia, last week I decided I wanted a chicken salad sandwich for lunch so went to a little local shop. My sandwich and a side, which was a one oz. cup of pasta salad costed $13.00. I didn't get a drink. That is just about what you are going to pay at WDW for a QS adult meal with a drink. My son and I went to Olive Garden, each got a refreshing adult beverage, shared an appetizer, both got an entre and shared a dessert. It was around $130 with tip. I'm talking Olive Garden, not anywhere fancy. We have had the same meals at WDW and maybe paid around $10 more.

But, having said all that, I can feel your pain and agree, it's time you vacationed elsewhere because as I said, you shouldn't leave vacation feeling miserable.

 

[DisneyOma]

We just got back from a trip from 9/16-9/27. A nice, long, 12-day trip with 5 park days and a party night. It was way more crowded than I thought it would be in mid-September. Uncomfortably crowded at that. Prices for food keep climbing to the point that we cancelled all but TWO of our ADR's because they were just so expensive.

In another post you said you had military tickets, so could only have the 5 days. Did you think about buying more tickets at the military discount? (And at least you weren't paying full price) Cancelling ADRs must have been stressful. Where were you able to find a place to eat?

 

[Gehrig1B]

Besides, I'm comparing apples to apples here. We always do the same number of days with the same number of "off days". We took FOUR YEARS OFF!

You are not comparing apples to apples though.

Way too many things have changed in 4-5 years. I agree that you cannot do a quality Disney World experience anymore in 5 days if you are comparing it to how it could be done just 5 years ago. We go the heaviest crowd times of the year (Christmas/NYE), enjoy the experience, see and do all we want, and never stand in line more than 20 minutes. We always hop and hit many E-rides each morning before 11:00 am without FP's, then FP+ the times parks are most crowded.

 

[sara_s]

What did it for us was the bus waits for AoA at the end of the night. They were INSANE. I'm sorry, but paying that much to be on property you shouldn't have to wait 40 minutes for a bus back to the resort.

THIS. The past few years, this has really put me off. I love the resorts otherwise. I'm thinking Lyft and Uber are worth it while staying on property just to avoid these insane wait times. I haven't tried it yet, but think I may in November.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

The weird thing is that it was a good trip, it just wasn't WORTH IT if that makes sense. We made lemonade from lemons, but everything was more noticeably lackluster, crowded and had me thinking "I paid too much for this experience." I have NEVER had that thought at WDW before.

I completely get this.

We last went as a family in 2015. Got a great deal and did 10 nights with a split stay with Poly/BC. Paid OOP for food. Went in August. The rain wasn't bad and our crowds were pretty low.

We had fun but at the end of it I just didn't think what I paid for was worth it. We did lots of TS meals also and the cost of food was a hard pill to swallow and I knew the prices going in. I just didn't think it was worth it.

We were never every year ppl. We went in 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2011 so it wasn't burn out. We've done other trips since Disney 2015 and I felt I got way better value for my money. Especially a week at an all inclusive in DR for half the price including flights.

I am going back with just DD who will be 12 next year. DS is going with his senior trip next year and my SO liked Disney but he would rather go on an adults only Epcot (drinking) focused trip and that won't happen with DD tagging along. So it's just me and DD.

I think I feel like I'll get my value with this trip because it'll be much cheaper (even considering going value) and we have a lot of similar interests and can focus on just what we like. I won't feel like I'm spreading myself trying to keep everyone happy. Also we won't be doing as many ADRs.

 

[modelar7]

We just got back from a trip from 9/16-9/27. A nice, long, 12-day trip with 5 park days and a party night. It was way more crowded than I thought it would be in mid-September. Uncomfortably crowded at that. Prices for food keep climbing to the point that we cancelled all but TWO of our ADR's because they were just so expensive.

The guests are getting ruder and ruder, and there's an air of "every man for themselves" where you kind of have to be a jerk to get anything done. The planning has gotten maddening and stressful and now is a must with the FP+. The new security procedures for the monorails and such are just ridiculous.

Even an event I THOUGHT wouldn't be slammed (MNSSHP) was just that. Uncomfortably crowded with ridiculous character waits and even RIDE WAITS until about 10:00.

For the first time ever, my family walked away from this thinking "Well, that wasn't really worth it. Next time: Regional Park."

I get why people love Disney. We love it too. But it's really getting to the point where the amount of effort, money, and time you have to put in just doesn't cut it for most people no matter how much you love the place.

I live about an hour away and go many times a year. sometimes I feel great but other times it is a drag.
Disney has raised prices on everything. I watched the regular popcorn go from 2.75 to 4.25 yet the popcorn is the same and the boxes are the same yet it went up. I think it is going to as you say not worth the effort to go.
Maybe onetime but not multiple times.

 

[KimBean]

We are going 9 nights and agree, we don't feel stressed.

But I will disagree, we went 4 nights with old fast pass and felt incredibly rushed and like we got nothing done!

It's all relative.

Sorry your trip didn't go so well OP!!!

Well maybe I'm older then you. I'm talking happy birthday cake on the castle years. The 90s... and then there were the recession years wow those were nice. 2007 we went on a nickel and a dime (free timeshare, grandparents bought tickets, at at timeshare most meals( and my husband got the call he got a job when we were at Epcot. We had the parks to ourself. Lol.

 

[Farro]

I'm 44!

That short trip was in 2011. Before that we went in 2000 and before that was the early 80's and I just don't remember the lines.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Ugh sorry you didn't enjoy feel like your trip was as good as it could have been. I know what you mean about value. You think about what you're paying for stuff and what you're getting sometimes, and ugh! Our next trip we'll probably stay offsite and eat most of our meals offsite. We definitely felt the food costs weren't worth it on our past trip.