For the First Time in Forever... I Did Not Enjoy My Vacation to Disney World

[Odelay]

When did we become a society that couldn't wait. I waited on line for things all weekend this trip. The parks were actually crowded due to the runDisney event as well as Jersey week so it wasn't like this weekend was super low crowds. We went with old old school mentality and if we had to wait, we waited! No biggie. We had snacks in our backpacks and brought extra batteries so we could keep electronics charged. Also we talked with the our friend and had a great time. The waits for attraction actually made memories for us that we wouldn't have if we were just zipping from attraction to attraction. I got to know my fiance's best friend on a level I didn't know him before simply from waiting in lines.

I feel that most people hope to walk away from a trip to Disney with something better than great memories of standing in line.

 

[wilkeliza]

I feel that most people hope to walk away from a trip to Disney with something better than great memories of standing in line.

We have more than great memories of standing in line. We just also happened to make great memories in line that I can't imagine would have happened running from ride to ride.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Anyhow... its different... not better, not worse, just different.

I'm not sure I'd say that. If you're an uber planner that does your vacation in accordance to what your spreadsheet says then you think it's better. If you like a vacation where you decide what you want to do for the day when you wake up its definitely worse.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

That's the problem you shouldn't have to plan everyday of your trip at least two months in advance or more if you want to eat a TS meal. I don't know what the weather will be like in 2 months so if my waterpark day turns out to be a cold day or it rains you want to switch it with a park day but now if you do that you lose your e-ticket FP's. If you wake up and don't feel good or you decide you want to get some extra sleep well there go your e-ticket FP's again if they're booked in the morning. Its a flawed system that turns your vacation into a unchangeable plan 2 months before your trip or you won't be able to do what you use to. Also before FP+ you could go to WDW without a plan and do just as much if not more then you can do now. Not everyone is like you "All planned extensively" that's something you like to do it shouldn't be a requirement and forced on people that want to go to WDW.

It's 99.9% to squeeze the life out of the employees and reduce their numbers longterm

I actually agree with some of the motivations behind that: the labor pool is thin in Orlando and they can't "add" much while searching for employees...

BUT...it's not "fun" for people on either sides of the turnstiles...certainly not what you want your recreation to be...

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I'm not sure I'd say that. If you're an uber planner that does your vacation in accordance to what your spreadsheet says then you think it's better. If you like a vacation where you decide what you want to do for the day when you wake up its definitely worse.

I agree...it's a bit naive to think there are no legitimate strong feelings on this...

Why? Because it costs a small fortune to set foot in the place and DISNEY has spent everyday since their parks opened pumping/building up expectations for these trips intentionally to sell product.

You can't make the people entirely to blame (mostly...but not entirely)...Disney owns the expectations.

If they take a reservation 26 days in advance...because say a parent decides to surprise the kids after a significant traumatic event...they should have provisions to deliver on their advertisements. You should stand behind your product...not hide behind computer controlled technicalities and...yes...we freaks and geeks on the disboards.

Now if you'll excuse me...I have to get back to decorating my 12 ft, $10,000+ Disney Xmas tree

 

[lockedoutlogic]

We have more than great memories of standing in line. We just also happened to make great memories in line that I can't imagine would have happened running from ride to ride.

Woah woah...it's a legitimate point. Average line times SEEM to be up across the board over the last 2 years...

Gee, wonder what happened??

But to do the "make lemonade outta lemons" argument by making the best out of a scenario that plays out where you are restricted or forced to bear more average wait times because they intentionally put in a dispersement system while not adding much of significance since 2005 is sandbagging the argument.

Tough to tell people spending $4000-$10000 for a week on a "premium" experience to "make the best of it", isn't it?

 

[Josh Hendy]

It's 99.9% to squeeze the life out of the employees and reduce their numbers longterm

I actually agree with some of the motivations behind that: the labor pool is thin in Orlando and they can't "add" much while searching for employees...

BUT...it's not "fun" for people on either sides of the turnstiles...certainly not what you want your recreation to be...

There is something really big lurking behind that. What it implies is that the average person doesn't have enough money left after taxes and necessities are taken of, to pay another average person to give them a decent vacation experience. Because what the customer can afford to spend is insufficient for the employee to pay for taxes and necessities and have enough left over for decent vacation.

That is what a "thin labor pool" means. People would automatically gravitate to Orlando if the wages and expenses equation added up. Like they gravitated there ever since WDW construction started.

The last comment about "fun" is what really needs to be pondered. Crowd cramming and ride rationing will probably only work profitably for a little while. Eventually people will realize they can have a McVacation more easily by staying closer to home, and they can get a McJob anywhere.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

There is something really big lurking behind that. What it implies is that the average person doesn't have enough money left after taxes and necessities are taken of, to pay another average person to give them a decent vacation experience. Because what the customer can afford to spend is insufficient for the employee to pay for taxes and necessities and have enough left over for decent vacation.

That is what a "thin labor pool" means. People would automatically gravitate to Orlando if the wages and expenses equation added up. Like they gravitated there ever since WDW construction started.

The last comment about "fun" is what really needs to be pondered. Crowd cramming and ride rationing will probably only work profitably for a little while. Eventually people will realize they can have a McVacation more easily by staying closer to home, and they can get a McJob anywhere.

They fundamentally changed what it was to work at a Disney park in the 90's...

The problems with lack of motivation/availability and the struggles to produce a solid workforce on what amounts to minimum wage - which any economist will tell you is no more than half what it needs to be to produce workers that can significantly contribute back into the economy - which is how the economy works - has been brewing ever since.

So occasionally I like to remind everyone that when you book your dessert parties or MK View Poly CL rooms...that it's not going to those that serve you. And that is jeopardizing your happy, comfy vacations down the road.

As far as the longterm reservation strategy...in many ways it's shortsighted. It's squeezing "more" from things long ago paid for in an effort to find "new" profits.
Most pounders seem to assume that now they're really gonna improve all these parks...I remain very skeptical. What if they don't and the reservations where just about maximizing every cent?
Short sighted managers would do that.
Jury is still diliberating.

 

[wallrock]

The principal idea of vacation is (or at least was) to escape the forced march that dominates our daily lives. At home or at work, you are more or less in reactionary mode. Whether it's the boss, kids, or someone else you're usually doing something that's in response to something else, so it's no surprise that as many of us used Disney as an escape we've now become disgruntled because we have to repeat the same chore-like behavior to visit a place that you could previously easily wing and have a fabulous time.

When I hear folks claim that the planning is one of the 'fun' aspects of visiting Disney I wonder if that's really true, or is it because we've become so comfortable with having to plan that spontaneous activities actually invoke a bit of fear. If we don't have a calendar (or smartphone) to look at for guidance we're lost. Of course there are some that thrive on planning every detail but I bet there many that don't. It certainly looks like the author fits into the latter category.

When we travel to Disney I still refuse to get fast passes (we have not needed a fast pass for Seven Dwarfs yet and manage to ride it each trip without having to wait forever in line) or advanced dinner reservations for the most part. Naturally there is an exception or two on each trip if there's a desire for a specific restaurant, but ultimately we find that we get almost as much done as those who plan down to the last Mickey Ice Cream Bar consumed. Saying that I got to ride everything I wanted before X time of the day has never held any fascination for me. Nobody's keeping score on how many attractions you jump on and there's no medal for riding Soarin' before your fellow guests do.

Some say that they actually need a vacation after they get back from Disney. Too bad that Disney is making that a reality for many guests. Sooner or later I'm sure I'll have to plan everything down to restroom breaks or Mickey won't let me in the door, but until then we'll go at our leisurely pace, keep the smartphone tucked away and try to enjoy as much as we can, because I'd rather see a small portion and leave happy and refreshed than to see the whole thing and drag myself back home exhausted and drained.

 

[DisDadDVC]

The principal idea of vacation is (or at least was) to escape the forced march that dominates our daily lives. At home or at work, you are more or less in reactionary mode. Whether it's the boss, kids, or someone else you're usually doing something that's in response to something else, so it's no surprise that as many of us used Disney as an escape we've now become disgruntled because we have to repeat the same chore-like behavior to visit a place that you could previously easily wing and have a fabulous time.

When I hear folks claim that the planning is one of the 'fun' aspects of visiting Disney I wonder if that's really true, or is it because we've become so comfortable with having to plan that spontaneous activities actually invoke a bit of fear. If we don't have a calendar (or smartphone) to look at for guidance we're lost. Of course there are some that thrive on planning every detail but I bet there many that don't. It certainly looks like the author fits into the latter category.

When we travel to Disney I still refuse to get fast passes (we have not needed a fast pass for Seven Dwarfs yet and manage to ride it each trip without having to wait forever in line) or advanced dinner reservations for the most part. Naturally there is an exception or two on each trip if there's a desire for a specific restaurant, but ultimately we find that we get almost as much done as those who plan down to the last Mickey Ice Cream Bar consumed. Saying that I got to ride everything I wanted before X time of the day has never held any fascination for me. Nobody's keeping score on how many attractions you jump on and there's no medal for riding Soarin' before your fellow guests do.

Some say that they actually need a vacation after they get back from Disney. Too bad that Disney is making that a reality for many guests. Sooner or later I'm sure I'll have to plan everything down to restroom breaks or Mickey won't let me in the door, but until then we'll go at our leisurely pace, keep the smartphone tucked away and try to enjoy as much as we can, because I'd rather see a small portion and leave happy and refreshed than to see the whole thing and drag myself back home exhausted and drained.

Why would you cut off your nose to spite your face? Why not just book your fastpasses, and if your plans change, don't use them?

 

[wallrock]

Why would you cut off your nose to spite your face? Why not just book your fastpasses, and if your plans change, don't use them?

Looks like you missed the point. Why book them at all if I'm not going to use them? And I'd wager you're using the idiom out of context as my desire to not use them is not some sort of self-flagellation or jab at Disney, I just choose not to use them because I see no benefit of scheduling something when I have no intention of adhering to that schedule. Bottom line, fast passes do nothing for me.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Why would you cut off your nose to spite your face? Why not just book your fastpasses, and if your plans change, don't use them?

Because that mentality would then affect the other people...who are also paying far too much...and paying increasingly more each time with no relief/regret from Disney.

Anybody look at those new pass prices again after the initial fervor? Cause
what mI caught myself doing was saying "well...it's ONLY $40
More a year with ONLY 21 blackout dates..."

Stockholm Syndrome.


Anyway...there is limited supply on the fast passes...and the use of them is tied into their distasteful Hard reservation dining system...which is now being Increased to fast food...
So if you book fast passes - artificially depleting supply irrelative to demand - it hurts the whole place.

And don't think that Disney doesn't know and has some type of hammer in the works. They are trying to trim the fat to the bone...they don't want you skipping your 11:10 at buzz at all...perhaps your fastpasses
Will be voided in the system if you dare skip it? Why would they do that? What if the labor allocation is an algorithm based on the reservations and tracking in the radio tags?

Think is can't be? Then you're not being realistic.

Another good example is the 24 hour $10 cancel fee for the restaurants. Amazing how it WAYYY loosened the table availability a couple years ago...after i read here and other places that people "never" booked duplicates. They swore it over and over again. Liars...to be honest.

It's more and more a cattle call...a swap meat...and not relaxing.

I'm not saying it's not great for many...maybe half. It's possible that no one can "turn it off"
From their over planned domestic lives now and the scheduling is "comfortable"...
But there is a 100% legit counter side. I won't apologize for thundering on that trail...this is all
Short sighted...my opinion. Vacations from an assembly line.

 

[DisDadDVC]

Looks like you missed the point. Why book them at all if I'm not going to use them? And I'd wager you're using the idiom out of context as my desire to not use them is not some sort of self-flagellation or jab at Disney, I just choose not to use them because I see no benefit of scheduling something when I have no intention of adhering to that schedule. Bottom line, fast passes do nothing for me.

But why wouldn't you use them? There is NO chance that you will happen to be in the park at the time you booked your fastpass?

ETA: If you were in MK and had a 1pm fastpass for 7dmt, you would prefer to get in the standby line instead of using it?

 

[DisDadDVC]

Because that mentality would then affect the other people...who are also paying far too much...and paying increasingly more each time with no relief/regret from Disney.

I'm not saying to book ones with the sole intention of not using them. Book ones you MIGHT use. If your plans change that day, just switch them to something else. Takes a few seconds to do from the app.

 

[DisDadDVC]

Anybody look at those new pass prices again after the initial fervor? Cause
what mI caught myself doing was saying "well...it's ONLY $40
More a year with ONLY 21 blackout dates..."

The new gold passes work better for ME. I have never gone during those blackout dates. And now I get PhotoPass for all of my trips for $40 instead of $160 per trip.

 

[wallrock]

But why wouldn't you use them? There is NO chance that you will happen to be in the park at the time you booked your fastpass?

ETA: If you were in MK and had a 1pm fastpass for 7dmt, you would prefer to get in the standby line instead of using it?

Again, it goes back to my statement. I have no desire to use them. To ask why I wouldn't use them is akin to asking why I prefer peas to carrots. It's a preference. I accomplish what I want to do without them.

And to lockedout's point…to reserve something that I have no intention of using impacts others. The dinner reservation is a prime example.

Sure, there's always a chance that a reserved fastpass just happens to coincide with the time and date that I will be in the park, but to reserve it means that I have to direct myself to that park on that day. Again I prefer to not have a schedule and I'm betting that a lot of guests would do the same if they could. In no way is it 'fun' to plan from sun up to sun down your time away from the real world, especially if you have to get online at odd hours of the day to help make it happen.

Again on lockedout's point, I also believe it's Disney's long term desire to have folks commit as early and completely as possible. It results in better staff management and a more accurate forecast of consumables - i.e. it cuts operating expenses and increases profitability. As I mentioned above, sooner or later I'm sure I'll be forced to use the system if I want to continue visiting.

And to top it off, and perhaps this was the intention all along, Disney has managed to turn those reserved places in line into currency. Have a bad day? Here's a fastpass. Got wet on Pirates? Here's a fastpass. Got puked on at Chef Mickey's? Here's a fastpass. Satisfy the angered crowd with something that costs them absolutely nothing.

 

[DisDadDVC]

Again, it goes back to my statement. I have no desire to use them. To ask why I wouldn't use them is akin to asking why I prefer peas to carrots. It's a preference. I accomplish what I want to do without them.

And to lockedout's point…to reserve something that I have no intention of using impacts others. The dinner reservation is a prime example.

Sure, there's always a chance that a reserved fastpass just happens to coincide with the time and date that I will be in the park, but to reserve it means that I have to direct myself to that park on that day. Again I prefer to not have a schedule and I'm betting that a lot of guests would do the same if they could. In no way is it 'fun' to plan from sun up to sun down your time away from the real world, especially if you have to get online at odd hours of the day to help make it happen.

Again on lockedout's point, I also believe it's Disney's long term desire to have folks commit as early and completely as possible. It results in better staff management and a more accurate forecast of consumables - i.e. it cuts operating expenses and increases profitability. As I mentioned above, sooner or later I'm sure I'll be forced to use the system if I want to continue visiting.

And to top it off, and perhaps this was the intention all along, Disney has managed to turn those reserved places in line into currency. Have a bad day? Here's a fastpass. Got wet on Pirates? Here's a fastpass. Got puked on at Chef Mickey's? Here's a fastpass. Satisfy the angered crowd with something that costs them absolutely nothing.

So you ARE saying you would choose to wait in line even if there was a fast pass available. Interesting. Different strokes I guess.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I'm not saying to book ones with the sole intention of not using them. Book ones you MIGHT use. If your plans change that day, just switch them to something else. Takes a few seconds to do from the app.

Once you book them...nobody else can. I hope that the "well...maybe if" policy you're advocating is very limited.

 

[wilkeliza]

And to top it off, and perhaps this was the intention all along, Disney has managed to turn those reserved places in line into currency. Have a bad day? Here's a fastpass. Got wet on Pirates? Here's a fastpass. Got puked on at Chef Mickey's? Here's a fastpass. Satisfy the angered crowd with something that costs them absolutely nothing.

Fastpass have had a "currency" value for a long time. Even when they were paper if there were issues you could get a good at any attraction FP as an apology. They were called No String Cards. I'm sure those still exsist as they are used for merchandise and food replacement as well but they were once valid for rides. They still use them at Disneyland.

 

[DisDadDVC]

Once you book them...nobody else can. I hope that the "well...maybe if" policy you're advocating is very limited.

Once you switch them to something else, they are available to anyone. I'm not advocating booking and skipping them. But if you THINK you MIGHT be at MK on 11/16, I would book 3 FP there. If you wake up tomorrow and decide you'd rather go to AK, you can simply switch the FP over to attractions at AK. It doesn't matter if the person who ends up using your MK fastpasses got to book them 60 days in advance, or 60 minutes in advance.