Help! Our Pixie Dust Dreams are fading!

[MainMom]

Not a Star Wars Hater just not a fan. I was just trying to make the point that the magic that made us love Disney is fading.

Honestly, it sounds like you need a couple of years off from Disney.

 

[bbjunkie]

If the options you mentioned aren't right for your family, there's no need to pay for them.

Exactly this. Don't buy the extra stuff. Was your pixie dust fading when they added the villains' event at HS? Or was it fading because of newly-offered VIP tours? I suspect not. The new offerings are the same; they are extras. If you don't want them, don't buy them. Then you aren't being "nickeled and dimed" as you describe in your original post at all.

 

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

I completely agree with the OP and am in a very similar situation. Last year we spent a week visiting Discovery Cove Sea World and Aquatica. It was a game changer for us. The ticket costs were less than half the price, the lines were minimal compared to all the DW parks, and I have to say that Discovery Cove surpassed MK as my favorite single park in all of Orlando. We went to DW earlier this year and the comparing the two experiences is extremely interesting, to say the least. I understand comparing SW to DW is like comparing apples and elephants. But overall this is where my family is with DW. Our next Orlando trip will be another round of DC/SW/Aquatica, and the next one will be Universal. Maybe after that we consider a return to DW. There is a real chance that in 3 years we may consider DW isn't worth the cost. Time will tell.

DW has a real problem with over crowding and they are aware of it. IMO, everything they are doing is in an attempt to (1) increase profits and (2) find the sweet spot where the parks aren't overcrowded all the time but enough people pay the prices for what they are offering. My bet is DW will continue to push the envelope until the market tells them they have gone too far (attendance drops below a level management deems optimal), at which point they will dial it back until they settle where they want to be.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We've gone multiple times a year since 2011 and none of these add-ons affect our touring style in any way, shape or form. We won't pay for the early morning or late evening options as they don't suit our schedule, but that won't stop of us from enjoying the parks during regular hours as we've done all along. WDW hasn't taken anything away from onsite guests. All of the perks included with an onsite stay are still there. I don't see these add-ons any differently than the dessert parties, hard-ticket events, etc. If you don't want them, don't buy them. And ADR's have been difficult to get for years, so I'm not seeing a change there. I don't see any of this as "nickel and diming". Parking is still included, DME, park transportation etc. Sorry, just not getting the complaints on the add-ons.

 

[CaliTex]

We only go every other year. We do other things, other years. We still love WDW as we have young grandchildren now and we re-discover the fun through their eyes-- but we don't do the add-ons, with the possible exception of the MVMCP, as we don't see the value of them and don't like getting nickel and dimed to death, either. I do think WDW is pushing that profitability/value envelope and are about at the edge--but what do I know? It's their business to run as they see fit, and it's my right to refuse to spend more than I want, or see any value in doing.

 

[Maliboo]

I know Disney's main objective is to make money because in the end it is a Business. I just feel we are being nickeled and dimed for every last cent. Charges for premium parking, extra evening hours, extra morning hours, special viewing areas and so on. We have adapted to the lack of spontaneity. You really have to plan out every minute. Food dictates your trip if you want to eat at sit down restaurants. It's getting harder with families with little ones due to larger crowds. We aren't big Star Wars fans and I think it may be taking over. We Have been to Disney World 15 times since 2006 and 1 Disney cruise. We are huge fans. I know they have to adapt to stay relevant. I remember walking through Mickey and Minnie's house on our first trip and felt like a kid again. It was awesome! Things are a changing and for our family it's not for the best. I guess in the end they will keep testing the ceiling of how high they can go. As they raise prices attendance keeps growing.

I agree with you and understand your point. It can be hard to let go of a place you used to love, but there are so many great places to travel with family and have just as much fun as Disney.

 

[nilla]

You really have to plan out every minute.

Do you? Besides FP+ and ADRs, we don't. We used to, but have done this enough that we can pretty much wing it.

 

[Sparkly]

15 times...there's your problem. I love a song, listen to it 15 times, not so great anymore. Love a tv show episode...gets stale after 15 times. Time for a break- absence makes the heart grow fonder.

And we've never done any of the premium stuff or crazy planned our days (booking fastpasses and that's it, and we still skip them if we don't feel like that attraction right now so we've never felt obligated to make each and everyone) and still had a magical time.

 

[yulilin3]

15 times...there's your problem. I love a song, listen to it 15 times, not so great anymore. Love a tv show episode...gets stale after 15 times. Time for a break- absence makes the heart grow fonder.

And we've never done any of the premium stuff or crazy planned our days (booking fastpasses and that's it, and we still skip them if we don't feel like that attraction right now so we've never felt obligated to make each and everyone) and still had a magical time.

I don't agree with this.
I go at least once a week, have done so for the past 13 years, before that I went maybe 2 times a month.
I still find going to Disney fun, even if it's just to watch a show or a set from the Citizens of Hollywood, or just to eat or people watch.
Like I've said, Disney isn't for everyone

 

[Sevey13]

I'll break down my Disney World philosophy here as someone who only goes ever few years and who also genuinely looks for the positive in everything.

I know Disney's main objective is to make money because in the end it is a Business. I just feel we are being nickeled and dimed for every last cent. Charges for premium parking, extra evening hours, extra morning hours, special viewing areas and so on.

Have you ever seen the Frasier episode where they get into a secret spa? It's one of my favorite. The main characters keep getting treated and pampered to a luxury experience, but at the end of each session they notice a door to a 'higher level' that they are told they can't have access to. The Diamond Door. The Platinum Door. Meanwhile they stop looking at what they have and enjoying it. It's the same idea here. None of these experiences are required. Granted I stay on property so I don't worry about parking, but will parking near the front of the lot vs the back really be that big a deal? Approach it with a kid's energy and when I was a kid (and as an adult) riding a tram is like the first attraction anyway. So cool! I don't worry about someone with a FP to see Wishes or someone seeing it from the Dessert terrace because my view from the front of the Crystal Palace or the backside of the Castle near the carousel is honestly just as magical. Don't keep looking for the Diamond Door. Trust me, Disney always has something 'better' for people with more money, I guarantee it. Even if you paid for premium parking, extra morning and evening hours and whatever, there are richer people in the park at that same time with a more 'VIP' experience then you. So don't worry about it. Enjoy the experience you have.

We have adapted to the lack of spontaneity. You really have to plan out every minute. Food dictates your trip if you want to eat at sit down restaurants. It's getting harder with families with little ones due to larger crowds.

This part is a little outside my experience. I haven't gone with kids so I won't comment on that. That said, I have yet to experience the 'lack of spontaneity' a lot of people talk about here. If anything, I feel FP+ has helped with that. I still remember sitting on the Magic Kingdom train from Frontierland to Fantasyland and realizing that we won't make our FP for BTM (obviously, because we were leaving that land). Literally one minute later I had already tapped a few buttons on the app and gotten us new FPs in Tomorrowland instead for the same time. People seem to forget that the popular attractions would run out of paper fastpasses back in the day, too. That's not just a problem with FP+. How about on your next trip you experiment with a spontenaeity day? Try it! Plan one sit-down ADR and some basic Fastpasses. Or don't even plan that ADR! See if you can find a same-day spot for your family (it's really easy to find open tables using the MDE app). See how it goes! I feel like many people on this board experience an echo chamber of other users stressed about the planning, and it just becomes a feeding frenzy where we build off each other's anxiety when in reality it isn't all that bad. Sure you have to plan around a sit-down meal. But with the time it takes to actually experience a sit-down meal, you still had to account for that in your plans back before ADRs. I think if you give it a shot, you'll see it isn't as crazy as you might think.

We aren't big Star Wars fans and I think it may be taking over.

Star Wars is literally only in one park. There may be nods here and there, but apart from two buildings in HS and a few shows, that's it. You can enjoy MK, EPCOT, and AK Star Wars free all day long. You won't see stormtroopers traveling back in time with you to find a young dinosaur or standing guard over the castle.

We Have been to Disney World 15 times since 2006 and 1 Disney cruise. We are huge fans. I know they have to adapt to stay relevant. I remember walking through Mickey and Minnie's house on our first trip and felt like a kid again. It was awesome! Things are a changing and for our family it's not for the best. I guess in the end they will keep testing the ceiling of how high they can go. As they raise prices attendance keeps growing.

Try to hold on to that feeling of feeling like a kid again. You'll be surprised how many things just roll off your back if you do. I work with youth for a living. I've taken countless hours to plan summer camps with awesome, fun things to do but in the end what do the campers remember most? Not the obstacle course we hand-built, not the time they made a leather project so carefully sourced, but that hour they spent roaming the beach looking at seashells in their free time. And that doesn't bother me!

You know your family better than anyone. Disney is a magical place for me, but I think part of the reason is because I only go every few years. Consider taking a break for a year or two. There's a lot coming down the pipeline for at least two of the parks, and who knows what else they are working on unbeknownst to us? And if you decide to keep going annually or whatever your current schedule is, good for you That's fine too. Just remember that feeling of being like a kid. Go in expecting nothing more than to have a fun time.

 

[Hikergirl]

Its a great big world out there, maybe its time to find some magic elsewhere.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

I get both sides of these arguments. On one hand all of the premium things listed really haven't impacted daily operations in the parks but there are a lot of unknowns about how crowds are going to be impacted by the Disney After Dark events. Despite them being optional though it does seem a big overwhelming when every time you look there is some new pay for play benefit on top of seeing price increases for everything and less "free" benefits than years past. It's a cumalitive effect on your perception whether these things directly impact you or not.

I think the things that really get me more is not what we're paying but what feels is a lack of reinvestment in the parks. I know that they've announced new things but remember how cool Tool Story Land looked in the initial renderings? Have you seen the revisions and all of the details that were removed? Just knowing how maintenance is handled now and seeing closure after closure and delay after delay on top of the crazy planning they force on you it just gets old and you start to lose faith in the leadership that is changing so much of what people grew up loving.

Once we get there I still enjoy watching our son react to things but I have to admit that the time leading up to the trips gets tougher and tougher and as he gets bigger real questions about going somewhere else creep into the conversation. I grew up on Disney have gone at least once a year (some years a lot more) every year for 36 years and it has just been in the past two years that the everything leading up to the trip has become burdensome and losing some of the magic before you even arrive is rough.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My husband asked me something similar - if I felt like the magic was leaving Disney because of all the extra things they are charging money for.

I told him I didn't feel that way after thinking about it - the extra things are just that - extras I could pay for if I felt there was value in them.

I do like to pay extra for certain things like the sit down areas at Food And Wine Festival (those spots where you can go and sit down and the CM's get you your food) because I feel like there is value in that for me.

So I don't have a problem with Disney trying to make more money where they can as long as it is an extra cost that you can choose to pay or not.

When I see Cinderella Castle or The Tree of Life every trip and wander around the parks looking at all the little touches the Imagineers put in the attractions and the areas, I still feel like the magic is still there.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

I would offer that you don't go back until you really miss it. If there have been other places you have thought about, I would go for it.

Beach
Mountains
Cruise
Touring US cities
Sandals resorts

There are tons of options to keep you busy until you really want to go.

I personally would not want to waste my vacation money and time to go to a place I wasn't thrilled and excited about.

 

[Amanda999]

... Have you ever seen the Frasier episode where they get into a secret spa? ....

I was going to say similar.

OP: I do get it. Until recently you could basically experience all the fun things at WDW that you hear about and want to enjoy with your family. But now the cost difference between the basics vs. a premium trip is staggering. (For our upcoming trip, with discount, Pop is $100/night and standard view at BC is $450 - and that's not even club level, which of course is a huge premium add on.)

(Note: I'm not saying you personally can't afford it. You might be like me: I can afford it, but I'm frugal and don't see the value for most of these premium experiences.)

I remember a Wall St. Journal article years ago that one of the biggest factors to a person being content (maybe it was happy) is whether he lives and spends most of his day among similar economic-level people. In other words, if a person feels that they are keeping up with the Joneses next door and at work - EVEN IF their town/job site is actually poor compared with the state or U.S. It made no difference! If everyone is wearing thread worn clothes and eating ramen noodles, then you're content. If you are the only person doing so among people driving Mercedes, then its less likely you are happy.

The business cycle will downturn at some point, and then WDW will run lots of discounts.

 

[Mikie]

I get it and can relate. Always during planning, I get a little "Fear of Missing Out" when I discover add-ons and don't choose to buy them. I worry that my kids will get a case of the gimme's or a "why aren't we doing. . . ?" when we're there. But what happens every single time is that we enjoy the heck out of what we ARE doing and wear ourselves out doing all the basic stuff, leaving no time to worry about what we AREN'T doing.

As to the Star Wars issue. . . I was worried that Frozen had "taken over EVERYTHING" and since I have little interest in it, I thought I'd get really sick of it. Well, if you don't stand in line to meet the sisters, don't go to the sing-along show, didn't go shopping in Wandering Oaken's shop. . . you'd have no idea it was there. I haven't been since the Star Wars stuff opened, but I bet it's the same - you see lots of info about Star Wars depending on where you do your research, but you won't see Ewoks in Adventureland, Storm Troopers in Animal Kingdom, Darth Vader in World Showcase. . . if you aren't interested, you really won't even have to go out of your way to avoid it.

 

[tlmadden73]

1) Something becomes less Magical if you go that much. 15 times since 2006? That is more than once a year. I like Disney, but it seems like it definitely would be less magical if I went that often. I mean .. Haunted Mansion is fun .. but doing it 2-3 times a year? It probably becomes a bit boring.

2) The problems you list are all "add-ons" .. things that you don't have to do and don't affect your magical time there. Heck spending money on those things may make the visit even more magical than the last. Since you've already done it all with 15 trips, why not splurge and do something special like a dessert party? (That's why Disney offers these things .. to give something else to do for the people that come all the time. They can't offer those extras for free).

3) You've been to WDW 15 times in the last 10 years .. you can be as spontaneous as you want now. On my recent trips, I don't care if I don't "do it all" since I've already done a lot of it and will be coming back. So I just relax and just enjoy the day. Don't get sucked into the overplanning except for a few key things you really want to do on your trip. Want to be spontaneous? Don't book a lot (or any) ADRs. Plan your Fast Passes for the morning so your afternoon is as spontaneous as you want.

The real problem for me would be the crowds. I would find my trip less magical if I go and it is insanely crowded. They keep raising prices and yet attendance is still huge. Disney becomes less magical if you can't ride anything without waiting 30+ minutes (especially if they all rides you have already done many times).

 

[ha1264]

We do travel often. We fly around to different cities to watch UFC fights, we go to the mountains, and we take trips to the beach (Fort Walton, Gulf Shores) so we know what different experiences are like. But our first true love is Disney and like I said it's changing and by the way this thread looks only me and one or to more seem to be affected. Where do I go to Fast Pass our restroom breaks?

 

[Dis703]

As a family with young kids we don't find the crowds an issue at all and we definitely don't schedule every minute of our trip. As for the add-ons they aren't something we will spend the money on so it doesn't really effect us. Now if they become so popular they end EMH I'd be pretty bummed. Especially since it's something we have been waiting to take advantage of as our kids get older.

My kids are huge Star Wars fans, but even at that I think "taking over" is a little extreme. We did Hollywood Studios in February and 95% of what we did had nothing to do with Star Wars. Aside from a M&G w/Kylo Ren and Chewie and checking out that general area with Star Wars souvenirs, nothing else we did was related to SW at all.

That said if you feel otherwise and it's no longer magical for you I'm sure there are other vacation destinations that your family would enjoy.

 

[ha1264]

Some good points. Maybe it is a little burn out.