I am missing WDW-Another positive thread...

[DisReno]

I wanted to post this because I feel like there is so much negativity on the board, with magic bands, FP+, etc. and I hated it before my trip. So, I want to post my feelings (again) one month from coming home.

We had such a great trip...It was a time really centered on our family, (husband, myself, and our 21 year old son (who cut college to go)). I know (and knew at the time) that it was probably our last trip just the three of us.

It was also bittersweet because for the first time in 10 trips, my 80 year old Mom did not go with us. So, everywhere we went, I remembered her being with us and I was a little sad.

But...it was a great trip. Great food, no problems with magic bands, didn't let the small stuff bother us. Just enjoyed being in the World...

Don't let the negative nellies get you down. Yes, the planning was a hassle and at times too much. I am still sick of reading posts about FP+ and Magic Bands.

I will never read another post that says "The magic is gone". It's not. It just gets a little lost in the planning, but it is still there with your family when you arrive.

It will be a LONG time before we go back...Six years. We are planning on a big two week trip for our 30th anniversary, and are giving it a rest until then.

They have a lot of work to do-Hollywood needs big changes, Downtown and Animal Kingdom have a lot of walls. We are willing to wait it out.

We own at DVC and want to try Hawaii and Hilton Head. We are going to Alaska, and I will get my Disney fix by going to Disneyland. I hope to take my 80 year old Mom to Disneyland, because WDW is now too much for her.

But, in six years, we will go back and I'm sure there will be many, many changes-all of them for the ultimate good, I hope.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

Well said.

 

[cakebaker]

Great post! Thank you.

 

[nitmavis]

Thanks for posting! Planning has been a little overwhelming for me too and there have been some snags and frantic moments at times but hearing you had a great time regardless of the hiccups makes me relax a little bit and enjoy the magic.

 

[MickeyMinnie1971]

I'm missing it too and I was just in MK Sunday, and just drove by and saw the castle on my way home from picking up some prescriptions. I just needed a glimpse before I came home. Even though Disney has become part of my every day life the magic is still alive and well with me!

 

[JimmyV]

I will never read another post that says "The magic is gone". It's not. It just gets a little lost in the planning, but it is still there with your family when you arrive.

While I agree with 95% of what you said, I think you have to be a little careful with the part quoted above. "Magic" differs from individual to individual. You are focused mostly on the planning. But to many, the "magic" lies in the little things that Disney does (or used to do) so much better than everyone else, that are now falling back to the pack. Let me give you an example. I have a relative who just came back from WDW. He used to live there, work there, and also worked on site for a contractor not owned by WDW. He was there for 12 years, in the parks almost daily. He knows WDW as well as any person I have ever met. Yet he is not a member of this board, and has never read a "the magic is gone" thread and he and I have never had that discussion. Well, he just came back from a week-long trip after being away for three years and the first thing he told me when he reported on his trip was that "things were just different now." And he didn't mean that in a positive way. He was focused on the "little things" that seem to be slipping away. To him, some of the "magic" comes from the fact that WDW was a place where a burned out twinkling light on Main Street would be replaced in minutes. Now, not so much. Trash cans were emptied before they were half-full. Not any more. CMs were always happy and smiling. Now, you encounter many who are grouchy and cynical. Stuff like that. His closing remark was the most telling. He said that whereas WDW used to be a truly special place that was world's apart from all others, now, it seems more like an amusement park. A great one, to be sure. But not orders of magnitude beyond everything else.

So while what most of what you say is dead on, for some people, the magic does not come rushing back as soon as they arrive. For some, the decreased magic (as opposed to "lost magic", for I truly believe that it is not "gone") is most apparent after arrival.

 

[DisReno]

JimmyV...I can agree with a lot of what you said, and what your relative has experienced.

But, what I was trying to say, is that despite Disney having 'changed', which it always has and always will, is I found the magic when I arrived in the moments I spent with my family...the times that I knew I would never have again. And remembering the times with my mom that will never come again.

It wasn't about what Disney "does", it's just what it is because it exists...most of the magic comes from being there with our loved ones, and enjoying the time that we have there...not in every little detail that does or does not exist anymore. Because before you know it, whether you are there with someone old or young, that person may not always be with you walking down Main Street.

I get it...I hated Main Street Bakery being turned into Starbucks...I walked out. I hate that the Gourmet Pantry doesn't really exist anymore. I miss some of the things that I will always remember that are no longer there.

But, to say the magic is gone...well, that's like on Polar Express, saying you don't hear the bell ringing anymore. I still hear the bell and hope I always will.

 

[JimmyV]

But, to say the magic is gone...well, that's like on Polar Express, saying you don't hear the bell ringing anymore. I still hear the bell and hope I always will.

I agree 100% that the magic is not gone. But on a Board such as this, it is right and natural for people to vent that the magic is sliding in the wrong direction. It just impacts different people differently. Some, not at all. Some, to the point of not returning. Most, somewhere in between.

 

[Dawn68PA]

Love this post. The magic is there. The castle is still my magical point. I rode on Cinderella's horse with my real life Prince Charming next to me. It doesn't get better and no where else could that happen.

I refuse to open most negative threads. I like living in the magic I've known, loved, changes and will change. Disney is the most magical place on Earth!

 

[cakebaker]

Love this post. The magic is there. The castle is still my magical point. I rode on Cinderella's horse with my real life Prince Charming next to me. It doesn't get better and no where else could that happen.

I refuse to open most negative threads. I like living in the magic I've known, loved, changes and will change. Disney is the most magical place on Earth!

Good for you! I'm feel sorry for those who can't find the magic anymore- it's really sad. But it's there for us, always has been and I expect it always will be.

 

[lustergirl]

Great post

 

[SoarinSC]

Great post just got back and seriously missing it

 

[ethanwa]

I will never read another post that says "The magic is gone". It's not.

I AGREE! I hate those posts.

They have a lot of work to do-Hollywood needs big changes, Downtown and Animal Kingdom have a lot of walls. We are willing to wait it out.

The great thing is, it will all be done next time you come! Avatar, hub expansion, Hollywood Studios redo, Disney Springs (DTD), Frozen ride, etc. Thats one of the hard parts about being a local... I just want it all FINISHED!

We own at DVC and want to try Hawaii and Hilton Head.

You are going to LOVE Aulani. Such a different vacation, so much more relaxing, with just that good touch of Disney, but not too much. I can't wait to go back someday (but I live in Florida, so Hawaii is not a major destination for me for many reasons).

E

 

[Jennasis]

We miss it so much that we have our next 3 trips already planned LOL! I hate FP+ and MDE and most of the changes that have taken place recently, and we found PLENTY of magic throughout the resort. Great food, fantastic CM's, beautiful resorts, rides and attractions, and so much more.

 

[disnut8]

But, what I was trying to say, is that despite Disney having 'changed', which it always has and always will, is I found the magic when I arrived in the moments I spent with my family...the times that I knew I would never have again. And remembering the times with my mom that will never come again.

Right on. I think some people think that a ride on *fill in the blank* attraction will "make" their vacation perfect. That's not what should make a vacation. A vacation should be doing what you can do in a place where you want to be with the people you want to be with.

 

[LadyRayado]

Great post I agree, and miss it too. We were just there in October and I'm sitting here at work trying to figure out how to make a quick trip for MVMCP work...