I'm done with Disney vs. I'll take a break

[*disgal*]

I'm new around these parts so I don't really know anyone or their histories. That said, my observation of the people saying they'll never return, the magic is gone etc etc is coming from people that have been going to WDW every year, sometimes multiple times a year. I know if I did ANYTHING that often, my shiny view would dull a little.

WDW is my most favorite place on earth...but there IS more out there. We go every couple years, and on off years spend our vacation budget somewhere else. I want my children to see a lot and experience other places. If we went to the same place every year, it no longer is special after a time.

Being new, I take the negative posts with a grain of salt. There will always be dissenters, and they are usually the loudest. I'll go to Disney and have a magical time regardless. Then next year maybe the Grand Canyon. Then we'll miss WDW and do it all over again!

you make so much logical sense......are you sure you're a Dis'er? lol Just kidding. And I agree with you. Maybe one small caveat.....we have gone almost every year for a while and with multiple trips. I can only speak for my family, but up to and including our last trip, Disney was/is still pretty sparkly in our eyes. We will really see with this next trip, I guess.

But the way I view some of the changes at WDW is that they are taking away some things that made our vacation as good as it was. I know, I know, some think the changes are GIVING them something. Can't help how we feel. We all tour WDW differently. That's just how it is.

If someone's been given something for many, many trips and then that changes and they can't get that anymore, isn't it natural for that someone to think negatively about that change? That's where my family is. Now, if we go and it wasn't a big deal? great. And if we don't like it and decide to give WDW a break for a while.....ha! There will be thousands probably to take our place. I'm sure.

 

[redrosesix]

Well I have been around this discussion board for awhile now. Never have I seen such a large amount of negative posts. There seem to be plenty even if you leave out MB's and FP+. I have to believe that something is going on with Disney. What, I'm not quite sure, but I don't believe that this community of Disney lovers has changed that much.

I think you're right -- it's the same members but Disney is definitely changing and has been for a while. It's not just FP+.

We're just cutting back -- instead of doing 17 days at wdw this year we went offsite, off-Disney for a week and we had a great trip despite what we experienced in the wdw parks. I am soooo happy I saw the negative posts before it was too late to change our plans because otherwise we wouldn't have gone to US or SW -- we had all of our eggs in the wdw basket. Next year, we're only planning to stay onsite 3 nights, but onsite at US for 4. And a week elsewhere to make up the rest of our quota of sunshine and no-snow time. We are definitely not buying into DVC until things get much much better.

I honestly don't think FP+ would be that big of an issue if they had done more in the parks, which they had planned to before MM+ went over budget. It doesn't help that so many attractions and restaurants were closed while we were there. I don't really want to plan every second of every day ie. make FP choices before I know the weather forecast, or plan what's for dinner ie. make ADR's 180 days out. But wdw has changed, and that's what you need to do now unless you want to just walk around the parks.

 

[johde]

Of your 2 choices, "taking a break" fits best, but the better answer would be slowing down and it's been going on since well before FP+. I went from taking frequent short trips to Disney to taking annual short trips to taking longer trips to Disney and Universal (and frequently Seaworld and Busch Gardens) every other years. Now, I'm still looking at going every other year but this next trip I'm only doing 1 day at WDW and the rest at Universal/Sea World/Busch gardens, On the next trip it will be mostly Disney and 1 day at Universal.

 

[Vivianne]

I'm with the "wait & see camp". If only because I have 2 days left on no exp tickets. The question is when

I've been visiting Disney since 1986 I have to say my expectations have dropped throughout the years. We've slowly reduced it to 2,parks, split stays on & offsite. It's not to say that others especially first timers won't have a great time. I am not fazed by the negative posts actually I find them informative. I recommend for any first time visitor to read the guidebooks, other websites & post here with any questions. Don't hesitate. Just relying on one method isn't good in planning any trip.

I truly hope everyone can enjoy their trips if only the fact that they're with family & friends. Then they should decide if they want a repeat or spend their vacation $ doing something else. Time really flies. My opinion is to try to enjoy other places if you can. This country has a lot to offer. Make some memories, that's the magic for me

 

[iheartpeterpan]

I think that the people who come to this board for the most part are Disney fanatics who have learned how to make the most of the FP- system. Myself included. Like several PP I am only able to go at really peak times because I teach school. I have become a master at maximizing the use of fastpasses to avoid standing in any line for more than 20 minutes no matter how busy the parks are.

However, I am not Disney's typical guest. Most people don't go to Disney armed with all this knowledge and hyper planning, most don't return year after year after year, timing trips to get multiple visits out of annual pass. In fact every single time I go to Disney I hear someone complain about how unfair it is that people can "buy" fastpasses, there are people who didn't realize they were available to anyone. I think with all these changes, Disney is trying to do what is best for the most people in the parks at any given time.

Does that suck for me? Yes. Disney has severely restricted what I will be able to accomplish on my upcoming spring break trip. However, I got my magic bands pronto, I was able to link my annual passes to them, and was able to reserve and easily adjust all of my preselected rides without any glitches or problems. I just pushed all of those later in the day and will still hit rope drop like I always do. I will probably shop and/or eat a little more, which is probably one of Disney's goals. I guess time will tell how it actually works when I get there.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I understand what Disney is trying to do, even though I also understand that their changes, while better for the majority of Disney travelers, are not better for me. I also understand that any time you undertake a complete system change of this magnitude that things will not go 100% smoothly.

I will decide after this trip once I see things in action how it will impact my future travel. But I won't get mad about it. Disney is a business.

 

[EMode]

Right now I'm in the taking a break camp. I am really waiting to see how Spring Break/Easter and summer go during this FP+ test. If FP+ remains as it is now after the "test" we probably won't be back as a family.
We'll be trying Universal for the first time this year (because of FP+). Who knows what we'll want after that, more Universal or back to WDW.

 

[wiigirl]

Of your 2 choices, "taking a break" fits best, but the better answer would be slowing down and it's been going on since well before FP+. I went from taking frequent short trips to Disney to taking annual short trips to taking longer trips to Disney and Universal (and frequently Seaworld and Busch Gardens) every other years. Now, I'm still looking at going every other year but this next trip I'm only doing 1 day at WDW and the rest at Universal/Sea World/Busch gardens, On the next trip it will be mostly Disney and 1 day at Universal.

 

[dawnhaze]

I'm taking a break, but it's not to do with MB/FP+/etc... It's just because I took four trips in fourteen months and I'm out of money and mildly burned out. I liked the MagicBands and I'm neutral on FP+ until we see how it shakes down in the end, although it worked fine for me when I used it.

I plan to go back in September '16. This year I'm dead broke, and next year I'm spending my vacation money on a Vegas trip to a Star Trek convention with internet friends. If we end up not doing that, I'll push my return trip to September of next year instead.

 

[richmo]

I'm not about to let negativity on Disboards keep me from going. I would have to experience a bad trip or two myself and so far, that hasn't happened...not even close. Yes, I've been there during the FP+ testing and yes, I do have some issues with it, but nothing even close to deterring me from returning, which I'll be doing next week.

It's too bad the "theme parks attractions" forum has changed from a place to obtain useful information to whining and moaning. As I've said in other places, criticism has its place, but when it isn't constructive or offering a legitimate solution, it isn't of much use. I'm starting to liken this forum to what we see in any news story posted...just look at the comments.

 

[gwmort]

We're planning our next trip to go try Disneyland California, and will return to WDW the following year. I figure the extra time will allow some of the issues to be resolved.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I see no need to take a break. FP+ is pretty good, but you can still have an amazing vacation at WDW without (gasp) using FP. The "temper tantrum" type posts that we've been seeing are people who refuse to accept change, people who refuse to wait in line like everyone else, and people who were probably going to stop coming to Disney soon anyway. 30 years at three trips a year is too many anyway, IMHO.

 

[redrosesix]

I'm not about to let negativity on Disboards keep me from going. I would have to experience a bad trip or two myself and so far, that hasn't happened...not even close. Yes, I've been there during the FP+ testing and yes, I do have some issues with it, but nothing even close to deterring me from returning, which I'll be doing next week.

It's too bad the "theme parks attractions" forum has changed from a place to obtain useful information to whining and moaning. As I've said in other places, criticism has its place, but when it isn't constructive or offering a legitimate solution, it isn't of much use. I'm starting to liken this forum to what we see in any news story posted...just look at the comments.

Yes! I was actually looking at a story about changing the pathways in the MK hub this morning. While some liked it, others posted they didn't want the change because they hate construction, it will take too long, it removes the green space they like, it probably won't help anyway. No matter what Disney does there is no way to make everyone happy.

 

[tarak]

We'll be back. I'll go more often than my husband, who can only take it every two years or so. I'm going in August with my mom and three older kids. Next trip with everyone won't be until 2016 or so. After that, we'll probably take a trip out to DLR. I haven't been there in ages, but grew up in So Cal (worked at DL when I was in college). I still think of CA as the new park.

I wish we had a FP+ subforum for all those threads.

 

[DizzDoll]

When we got back from our annual vacation at WDW last August, we were definitely in the "Not Coming Back" camp. Then a couple of weeks later, after having our pictures developed and reminiscing, we were plunked squarely in the "What Were We Thinking" camp. We're not going this year, which is painful for us as we always enjoy our vacations there, but it's because of job/school reasons. I think by the time next August rolls around we're going to be champing at the bit to get there. Yes, I think WDW has some major issues that need to be addressed. Yes, I also think we suffered a little burn out, as we normally go for at least 10 days. For my family, as others have also commented on, it's all about US time - to enjoy each other, to bust each others' chops about the remarkably stupid things we have done (and ooooohhh, are they legendary), play PhotoNinjas (I have enough scrapbooks to choke an elephant) and get a little silly.

We were FP+ testers in August, and although it worked well for us, it would have been better, in our opinion, if FP+ were spread to other parks as well instead of just one park per day. We park hop every trip, and frequently split-stay, and to have to block off a few extra hours in a park to get all the fastpasses used was, for us, a little bit of wasted time, as we found ourselves wandering, basically aimlessly, waiting for the time slot for the next FP to open up. Not that there's anything WRONG with a little aimless wandering...

We're looking forward to going back next year. I think what helped for us was looking at our scrapbooks and saying "remember when" and having it turn into "can't wait til next year". I have a trip to China/Nepal/Tibet/Bhutan coming up next April that I'm super-excited about, but believe me when I tell you that I will also be suffering from a near-terminal case of Disney-On-The-Brain-itis as I'll also be in the midst of planning our August trip!

Cheers! (Oh, Lord...Rose and Crown...sticky toffee pudding...HELP!!!!)

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We have natural breaks built in as we have neither the time nor the money required to make Disney a "regular" destination. When the $ is right and that inclination to return is there, we'll go - FP+ be damned.

 

[Planogirl]

Some of these comments are truly something else. Yes, some people get carried away on both sides of the topic but to assume that those who don't like what is happening are older and don't like change is a bit far fetched. I can personally attest to the fact that some are young and actually enjoy change but just don't like this particular example so far. These same people sometimes complain about there being little new at the parks so saying that they don't like change doesn't add up.

 

[mom2rtk]

Some of these comments are truly something else. Yes, some people get carried away on both sides of the topic but to assume that those who don't like what is happening are older and don't like change is a bit far fetched. I can personally attest to the fact that some are young and actually enjoy change but just don't like this particular example so far. These same people sometimes complain about there being little new at the parks so saying that they don't like change doesn't add up.

Maybe they are old enough to understand that just because it's change doesn't mean it's good change.

And If I didn't like change, how could I have been so absolutely in love with DCA? That park had definitely changed since our last visit in 2010.

 

[MichelleVW]

thats a change of pace but they must not get a lot of traffic as I haven't seen many of those. Just today they said the top four threads were about having problems with FP+.

I wanted to hate FP+ when we were there in December but I didn't. We actually really liked it despite the fact that it really changed the way we toured.

I see no need to take a break. FP+ is pretty good, but you can still have an amazing vacation at WDW without (gasp) using FP. The "temper tantrum" type posts that we've been seeing are people who refuse to accept change, people who refuse to wait in line like everyone else, and people who were probably going to stop coming to Disney soon anyway. 30 years at three trips a year is too many anyway, IMHO.

I was reading posts about how awful and crowded it was last week...they were all doom and gloom. I had a friend there last week and asked her how the crowds were. She said, "they weren't too bad, Hollywood Studios was a little crowded the day we were there but we never waited longer than 25 minutes for anything and rode EE three times in 20 minutes."

 

[rteetz]

I wanted to hate FP+ when we were there in December but I didn't. We actually really liked it despite the fact that it really changed the way we toured. I was reading posts about how awful and crowded it was last week...they were all doom and gloom. I had a friend there last week and asked her how the crowds were. She said, "they weren't too bad, Hollywood Studios was a little crowded the day we were there but we never waited longer than 25 minutes for anything and rode EE three times in 20 minutes."

this is what I like to see people going in and actually liking it. As I have said I have not used it yet but have an open mind as I think it may actually benefit us. It's an on going discussion and will be for a long time.

 

[EMode]

I see no need to take a break. FP+ is pretty good, but you can still have an amazing vacation at WDW without (gasp) using FP. The "temper tantrum" type posts that we've been seeing are people who refuse to accept change, people who refuse to wait in line like everyone else, and people who were probably going to stop coming to Disney soon anyway. 30 years at three trips a year is too many anyway, IMHO.

So we should accept change for the sake of change? No don't think so.
I embrace change, in fact I hope WDW makes lots of changes in their parks in the future, they could use some new and improved there. FP+ is not a change I embrace because of how it will effect my family's vacation. I'm not having a temper tantrum but I'm not about to shell out $7K to just accept the change that I will be spending more times in SB than I have ever before (at an even higher price). If that is the type of change you enjoy, have a great time