Is anyone getting as turned off as I am?

[KodiakKort]

Sorry..that was my mistake on the parking. It seems it is for valet. I just assumed (you know what that means) that when they get the lot built that they were gonna start charging for that, too.
Glad to know I'm not alone in my disappointment.

 

[castle1]

I don't think anyone is saying they hate planning a vacation. For most of us scoping out airline tickets, renting cars, finding lodging, researching things to do, scheduling time off from work, making reservations at rstaurants - you know, all the normal parts of planning a trip is fun to most.

Booking a theme park ride 2 months in advance? No thanks.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't think anyone is saying they hate planning a vacation. For most of us scoping out airline tickets, renting cars, finding lodging, researching things to do, scheduling time off from work, making reservations at rstaurants - you know, all the normal parts of planning a trip is fun to most.

Booking a theme park ride 2 months in advance? No thanks.

Yep. That. It's a matter of degree.

 

[ineedavacation33]

I don't understand people who say they hate "planning" their vacations. I mean I understand if you're local and you can pop over to WDW whenever you want...that should be an easy laidback experience. But the idea of flying (or driving a long, long distance) and wanting to just "wing it" boggles my mind. But I've been accused of overplanning, so maybe I'm the odd one That said, I don't think picking out 3 rides each day is that big of a deal. And unless you're aiming for the most rare FP+ (A&E, 7DMT, TSMM) you shouldn't have any problem picking out FP+ even the night before or the morning of your park visit.

Agreed! I've been on Disney vacations without any planning and the last few I have taken have been planned out for each day and it is so much easier! We plan out what park or parks we are going to each day so we can coordinate ADRs and book at the 180 day window. It's kind of geeky, but I actually use a whole excel spreadsheet and plan months in advance. That way, when we arrive, we can relax knowing what parks and where to eat and enjoy the day, not having to worry about making plans on the fly and eating chicken fingers and fries for every meal. Therefore, selecting FP+ rides isn't that big of a deal. We know what park on what day, so it will be easy to select the FP+ things that we want.

To be honest, on some of our past trips we have used the old FP system very little, so this new system feels like a bonus. We usually go in the off season and the wait times are low to begin with. Except for Toy Story MM. That's always packed.

The only hesitation I have is Avatar Land. That seems unnecessary and I believe it will take something away from the Disney magic, but there is a range of opinions on it.

 

[rotlex]

We don't live in Florida, however, we just returned from our 10th trip with the kids, and 15th overall, a week or so ago.

Honestly? It was the best trip ever. So much so, that my thoughts before going of maybe taking a few years brake are now gone. (Already booked our bounce back for next year).

We loved the magic bands, and especially FP+. The convenience of not having to run into a park every morning at rope drop just to grab the FP we wanted was a God send! The magic bands, along with the app, on iPhone, worked flawlessly. Those few things made the trip even more magical for us.

As far as other changes? Like most of it so far. I LIKE change. Especially when it is to a place I have visited often. I would not go back every year if there were not new things to try, new shows to see, and yes, some "old" stuff that does eventually go away. I think it is all positive, and I am not a Disney fan boy. I just think it is still the best vacation value out there for all you get to do!

 

[Redarrow5150]

They've already announced it's going to be extended.

"One thing I would like to say is PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE extend the Frozen Summer Fun stuff at Hollywood Studios - at the moment it ends 2 days before I get there - sigh :-"

 

[robinb]

Turn offs for me is the price of WDW (increasing so much over the years) and the food. Friends of ours did Mexico, all inclusive, 7 nights, 8 days for 2800. Two adults and two kids 10+. The kids raved about it. The adults loved it. I can't even get hotel and tickets for that price for the four of us at WDW. That's not even counting food.

We went on a week long cruise over SPRING BREAK for $1500 for 3 of us. That included our cabin, our meals onboard, entertainment & the teen club for my DD. It did not include tips or excursions which probably ran us another $500. At $276 per night at POR over Easter week I would have paid more for the 'resort' room alone.

 

[Peachkins]

Agreed! I've been on Disney vacations without any planning and the last few I have taken have been planned out for each day and it is so much easier! We plan out what park or parks we are going to each day so we can coordinate ADRs and book at the 180 day window. It's kind of geeky, but I actually use a whole excel spreadsheet and plan months in advance. That way, when we arrive, we can relax knowing what parks and where to eat and enjoy the day, not having to worry about making plans on the fly and eating chicken fingers and fries for every meal. Therefore, selecting FP+ rides isn't that big of a deal. We know what park on what day, so it will be easy to select the FP+ things that we want.

I've been doing the same thing for our trip. We're not doing park hoppers, so we have one park planned each day, and we've made our ADRs with that in mind. I also like knowing I've got at least three guaranteed rides on popular attractions in each park on each day.

That said, I will say it was harder than I thought to schedule them. MK and Epcot weren't difficult as I had a general idea of how we would be touring those parks, but I found HS and AK a bit of a pain. I just had no idea when to schedule the rides, and all I kept thinking was "I don't know where the heck I'm going to be in the park at this time". We'll just have to form our plan for the day using the reservations I made, or adjust the reservations themselves if it appears the times I have won't work.

 

[NancyIL]

I am making a last-minute trip to Epcot Sept. 24 and 25 - just to hear Off Kilter and the 3 other groups (Mo'Rockin, Fife & Drum, and World Showcase Players) who are being "retired" at the end of the month. I will not be getting another annual pass, and I will use the tickets I have already purchased as is. I had already reached the WDW saturation point after multiple trips per year, but the cancelling of Off Kilter put the nail in the coffin. I'll return for my December trip as planned, but I think subsequent WDW visits will be few and far between.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We went on a week long cruise over SPRING BREAK for $1500 for 3 of us. That included our cabin, our meals onboard, entertainment & the teen club for my DD. It did not include tips or excursions which probably ran us another $500. At $276 per night at POR over Easter week I would have paid more for the 'resort' room alone.

Their trip also included kids club for their DS. And they raved about the food. How amazing it was. Including room service. Let's not forget the alcohol.

I don't mind paying for good food at WDW but most of it just isn't good.

 

[lugnut33]

I can go and still have a lot of fun, but there are things that gnaw at me.

I really dislike their continued hard ticket event planning and the ultimate is that Villains Soiree they came up with. Talk about a money grab. All these hard ticket events do is encourage Disney to continue taking away from regular paying park guests and giving it to those willing to pay.

I can work with FP+, but don't like it. On our trip a few weeks ago we spent tons of time at DHS, but not once did we ride TSMM because it was just impossible to get a FP+ for it and I'm not getting in the standby line.

I also dislike all the safety spiels and smaller rules they now have. For example, you cannot board a tram that has stopped to let people out because they don't want to play the safety spiel again. Or if you get to the parks at 6 pm they force you to park at the very end of the parking lot even though there are tons of empty spots up front.

I also don't like the removal of live entertainment in the parks. If you go to DL you'll find tons more live entertainment.

I also feel like Disney is always trying to cut corners so they can save some money and increase shareholder value. For example, the monorail hours of operations.

Lastly, I'm shocked at how much it costs to eat at WDW. We ate some on-site and some off-site and the off-site meals were about half what a meal on WDW costs.

 

[MrsDuck]

I'm frustrated with some choices but there isn't a way I could give it up!

 

[DisneyKidds]

As for all the recent changes related to MyMagic+ (use of FP+, MagicBands), I believe you have to take the good with the bad. We have been visiting regularly for almost 25 years now, and have been through every iteration of every plan there has been during that time. Does MM+ have it's issues right now? Sure. Is MM+ the best direction for WDW? Jury is out. What I can say is that, for my family at least, MM+ brings with it some nice options/benefits, and the bad that we have to take with them isn't all that bad. All in all we enjoyed our trip this part July as much as we've enjoyed any other trip to WDW during the past 10 years. Was it different in ways? Sure. Worse? Not at all.

I think the 'different' aspects of MM+ is what is turning some off to WDW, and that is human nature. People don't like change, especially to something they may have been doing for many years. Is reserving a few rides in advance really the catastrophic straw that will break so many backs? It's not like you need to work that hard to do it, as the rides you are going to FP+ are generally no-brainer's for probably 90% of guests. It's natural for there to be some pushback, and it's very possible it will be short lived.....a year plus from now the system and guests may be humming along. Perhaps not, time will tell.

Entertainment changes in Epcot? On the one hand you could say it's hard to fault Disney for freshening things up by replacing pretty old (tenure-wise) acts. Risky, given that people don't like change sometimes, but reasonable. Unfortunately, an underlying motive was probably to get ride of some higher paid acts with equity contracts, but I'll withhold judgement until I see how the new acts work out.

Starbucks in the MK? I do lament the loss of the Main Street Bakery. Losses like that do hurt the MK, IMHO.......but I sure did enjoy all the caramel macchiatos we got in July. Back to that good with the bad thing.

Change is a constant, and WDW is no different. Notice I said our trip in July was as good as any the past 10 years......because 20 years ago it was very much different, and I could argue so much better. I could go on and on about how things were so much better when the ghost of Walt, his ideals, his focus on Show and the guest experience permeated all aspects of a vacation to the Florida Project. So much of Walt was stripped away long before MM+ that they should probably just call the place 'Disney World' now. But the past is the past, and we have to keep an open mind on what the present and future will give us.........and I think what we currently have, Disney World sans the Walt Traditions, while different in ways, isn't as bad as many make it out to be. As much as I can point out things that have been chipped away, straws that keep being put on back......I still find myself planning that next visit.

 

[LBIJim]

Also I find it odd that people seem to act like the 3 rides you choose are the only ones you get to do...You can still ride whatever else you want even if you don't have a fast pass for it.

Not according to hundreds of posts I've read over the years. So many "we were never able to ride Soarin'/Toy Story Mania/whatever until FP+ came along". I wonder what they DID do in the parks before then; spend 7 hours watching with envy as people poured into the old FP line?

I'm also kind of amazed by posters who are deliriously happy and grateful that they got to experience three, count 'em, THREE rides in a whole day.

I really dislike their continued hard ticket event planning and the ultimate is that Villains Soiree they came up with. Talk about a money grab. All these hard ticket events do is encourage Disney to continue taking away from regular paying park guests and giving it to those willing to pay.
.

Again, many guests are deliriously happy and grateful to pay whatever exhorbitant prices Disney is willing to extract from them for these events. So Disney will continue to look for other money grabs. I envision the day, in the not too distant future, that the $100 MK ticket will include Hall of Presidents, Tiki Birds, and half a dozen other rides, with most other things being an upcharge experience.

 

[Jennasis]

I'm not out to change anyone's mind about it. To me, it's just one more level of planning.

And for some, it is one level too many.

 

[dwheaton]

I have mixed feelings about a lot of parts of where Disney World is heading. I'm not a fan of Fastpass Plus, though I do think there may be ways it will help when traveling at slow times with our younger kids. If I was going solo or just with my wife, it would drive me nuts compared to the paper FP. I do hope they keep it the older way at Disneyland since I want to try and go there in the next few years.

What irritates me is the continued focus on upsells and special events in place of new attractions. I've been following the Disney Parks Blog for a while, and they're almost exclusively focusing on merchandise, dessert parties, and other commercial ventures. While I understand that it's the PR arm of Disney and is going to push things that drive revenues, it shows just how little they're doing beyond that part.

A telling sign is reading Celebrations Magazine, which is very pro-Disney. In their news section, they're having to do two-page spreads about a new dessert party because there isn't anything to spotlight in terms of attractions. It's sad.

With that said, I'm still excited for our trip next January. I'm sure we'll have a great time despite the unfortunate changes, and there's still a lot to like in the parks. I really hope that Disney will make a course correction in the future. If they don't, I can see us going to Universal and other parks more once my kids are a little older. We won't keep spending loads of money every year if Disney doesn't add anything and keeps raising their prices. I'm trying to stay optimistic, but I don't see Iger and the current management changing their ways. The stockholders love him!

 

[jeanico2000]

And for some, it is one level too many.

Agreed!

 

[Seeker615]

I went with my adult daughter in August 2011 and we had so much fun. We went at rope drop took our time by eating breakfast at the Main Street bakery and then wandered around the park all day. We rode many of the rides at least twice and as we approached a fastpass box we got our passes. (We only actually got 2. One was Splash Mountain and the other was for Winnie the Pooh.) The park was not overly crowded and we had a wonderful day. We did not do any character meet and greets at all.

Fast Forward to last November. My husband and I did the Christmas Party. We arrived around 430pm and it was a mess. Wall to wall people everywhere. lines were beyond huge for everything. We finally ducked into a restaurant and ate dinner and waited out some of the crowds. Around 6pm things were better and we rode a couple of the rides. Lines were still pretty long for HM and Peter Pan.
People were in a total mass confusion about the Magic Bands and how the new system worked so that was a cause of a lot of the mess.

What disappointments me is that the new system creates clusters where there never was any. Why do we have to schedule HM or POTC? There never was a huge line for them in any of the times I went. The old system was fine and seemed to work well.

Like others have said planning out rides so far in advance is craziness. Plus having to obseesively go on to MM over and over again to try and hope you will get what you want is just insane. I am all for planning but i don't have the time or patience to keep looking at the app over and over to try and schedule a ride! Plus trying to schedule the rides along with you adr's and hope you can get them in the same parks on the same day. It was hard enough for me to try and figure out what i want to eat 180 days in advance and now I have to know what I want to ride and when? And hen if you have kids who want to linger somewhere you have to grab them and rush onto the next fastpass. You really lose a lot of spontaneity with this system.

 

[EpicBilynn]

Disney is going to keep changing and evolving and growing in the way they do things. I could complain or I could just roll with the punches. Instead of trying to force FP+ to be exactly what I want it to be and getting mad when it's not, I just take whatever help it wants to give me. Of course, having grown up down the road from Six Flags who charges for their system, I'm pretty used to standing in lines and have no problem with it.

I do wish they would calm down with the Magic Bands. I really don't need as many as I have. It's just ridiculous at this point.

As for Starbucks. I love it being there. The one day of our trip in February that it was actually cold was our MK day and the first stop I made was Starbucks. I don't drink coffee, but I like to say I'm a hot chocolate afficianado. My ex was a barista for a while and he would make me the craziest hot chocolate combos. I keep the recipe of my fave in my phone and they made it for me at MK and it was perfect. I told my ex it may have been better than his because I could taste the Disney magic

Changes will come and go, but there's still no where on earth I'd rather be on vacation than Disney.

 

[ineedavacation33]

I've been doing the same thing for our trip. We're not doing park hoppers, so we have one park planned each day, and we've made our ADRs with that in mind. I also like knowing I've got at least three guaranteed rides on popular attractions in each park on each day. That said, I will say it was harder than I thought to schedule them. MK and Epcot weren't difficult as I had a general idea of how we would be touring those parks, but I found HS and AK a bit of a pain. I just had no idea when to schedule the rides, and all I kept thinking was "I don't know where the heck I'm going to be in the park at this time". We'll just have to form our plan for the day using the reservations I made, or adjust the reservations themselves if it appears the times I have won't work.

Good to know, I agree that this will be the most difficult part of the planning. How to strategize what ride at what time will be a new challenge!