Is anyone getting as turned off as I am?

Status
Not open for further replies.
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.

Very well said.

I still find myself planning the next trip too. Perhaps if my grandson had not been born, I might have lost the enthusiasm. Even with that, I still wish things weren't so different, that their standards were what they used to be. But there's nothing better than watching his face when he sees things for the first time, and that alone will keep me coming back. At least for now.
 
The plus is the starbucks coffee. The Nescafe they served for years with the fake half and half was terrible. The rest of the changes are to make more money in my opinion the changes do not add to guest experience.
 
It's funny, this thread. I was ready to start one four years ago. (And yet I'm going back to WDW this fall).

I'm still ready to start a thread, but it wouldn't have anything to do with the nickles and dimes stuff -- fastpasses, and what I can and can't do, and what's been charged, etc. My Disney doubts always strike at me in the more philosophical/ethical/political/personal sphere. What am I doing, indulging a taste for increasingly more poorly produced juvenilia and "no-brow" pablum? What does it mean that I subject myself to continued corporate maintenance of an original nostalgia trip that was socially questionable when it debuted a half decade ago? Who is that forty year old man child in the mirror and why cant he separate from something so clearly tied into the all-too-American race-to-the-lowest-common-denominator? It's a hullaballo inside my head. Freakin' fastpass reservations and food complaints? Chicken feed ... and not enough to severe the tether to that inexplicable Disneyland something that the corporate bean counters have yet to eradicate.
 
One thing I haven't read from the responses is any poor reaction to the removal of the drum corp in Epcot. To me and my family there is no prouder American moment in Epcot than to be standing in front of the American Adventure and hear the flutes and drums coming from around the corner. Then to say the Pledge of Allegiance. (Even though many in the crowd can't be bothered to get off their cell phones)
I really hope it gets replaced with something worthwhile......but then again.....this is now a society where being a proud American is not really p.c.
 

One thing I haven't read from the responses is any poor reaction to the removal of the drum corp in Epcot. To me and my family there is no prouder American moment in Epcot than to be standing in front of the American Adventure and hear the flutes and drums coming from around the corner. Then to say the Pledge of Allegiance. (Even though many in the crowd can't be bothered to get off their cell phones)
I really hope it gets replaced with something worthwhile......but then again.....this is now a society where being a proud American is not really p.c.

Oh I am. It's part of our American musical heritage. It shouldn't leave. It's also a part of Old school Disney. I remember when they performed at Liberty Square.
 
After our last trip in 2013, we thought we would go back in 2015. Nope, we decided to take a cruise instead (and for a lot less money than going to WDW). Then I thought maybe we would go in 2016. Nope again. We are going to Hawaii for our oldest daughter's college graduation. So yes, I believe I am turned off. I don't want to have every minute of my day scheduled.

This is a big reason why I am done. It used to be when we would go, we would plan loosely. I would make a couple ADR's for our favorite places and we would decide which park on which days when we got there. We never had to plan our rides in advance and never really had to wait long to ride anything really. IASM? POTC? Jungle Cruise? Maybe a couple minutes wait. Anything else we'd grab a FP. Now? You have to schedule everything pretty much down to the minute and that's not my idea of vacation. Sorry, but I am not sitting at my computer around midnight just to get a FP for rides or dinner.
 
My Disney doubts always strike at me in the more philosophical/ethical/political/personal sphere. What am I doing, indulging a taste for increasingly more poorly produced juvenilia and "no-brow" pablum? What does it mean that I subject myself to continued corporate maintenance of an original nostalgia trip that was socially questionable when it debuted a half decade ago? Who is that forty year old man child in the mirror and why cant he separate from something so clearly tied into the all-too-American race-to-the-lowest-common-denominator?

For real? I can't imagine going to WDW if I genuinely had these thoughts. That's just me, I guess...
 
/
The only real thing that matters is are they getting our money as much as before, the answer to the is NO. And I do not see why they don't realize that.

A lot of people rather than goto disney 2 times are going to disney once and then Universal once. These are families that wouldn't ever not goto disney. They are taking a break from disney rather than go again. This trend is accelerating and universal knows it.
 
All I can do is hope that market segment grows smaller over time and is replaced with more and more customers who demand value for their dollar.

Well said.

I'm a bit sad to say that we have added to that demand but it was with a thought that the value would be there. Been disappointed pretty much every time with mediocrity and not doing it any more. Even at the time we did do the recent special events I wasn't particularly fond of the fact that they were eating away space from others. It used to be that the paid events were held some place special - ie, at DL you viewed Fantasmic from the balcony outside the Disney Gallery and things like that.

One thing I haven't read from the responses is any poor reaction to the removal of the drum corp in Epcot. To me and my family there is no prouder American moment in Epcot than to be standing in front of the American Adventure and hear the flutes and drums coming from around the corner. Then to say the Pledge of Allegiance. (Even though many in the crowd can't be bothered to get off their cell phones)
I really hope it gets replaced with something worthwhile......but then again.....this is now a society where being a proud American is not really p.c.

We're very sad about that. :sad2:

Sadly the things I'd like to see change don't and the changes they make have been leading me to question how often we will continue to visit. And with Disney parks having been a part of my entire life that's very sad too.

We've done Universal periodically for years but it's becoming more frequent. No MB's! Yay!!!! :yay::yay::yay:
 
My Disney doubts always strike at me in the more philosophical/ethical/political/personal sphere. What am I doing, indulging a taste for increasingly more poorly produced juvenilia and "no-brow" pablum? What does it mean that I subject myself to continued corporate maintenance of an original nostalgia trip that was socially questionable when it debuted a half decade ago? Who is that forty year old man child in the mirror and why cant he separate from something so clearly tied into the all-too-American race-to-the-lowest-common-denominator? It's a hullaballo inside my head. Freakin' fastpass reservations and food complaints? Chicken feed ... and not enough to severe the tether to that inexplicable Disneyland something that the corporate bean counters have yet to eradicate.

I like this comment. Not sure I agree 100% but it's interesting.

You might like this book, Inside the Mouse. It's a critical academic take on the whole Disney phenomenon.
 
The only real thing that matters is are they getting our money as much as before, the answer to the is NO. And I do not see why they don't realize that.

A lot of people rather than goto disney 2 times are going to disney once and then Universal once. These are families that wouldn't ever not goto disney. They are taking a break from disney rather than go again. This trend is accelerating and universal knows it.

I just got a survey after our last trip in August. It was a split trip between Universal onsite and then Disney from offsite. I think it was sent to us because our bands got scanned by one of those survey-takers at the park entrance. Anyway.

The survey asked where we were from (far away), asked how many days we were in Orlando total, which parks we visited in Orlando including the Uni parks and Seaworld etc. It also asked where we stayed while we were in Orlando. Piece that together with the fact that they knew we spent three days in the Disney Parks but didn't stay onsite. And our past visiting history.

Anyway, are they worried? I don't know. But that survey sure seemed to be curious about where we went ;)
 
Anyway, are they worried? I don't know. But that survey sure seemed to be curious about where we went ;)

I had similar questions on a survey a decade ago. As any successful company would, they're interested in their customers' interests in their competitors. Not new.
 
We just got back from what was our 6th or 7th, ive lost count..trip since 2009. I truly miss the days when Airtran offered low flights (89 per one way) and we could get POP under 100 a night with tickets. For me, a lot of it is entirely about cost. The last few trips, because we've paid more (even with discounts and plans..) I feel more and more like Im not getting my money's worth.
With that said, I dont mind so much all the planning. Disney is trying to help people navigate a very complex system. I get that. Some could even say they are planning your trip for you (removing some of the choice, no doubt..)
I didnt mind the magic bands. Fastpass worked for us. I similarly dont mind the hard ticket events as I wont pay for them.The pool is fine for us.
We have found ourselves with a few comp tickets. To the tune of about 1000 dollars. Even with that discount, the room costs are still somewhat on the high side. Depending on season, we could easily be paying double what we did 5 years ago. I dont understand the severity of the price increases across the board. It can appear to be more for less. All that considered, the mistakes that can be avoided with their attempts to assist guests can save the guest hundreds. Food is horrible.I have had very few meals at Disney that I found desirable. A good offsite meal is just as good.
 
Regarding 7DMT- that's disappointing. I was there that week and got a same-day FP for it on Thursday. I thought maybe things were "calming down" with that ride. But maybe I was just lucky to snag someone's cancelation.

We did ride by going back right before park close. Posted wait was 60 minutes but in reality was closer to 30. I was just very disappointed to be online at midnight on "my day" 60 days out and the fastpasses were already gone. We had fun, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather choose what I want to ride when I get there. We had three days to do four parks that trip so it was rush, rush, rush. In December we have 12 days, 9 of which are Disney days. We'll fit more in then.
 
One thing I haven't read from the responses is any poor reaction to the removal of the drum corp in Epcot. To me and my family there is no prouder American moment in Epcot than to be standing in front of the American Adventure and hear the flutes and drums coming from around the corner. Then to say the Pledge of Allegiance. (Even though many in the crowd can't be bothered to get off their cell phones)
I really hope it gets replaced with something worthwhile......but then again.....this is now a society where being a proud American is not really p.c.

There is a thread on the DIS about Off Kilter leaving (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3322694), and all of the groups bring "retired" have their loyal fans posting on social media. Unfortunately, there is no replacement act for the Fife and Drum. Off Kilter's replacement is a "thrilling lumberjack inspired show," Mo'Rockin ' is being replaced by "a traditional Berber music and dance troupe in Morocco (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A19K2t7wlKg&feature=share), the World Showcase Players are being replaced by a Celtic folk music ensemble, and there will be "a corps of dynamic flag-waving performers in Italy." :sad2:
 
I had similar questions on a survey a decade ago. As any successful company would, they're interested in their customers' interests in their competitors. Not new.

Hmm...really? I've gotten lots of surveys from them over the years too and they were usually wondering if I knew about the luau or how great was our resort. Or of course wondering not if, but how much do I love the app ;)
 
As another Floridian and passholder, I agree with many of the posts. Many things have been downgraded, and it does upset me. Since my family usually only goes to the hard ticket events, I might even drop my passholder this year - what is the point if I only go to hard tickets. And making the Villains thing $99? That's more than park entry!

Some things that bother me:
Changing the hub. It was so lovely before and now it seems like it going to become more cement crap.
Deforesting Disney - I hate the hotel buildings and such. It ruins the lovely trees and environment
Hate the value hotels. Although that might be my fondness of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Just because something is cheap, it doesn't need to be cheap looking or tacky, which is what those hotels look like to me. Buildings should blend into the environment, not stick out like a sore thumb.
Change for changes sake bothers me. Change with a purpose or a real thought out plan is OK.
The fact that Disney never learns from it's mistakes bothers me too. I.E. Villains unleashed. First they make it a free for all. Then they think, "hey, hard ticket solves this!" Then they sell to many tickets. What were they thinking?

While I'm indifferent to the Epcot entertainment, I can see that the loss will affect Epcot. What else is there, really? And while Universal is building rides and such, all that Disney seems to be doing is building hotels and irritating ticket systems.

One thing for FL local Off Kilter fans: They perform at the Highland Festival by Sanford/Winter Springs area. So you can still see them there!
 
My problem with WDW is the lack of flexiblity now. I dont mind planning at all but you are now going to charge me for my ADR. I would have no problem if it was a true no show charge, but you are going to charge me bc we wake up and decide that since it is raining that AK is not a good park and Epcot is better, you are going to charge me $40 to cancel my ADR. You could fill that table if you wanted WDW with walkups or by using that fancy MDE system and sending texts saying you have an open table for 6pm at Tusker House, and maybe someone else would snatch it up.

We have not experienced the flexibility of being able to change our FPs. We tried once and we could not get the ride we wanted at another time. I dont think changing them for rides like TSMM and Soarin are that easy.

And what made me the most angry at WDW was the tiering. I am now being told what I can ride and what I cant. If I wanted to go and use all of my FPs for Soarin, I should be able to, I paid my admission fee. And I know someone will come back with well we never got to ride it and now we can, go wait in standby if you want to ride it...what was wrong with standby for you then? If you wanted to ride Soarin so bad the standby line was there for you too.

WDW created an atmosphere that was great, everyone was on equal footing, to the guest who stayed at the GF, to the guest who stayed at grandma's in Tampa and drove over. You could ride rides as many times as you felt like it, other rides did not have lines. The early bird got the worm, which in my opnion is fair, alls they did was move the line to a virutal 60 days ahead of time, with many more limitations.


Not a coffee drinker, so dont care about Starbucks.

Will miss the Fife and Drums, have never seen the other acts.
 
Add me to the list of disappointed Floridians. I've been a passholder for more than 20 years, so I've seen plenty of changes... but it's reached a tipping point for me. We're not done with WDW yet; it's too much a part of our lives to abandon completely. But our approach has changed a lot in the last couple years - we spend MUCH less time and money in the parks. I don't like FP+ but have figured out how to make it work for us... it does help us arrive later in the day, and we're okay with maybe only hitting 3 rides before heading home. Compared to when we'd arrive at rope drop and stay a good long while, that's a lot less time in the park. I'm staying offsite more often when I do stay overnight; cheaper rates for nicer rooms. Table service was once a big part of our WDW day... but the cancellation fee changed that; table service meals are the rarity now.

In the end, there's still much I love about WDW and I've found ways to go, enjoy those qualities, and limit the rest. It'll be okay. But interesting that the effect was to have me spend considerably less, not more, per trip. #fail
 
Status
Not open for further replies.














Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top