Is Disney World becoming a shell of its former self?

[jade1]

The food is a plus

100%

 

[jade1]

My family and I love Disney Springs. There is still some of our old favorites and lots of new ones. Also, Pleasure Island from what I understand ( never saw it as I was too young and by the time I was old enough it was gone), AND Universal City Walk started changing from clubs to more of a hybrid mix of family friendly and different entertainment, which imho was needed.

Yea they now "fill" 3 new 4 story parking ramps at DS. Used to just be surface lots that didn't even fill up.

Your in the majority.

 

[Jennasis]

Not everyone has to love every thing, every change. It's okay.

We LOVE Disney Springs. The entertainment is fantastic. Live music and fun every 50'. Wonderful food options. Great shopping (even though we rarely buy anything. We love to browse). It's beautiful there. It is, in my opinion, a 100% upgrade from the old Pleasure Island. If they had an Adventurer's Club, it would be perfection.

If it's not your thing, oh well. Doesn't have to be all things to all people.

 

[cakebaker]

Not everyone has to love every thing, every change. It's okay.

We LOVE Disney Springs. The entertainment is fantastic. Live music and fun every 50'. Wonderful food options. Great shopping (even though we rarely buy anything. We love to browse). It's beautiful there. It is, in my opinion, a 100% upgrade from the old Pleasure Island. If they had an Adventurer's Club, it would be perfection.

If it's not your thing, oh well. Doesn't have to be all things to all people.

I agree! DS is so much nicer now than DTD/Pleasure Island was. We often skipped it entirely on a trip and now it's a must do every time.

 

[KYMickey]

About 2015-2016 ish is when things started to go back uphill for me, and that hasn't stopped. My love for Disney has only gotten significantly stronger over the last 5-6ish years.

You must be going to a different Disney World than we do! These days Disney is only interested in one thing and that's $$. Anything else it's truly secondary. They taken away all the enjoyment by making you schedule everything months in advance, you can't change anything once you are there because you have everything booked and if nothing else to do.

 

[TommyJK]

I also think that Disney World has plans in the future to build a Marvel oriented theme park because ever since Disney bought Marvel I think they want to add a Marvel theme park to Disney World and perhaps build a Marvel oriented resort too.

Disney may want to open a Marvel park or land in Florida but they can't. Universal owns the Theme Park rights to most of Marvel (at least the biggest characters) east of the Mississippi in perpetuity.

 

[luv2cheer92]

You must be going to a different Disney World than we do! These days Disney is only interested in one thing and that's $$. Anything else it's truly secondary. They taken away all the enjoyment by making you schedule everything months in advance, you can't change anything once you are there because you have everything booked and if nothing else to do.

Couldn't disagree more with all of that! But that's ok, not everybody has to enjoy it.

My trip a couple weeks ago was planned about a week out. Not much planning was done at all, we changed plenty of things along the way, and had an absolute blast.

ETA: But planning all the details of the trip is just as fun for me as the trip itself. Even when I don't follow that plan. There's never anything stressful about it, not even remotely.

 

[lukemorenus]

To answer the original question... No, I don't think so... I've visited WDW probably 30 times or so since the 70's - with the majority of those trips after 1995 or so... the week my wife and I spent at the Poly recently might have been the "best" trip ever - certainly the most relaxing... getting out of "park mode" was a blessing

 

[Kmedders]

Couldn't disagree more with all of that! But that's ok, not everybody has to enjoy it.

My trip a couple weeks ago was planned about a week out. Not much planning was done at all, we changed plenty of things along the way, and had an absolute blast.

ETA: But planning all the details of the trip is just as fun for me as the trip itself. Even when I don't follow that plan. There's never anything stressful about it, not even remotely.

I'm in the same boat as you - the changes Disney has made has not made me love it any less. I guess it's the family memories that keep me going right now more than the business itself.

 

[Waldorf_Statler]

Disney may want to open a Marvel park or land in Florida but they can't. Universal owns the Theme Park rights to most of Marvel (at least the biggest characters) east of the Mississippi in perpetuity.

Until Disney buys them too one day, never thought we would get all the characters from Fox in movies.

 

[Insomniac]

Coming from northern Canada, it requires alot of planning to have an enjoyable experience.

The first time I went to WDW was actually for a work conference at the Swan about 14 years ago, and I had said I would never go to such a crazy place. Turns out, it was amazing. I didnt know what I was doing or going, but that was probably half the fun. Boats, trains, busses, it was crazy, chaotic and mesmerizing.

Fast forward a few years, and we started taking the kids to WDW, then did both WDW and Disneyland both each year.

Once we sorted out the fastpass and some tricks, the next years were pretty enjoyable. Still required planning, but it became much easier.

But, the last 2 years just before covid, did start to notice lack of the little things in the parks. Food prices were up, crowds were up and lots of the small misc entertainment seemed to be missing. Things had changed, but it was hard to pinpoint what exactly.

Haven't been able to go back for almost 2 years now. With all the changes to FP and park entry, etc unsure how enjoyable it will be to return.

 

[TommyJK]

Until Disney buys them too one day, never thought we would get all the characters from Fox in movies.

The key thing here is that Universal Theme Parks are one of the biggest revenue drivers for NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. They're bullish on the Theme Parks and have continued massive expansion all over the world. Universal would have to be doing terribly for NBCUniversal/Comcast to even consider selling off their Theme Park division.

Don't see it happening anytime soon.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

To answer the original question, I say yes.

I keep thinking I want to go back. Nostalgia tugs at me. And then they make some operational change that makes me question my sanity and paying out this kind of money for such a lesser experience than I had in 1998.

I've gone 7 times 2017-2019 but even though I've made multiple reservations during 2020 until now, I keep pulling them.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Yes!

 

[zebrastreyepz]

Some "rumors" from Touring Plans: https://www.piratesandprincesses.ne...-and-some-of-it-will-cost-you-a-lot-of-money/

 

[TimeToPack]

If all that turns out to be true, Universal and Europe will be seeing our money.

 

[New Mouse]

Some "rumors" from Touring Plans: https://www.piratesandprincesses.ne...-and-some-of-it-will-cost-you-a-lot-of-money/

They call this the nuclear option.


They also will need to pay staff $40 an hour for the doctorate they will need to explain this to grandma.

 

[cakebaker]

Some "rumors" from Touring Plans: https://www.piratesandprincesses.ne...-and-some-of-it-will-cost-you-a-lot-of-money/

That’s one of the worst written articles I’ve seen in a long time. And when they started ranting about class warfare and Disney’s goals regarding diversity, I closed the page and quit reading.

I don’t know what I’ll think about the new system they put in place, but I know what I think about this source. As far as TP, I wouldn’t expect them to welcome a change that will effectively replace their paid for service.

 

[cakebaker]

They call this the nuclear option.


They also will need to pay staff $40 an hour for the doctorate they will need to explain this to grandma.

As a grandma, I object! But yeah, I’m the one who does the research and keeps my grown kids up to date on how new changes work.

 

[Yarbogash]

Some "rumors" from Touring Plans: https://www.piratesandprincesses.ne...-and-some-of-it-will-cost-you-a-lot-of-money/

Sad but also kind of hilarious.
The only thing that surprises me about that article is that it took this long for Disney to go this route.
Disney is great at creating problems then selling you the solution or packaging the solution as a perk.
They have created longer and longer wait times, so now it’s time to sell.