Debbie’s Baguette
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2021
- Messages
- 1
We just got back from a 3 night, 4 day trip over Thanksgiving weekend. Stayed at Bay Lake and Boardwalk DVC. The hotels were the best part of our vacation.
After some discussion, both of us felt underwhelmed by the experience and have decided to take a Disney break for a few years. Neither of us felt the Magic, as we always had on previous trips.
Our biggest frustrations:
1) Genie+…as west coasters, having to wake up at 7 AM EST to book Ratatouille virtual queue, Rise of the Resistance LL and Slinky LL - all at once -was so stressful and exhausting. It dampened our trip! This isn’t a perk. As we all know, a trip to Disney World costs thousands of dollars. Guests shouldn’t have to stretch themselves so early in the morning to secure ride times. On top of that, not having the option to choose your own ride times makes it difficult to plan your breakfast/lunch/dinner reservations. What happens if you have an existing 9:30 Ohana breakfast and get assigned a 10 AM Slinky?
2) Park-Hopping…the 2 PM rule is awful and handcuffed our plans. With parks closing earlier, it was hard for us to even attempt to have a nice sit down dinner, knowing our afternoon/evening time in the parks was so limited. We canceled ALL of our sit down dinner plans, including Topolino’s. In the old days, carving out 2 hours for dinner and transportation was no sweat.
3) Cheap Merchandise…this is nothing new, but I was floored by the number of crappy, low-grade shirts/sweatshirts I came across in gift shops. Did anyone see the yellow Disney World hoodies with the castle on the front? These hoodies were pilling on the rack! I saw a handful of t-shirts that I was interested in buying. However, the material was so rough and cheap that I passed.
4) The Absence of Cultural Representatives at Epcot and Animal Kingdom Lodge…Disney can’t do anything about Covid-related travel policies, but the absence of these folks was another factor that drained the Magic from our trip. Having Debbie from Yonkers working the Patisserie in France felt dissatisfying. We also used to LOVE the Tea Caddy in the UK pavilion. I get that it’s not hard to make a decent cup of tea, but the quality of the hot tea was indisputably worse this year. It tasted like the tea I make at home! Not having the Brits around damaged one of our low-key favorite parts of Epcot.
5) The Little Details…this is what makes Disney feel like DISNEY. No Minnie Vans. No dream-lights on the castle. No Christmas decorations in Toy Story Land. Why on earth am I getting a DISNEY LAND styrofoam coffee cup at the Mara and Riviera? Can they fix the broken Brear Rabbit and Brear Fox in Splash Mountain? Grand Floridian Society Orchestra…the vibe in the lobby was not the same! I’ve been staying at the Grand for 30 years. Not hearing those guys was sad.
Has anyone come away from a trip with the same feelings?
After some discussion, both of us felt underwhelmed by the experience and have decided to take a Disney break for a few years. Neither of us felt the Magic, as we always had on previous trips.
Our biggest frustrations:
1) Genie+…as west coasters, having to wake up at 7 AM EST to book Ratatouille virtual queue, Rise of the Resistance LL and Slinky LL - all at once -was so stressful and exhausting. It dampened our trip! This isn’t a perk. As we all know, a trip to Disney World costs thousands of dollars. Guests shouldn’t have to stretch themselves so early in the morning to secure ride times. On top of that, not having the option to choose your own ride times makes it difficult to plan your breakfast/lunch/dinner reservations. What happens if you have an existing 9:30 Ohana breakfast and get assigned a 10 AM Slinky?
2) Park-Hopping…the 2 PM rule is awful and handcuffed our plans. With parks closing earlier, it was hard for us to even attempt to have a nice sit down dinner, knowing our afternoon/evening time in the parks was so limited. We canceled ALL of our sit down dinner plans, including Topolino’s. In the old days, carving out 2 hours for dinner and transportation was no sweat.
3) Cheap Merchandise…this is nothing new, but I was floored by the number of crappy, low-grade shirts/sweatshirts I came across in gift shops. Did anyone see the yellow Disney World hoodies with the castle on the front? These hoodies were pilling on the rack! I saw a handful of t-shirts that I was interested in buying. However, the material was so rough and cheap that I passed.
4) The Absence of Cultural Representatives at Epcot and Animal Kingdom Lodge…Disney can’t do anything about Covid-related travel policies, but the absence of these folks was another factor that drained the Magic from our trip. Having Debbie from Yonkers working the Patisserie in France felt dissatisfying. We also used to LOVE the Tea Caddy in the UK pavilion. I get that it’s not hard to make a decent cup of tea, but the quality of the hot tea was indisputably worse this year. It tasted like the tea I make at home! Not having the Brits around damaged one of our low-key favorite parts of Epcot.
5) The Little Details…this is what makes Disney feel like DISNEY. No Minnie Vans. No dream-lights on the castle. No Christmas decorations in Toy Story Land. Why on earth am I getting a DISNEY LAND styrofoam coffee cup at the Mara and Riviera? Can they fix the broken Brear Rabbit and Brear Fox in Splash Mountain? Grand Floridian Society Orchestra…the vibe in the lobby was not the same! I’ve been staying at the Grand for 30 years. Not hearing those guys was sad.
Has anyone come away from a trip with the same feelings?
Last edited:
