It's finally starting to get to me . . .

[DavidNYC]

For years on this board I've pretty much been one of the people always taking the Disney defense side for all the changes. Defended FP+ (and still do), give a lot of leeway on construction time, etc.

But the last few weeks with the continual reports of things closing, characters being pulled, hours being shortened, etc. it's finally getting to me. Prices have risen so ridiculously for so many things (including making more and more "premium" experiences) and while there are a lot of good things in the works, it also seems like Disney feels like it can get away with major cuts for a year or two without adding anything (or very few things) to make up for it (but will still raise prices in the next month or so). And some of the cuts just don't seem explicable either. All these characters being pulled without announcing replacements? Why? I understand you have to close real estate when you're building new areas but seems like alot of other things going by the wayside at the same time which seems counter to what you'd expect.

The only way I've been able to justify going lately has been using the part-year FL status and getting in two M-F trips on a weekday pass (which really is good deal still). But looking at the cost for a week for a family at current ticket prices, I can see why many just can't do it anymore.

Hoping things change when the new lands are all open but at this rate I'm starting to feel about Disney how I feel about going to baseball games. What was once an affordable family experience is getting more and more out of reach because there are enough people who will pay the prices that they can cater more to them.

I still love Disney and just being in the world and surrounded by all the other Disney lovers like me. And I'm in business, I know how it works. But I can't say everything isn't touched by a bit more sad nostalgia lately.

 

[ArwenMarie]

It is depressing to see so many cuts to entertainment especially at a time when two of the parks are under major construction..I guess Epcot too if you count Soarin and the Norway pavilion. Hopefully things will look up as they start opening the new stuff but a lot of it is a long way off.

 

[North of Mouse]

Agree! Agree! Agree! Just returned, using our AP's the last time, and do not plan to go back until most of this construction is completed, if then.
They've raised the AP prices so much, including having to pay for the photo pkg. which we don't want and won't use. The 'fun' is barely there anymore.

 

[Mikie]

I could have written your post myself.

In my case, I suspect that absence does NOT make the heart grow fonder. It's been almost 18 months since my last trip and with an abundance of posts about what's NOT ther, I see only the negative info (not false, just negative) and have no fresh pixie dust to ward off the blahs. I fully believe you can still have a great time at WDW, but in my cold, rational living room, all I see are rising prices, premium add-ons, characters and entertainment going away, and the promise of great things to come. . . Later. . . I suppose that's when I'll consider my next trip - when "later" starts to happen!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I'm disappointed too. The recent announcement about M&G cutbacks and the (maybe) discontinuing of Wishes FPs are frustrating. As you say, there are so many other things closed, etc, why keep taking things away before you start to have new things opening. I feel like our May trip is happening at a horrible time. The good part is that at least the kids have only been there once so there is still a lot that will be new to them, but yes, I feel a bit blah about Disney (the company) at the moment.

 

[amg35]

Well, we aren't going until November 2017, so by that time we will have Rivers of Light, Animal Kingdom as a nighttime park (worth the trip alone), hopefully Pandora, Frozen ride, updated Soarin, and all the new restaurants at Disney Springs. And maybe other stuff.

Living with The Land was never open past 7 before when I went so closing parts of Future World early doesn't bother me. We will see what else changes...

I'm still excited to go.

Go somewhere else in the meantime, that's what we do! Last year we took a Royal Caribbean cruise, this year we are going to Dollywood and the Smokey Mountains!

 

[mzsarah10]

Well written post. For many of the reasons you've listed we've decided to take a break from Disney. It breaks my heart but my hubby insists that he isn't going back until Star Wars land is done. We are off to a quiet Hilton Head vacation this year.

 

[Mark P.]

Sadly, I too agree. We've been going every year (sometimes twice/year) since the mid-nineties.
Our recent letdown is Disney's handling of the Star Wars Weekend fiasco. Long story short, it was cancelled and we were left scrambling for a plan B, which is Flower & Garden next month.
It's not what Disney did regarding SWW, it's the way they went about it with total lack of, and outright wrong information.
We guests are now paying more than ever, yet getting less, much less in return. I'm glad and looking forward to the changes that are on the horizon, but our trip next month, and that doesn't cut it. Next month's trip is it for some years to come.
I'm retiring in just under 3 years, and as much as we love Disney, and have always found/justified a way to go every year, we're going to save the money, put it towards our future retirement and give Disney another try in 4 years or so. When we can use our new Florida Resident Discount!
I can't believe I'm typing this

 

[katt789]

In all honesty, I definitely have to agree. It's getting SO EXPENSIVE. In the past I've had an annual pass or been a cm, and I definitely took advantage of it, multiple trips, lots of quick ones. Seat sale for the weekend? SURE! But with these ticket prices, not to mention how horrible the Canadian dollar is, I'm taking my trips elsewhere this year.

 

[mshanson3121]

I'm disappointed too. The recent announcement about M&G cutbacks and the (maybe) discontinuing of Wishes FPs are frustrating. As you say, there are so many other things closed, etc, why keep taking things away before you start to have new things opening. I feel like our May trip is happening at a horrible time. The good part is that at least the kids have only been there once so there is still a lot that will be new to them, but yes, I feel a bit blah about Disney (the company) at the moment.

Well, we aren't going until November 2017, so by that time we will have Rivers of Light, Animal Kingdom as a nighttime park (worth the trip alone), hopefully Pandora, Frozen ride, updated Soarin, and all the new restaurants at Disney Springs. And maybe other stuff.

Living with The Land was never open past 7 before when I went so closing parts of Future World early doesn't bother me. We will see what else changes...

I'm still excited to go.

I kind of feel a mixture of both of these. I love Disney. I love the movies, stories, the characters, I loved going when I was a child, I loved our trip this summer, I love seeing my children excited about it, and I want to go back sooooo badly. And yet, I admit, the practical part of me, sees Disney as a money-glomering company who is basically only concerned with catering to the "rich" people who can afford to play. They certainly are no longer in the business of making the average family's dreams come true. Not unless that family has deep wallets. Being Canadian, today, without an increase, without park hopper, just a basic 5-day pass, would cost our family of 4 (both kids still under 10) $1950. Basically $2000 just for park tickets. Nothing else, no food, spending, lodging, getting there. When I stop and think about that -it's insane. And honestly not sure it's worth it when I think of all the other things we could do or places we could go, with that same amount of money. And yet... I'm not ready to say no, yet either. Because of what AMG said... because of all the "new" things that will be open to see. But... it will all depend on what the price increase is, because quite honestly, we're pretty well at our max now, and if DH knew what the tickets cost... the answer would be NO FRIGGING WAY.

 

[mshanson3121]

Sadly, I too agree. We've been going every year (sometimes twice/year) since the mid-nineties.
Our recent letdown is Disney's handling of the Star Wars Weekend fiasco. Long story short, it was cancelled and we were left scrambling for a plan B, which is Flower & Garden next month.
It's not what Disney did regarding SWW, it's the way they went about it with total lack of, and outright wrong information.
We guests are now paying more than ever, yet getting less, much less in return. I'm glad and looking forward to the changes that are on the horizon, but our trip next month, and that doesn't cut it. Next month's trip is it for some years to come.
I'm retiring in just under 3 years, and as much as we love Disney, and have always found/justified a way to go every year, we're going to save the money, put it towards our future retirement and give Disney another try in 4 years or so. When we can use our new Florida Resident Discount!
I can't believe I'm typing this

Honestly, canceling the SWW made NO sense to me whatsoever. surely they could have kept them going? I mean what better way to promote the movies??? I too, was really annoyed at how they canceled them. One day they were advertising them, promoting them as upcoming, and the next they were gone. Please, spare me. They knew a long time ago they were going. They had no business promoting somehting they had no intention of following through on.

 

[olliesmom]

I have to agree.

We have made yearly trips to Disney since 2007 and over the past 2-3 years, there have been so many closures and losses at the same time as price increases that it really does impact not only the value of a WDW trip but also the experience of the trip as well.

Our last visit was in June 2015 and although we had an awesome trip, we will be waiting until likely late 2017/early 2018 before we return (especially with the Canadian dollar right now-- the additional cost really impacts the value of a trip!). We do look forward to seeing the Avatar expansion completed, Rivers of Light, Disney Springs completed, Frozen Ever After and Soarin post-refurb. I expect that we will be returning before Star Wars/Toy Story is finished, but it is getting more and more difficult to justify a trip with the state of the parks right now.

 

[rwdavis2]

On another board a poster is saying that CMs are reporting significant cuts in staff, and that it appears this is paying for cost overruns i Shanghai.

 

[olliesmom]

I kind of feel a mixture of both of these. I love Disney. I love the movies, stories, the characters, I loved going when I was a child, I loved our trip this summer, I love seeing my children excited about it, and I want to go back sooooo badly. And yet, I admit, the practical part of me, sees Disney as a money-glomering company who is basically only concerned with catering to the "rich" people who can afford to play. They certainly are no longer in the business of making the average family's dreams come true. Not unless that family has deep wallets. Being Canadian, today, without an increase, without park hopper, just a basic 5-day pass, would cost our family of 4 (both kids still under 10) $1950. Basically $2000 just for park tickets. Nothing else, no food, spending, lodging, getting there. When I stop and think about that -it's insane. And honestly not sure it's worth it when I think of all the other things we could do or places we could go, with that same amount of money. And yet... I'm not ready to say no, yet either. Because of what AMG said... because of all the "new" things that will be open to see. But... it will all depend on what the price increase is, because quite honestly, we're pretty well at our max now, and if DH knew what the tickets cost... the answer would be NO FRIGGING WAY.

Yes, even with the spring discount, a 6 night stay at the Pop Century with 5 day park hoppers comes to over $2,200.00 CAD. Flights from Toronto are another $1,000.00. That brings us to 3,200.00 without any in-park expenses (again in USD!).

We would need to budget at least $4,000 for a week-long trip, and that would be a value resort, QS trip. On the other hand, if we took $4,000 and spent it elsewhere, that money could go so much further. We can justify the cost of Disney when it truly is an incredible experience, but it gets a lot harder with the number of walls and closures everywhere! We will truly miss our 2016 trip, but will really be looking forward to 2018 when I think the cost will be worth it.

 

[Mark P.]

Don't mean to go on and on, but it really is a bummer thinking about all the awesome memories that we had with our 2 sons.
We were 100% Disney. At work, I'm the Disney guy that my co-workers ask for tips, which btw, the first tip I offer is to check out wdwinfo.com.

We have a Disney Visa, and even a brick in front of the TTC (H12360, if anyone wishes to visit it,lol).
We've made the trek well over 20 times, sometimes driving 1,000 miles or so from NJ.
I suspect they don't think much of that, but for guests to load up their precious cargo and drive for days to visit their parks and stay at their resorts. And this is the way they've shown their appreciation recently in whittling away at things? It truly is sad and disappointing.
Sorry to rant.

 

[DavidNYC]

Don't mean to go on and on, but it really is a bummer thinking about all the awesome memories that we had with our 2 sons.
We were 100% Disney. At work, I'm the Disney guy that my co-workers ask for tips, which btw, the first tip I offer is to check out wdwinfo.com.

We have a Disney Visa, and even a brick in front of the TTC (H12360, if anyone wishes to visit it,lol).
We've made the trek well over 20 times, sometimes driving 1,000 miles or so from NJ.
I suspect they don't think much of that, but for guests to load up their precious cargo and drive for days to visit their parks and stay at their resorts. And this is the way they've shown their appreciation recently in whittling away at things? It truly is sad and disappointing.
Sorry to rant.

I understand. From NJ as well and have gone pretty much every year for last 20 (sometimes more than once). Now I have 6-year old twins and as much as we love going, as they get older there are so many other places we want to see. I always thought those would be in addition to the Disney trip but at these prices I have a feeling Disney will become a every few year thing. (As long as we can qualify for the resident passes I'll probably try to plan two trips 11 months apart. Would love to do the Disney Cruise as well but just can't justify the huge premium over Royal Carribbean (got two connecting balcony cabins on Allure of Seas for less than all 4 of us in single cabin on Disney . . .)

 

[luvgoing2disney]

I can't argue with the points you've made but we still go to Disney, however it is usually just once a year. And the reason is simple---we know what we are getting at Disney. I'm not a beach person having had melanoma and don't want to risk a reoccurrence. We go on cruises regularly as well, but Dismey is "our vacation spot"

We look for ways to make it less expensive by cashing in points or air miles to help pay for it. We stay in budget resorts as we are in the parks when they are open so see no need to pay for a room we are not in that much. The way we do Disney does not work for every family, but it works for us. So even with the closures, cutbacks, etc. it is still magical to us and we look forward to,seeing what will be coming next!

 

[keaster]

I agree with many of these points. We are going to WDW next month but that'll be it for this year...2017 we are going to do a disney cruise and will also use our DVC points to go to Aulani and then maybe go to DisneyLand in 2018. Once some of the new stuff starts opening up (avatar, pixar, star wars) we will probably start venturing back!

 

[dfb]

Agree. Numerous trips over the years. Me and my family make the best out of any trip wherever we may go but the changes to Disney over the past couple years have taken away or minimized the tools we have used to make our trips exceptional.

Some of tools:
FastPass - change to FP+ disrupted our style of touring and negatively impacted our trips.
Dining Plan - It is very convenient and we used to count on a 10-15% discount on food. at today's prices DDP usually nets us a 5% loss. That is would net us a loss if we used it! Stopped using a few years back.
PAP - Price and benefits have resulted in less value. Increased cost, loss of 20% discount on merchandise (now 10%) and Loss of Disney Quest.
DVC, PAP, Disney Visa discounts and benefits have been reduced.
DVC points reallocation have affected the times of year we visit - in a negative way. Our 3% expected annual increase in DVC dues (as our guide stated) has turned into 6-8%. Yet we still see DVC as a positive and we are glad we invested (in 2009) not today.
In the past we have not even considered using our DVC points for anything but a WDW trip and were in a constant state of planning our next trip. We are now looking to use our points in other ways.

We do love to go to Disney like all folks on this site and will continue to go back. When and how often are yet to be determined. We are not that excited about the upcoming changes to WDW. We are not huge Star Wars fans and I still don't get why you would theme a portion of a park based on Avatar?? I also think a lot of the Disney history and connection to classic films will be lost in these transitions. As in all things Disney "change" is the name of the game. Even though we are not fans of the themes proposed, I would normally think Disney will make magic in the upcoming changes. After the changes to Magic Kingdom, the hub and new fantasyland, I'm not impressed and not optimistic. We will hope for the best and look forward to future magical visits but it will probably happen via a couple detours.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I agree. But, at the same point, I have a lot of great memories because of the Disney parks. My next trip realistically won't be until at least 2018 or so, and hopefully this will not be as big of an issue when I return. Disney is working on some really exciting things, but it seems that they are expecting guests to pay the same despite the less they are offering.

At the same point though, I feel fortunate that I have been able to go in the past and that I am able to plan trips in the future and feel that I am in a position to comment on something like this. It's aggravating, definitely, but this hopefully will not become the norm.