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

[shanethesaint88]

I have to agree with the OP. I have been to Disney World about 18 times as a 23 year old and last year I did the DCP. I work a full time job while in college to pay for these trips recently. So WDW is in my blood and always has been. But what I fpuns recently was how crowded it was and how hard it was to do anything. I remember a few years ago being able to ride space mountain over and over again with fast passes if you wanted to. That is no longer possible. I do not want to go to epcot and ride figment or living with the land. I want to get a fastpass for test track and soaring multiple times.
Long story short is the parks are wayyyy to crowded now a days for me to have an enjoyable experience. I hope with the opening of the new lands and attractions this changes but until then it will be hard for me to go.
I recently booked a trip for September thought about it for a few days and then canceled and booked a disney cruise for the first time. So disney is still getting my money just in a different way

 

[myjourney]

I feel so much better about the cost of Disney after seeing what people paid for a ticket to the Superbowl. I am a little bummed about a couple of my favorite rides being down but that gives me the opportunity to try something new.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think there is a really good point to be made about frequent visits. I'm not sure WDW is meant for the frequent visitor. Everything is new to the first-timer, so why update a show with a new one? Why not cut a parade here, cut some characters there? It makes perfect sense. It's like when people say DAK or DHS is half-day park...That's only if you're not going to the shows, and that's still true for DHS even with the closures. There's plenty to do there for a week's vacation if you haven't done any of it yet or aren't bored of the same old shows, etc.

We've gone twice a year for a while now and we are cutting it back to once for 2016. It will be better that way.

 

[theyoungs07]

I agree that the closures and price increases are disconcerting. The attractions to price ratio keeps going down...but I don't only go for that reason.

I go for the memories that it creates, I have young kids and older kids and seeing their love for the parks and how it changes over the years is awesome.

I go because it is one of the few vacations that is set up to completely accommodate a young family (strollers in restaurants, relatively safe and kid-focused). I am not interested in touring Yellowstone with kids in strollers/packs. This year we're going to SD with family and I am dreading the 12 hour drive to have kids get out of the car to look at Mt. Rushmore, and then basically go look through the gift shop.

I go because it has something for every one of my kids ranging from 14 to 1...and my wife and I!

We are not rich by any means (having 8 kids makes sure that our $$ gets stretched), but time/memories are many times more valuable than money to me. Yes, the price changes and closings are painful, but at least some of those are in the name of progress. We may have shorter trips, maybe cut some character/TS dining to make up for the price increases. We know we have flexibility to make up for increases, most of the time we stay offsite in a house and that helps save money when the ticket prices soar.

I don't disagree with your frustration, I just hope to remind you of the reasons this place is so awesome to help soften the sting.

 

[shanethesaint88]

I think there is a really good point to be made about frequent visits. I'm not sure WDW is meant for the frequent visitor. Everything is new to the first-timer, so why update a show with a new one? Why not cut a parade here, cut some characters there? It makes perfect sense. It's like when people say DAK or DHS is half-day park...That's only if you're not going to the shows, and that's still true for DHS even with the closures. There's plenty to do there for a week's vacation if you haven't done any of it yet or aren't bored of the same old shows, etc.

We've gone twice a year for a while now and we are cutting it back to once for 2016. It will be better that way.

I believe that this is true in the mindset of the executives that run WDW. It seems as if DLR is a place for the locals to come back over and over again because they grew up with and feel a sort of ownership of the park. However at WDW it seems as if the attitude is different. It's not about repeat guest. Its the same as it is with training cast members on the Disney College Program. Which is, they are only here temporary, why bother. I'm not sure if thats a bad thing or good thing but that is the impression I got. focus on maximizing a guests one trip rather than worrying about getting repeat guests

 

[nilla]

You are exactly the type of guest Disney loves. No matter how much they raise prices, diminish guest experience, remove things, charge for things that were previously free, cut hours, etc, you'll still spend your money there.

I remember adjusting my FP selections last year when Disney INCREASED the hours about a month before our trip. I'm not to worried about the posted hours at this point. Those tend to change.

As for the "diminished guest experience", I don't see it. And yes, they remove things, but they also add things. Like New Fantasyland, which I love.

So far, we haven't been affected much by them charging to things that used to be free, and even so, there is a TON to do in WDW that doesn't require paying extra.

 

[momof2n2]

You're about two years behind when it started getting to me.

I have a last hurrah trip and then we won't be back til the add a lot. The costs go up and I'm getting less for my money.

There are too many other destinations out there to give my money to.

 

[nilla]

You're about two years behind when it started getting to me.

I have a last hurrah trip and then we won't be back til the add a lot. The costs go up and I'm getting less for my money.

There are too many other destinations out there to give my money to.

My wife went through this last year. We almost didn't go. I took some serious waterworks from our daughter to sway her, after it really looked like we wouldn't be going in 2015.

Then, near the end of the trip, my wife promised to never suggest such nonsense ever again

 

[Planogirl]

My wife went through this last year. We almost didn't go. I took some serious waterworks from our daughter to sway her, after it really looked like we wouldn't be going in 2015.

Then, near the end of the trip, my wife promised to never suggest such nonsense ever again

I hope that you're not suggesting that what you quoted was nonsense. I see the smiley face but still...

It's nice that some people just love everything and can find so much to do but we're all different about what we want to spend our money on. I don't find WDW worth the money right now. I don't presume to be "right" though because I can only speak for myself. As far as getting excited about the new things coming, when they get here and look good then I'll get excited. Disney has taught me to be pessimistic.

 

[nilla]

I hope that you're not suggesting that what you quoted was nonsense. I see the smiley face but still...

It's nice that some people just love everything and can find so much to do but we're all different about what we want to spend our money on. I don't find WDW worth the money right now. I don't presume to be "right" though because I can only speak for myself. As far as getting excited about the new things coming, when they get here and look good then I'll get excited. Disney has taught me to be pessimistic.

The "nonsense" was this notion that our family, specifically, would skip Disney one year. Not anyone else's.

I'm not "right", either, outside of my own situation. For many others, WDW's not worth it anymore. That's fine. There are probably things that I avoid due to costs that others wouldn't. For example, no one in our family has a smart phone yet.

 

[cabanafrau]

We sadly said goodbye to WDW until we see some positive real changes after our 2013 trip. As it stands now WDW doesn't deliver the experience we want on many fronts. Hopefully that will change. We were thinking they might be righting the ship with the big announcements of new things coming. Closing sections down for the work to get underway makes sense. The petty cutting of retail hours, meet and greets, water park hours, attraction hours tells me they are a company with priorities other than pleasing the returning guests who helped them feather their nests and would be happy to keep their hand in my pocket while offering less and less value in return.

The one and done guest is obviously their business model. I hope they don't drag Disneyland under when the tide really runs against them, as it is sure to do at the rate they're burning up guest goodwill as if it's worthless.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2016/02/break...ncial-strangle-hold-on-domestic-disney-parks/

This link was posted on Twitter earlier today.
It's an interesting read.

 

[monorailrabbit]

I agree with so much in this thread! We are lucky to usually get one Disney trip a year. And this year we are going for my husband's birthday in December. We were so excited until this trend of closures and cut backs started. We don't have kids but are huge character fans (yes, we are THOSE people, haha) and are very sad to hear of those cuts along with hours and parades. Getting worried about what else will be cut by the time we get there. We will still go this year, but may have to reconsider our every year plan. What a shame.

 

[nilla]

For what it's worth, AK looks to be open until 8 every night in June, or at least all of the dates I checked. That was not the case last June.

 

[tlmadden73]

I am going to go at this from a different angle.

If you are a frequent Disney visitor (once to twice a year for the past X years) .. then yes .. its hard to see things go and change).

But for a new or infrequent visitor who doesn't know what's "missing" .. there is still plenty to see and do at Disney World. I've gone to Disney many times in my life (but not frequently), so each time is like a whole new visit. My second visit there was a whole new park (Epcot) . .my third visit had DHS .. my fourth visit had AK .. my later visits (as an adult) I experienced new rides like Test Track, Soaring, and fabulous restaurants.

My last two trips to Disney world were short and still "new" as it was my young son's first trip. We did character dining and meet and greets. He didn't care what was or wasn't there .He had a fabulous time. WE had a fabulous time and will go back .. maybe even this year (despite the construction). If we go later this year there will be so many NEW things that our family unit hasn't experienced yet even though we were just there in August. (Epcot (perhaps Frozen and Soaring) .. Star Wars Launch Bay .. perhaps Rivers of Light .. etc.

I just account the depressing feeling to familiarity and nostalgia.

When I was going to Six Flags Great America several times a summer every year, I would love the familiarity and the ability to know the ins and outs of the park. But the more I went, the more I could complain about increased prices, missing "classic" rides, bigger crowds etc. because I would NOTICE it more being a frequent visitor. If I would go back today (after being gone for 20 years) I would be amazed at all they have added ... a water park, crazy new thrill rides, rethemed areas .... new restaurants .. etc. It would be all fresh and new.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

IMO, although I'm sure very unpopular, I think a lot of the disappointment with WDW on the Dis boards have to do with too many visits. Many here visit so often that they don't appreciate the entire value of the parks. To someone who's never been, or only goes every few years, all the things "missing" aren't missed, and the things closed are just another reason to come back again in a few years. But when someone goes every year, or twice a year changes, closures, construction seem to be taken much more personally because it's "just not the same" as six months ago, or six months before that, or six months before that. Sometimes there's a such thing as "too much." No one should be sad, annoyed, or angry about trips to Disney.

I agree. I would be disappointed if a favorite ride was closed during a visit, but realistically they could close half of all the rides and attractions and we'd still have plenty to do and still have fun. (I know DHS is basically half closed, but I mean over all 4 parks and 2 water parks.)

I was pregnant last time we went (in May), so I only got to ride a few things (Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Journey of the Little Mermaid, Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth). We also only saw a show or two (FOTLK) and did a couple non-rode attractions (jungle trek). Instead of our normal time spent running from ride to ride, we spent time doing things we'd previously 'ignored' - new dining experiences, Hoop Dee Doo, touring resorts, going to the resort pool, Typhoon Lagoon, SOTMK,... I still had a great time, even without riding almost all of the normal attractions and despite missing some of the non-ride attractions I'd wanted to see (Flights of Wonder, Philharmagic, Nemo,...). I know some people go and spend all their time at the resorts and have a good time.

As far as value goes, I know WDW is expensive, but I think most vacations and entertainment are. Before we booked WDW for last May, I priced a Beaches resort and the resort alone for 7 days was much more expensive than our combined WDW moderate hotel, DDP, and park tickets (8 days plus hoppers and water parks & more). The flights would've also been significantly more expensive.

I've read numerous times that DLR is less expensive and a better value than WDW, but I'm finding the opposite. Even putting aside that our flights to DLR are about $150 more per person than they would be to WDW (we're on the East Coast), almost everything else is more, too. We spent approximately $130 a night for Caribbean Beach last May, but I'm not finding any hotels within walking distance to DLR for even close to that (maybe we could find a fleabag for a similar price? But we're ending up spending about $230 a night for a non-Disney-owned hotel and I'm still not thrilled with the quality). If we wanted to stay at a Disney hotel, the cheapest for our travel dates is about $350 a night. We'll also need to either rent a car (plus pay for parking), or pay for taxis to/from the airport, whereas we took DME from MCO.

Entertainment is expensive. My SIL was complaining about the price of Disney tickets, yet she spent $500 on two Lakers tickets (and a game lasts a couple hours versus all-day entertainment at DLR or WDW).

I guess my point is that everything is expensive nowadays, not just Disney; and that I think there is still plenty to keep one entertained at WDW. Obviously, I think it would be awesome if they doubled the number of rides, overhauled future world, added new pavilions to world showcase, brought back parades to DHS and AK, etc, AND didn't raise ticket prices. But I won't quit going to WDW because that doesn't happen (fortunately, we're in a position to pay their prices).

Maybe I'd see things differently if WDW were my only vacation per year. Then I would look at alternatives. However, I wouldn't want to go to the same place every year and nowhere else, anyway. (My bff goes almost exclusively to Hawaii and I think that's just as silly.) There are so many places to go and things to see in the world, that spending all of one's vacation time and money in one place doesn't make sense to me.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

The lack of evening EMH's really messed with our trip this past year. We were disappointed. Usually Christmas week has a few very late nights at Magic Kingdom. Not only are we night owls and it allows us to get on our favorite rides with a little wait, but it's when my sister and I have shared some of our favorite Disney memories.

I also agree that staying at a deluxe resort for almost $1k a night is outrageous. I agree, you can just as easily stay at a value or moderate... but still. For one night at Grand Floridian, you can spend a week at most all-inclusives. I'm not saying I WOULD or that I'm going to boycott Disney because of the prices... but I get what you're saying.

 

[larryz]

But my point was that to YOU think they're getting ripped off because you've been there over and over again, but that trip may be their once in a lifetime trip, and it's going to be the very best thing they've ever done. They don't know that Maelstrom is gone, or how characters used to roam freely, or lines used to be shorter, or any of the other terrible awful things frequent visitors know. To them it's their one chance to go to Disney, and they're going to love every minute of it.

Exactly -- what they don't know won't hurt them, right?

 

[larryz]

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2016/02/break...ncial-strangle-hold-on-domestic-disney-parks/

This link was posted on Twitter earlier today.
It's an interesting read.

Yes... thanks for posting. It's the old "cost center" vs "profit center" argument. When a company starts that old "battling business units" strategy, it's usually a harbinger of doom long-term.

 

[momof2n2]

My wife went through this last year. We almost didn't go. I took some serious waterworks from our daughter to sway her, after it really looked like we wouldn't be going in 2015.

Then, near the end of the trip, my wife promised to never suggest such nonsense ever again

Well. We DID cancel 2014's trip. Cruised and did other FL offerings. We've found out we do quite well w/o the mouse.