In the past every family making a Disney trip essentially created multiple Disney families (one for each kid when they grew up and had a family of their own), now every family priced out of a trip or that just decides it's not worth the headaches, upcharges, etc. will reduce their revenue but only down the line, long after the current executives have gotten their golden parachutes or cashed out their options. Will they be able to overcome the loss given the new environment kids grow up in? Impossible to say but the reality is they're creating an unnecessary headwind instead of continuing the wave that got them where they are.
As the saying goes, people vote with their feet and with their wallets. From the many comments here, we loyal-for-many-years D folks are deciding that we've exceeded our comfortable price-points. People are planning to cut back on the Disney experience and/or deciding to go elsewhere in the future. It's a added shame that this coincides with the 50th Anniversary at WDW.
I'm okay with walking away from an annual WDW vacation and creating new memories and traditions. My wallet thanks me. 
Dollywood is on my to-do list! I've heard good things!
We visited Japan for my son's graduation trip and so went to Tokyo Disney the summer before Covid shut everything down. We felt the Disney magic there more than our last WDW trip. So while we will visit once during the 50th that may be it unless things improve. We were at DL's 50th so want to be able to attend both otherwise we may not even have planned to go this next year. Otherwise in 2 years we're hoping to go to Tokyo Disney again and even planning a trip to Europe with a Euro Disney add on. So we may still do Disney but it may not be WDW anymore.
I think so, too.
Exactly!! I have enjoyed planning Disney trips as our friends and family visit us. It took careful planning to get them to all their favorite characters and on their most desired thrill rides and get everything done in a few short days. It was my hobby... so fun! Lots of planning ahead so the trip could feel spontaneous and was a success with no feeling of sacrifice. Now... I don't know where we need to be and when. I can't plan meals around unknown ride times. It doesn't matter how much money I have to throw at the problem - it's not simply a money problem. It's a TiME problem. We have lost control of our own time.
That said, I think just about anyone can enjoy the Disney Parks if someone "in the know," who also knows them well, designs their visit for them. But for some kids, that means only partial days in the parks, more time at places like Tom Sawyer's Island and less time standing in line. And while every skeptic I've taken to the parks has enjoyed their visit, that doesn't mean they wouldn't have been just as happy doing something else that was a heck of a lot cheaper. The advantage of Disney is that you could find something there for everyone to enjoy, meaning it's a good place for large vacationing groups. But it can be the wrong choice if someone's primary goal is simply to please their kids with a special vacation.
That wasn't true even the first time we went, which was more than a decade back, at least comparing like for like (Disney does offer more sit down restaurants). The counter service plan at SeaWorld when we went was surprisingly varied, and the preparation consistently good. With Disney food, the quality is not so consistent. I've gotten stuff at Disney that literally no one in my party was willing to consume. At this point I don't buy food at Disney except with my Disney Rewards Card, which I view as a sunk cost anyhow, so if the food is bad somehow it's easier to shrug off. I know I'm paying for theming more than for good food at Disney restaurants, paying for the "experience," but even looked at that way I think a lot of it is overpriced. I don't consider myself a food snob -- matter of fact I've always favored peasant food -- but I do know when something has been over cooked or under cooked, or has been sitting under a heating lamp for entirely too long, or is stale, or made with bagged eggs instead of fresh --or tastes nothing like what it's supposed to be (Sunshine Seasons creme brulee, I'm looking at you!). It has long seemed to me that Disney dining is a bigger gamble than visiting the parks.Weird reply. No idea what you mean.
Ah, okay. Thank you. I’m curious about that, too. Some of it is the same person over and over saying how great everything is, which I don’t get. But maybe they’ll explain.
I say this all the time. The Genie + add on cost makes no sense to our family. What we love most about our Disney trips, is not the rides. Most of the rides included in this "upgrade", don't require a Lightning Lane Pass, or are 1970's technology and fun... nostalgic yes, but skippable if the lines are long. We will wait in line for the few rides we want to do, and then find the fun and magic in the other experiences we love.
Our family are either Vegan or Vegetarian, and that's why we love dining at Disney. Some really nice options at every restaurant, and the price isn't outrageous at all. We have a sit down meal at least once a day without breaking the bank.
