Just home, my thoughts

[Lisa loves Pooh]

just home from a week at disney and here's my thoughts. This was our third stay in 8 years, each time we stayed at a disney moderate. We are a family of 4, kids are 9 and 6. We are very mellow, quiet people, just sort of go with the flow. Our last 2 trips I had us booked solid. This time I booked our fp+ and that was it.

IMO, things have changed so much. Our time at the disney parks felt like we were being rushed along and herded, move move move. It was a bit much.

I put a lot of effort into making sure we had an Anna and elsa fast pass, dressing my daughter up, talking it up so she was so excited. And the whole experience was such a letdown. We arrived right at our fast pass time, we were the only people in the inner que, and the cast member came over and rather sternly told us we needed to make sure the autograph book was open, and the pen was ready before we met elsa. Twice. My daughter missed the instruction the first time since she was so enraptured with actually seeing the princess, and I was so busy taking photos of her amazed look I missed it. So he said it again, while reaching for the book in her hand to "help" her out. Once she met elsa she got less than a minute of her time before elsa was quite literally pushing her over to Anna to move her along. Another minute with Anna and the highlight of our trip was over. In less than 5 minutes total. It was a huge letdown.

Similar experience at the akerhaus princess meal. It wasn't terribly busy, but nobody really had time to stop really visit. I can remember our first ever character meal where we got probably a good 5 minutes with the characters to goof around and visit and take pictures. I mean for goodness sake, we paid a lot of money for the akerhaus meal to be rushed in and rushed out. The waiter was standing there wanting our drink and food order before we had even sat down. It was insane.

I wouldn't say I loved or hated the fast pass+. We got decent fast passes, since I stayed up til 2 in the morning to get them. It was hit or miss about how long we waited. Sometimes walked straight in, others we waited 20-30 minutes in line. We never hit the kiosks for more fast passes, because when we walked by them they all had lines. Stand in line to get a ticket to maybe not have to stand in line. No thanks. I tried a couple times to change things on the iPhone app, but it was really glitchy inside the parks. I never had trouble with it at home. Overall I liked the magic bands a lot. We didn't have any trouble with them.

We liked sdmt, my daughter and I liked it a lot. Toy story midway mania for us was meh. I wouldn't wait in line or scramble for a fast pass if we had it to do again. Buzz light years space ranger spin was just as good. My kids really loved the magic card game at magic kingdom (I don't remember what this was called) and the agent P adventure at Epcot. We discovered both of these by accident. If you have kids that like treasure hunt type games you should be sure to do these.

The food at disney has taken a big nosedive since our last visit. We didn't have anything all week that I would call good. Akerhaus was ok, everything else was mediocre at best.

I think we are probably done with disney for awhile. For us there was a lack of magic, and the magic is what always made the cost worth it for me. This time I felt it was more about moving us along, turning everything over quickly, quantity instead of quality. We vacation infrequently enough that I can't really consider spending significant money on a mediocre experience. It bums me out, but there it is.

That is a let down on Anna and Elsa. I wonder what was up with that. We met Anna on our DCL cruise so haven't met both on land, yet.


The card game is Sorceror's. My kids love it.

I don't think that's sad or unusual at all, if you have a little girl. I'm expecting it will be the highlight of my two daughter's trip as well. I've heard numerous horror stories about enormous waits and I feel Disney could do a better job. Certainly, they could have an Anna and Elsa in both Magic Kingdom and Epcot to take up some of the slack.

I didn't take that way at all. But rather that was THE important thing and the experience ended up not meeting expectations.

If the things am looking most forward to turns out bad--that would be sad.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We went for the second time in January and it felt so much busier and more rushed than our precious trip in 2012. The character interaction at Akershus was awful for us as well. We weren't even able to get a fast pass for Anna and Elsa (despite staying on property and being online at midnight on the 60 day mark) and my daughter so wanted to meet them. We had some good experiences, but not the magic of our previous trip.

 

[DisneyFive]

Maybe it was because we only did 2 park days this year - or maybe because our expectations had been lowered from the previous year. I don't know what it was exactly, but all this is to say that (while it's not the good old days and likely won't be again) - there is still good things and hope for good trips. Maybe taking a few years away is a good idea. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Low expectations absolutely play a big part, at least it did on our third trip. After two back to back years, we were VERY reluctant to go back for the third. So glad we did though, because it was our second best trip yet. Part of what made it so awesome is that we tried VERY hard to do new things (like Sea World our first day), and the rest at Disney with new TS locations, etc... plus, we had lower expectations.

Reminds me to go into it the same way this Sept.

Dan

 

[nkereina]

I think the saddest part of your report is that seeing Anna and Elsa was supposed to be the highlight of your trip. Curious----how much time do you think each child should get with the characters?

I don't think that's sad or unusual at all, if you have a little girl. I'm expecting it will be the highlight of my two daughter's trip as well. I've heard numerous horror stories about enormous waits and I feel Disney could do a better job. Certainly, they could have an Anna and Elsa in both Magic Kingdom and Epcot to take up some of the slack.

I think the first poster meant sad in that that was supposed to be the highlight of the trip, and it was a giant letdown for them. Not sad as in "pathetic" that that was their highlight.

FWIW, we're two adults so don't pay any mind to characters at character meals but I did notice the characters being extremely rushed last time we were at Tusker House. One large party wanted tons of photos and autographs and the handler was about to have a coronary. We have the opposite problem - we don't care about the characters, so I usually just say hey and tell them they can keep going. LOL

 

[csjordan]

Uh oh...Garden Grill is one of the biggest things my wife is looking forward to. We did Garden Grill for the first time in 2000 on our honeymooon, and the food was delicious. We'll go no matter what because of the nostalgia, but sounds like we might be set up for a big disappointment.

We ate at Garden Grill last Spring Break and LOVED it! Great food and character interaction! So much, in fact, we are going again, during our trip in a little over a month!

 

[luvsJack]

Does anyone not find it crazy that we are talking about a potentially several thousand dollar vacation and going into with low expectations? Seriously? I mean no one should expect perfection but I think some high expectations should be met at the price tag these vacations have.

OP, I would be upset about the Anna and Elsa thing and I completely understand it being expected to be the highlight of your trip. When dd was little, her main objective was meeting Jasmine and Aladdin. Thank goodness they weren't as popular and there wasn't all this FP+ stuff with characters then. She met them in Adventureland. We lucked out and were first in line. They spent a lot of time with her. Aladdin even sat down on the floor, cross legged and proceeded to carry on a conversation with her. She was 6 then. She is 16 now and those pictures are still her favorite of all the trips we have done.

 

[Laketravis]

Does anyone not find it crazy that we are talking about a potentially several thousand dollar vacation and going into with low expectations?...

Frankly, I think it's insane.


.

 

[AC7179]

Sorry, I totally read it as "pathetic" instead of genuinely sad. My apologies!

 

[volfan1978]

We ate at Garden Grill last Spring Break and LOVED it! Great food and character interaction! So much, in fact, we are going again, during our trip in a little over a month!

Ok thanks, makes me feel a little better. When we were there 15 years ago we had flank steak and roasted chicken, some great fresh veggies, and some of the best strawberry shortcake I've ever had for dessert. I know it probably won't measure up to the memory of it, but we'll be disappointed if it's microwave quality like a PP said.

 

[nat8199]

While I don't have low expectations, my only hopes for the upcoming trip are that the kids have fun and I get a few yummy drinks. I would also like to relax, but with three kids that will me tough. I don't mind the planning or having to be places at certain times, so hopefully I will still enjoy the FP and ADR aspects of the trip. Our last strip was really stressful, but that was mainly because of my twins and having too much family with us.

I am sorry your trip wasn't want you hoped for.

 

[JZCubed]

I think longer stays (5+ days) tend to result in deminishing returns in terms of satisfaction.

I know for my family 3-4 park days is ENOUGH.
Get me away from the crowds (one of the reasons I stay off site) and out of the Disney bubble, which can be suffocating at times.

Agree 100% on the food, thats why it cracks me up people book a Bubba Burger 6months out. The food is mostly garbage and overpriced (another reason for offsite)

And count me in the "don't get M&G's with face people (who really look nothing like the cartoon)

Our family finds that more than 2 days in each Park has diminishing returns. We enjoy the 2nd day to enjoy some of those 'little things' we might have missed after completing our 'must-do's' the first day. But by many Dis'ser standards, my family only spends half-a-day in any Park....we spend the other half the day relaxing and enjoying resort amenities.

Fortunately, my child has a check-list of sorts and Characters do not need to be seen again. No Anna & Elsa for us again, but a M&G FP+ is the only way to see Rapunzel. The trade-off, no Princess meal. She would rather enjoy a thrill ride than a M&G.

For the volume, Disney does an OK job with food. There are some better choices out there, but sadly, more people want a Bubba Burger than Signatures. Disney has horrible burgers. And the Signatures do too much volume to be much better than they are. But we all have 'sin foods' that can be located at Disney - Mickey Ice Cream for me. A healthy (ahem) balance is available.

With new FP+, staying off-site has lost some value, even when you factor in the overpriced food at Disney. Also, Extra Magic Hours are a bit more valuable with FP+, since folks staying on-site have E-ticket options with an evening Park hop.

I am sad that folks find some of the Magic missing. I am particularly sad about Robo's similar experience.

I grew up without FP. We had E-ticket rides and that was based on affordability. I waited two hours for Space Mountain around the time it opened. I had fun before there was an Epcot. I returned a few times as an adult, there were no FP's of any kind, and yet, we had fun. I started going with my infant child with 'legacy-FP' and now the new FP+. I am resigned to the OK fine dining food. I have always had fun. Matter of fact, FP+ makes our touring style much easier. Since we only plan to be in a Park for 4-5 hours, 3 FP+ covers a lot of ground for any particular day. Lost spontaneity - YES. Less time spent on lines for E-ticket rides - Priceless.

 

[Satchmo128]

Uh oh...Garden Grill is one of the biggest things my wife is looking forward to. We did Garden Grill for the first time in 2000 on our honeymooon, and the food was delicious. We'll go no matter what because of the nostalgia, but sounds like we might be set up for a big disappointment.

We ate at Garden Grill for the first time on our last trip (December 2014). We LOVED LOVED LOVED the food! So, never fear, your meal might just be as awesome as you hope it will be!

 

[grimley1968]

OP, I'm truly sorry to read this. The thing that has kept me (for 40+ years) and my family (for 15 years) coming time and again is the "magic", however that is defined for each WDW visitor. Sometimes aspects of some of our trips weren't as magical as I remembered from my childhood, but that was at least partly my own rose-colored selective memory of childhood. Unfortunately, it seems increasingly that some of the loss of magic recently is Disney's fault, especially in just the last 2 or 3 years.

I have a Disney trip booked for our October Fall Break. At this point, with the stunning disappearance of basic customer service from a company that was all about customer service in the past, my family is 50/50 on whether to keep that reservation, or cancel it and go to a beach. With all the extra pre-planning that is now required to optimize FP+, I'm personally leaning toward cancelling. That about breaks my heart, because I've never met anyone who has a softer place in their heart for WDW than I do, but I have to consider the value I'm getting for that kind of expense, and I also have to consider just how relaxing our family vacation really will be. Being rushed around like the OP's report, on top of all the months of planning, doesn't sound relaxing in the least to me. Again, OP, I'm sorry.

 

[perditax]

I had a similar experience this past weekend. Hadn't really wanted to post much about it because I'm not a typical DISboarder. I've been to WDW a lot because I grew up in FL, but my head is mostly outside the bubble, so to speak. I don't have a strong desire to ruin other people's bubble, though.

I had lowered my expectations pretty far for the food. Boma was still way blander than I was prepared for (I guess they had to remove most of the seasoning for American palates), Jiko served us a well-done filet that had been ordered medium rare, and we paid nine bucks for a chili dog at The Mara. (I really wanted to get over to Il Mulino on this trip, but I got overly confident in the ADRs for that place--there were plenty of time slots available one minute, and when I went to book a short while later they were all gone.)

(No, we didn't send the filet back. We'd already been there over an hour by the time the entrees arrived and we just wanted to leave. At fifty bucks a pop they should be able to pay for a grill station cook who can turn out medium rare with a high degree of consistency, it shouldn't be on me to wait another half an hour.)

Everything seemed pretty beaten up and rushed and "under-construction"ed. Cranes ruined the skylines of MK and AK.

They are obviously cutting corners on housekeeping staff at AKL--the same room-service dishes lined the hallway of the concierge rooms for almost 24 hours straight, and our room hadn't been cleaned when we got back from the park mid-afternoon.

The cynical part of my brain suspects they turned off the lights inside Space Mountain to cut costs on an actual refurb. Hated it being completely dark. I remember when it was dark but atmospheric.

Downtown Disney area looks like a war zone. (Orlando traffic in general is nightmarish, it's like if they can think of the perfect bottleneck point to place some construction or put up barriers, that's right where they plunk 'em. We tried to go to the Premium Outlet Mall early Sunday morning before our flight, but quickly realized that they were routing traffic in some strange way via a back service road that took us another 15 minutes to escape once we realized parking wasn't going to be happening.)

Positives: BoG was cute inside, but you were definitely rushed along. Haunted Mansion had new wait-area stuff I don't remember having been there before. FP+ allowed us to walk on three headliners, almost too quickly (we were left with time to kill in the rain between FP windows). Most CMs were polite and smiling, a few obviously hated their jobs. I'm sympathetic.

Honestly, the most 'magical' moment was on the ferry to MK the first morning. There are seagulls that seem to shepherd the ferry all the way across the lake, gliding right next to you and staring into the ferry from just a few feet away while keeping pace. The kids on the boat loved it. (I'm sure the gulls were just hoping for a french fry, but it was still kind of uncanny, and cool to see.)

Don't think we'll be going back anytime soon. I do have a Disney cruise booked in September, but it's being bought mostly with credit card rewards points and is somewhat low risk (four days). Will probably try Universal next time I feel I can handle Orlando.

 

[sharona]

OP that really stinks about A&E feeling rushed. You should not have to stay up past midnight to fight for a FP+ 60 days before your trip only to be made to feel like you're on a timer. I understand that there are others waiting but Disney could alleviate some of that a bit by having more A&E's to go around.

 

[maxiesmom]

Does anyone not find it crazy that we are talking about a potentially several thousand dollar vacation and going into with low expectations? Seriously? I mean no one should expect perfection but I think some high expectations should be met at the price tag these vacations have.

No. Because I know that for me it is the things that I don't build up in my head ahead of time that I enjoy the most. People put too much emphasis or pressure on one or two things, and do build them up so that if they are not perfect they are crushed.

 

[luvsJack]

No. Because I know that for me it is the things that I don't build up in my head ahead of time that I enjoy the most. People put too much emphasis or pressure on one or two things, and do build them up so that if they are not perfect they are crushed.

There is a difference between high expectations and expectations of perfection. No one should expect perfection whether we are talking about a Disney trip, Christmas morning or a first date. Perfection doesn't exist.

High expectations, on the other hand, can be expecting the $$$$ a night room to be clean and comfortable and to have some of the $$$$ percs to go with it. High expectations may be expecting to have a good meal for the price you pay and, if its a character meal, have actual time with the characters since that is what you are paying for. High expectations may not expect to be run through everything like cattle and pay $$$$ for it. High expectations usually expect a character meet and greet to BE a character meet and greet, not a "see the flash, run to the next character".

I love Disney and they do meet most of my expectations but I am not about to pay $3500 for a week at Disney and lower my expectations in the mean time.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Does anyone not find it crazy that we are talking about a potentially several thousand dollar vacation and going into with low expectations? Seriously? I mean no one should expect perfection but I think some high expectations should be met at the price tag these vacations have

My thoughts exactly!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Sorry you were disappointed OP. I know how that feels, it's a bummer.

I felt the same way about A&E, definitely too rushed. I know they are just trying to process people, and so many people want to see them, but at a certain point, when it becomes that rushed, I dunno, not sure if it's even worth it.

 

[Laketravis]

Sorry you were disappointed OP. I know how that feels, it's a bummer.

I felt the same way about A&E, definitely too rushed. I know they are just trying to process people, and so many people want to see them, but at a certain point, when it becomes that rushed, I dunno, not sure if it's even worth it.

And the irony is that's probably one of the easiest issues to fix while providing an immediate payback in satisfaction levels. It doesn't take engineering, permitting, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of construction and years to complete.

Yet Disney allows the situation to continue. Surely they've noticed the lack of FP+ availability? The demand? Complaints to GS and on social media? Is it that difficult to find more CM's that can fit into the costumes?


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