Losing the Magic

[Jennasis]

If it really did "suck" then why are there massive crowds?

We booked all our DVC stays quite far out so we are locked in now. I'm also speculating 2 years of pent up demand. Will it ever slow down? Who knows.

 

[Sinder]

For me it’s turned into just another theme park, except that it’s way more expensive and in order to feel like you got your money’s worth you have to schedule everything.
It just doesn’t feel like a special magical place to me anymore. It feels like everywhere else, and I can get that feeling much cheaper anywhere else

 

[Kennywood]

Disney used to treat you as guests visiting their home.

Now, Disney treats you as customers, while they're reaching for your wallet.

 

[Kennywood]

.

 

[momz]

i think some of it comes down to crowds. The world is much more populous than it was in the 90's. And there hasn't been any new parks added since AK in 1998. That means in the first 27 years of WDW, there were 4 parks opened! Crowds were dispersed across all that space. But now, population has doubled but park capacity has remained the same.

 

[BrianL]

i think some of it comes down to crowds. The world is much more populous than it was in the 90's. And there hasn't been any new parks added since AK in 1998. That means in the first 27 years of WDW, there were 4 parks opened! Crowds were dispersed across all that space. But now, population has doubled but park capacity has remained the same.

Yes, the sheer number of people wanting to go to Disney Parks is immense and pricing is just a reflection of that - it's supply and demand. Only so many people can experience Rise of the Resistance in a day, no matter how many people want to! Now, it is a bit on Disney for not keeping up with that. They have been building new attractions, but their pace is way too slow. It's going to be time for that legendary "fifth gate" soon.

 

[Planogirl]

Are the resorts routinely sold out? They have gotten crazy expensive and with loss of free parking, magical express, actual good early entry and late nights, they don't seem worth it to us.

 

[tzolkin]

My family will tell you I'm a bit nuts with planning for vacations. During our early trips, I had color coded charts with park hours/EMH and index cards with restaurant and attraction info, I packed daily outfits in individual ziplock bags for each person, etc, etc. But even though I enjoy that type of planning, I've become jaded about Disney because I feel like it's too much planning, too crowded, and not a value for the price anymore.
Probably the most "magical" part for us was being spontaneous about what park we would visit. Sometimes we would go to the bus stop and just see what bus came next to hop on. Sometimes we would have a random day where each of the kids would get a turn to choose something they wanted to do. Maybe we would go to MK just to get a haircut, hop on the monorail to Epcot to watch Miyuki make candy art, walk out the back entrance and take a boat to Hollywood Studios to do an animation class.

We felt free to have that type of spontaneity because with morning extra magic hours and low crowds we were able to do all of our "must see attractions" in that park in just a few hours and were then ready to head out of the park by 11:00. If we wanted to take a five hour nap or hop busses to wander around the other resorts that was fine, because we always had plenty of time to see and do everything we wanted during our trip. We often got 8-10 day tickets which were just a few dollars more than a four day ticket so even if we didn't use all the time it still felt like a value for the price.

Our last trip was in 2019 so before a lot of the post-covid changes, and even that was hardly enjoyable. At rope drop and during morning EMH, we had lines of an hour+ We felt restricted by the fastpasses we had pre-booked. And, honestly, most people in the parks just seemed stressed out, glued to their phones, and constantly keeping track of the time so they didn't miss their FPs, reservations, etc. Pretty much the entire trip we all (kids included) felt like it would have been better if we hadn't even bothered trying to go to the parks and just enjoyed the resorts instead. With the increased prices of the tickets, we also felt way more pressure to "get our money's worth" so we felt like we had to be in the parks for much of the day.

Obviously, I understand that prices will increase over time, but here's a sampling of ticket prices that I found in my email receipts. This is not what I would consider "normal" inflation rate for price increases over a 10 year period. There is nowhere else we vacation that has doubled or tripled in price.
8 day Park Hopper
2012-- I paid $203 (discounted, regular price was $355)
2019-- I paid $479
2022-- Current price for the same ticket is $792

 

[ChrisFL]

This is partially incorrect. If you buy tickets on Disney's site there are a lot of warnings about reservations and it will let you check for them as part of the process - though you can still buy without doing it. If you buy through third-parties though it may be less clear.

Also, regarding hopping, you can hop after 2 PM (1 PM at Disneyland) and rarely has it happened that a paark was closed to hopping - I think only at MK on teh actual date of the 50th and maybe over the holidays. This has not been a significant obstacle. You can also continue to hop to any park after 2 PM - as much as you want.

Thanks for the info. I heard early on some of the park hopping to, say, DHS was more difficult to come by, but that probably changed with increased attendance numbers.

 

[BrianL]

Thanks for the info. I heard early on some of the park hopping to, say, DHS was more difficult to come by, but that probably changed with increased attendance numbers.

HS was often the hardest reservation to get for the morning, but I do not believe that hopping to HS after 2 PM has ever been restricted in practice. It might have happend over Christmas, but MK is the only one that I know of that has had that issue, and only a couple of times total. Keep in mind that early after re-opening, there was no park-hopping at all, so that may have been the issue.

 

[TLSnell1981]

To me DIsney is just like a relationship. Sure you still remember your first time as being magical. Is it just as special on your 20th trip? No way and nor should you expect it to be. I love being married but it isn't magical as when I was first dating. Still great just less magical.

I disagree. We’ve been to the World more times in the last 40+ years than I can count. We’d always get that extra little pep in our step when we walked down Main St...grab a Dole Whip and smile like a kid. It’s different now in soooo many ways.

I don’t blame the pandemic because this has been happening since Igor took over…Cheapskate is even worse. Nothing but a cattle call and money grab. It’s sad when the kids ask if the can just go to Atlantis next time instead of Disney. Broken rides, multiple trips to guest experience, untrained cast members, price gouging, etc. Seeing a line from the Skyliner run way past the Beach Club an hour after closing was unacceptable. We have visited the parks during school breaks and every holiday except Easter. This was off the rails.

 

[RamblingMad]

I disagree. We’ve been to the world more times than I can count. We’d always get that extra little pep in our step when we walked down Main St. Go grab a Dole Whip and smile like a kid. It’s different now in soooo many ways.

I don’t blame the pandemic because this has been happening since Igor took over…Chespskate is even worse. Nothing but a cattle call and money grab. It’s sad when the kids ask if the can just go to Atlantis next time instead of Disney. Broken rides, multiple trips to guest experience, untrained cast members, price gouging, etc. Seeing a line from the Skyliner run way past the Beach Club an hour after closing was unacceptable. We have visited the parks during school breaks and very holiday except Easter. This was off the rails.

Honestly. I'd say it went bad as soon as FP+ came out and the crazy reservations for rides started.

 

[BrianL]

Honestly. I'd say it went bad as soon as FP+ came out and the crazy reservations for rides started.

Man, I'll tell you that going back during that brief time when there were NO FastPasses of any kind was so great! I had even remarked to many CMs that I thought they shou;dn't bring them back at all, and most agreed. Of course, attendance was still lower at that time so that helped too, but it was so refreshing. Even long lines were fast and constantly moved. Some rides do take FP better than others, but the whole point of Omnimover style rides and such is to just suck in people. At least at Disneyland they didn't try to add FP to every ride, even with Genie+ being the new version.

 

[GreatLakes]

I first went to WDW in 1991 and starting in 2003 I've been there almost every year and multiple times a few years. I do think it has lost some magic. The cost is one piece but you used to feel like a guest as opposed to a customer. You always were a customer but the grab at the wallet was less obvious. Some things that I don't like even if they don't actually impact me.

• The loss of Magical Express even though I rarely used it
• Paid FastPasses and Genie+
• The loss of free Magic Bands
• Different park access based on which resort you stay in. I don't mean EMH for onsite guest only, I mean different access based on which onsite resort you are in
• The need to be on your phone so often in the parks and I say that as someone that works in technology
• The ridiculous cost of resorts. Those glorified 2 star motels they call the All-Stars shouldn't cost more than a townhouse off property but they do.
• Charging for parking at resorts and don't give me this "other resorts charge for parking too" garbage. Other resorts don't have 25,000 acres and aren't getting your park or souvenir money. You should only be charged to park with parking is scarce.

All that being said I still go. I go because my son will only be a kid once and I suck it up because being there with him offsets all the stuff they took away or made worse. I know that makes me part of the problem but we already made adjustments. We will be going on his 3rd and 4th trip this year and over those 4 trips we will only be in a park 6 total days. We now stay off property and do things outside of not only the parks but WDW as a whole.

 

[fly girl]

Disney is a relationship to me, and our current status is we are "on a break." I still have feelings for Disney, but their greed and don't give a rip attitude is getting on my last nerve. Sure, I will miss them. No doubt will eventually want to try a reconciliation, but I am not in that mindset right now.

If it really did "suck" then why are there massive crowds?

I think part of that is because we are still limited to outside countries with Covid. Certain places still won't allow us, and add in needing a negative Covid test 24 hours before coming back to US a lot of people don't want to deal with that hassle (and fear if they do test positive needing to stay oversees for quarantine.) Much easier to say, hey lets go to Disney instead. Everyone is sick of being at home.

 

[RamblingMad]

Yes, the sheer number of people wanting to go to Disney Parks is immense and pricing is just a reflection of that - it's supply and demand. Only so many people can experience Rise of the Resistance in a day, no matter how many people want to! Now, it is a bit on Disney for not keeping up with that. They have been building new attractions, but their pace is way too slow. It's going to be time for that legendary "fifth gate" soon.

Universal is building a third gate. At that point, Orlando becomes more than a weekend destination for me as I only go to FL now for Universal.

But the problem with Universal is that it skews towards an older audience, so it's not a direct competitor for Disney tween and pre-tween guests.

 

[RamblingMad]

I think part of that is because we are still limited to outside countries with Covid. Certain places still won't allow us, and add in needing a negative Covid test 24 hours before coming back to US a lot of people don't want to deal with that hassle (and fear if they do test positive needing to stay oversees for quarantine.) Much easier to say, hey lets go to Disney instead. Everyone is sick of being at home.

Despite the larger crowds now at the National Parks, I didn't see significantly more people on the difficult hikes. The easy hikes looked more crowded.

Also, with gas prices going up, I wonder how much people will use their RVs this year.

Disney feels like the convenient default vacation for families.

 

[fly girl]

Despite the larger crowds now at the National Parks, I didn't see significantly more people on the difficult hikes. The easy hikes looked more crowded.

Also, with gas prices going up, I wonder how much people will use their RVs this year.

Disney feels like the convenient default vacation for families.

It was our default last spring break too. That was a very interesting visit, not your usual WDW crowd.

 

[RamblingMad]

It was our default last spring break too. That was a very interesting visit, not your usual WDW crowd.

I'm heading to the Smoky Mountains this fall, so I might make a stop in Dollywood. I'll see how I feel after hiking for a week. I went once as a kid, but I was too young to remember much.

 

[Colleen27]

I definitely see what people are talking about. I have one more WDW trip in me because I know it means a lot to DD - she's wanted nothing else for her 21st birthday for as long as I can remember - but honestly? I'm not even excited about it right now.

We're going in the dog days of summer and in the midst of hurricane season, but the park reservation system leaves no flexibility to change our daily plans to accommodate the weather.

We're paying more for a motel than I'm paying for a three-star hotel in Times Square and won't even get daily housekeeping.

We're going to have to pay either for parking at our hotel or for airport transportation for the first time, on top of that premium room rate.

We're going to have to pay for fastpasses and be up at 7am every morning (on a Food & Wine/21st birthday, therefore somewhat boozy, trip) every morning in hopes of scoring times for the better rides.

We have to pay for magic bands for our two party members who haven't been in the MB era, while the rest of us hope the old bands we plan to reuse will actually work.

We won't get late evenings in the park, which used to be one of our favorite parts of Disney vacations.

We're stuck with a limited-experience, prix fixe meal if we book the restaurant DD really wants for her birthday dinner.

So yeah, I'd say the magic is eroding rapidly. But since on top of all of that, we're also reading that we should be prepared for crowds and wait times like we've never seen before, obviously a lot of people just don't care about any of the changes. I'm glad that our WDW stage coincided with better times and that we're now at the point of moving on to other destinations (including some of the global parks) because I am really having a hard time seeing what there is to get excited about at Disney World at the moment.